Northkirk Presbyterian Church

Message from Pastor Karen

'Tis the season of flowers, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and cards with lots of hearts and cupids on them…yes, Valentine‘s Day is almost here! And while cards and tiny candy hearts with "Be Mine" and other messages imprinted on them fill store shelves, there actually was a St. Valentine. Valentinus (later St. Valentine) was a priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II for aiding persecuted Christians, for not renouncing his faith, and for marrying Christian couples (all considered crimes under Claudius‘ reign). Prior to being martyred, Valentinus was imprisoned. Legend has it that he befriended the jailer‘s blind daughter and miraculously restored her sight. On the eve of his execution, Valentinus is said to have penned a farewell note to the jailer‘s daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine."

Valentine‘s Day can be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and express our love and affection for others. It is also a great opportunity to remember God‘s love for us. After all, I John 4:8 reminds us that "God IS love." John continues, "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…we love because He first loved us" (I John 4:8-11, 19).

I have been reflecting on how February marks both Valentine‘s Day and the beginning of the holy season of Lent. One day celebrates love with cards and candy; the other is a season marked by a cross and a crucifixion. God has sent this "Valentine" to every one of us: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are MINE" (Isaiah 43:1), and the first letter of John, mentioned above, reminds us that, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us" (I John 3:16). Long after the flowers fade and the candy is gone, we can rely on God‘s always faithful love for us!

This Lenten season we will be participating in two church-wide activities: a small group study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer‘s book, Life Together (this is a great opportunity to get into a weekly small group!) and 40 days of prayer to call upon the Lord together regarding who we are as Northkirk and what the Lord is calling us to do in response to our unique role in this community. More information on those events to come! Meanwhile, because Jesus first loved us, may we continue to love one another, not only with words, but "with actions and in truth" (I John 3:18).

Blessings to you –
Pastor Karen

Small Groups

Wednesday Night Small Group at the Vaughn’s
January 13, 2010 7:00 PM
We will start back up for a 5 week study on the book Beloved: Henri Nouwen in Conversation.
Henri Nouwen was an internationally known priest and author of more than 40 books on spirituality. He lived in L’Arche Community where he worked with developmentally disabled adults.

Thursday Morning Women’s Group at Bree Noble’s
January 14, 2010 9:30-11:00 AM
We will be reading the book Sanity Secrets for Stressed Out Women by Sue Augustine. This is the book that was used at the women’s retreat last October.
Please join us for coffee and fellowship.
Contact: Marion Mildon

UPCOMING
SMALL GROUP STUDIES:
Monday Night Small Group at the Entler’s 7:00 PM
We will begin the six-week Lenten study on Life Together (The Classic Exploration of Christian Community) on Monday, February 22. The author, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is well known as a German pastor and theologian during the Third Reich who was executed shortly before liberation by the Allied Forces in 1945. The introductory paragraph reads, "In the following we shall consider a number of directions and precepts that the Scriptures provide us for our life together under the Word." Anyone interested in this study is welcome to come. Con-tact the Entlers for more information or directions.

Prayer Partner Post

Prayer and Praise Service
Friday, February 5, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Please join us for an evening of prayer and praise as we start out the new year with a renewed sense of God’s purpose for our lives. This will be a time of refreshment and healing.

Birthdays And Anniversaries

February Birthdays
Kristen Beauvais 02/04
Les Maitlen 02/04
Nancy Michalski 02/04
Tommy Emick 02/09
Ellie Pate 02/14
Dr. Don Zabriskie 02/17
Paul Sage 02/20
Boyd Pierce 02/23
Gary Wallace 02/25
Genelle Wagar 02/26

Anniversaries
February 11
Kim & Gary Wallace
February 14
Daniel & Evelyn Beauvais

Spotlight on Missions

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has been providing humanitarian assistance to the large number of Iraqi families both internally displaced within Iraq and in neighboring countries such as Syria and Jordan. While some of the displaced families hope to return to their homes, for others returning home is not possible.
The U.S. Government has approved the admission of 17,000 to 18,000 Iraqi refugees through the
the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program for the fiscal year 2009 . Some of these refugees have arrived and will be arriving through PC(USA)‘s partner resettle-ment agency, Church World Service . PC(USA)‘s con-gregations are needed to accompany these refugees and to help them adjust to life in a new country.
Visit the PDA website www.pcusa.org/pda/refugee.htm to learn about how you can be involved in the ministry of pastoral accompaniment to refugees.
Funds and volunteers are still urgently needed for a con-tinued response to Texas and Louisiana following needs from Hurricane IKE..
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) continues to help the countries affected by the 2004 tsunami recov-ery PDA is currently helping with earthquake relief in Haiti..
With each new disaster that happens more and more help is needed. With your help we are able to assist the thousands in need.
More information is available from the above Web site.

MISSION PROJECT
SECOND SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH
Northkirk continues our mission project of feeding the homeless at Calvary Presbyterian Church. This is an ongoing commitment on the 2nd
Sunday of each month. Please consider volunteering on ,from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Calvary Presbyterian Church is located at 4495 Magnolia Ave,
Riverside. We will be serving meals to the homeless. Instructions
will be given by Calvary Presbyterian Church. Please
call Marion Mildon, 909-948-9649 for more details.

 

 

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THE FOOD OF THE MONTH - Pasta & Pasta Sauce
In support of Inland Valley Hope Program, we will have a FOOD OF THE MONTH . You may bring your donation any Sunday. We have selected SOVA to receive our donations.

Please join the fun, and help feed people that are
in need!

Foothill Family Shelter Presents:
WASTE RECYCLING FUNDRAISER

1501 Ninth Street D Upland
Call for date of next event
Bring your used or non-working electrical
equipment down for FREE recycling.
All of the following items will be accepted:
Computers, Monitors, Laptops, Printers, Scanners, Phones/Cells, Fax machine, Servers, Televisions, Appliances Speakers, Air conditioners, Vacuum cleaners, VCRs/Tape recorders, DVD/CD players, Microwave ovens, Refrigerators/Freezers, Sound systems, Washer/Dryer(s)
Drop-off locations:
Golden Eagle Moving Services/United Van Lines
1450 North Benson Avenue, Upland, CA 91789
1-800-328-4367
Monday�Saturday 8 to 5:00 PM
Stor-n-Lock
10975 Arrow Rout, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
909-476-7100
Monday�Saturday 8 to 5:00 PM
Call 909-931-1732 for more information

SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS
Northkirk is blessed with many teachers who daily instruct and interact with children and youth. You can help them acquire needed materials and resources by using the scissors in your house!
Just clip off specially marked packages, the coupon which is identified by this phrase: �Box Tops for Education.� Drop off these box tops in the basket so labeled on the table to the left of the entrance into the Fellowship Hall in the back of the sanctuary. Interested teachers will then receive their fair share, which they turn in at their place of service for cash that will be spent to augment their school�s spending money for needed educational resources.
for a complete list of participating products got to:

http://www.boxtops4education.com/AboutBoxTops/Products.aspx Happy Clipping!

Presbytery Happenings

Upcoming Mission Events: Weekend in the Word with Dr. Dale Bruner, Feb. 19 – 20th
This will be held at Palm Desert Community Presbyterian Church. Dr. Bruner is a renowned biblical scholar who is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and received his doctor-ate in theology from the University of Hamburg, Germany. His themes for the weekend will be from the book of John

Friday Feb. 19th – Dinner in Miller Hall at 5:30 p.m – Dr. Bruner will speak at 7 p.m. on ―Jesus‘ Grace – The Samaritan Woman‖– John 4
Saturday Feb. 20th – Morning Bible Study & Coffee in Miller Hall 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Dr. Bruner will speak on ―Jesus‘ Truth – The Blind Man‖ – John 9
Register by calling 760-346-8195

LEAD Event – March 13th – (Leadership, Education and Development Training)
Schedule of Events
9:00-9:30am Registration & Welcome
9:30-11:00 am Workshops
11:00-11:15 Break/Refreshments
11:15 - 12:15 Moderator‘s Keynote Address
12:15—1:15 pm Lunch & Question Formation
1:15-2:00 pm Q & A
2:00-2:30 pm Worship led by Youth
2:30-4:00 pm Presbytery Meeting
2:30-4:00 pm—Youth Breakout
Session with Moderator
This is a major training event and the keynote speaker that morning will be The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the General Assembly! Rev Reyes-Chow is the 39 year old Mod-erator of the General Assembly and pastor of Mission Bay Community Church in San Fran-cisco, California. He is considered the most accessible moderator in our history due to his participation in and promotion of Twitter, Facebook, and the use of email. He has served at all levels of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) over the past 20 years and has provided leader-ship at a variety of events and conferences.
The morning training workshops are:
Moderator‘s Workshop. Leader - Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow
Daring to be a Deacon. Leader - Jan McMurtry
Elders: More than Session Members. Leader-Carol Entler
Hassle-free Clerking: Smiling while being Clerk of Session. Leader– Rev. Edie Gause, Stated Clerk, Pro-Tem
Multicultural Church. Leader - Rev. Nelson Grande
Personal Outreach– Initiating Spiritual Dialog. Leader-Rev. Roger Beukelman
Welcoming the Neighborhood to Worship. Leader - Rev. Anita Hendrix, Executive Presbyter
It would great to have someone from Northkirk in EVERY session!

Session Highlights

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS FOR DECEMBER
* The work necessary to renovate the church office is proceeding. Session approved obtaining a quote for plans needed to obtain bids. More on this will occur in February.
* It was noted that attendance at the Christmas Eve Services was "great."
Attendance at the 7:00 p.m. service was 101 adults and 11 children. Attendance at the 11:00 p.m. service was 20 adults.
* Communion will be held on the 1st Sunday of each month. Communion will also be held on other special dates as approved by Session.
* Session approved submittal of the 2009 Statistical Report to the General Assembly.
* Session approved a 2010 General Mission pledge of $10,000. These funds are used by the Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly. This amount could increase once a full year is adopted later this year.
* Session was notified that Northkirk will have two Elder Commissioners to Presbytery. In addition, an alternate Commission is needed. Margaret Merhoff has agreed to be one of the Elder Commissioners. Any ordained Elder can fill these positions. Members of the congregation who are ordained Elders are encouraged to notify the Clerk of Session (Margaret Merhoff) if they are interested in filling either of these positions.

The following is a summary of the finances of the church for the month of December 2009.
Please note, every month, we pay two mortgages that total $4,125.66. To pay the mortgages, we take $2500 from the Building Fund, and the rest is budgeted in the General Fund. We realize that many people are struggling in this economy, but we also need to faithfully trust in a God who faithfully provides for us.
In December, giving improved but it still wasn‘t enough to cover the expenses. Fortunately, we received a final check from the Mary Frances Green estate that enabled us to cover expenses and to "almost" balance the budget for the year.

Ink Cartage Recycling Program Update
First I would like to thank everyone who has donated used ink cartridges for recycling. The Church earned a total of 622.00 dollars from
Office Max in 2009. The funds were used to purchase many office supplies along with supplies for the music Ministry program. We also
purchased a new monitor, wireless key board and mouse for the audio visual system. In the coming year we will continue to use the funds
from Recycling to purchase supplies for the office, VBS, music ministries, and special programs. Office Max has made changes in the recycling program and have added to the list of cartridges they will accept.
Here is the updated list:

Max Perks members can earn $3 in rewards for each qualifying visibly undamaged HP, Dell, Lexmark, Brother, Epson, Samsung, Kodak, Sharp or Canon ink or toner cartridges.

Please continue to use the recycle box located in the church office.
Thank you for your participation in the recycle program.
Dean Collins

Souper Bowl Sunday

SuperBowl Sunday is coming up, but the SuperBowl is not just about football, it is also about sharing and caring. The kids of Northkirk are participating in a program called "The SuperBowl of Caring." After worship on SuperBowl Sunday, February 7, the kids will be at the exits with soup pots collecting donations for the local food bank. You can bring non-perishable food items or cash. They are really excited to be helping out their community, so please give whatever you are able to give.
"SouperBowl of Caring" began as a youth-led movement in 1990 with 22 churches participating. There are now over 14,000 groups participating. Our donations will go directly to Inland Valley Hope Partners. Please consider a dona-tion of soup or money on Super Bowl Sunday

Within the Congregation

Calling all Veterans
Calling all Northkirk Veterans, Do you have a photo of yourself during
your time in the service? It could be a formal photo in your uniform
or casual/action shots taken during your tour of duty. Please give
them to Dawn Collins by May 1 to be included in a special Memorial
Day presentation. You photos will be scanned and returned to you
quickly. Thank you for your photos and for your service to our country.

CHOIR AND BELL CHOIR - BACK TO REALITY:
2010 will be fun and great! Or we'll make it fun and great!!!
Both bell and vocal choir rehearsals have begun.
Bell choir rehearsal: 7 PM (FH)
Vocal choir: 8 PM at (Rm 6)
We will have a special instructor for the bell ringers.
Don't miss this opportunity.
New comers are always welcome to our bell and vocal
choirs. Bring your friends. Bring your neighbors.
Bring your whole family.
Let's have fun!!!

Stewardship

PER CAPITA APPORTIONMENT FOR 2010
Part of the genius of the Presbyterian form of government is our connectionalism. Though connectionalism manifests itself in a number of ways, one of the most concrete is through the Per Capita apportionment. Commonly known as Per Capita, each church is assessed a per capita amount for each members based on the year-end report for the preceding year. The Per Capita amount adopted by the Presbytery of Riverside for 2010 is $33 per member. This figure is broken down as follows:
Presbytery of Riverside $ 23.65
Synod of So Cal and Hawaii $ 2.63
General Assembly $ 5.72
Total for each member $ 33.00
These funds are used to fund the administrative costs of operating the Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly. Northkirk and other churches benefit from the services offered by these groups. Some of those services include leadership and training programs provided during the year, resource materials for Christian Education, assistance with preparing and finalizing the Mission Assessment Plan and support for the Pastor Nominating Committee. In addition, the General Assembly provides services that help pastors looking for churches and for churches in the pastoral search process.
At Northkirk, we officially had 104 members at the end of 2008 so our 2010 Per Capita apportionment is $3,432. In order to have the minimum affect on the 2010 Budget, we are asking that each of you help the church by paying your Per Capita apportionment. And if you can add a couple of dollars to help pay for those who cannot afford this amount, it will greatly appreciated!

DEACONS’ FUNDS
The Deacons‘ of Northkirk Presbyterian Church have two funds of money that come from your generous giving.
The first fund is the Deacon Fund, used for outreach and community support. The Deacons purchase food cards that are given out to walk-ins. We support groups like, Foothill Family Shelter, Presbytery of Riverside Salary Sharing fund, and Don Chinula Children‘s Fund. The fund purchases grief support packets that are given out to our flocks and their families. We have used this fund to pay for housing for the homeless, and helped with utility bills for families in need.
The second fund is the Family Fund. This fund was set up to help our Church Members only. We have been able to help with medical bills, utility bills, and general support of our church family.
When you use the "Green Deacons Envelope" the funds are put in the "Deacon Fund". If you would like to give to the Family Fund please note in the memo line "Family Fund" and your giving will go to your fellow church members only. We ask that you prayfully consider supporting both funds.
The Deacons would like to thank everyone for your generous giving that allows us to help so many people and continue Gods work.

Goodshop Your Next Trip & Help Northkirk

Use GoodShop and help Northkirk at the same time you plan your trip!

Did you know that you can book airlines, cruises and hotels through GoodShop?
You can, and every time you use GoodShop, Northkirk gets a percentage of what you spend and these funds go into the fund for the Extreme Makeover.
For example, you can book a cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines and Northkirk will get 1.25% of the value of the cruise. Or you can rent a car from Avis and the church will get 1.5% of the value of the rental. Some of the merchants that participate in GoodShop include Alaska Airlines, Avis, Best Western,
Budget Car Rental, Crowne Plaza, Delta Airlines, Expedia, Holiday Inn, Marriott, Sheraton, Thrifty Car Rental, Travelocity, and Westin Hotels and Resorts, The prices that you get for going through GoodShop are identical to those that you get from the specific vendor’s website.

The only thing that you must do is go through GoodShop. It’s really easy.
1. Go to www.goodsearch.com
2. At the main page under who do you search for? Enter –
Northkirk Presbyterian Church and press “verify”
3. You can then go to “Good Shop” by pressing the “shop now” button.
4. Then you can shop by category or by store name.
Literally hundreds of stores have now joined GoodShop. So if
you’re planning a vacation or a business trip and can use Good-
Shop, please do this…you pay the same price and benefit the
church at the same time!

Refreshments for Coffee Hour

Thank you to everyone who donates cookies for our freezer for the after church coffee and cookie time.
We appreciate your generosity.
We want to remind everyone that our after-service social time is a great opportunity to celebrate the
events in your life—birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions. We ask that beforehand, you sign
your name and event on the Sunday you would like to celebrate and it will be posted on our screen and
in the Sunday bulletin. Please bring your refreshments by 9:15 to give us the opportunity to have everything
ready for after the service. And, just a reminder, you don’t have to be celebrating anything if you
want to bring refreshments! We appreciate the donations!
The Membership and Fellowship Committee sincerely requests that if you volunteer to provide refreshments
on any Sunday, we ask that you sign up on our Volunteer Refreshment Sheet ahead of time so we
don’t double the work of preparing refreshments and then have you walk in with your donation. The
sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board located in the fellowship hall. By signing up ahead of time, this
gives us the opportunity to recognize who brought refreshments by placing a thank you on our screen in
the sanctuary and in the bulletin.
One last request from our committee…we all love sheet cakes to celebrate
your occasion! If you bring a cake to serve after service, we ask that you plan
on helping to cut and serve the cake and take any leftovers home with you!
Our small freezer does not have room to store leftover cake and all of our
cookies too! And we love it if you can bring forks and small plates to serve
your cake.
Thank you for supporting our ministry.
Sincerely,
The Membership and Fellowship Committee

Northkirk's Extreme Makeover

Don't you just love our new pews and carpet? Tile in the fellowship hall too! Check out more photos here.

Flower Calendar

2010 FLOWER CALENDAR
Would you like to honor the memory of a loved one, or share a special occasion with the church?
The 2010 Flower Calendar is on the back wall of the  sanctuary. You may sign up for several Sundays of the year. Cost is $25.00.
Be sure to note your event so it can be put in the bulletin. Please fill out the forms letting us know if you would like to take home the flowers or have them delivered to those who would be blessed by their presence in their home at this particular time.