June 2022 Newsletter

FIRST LOOK

June 2022

Ah, summer has finally arrived!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been more ready for this summer than I can recall, maybe
since last summer. In all seriousness, the summer season presents an opportunity for
spiritual refreshment. Here are 3 ways you can experience renewal in this season.

1 Worship – Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy.”
We are first and foremost a worshipping community. Worship should also be at
the forefront of our weekly discipleship. It’s how we cultivate everyday holiness.
Take time this summer to prioritize being with your church family for worship
or the livestream if you’re traveling. Throughout the summer there will be one
10:30 a.m. service with childcare and Sunday School offered. Would you plan to
join your church family for worship this summer?

Fellowship – One of our values as a church is Devoted Community. Acts 2:42

2 recalls that for Jesus’ first disciples, “The believers devoted themselves to
the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their
prayers.” Rows of church pews are good, but circles in homes and backyards
are even better. If you’re not already connected with a fellowship group at First
Pres, we would love you to be. Deacon Moderator, Mary Kinsey, would be glad
to connect you with a group.

Include – Jesus’ first act of public ministry was to include others in his ministry,

3 to call his disciples. We are a church that desires to be inclusive of everyone
in our local community, regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation or social-
economic status. To be included is another way that Jesus invited everyone,
especially those on the margins. Galatians 3:28 reminds us, “There is neither
Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for
you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Is there someone that you could invitationally
include in one of our ministry opportunities this summer?

May God bless your faith journey with spiritual refreshment this season!

Pastor Kellen

SUNDAY SCHOOL
STORIES YOU
THOUGHT YOU KNEW

Summer Sermon Series

“Retold: Sunday School Stories You Thought You Knew”

Sundays, June 12–July 31

This summer series takes a closer look at the Sunday school stories we are most familiar
with, either from teaching them or being taught them when we were kids. As we zoom in for
a closer examination of these stories, we will see how they fit into God’s overall story in the
Bible and how they inform our understanding of the gospel.

POWER FOR SALVATION Associate Pastor
Nominating Committee
Pastor’s Bible Study
Your Associate Pastor Nominating
Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. in Stewart Hall Committee (APNC) continues to do the
work FPC has nominated us to do. We
The letter to the Romans stands as the clearest and most are in the networking phase; actively
comprehensive presentation of Christian doctrine in all the recruiting applicants,contacting other
Scriptures. When Paul wrote this magnificent letter, Rome Presbyterian churches and former
was the cultural center of the world, boasting advancements FPC pastors for recommendations, and
like sturdy roads and a common language. Roman citizens posting our job opening on seminary job
were able to travel and communicate like never before. To this boards. We continue to pray, asking God
audience, Paul delivered the most extensive expression of the for His guidance and direction. We ask
gospel ever given in Scripture. Romans walks us through that you, the congregation, pray for the
the origin of sin and guilt, the impossibility of saving ourselves, candidate God has chosen for our church,
and our ultimate deliverance in Christ. Join us weekly for this and for us, the APNC, to see with clear
summer study as we explore the theology and life application eyes as we search.
of Romans.
Thank you Bill Blake, Monica Holmes,
2 Mary Kinsey, Cullen Miller, Beth Spiegel,
and Steve Van Oss.

Recognition Sunday – May 22

Ordination and Installation Recognition of Sunday School
of New Elders and Deacons and Youth Volunteers

On May 22 we ordained and installed the new elders Thank you to all of the adult and youth volunteer leaders
and deacons who will begin a term of service on the who willingly and lovingly gave their time and efforts to
Session and the Board of Deacons. We are grateful for our children and youth. They provided a great place to
their willingness to serve and share their gifts. May God learn and be together this year. Thank you!
bless their work and leadership at First Pres.
Childcare: Heather Bormann, Lauren Spires
Deacons
Pam Bienduga, Bill Blake, Ira DaVall, Susan Hull, Preschool: Natalie Larson, Sandy Nielsen, Melissa
Shelley Iliff, Alan Konfirst, Nancy Loda, Sandy Nielsen, Simon, Tracy Smith, Ashley Zorn
Chris Rogers, Erin Schnack, Sharon Simms, Tracy
Stollberg, Kim VanOss, Ryan Waters Kindergarten-2nd Grade: Kimberly Bennett, Madison
Bormann, Audrey Brcka, Stacey Chvatal, Shelley Iliff,
Elders Max Reinhart
Rachel Abbott, Sue Massaro, John Rutledge, Nick Smith
3rd-5th Grade: Jessica Mead, Kathryn Pinto, Abby
Vliek, Megan Zorn

Genesis: Amy Bab, Kevin Bab, Joe Martillaro, Marc
McKay, Summer Scott, Lisa Vliek

WF: Jacob Brokaw, Ross Cheairs, Nancy Goodwin,
Julie Leonard, Doug Reinhart, Julia Shine

Celebration of Chandra Gravit’s
20 Years of Service

Chandra Gravit was honored on May 22 for her 20 years of service
to First Pres. We are grateful for Chandra’s gift as the leader of our
Preschool and Kids Ministry, and also for her family, as a part of
our church family and for the blessing they have been to us. We
are thankful for the way Chandra has passed on her faith to the
next generation.

Through her gentle, thoughtful and mindful ways she has
supported and enhanced our ministries to our kids and familes.

Thank you Chandra!

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truapwpbeerrry Women’s
Ministry

On May 5 over 60 members

and guests gathered at a Strawberry Supper

celebration to commemorate the year-end

of programming for Women's Ministry.

Appreciation was given to the exceptional

leadership of our outgoing Moderator, Erin

Schnack, and her board. A warm welcome

was given to our incoming Moderator, Kate

Hinson, and Co-Moderator, Gail DaVall. We

were encouraged by speaker and author,

Aubrey Sampson, to believe who God says

we are and to claim our inheritance as

image bearers of Christ.

Abundant Matthew 25
Compassion

We have accepted the Matthew 25 invitation to help our
denomination become a more relevant presence in the world.
We recognize Christ's urgent call to be a church of action, where God's
love, justice and mercy shine forth and are contagious. And we rejoice how our
re-energized faith can unite all Presbyterians for a common and holy purpose: our common identity to do mission.

Areas of Focus
Building congregational vitality • Dismantling structural racism • Eradicating systemic poverty

Micah 6:8 Committee

The Micah 6:8 Committee is a Matthew 25 mission action partner ministry of

Micah 6:8 First Pres. We are committed to living out Christ's commandments to "love one
another" by supporting, in actionable ways, the dismantling of structural racism

and systems that inhibit inclusivity and perpetuate injustice or prejudice. We

are committed to creating and supporting the ministries of the church that work for reconciliation and amplify that all

people are equally loved and accepted by God.

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Thank you for supporting us
through another successful and
fun preschool year! We ended

our year with a Mom's Day
Celebration for our three year old

classes and a field trip to the
Lincoln Marsh for our four and

five year old classes.

We had a year full of fun, faith and fellowship as we returned to in-person ministry; from VBS to
Sunday School to Christmas Eve to monthly family events. Thank you for your support of our ministry!

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WHEFAPTON Our middle school students spent the month learning and talking about
the word “comparing” in a series titled This or That. They learned that
Genesis God doesn't compare us to others and that God wants us to see ourselves
Middle School the way he sees us. There was some great conversation and growth this
month as well as some quality time sharing food and playing games
Ministry together in the gym.

WF The month of May was very exciting because we had Youth Sunday! All of
High School our students did a fantastic job, whether it be reading a passage, playing in
the band or giving a short sermon. Our theme for this year's Youth Sunday
Ministry was “Make Room.” Throughout the month of May, we talked about what it
means to make room for Christ in our daily lives and how we can practically
do it. We ended our Youth Sunday morning in the church courtyard where
we took pictures and spent time with the students and their families.

– Jordan Stevens,
Director of Student Ministries
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COMMUNICATIONS Thank You!
SUBMISSIONS
A big thank you to our church family for your
We welcome your submission of information for prayers and words of encouragement. Your
our upcoming communications! kindness has meant so very much.
With love and gratitude,
Weekly Emails: Kathy and Brian Elliott
• Emails are sent on Wednesday
afternoons each week Thank you to those who gave blood at the May 21
• Deadline to submit materials is Blood Drive! The Versiti team collected seven units
the previous Friday of blood. Because of your generosity – up to 21 lives
were saved. Watch for the date of the next blood drive
Monthly Newsletter: to be announced soon.
• Generally distributed the first week of each month
• Deadline to submit materials is the 15th of the
month before publication (i.e. the deadline for the
July newsletter is June 15)

How to submit information:
Materials should include program details, with day
of week, date, time, a brief description, and contact
information, along with any photos you would like to
have used. We may edit your information as needed.

Please email items to:
Caryn Andrews, Communications Coordinator
[email protected]

June Book Club

Thursday, June 30 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track with her life: she will be married by 30, done having kids
by 35, and moved out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder
in the cutthroat art auction world. Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their
romantic getaway to the Galápagos when a virus, felt worlds away, appears in the city on the
eve of their departure. Finn has to stay behind so Diana reluctantly goes alone on their nonrefundable trip.
Almost immediately the island is quarantined, her luggage is lost, and the hotel they’d booked is shut down.
Stranded until the borders reopens, Diana must venture beyond her comfort zone. In the Galápagos Islands,
where Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was formed, Diana finds herself examining her
relationships, her choices, and herself – and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into
someone completely different. Join your FPC book club for this great read via zoom. For questions and the
zoom link contact the church office at [email protected].

Program Schedules and Church Office Hours

The First Pres calendar of events is available online at: firstpreswheaton.org/calendar.
Summer Church Office Hours: Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. / Friday 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 715 North Carlton Avenue, Wheaton, Illinois 60187
Phone: 630-668-5147
of Wheaton
www.firstpreswheaton.org [email protected]

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