Fast Facts

an e-update on life at

First Presbyterian Church

November 18, 2021

Worship - Sunday, November 21, 2021

Seasonal greenery and berries dates are available December 5, 12, 19, and 26 and January 2. To provide flowers or seasonal greenery and berries in honor or in memory of a loved one, contact Margaret Fancher at [email protected] or call 234-1359. Contributions to the Flower Fund are greatly appreciated.

We would to extend a special thank you to our communion helpers: Dorothy Lou Aldridge, Sally Hines, Carmille Hovious, Pattye Wilson, and Carlisle Wood. These ladies keep the silver polished, make the communion bread and set up communion for the congregation. We appreciate you!

If you have small or medium size flower vases that you no longer need, please drop them off at the church office. If you are unable to do so, let the office know and arrangements will be made to pick them up. No large vases are needed at this time. The Flower Committee thanks you!

The Stewardship Campaign for 2022 is currently underway! As this year's campaign theme declares, we are "Rooted in Faith. Flourishing in Gratitude. Poised for Rebirth." By now, we certainly hope that you have all received your stewardship materials and that you have joyfully embraced God's call to prayerfully discern how you will participate in this year's campaign. 

To those who've already returned pledges and your "Time and Talent" surveys, we offer our heartfelt thanks! Indeed, it is your generous giving that ensures our church family may continue to celebrate the abundant blessings of our past, to answer God's call in the here-and-now, and to look to our future with hopeful anticipation, shared vision, and renewed excitement.  

In this season, may we continue to reflect upon and give thanks to God for the many blessings we enjoy. May we also give thanks for the promise of God's ever-present Spirit—forever loving, nurturing, inspiring, and calling our church family forward. And may we all embrace God's invitation to be good stewards of the many blessings we have received by God's grace and to recommit ourselves to sharing those gifts with God's world with glad and joyful hearts!   

All are invited to pledge your commitment to by:

• returning the pledge card and Time and Talent survey that you received in the mail
• going to FPC, Oxford's website HERE and confidentially and securely submitting your commitment there, or
• contacting Frances Saralvarez, Financial Secretary, at the church office with your pledge information.  

We thank you for your abundant generosity!

Anyone interested in an FPC member directory can call the church office at 234-1757. One will be printed for you.

Conversation on Gratitude - Week 3!

Your pastors would love for you to join us! We’ll gather in the Fellowship Hall at 9:45 a.m. this Sunday. We have all been through the wringer in these past two years. Losses, changes, juggling of childcare and work or balancing your own health and your need to be with those you love. For a time we were even unable to gather as a church family. Let’s admit where we are, and also seek out where we have seen God at work. In this season of gratitude, what are we grateful for? How does seeing through the lens of gratitude change our experience of grieving? We’d love for you to come along with us, as we turn our eyes to the ways our God has walked with us along the way. 

—Yours with thanksgiving for all you bring to this journey,

                                               Deb de Boer

UKirk Ole Miss is grateful to those of you who have served as Tuesday night meal providers! And they still need a few more to round out their Fall schedule. For more information and to see a list of available dates, visit ukirkolemiss.org/tuesday-meals or email Allison at [email protected]. 

Attention VIP's:

If you are attending "The Light in the Piazza" Sunday, November 21 and would like to ride the bus, be at the church by 2:00 pm. Also, if you have not picked up your ticket yet, please do so by 4:30 pm tomorrow, Friday, November 19.

Chalk up another great campout this past weekend for Troop 45, as it participated in the BSA District Fall Camporee with several other local Troops. The weather, foliage and setting were picture perfect. The theme for this year’s Camporee was Highland Games. Each Troop attending was encouraged to consider itself a clan, adopt a plaid, and don their kilts. Traditional Highland games of skill, accuracy, and strength challenged the Scouts to bring their best…and yell their best. Bag pipes opened the Camporee. The ‘Campfire,’ a Scouting staple, offered opportunities for the Scouts to perform skits and tell jokes. And the weekend closed with an Interfaith Worship Service led by the Scouts themselves. Our favorite Scottish joke from the weekend: “Did you hear about the man who was caught stealing another man’s kilt?….he PLAID guilty!”

Mission Opportunities!

Oxford First United Methodist Church holds its next food distribution this Friday, November 19 at their church, 102 Dylan Avenue next to the Mary Cathey Head Start off Old Sardis Road. 250-300 needy Lafayette County families are served through this monthly outreach program. More FPC volunteers are needed for the 11:00-1:00 time slot to assist in distributing the groceries to clients in the drive through at OFUMC. Even an hour of your time would be greatly appreciated. This could be your mission!

In the mood to swing a hammer? If so, Habitat For Humanity needs 6 volunteers to assist constructing a new ramp for a family's home in Oxford. The construction project will last 4-5 hours and will take place on Saturday morning, November 20th. No construction experience required. Tools are provided. To volunteer contact Adam Quick, 662-832-5051. This could be your mission as we seek to serve the least of these.

The Doors of Hope Transition Ministry, based in the education building here at FPC, is an outreach agency that assists single parents in their efforts to become self-sufficient. Through finance and budget counseling, a limited period of housing assistance, educational opportunities, and employment searches, clients learn to break crippling patterns of dependence and start new lives. Each month graduates of the program meet with current clients during the Step 2 Dinner. While sharing a meal together, clients are encouraged by the success stories of their predecessors. The Step 2 Dinner is held the second Tuesday of the month in our fellowship hall. Two FPC volunteers are needed to order prepared meals from Larson's Cash Savers and deliver them to the church. The FPC volunteers then sit at table with the clients to become better acquainted with their stories. The next dinner is Tuesday, December 14 at 5:30 pm. If you would like to volunteer, please call the church office, 234-1757. This could be your mission!

The Family Crisis Services of Northwest Mississippi is a comprehensive victim services organization. It is the only nonprofit in Oxford that specifically addresses and provides services to victims of interpersonal violence--sexual assault, domestic violence, homicide, etc. Staff and volunteers are available 24/7 to provide crisis intervention services. Recently, Family Crisis Services experienced a $200,000 cut in federal funding. Six staff members, including their intervention child psychologist, were laid off. Interested in helping? Current needs include monetary donations, cleaning supplies, basic office supplies, paper toiletries, and new stuffed animals for each child that the facility receives. If you would like to donate any of these supplies, please drop them by the church office. More information is available at oxfordadvocacy.org or call 234-9929. 

Haven House, our resident recovery facility for people with substance abuse, appreciates the donations of Bibles, study materials, and daily devotional booklets. If you have some religious books to share, please bring them to the church office.

Curious about the various FPC mission activities? A new email account has been created specifically for keeping FPC members abreast of mission plans, outreach programs, committee minutes, etc. If you would like to be kept in the mission loop, contact the Mission Team at [email protected]. Your name will be placed on Mission Ministry's contact list. We look forward to keeping everyone informed of FPC's outreach opportunities.

Lovepacks provides supplemental food for school age children in need, on weekends and holidays. We can stop hunger!

We are always in need of non-perishable, kid-friendly food donations to fill Lovepacks! These can be dropped off 8:30 am-4:30 pm Monday-Friday at the church office or in the narthex on Sundays!

Here is a list of needed items:

• Pop Top cans of Chicken Noodle or Vegetable Soup
• Pop-Top cans of Ravioli
• Peanut Butter Crackers
• Ramen Noodles
• Cheese Crackers
• 16 oz. Jar of Peanut Butter
• Non refrigerated Pudding
• Apple sauce pouches
• Granola, Breakfast, or Protein bars

A huge THANK YOU to those who have donated. FPC and Oxford Lovepacks appreciates you!

Remember in Prayer

FPC Members: Porter Callery; Teresa Flautt; Lydia Moak; Susan & Tom Meredith; Michele Howie; Margaret Fancher; Family of Betty Mullen White; Family of Mary Helen "Babe" Field Carr; Joe Murphey

Family and Friends: Bob Flautt; Family of Elise & William Winter; Parchman Prison inmates; Haven House residents; Our Haiti partners; Oxford & Lafayette County First Responders; Community leaders

U. S. Military: SSgt Jason Freeland, USAF 4th Air Support Operation

Please pray, too, for those with unspecified needs.

If you wish to have a name removed or added to this list, please contact the church office.

The FPC prayer chain is ready if you or someone you know is in need. This is a confidential list that is independent from the names listed above. Please contact Carlisle Wood at [email protected] or 662-832-8606. All requests are held in strict confidence.  

Upcoming Birthdays and Anniversaries

November Birthdays

19 Porter Callery, Ben Griffith, Carlisle Wood

20 Dorothy Lou Aldridge, Kathleen Mayo, Kevin McLeod

21 Eva Webb

22 Anne Gowdy, Price Milner, Kathleen Patton

23 Jason Bouldin, B.J. Chain, Morgan Collins, Justin Eifling, Elizabeth Field, Joanna Heidel

24 Melissa Graves, Julia Lowe, Andrew Moak

November Anniversaries

18 Adalene & Ben Pettis

21 Gabrielle & Paul Chiniche

If we've overlooked your birthday or anniversary and you wish to have it included in Fast Facts, please contact Jessica McPhail in the church office.



These announcements are sent weekly from the church. If you don't want to receive them, or if your email address has changed, please send a message to Jessica McPhail in the church office at [email protected].