Operation Christmas Child
There is still time to pack your shoe box gift or donate $20 to let us pack one for you. Remember, on Sunday November 19 we will have a special time during our worship services to dedicate our shoebox gifts.
Additionally...we are still in need of volunteers during to help with welcoming, logging church information and box amounts and packing shoe boxes into larger shipping boxes. If you would like to volunteer you may sign up through the online form at http://tinyurl.com/firstpres-occ-volunteer
or or email Dave Abernathy at
dave@abernathyhome.com
.
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Missions Spotlight:
The Gills
First Presbyterian lost a long-serving missionary in October when Dan Gill was called home after battling esophageal cancer. Dan and his wife Judy served for over 30 years in Bolivia, South America with New Tribes Missions (now Ethnos360). First Presbyterian's connection with the Gill family started with Dan's father Wayne, who went to Bolivia in the 1950s. Wayne and one of our long serving members, John Ward, grew up together in Montana and when Wayne and Ruth became missionaries our church was one of their first supporters. Wayne and Ruth were instrumental in reaching two indigenous people groups in Bolivia with the Gospel. Wayne made two separate and complete translations of the Bible in both languages and saw the church firmly planted in each. Dan and Judy worked for decades in Santa Cruz establishing a training center for Bolivian pastors and missionaries in order to prepare them to reach their own people. In all, we have been connected with the Gill family for over fifty years in their work to "go and make disciples of all nations". We are saddened by the loss of Dan, but know he is home with his Lord whom he faithfully served. We want to continue to lift up Judy and family in prayer during this difficult time.
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This is a great opportunity for men to serve God together on a mission trip that will change your life forever. Men from our church will be traveling to Texas to join forces with other men from across the nation to serve others in several towns along the border.
Trip dates are January 11-17, January 17-23, OR January 23-29. Most men from our area will be going one of the first two weeks. Contact Tim Morgan at 770-548-4909 for more information.
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This year Advent will begin Sunday, December 3.
WHY? It is the time to prepare for the coming of Jesus.
WHERE? It starts in your heart, and then the love and joy of preparing for Jesus Christ will reach homes, Churches and the whole town!
Look for the Children's Ministry Advent table on the 2nd floor of the Education Building! We will have one of the following available per family.
* Look to the Light! A 3D Journey to Christmas - The story of Jesus' birth jumps right off the pages of Look to the Light: a 3D Journey to Christmas. Children will thrill to see the Light of the promised Savior glowing and growing each day as Christmas gets closer. Daily Bible verses paired with devotional rhymes!
* The center piece is Jesus! Magnet puzzle - Advent 5 magnets: an Angel, a Star, a Shepherd, a Wise Man and the Holy Family.
* Christmas Promises - Activity Book - Gather the family to celebrate the many promises of Jesus with this collection of devotions and activities for the days of Advent.
* Advent Window Calendar - Open a different "window" each day of December to reveal a bible verse with a message behind each one.
* 2018 key tag calendar
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Please plan to join us Wednesday, November 30th at 5:30pm for the last family gathering of the year, to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus together as a church family.
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Prayer Ministry
Through the ministry of prayer, First Presbyterian is dedicated to the praying for each request that is received. By filling out a Connection Card, visiting the church website, or by emailing the church office, each request will be prayed for by the Intercessory Prayer Team. Your privacy is essential to us, however, anonymous requests are also accepted. If requesting prayer though the website (fpcrome.org), click the "Prayer Request" link at the top of the page, which will allow you to leave your request.
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Com
munity Project:
Good Neighbor Ministries Update
Way to go FPC! We highlighted Good Neighbor Ministries during the month of October. Good Neighbor Ministries is a community outreach staffed by volunteers and financially supported by numerous local churches, including First Presbyterian. Good Neighbor Ministries helps Rome residents in need by assisting with utility bill payments, rent, prescriptions, clothing for work, and personal items. It also refers people to the local food pantry and the furniture Re-store.
The month of October they were asking for donations of Toilet Tissue and Diapers (of any size). One of the most frequently requested personal item is toilet tissue. Diapers are bundled into smaller amounts and given to parents of small infants. We collected 1306 diapers and 508 rolls of toilet tissue. This past Wednesday our Sr High bundled the diapers.
Salvation Army Coat Drive
Temperatures are beginning to cool down and with that comes digging in the closet for last years winter coat. If you find it is to small or a little worn, we have the place to bring it. The month of November we will collect gently used coats. Rome Cleaners has partnered with Salvation Army, Heritage First Bank and ServiceMaster to conduct Coats for Kids Winter Coat Drive. If you are out and about, you can drop off at one of these locations: Rome Cleaners, ServiceMasters, Heritage First Bank locations or bring it one Sunday morning to King's Hall. We will collect these coats on November 19th and take them to Rome Cleaners to be cleaned before Salvation Army hands them out.
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The Adult Discipleship Committee of FPC is looking forward to hosting its annual
"Christ and Culture Discipleship Forum"
in January of 2018.
The purpose of this forum is to help equip God's people for the work of ministry in an ever-changing cultural landscape.
There are many ways in our day and age where the cultural values of society collide with the deep convictions of the Christian faith. Instead of seeing this as a threat to the Christian mission, we believe this to be an opportunity for greater engagement in the mission. Our call as followers of Christ is to be separate from culture but not isolated from it. Our hope is that believers in the 21st century will be radically different and radically identifiable as they seek to impact the world around them with the good news of the Gospel.
The theme for this year's forum is
"Life and Faith in the Digital Age: Grasping Opportunities, Discerning Risks"
* Using technology to advance God's Kingdom
* Understanding how technology is changing us and our children
The discipleship forum will take place on Wednesday nights in January. Both of our keynote speakers this year represent ministries with a worldwide impact. We are excited about the panel discussion on week #2, as members of our congregation dialogue around these important issues. Our final session on week #4 will be an opportunity for us to discuss what we have learned in a smaller group setting.
Schedule
January 10th - guest speaker, TBA, discussing using technology to advance the Kingdom of God
January 17th - Panel Discussion, members of First Presbyterian Church
January 24th - Walt Mueller, Founder and President of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, discussing how immersion in technology is affecting our children and how we can address this
January 31st - Small Group Discussion
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