Mission News

Don't forget your donations for the Food Pantry at the Watertown Urban Mission. The five favorite items are canned fruit, canned spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, jam or jelly, and soup (mushroom, chicken noodle, or tomato). Many parents have extra needs as due to the high costs of gasoline and the fact that their children are not in school receiving free or reduced priced lunches during the summer. Place your donated non-perishable items in the baskets in the narthex or our shopping carts in Fellowship Hall any Sunday this month. Also remember Urban Mission can always use volunteers at the Thrift Store or the Food Pantry. A donation of as little as an hour of time can make a difference for our community. The Urban Mission also accepts donations of furniture. They can arrange for a truck to pick up larger items at your home. See John Stirling for details.

Help us as we adopt a platoon in the first brigade combat team. Our platoon members deployed to Northern Iraq in late August. A card went to our soldiers celebrating Veteran's Day. We sent chains of homemade greetings and fresh live wreaths for Christmas. At Valentine's Day the troops received Valentine's cards and a package of goodies. Monthly, Niki Krenzel sends more items, so contact her if you have items to send.

Piecemakers will meet on Monday, June 2nd from 4:30 - 8:30pm. Please join us for fun and sewing, as no experience is needed. Note the time change which was chosen in hopes that some of you who normally cannot attend our morning gatherings will be able to participate. Bring a sandwich and we will provide the rest of a light supper.

We will be putting together baby bundles again for military families in June. We need yarn to make baby sweaters, caps and booties. Leave donations in the closet next to the stage in fellowship hall. We will be looking for donations of receiving blankets and sleepers also. The Piecemakers are making quilts.

There are two mission trips being planned for 2008. The senior youth will return to Mexico to build houses from July 1 to 8. Check out the web page created by some of the youth on the trip to track the progress of the documentary being made about the trip at www.firstpresmissions.org There will also be a group from Canton and Watertown going to Malawi this summer to check on the Widow's Fund of Mzuzu. More information is available from our pastors.

Ken Reed and Don Klug will be returning to Malawi to participate in the Shallow Wells Program this fall. Last year, men’s neckties were presented by Ken Reed’s team as a gift to each village head man at the dedication of a shallow well. The ties were very well received. Donations of used neckties in good condition would be much appreciated by the teams. There will be a box on the stage labeled, "Neckties for Malawi."

The students of Ticia Marra's Studio will present a benefit concert for the Malawi Widows fund on Friday, June 13th beginning at 7pm in Fellowship Hall. The widows fund was established in December 2006 to assist widows (and their children) who are often left destitute after their husbands die. With AIDS and malaria decimating the population, this is an all too often occurrence. Come see north country talent helping those in Malawi. A free will offering will be taken.

Other Events

Bible Study will not meet on Wednesdays in June, July or August, but will resume at 9:30am on September 10th. This group is led by Rev. Gail Parsons, parish associate.

The Mom's group has become Friends at First Presbyterian and continues to meet on Thursdays at 10am. Moms of all ages, and religious denominations are welcome, so tell your friends. They are working with the "Fruit of the Spirit" series. Child care is available.

Please attend our worship service on Sunday, June 22nd as we welcome Rev. Barb and Jerry Benjamin who will be filling in for Rev. Garry while he is on sabbatical in Malawi from June 2nd through August 23rd. You can keep up with news from the Garrys by following their weblog.

There will be a congregational meeting on Sunday, July 13 with one item on the agenda, the dissolution of the pastoral call of Rev. Matt Schultz as of July 20. We will miss him and his family greatly as they seek to follow the Holy Spirit at their next church. There will be a farewell celebration following worship on Sunday, July 20th.

The Presbyterian Women will have their summer picnic on Monday, July 14th at Carole Brown's cottage outside Three Mile Bay starting at noon. Bring a sandwich and we will provide the rest. Rain or shine.

Our church grounds need some love and care. Each Tuesday this summer from 9-11am and 6-8pm, there will be a work session for weeding, picking up litter or other tasks. See Gini McCreary if you have questions.

Save the date! Vacation Bible School will be held again this summer from July 28 - August 1. The theme is Rainforest Adventure and it promises to be fun for all. Please considering volunteering to teach or decorate. Also, we'll be looking for items to remind people of the rainforest theme.

The CE committee would like to offer our wonderful children the opportunity to have summer Sunday School. The Sunday School class would be a combined class of grades Pre-K to 3rd. We need adults to volunteer to choose a Sunday to teach beginning July 13 through August 24. The lesson plans are already prepared for you. You just need to gather your supplies and read through the lesson plan. Feel free to grab a friend and sign up today. Please see Michele Elmer during fellowship time to select your week.

You are invited to travel with Rev. Garry as he journeys to Israel for 2 weeks for his continuing education for 2009. The trip details can be found at Educational Opportunities website under the heading, "Holy Land Classic 2009" with March 17 being our chosen departure date. The cost is approximately $2,000 per person. This includes airfare, hotels, two meals a day, and entry to all the sites on the itinerary. This will be our third trip with this tour company. We continue to be impressed with the level of accommodations they provide, the quality of their guides, the safe way their tours are conducted and the great impact their trips bring to all. You will be joining a good number of folks from the West Coast. We hope to see our travel group be somewhere between 20-30. This way there are lots of new people to meet and dine with each night as well as memories to make with your church family. So mark your calendars and make a reservation with EO. When you do please include the #49336 as the tour host for your trip.

We have the honor of having another member of our congregation be awarded the Shapiro Award for Citizenship this year. Robert Sturtz was honored at the Chamber of Commerce dinner on Thursday, February 7th. Please let Bob know how proud we are that he has received this award when you see him during fellowship hour.