Dream Acres
Official Newsletter of the First Presbyterian Church Omro July and August 2013
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1 Camping
2 Apple Fest
3 News & notes
4 Session
5 Peacmaking
6 Thank you
7 A faith that stands
8 July calendar
9 August calendar
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SESSION NEWS (June 17, 2013, meeting)
Ø The theme for VBS August 11-15 is “Power Lab.”
Ø Rally Day will be September 8.
Ø We recently received a donation of $300 from the Omro Thrift Store to be used for local youth programming. Session decided to use this gift to help revitalize the Wonderful Wednesday Youth Group program. We will be looking at scheduling, activities, marketing, and staffing (by parent volunteers and paid positions)
Ø Mission Committee is planning to host the 3rd Annual Back-to-Book luncheon for school district employees at the end of August.
Ø Administration Committee is working with Rev. Travis and Morgan to do some maintenance at the manse.
Ø There has been a pew from the old church (from way back … before the pews that were there when we left) at the manse for many years. If anyone would be interested in owning this piece of church history, please contact Rev. Shafer.
Ø The City recently performed a site inspection of the church’s internal water system, as is required of all properties serviced by the Omro Water Utility. The inspection revealed that our dishwasher does not contain a back flow device. Administration Committee is working to get this defect corrected.
Ø Due to the deteriorating condition of the banquet tables stored in the annex, we will dispose of the worst ones, and keep some for use at the church. Going forward, we will no longer lend tables. There might be one or two left to give away if anyone is interested, but we won’t know until they are all checked over. Please contact the office if you’d be interested.
Ø The proof of the church directory has been returned to the printer for publication. We’ll announce in church, on the website, and Facebook when the books arrive.
Ø The AppleFest Committee has, thus far, received $400 in donations for a cash raffle. Thank You! They had hoped to offer a $700 cash raffle, and were authorized to do so, using proceeds from the sale of tickets if necessary. If you would like to make a donation toward the raffle, you can place it in the offering plate with your regular offering or mail it to the office. Be sure to mark your envelope “Apple Fest Raffle”. Any amount will be appreciated. Advance tickets will be sold at $1 each or 6 for $5.
PER CAPITA FOR 2013 IS $31.00. CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK
and
www.omropres.com
If you would like to receive the newsletter electronically and are not currently doing so, please email a request to Sandy King () or to the church (). Note: It will arrive in your mailbox from the “Kings” … not from the church.
The deadline for submitting newsletter articles is the 20th of each month. Articles can be dropped off in the office or emailed to Sandy at the above address.
Attention: If your birthday or your anniversary is currently not being put on the church calendar, and you would like to be honored in this way, please email Sandy at
or drop off a note to the church office. I will see to it that your special day gets put on the calendar.
Joshua Wright
Peacemaking Scholarship
April 30, 2013
The second half of the Obligation, of the Boy Scout's national honor society, states, "I will always regard the ties of brotherhood in the Order of the Arrow as lasting, and willseek to preserve a cheerful spirit, even in the midst of irksome tasks and weighty responsibilities, and will endeavor, so far as in my power lies, to be unselfish in service and devotion to the welfare of others." To be a peacemaker is to remain cheerful no matter what and to do things for others. True peacemakers put others before themselves, going above and beyond what others expect. Although peacemaking is present everywhere, I find it most prevalent at scouting events and at church.
At both church and scouting events everyone is there to be happy, to enjoy the things they all love. In scouting the common ground is both nature and God, while in church it is fellowship and God. This common ground allows the peace to flow easily from one individual to another and for everyone to help others as needed. God is essential in peacemaking toward one another. He teaches us to love others as our self. To reach out and help another person can make all the difference. I have seen on a few occasions where one person doing a good turn (peacemaking) has caused a chain reaction of people helping out and doing a good turn as well.
I myself have personally spent a lot of time giving back to the scouting and church programs. Sure I had more exciting things I could be doing but I wouldn't be who I am today without scouts and church. To give back is to give others the same opportunity to learn and grow as you did, after all without all the volunteers giving back the programs could not sustain themselves. One person can only do so much peacemaking, however by giving back you yourself can help cultivate more peacemakers who in turn can then achieve even more.
In the realm of scouting I have spent many hours helping teach new scouts to build fires, set up camp, and how to act around others. I have also helped out with the local food pantry here in Omro through scouting. On campouts I make an effort to talk with all of the scouts and helping them with whatever personal problems they may be facing. I was fortunate to have individuals like this involved in scouting with me and thus I decided to pay it forward. Being both a good role model and a cheerful camper no matter have allowed me to be very successful in my peacemaking efforts.
At church I give back by helping out with Vacation Bible School as the game leader. While doing this I was able to teach children about God and loving one another in a different way, a friendlier way to enjoy learning. When I was in Vacation Bible School Adam Potratz was our game leader and I remember sharing lots of good times and learning about God from him. I am now very satisfied that I get to give back and be the person who allows the children to also learn more about God. In addition to helping with Vacation Bible School I also participated in a mission trip on which we helped serve food at a homeless shelter. This was an eye opening experience and I was glad I was able to help.
God loves us all as we should love one another. Helping and loving one another is by far the best peacemaking we can do. Keeping a smile on your face and helping another individual can make all of the difference to them. Sometimes helping others comes at a cost, but you have to put yourself in their shoes. Would you like help if you were in the same situation? Suck it up and put a smile on your face and help them out, after all we should live for others not ourselves. Doing actions like these, the recipient of your good efforts will be able to tell you are a Christian at heart.
The future holds endless possibilities, just as God presents us with endless opportunities to be his peacemakers. I plan to be a peacemaker in every aspect of my life, to always do my best, and to shape the next generation of peacemakers. In the area of family, I will focus on teaching my children good morals and ethics as my parents have taught me. I will also share my relationship with God with them, encouraging and teaching them the ways of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In my service toward others, I will remain cheerful and helpful. I will give back a great deal of time to both scouting and church, as these organizations have taught me the importance of hard work, leadership, and faith. While away at college I would like to travel abroad with the Engineers Without Boarders program. This group goes to a poverty stricken region in the world and provides them with basic life improvements; such as building a school or irrigating a field. Peacemaking does not stop there. Peacemaking is ever present in our society and there is always a need for more. I will continue to make peace as I continue along the journey of life, to preserve a cheerful spirit while doing it, and to persevere when faced with a challenge to help another.
Peacemaking at its core is ultimately putting others before yourself. Sometimes peacemaking becomes difficult. We become angry at one another, frustrated, and stressed. This is God's true test to his peacemakers. Who is truly a dedicated peacemaker? Can you give up your time, money, and efforts to help those who need it?
July 2013Sun / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat
1 / 2 / 3
No prayer shawl group
*Helen & David Morrison / 4
/ 5 / 6
7
Wors-9
*Colleen Baltes / 8
*Jean Koon / 9 / 10
*Bev Ginnow / 11
*Jill Stiller
*Larry Wright / 12 / 13
14
Wor-9 / 15 / 16
*Jacob Albright / 17
*Doris & Larry Wright-31 yrs / 18
Apple Fest-6 / 19
*Justin Jackson / 20
21
Wor-9 / 22
*Georgia Jackson / 23
*Hannah Albright / 24 / 25 / 26
*Max Potratz / 27
28
Wor-9
EAA speaker in worship
VBS & Rally day meeting / 29
*Lisa Baltes / 30
*Marv Matulle / 31
*Peggy Allen
August 2013
Sun / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat
1 / 2
*Josh & Ashley Koon-5 yrs / 3
4
Wor-9 / 5
No Deacon meeting / 6 / 7
Prayer shawl-10 / 8
*Jody Buttke
*Larry & Stacy Wright-21 yrs / 9
*Tim & Georgia Jackson-33 yrs / 10
*Sue Koon
*Mike & Donna Domke-11 yrs
11
Wor-9
VBS
*Brian Butkiewicz / 12
Home comm
VBS / 13
VBS / 14
VBS
Admin-6 / 15
VBS / 16
*Jane Wilson
*Jon & Terri Groth / 17
18
VBS Sunday
Wor-9
Celebration, Nurture, Mission-10:15
*Mike Zimmer / 19
Session-6
*Bob & Sue Walther-46 yrs / 20 / 21
*Isaac Koon / 22 / 23 / 24
25
Wor-9 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29
*Nancy Jackson / 30 / 31
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