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Christian Education News

Fall Kick-Off Schedule

Sunday Mornings - Starting September 13:

• Nursery (birth to 3 years) will be available from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Room 246.
• Children’s Church continues during the 10:30 a.m. service.  Come join us for worship time, singing, Bible stories, games, and crafts.
• Adult Church School is offered at 9:30 a.m. in Room 234.  This class will continue with informational and interesting video series as well as topical discussions.  Everyone is invited.

Sunday Mornings - Starting September 20 - Church School for all ages resumes:

• Children (4 years through grade 5) - Come join us at 9:45 a.m. in Room 205 for short Bible stories, prayer time, snack, and play time with friends. 
• Youth (grades 6-12) - Join the fellowship gathering in the Youth Room (Room 200).
• Parents and young adults - Bring your coffee to Room 204 for a fellowship gathering or join the Adult class in Room 234.

Sunday Evenings - Starting September 20:

• Youth Choir (grades 2-12) meets from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Choir Room.
• Kids of Hope will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.:
    Grades K-3 are in Room 204.
    Grades 4&5 are in Room 205.
• Youth of Hope will meet from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.:
    Grades 6-8 are in Room  202.
    Grades 9-12 are in Room  200.

Youth Happenings

Rock the Universe at Universal Studios on September 12.  
Rock your soul with Casting Crowns, tobyMac, Third Day, and Hawk Nelson.  Your ticket will include all the thrills the rides have to offer.  Cost is $44 per person.  
 
Youth Lock-In - Our tentative date for this fun night is Saturday, October 17.

Hope Creative School

A BIG Thank You!
 
The playground looks awesome!  Sherry Summers spent many hours cleaning and preparing the Hope Creative School playground for all of the children to enjoy.  She rounded up some volunteers and got to work.  Hooray for Sherry and her team!
 
Who can forget about the inside of the Christian Education building?  The hallways are clean and uncluttered.  The classrooms are sparkling, and it smells like roses... well, almost.  Kudos to Patrice Hatley for organizing such a feat!  We appreciate you, the Hope Creative School staff, the cleaning service, and all the workers that you gathered for The BIG Clean.
 
Last, but definitely not least, the Hope Church office staff:  where would we be without them?  They have worked so hard in such a short period of time to help get the reorganized Hope Creative School up and running.  They are always ready for the task at hand and willing to kick it up a notch, always superseding expectations... and usually doing all this behind the scenes.  Thank you, thank you!  You guys are the BEST!
  
And thanks to all of you for your efforts in making this a wonderful new year at Hope Creative School!

We got off to a great start with a wonderful first day of school. The children were excited to be there and the teachers were very excited to finally have kids in the halls again. The teachers have been working hard the last few weeks getting their rooms ready for the little ones. One of our new teachers is working on her Bachelor’s degree in Educational Studies, and our other new teacher has a Bachelor’s degree in computers.  We are very blessed to have them join our team here at Hope Creative School. We also have some lovely children this year. One little girl, for instance, loves to catch lizards and is quite skilled at it! All of the children are truly enjoying the new playground equipment. The tools are a big hit! We are looking forward to beginning Chapel and Library time soon.

— Holly Dills, Director of Christian Education

Church Register

Births:

Baptisms:

Marriages:

New members received on July 25, 2009:

Thank you . . .

Missions Report:

On July 15, several of us (deacons, church members, and youth) had the pleasure of visiting four local missions that we, Hope Church, help support. It was a most interesting and educational experience to see first-hand what services are being provided by The Mission, Meals on Wheels, Life Choice Pregnancy Center, and the Polk Training Center. 

The Mission, located at 180 E. Central Avenue in Winter Haven, services many of the homeless and needy population and provides breakfast and lunch daily.  They also offer shower and laundry facilities. They provide clothing and support to those seeking jobs and attempting to rebuild their lives. The Mission is a Christian-based organization and offers many volunteer opportunities. Please visit or call The Mission (863-299-2348) if you are interested in serving in some way. Also, The Mission is always in need of men’s clothing, especially jeans, underwear, socks, and t-shirts and would appreciate donations. 

Our visit to Meals on Wheels, located at 620 6th Street, NW in Winter Haven, provided us the opportunity to see where the food is prepared and learn about delivery of these tasty noontime meals. Our local program serves over 200 recipients in the greater Winter Haven area and has recently begun to provide meals to Lakeland residents. We toured their thrift shop which is a major source of revenue to help cover the costs of the program. This is not a “give-away program” – recipients do pay for their meals.  Besides needing volunteers to deliver the meals, cook in the kitchen, or work in the thrift shop, Meals on Wheels encourages the donation of clothing and household goods to their thrift shop. They also need shoppers, and there are many fine bargains to be found. The thrift shop is located directly behind the Meals on Wheels building.

We learned that the Life Choice Pregnancy Center, located at 235 E. Central Avenue in Winter Haven, serves women in a crisis pregnancy and offers on-going counseling and pregnancy testing.  They also help with referrals to medical facilities, financial assistance, and adoption services. The Center keeps maternity and baby clothing, as well as baby supplies, on hand to help their clients.  The director of the Center is Shirley Healey and a member of the Hope Church family! If you are interested in helping at the Center, please call them directly (863-293-0955).  And if you have any maternity clothes, baby clothes, or baby supplies you don't need anymore, please consider donating them to the Center. 

Our last stop was to the Polk Training Center for Handicapped Citizens, located at 111 Creek Road in Lake Alfred. Their program provides developmentally challenged individuals an opportunity to receive basic adult education and vocational training. Polk Training Center offers landscape services to the community and has an extensive plant nursery open to the public. Plants and landscaping services are offered at competitive rates, and this income is used to help run the program.  Next time you need landscaping materials, please consider making your purchase at this well-stocked nursery.  Stop in and meet the knowledgeable staff, and help support this worthwhile organization. 

Thank you to all who have faithfully donated to the Deacons' Fund and supported our fund-raising activities. Your generous contributions have helped assist the aforementioned agencies, in addition to several others we have mentioned in previous newsletters and bulletins.

— Missions Committee of the Board of Deacons
Lila Ptak, Jeanie Madaus, Heather Lee Blackwell, 
Nancy Fosie, PeggyAnn White, and Marsha Long

Hope Church has managed to stay afloat through the month of August. We were recently faced with several unexpected expenses:

• The large Hope Presbyterian Church sign in front of the sanctuary was damaged and had to be repaired.
• There was a termite infestation in Friendship Hall; this was treated and is no longer a problem (we hope!). 
• The carpet in the Sunday morning Nursery classroom was badly soiled and had to be replaced. 
• There is a drainage problem with the air conditioning in Friendship Hall.  We're still working on this one.

Despite these expenses, we have financially proceeded in relatively good shape. Operating expenses have been very well controlled thanks to the Church office staff and Session committee moderators. 

We wish to say a special thank you to you, the members and friends of Hope Church. Without your generous support through the "Together We Can" supplemental giving campaign and your regular Sunday giving, we would not be where we are today. May God continue to bless you and to bless Hope Church.

$9 in ’09 – Saving Cedarkirk and Beth-El 

As you probably know, the Presbytery of Tampa Bay, of which Hope Church is a member, has had severe financial difficulties this year. To date, they have not only had to freeze staff salaries, but actually cut them by 10 to 15 percent. They have also had to eliminate two high-level executive staff positions. We were advised several months ago that two long-standing Presbytery mission outreach programs, Cedarkirk and Beth-El, would both be terminated by year end as a result of budgetary shortfalls. 

Since that time, the Presbytery announced a campaign aimed at saving these two mission programs. The campaign, $9 in '09, asks that each Church in the Presbytery contribute $9 per member of their congregation. With 525 members at Hope Church, this amounts to $4725. Feeling that these two mission outreach programs are worthy of being saved, your Finance Committee recommended, and the Session approved, that we make this contribution using monies given to us from the Hope Bazaar. 

If you would like to help replenish these funds in the Church's treasury, you may do so by putting your contribution in a pew envelope, marking it $9 in '09, and placing it in the offering plate during a Sunday morning worship service. 

Thank you in advance for any contribution you are able to give. 

— Don Combee, Moderator, Finance Committee

Men’s Luncheon Group

Come late September, the men of Hope Church will come out of hibernation and resume having luncheons on the last Wednesday of each month. The luncheons are held at 12 noon at Perkins Restaurant on Cypress Gardens Blvd. in Winter Haven. The schedule for the remainder of 2009 will be:

• September 30
• October 28
• November 25
• December 30

At our first get together in September, we will be looking for volunteers to host a Fellowship Coffee time one Sunday morning. Just the guys – no wives or girl friends! 

So men, mark your calendars with the planned dates of our luncheons for the remainder of this year. We look forward to seeing you! 

— Don Combee, Ken Billo, Al Fairbairn

 

Summer in the Gardens of Hope

Colorful blooms, birdsong, shaded benches along paths, peaceful quiet...
Butterflies abundant:  monarchs, queens, swallowtails, and more...
All making their homes in the Marcia Jones Butterfly Garden.
Nurturing, wonderful summer rains... and yes,
Weeds and broken irrigation heads and fallen branches and on and on.  

Thank you to all our hardy volunteers who worked so hard during the spring and summer:  
Mary Ellen Barber
Normand Fiske
Jan Carmichael
Bob Randolph
Lee Burkhart (and Polly, our broken irrigation head "spotter")
Richard Mansfield
J.J. and Marsha Long
Jerry Ptak
Sherry Summers (for tackling the children's playground area)
Don Combee (who donated plants for the Friendship Hall planter)
Scott Boland (for contributing the sod fertilizer)
Bob & Lynn Lang (for all those irrigation parts we needed)

The Meditation Garden has new trees and colorful plants.  Members of the Session met in the Gardens for evening prayer and refreshments prior to their meeting on August 25.

And now in late summer, native shrubs and trees in the Carolyn and Irving Wheeler Columbarium Garden are forming berries for the autumn joy of visiting birds.  Trees in Marie Sands' "Forest" are maturing, and the view of these trees from Cypress Gardens Boulevard is impressive.

The Gardens of Hope embrace earth-friendly practices, limiting fertilizers and chemicals, limited watering (including low-water-use microjet irrigation), and limited pruning with fossil-fueled equipment.  And, as always, support for the Gardens is derived solely from individual donations and memorial gifts.

The Gardens of Hope offer a peaceful destination to visit for rest, relaxation, and prayer.  They are especially quiet during weekdays.  Sometime if you're having a hectic day, consider dropping by for a few minutes and visit the Gardens.  You may well walk away refreshed.

— Molly Griner, Hope's Gardener

 

Church Bazaar
October 10, 2009 - Holiday Boutique Mini Bazaar
February 13, 2010 - Big Annual Bazaar

Be sure to save the date: Saturday, October 10!  We have collectible Christmas ornaments, not-too-scary Halloween decorations , as well as lovely things to decorate your holiday tables. There will be some special gift items on hand, too. We have both inspirational and funny holiday greeting cards, as well. 

The very popular Holiday Baked Goods sale will again be another opportunity to get those baking pans out and donate some tasty treats.

Please keep autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas things you’d like to donate separate from your other donations. It would be helpful if we can easily sort holiday vs. all other items. If you bring everything packed together, we may miss the holiday items.

Small items can be left in the passageway in Friendship Hall known as the Service Area, but anything large or heavy requires a phone call to Nancy Porter (863-324-4837) to arrange delivery to the storage trailers. Please do not leave things outside. 

Remember that we cannot accept clothing, shoes, or toys. The Mission or the Women's Resource Center downtown are great alternatives to donate those items.

Presbyterian Women Activities:

We introduced the new Ladies Afternoon Out program in April and it has been a summer full of fun!  We had a Container Gardening class with Lynn Lang and Molly Griner, in which 17 women participated, a Pottery Painting class with Cyndi Bloom hosting, in which there were 15 participants, and a Water Gardening class, again with garden angels Lynn and Molly, in which 16 women participated.

Another class is coming up soon!  On Sunday, September 27, Ava Vanyo will teach a Jewelry Beading class where we'll each make a bracelet and pair of earrings. You can reserve your spot at this class now by calling Ava (863-324-3172) or by signing up on Sunday during the Fellowship Coffee time.  This class costs $10 (please pay when you register for the class); this covers the cost of the materials to make one bracelet and a pair of earrings.  

More to come this fall & winter!  An Internet class (how to navigate the Web and how to use the Hope Web site) will be offered by our very own Hope Church Webmaster!  Also in the works:  

• Big Kitchen tour and cooking class
• Mary Kay makeover party
• Cookbook-themed scrapbooking class
• Christmas cookie swap
• And more!  

Watch your Sunday bulletins for more information.

Hope Creative School moms were invited to a Welcome Coffee hosted by the Presbyterian Women on the first day of school, August 24.  Nancy Porter coordinated this event. Many of Hope’s ladies are volunteering their support, prayers, and assistance at the school this year, developing relationships with teachers and parents.  

The Ladies Christmas Tea this year will be on a Sunday afternoon:  November 29; it’s the first Sunday of Advent! Friendship Hall will be decorated during the prior week. This event will be free, and an offering for missions will be taken.  Ladies will also be invited to bring a canned good to contribute to the Deacon’s food distribution program. 

We overhauled and updated the PW brochure that is included in the welcome kit distributed by the Membership Committee to new church members.  The content of the brochure is also on the Church Web site:  http://www.hopepreswh.org/women.html.

Coming this Fall:  A New Season of Circles!

Our Women’s Circles gather at different times during the first week of each month. The Monday evening group (Circle 4) has grown so large that we are trying to figure out how to manage it... perhaps a lunch group would appeal to some of them, eh?  Jeanie Madaus continues as the moderator for the Monday night group. 

The Tuesday morning group (known for historic reasons as Circles 1, 2, & 3) has just reinvented itself as the Morning Glories!  Roberta Ackerman recently announced her retirement as their leader and is leaving behind a legacy of commitment, humility, and generosity in her years as the moderator of this Circle. Some have even said Roberta set an unreasonable standard of leadership! She will remain an important member of this Circle. While no one can fill Roberta’s shoes, Nancy Reddout has agreed to shepherd this group of feisty energetic women. Having just returned from her summer in New York’s Finger Lakes, she is about to jump into the challenge. Feisty, you say? Yep, these gals have pushed to get into The Bad Girls of the Bible, too! They will be examining the lessons we can learn from those women of the Bible. 

The Girlfriends Meet Circle is more than half way through The Bad Girls of the Bible study book, and they are looking forward to picking up with Very Bad Girls of the Bible!  This group meets for study, dessert, and fellowship on the first Thursday evening of each month and is led by Patrice Hatley. The group is targeted at the interests of young career gals and stay-at-home moms of school-age kids. 

If you would like to be added to the Women of Hope e-mail distribution list, please send an e-mail to Patrice Hatley at patricehatley@tampabay.rr.com. We don’t send out junk mail, but we do keep you informed about opportunities for women. There are over 60 women currently on our e-mail list, and we’d love to add you into this great communication process! 

— Patrice Hatley, Moderator, Presbyterian Women

The Worship and Flower Committees wish to thank everyone who has provided the beautiful Chancel flower arrangements for our worship services and shut-ins. The 2010 flower calendar is now available on the green stand in the Narthex. Now is the time to sign up for Chancel flowers if you want to reserve a special Sunday next year.

It will soon be time to order poinsettias to brighten our Sanctuary in honor of Christ’s birth. The forms for ordering the poinsettias will soon be published in the Sunday bulletins, the next issue of the Hope-Line, and on the Web site.

The restoration of the Communion table is now complete. The reframing and marble was completed in 2008. The restoration of the table top was completed in August 2009. Also, the brass candle holders have been polished and lacquered. This project was made possible by donations given by members and friends of our congregation. Sincere thanks are extended from the Worship Committee for making this possible. 

Special Worship Services

There will be a special Christmas Family Worship Service on Sunday, December 20.  As in past years, the Worship Committee, with Session approval, is combining the 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Worship services on the Sunday before Christmas so that we may worship as a Church family. In addition to the sermon, the service will include Communion and participation by the Youth of Hope, Chancel Choir, and Youth Choir.

There will also be a worship service on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24. The Youth of Hope will participate in the Nativity Tableau. We will celebrate Christ’s birth with music, Communion, and a candlelight service. 

Sunday, September 20
Acolytes Resume

October 2009
Sunday, October 4 - World Day Communion

November 2009
Sunday, November 1 – Holy Communion
Daylight Savings Time Ends

Sunday, November 8 – Stewardship Sunday

Sunday, November 15 – Communion Table decorated with Cornucopia

Sunday, November 15 – Music Recital
Presented by the Students of Rebecca Price – 1 p.m. – Sanctuary

Sunday, November 22 – Hanging of the Greens

Sunday, November 29 – First Sunday of Advent
Holy Communion

December 2009
Sunday, December 13 
Chancel Choir Cantata – 8:30 and 10:30 Worship services
Deacons deliver poinsettias to Shut-Ins
“Songs of Christmas” Recital  – 1 p.m. – Sanctuary

Sunday, December 20
Christmas Family Worship Service – 10 a.m.
Youth, Nativity, Choir, Communion, Sermon

Wednesday, December 24
Christmas Eve Worship Service – 7 p.m.
Candlelight Service, Nativity Tableau, Communion

Sunday, December 27
Remove/Store Christmas Decorations

On August 14, the Fellowship Committee sponsored an evening of games and desserts.  The function was hosted by Nancy Porter and Janet Combee, and those in attendance brought a dessert to share. The 30-some folks played various board and card games and had a very enjoyable evening. Perhaps another such night will be planned in the future!

Wednesday Evening Dinners

Our monthly Fellowship Dinners resume on September 9 at a new time:  6:00 p.m.  The price is still the best deal in town (made even better now because kids under 18 eat FREE!), and you get to mingle with other great people of Hope. 

Dave Moore of the Beth-El Farm Worker Ministry, will present an interesting and inspiring program. The Beth-El mission helps farm workers achieve self-sufficiency through its open opportunities to worship, its extensive educational programs, and the many services it provides to meet basic needs. The Beth-El Farm Worker Ministry began in 1976 when a small group of Presbyterians rented a tiny house in Ruskin, Florida, and began holding Church services in Spanish for migrant farm workers. This is a ministry that Hope Church financially supports, but about which many of us are unfamiliar. You’ll be inspired to hear some of the incredible stories of real hope among people who struggle on a daily basis, but who are truly blessed. God’s grace abounds at Beth-El, and Hope Presbyterian helps!

October 14 — Our program in October will include two special features! You will learn how a now-deceased dear member of Hope remembered this Church in her will. Elder and financial advisor Jim Bockover will share with you easy and effective ways you, too, can care for Hope as part of your own financial planning. 

And great Scot!  Another very special part of the evening’s program will be a lesson about the Scottish roots many of today’s Presbyterians share:  the Highland Tartan! If you have one, wear it tonight, please.  Alan and Nanette Campbell (seriously Scottish heritage... and accents) will give a demonstration and talk about tartans. Did you know there are clan tartans, regimental tartans, royal tartans, hunting tartans, and dress tartans? You can even read a tartan!  Highland dress is far more that just the familiar kilts you’ve seen worn by the Wooster Scot Band. Come learn more and find out if your family has a tartan in its history! This will be a fun and engaging time of fellowship!

Make your reservations for this dinner by Sunday, October 11.  You can either:

• Check the Reservations box on the Church pew pad (please indicate the number attending)
• Call the Church office, or 
• Complete the online form on the Web site. 

Pizza Play Date

Pancake Breakfast

Sunday Fellowship Coffee 

There are still open dates during the months of September, October, and November for the Fellowship Coffee time between the Sunday services.  Hosting the Fellowship Coffee is easy and rewarding.  The table is already set up for you and the coffee is already brewed.  All you have to do is bring the goodies and some juice... and tidy up a bit when it’s time for the 10:30 Worship service. 

You can find the sign-up book on the Fellowship table each Sunday morning.  Just find an open date that works for you and sign up!  It's a great way to meet other members and friends of Hope Church.  Or you may contact Patrice Hatley (863-318-1838 or patricehatley@tampabay.rr.com). When there’s no host, only coffee will be available that Sunday morning.