August 2023 Outreach

In the Heart of Naples with the Love of God: we worship, we love, we grow, we serve

Greetings members and friends of FPCN.

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have an exciting month ahead of us! On Sunday, Back to School as part of the worship service as we pray for students, parents, teachers and staff. The new school year begins on ll welcome back our t wait for them to see the new flooring! Be sure to check

ll have a guest preacher Lisa Lefkow. Habitatfor . Lisa preached for us last year and we are so grateful she

From August 22 to August 27, the pastors from our partner church in Mantazas, Cuba will be here! Ary and Beidy were last with us before the pandemic, so we are thrilled to welcome them back to Naples. It was a joy to be with them in Cuba earlier this year and we continue to strengthen the bonds of Christian fellowship with their visit to us. They will meet with the church staff as well as the Session, spend time in our preschool, lead presentations on Cuba throughout the presbytery and be in worship with us on Sunday. They are wonderful servants of God who lead Christ’s church amidst very challenging circumstances.

Also with us on Sunday, August 27, will be the Florida Gulf Coast Chamber Choir. It’s a real joy to have such talented, young voices in worship and I always look forward to when they circle around the congregation and offer a sung blessing. Very moving.

Finally, the month wraps up with Craig returning from his sabbatical! Hallelujah! Craig’s first day back in the office will be Tuesday, August 29. The time sure has flown by, but we pray for his last few weeks to be restful as he prepares to return to us. Thank you as always for your support and encouragement.

It’s truly a blessing to serve such a loving and caring congregation. I pray God’s blessing upon you wherever you may find yourself this month. We look forward to seeing you around the church soon.

Peace,

FROM THE PULPIT

August 6

BacktoSchoolBlessing

Rev. Rex Childs “Wrestling with God”

August 13

Guest Preacher Lisa Lefkow

August 20

Rev. Rex Childs “Dog Food”

August 27

Guest Preacher

The second quarter of 2023 proved to be as busy as the first quarter of the year as we launched and completed the Narthex Renovation and Summer Projects campaign, where we raised about $250K in order to cover the costs for some necessary and exciting changes to our building. We continued actively using The SaintJohn’sBiblein a variety of ways, and have worked on enhancing and expanding our ability to be more accessible and better meet the needs of our congregation through technology. We celebrated staff, recognized graduating students, sent Craig off to enjoy a much needed and welldeserved sabbatical, took youth to Montreat, North Carolina for a retreat, and hosted Vacation Bible School for the first time in three years. None of this would have been possible without your financial support, so THANK YOU!

We have received 248 pledges totaling almost $1.3M. Thank you to all of you who have already fulfilled your 2023 pledge, and a special thank you to all of you who stepped out in faith with us in ‘Growing TogetherJoyfully’ by increasing your pledges and giving. As you can see from our summary financials below, our budget is based on combined pledged and nonpledged tithes and offerings of $2.1M. We will definitely need to have strong giving for the second half of the year in order to come close to meeting our goal.

We continue to operate with a full church staff, with no turnover, and we continue providing a variety of outreach and caring ministries to address the needs of our congregation near and far. Our total expenses for the first half of 2023 are approximately $160K under budget year to date. Some of our budgeted expenditures such as Missions’

Outreach, Insurance premiums, and Audit fees will be paid in the third quarter, so this margin will decrease.

At the end of the second quarter, we are facing a $260K operating shortfall. The first half of the budgeted transfer from the Endowment, ($150K) will be reflected in July’s financial summary, which will help us close the gap. We remain confident that God will provide and that we will be able cover the operating expenses with your assistance, which allow us to provide ministry and outreach by working together in the Heart of Naples with the Love of God, where we worship, we love, we grow, and we serve.

Thank you for your generous financial support during the first half of the year and we look forward to your help in achieving our 2023 ‘Growing TogetherJoyfully’goal. Again, thank you for your continued partnership and generosity as we move forward in the second half of the year!

Doug Jensen Finance Committee Chair Debbie Savage Director of Finance

The Wiggle Room and the Narthex entrance to the Sanctuary are closed. You may access the Sanctuary through the doors off the west parking lot (near the church reception area), through the courtyard entrance to Spencer Hall, and through the circular drive at the south end of the Sanctuary. Restrooms will be accessible during the construction.

There are caution signs and caution tape throughout the area. Please be mindful of the signs for your own safety.

Narthex ceiling and tile floor removal

Jassimides (Ushers) Ro0m tile floor and ceiling removed

Building the wall to display The Saint John’s Bible

Air Conditioning vents in the ceiling being updated

Preschool classroom with new flooring

Preschool office with new flooring

The windows are in!

A small group travelled to the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance building site on Thursday, July 13. The tour was led by Carleton Cleveland, IFHA Board member. David Fister filmed a short “newscast” with Kathleen Law “news anchor” and Cleve explaining the mission of the IFHA. Visit our website’s Local Mission page to watch the video.

LEMONADE STAND

On Sunday, July 16, the Funday School children held a Lemonade Stand fundraiser.

We express our heartfelt gratitude for your support in making our lemonade stand a success. With your generous contributions, we were able to raise an incredible $393 for the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance.

Feed the 5,000

This month we are helping to restock the food pantry of Grace Place.

Ushers will have a list available as you leave the Sanctuary the first Sunday of August. Food donations will be collected at the 6th Street church entrance on the second Sunday of the month, August 13.

If you prefer, monetary donations can be made online at www.fpcnaples.org/ give or checks may be made payable to "First Presbyterian Church" with the memo marked "Feed the 5,000" and placed in the collection plate.

Suggested items are:

Canned fruit

Rice

Dried beans

Boxed stuffing

Tomato sauce

Canned tomatoes

Pasta

Boxed mac & cheese

Canned beans

Canned veggies

Peanut butter

Jelly

Canned tuna, chicken, ham

L to R: David Fister, Nancy Van Fleet, Nicholas Stewart, Susan Pratt, Carleton Cleveland, Kathleen Law

Roni Haggart, Committee Chair, vhaggat@gmail.com

Nancy Van Fleet, Dir. of Children & Youth, nancyv@fpcnaples.org

Vacation Bible School Fun!

Nominating Committee

First Presbyterian Church of Naples, Florida

Nomination Form for the Position of Ruling ELDER: The Ministry of Governance and Discernment

Name of person being nominated: ____________________________________________________

Self Nominated ____ Nominated by: ___________________________________(name of nominator)

As there were in Old Testament times elders for the government of the people, so the New Testament church provided persons with particular gifts to share in discernment of God’s Spirit and governance of God’s people. Accordingly, congregations should elect persons of wisdom and maturity of faith, having demonstrated skills in leadership and being compassionate in spirit. Ruling elders are so named not because they “lord it over” the congregation (Matt.20:25), but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life. Ruling elders, together with ministers of the Word and Sacrament, exercise leadership, government, spiritual discernment, and discipline and have responsibilities for the life of a congregation as well as the whole church, including ecumenical relationships. When elected by the congregation, they shall serve faithfully as members of the session. [G-2.03 2019

-2021 Book of Order]

Why would you/this nominee be a gifted Ruling Elder? (check all that apply)

___Leadership skill

___Mature Christian faith and capable of spiritual discernment

___Effective and clear communication skills

___Actively participates in our worship life

___Actively involved in other church functions

___Openness and willingness to partner and cooperate with other church leaders

___Knowledge/skills in areas of Christian Education, Congregational Care, Facilities, Finance, Membership & Communications, Missions, Personnel, and/or Worship & Music

In your own words, please describe why you/your nominee would be a good Elder:

Please return this form by September 1, 2023 to the Nominating Committee c/o Sharman Pfaus via mail to: FPC of Naples, 250 Sixth Street South, Naples, FL 34102 or leave it in the offering basket on Sunday to the attention of Sharman Pfaus.

Nominating Committee

First Presbyterian Church of Naples, Florida Nomination Form for the Position of DEACON: Ministry of Compassion and Service

Name of person being nominated:

Self Nominated: ____ Nominated by: ___________________________________(name of nominator)

The ministry of a deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of compassion, witness and service, sharing in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lost, the friendless, the oppressed, those burdened by unjust policies or structures or anyone in distress. Persons of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly and sisterly love, sincere compassion and sound judgment should be chosen for this ministry. [G-2.02 2019-2021 Book of Order]

Why would you/this nominee be a gifted Deacon? (check all that apply)

___Cares for others

___Mature Christian faith

___Can maintain confidences/trustworthy

___Sincere compassion

___Actively involved in worship and other church functions

___Openness and willingness to partner and cooperate with other church leaders in providing ministry

___Willingness to take on assignments and see them through to completion

In your own words, please describe why you/your nominee would be a good Deacon:

Please return this form by September 1, 2023 to the Nominating Committee c/o Sharman Pfaus via mail to: FPC of Naples, 250 Sixth Street South, Naples, FL 34102 or leave it in the offering basket on Sunday to the attention of Sharman Pfaus.

Wednesday Morning Men: Faith and Fellowship

break from our regular format and meet at a local restaurant for breakfast.

If you would like to join the group, or have any questions/comments, please contact Bill Kearney at skearney239@comcast.net

HUDDLE A Men’s Bible Discussion Group

All men are invited and encouraged to gather with us in the Parlor each Thursday at noon.

Bring a Bible and your lunch! If unable to attend in person, please join the meeting via Zoom.

Please contact Rex Childs at rexc@fpcnaples.org for Zoom instructions and a link to the meeting.

Thank You

To everyone at First Presbyterian Church,

Women s Ministry

All women are invited to join us for a weekly Bible Study, currently studying the Letter of James, held on Mondays at 1 p.m. in the Parlor. Please bring your Bible.

We look to covenant with each other week by week as we delve into God’s Word. For more information contact Janeen McClure at jrmc@airmcclure.com.

I am touched beyond words by your thoughtfulness in thinking of me on my college graduation. It feels like yesterday when I was running around the halls of the Preschool and playing outside on the playground. Now here I stand today, a college graduate of Saint Leo University with a degree in Criminal Justice.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful graduation gifts. The prayer shawl, pebble, and gift card are all perfect; however, remembering me on this special day was so gracious of you.

Many thanks,

Meghan Kennedy (daughter of Preschool teacher, Colleen Kennedy)

Janie Casassa, Committee Chair, jbyellowrose@gmail.com

Kathleen Law, Dir. of Publications and Social Media, kathleenl@fpcnaples.org

August 1

Lisa Ethier

Saralene Oldham

Garrett Richter

August 2

Nancy Erdly

August 3

Duncan Connell

Anne Marie Weber

August 4

Augie Ingoglia

Lucy Kuhne

Russ Richardson

Corbin Wyant

August 5

Ramona Winger

August 6

Brice Gerlach

Fred Hoffman

JoAnn Luster

August 7

Jackie Cusick

Jean Kasten

August 8

Laura Colville

Ben Martin

Linda Secrest

Jan Witman

August 10

Sam Allen

Ali Claremont

Sted Garber

Pat Hueter

Jeff Rogers

August 11

Jerry Perkins

Dan Stellema

August 12

Pat Bailey

Mary Nourse

Cal Pratt

August 13

Geri Brandt

David Brewin

Tom Gallant

Melanie Jones

Gretchen Knoll

Cathy Norris

Sandy Poore

In Memoriam

August 14

Joyce Butts

August 15

Nancy Kiningham

Michael Mans

Karen Martin

August 17

Julia Bussell

John Jordan

August 18

Jolly Birtwistle

August 20

William Brock

Jane Graham

Ann Ryerson

Grant Wagner

August 21

Pamela Pellerito

Marie Simele

August 22

Kathleen Maier

August 24

Forrest Thye

Sue Vernia

August 26

Barbara Henneman

Dee Hook

Geoff Wardwell

August 27

Judy Fultz

Patricia Mac Minn

Nancy McLaughlin

August 29

George Craig

Stephen McClure

August 30

Linda Cleveland

Terry Hoogenboom

Gary Nordbrock

John Rader

Catherine Willett

August 31

Gene Fraley

Eileen Malstrom

Bob Walkenhorst

Do you want to know more about our faith, this congregation and how to become a member of our church?

A Seekers and Joiners class will be held in the Parlor on Sunday, August 20 following the service.

Information packets are available at the exit doors or at the class.

Please register by calling the church office at 239.262.1311 or by e-mailing

Sandy Knight at sandyk@fpcnaples.org.

We welcome the FGCU Chamber Choir during our worship service at 9:30 a.m.