Summer 2009 Issue

Geneva Gems

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Update Thank you to all who partici-pated in our annual Bread for the World Offering of Letters on May 17. We had our best offering ever, with 85 letters to our Members of Congress! Sixty-four of those letters were sent to Representative

Thaddeus McCotter in support of HR 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009. HR 2139 was slated to be taken up by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Wednesday following our Offering of Letters, so we sent them by overnight mail to be hand delivered to McCotter’s office by a Bread for the World staff member. Now, it appears that the mat-ter will be taken up at a later date. The bill, which begins the process of making foreign assis-tance more efficient and transparent, was introduced by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL). In a special effort Bread activists sent more than 4,000 letters supporting HR 2139 (including ours) from 35 Offerings of Letters held around the country on the weekend of May 16-17, to Washington by over-night mail. This effort was instrumental in encouraging 11 mem-bers of Congress to sign on as cosponsors. Rep. Berman has expressed his commitment to introduce a broader bill on Foreign Assistance Reform later this year. In addition, there have been several Senate hearings on improving foreign assistance, with a bill likely to be introduced in the Senate in a few weeks. I had the privilege to attend the Bread for the World National Gathering with my daughter, Ingrid, from June 14-16, where we enjoyed stimulating workshops and plenary sessions with speak-ers from the USDA, USAID, columnists from the Washington

Post and New York Times, various denominational leaders, ambassadors, etc. The interdenominational times of worship were inspiring. The Gathering culminated with Lobby Day on June 17 where we spent the day on Capitol Hill to follow up with visits to our Members of Congress. We had a delegation of 16 people from Michigan to meet with legistlative directors for Senators Stabenow and Levin. Both of them were very receptive and eager to for us to let them know as soon as a bill is introduced into the Senate. Ten of our delegation were international students/scholars from U of M. A couple of them spoke very passionately about how US foreign assistance has had such an impact in their countries, particularly Uganda and South Africa. Many HIV/AIDS victims are now being helped with anti-retroviral drugs and can once again work and take care of their families. More children are now in school. One of them expressed his amazement that he was able to go to Capitol Hill to advocate for his people in Africa, and also how touched he was that people in America come to Capitol Hill to advocate for people in Africa. He said he had to go home and tell everyone! Ingrid and I were the only ones to go to Rep. McCotter’s office. We found his legislative director to be very eager to listen to what we had to say, and also very interested in our opinions and answers to his questions. Rep. McCotter has already cospon-sored another bill, HR 2387, which promotes foreign assistance, but ties it to defense. We made the case that HR 2139 would make global development efforts more strategic, efficient and effective. Linking development aid to national security would prevent it from reaching some of the neediest areas. He agreed to ask the congressman to consider co-sponsoring HR 2139. We left a packet of Geneva children’s letters and drawings from our Offering of Letters. Lobby Day was a great success in that there are now 46 cosponsors of the bill. More to follow.... Barb Fichtenberg

Experience worship at a different time and in a different way this summer. Over the next two months we will be offering three special worship ser-vices as a way of exploring some creative alternatives in worship. (The services will be held 5:30pm on Saturday, July 25, 5:30pm on Saturday, August 15 and 8:30am on Sunday, August 30) and will include an informal setting, an interactive style of worship, and sharing the Lord’s Supper together. Please join us for any or all of these services. After each service we will set aside a time for your feedback. It is our hope that some of what we experience this summer may be used to enhance our 9:00 service in the fall. Child care for children 3 years and under will be provided. If you have any ques-tions please contact Worship Elder, Cindy Thomas at or 734-716-6244.

SOMETHING NEW IN WORSHIP

July 25

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What’s Happening At Geneva

Dear pastor Bryan and all brothers and sisters in Christ,Greet you with the love of Jesus Christ. We are thankful to God for you and your ministry for Him.May God be glorified through you even more. We want to share what is happening here with you so that your hearts will be filled with joy, thanks and praise to God for every-thing He does. We will begin with Christmas.

Christmas 2008A play was per-formed for children on Christmas. The play began with four angels asking God to send them to the earth that was very beautiful and sparkling with lights. Then God sent them to the people whose hearts were eager to love Him and people. So angels flew away in the different directions. One of them arrived in the place where a boy named Pavlik lived. He grew in a family with a father and a stepmother who didn’t love her stepson. Pavlik was an apprentice. Christmas was coming. His stepmother gave him some mittens and warned him: “Look out, don’t lose them”. Later Pavlik’s master paid him for his job and said that people gave presents each other on Christmas like God gave His Son Jesus as the most precious gift. While Pavlik was going home he met some people who were in trouble and needed help. He spent all his money distributing coins to those in need. When he came up to his house he saw an angel sitting on the porch. The angel was cold and Pavlik had compassion on him and gave his mitten to him. The stepmother scolded him for that and then she gave her children presents but Pavlik. In the morning on Christmas the people whom Pavlik gave coins brought presents to him whatever they could get. The stepmoth-er was amazed at such kindness and her heart melted with the love. The idea is that God sees everything and rewards those kindhearted and responsive.

Winter teenager campThis camp was held in the village of Ungut. It’s a beautiful place with the taiga (thick forest) around it. It is about 3 hours driving from Divnogorsk. Please pray for the camps we are going to hold there in sum-mer.

Easter party at the churchOur church was decorated as you can see. We had a good Easter party with tea. It was held without any program, in a family way. We had some games, sang songs and had a warm fellowship. Oleg and her daughter, Sasha, sang a song

120-th Baptism anniversary (Evangelical – Christian Baptists in the Krasnoyarsk area for 120 years). At the beginning of April we celebrated a special occa-sion, 120-th Krasnoyarsk area Baptism anniversary. Association of the Krasnoyarsk area churches rented a hall in a huge center. There were 1300 people in attendance. Some guests from the local administration were invited to the celebration. The Catholic priest was present too. The key people delivered a speech. The motto of the anniversary was “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Heb.13:7). Our bishop gave the Krasnoyarsk area baptism history presentation. He shared about the origin of the Evangelical movement here. Documentary slides about exiled with irons walking to the south of the Krasnoyarsk area were shown. You can see the photo of a man in an exiled costume with handcuffs and irons. The united commu-nion was held. In conclusion an old Christian encouraged the churches and then delivered a light candle to a youth pastor. It represents that the young generation will carry on the old one’s work - to bring the Light of the Gospel to the world.

Prayer requestsDear friends, we appreciate your prayers for the requests listed below:-For all children camps that God will bless and keep both staffs and children. All staffs need wisdom and God’s guidance. Oleg and his two daughters are going to be involved in camp activi-ties. - For our 10 days Bible vacation school that will be held at our church in June. Pray for our team of the leaders and for the chil-dren. - For the heating. We don’t have the heating as the boiler’s bro-ken down. We have to get a boiler by autumn. - We have to concrete slopes around the building so that some water will not penetrate inside. Thank you.May God bless you and keep you.Your brothers and sisters from the Divnogorsk church “Forgiveness”.

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Don’t faint, but after an absence of several months, your clerk has again put together another of these little updates. Not that I hadn’t thought about it, and I was managing to get the official minutes completed for each meeting. It’s just that things were, as you might imagine, a little bit crazy in my day job as a strategic planning consultant at General Motors the past few months. But now I’m transitioning once again back into retirement, so more time for the fun stuff!

As clerk of session (appointed with voice but no vote), I’m responsible for keeping the membership rolls and regis-ters for Geneva, and for the minutes of Session meetings. So, once again, here’s a recap of items discussed and acted upon at recent Session meetings:

From the regular April meeting: • JenniferSmith,Membership–thedirectoryhasbeensubmittedtotheprinter,waitingtocomebackforfinal-proof. New membership bulletin board is being set up. • NancyGlodich,Worship–Worshipministryteamsuggestssettingupa“Hospitality”teamwiththeboardofdeaconsresponsibletooversee. Discussed role of such a team. The worship, fellowship and evangelism elders will meet to discuss further and invite deacon coordinator Kurt Cross to participate. • Uponmotion,sessionapprovedgoingtooneservicestartingJune14andreturningtotwoservicesonSeptember20.TheHomecomingPicnic will be Sunday, September 13. • Uponmotion,sessionapprovedthebaptismsofMaryJanineClayandOliviaSchneid. • Uponmotion,sessionapprovedJohnLandistopreachonJune28 • Reflectionsofoff-goingelders–EldersAnderson,Pohl,andFichtenbergsharedthoughtsabouttheirexperiencesonsession.From the special May 27 meeting (the regular May meeting was cancelled): • ThesessionmetinaspecialmeetingonMay27,forthespecificcalledpurposeofinterviewingTCAndersonastohisinterestandintentin becoming an Inquirer for Minister of the Word and Sacrament, and if appropriate, endorsing him as such to the Presbytery of Detroit, in accor dance with Book of Order G-14.0400. The meeting was moderated by Executive Presbyter Rev. Al Timm, as Pastor Smith was out of town. • MikeGaubatz,GenevaelderandmemberofthePresbytery’sCommitteeonPreparationforMinistry(CPM),providedanoverviewofthepro cess. Mike would be TC’s liaison from CPM, and session would need to appoint a liaison from the session. • SessionproceededtoexamineTCduringaperiodofquestionsandanswers. • Therebeingnofurtherquestions,theexaminationwasarrestedandTCwasexcused.MotionwasmadebyChuckTenBroeck,andsecondedby Dan Degener, that session endorse TC’s application and recommend him as Inquirer to Presbytery. Following discussion, motion was unani mously approved. • Uponmotion,ElderDanDegenerwasappointedsessionliaisonforTC. • AlTimmadvisedTConfollowingtheprocess,advisedsessionaboutprovidingsupportwithprayer,exposuretothecongregation,andfunding. He then closed with thoughts regarding the future of the church and the ministry, and the importance of seminary training.From the regular June meeting: • ChuckTenBroeck,Stewardship–reviewedfinancialreportswhicharetrackingtobudget.Chuckwilldevelopa“seasonalized”budgetfor future reference; this will allocate projected income and expenses according to historical trends plus other known factors. • JamesMoon-Dupree,GlobalMission–DaveandEllaBastine,andCarolBunchareplanningtogoonaKatrinamissiontripinNovemberwith another church from Maryland. • JenniferSmith,Membership–planstodevelopprofilesofGeneva’sleadersforthebulletinboard;thepictorialdirectoryshouldbereleasedby summer. • KeithMcBain,Property–Uponmotion,sessionapprovedaplantoreplacethesidingandaddnewguttersontheChurchHouse,tobefunded by the Major Maintenance Fund. • DanDegener,Youth–uponmotion,sessionapprovedaseniorhighoutingforgo-cartingandmini-golfonJune14. • SessionreviewedandconcurredwiththeproposedchangestotheGoodNews.TheinsertforSign-upsandPrayerConcernswillremain unchanged. • Sessionapprovedthedatesandtimestopilotanalternativeworshipformat. • MinistrywithMinorsPolicy(andrelated)updates–BrianAndersonandDonnaGraypresentedresultsto-datefromtheMinistrywithMinors (MWM) task force, which has been evaluating and updating the MWM policy and related documentation. Upon motion, several documents were approved as presented. The proposed updated Transportation Policy and Driver’s Application were referred by session back to the MWM task force for further updates. A proposed updated Adult Ministry With Minors Policy was distributed but will be discussed in detail at a future session meeting. • Uponmotion,tocoverthemid-highandseniorhighmissiontripsthissummer,sessionapprovedonaninterimbasis,theproposed Transportation Policy with specific changes for these trips only. • Uponmotion,DaveBunchwaselectedclerkforthecomingyear. • Uponmotion,JohnGlodichwaselectedtreasurerforthecomingyear.ChuckTenBroeckwasdirectedtoresearchandreportonwhatbonding is recommended or required for those members having fiduciary responsibilities. • Uponmotion,sessionapprovedDanDegenertopreachonJuly12. • Uponmotion,sessionapprovedtheminutesoftheApril27sessionmeeting,theMay3Congregationalmeeting,andtheMay27specialsession meeting. • Uponmotion,theminutesofthedeaconsmeetingofMay12,2009werereceived.

Submitted by Dave Bunch Clerk of SessionSummer 2009

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Jul 2009 (Eastern Time)Geneva Presbyterian Church, Canton Mi., Geneva Presbyterian Church Mid High Calendar,Geneva Presbyterian Church Senior High Calendar, Geneva Presbyterian Church Thermostat Control Calendar

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Senior High Mission Trip

Mid High Mission Trip to Green Bay

10am - Worship 10am - CROP Walk (4&5) 9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

10am - Worship 9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

Second Saturday Servants

10am - Worship 7pm - Deacons 9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

8:45am - Women's Book Club (OS)

10am - Worship 9:30am - Readingprogram (LH)

9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

5:30pm - Worship

10am - Worship 2:30pm - 2:30 Blood Drive (SA)

9:30am - Readingprogram (LH)

9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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Sunday Monday TueSday WedneSday ThurSday Friday SaTurday

6:00 pm Senior High Fellowship

Club

Aug 2009 (Eastern Time)Geneva Presbyterian Church, Canton Mi., Geneva Presbyterian Church Mid High Calendar,Geneva Presbyterian Church Senior High Calendar, Geneva Presbyterian Church Thermostat Control Calendar

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10am - Worship 2:30pm - 2:30 Blood Drive (SA)

9:30am - Readingprogram (LH)

9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

10am - Worship 9:30am - Readingprogram (LH)

9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)7pm - Session (4/5)

8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

8:45am - Women's Book Club (OS)

10am - Worship 9am - Homeschool Band Camp

9:30am - Readingprogram (LH)7pm - Deacons

9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

9am - Marking Milestones (WA, 4/5, K)5:30pm - Worship

10am - Worship 9:30am - Readingprogram (LH)

9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

10am - Worship 9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

8:30am - Worship

10am - Worship

9am - Food Addicts Anonymous (4/5)8:15pm - Men's Life in Jesus Group (2) @ Jesus Group (2)

6pm - Prayz Team (WA)

7pm - AA (4/5)

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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Sunday Monday TueSday WedneSday ThurSday Friday SaTurday

8:45 am Woman’s BookClub

Geneva Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)5835 Sheldon RoadCanton, MI 48187

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Current Session Members

Worship / Education •Children-Cindy Revezzo •Youth-Dan Degener•Adult-Nancy Glodich •Worship-Cindy Thomas Discipleship • Clerk of Session-Dave Bunch• Local Mission-Dawn Christenson•GlobalMission-James Moon-Dupree•Fellowship-Cheryl Caldwell•Prayer-Joe Stoecklein•Stewardship-Chuck Ten Broeck•Membership-Jennifer Smith• Property-Keith McBain• Evangelism-Erin Archambault

Current DeaconsFamily DeaconAdedeji - Bruski - Julie Graunstadt

Bunch - Degener - Grace Morgan

Delaney - Fichtenberg - Kurt Cross

Fisher - Harry - Marilyn Horen

Hartnett - Leslie - Sandy Stoecklein

Lively - Paskiewicz - Dave & Leslie Rosemary

Pelic - Rogers - Jackie Van Netta

Russell - Stark - Don Glass

Stoecklein - Yang/Buu - Kay Sousa