News and notes first Presbyterian Church February, 2017 701 Chicago Avenue, Plattsmouth, Nebraska

NEWS AND NOTES First Presbyterian Church February, 2017 701 Chicago Avenue, Plattsmouth, Nebraska 9:30am Service "We exist to love and serve God and to help all people know and experience the love of Jesus Christ."

Are We a Curious Church?
For my last newsletter as Interim/Transitional Pastor, I want to share thoughts with you from a fascinating article I read by Cythina Woolever in The Parish Paper titled “Could Lack of Curiosity Kill the Church?”

First, What is Curiosity? The author quotes Ian Leslie’s description of what he calls disciplined curiosity seen in creative adults as “a deeper…more mature curiosity…curious adults possess a strong desire for knowledge and understanding, which motivates them to learn new ideas. They relish problem solving…[they] exhibit great interest in the thoughts and feelings of other people.”

Second, What Are the Traits of a Curious Congregation? I continue to quote from Cynthia Woolever: “A curious congregation is never satisfied with the status quo. While some churches get stuck in their misconceptions, curious churches focus on what is unfolding before them. They are the first to recognize that God is at work and see their holy ministry partnership in the church and community.”

“Curious leaders are less concerned about rules and appearances than with what works.” As you look at what works in the days ahead, will interest grow in creating a contemporary worship service during the week? How will you reach an audience that wants to fit worship into their busy lives; that desires a praise music experience like that from their favorite radio contemporary music channel?

“Truly curious churches experience frustration at their information gaps and that fuels their desire to learn more. A real curiosity requires considerable effort and time.” I’m happy to see the effort’s been made to get on board with Infoodle, our much needed information network.

“Curious congregations demonstrate empathic curiosity. They respect feelings and place a high value on being a caring community…empathically curious churches project positive impressions to the community.” The welcome extended to newcomers; the outreach to the middle school and to the community through the mission dinners this past summer are signs of something that you do so well here.

“Curious congregations develop skills in turning puzzles into mysteries. The curious church realizes that there are many things we cannot know. They work…to make continuous, and constantly changing, improvements instead of singular improvements for the short term.”

“Finally, curious congregations are willing to make choices. Fear and anxiety kill curiosity and keep churches locked in place. Curiosity [about how can we fix this] can be more powerful than courage in the face of obstacles. Organizations that are fascinated by what they don’t yet know are the least likely to be caught off guard by change.”

Finally, here are Some Curious Questions a curious congregation can ask. How will you respond?

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  What congregational activities and programs are going well? Why is that the case? What activities and programs do we wish were more effective? Why are they less effective?
  
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  Thinking about your current and previous pastors, what leadership approach seemed to fit your church best? Why do you think that approach was most effective at that time?
  
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  What are the congregation’s core values that help explain members’ motivations and behaviors? What process is the church using to examine and transform desired values into core values?
  

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  Is our congregation a neighborhood church where most worshippers live nearby or does it draw from a wider area? How does our location determine our mission? Do we believe we are called to a particular mission because of our location? How could our CE building expand our mission?
  
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  If our church leaders could travel back in time to twenty years ago, what message would they deliver to those in our congregation? Would those earlier members listen and act on that message? Why not?
  
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  Will the passage of time expand or contract our church’s attractive options? Why?
  

I close this newsletter article sharing with you how happy I was to be able to return a second time to serve as your pastor. I wish there had been the opportunity to have a chance to do some of the kind of strategic thinking and planning with you that is reflected in the above article.

The level of maturity here makes this a dream position for any pastor. As with each church I have served, I will continue to keep you in prayer. “Goodbye” in the old English means, God Be With You.

God be with you, Pastor Portia

MESSAGE FROM PASTOR MATT COPLEN

Hi Everybody,

Kari and I are really looking forward to arriving soon and beginning our ministry there in Plattsmouth. We are overjoyed to be able to spend the season of Lent with you and then move into the Easter Season together. It seems like a great time to begin ministry in a new place.
Some of you might be wondering about Kari and I, who we are, what we like, what are we passionate about? I can tell you that both of us are big TV fans: Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and NCIS being our favorite shows, although we argue about which order to put them in. We enjoy walking in the mornings, eating lunch on the couch while watching football, and family is very important to both of us. Kari enjoys cooking and baking, while Matt enjoys throwing a hamburger or a steak or even a pizza on the grill. We both love to read (mostly fiction, although Matt tries to read some non-fiction, especially if he is having trouble sleeping or when he wants to look smart). We like to travel, we like to road trip and we really look forward to our next trip to Kauffman Stadium.
As I prepare to begin my call as your pastor on February 15, I’ve been thinking about things we can all do that will make it a time of growth and change and discipleship:

1. 
   pray for each other; lift each other up to God daily as we pray for all that lies ahead of us
   

2) commit to worship ~ we live in a busy world, but making sure we worship together is one way we make sure our priorities as a congregation and as families are in the right place

3) commit to the season of Lent ~ from the very beginnings of God’s church, Lent has been a time of preparation ~ preparing oneself to make a public profession of Christian faith, preparing to dig deeper into one’s relationship with God, preparing to learn from Jesus how to live in this world
4) to commit ourselves to never say any of the following

“We’ve never done it that way before”

“That’ll never work”

“We already tried that”

5) and to be ready to say instead:

“Hmm, that sounds like it might be fun”

“Hey, that sounds like it might work”

“Awesome! let’s try it.”

Kari and I look forward to seeing all of you soon. And since none of the teams we root for are in the Super Bowl, I won’t bother saying “Go Patriots” or “Go Falcons” but instead, “When does the baseball season start?”

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JANUARY ATTENDANCE COFFEE HOSTS AND HOSTESSES

January 1 101 PNC

January 8 84 Della and Tom Sullivan

January 15 71 Margaret Rossow and Marlene Wood

January 22 71 Darlene and Elbie Lamb

January 29 NA Fellowship, Thank you to Pastor Portia Iverson

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FEBRUARY LAY READERS

February 5 Ed Vandenberg Guest Minister – Reverend Dan Graham

February 12 Ed Vandenberg Guest Minister – Reverend Dick Meyer

February 19 Marlene Wehrbein

February 26 Cynthia Bronson

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FEBRUARY USHERS/GREETERS

February 5 Janet McCartney, Carson, Lisa and Rich Propst

February 12 Janet McCartney, Carson, Lisa and Rich Propst

February 19 Loretta and Dale Draper,

February 26 Loretta and Dale Draper, Bonnie and Bill Sullivan

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FEBRUARY 5, COMMUNION SERVERS

Cheryl and Larry Henry, Paul Lambert, Meridee Lucas

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PRAYER CHAIN, FEBRUARY 7, 10:30AM
Please contact Karen Berkland at 402-990-8063 to be a link in the prayer chain. A Prayer Request Box and prayer request cards are at the south entrance of the sanctuary. These requests remain confidential with the prayer chain group.

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VALENTINE DINNER AND REORGANIZATION OF DINNER FOR EIGHT

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 5:30PM
Sign up for the dinner, $10 per person. You do not have to participate in Dinner for Eight to come to this dinner. We will form new groups for Dinner for Eight that night. Sign-up sheets for both events will be in the Fellowship Hall or you may call the office, 402-296-3324. Deadline to sign-up is February 15.
If you have never participated in Dinner for Eight before, we encourage couples, singles and widowers to do so. You will make new friends and have fun.

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19, FOLLOWING WORSHIP
A WELCOMING POTLUCK LUNCH FOR PASTOR MATT
Fellowship will provide the drinks and tableware.

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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL 8:30-9:15AM
CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL 9:45 – 10:30AM
YOUTH GROUP, FEBRUARY 12 AND 19, 5:30-7PM

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PLATTSMOUTH MIDDLE SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
We continue to provide support and prayers for our Middle School teachers and staff. If you would like to help by baking cookies/desserts, making snacks, writing notes of encouragement, etc., please contact Linda Glup or JoAnn Murtha. It is such a rewarding adventure that takes very little time.

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FEBRUARY, 2017
BIRTHDAYS ANNIVERSARIES

2/9— Mary Hurd 2/3/1963— Weldon & Sherry Condit 2/9— Angie Owen 2/14/1954—Jack & Joanne Glaze 2/16—John Hudson 2/25/1982—Marv & Marion Dorsey

2/17—Pat Herweg

2/20—Eric Owen

2/25—Lucas Kirk

2/14—Kari Wehrbein

2/15—Abby Wehrbein

2/27—Margaret Rhylander

Church Office Phone: [phone]
Reverend Matt Coplen’s email: [e-mail]
Office E-mail: [e-mail]

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

701 CHICAGO AVENUE

PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA 68048