MAY FIRST
PRESS
Spring is filled with days to celebrate. Many families will be
attending recitals, graduations, award ceremonies and weddings.
These are great milestones in life. In contrast, Mother's Day
and Father's Day transcend any specific event, but instead celebrate
life accomplishment. They are set aside to express our gratitude
and admiration for the full spectrum of parenting, which is made
up of thousands of little acts of love and devotion. Consider
your parents for a moment. What do you recall? While a few of
us may have a compelling memory of a specific incident, most of
us will simply think of the overall atmosphere our parents created
in our homes. Some might simply say, "They were always there
for me."
The Bible reminds us to honor our parents. Mother's and Father's
Days give us occasions to focus on doing that. I would encourage
you to spend a few minutes planning in advance how you can express
honor in a fresh way this year. Beyond the flowers, cards, and
special meals, could you find some unique way to show that you
remember and appreciate everything they have done to help you
grow strong and mature? It could be as simple as a note that tells
them in a specific way how their love touched your life.
Yet the Biblical call to honor goes beyond the annual holiday.
Whether our parents are still with us or have passed away, we
can live our lives in a manner that brings honor to them. Reflect
on the positive values that were important to your parents. For
example, was education important in your family? Perhaps you can
do something to honor that value, such as donating to a scholarship
fund in their names, tutoring a student, or even taking a class
to further your own education. With a little thought we can come
up with something special that will honor our parents.
I know that some reading this will have a difficult time with
these thoughts. Unfortunately parents are imperfect people, and
painful memories may be part of their legacy. Some may have abused
or run away from their duty to love and nurture their children.
It might be hard to think of any positive contribution your parents
made to your life. In such a case it is still possible to honor
your parents by doing two things: First, you may acknowledge their
failures and forgive them. This is really a gift that gives in
both directions. It frees both the forgiven and the forgiver to
move forward in their lives. Secondly, you may honor your parents
by breaking the negative cycle that they handed down to you. If
they were unloving, you can draw on God's love to learn how to
love the people around you. If they were abusive, you can reject
those actions and attitudes and work to develop a respect for
all people. If they were absent, you can make the effort to be
available to the people who need you. In so doing you will be
honoring your parents in the deepest sense, because you will be
honoring the parents they could have been.
Yours in Christ, Roy Langwig
May Happenings
Sunday Worship
Traditional,
10:00 a.m.
Contemporary
11:30 a.m.
May 4 - Communion at both services
Spring Garden Tea Party
Saturday, May 3,
1:00 p.m.
Mission Presentation and Luncheon
Sunday, May 4,
11:00 a.m.
Presbyterian Women Bible Study/luncheon
Friday, May 16
11:00 a.m.
Senior Spring Luncheon
At Village of Oakland Woods
Tuesday, May 20,
11:30 a.m.
Memorial Day Parade
Monday, May 26,
"His Word, Her Hands"
Bible study for women, Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m.
American Red Cross Blood Drive
We are excited to announce that we will host another blood drive
on Thursday, June 12th from 2pm to 8pm. We hope to make this one
even more successful than the last and, of course, we need your
help to do that!
Ways You Can Help: 1. Sign up for an appointment to donate.
2. Convince just one friend to donate.
3. Volunteer to help on the day of the drive.
Contact Diane Wallis at (248) 623-6758 or dianewallis@juno.com
for details.
Christian Education News
Our Youth Choir will have one more chance to sing for the congregation
before the end of the church school year. They have a special
treat planned for us on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, that you
will want to hear.
We have a couple of days coming up next month that you may want
to put on your calendar right now. Sunday, June 1 is graduate
recognition day. If you have a son or daughter graduating from
high school, college or another specialty school please let the
church office know no later than Sunday, May 25. The following
Sunday, June 8, will be Teacher Appreciation Day. Please be sure
to say a special thank you to all of our teachers who devote so
much of their time through the year to teaching our young people.
If you have a student who would like to participate in resident
camp this summer, check out the flyers on the table outside of
the CE office. Partial scholarships are available for children
of members. See me for details.
We will begin our VeggieTales "Pirates Who Don't Do Anything"
summer program near the end of June. Your little pirates won't
want to miss a week of the fun!
Peace & Joy,
Julie Smith
Mission Presentation
Join Tom Duffield, Bob and Velma Oliver, Ben Pawley, Caitlin and
Julie Smith and Diane and Tim Wallis on Sunday, May 4 for a presentation
of their recent mission trip to Houma, LA. Enjoy a bayou style
lunch prepared by the group while viewing a slideshow of their
work and hearing a few stories. Ben and Julie will also discuss
their Mexico mission trip.
We're Going to be in a Parade!
On Monday, May 26, we all have an opportunity to represent our
church in the Waterford Memorial Day Parade. This is a great chance
to get out and share God's love with the community as well as
spend some time with fellow members. Everyone is invited to participate.
You can either walk or ride with us along the parade route. Please
call the church office if you are interested. 248-335-6866. Watch
the bulletin for more information about the meeting place and
time.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat is an organization that brings volunteers together to
build simple, decent, affordable houses with families in need.
In recent years the Deacons have been coordinating our involvement
in Habitat's annual blitz build in Pontiac. This year it will
be June 13-28. Other FPC volunteers will be working Wednesday,
June 18 and Saturdays, June 21 and 28. Please contact Bill Henry,
248-739-1097, for more information or to sign up.
A Few Good People Needed
FPC will again this year host a team of 12 Divine Design women
from Calvary Baptist in Canton and First Presbyterian Plymouth
in an "Extreme Makeover" venture in one of the homes
on Seneca Street owned by Grace Centers of Hope. Last year we
opened our doors and kitchen to the group to prepare and serve
lunch for the women, prepare special snacks throughout the day
and just have a cool air-conditioned location for the women to
relax. For four days, Monday, June 23 - Thursday, June 26, we
would like to ask for volunteers who will come along side to help
prepare meals and snacks for these women who will be working in
our community. The hours would be approximately 10:00 AM - 1:30
PM. To obtain more information about what the group will be doing
please go to http://www.divinedesignbirdhouse.blogspot.com/ If
interested in helping, please contact Julie Smith.
Spring Garden Tea Party
Saturday, May 3, 1:00 p.m., you can enjoy a Ladies' Tea that will
feature a light lunch, uplifting program, and lots of great fun
and fellowship. You can come as an individual, invite a few friends,
or even host a table. Sign the pink form in the bulletin, contact
Marybeth Todd, 248-623-1891, or call the church office to make
your reservations.
Senior Spring Luncheon
Our spring luncheon will be Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 11:30 am
at The Village of Oakland Woods in Pontiac. You will see and hear
all about this local campus of The Presbyterian Villages of Michigan
as well as meet and greet friends. Please RSVP by May 14 to the
church office 248-335-6866 or Velma Oliver at 248-693-4603 or
Nancy Euler at 248-855-8423. If you need transportation, please
call one of the above numbers.
Seeing God's Love in Action
We have noticed God's love flowing in the following ways recently:
Enthusiastic children, led by Gloria Lacy, enriched us with their
musical gifts on April 6. Parents and the congregation at large
were just as enthusiastic in their enjoyment of their music. They
will be back on Mother's Day.
The Presbyterian Women held a great baby shower in April to provide
clothing and supplies to new parents who cannot afford them. In
the process they provided good food and fellowship after worship.
Opportunities to Put God's Love into Action
One pint of your blood has the potential to save three lives.
Could you spare a pint? Then sign up for our Blood Drive on June
12, 2-8 p.m. Contact Diane Wallis or the church office.
If you would like to touch people with God's love by inviting
them to visit our church, you may volunteer to join our neighborhood
canvassing team on Saturdays. The next days will be May 10 and
17. We meet at the church at 9:30 and visit in the community from
10 - 12, passing out gift bags. We go out together in safe neighborhoods.
If you can hold the gift bag you can participate. Contact Dan
Cassidy, 248-310-7605, or Roy Langwig, 248-335-6866, to let them
know you will be coming.
If you have a heart for people who need good housing, you will
want to volunteer for the annual Habitat for Humanity blitz build
in Pontiac that will take place June 13-28. See the information
on page 2 for more details. If you cannot participate then, the
Presbytery of Detroit is sponsoring half a home in the Detroit
blitz build July 12-18. Contact Mary Lloyd, 313-247-0792 for more
information or to volunteer.
The eighth annual Pontiac Point of Hope Celebration is scheduled
for June 7, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Wisner Stadium. This is a community
event bringing together churches, businesses, and non-profit agencies
to help some of the most vulnerable residents of Pontiac. It will
include entertainment, health screenings, a job fair, and more.
If you would like to volunteer to help at this event please contact
Roy Langwig, 248-335-6866, for more information.
May Music
4 "Thy Will Be Done"
By J. Eilers
11 Heritage Ringers, "My Lord, What a Morning"
Arr: V. Smith
"Hymn of Promise"
Arr: N. Sleeth
19 "Softly and Tenderly"
Arr: G. Martin
25 "America the Beautiful" Arr: C. Berry
The last Bell Choir practice of the season is May 8.
The last Chancel Choir practice of the season is May 22.
Bible Reading for May
How is your Bible reading going? If you are on schedule to finish
the Bible in one year, then you will want to read the following
books in May: 1 Samuel 16-31, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, Psalms 101-125,
and Luke. If you didn't start in January but are interested in
starting now, Roy Langwig has the full year reading list. You
can start in May and finish in April of 2009
May Contemporary Speakers
4 Jan Langwig
11 Roy Langwig
18 Jan Langwig
25 Tom Duffield
Email
Our previous email address(1stprespont@sbcglobal.net) is longer
valid. Please use the following addresses to contact church staff:
General Messages:
church@firstpresbyterianpontiac.org
Roy Langwig: rlangwig@gmail.com or
roy@firstpresbyterianpontiac.org
Jan Langwig: jan@firstpresbyterianpontiac.org
Julie Smith: julie@firstpresbyterianpontiac.org
Carolyn Thibideau:
carolyn@firstpresbyterianpontiac.org
Steve Keith: steve@firstpresbyterianpontiac.org
Our Vision
We are a regional congregation dedicated to developing followers
of Jesus Christ who experience the joy of God's love moving through
their lives every day.
