"Easter Sunrise" by Laurie Wallace

Dear friends,

He is risen! Alleluia!

I enjoyed the Lenten journey and now my first Easter with my flock. It was chilly but lovely at the sunrise service at Short Beach in St. James. About 35 people attended, including some from the community who have been coming for years. The deer and the osprey helped us worship our Risen Lord. Thank you to all who came, including Lucia Spahr, who led us in song, and Betty Deerfield, who carried and planted the cross in the sand and brought the flowers for our offering at the end of the service.

We will host a service of worship to honor the life of Karl Kraft and witness to the resurrection on Thursday, April 20 at 11 a.m. Visitation will be the day before at Hawkins and Davis Funeral Home, 17 Manor Rd., Smithtown, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Thank you for your prayers for the family.

All women are invited to a special, one-day Women’s Retreat at the church on Saturday, April 29 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. We will enjoy food and fellowship, hands-on-mission, a fresh look at the Mary and Martha story with Joanna Weaver’s Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, and a craft. We will close the day with a Communion worship service, with violin accompaniment by Joanna Huang. RSVP to Linda Goodwin.

Are you thinking of joining us? Make your membership in the church family official! Come to a Meet and Greet for “new folks” after worship on April 23 with some longtime members and me at a location to be announced.

Our worship for the Second Sunday of Easter continues this Sunday at 10, when we remember the doubts of the earliest disciples, especially those of Thomas, who wasn’t there when the Risen Christ appeared to the others.

May each of us experience the breath of the Holy Spirit and the peaceful, loving presence of the Risen Christ with us.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Karen

Lectionary Readings for the

Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 22–32

Peter addresses the people: Jesus is risen, and we are witnesses.

Psalm 16

You protect me from death, O God, and show me the path of life.

1 Peter 1:3–9

We have a new birth into a living hope through Jesus’ resurrection.

John 20:19–31

Jesus shares the Holy Spirit; a week later, he appears to Thomas.

Question for Reflection

According to the gospel, Christ’s wounds were not erased by the resurrection. In fact, he invites Thomas and the other disciples to touch his wounds to bring the disciples back to faith. How might we in the church use our wounds to help others come to faith?

Morning Prayer

Holy One, you have made known to me the ways of life and have promised to fill me with the gladness of your presence. Keep me mindful of your guidance and your promise as I travel through this day, that my heart may be glad. Amen.

Evening Prayer

Thank you, God, for giving me your counsel today. Tonight, as I sleep, may the dreams of my heart also serve to instruct me in your ways. In you I have a good heritage, and my heart, my soul, and my body rest in you. Amen.

This Community event, sponsored by Presbyterian Women is finally happening after a COVID 3-year delay.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!

Our congregation has the first option to sign up for a space in the church parking lot and front lawn for our Community Yard Sale - Saturday, July 22.

You can contact Terri Miller [email protected] to reserve your space!!! Also, Starting in April, you can sign up on Sunday mornings after the service.

Time to clean up and clean out our garages, attics and spare rooms. Join with a friend, another family, or your group and rent a space or two in our church parking lot and lawn. Our congregation gets the first spots. Then we will open to the community late April for the broader community. Questions? Contact Terri Miller or Sharon Castlen!

Time to submit your applications for scholarships!

FPCS will again be offering The A. B. Lawrence Memorial Scholarship and the William Link Memorial Music Award. The A.B. Lawrence Memorial Scholarship was established to support and encourage academic achievement and service to church and community. This scholarship is applied for by the student. Financial need may be taken into consideration if it is shared, but it is not a required part of the application process. The William Link Memorial Music Award was established by the Link Family to recognize a student who has made a significant contribution to the music program of the church and who plans to pursue a career in music. This award is by recommendation of the Music Director and is not applied for by the student.

Applications are available now from Marci Deakins and will be available from our church office. Deadline for applications is May 15.

– Marci Deakins, Scholarship Advisory Committee

Check out www.collegemoneymatters.org – a great resource for new college students and their families. It is intended to promote financial literacy for those funding college educations.

Would you like to share your pet with your church family?

Email your photo and story to Tracy Henchey at [email protected].

Greetings, Presbytery of Long Island and Friends,

If you have yet to hear, our GP/Stated Clerk, Rev. Mark Tammen, has announced his retirement at the end of June 2023.

Mark has served the PCUSA for 40 years, and we were blessed to have him with us for his last 12 years of service to the Church.

There are three ways for you to say goodbye to Mark:

• We will celebrate Mark's retirement at the June 17th Presbytery meeting at the First Presbyterian Church of Babylon.

• We are putting together a keepsake journal with goodbyes and best wishes. (Please pass this information along to your congregation). We would appreciate all submissions before May 19, 2023. Please email any contributions to Laurie Vu at [email protected].

• If any individual or church is interested in blessing him with a gift, Mark asked, instead, if you would please consider donating to a cause that he has always been passionate about, Food Insecurity. We have set up a fund for Food Insecurity that will be divided among all the food pantries of the Presbytery of Long Island.

Please send gifts in the form of a check to

Presbytery of Long Island

109 Udall Road

West Islip NY 11795

Please indicate in the memo "Mark's Fund for Food Insecurity."

If you have any questions, please reach out to Laurie Vu at [email protected] or 631-499-7171

Eastertide is not typically associated with Stewardship. It is unlikely that a pastor would preach a sermon about stewardship on Easter Sunday. If you think about it stewardship is everywhere during this sacred season: in our gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice, our awe at God’s incalculable blessings, and our commitment to a lifelong calling to service in the spirit.

I want to share with you part of a blog a friend forwarded to me written by Christine Chakoain who serves as a Presbyterian Pastor at a church in California.

Our gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is followed by our awe at God’s astonishing gift of new life in the resurrection. John 20:1-18 and John 20:19-31 together paint a picture of the risen Lord meeting us not in a prescribed or limited way, but with the generous gift of meeting us wherever we are. First, as Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, and the “other disciple” go to the tomb and find it empty. Even in their confusion, this revelation is enough for the other disciple to see and believe (John 20:1-10).

Next, Mary Magdalene stays at the tomb, weeping in grief. She sees Jesus, but mistakes him for the gardener. Jesus offers her what she needs to believe: to hear her name from his lips, which transforms her grief to ecstasy (John 20:11-18).

Then, Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room, where they have gathered in fear. He offers them peace and shows them the wounds in his hands and side. Seeing him, and hearing his voice, their fear is transformed to joy (John 20:19-23). Next, Jesus appears again, this time to Thomas, who has not yet seen. To him, Jesus offers not only sound and sight, but invites him even to touch his hands and side. This offering alone is enough for Thomas to believe, and his doubt is transformed to belief (John 20:24-29). Finally, Jesus turns to us, saying: “Blessed are those who have not yet seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29), echoed by the Gospel writer: “These words are written so that you may come to believe … and that believing, you might have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). The ongoing offering of the Gospel will never end, so that generation after generation might know the good news.

Jesus’ persistence to meet his followers wherever they are, in whatever form they need, urges us to consider how we offer our gifts as well. Rather than “one size fits all,” there are many ways our offerings can be made. Rather than simply assess what amount of time or money we can offer, Jesus’ model urges us to consider what gifts are most needed. The form may change; the timing may shift; for in all things, the stewardship of our presence is offered not for our glory, but for the sake of the world that God so loves.

Happy Easter!!

Please contact the church office if you have an April birthday but are not on this list.

April 1 – Bruce Heath

April 5 – Bill Zimmerman

April 9 – Charles Bunton

April 10 – Harold Scott

April 13 – Dianne Lean

April 18 – Michael Ramkeesoon

April 24 – Charles Ruoff

April 29 – Randy Bublitz

• Please pray for the family of Karl Kraft. Karl went home to be with the Lord last Friday morning.
• Please pray for the Family of Kevin Quinn, Beth and Bob Davidsen’s brother-in-law who recently passed away.
• The family of June Carlson
• The family of Andrea Mohabeer
• The family of Debbie Canning
• Ed Cheatham
• Bill Zimmerman
• Susan Huebner Kay, a former member, who has cancer
• Greg Yates, recovering from brain surgery
• Jim Miller, Janet Vollkommer’s brother
• Harriet Yost
• Marlene Hayes
• Vivienne Grizzle-Jaber, recovering from back surgery
• Harold “Scotty” Scott
• Marie Blaszkiewicz
• Sue Nunziata
• Bente Schmidt
• Caroline Kelleher
• Ethel Kraft
• Richard Heath, continuing recovery in a rehab facility after brain trauma
• Virginia Newcomb
• Eleanor Schwinn, St. Joseph’s Village, 2000 Boyle Rd., Apt. 48B, Selden, NY 11784
• Mary Charlene Harris, Whisper Woods, 71 St. Johnland Rd., Apt. 207, Smithtown
• Harriet McMahon, The Arbors, 1065 Smithtown Ave., Bohemia
• Evelyn Saddlemire, Water’s Edge Nursing Facility, 150 Dark Hollow Rd. Port Jefferson
• Jean Lown, The Bristal Assisted Living, 2995 Middle Country Rd., Lake Grove

April 14 – 20 – Rob Goodwin

April 21 – 27 – Tom Deakins

April 28 – May 4 – Lynne Leftenant

April 16 – Beth Davidsen and Lucia Spahr

April 23 – Marilyn Garupa and Lucia Spahr

April 30 – Staci Landi and Barbara Ruoff

Church Office

Hours:

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10 am – 12 noon

Phone: 631-265-5151

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.fpcsmithtown.net

Pastor

Rev. Karen Crawford

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 631-813-9172

Blog: http://pastorkaren.org



Communications Manager

Tracy Henchey

[email protected]