Worship Service time will go back to 10:30 AM
on Sunday, September 13, 2015 and move back
into the sanctuary.
SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS
10
Alexander Stoyer
12
Emma Meredy
13
Robert Bohm III
14
Chong Sung Lee
19
Lisa Harrison
20
Maia Fernandez
29
Andrew Boysen
SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARIES
15
Terry & Andy Prekopa
16
Pastor Wanda & David Hughes
18
Sandy & David Ploth
LECTIONARY FOR SEPTEMBER
15th Sunday after Pentecost
Prov. 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Ps. 125
James 2: 1-10 (11-13) 14-17; Mark 7: 24-37
16th Sunday after Pentecost
Prov. 1: 20-33; Ps. 19; James 3: 1-12
Mark 8: 27-38
17th Sunday after Pentecost
Prov. 31: 10-31; Ps. 1; James 3: 13-4:3, 7-8a
Mark 9: 30-37
18th Sunday after Pentecost
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22; Ps. 124
James 5;13-20; Mark 9:38-50
SEPTEMBER DATES TO REMEMBER
7
Labor Day
13
Worship Service returns to 10:30 AM in
the Sanctuary.
20
Communion Worship Service
27
Rally Day Celebration
Bring your friends, neighbors and family
members to church on Sunday, September at
10:30 AM for the Kick – Off Rally Day. The
Worship Service will be in the Sanctuary. We
will have a presentation from summer mission
trips to the Heifer Overlook Farm. Followed by
festivities on the front lawn.
MUSIC MINISTRY
Hope everyone has had a good summer, with time
for R & R! Now it will soon be time to start our
new Fall season. Our Singing choir (ages high
school and up) will sing in church starting
Sunday, September 13th, with practice at 9:15 AM.
Handbell choir (intergenerational) will ring in
church Sunday, September 27th, with practice
Saturday, Sept. 26th at 10 AM.
This should be a very exciting Fall, with our
celebration of our church’s 85th anniversary. The
special festive church Service will be Sunday,
November 1st, with all choirs participating.
If you like to sing, please consider giving choir a
try. We work hard, but have fun too, always
striving to sing our best to our Lord!
The sounds of handbells is glorious in worship! If
you are interested in participating in our
intergenerational handbell choir, please speak to
Carol Dort. We would like to have additional
member in all our choirs!
Thanks,
Carol
The Coach
RALLY DAY CELEBRATION
‘A KID CAN CHANGE THE WORLD’
Sunday, September 27th
10:30 A.M. Worship – Heifer Mission Trip
Report.
11:45 A.M. – Hot dogs, Ice Cream Sundaes,
Petting Zoo & Games.
W.E.P.C. FALL POTLUCK PICNIC
The West End Collaborative of congregations in
the Presbytery of Long Island is hosting an
afternoon picnic. Fellowship with friends and
family, meet neighboring Presbyterians, play on
the park-like grounds of Sweet Hollow, and
celebrate the gifts God gives us with an outdoor
evening prayer service.
Dinner will be a potluck picnic at 4pm. Please
bring picnic blankets, chairs, and a dish
corresponding to the first letter of your last name:
A-E bring salads, F-M bring sides, N-S bring
vegetables, T-Z bring deserts. Vespers will be held
at 6 pm. Contact the church office with questions
about the event.
ATTENTION: SAVE THE DATE
The Presbyterian women, with help from our
congregation, would like to have a spring flingwhite elephant sale the 23rd or 30th of April 2016.
We would like to sell table space to our members.
The price for a large tale would be $35.00 and a
small table (bridge size) would be $25.00. Any
member of the congregation would be welcome
to sell anything that they would like to clear out
of their house or garage. Each person would be
responsible for their own set up and clean up. If
you have things that you would like to dispose of,
but not purchase a table, then you can donate the
items to our jewelry table, holiday table or our
trash to treasure room. We also need people to
donate raffle baskets. To make this a success, we
need your help. If you have any questions please
speak to Marilyn Bohm, Terry Prekopa, Barbara
McVeigh, Lois DeGroff, Alice Hild or call the
church office.
10th ANNIVERSARY OF HURRICANE KATRINA
Youth Mission Trip Report
August 29th will be the anniversary of Hurricane
Katrina, which caused destruction throughout
much of New Orleans, LA. Thousands of people
are still displace as a result of this tragedy. In July
our congregation, along with our sister WEPC
churches sent a team of 20 young people to work
with Project Homecoming, a PC USA ministry.
Each day, our team members worked very hard
on a number of different projects. One of the
highlights of the trip was the Thursday evening
dinner where we had the opportunity to meet
some of the families whose homes were being
refurbished. They shared their incredible stories
of devastation and loss with us. They described
what it was like to be displaced from their homes
and community for such a long time. They
thanked us for our hard work and let us know
that our efforts brought hope to their lives. Please
take time this week to pray for these families and
all of those who are still striving to recover from
Katrina. Our young people will be sharing a
report about this mission trip during worship this
fall. They will share some thoughts and insights as
well as pictures of the endeavor.
Thank you for your continued support of our
youth mission trips. Your prayers and
contributions have transformed the lives of our
young people and the lives of those whom they
have served
YOUTH MISSION TRIP REPORT
Heifer International – Overlook Farm
This year our congregation as well as our sister
WEPC churches sent 24 middle school students to
the Heifer International Overlook Farm in
Rutland, Massachusetts. It was an amazing time of
education and discovery as these young people
worked on the farm and learned about the Global
issues of hunger, poverty and injustice. They did
chores in the morning and evening, helped to
guide the sheep and goats from the barn to the
pastures, harvested garlic, milked goats and
slopped pigs. They also experienced what it would
be like to live in a third world country by
spending 24 hours in the Global Village. They
built fires and cooked their meals over the open
flames. They learned about the challenges that
families living in difficult conditions fare every
day. They learned how to work together and
depend upon one another. They learned that
everything has a purpose and in that setting, very
little is wasted. They also learned that when you
are hungry, even cabbage soup hits the spot.
Our young people will be sharing their thoughts
and insights and pictures during worship on
September 27th as a part of the Rally Day
celebration. We wish to thank everyone for your
continued support of our youth mission trips. We
also want to extend a special thank you to the
Thursday Ladies who graciously put together the
prayer journal that were used during the week.
DIALOGUES FOR RACIAL JUSTICE & SOCIAL
CHANGE:
AN
INTERFAITH
YOUTH
LEADERSHIP RETREAT
Long Island is one of the top ten most segregated
regions in the United States. This manifests in
many different ways- in the neighborhoods
where we live, in our faith in communities, and
in our school districts. This segregation and its
accompanying inequities persist despite the fact
that Long Island has become significantly more
diverse in the last decade.
Over the past year, our nation has been forced to
confront the reality that the color of a person’s
skin continues to have a significant impact on
one’s life experiences. Leaders from many
different worshipping traditions believe that all
our religions have something in common and
urgently important to say about the pursuit of
racial justice and equality.
Dialogues for Racial Justice & Social change: An
Interfaith Youth Leadership Retreat will offer a
safe and honest format for a select group of 60-80
high school students from diverse backgrounds,
faith traditions, and experiences to listen to and
share their stories with one another; to engage
the particular context of Long Island; and to think
how they can be empowered to imagine and build
a Long Island that matches their dreams for the
future. We are fortunate to be partnering with
ERASE Racism, which has for many years led
workshops and training for young people in
schools and communities across Long Island. We
plan to follow this retreat with opportunities for
the participants to reunite for service activities, as
well as provide leadership in their local
communities.
Dario Hernandez-Arroyo will represent our
congregation at this leadership event. The goal of
the retreat is simple: to equip young people of
faith as leaders in building a more inclusive,
diverse, and equitable future for Long Island.
Please pray for all of the participants of this
important event.
SELMA, DINNER & DISCUSSION
The Garden City Clergy Fellowship invites
everyone to participate in a very special viewing
of the movie SELMA, followed by dinner and a
time of discussion.
When: Sunday, October 18 at 4:00pm
Where: The Garden City Community
Church
Why: To have the opportunity to discuss
issues of race and justice then and now.
85TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Remembering the Past, Re-invigorating the
Present, Re-imaging the Future
Our Vision Statement Proclaims: “Believing that
through Christ all things are possible, we seek to
achieve God’s eternal plan with worship in our
church and witnessing in our world, with
heartfelt prayer and hands on service, with
spiritual growth and joyful fellowship.”
This statement was invented during our 75th
Anniversary and will continue to serve as a road
map for our future. Instead of looking back, as we
did 10 years ago. We will be looking ahead. We
will do in Spirit what our forefathers did in brick
and mortar.
June 23, 1930 – Congregation incorporated with
91 charter members
June 28, 2015 – We aren’t incorporating a
religious organization – we are reincorporating
ourselves into the corporate body (Corpus) of
Christ.
July 6, 1930 – Grounds for building consecrated
and broken
July 5, 2015 – We are not consecrating the
grounds; we are consecrating ourselves to Christ’s
purpose.
September 21, 1930 – Sanctuary Cornerstone laid
September 30, 2015 – We are not laying a
cornerstone, we are acknowledging Christ as the
cornerstone (Eph.2:20)
December 14, 1930 – Sanctuary dedicated
December 13, 2015 – We are not dedicating a
sanctuary, we are rededicating ourselves.
In conjunction with the dates above, we will be
celebrating the 85th anniversary. On June 28th we
announced a Capital Campaign with the theme:
Remembering the Past, Re-invigorating the
Present, Re-imaging the Future.
We will have a very special worship celebration
on Nov. 1, 2015.
SAVE THE DATE
Presbyterian Women of Long Island Retreat
October 6-7, 2015
Plan ahead to set aside time for reflection and
renewal in the beautiful setting at Cormaria
Retreat House in Sag Harbor, NY. The retreat
begins 1pm on Tuesday and ends after lunch on
Wednesday. More details to follow but in the
meantime, put the date on your calendar. It’s
worth taking time off from work!!
CROP WALK
Ending Hunger One Step at a Time
Unemployment and hunger continue to plague
our island and our nation. Skyrocketing food
prices, over use of land and conflicts are causing
famines in many places in the world. Nearly
300,000 people right here on Long Island has to
turn to soup kitchens and food pantries to fee
their families. CROP (Communities Responding
to Overcome Poverty) is an alliance of Christians,
Jews, Muslims and other people of faith to fulfill
our belief that we are each other’s keeper. We
need your help to make a dent in hunger!
This year, our annual CROP walk is tentatively
scheduled for Sunday, October 18th, 2015.
Registration begins at noon. We will meet at the
park at 1:00 pm. More information will be given
when available. Proceeds will be split between
local food pantries and soup kitchens and the rest
going to wherever need is greatest. Please save
the date, so what you can to get your family,
friends and neighbors involved in this important
event.
2015 PEACEMAKING OFFERING/WORLD
COMMUNION
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4
CREATE A WORLD OF PEACE
“Peace be to the whole community, and love with
faith”- Ephesians 6: 23
On World Communion Sunday, Christians from
around the world gather in worship to partake of
the elements of bread and wine in remembrance
and celebration of the death and resurrection of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is also the
time to bear witness to the unity of Christians
everywhere as we seek to live out Christ’s
command to work for justice and peace in a world
that is deeply divided in conflict and war. Help
bring the peace of Christ to communities of
conflict. In too many places around the world,
peace is merely a hope. Conflicts between
nations, peoples, and ideas put peace at risk
everywhere. During the Season of Peace, we
recognize that too many people live in situations
that are both unsettled and unjust. Your gift to
the Peace & Global Witness Offering works to
address these deep-seated problems by supporting
efforts to inspire, equip, and connect
Presbyterians engaging in ministries of
reconciliation and peace around the world.
Through missions, work projects, and education,
we witness to the peace of Christ for our sisters
and brothers as they face some of the greatest
challenges of our time.
.
CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER 2015
STARTING SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2015
9:15 AM Choir Practice
10:30 AM Worship Service
11:30 AM Fellowship Hour
AUGUST 30
SEPTEMBER 6
SEPTEMBER 13
SEPTEMBER 21
SEPTEMBER 20
SEPTEMBER 27
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
IN GARDEN CITY
91 CHESTER AVENUE
GARDEN CITY, NY 11530
EVERY THURSDAY
10:00 AM Thursday Ladies
9:30 AM Worship Service
9:30 AM Worship Service
10:30 AM Worship Service – in Sanctuary
7:30 PM Session Meeting
10:30 AM Worship Service - Communion
10:30 AM Worship Service
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN GARDEN CITY
91 Chester Avenue, Garden City, N. Y. 11530-3928
Phone: 516-354-1848
E-mail: gardencitypc@aol.com
Fax : 516-354-1846
SEPTEMBER 2015
Rally Day Celebration
“A KID CAN CHANGE THE WORLD”
Dear Friends,
In July we sent our Middle School “Kids” to the Overlook Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts. The Overlook
Farm is a working farm and educational facility operated by Heifer International.
Heifer International’s mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth.
It all started with a cow. Moved by the plight of refugees of the Spanish Civil War as he ladled out meager rations of
powdered milk, Dan West, an Indiana farmer, realized that the people needed ‘not a cup, but a cow’: Cows could
produce nutritious milk so families would not have to depend on temporary aid. From that simple idea, Heifer
International was born.
Seventy years later, Heifer has expanded its mission and the variety of livestock provided – from goats, geese
and guinea pigs to bees, silkworms and water buffalo. By giving families a hand up, not a hand out, Heifer enables
them to turn hunger and poverty into hope and prosperity.
This fall we are participating in two exciting endeavors. The first is a partnership with the ‘Our Precious
Angels Nursery School to participate in Heifer Internationals Read to Feed Program. We will be helping to pass on an
important message to children: it is possible to end two of the world’s most awful tragedies – hunger and poverty,
while making the world a better place for all. Read to Feed encourages children to connect both learning and with
taking action to create a just world. It is a literacy program that the nursery school will use with their Pre-K students.
The second initiative is being sponsored by the Empowering Mission Team of the Presbytery of Long Island.
They are encouraging churches to work together to purchase a Heifer ‘Ark’. The cost of an ‘Ark’ is $5,000. It
includes: 2 water buffalos, two cows, tow sheep and two goats along with bees, chicks, rabbits and more. We have 57
churches in our Presbytery, so if we all work together, we should be able to accomplish this goal.
On September 27th we will hold our Rally Day Celebration. During our 10:30 AM worship service our Middle
School students will share a presentation about their summer mission trips to the Heifer Farm. Following the service,
everyone is invited to participate in some festivities on the front lawn. We will have hot dogs and ice-cream sundaes.
We will also have some games and a petting zoo. The Our Precious Angels students and families will be invited to
this fun filled event. The proceeds from these activities will be used toward purchasing an animal for the Presbytery
Ark. Please invite your friends and neighbors to this exciting event.
Blessings & Peace,
Pastor Wanda