Pathfinder

  In Mark 10, Jesus asks on two separate occasions, “What do you want me to do for you?” The first time, Jesus asks this of James and John. They want to sit on his right hand and his left in glory; they want seats of honor in the coming kingdom. The second time, Jesus asks this question, he asks it of a blind man. Bartimaeus, the blind man, replies, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” The blind man wants to see Jesus.           We meditated on this passage in early January at our session retreat. The elders of APC spend a Friday evening and Saturday morning together at the beginning of each year. We pray over the joys and sorrows of the previous year in the life of the church. Then, we begin to look ahead to the next year.           I encouraged each elder to imagine that Jesus was asking them, “What do you want me to do for you?” We took some quiet time with the Lord and thought about this ...

  The Session met on 12/19. We made adjustments to increase the budget for the Deacons and Women’s Ministry programs in the proposed 2024 budget to more accurately reflect what they are spending. We talked about the impromptu Children’s Christmas Pageant. Everyone seemed to love it. JoyAnn Stimpson is stepping down as the person who prepares the communion table each month. If that is something you’d be interested in helping out with, please let us know. We have a Children’s Ministry Committee that is working on improving our Nursery, Children’s Church and Sunday School programs. As always, more volunteers are needed in these important areas. Bob Black, Deb Randles and Deb Bailey are finishing their time on Session. We are all grateful for their years of faithful service. Thank you!!! As always, if you have any comments or concerns, please let a Session member know. For the Session – Karen Lohret

  Thanks to the Herculean efforts of the candy, greeting card, flower and fragrance industries world-wide, much of the citizenry of our planet considers February the “Love Month”!   Oddly enough IT IS, but not for the reasons you might assume. The LOVE moniker actually has little to do with a connection to sweethearts and romantic musings but does connect directly to our Biblical and Christian teachings and beliefs. The name February is rooted from the Latin word “februarius”, which means “to purify”. The ancient Romans used this time on their calendar as a period of purification and atonement, which aligns with the Biblical rituals of cleansing and repentance. Because this month is a precursor to the end to the winter season, and trumpeter to the approach of spring, it represents a season of preparation and anticipation for new beginnings.           In our Christian faith February's spiritual lesson is to reflect on God's Love ...

  The trustees continued to keep busy. A partial list of completed projects includes refurbishing of the vacuum cleaners, stripping and waxing floors in the kitchen and three of the bathrooms, and the front signposts were scrapped and painted, all thanks to Mary Ellen Bain. The outdoor nativity was set up and taken down. Scott Lufkin addressed issues with the kitchen stove vent and installed the new coffee maker - Thank You! As we begin 2025, we say thank you for your service and dedication to Mary Ellen Bain, Carl Johnson, and Sam Steinberg as they cycle off and we welcome our new trustee candidates, Lou Hoffis, Guy Wilson, and Jim Stott. For the Trustees - Joe Lohret 

  Our children’s ministry is in the midst of some rebuilding and reorganization. We have assembled a committee of invested and concerned church members to help us in this work. Let me give some background to the need for this labor.           When Corinne and I came to the church in 2016, APC paid 3 folks every Sunday to work with our kids. Two of those individuals have moved on in the intervening years. We had a nursery school that met in our church throughout the week back then. But ACS opened a pre-K program, and the nursery school closed it s doors. And then COVID happened and everything was tossed for a season.           To be clear, these changes aren ’t all bad. Yes, the loss of two regular people on Sunday means we need more volunteers. But we have all made vows to help raise the young people within our church and this gives us an opportunity to fulfill those vows. Our mission is t...

  The interesting thing about entering a new year is the tremendous sway it exerts on us to change something, or start something, or add or subtract something from our lives...or at least the way we perceive where our lives are as opposed to where we might think we'd prefer them to be. Our emotional growth as humans and our spiritual growth as Christians are intertwined by an inherent desire to be better, happier, more content. Striving to reach those goals does not require us to summarily jettison our pasts and start from scratch. Much of what we take into the new year, amid our desires to improve, change or redirect, is the result of positive lessons and experiences from the past that have already changed aspects of our lives.   From the Deacons' perspective, the response of this congregation to our little “activity sprint” into Christmas has been a testament to who all of you are and the changes you will bring into 2025. Your response to activities that benefit others is ...

  As we approach the new year, we would like to thank all those who help to keep our church properties safe, clean and welcoming. A special thank you to Carl Johnson, Sam Steinberg and Mary Ellen Bain who will be leaving the Trustees. We welcome Jim Stott, Guy Wilson and Lou Hoffis as they are elected in January. Their talents, knowledge and dedication will be a great addition to our team                                 In His Service, Mary Ellen and Carl for the Trustees

  The Session met for its monthly meeting on November 21.    We began by praying for a long list of members and friends who are needing healing or facing other challenges. We approved the baptism of Gene Groesbeck based on his discussion with Bryan and Bob about salvation and what it means to be a Christian. This will take place in worship soon. Bryan is now the chair of the Church Development Team of the Presbytery. He gave a summary of the current activity, which includes helping existing churches join the Presbytery of the East and helping to plant new churches. He has been a member of this Team for several years and has been part of the good work they are doing. Our worship service has been growing longer recently, which makes it difficult to hold the attention of our young people. We discussed some ways to shorten the service without losing meaningful content. Bryan will try streamlining the announcements. Ida Williams has designed a new logo for the church, ...