Updates


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News/Updates:

Calendar:

The Pastor Nominating Committee is comprised of the following: Lynn Farmer, Heather Nash,, Melanie Garrett, Chip Green and Cade Woods. This committee is making contacts and having interviews in their search for a permanent pastor. A Church Information Form (CIF) has been posted on line, and a website has been developed for pastor candidates to access to get information about our church and area.

Apr. 7 (Sunday) – Meeting of Strategy Team, Writing Team, and Reflection Bible Study leaders – 5:00 – 6:15 at Fairview Street Baptist Fellowship Hall

News from ECO: On July 1 the ECO will functionally form a northern regional presbytery which will include OH, MI, PA, NJ, DE and others coming in north of this region. A central regional presbytery will be formed which will include VA, NC, SC, AL, GA and others coming in west of these states to the Mississippi. A Florida presbytery will be formed which has 10 churches already in its bounds.

Apr, 21 (Sunday) – Session stated meeting – 5:00 May 3 & 4 (Friday and Saturday) – Church Leadership Retreat at Timberock Farm – planned by Strategy Team - Friday – 5:45 – 9:00, Saturday 8:30 – 4:00. PFFI’s vision statement, mission statement, 3-year plan and strategies will be finalized. May 19 - 10:00 (Sunday) - Congregational Care Visitation Team training with Dr. Boone – Fairview Street Baptist Fellowship Hall

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Prayer List Bea and Myot Akins and their family Doris and Ed Burns’ son-in-law, Wes Harrison Burt Baynes Baynes family James Cannon, father of Carol Hopkins January and Rob Croke family and January’s father Wayne Davis Payton Dowling Mandy Mays and the Mays family Sandra Stribling Thomas and grandson Daniel

Buzzy Smith Henry Soto Robert Tinsley Dave and Lisa Weinel Ruling Elders Pastor Nominating Committee Discernment for formation of PFFI Presbyterian Church in Erbil, Iraq

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES

YOUTH ACTIVITIES

Sharon Vaughn will teach the preschoolers in April. January Croke will teach the 1st – 5th grades. (On communion Sundays the 1st – 5th graders will stay in the worship service to partake in communion.)

Bible Study and donuts – 11:00 on Sundays.

Mission Opportunity. Please join other church members on Saturday 4/20 from 11:30 – 1:30 (or another time slot) at First Presbyterian to pack meals for Grains of Grace. Children must be at least 5 years old to participate. VBS dates: June 10 – 13 First Pres.ages 4 – 3rd grade—traditional VBS. 4th – 12th grade-- missions-oriented VBS. July 8 – 11 PFFI and Capstone will offer VBS to local children.

Monthly suppers on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 – 7:30 (instead of monthly brunch) with a Bible Study. Beginning date to be announced. May 17—19 – Youth retreat at the Garrett beach house on the Isle of Palms. Graydon Tomlinson will lead the retreat. June 30 – July 5 –Mission trip to Hilton Head. Attendees will stay in a partner church. June 7 – 10 – Retreat in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area – joining Capstone Church and Pleasant Grove Baptist.

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Robert Tinsley’s granddaughter, Natalie Tinsley, has been accepted to MUSC to pursue a career in medicine. She is currently attending Presbyterian College.

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? The year's at the spring And day's at the morn; Morning's at seven; The hillside's dew-pearled; The lark's on the wing; The snail's on the thorn; God's in His heaven All's right with the world, ~Robert Browning

Pilgrims, silly!

SUNDAY SCHOOL/BIBLE STUDY

Sunday School/Bible Study:  

Sunday School class meeting on Sunday mornings at 10:00 at Doris & Ed Burns home. GALS (Growing and Loving Servants) studying “Discerning the Voice of God” by Priscilla Shirer. --Melanie Garrett/Betty Fleming, group leaders --Nan Howard, group 2 leader – Tuesday, April 2 – Ann Case’s home --Heather Nash, group leader 3 Combined meeting – 2nd Thursday of the month

SMALL GROUPS KICK-OFF PRESBYTERIAN FELLOWSHIP OF FOUNTAIN INN PFFI is Spring-ing into Small Groups and we are hosting a lunch after the worship service on April 7 to encourage all of our Covenant Partners and regular visitors to join a Small Group. What is a Small Group? PFFI is taking a Holistic approach to Small Groups, with the main purpose being to build our relationship with God. With this in mind, each Small Group will be involved in regular Bible Study, prayer, fellowship, support, local/international mission endeavors, etc. Small Groups are one means by which the Holy Spirit can improve our relationship with God as well as our relationships with each other and the community. They can also serve to help us grow the church by inviting other people to participate in our small groups. How Are Small Groups Different from Sunday School? The holistic approach is a bit different, although the main elements of Sunday School are also included. Each Group is free to determine the time and place they want to meet, whether that is Sunday morning or some other time. How and When Will We Get Started? Each Group is encouraged to begin meeting as soon as possible after the April 7 luncheon. All groups will start out with the Experiencing God curriculum. This 13 week series is designed to help us develop our relationship with God and walk with Him more closely. It aligns very well with the Core Values that our church adopted last fall. Each lesson takes about an hour and will help us study the Bible and learn how to apply God’s Word to every aspect of our lives.

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Most Bible studies help people. This one changes them forever.

Most Bible stud This one changes them fo

Most Bible studies help people. This one changes them forever. Actually, God changes people. But for more than 16 years, He’s used Experiencing God to help. This study shows believers how to know God intimately and encourages them to step out in faith and join him in his work—with miraculous results. The revised study contains many examples from Angola prison inmates earning seminary degrees to the spiritual and economic rebirth of a poor Appalachian community. The testimonies are truly amazing, but God has more work to do. Will you join him?

To learn more about how this Bible study can transform your faith and for details on signing up, please join us for our launch event following worship on April 7. Lunch and childcare are provided.

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MISSION OPPORTUNITIES Grains of Grace Grains of Grace is a joint effort between First Presbyterian Greenville and Feed My Starving Children to pack 250,000 meals on April 19 & 20 for developing countries. The challenge is to register 1200 packing volunteers and raise $55,000 to cover the cost of the meals. PFFI has chosen 4/20 from 11:30 – 1:30 for a church-wide group to serve. Other time slots may be chosen. Contact Bob Bunnell or register on-line at http://www.firstpresgreenville.

Family Mission Trip to Dominican Republic – June 15 - 22 PFFI is partnering with First Presbyterian Greenville and Westminster Spartanburg to send volunteers to the DR to launch a long-term mission there. The projected cost is $1,200 but PFFI will cover one-half the cost for anyone who registers. Contact Bob Bunnell or register at http://restorationlaromana.org/trips Space is limited, so register ASAP and send in a $100 deposit. See youth activities section for youth mission trip and retreat.

Fountain Inn Kids Enrichment (FIKE) PFFI joins Capstone Church in an after-school program for 1st graders on Tuesday afternoons. Golden Strip Emergency Relief and Resource Agency Helpers are needed for sorting food and distributing food. The hours are Monday,Tuesday,Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 and Wednesday 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Contact Bob Bunnell.

TOM’S TIDBITS

This morning is Good Friday, and my devotional reading included a book by preaching scholar Dr. John Leith, who in his book, The Christian Hope, wrote, “The Christian hope must be affirmed over against the fact of death and in light of the promise of eternal life. Death is the moment in every human life when human limitations are made most clear and when the finiteness of every human achievement is laid bare.” While I was among Ugandan pastors and elders in February I emphasized this core cog of Christian faith in three statements from Philippians. First, "Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself" (3:20-21). Second, Paul writes, "For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with 6

Christ, for that is far better" (1:21-23). The third statement that gives expression to the Christian hope in this letter is Paul's conviction "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (2:12-11). In these statements Paul makes clear his conviction that at death we immediately depart to be with Christ, and yet there is something more: the coming of the Savior will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, and finally the time will come when every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Each generation of Christians has proclaimed this truth and hope, and we, in our generation, must do likewise. We cannot waver from this proclamation for it is the one thing the world needs from us. The church, when she forgets or is distracted from her true mission to convey the hope of salvation that comes only through Jesus Christ, ceases to be true to her divine purpose. The world, in its destructive dance with the devil, needs the church to bear witness that hope is in Jesus Christ alone. There is a credo superior to the values of individualism, relativism and entitlement, which sadly have become the clothing of many US churches. This credo is well put in the ancient Nicene Creed: "I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” A church whose vision and mission is guided by this hope is a church living into its purpose and true usefulness in this world. As I ponder the meaning of Resurrection Sunday for us, especially as we plant into our new church community the DNA that will drive it for years to come, I invite you to consider how this core cog to our affirmation of faith might guide us into being the church God needs in this time. Christ came not to be with those who perceived themselves as righteous, but those who knew they were broken. To be guided by this vision of hope will challenge us to be a different type of church community because we will not be content neither to serve ourselves nor adopt old metrics of success such as numerical growth and program participation. These build our kingdom, and, let’s be perfectly honest here, usually happen because we have drawn dissatisfied Christians from other churches. Instead I offer this question that may guide us: in what tangible ways have we given hope to the hopeless around us and in the world, who live without knowing the only hope that matters, Jesus Christ? Tom Boone

SESSION: Rev. Dr. Thomas J. Boone, Moderator

Transitional Pastor

Robert Bunnell, Elder – Class of 2014 Lynn Farmer, Elder – Class of 2015 Betty Fleming, Elder – Class of 2013 Blake Garrett, Jr., Elder, Class of 2013 Anna Hewett, Elder, Class of 2014 Dime Hollingsworth, Elder, Class of 2015

Missional Involvement Pastor Nominating Committee Congregational Care Administration Worship Christian Education

Linda Scott, Clerk of Session

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