Pastor Connection January 30, 2025

A Note From Pastor Randy


I want to share a news item. The Presbyterian Outlook publication recently reported that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leadership has shared plans with World Mission staff to reduce the number of mission co-workers serving abroad by at least 50%, from 60 to no more than 30. Mission co-workers said they were told to expect either a redeployment offer or a severance package during the week of January 27th, although this is now expected during the first week of February 3. The decision to cut the mission co-worker staff comes during a time of a restructuring effort aimed at streamlining operations and addressing persistent budgetary challenges.


My friend Ellen Smith is mission co-worker for Central and Eastern Europe. The Mission Team at First Presbyterian Church has supported Jim & Jodi McGill who serve in Niger and South Sudan, and Larry & Inge Sthreshley in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our PW group supports Rev. Cathy Chang and Juan Lopez in the Philippines.


None of these folks know if they will have a job after Feb. 3. Ellen writes to me, “How many mission co-workers will be reduced in this action is not yet clear. I do still have a job at the moment. I do not know whether I will be part of the reduction or not. Many are anxious. I am working on patience. Prayers for everyone and the process are welcome. Decisions should be made in the next 2-3 weeks.”


In a written statement, Jihyun Oh, stated clerk of the PC(USA) General Assembly emphasized that the decision to cut mission co-workers was not made lightly. “We remain committed to our international mission and global partners. Staffing decisions are being made with deep care and prayerful discernment.”


The decision to cut mission co-workers will have far-reaching implications for those directly affected and the U.S. congregations that support them. For many of us, mission co-workers are the face of PC(USA)’s global outreach, providing a tangible in-person and on-the-ground connection to international ministry partners.

Session Highlights


The January meeting of Session typically takes care of many “housekeeping” details.


Affirmed the Presbytery’s social media policy and sexual misconduct policy. The latter is a policy for ministers but also states that “each congregation . . . is responsible for developing a sexual misconduct policy . . . for church professionals, officers, members, non-member employees, and volunteers.” While we have a child protection policy, we cannot locate the broader policy required by Presbytery. Pastor Randy will bring a draft policy to a future meeting.


Heard a brief report of the January 8 visit of Nick Schroeder and Phil from PJ Swartz Organ Services. They did an assessment of the Skinner organ and will send their proposal for replacing the old electrical connections with digital technology.


Authorized the 2025 General Mission Pledge of $5,500 to Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly, as well as the four special offerings of the PCUSA.


Approved the 2025 Communion schedule and reviewed the session teams responsible for setting up and serving. Sally Davis agreed to chair the Worship team and new elder Jackie Bass will be a member of this team.


Approved a Presbytery grant application of $2,000 for the new playground proposed for the Walnut neighborhood.


Advised the Personnel Team to begin the search for a new choir director. Marcos will be leaving at the end of the current school year. The organist and a choir representative will assist.


Received the Nominating Committee report that Dennis Bass has agreed to fill the vacancy on the deacon board. The nomination and election will take place at the annual meeting in Feb.


Reviewed the most recent logo design and color palette for the new website. 1Vision will incorporate our suggestions and we hope to show the congregation the results during an upcoming coffee hour.


Elected Jean Seeland clerk of session and Craig Sage treasurer, each for one-year terms. Session is very grateful for their service.

2025 Per Capita


The 2025 per capita has been set by the Presbytery of North Central Iowa at $46 per member. Please designate “per capita” on your check and place it in the offering plate or mail it to the church office.


In essence: Per capita is a set amount of money (apportionment) per member that congregations pay to the larger Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Said another way, it is a Presbyterian Covenant Community Fund — part of the glue that holds Presbyterians together. Because every Presbyterian shares in the benefit of the PC(USA)’s system of government, the expenses associated with coordinating and performing the functions of that system should be shared by everyone as well.


Thank you for your support of per capita!

Presbyterian Women


Dear Rebekah Circle and Associate Members:


We begin our monthly circle meetings with the lighting of the Christ Candle and the reading of the Purpose of Presbyterian Women. The purpose commits us to nurture our faith through prayer and Bible Study, to support the mission of the church worldwide, to work for justice and peace and to build an inclusive, caring community of women.


God calls us to be a community that blesses others through the sharing of our love, our talents, and our material possessions.


In scripture we read “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Hebrews 13:16


Your 2025 pledge to PW provides funds for us to contribute to the Presbyterian Church (USA) World Mission, Presbyterian Disaster Relief, the Helping Hands Fund of our church, and local mission projects in our community and the Cedar Valley.


Please give prayerful thought to your 2025 PW pledge and bring it to the February 19 Rebekah Circle meeting. You may send your pledge to the church office, attention PW. Please make your check payable to PWC. Pledges may be paid any time before December 1, 2025


Thank you,

Ann Sage, Together in Service

Helping Immigrant Families


COULD YOU HELP AN IMMIGRANT FAMILY?

Cedar Valley Advocates for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is organizing a network of local people who would be willing to help immigrant and refugee families in an emergency. We need generous people who can provide transportation, visit detained persons, provide monetary or in-kind donations, make meals, provide emergency housing or assist with organization of documents.


Individuals can register and indicate the type of assistance they could provide at  bit.ly/immigrant-assistance


For information or questions contact Cedar Valley Advocates for Immigrant and Refugee Rights at cvairr@gmail.com


Let's Go to the Movies!


On Sunday, February 2nd, we will be showing the movie, "The Fourth Wise Man" starring Martin Sheen, Alan Arkin, Eileen Brennan and Charlie Sheen. This is the story of a fourth wise man who got sidetracked on his way to caravan with the magi.

We hope you will join us in Calvin Hall, after the service, for a light lunch and an opportunity to enjoy the fellowship. Christian Nurture will be providing sloppy joes and buns. You're invited to bring a dish to share. See you at the movie!

Valentine's Day Date Night


The members of Christian Nurture and the Missions Committees wish to sponsor a “date night out” on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.. Our

members have volunteered to babysit kids at the church that evening so parents can enjoy the holiday. Families from Gift of Life Church and our partner in education, Cunningham Elementary, in addition to First Pres, have been invited.


We will feed the children a light meal, play games with them and perhaps have some movies for the older kids. So, make those dinner reservations, get those roses, and plan to enjoy a “date night.” Please register for the event by Friday, February 7th so we can adequately plan a great evening for the kids. Parents of babies and toddlers will need to bring bottles and diapers, please. If you are interested in helping, or participating, you may rsvp to : seeland@q.com.

First Wednesday Club


Chris Schmitz will be our guest speaker at First Wednesdays, the BYO noon luncheon in Calvin

Hall, on February 5. All are welcome to hear this imaginative storyteller.


Chris is a former youth ministry worker of 20+ years and mostly writes books that nerds like and splits his time coaching and mentoring other writers. He writes mostly fiction, especially Sci-Fi

and Fantasy, but also stories that have been called “Stephen King-esque.” “My writing style

might be compared to Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker and leans into some of the same genres,

and I was influenced very early by Tolkien and Lewis.”


Chris also writes some nonfiction, dabbles in game design and speaks/presents at libraries, comicons, schools, and more. If you met him at a convention, he may have even been in a costume.


Most recently, he's released the Curse of the Fey Duelist series and new installments in the comedy detective series, 50 Shades of Worf. He also writes multiple series including Wolves of the Tesseract (Urban Fantasy), Dekker's Dozen (Space Opera), Shadowless (SF Apocalyptic), The Kakos Realm (Epic Fantasy), and The Esfah Sagas (High Fantasy).


We know Chris because he played the bagpipes at worship last summer. Chris and his wife, Kelly, own the Weis Mansion B&B in Waterloo, a second home to Pastor Randy.

Cedar Valley Social Justice Coalition


Join us for a Panel Discussion on Racial Justice Issues in the Cedar Valley Sunday, March 2, 2025, 2-4 PM. First Presbyterian Church, 902 Main Street, Cedar Falls. Al Hayes has put together a terrific panel discussion on Racial Justice Issues in the Cedar Valley with guest speakers LaTanya Graves, President of Black Hawk NAACP chapter, Rev. Belinda Creighton-Smith, Waterloo City Council member, UNI instructor, and pastor of Faith Temple Baptist Church. Al will moderate the discussion as well as doing some speaking on the topic.

LIVE STREAMING WORSHIP


We are now live streaming our Worship Services every Sunday! The stream will start at 10:00 am on Sundays, and you can view it live on our YouTube channel wherever you have internet access!


If you are unable to watch the service live, the video will be recorded and you can watch at any time by clicking on the video on the YouTube page. The link is (Click Here) bit.ly/1stpresby. The video will also be posted on our Facebook page and the website on Monday mornings.


You can also find the link to the YouTube page on the church website.


Please click HERE for the Sunday bulletin.


We look forward to worshiping with you every week!


Church Calendar

 

Thursday Jan. 30:

6:30 pm Gift of Life Music Rehearsal Gym


Friday Jan. 31:

6:30 pm Gift of Life Music Rehearsal Gym


Sunday Feb 2:

10:00 am Worship Service Sanctuary

11:00 am Movie and Sloppy Joes after Service

11:30 am Gift of Life Service Gym

5:00 pm Sunday Supper Fellowship Hall


Monday Feb. 3:

6:00 pm NECC Painting Class Fellowship Hall


Tuesday Feb. 4:

9:00 am Bible Study

10:00 am Staff Meeting Church Office

2:30 pm Christian Nurture

5:00 pm Missions

5:00 pm Love INC Full Building


Wednesday Feb. 5:

12 Noon First Wednesday Club (bring your own lunch)

6:00 and 7:00 pm Choir Rehearsals Sanctuary


Thursday Feb. 6:

6:30 pm Gift of Life Music Rehearsal Gym


Friday Feb. 7:

12:30 415 Walnut Collective Meeting

6:30 pm Gift of Life Music Rehearsal Gym


Sunday Feb 9:

10:00 am Worship Service Sanctuary

11:30 am Gift of Life Service Gym

5:00 pm Sunday Supper Fellowship Hall

Pulpit Flower Volunteers Needed


We are accepting donations of flower arrangements for our Sunday Services. We currently have February 16th and 23rd, and all of March available. If you would like to donate, please contact Amber in the office to find a date that works for you. You can call the office or email Amber directly. 319-233-6145 or amber@1stpresby.org Alternatively, you can let Nancy Valentine know on Sundays after service and she will relay your information to Amber. Thank you!

Elder Standing Team Assignments 

 

Stewardship and Finance:  Nancy Newhoff 

Mission and Outreach: Sally Davis, Mallory Sage, Sue Albright 

Christian Nurture and Fellowship:  Terry Sage, Dan Davis 

Worship and Music:  Sally Davis, Marsha Muir, Jackie Bass 

Personnel: Dan Davis 

Building and Grounds: Craig Cose 

Church Prayer List


Ongoing/Continuing Prayers:


Iris Gilles


Tom Christensen


Dragan Rudic


Jordan Thomas - Sunday Supper Guest


Evelyn Boice


Pat & Kari Narey


Jan Schwab


Steve Miller



Prayer for Member Households:


Kathleen Jaeger

Ed & Colleen Jessen

David & Mary Kabel


Prayer in the Presbytery:

First Presbyterian Church, 705 Broadway, LeRoy, MN 55951

Click HERE to view their website




Prayer for Local Church:

Grace Reformed Church, 520 Maxwell St., Waterloo, IA 50701

Pastor Dave Van Netten

Click HERE to view their website




 Add to the Prayer List

Click HERE to submit a prayer request online. Our pastors will be praying for you and sharing concerns with the congregation as requested.

Online Giving


Make a secure donation online using your phone's camera with this QR code. Tell us in the "notes" if you would like to designate your gift.

Thank you for your generosity.

Church Family Birthdays


We celebrate our members with birthdays in February. If you get a chance, please join us in wishing them a very happy birthday!


January

01 Jan Schwab

06 Blandine Mananga

07 Don Broadston

08 Andrew Jamieson

09 Colleen Jessen

11 Harold Haasis

12 Bruce Bowers, Carol Carroll, Jean Curran

13 Sheryl Berry-Rudic, David McQuilkin,

Susan Wexter

16 Samuel Christensen

17 David Dutton

20 Emma Schellhorn

21 Marvin Carroll

22 Krystal Matthias

23 Gary Catterson

24 Linda Wiles

25 Janice Bellinger

26 Jacob Quirk, Aubrey Robinson

27 Lucas Trepp, Mary K. Williams

28 Nick Ellsworth

29 Michelle Schellhorn



First Presbyterian Church 505 Franklin St | Waterloo, IA | 319-233-6145 | www.1stpresby.org

Office Hours: M-Th 9:00am to 4:00pm

Visit our Website
Facebook  YouTube