January 2024 News and Information

This in the online edition of the January 2024 News and Information (aka FYI*) newsletter distributed to friends and members of First Presbyterian Church of Farmington.

What’s New

 

Carol Sing & Holiday Sweater Contest

Please join us December 31st during our regular Sunday worship service at 10:00 a.m. for a Carol Sing and fun time of fellowship. Don’t forget to wear your favorite holiday sweater!

Annual Meeting Scheduled

The Annual Meeting of the Congregation/Corporation of First Presbyterian Church of Farmington, The Church of the Open Hands, will be held in person in Knox Hall and virtually via Zoom on Sunday, February 4, at 11:15 a.m. following worship.

The purpose of this meeting is to review the annual reports of the boards, committees, and staff of the church, review the 2023 financial reports and the 2024 budget, and conduct any other business which might come before the congregation.

The 2023 Annual Report will be emailed to members who have signed up through the church website to electronically receive the FYI newsletter, the annual report and other important church information (to sign up for the newsletter and electronic communications, simply go to www.farmington-pres.org). A limited number of print copies of the 2023 Annual Report will be available on Sunday, January 28 in the narthex or call the church office and we’ll arrange to get a copy to you.

Annual reports due January 10

The Annual Congregational Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 4, 2024, in Knox Hall or via Zoom following worship at approximately 11:15 a.m. Reports to be included in the 2023 Annual Report should be emailed to the church office by no later than Wednesday, January 10, 2024.

Deadline for the February FYI is Friday, January 19, 2024

 

Upcoming Events and Mission Opportunities

De-greening of the Church

Sunday, January 7 marks the end of Christmastide as we celebrate both Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord. Please join us for worship, and remain after worship to help take down the Advent/Christmas decorations that have been gracing our building. The more hands, the quicker the work, so we encourage everyone who can to please lend a hand!

Grab a cup of coffee and snack and join the Worship Team and Property Committee in de-greening our church!

Mission Ministry Will Host FAIA at FPCF on January 11

The Mission Ministry Team is pleased to host the Farmington Area Interfaith Association (FAIA) for a lunch and meeting on Thursday, January 11, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm. in Knox Hall. We can expect to host about 25-30 attendees from various faith organizations in the area.

If you’ve ever thought about attending, now is the perfect time to do it. You’ll see many familiar faces and make some new interfaith friends. Please join us! If you plan to attend, please let Karen Linnell ([email protected]) know so we can finalize lunch plans. Watch the bulletin for more details.

Raymond B. Randolph Jr. to speak at FPCF on MLK Weekend

 

The Social Justice Book Club is honored to invite Mr. Raymond B. Randolph Jr. to speak at FPCF on Martin Luther King weekend, o Sunday, January 14, at 11:15 a.m. during coffee hour. Mr. Randolph has been an important voice in our group since the beginning.

Mr. Randolph will speak on his personal experiences with significant events in Civil Rights history. He was one of the Richmond 34 – students from Virginia Union University who staged a sit-in at a department store lunch counter that would only serve whites. He was also a member of the Freedom Riders, the Civil Rights activist group that traveled in interstate buses in Mississippi to challenge the local and state segregation laws.

Social Justice Book Club Starts New Book in January

The Social Justice Book Club enjoyed a lovely dinner together on Monday evening, December 11, and selected our next book. We’ll begin reading “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Do Better Together” by Heather McGhee. This session will begin on Monday, January 29, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.

The Sum of Us is “a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn. Racism has a cost for everyone – not just for people of color.”

We meet virtually once per month, on the last Monday, and we work toward completing the book by May.

If you’ve thought about joining but haven’t yet, we encourage you to do so. It’s a safe place to talk about the tough issues of our day. Contact Colleen Tavor to get on the email list.

FPCF Provides Year-Round Support for CARES

During 2023, your Mission Team made monthly “suggestions” of items which were especially needed at CARES to supplement their shelves. By the middle of December, YOU turned those suggestions into an amazing quantity of food and household items!

In all, during the year, we collected and delivered to CARES: 694 pounds of food (almost 58 pounds per month) or a total of 702 items (about 59 items per month). This is just what was dropped off at church. Some of you take your donations directly to CARES. All this means is that more people are able to receive more food and other items when they visit CARES. Kudos, hurrahs, applause, and much appreciation to all!

But wait! It’s a NEW YEAR! What are we doing for 2024, you ask? The 2024 shopping list is made up of the most needed items for CARES. Take this list with you when you do your own shopping. Over the year, choose something from each category or pick your favorites. Anything helps. Everything is appreciated.

You will find paper copies of the list in the pew backs and in a pocket attached to the Mission bulletin board. Help yourself to a list or take more to share with friends and family. Happy shopping and sharing in 2024.

Jacket Drive for Second Mile Center (until January 15)

There are many sales this time of year as stores clear inventory and the Mission Ministry would like to take advantage of this to help out Second Mile Center. They have a shortage of jackets for children and youth, especially boys ages 8-15. There are still several months of cold weather. If you would like to help, you can buy the jackets and hang them in the Mission Cove area or place in the large containers until January 15. Thank you for helping keep kids warm this winter.

First Pres Sailors (formerly Future Church Planning Taskforce)

The First Pres Sailors (previously known by the long, cumbersome name of Future Church Planning Taskforce) met after service on Sunday, December 17, for a discussion and Pray-A-Thon for the future direction of our church. We based our discussion on notes taken during the four meetings of the now First Pres Sailors as we read through and discussed The Sailboat Church by Joan S. Gray. Tom Neal led the discussion and Sharon Cressman led the group in a communal prayer session. Anyone who wanted to pray aloud could do so. We talked about the importance of prayer in the life of the church and Colleen Tavor is forming a prayer group for the purpose of praying for the future direction of the church. If anyone would like to join, please contact her.

We also would like to begin planning our self-study, which needs to be completed for a new permanent pastor, when the time comes. We can begin that work now and we invite anyone who is interested to please join us at this important time for our church.

The group plans to meet again on Sunday, January 21, again at 11:30 a.m., after worship. Please join us! If you are not yet on our email list, please contact Tom Neal.

JOY Study – Open to New Members – Tuesdays 7:00-8:00 p.m.

The JOY Study meets via Zoom and is studying the Book of Acts, which tells about the apostles as they navigated life in the world after they have been changed by Jesus. We are using the study guide ACTS 24 Studies for Individuals and Group written by N.T. Wright, a New Testament scholar. His previous works have taught us a lot. Please join us – It’s not too late to jump in.

The book costs about $10. Contact Sharon Cressman if you would like to join the group and to receive the Zoom information. The study resumes on Tuesday, January 9.

Calling Crafters

We have been very successful with our Fall craft show and have been asked to do a Spring show! We’re very happy to say we are doing one April 13 – 14, 2024. Spaces are 8’ X 8’ for $45.00 with early admission $35.00 if received by Sunday, January 14.

Be sure to add it to your calendar and tell your friends and family too. This would be a good time to buy unique gifts Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduations.
For more information, please contact: Deborah Draper or MJ Floreno.

Soul Stretch Yoga – Winter Series

Body & Mind: a beautiful transformation awaits us. Will you join us?
Winter Series: January 1 – March 21, 2024

What fits your schedule?

• 12 weeks unlimited classes, incl. all video replays: $138
• 4 or 6-class punch cards: $50 or $75
• 1-time walk-in: $15
• Entire year: $550
• First class: FREE!

First meeting of 2024: Monday, January 1, at 6:00 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church Farmington

Adult Bible Discussion – The Wired Word

Join our Bible discussion Sundays at 9:00 a.m. in the Library. Advance copies are available on Saturday by email. To get on the email list, contact Tom Neal.

Church Happenings

“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” Delights Audiences

The Presbyterian Players proudly presented “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” for two delightful appearances in December. The first appearance was on Wednesday, December 6, coinciding with FPCF hosting the PW Gathering for the Detroit Presbytery. Th PW Gathering was attended by over 130 people. For $10, attendees enjoyed coffee/tea and light snacks, the play, and afterward, a lovely catered meal. PW outdid themselves! The laughs and applause were palpable, and everyone enjoyed the hand-size instruments that were used to accompany the sing along for certain Christmas songs during the play. A second performance was put on by the cast for the congregation on Sunday, December 10.

For both performances, Jerrold Lee brought down the house with a standing ovation for “O, Holy Night.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the church. Manny Sharpe stole the show with his rendition of “5 golden rings” and Tom Neal will never live down his rendition of the “10 lords a-leaping” and “3 French hens.”

A special thanks to the playwright, Anne Sebesta with assistance from Vicki Najjar and Sue Carlson. A shoutout to all the Presbyterian Players for a superb job as always: Laura Hedgecock, Tom Neal, Sally Kirsten, Vicki Najjar, Jeff DeGrasse, Manny Sharpe, Sue Carlson, Deb Anderson, Mary Carson, Lorrie McVey, Jim Tubs, Laurel Scott, Jerrold Lee, and crew: Sharon Cressman, Leslie Moyna, Siobhan Moyna, and Anne Sebesta. And thank you to Shari Fiore-Bloom for her superb piano mastery, as always. We appreciate all of you for your talent and the time spent in rehearsals, all for our enjoyment.

 

Candles Along the Way –Sharing Our God Moments

by Vicki Najjar

Colleen Tavor shares a harrowing experience where God mysteriously intervenes and Tom Neal shares about a special gift for the Preschool.

One Summer Afternoon

It was 4th of July weekend 2006, a beautiful, sunny, perfect day. I was visiting my Mom and stepdad in St. Johns, about 20 miles north of Lansing, and enjoying our last few hours together before I headed back to Farmington. My sister and brother-in-law, who lived a few miles away, had asked me to stop by and water their outdoor plants while they were away on vacation. I readily agreed and after a final hug to my parents, I headed to my sister’s house.

Their home is in the country on an idyllic, 10-acre plot that still allowed for close, but not too close, neighbors. It was 3 p.m., as I pulled into the driveway and immediately, I had an eerie feeling. “That’s strange,” I thought. “Maybe I just feel eerie because no one is home.” But I had been there many times alone when they weren’t home, even at night, and I didn’t feel this unsettled. Now it was a bright, sunny day in the middle of the afternoon!

As I got out of the car to unwind the hose for watering, I began to feel panicky. Everything in me was telling me to get out of there – NOW! “What is the matter with you?” I chided myself. “Nothing is wrong or going to happen in the middle of the afternoon on a beautiful summer day!”

Nevertheless, I began watering the plants as quickly as possible. As I ran to the back of the house to water the plants in back, I periodically stopped to hear if a car pulled into the driveway while I was watering at the back of the house. I felt so sure that someone was coming, I planned where to hide if I heard a car. While I was thinking and planning this, I kept questioning myself why I was feeling this way. Why would I hide? It could be just friends coming over?

Finally, I threw the hose down and ran to my car, urgently feeling the need to get away as quickly as possible. As I headed down the driveway, I began to plan what I would do if a car pulled up and blocked the driveway. Why was I thinking like this? As I pulled away and headed toward Farmington, I breathed a sigh of relief, still wondering why I had felt such a feeling of panic and dread.

A few days later when my sister and brother-in-law returned from their vacation, I told them about my experience and how panicky and afraid I had felt while watering the plants. “Isn’t that bizarre?” I laughed. They both looked at each other and grew quiet. They told me then that an elderly couple had been brutally murdered that same day just a few miles down the road and the police were still looking for the murderer.

Whenever I think back on that day, I am sure it was the Holy Spirit warning me to get away as quickly as possible. Could the murderer have been watching me from the nearby woods? Could they possibly have driven by the house as they were leaving the murder scene and seen me, alone, watering the plants? I’ll never know but I do know I have never felt such fear in my life.

To date, no one has been charged with the murders.

Since then, I’ve been many times to my sister’s house alone, and have never been afraid – except for that day. And, yes, whenever I get a feeling about something, I listen.

– Colleen Tavor

Everything Falls into Place for: A Surprise for the Preschool

This is a fun story, another God moment.

My buddy Jack called and said he had this great prop from the Jewish Community Center. They were going to throw it away, but he thought our Preschool would enjoy it.

I agreed, so he picked me up within five minutes to go get it. We went to get it and loaded it in a snowstorm on his trailer. I called Ron Prieskorn and Paul Floreno for help, and they showed up to help unload it.

Jeff Ely was there to open up the Preschool so we could see what to do with it. It was too heavy so we took it into Knox Fellowship Hall, and then we unmounted the canvas.

This amazing canvas will be put up in the Preschool. And it all happened 1-2-3!!!!

– Tom Neal

Adopt-A-Teen Delivery to Farmington Public Schools

A big thank you from the Mission Ministry to everyone who participated in the Adopt-A-Teen gift giving for Farmington Public Schools.

Delivery was made in time for Christmas, and everyone was very appreciative.

Mission Ministry Answers CARES Call for Help

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, the freezer at CARES stopped working. They were unable to receive turkeys because they had nowhere to keep them.

Your Mission Ministry Team answered the call for help and provided $500 for a new freezer. Your continued support makes this possible. CARES was very thankful.

 

 

 

Congregational Concerns

Session Highlights: December 2023

The December Session meeting was held on December 13, 2023, and Session passed the following motions:

1. The 2024 Budget was approved. This will be published and reviewed in detail at the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, February 4, 2024.
2. The 2024 Per Capita amount will be $36.00 per member. This is the same amount as 2023 and is based on the PCUSA amount of $35.90.
3. A 2023 budget surplus amount of $36,000 will be moved to the Capital Replacement Reserve Account. This is a result of the 2023 year-to-date revenue versus expense being positive and will help to build that fund up for future projects.
4. The church office will be closed the week of December 26-29, 2023, and a 2024 Holiday Schedule was approved and will be published.
5. The Future Church Planning Committee will be empowered to begin creating a new church self-study. A copy of Sailboat Book Study Ideas generated from the November 18- December 6, 2023 meetings was handed out for review and possible next steps.
6. The Transitional Pastor Search Committee has been working with a candidate for the open Transitional Pastor position. More details will be announced as they are available.
7. A new member orientation session will be held in the first quarter of 2024. More details will be published once the date is determined.
8. A Laughter Yoga return session will be scheduled in the first quarter of 2024.

There were 74 people in attendance in-person for the Sunday, December 3, 2023 Communion Worship Service and Home Communion was served to three homebound members by Deacons. The next Session meeting will be Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

REMINDER: The Annual Congregation Meeting will be held Sunday, February 4, 2024. All materials for the 2023 Annual Report are due to the Church office by Wednesday, January 10, 2024.

Transitional Pastor Search Committee Update

Committee members: Dorothy Tait (Secretary), Sally Kirsten, Bob Van Hamme, Marc Hemmye, Colleen Tavor (Chair), Rev. Michelle James (COM Liaison)

The Transitional Pastor Search Committee (TPSC) is narrowing down the candidate pool and is exploring possibilities with a particular candidate. We ask that the congregation continue to hold in prayer the committee, potential candidates, and that God’s will be done.

The consultants working with our congregation on healing and transformation has completed their work and will have a report to submit to Session at its January 17 meeting. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Prayer Changes Us

As we learned from the skits on the Rowboat Church and Sailboat Church during the Stewardship campaign, prayer is the mainsail of a Sailboat Church. As we look closer at prayer, we begin to realize that prayer draws us into a deep relationship with God. Our prayer life brings us closer to Him through honest communication.

We have to put our expectations in the Lord and not in other things or people. Prayer works because God wants our complete dependence on Him. He wants us to recognize that without Him, we can’t get past our limitations. God is the source of our fulfillment. He is and wants us to make Him the answer to our longings.

Prayer changes us. Deep, intimate prayer draws us close to the heart of God. Prayer helps us become more like Him. Prayer lets us hear God’s voice and direction. Prayer inspires us and gives us answers. Prayer reveals our flaws and perfects us. Prayer is an avenue by which we can repent and be forgiven for our sins.

As we share our deepest longings with God, we change and become the people God wants us to be. May 2024 be the year that God changes us even more into the people he wants us to be.

The Wired Word – An Adult Curriculum

All are welcome to join our Bible study Sundays at 9:00 a.m. The class meets in the library and ends in time to join in Worship at 10:00 a.m. Every week there is a new topic selected by The Wired Word staff based on current events and ideas. An advance copy of the weekly lesson is sent via email to each of the class members and friends requesting a copy. These meaningful discussions are a great way to share and get to know church members. Sign up by contacting Tom Neal.

Stay after Worship for Snacks and Fellowship

We’d love to have you join us for Hospitality Time after our worship service in Knox Hall! Stick around for a few minutes and chat.
If you can’t join us in person, watch our livestream
1. Go to our Worship Services page at: https://Farmington-Pres.org/worship/sermons.
2. Click on the image that says “Watch our Livestream”

2024 Church Holiday Schedule for First Presbyterian Church Farmington

Designated HolidayObserved On

Designated Holiday	Observed On
New Year’s Day	Monday	January 1st
Martin Luther King Jr Birthday	Monday	January 15th
Easter Monday	Monday	April 1st
Memorial Day	Monday	May 27th
Juneteenth	Wednesday	June 19th
Independence Day	Thursday	July 4th
Labor Day	Monday	September 2nd
Thanksgiving Day	Thursday	November 28th
Day after Thanksgiving	Friday	November 29th
Christmas Day	Wednesday	December 25th

The church office will be closed on these dates in observance of the designated holidays.
Session Approved December 13, 2023

2023 Christmas Poinsettias added beauty to our sanctuary and honored loved ones.

2024 Worship Flower sign-up available

Please consider giving flowers in memory of a loved one or to recognize a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary or to the glory of God. An arrangement is $25 and enhances our in-person and livestreamed worship services. More than one arrangement may be ordered for any Sunday and will be displayed on plant stands near the pulpit during the service. Your donation will also be acknowledged in that Sunday’s worship bulletin. Please sign up on the flower calendar on the kiosk or order through the church office at least one week in advance. You may take home the flowers after the service, ask to have the flowers delivered to you or request to have them delivered to one of our homebound members.

2024 Offering Envelopes

Those who have used numbered envelopes in 2023 will automatically receive envelopes for 2024, unless you inform us otherwise. If you have NOT used envelopes this year, but DO wish to have them for next year, please contact the church office at 248-474-6170 to make your request known. Numbered envelopes facilitate the speed and accuracy of the data entry process for our offering counters, so we do encourage you to use envelopes if you contribute manually on a regular basis.

We also encourage the use of automatic debits from your bank. If you wish to automatically submit your pledge electronically from your bank account monthly, please call the church office to have the forms mailed to you. If you have any questions, please call the church office at (248) 474-6170.

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We keep in our Prayers

We pray for members and friends who are sick, homebound, in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, those who are grieving or heavy at heart, and those serving in the military or as first responders.
To protect individuals’ privacy, we do not list them on the online version of our newsletter.

News from the Church Office