Announcements

Palm Sunday – March 28
Worship Services at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., Church School at 10:00 a.m. Celebration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Confirmation of four youth as members of John Knox Presbyterian Church. Dedicate the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering.

Maundy Thursday – April 1
Worship Service at 7:30 p.m., together with New Creation Bilingual Congregation. Communion, service of scripture and prayer, remembrance of Last Supper. Child care will be provided.

Good Friday – April 2
Speedway Community Worship Service at 12:00 noon, at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 5118 Crawfordsville Road. The annual community service will be led by ministers and lay leaders from Speedway area churches, and the offering collected will support the community ministries of Speedway.

Easter Sunday – April 4
Worship Services at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., Church School at 10:00 a.m. Celebration of Christ’s resurrection and the Lord’s Supper.

Come, invite a friend, and prepare yourself for the passion and resurrection of Christ our Lord!

Highlights of the February 22, 2010 stated Session meeting include the following:
Set goals for ministry in 2010, including:
-increasing the number of people who attend and belong to John Knox;
-deepening the members’ involvement and activity throughout the church’s life;
-seeking ways to energize and renew the church’s programs for ministry.
-To achieve these goals, the Session will seek the congregation’s participation—look for news of how you can help achieve God’s vision for our church in 2010!

In response to the congregation’s action at the Annual Meeting on January 31, Clerk of Session Vivian Hale will research the pastor’s terms of call in relation to other ministers in the presbytery, and the Session will discuss at its March meeting the establishment of a Personnel Team.

“Hospitable: 1) friendly, kind, 2) favoring health, growth and comfort, 3) receptive and open.” JKPC’s Board of Deacons has been focusing on hospitality through sub-committees consisting of 1) Reviewing membership rolls, 2) Focusing on congregational care and specific membership needs, 3) Visitation of homebound members and 4) Evangelism. Special events hosted by the Board of Deacons are also being planned for the upcoming year, including an ice cream social in August and a mid-October dinner for Shepherds and Sheep. The Deacons are hard at work by being faithful servants of JKPC and look forward to sharing our thoughts with the Congregation…check out the next monthly update!

A tour of the new addition was conducted on February 14. Over 100 people participated in the tour. The brick masons are starting to lay the brick. Work continues on the interior steel framework. The air handlers have been installed. If you have comments or concerns about the activities of the task force or would like a particular issue discussed at the next meeting, please contact a task force member. The members are Vivian Hale, Pat Dean, Mark Harper, Barbara Williams, Jeff Roberts, Judy Ricketts, Bob Weetman, Ken Duggins, Jerry Carter, Dan Fisher, and Ross Estabrook.

Chairs and Pews

We have raised $32,048.99 and spent $11,555.00. We have a current balance of $20,493.99. Thanks to all who made donations. We still need $5801.01.

Audio Visual Equipment:

We have signed a contract with ESCO Communications for a total cost of $45,386. We are pursuing two grant opportunities to help with this cost, but those will not cover the entire amount.

Donation checks should be made out to the church with the fund you are contributing to written in the memo portion of the check.

Theme: “My Journey: Walking in Faith”

Saturdays, 8:30-9:30 a.m.

March 7, Location: Northminster Presbyterian Church
Speaker: K.P. Singh – artist, author and a member of the Sikh faith.

March 14, Location: Irvington Presbyterian Church
Speaker: Jim Lemons – neonatologist, Riley Hospital for Children, international health care activist.

March 21, Location: Christ Presbyterian Church
Speaker: Indianapolis Colts coach or player

Rather than throwing away your metal cans and old hangers, save them and help the church buy the new church furniture. Harlan Rolfson is coordinating this fundraiser. The label should be removed from the can. The can and lid need to be rinsed and dried. Cans, lids, and hangers should be put in plastic trash bags. Close the bag and then place in the bed of Harlan’s blue GMC pick-up truck which is usually parked under the light pole at the south end of the church parking lot. Contact Harlan or Frank Mansell if you have questions. Thanks for your help!

On March 16, 2010, if you eat at the Bob Evans Restaurant at I-465 and Rockville Road between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., 15% of your total food bill will be donated to the church furniture fund. You present a flyer to the cashier when you pay your bill, and a flyer is required for each check. (If two couples are dining at the same table and each couple wants a separate check each couple must have a flyer.) Flyers will be available at the church beginning March 7 and will be on the table underneath the bulletin board by the church office. You may give flyers to your relatives, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Carry-out orders are included in the program. This is a great opportunity to eat out and help pay for our new pews and chairs. Thanks for your support.

Thanks for your prayers, cards, phone calls, inquiries, and visits when I had surgery in October and during my recuperation period. My daughter Judy, son-in-law Pete, and I appreciate the support you gave to them during this time. I am much better and hope to return to church in the near future.
-Jean Curtis

The congregation extends its sympathy to Patty McKinnon and family. Patty’s father, Vern McKinnon, died February 10, in Chicago.

"God Heard Their Cry" is the latest in the Focus on the Family series taught by popular biblical scholar and Jewish historian Ray Vander Laan. In ancient times, nothing was bigger than Egypt. Powerful pharaohs, strong armies and a multitude of gods were no match for the Hebrews of Moses' day......or were they?

Journey to the places where the events of the exodus occurred and relive this exciting time with Vander Laan as tour guide. The journey starts in Luxor, Egypt, looks at Israel in bondage, revisits the plagues and finishes with the exodus and the miracle of the Red Sea crossing.

This study begins Sunday February 28 and finishes on the last Sunday in March. See Sue Hartman for questions. Previous lessons from this series have been well received and expect nothing less with this latest installment. Come experience the sites and sounds of ancient Egypt. The time is 10 am and the place is the Adult Forum Room. See you there!

APRIL 3
9-11 A.M.
Mark your calendars and invite your friends to a morning of fun and fellowship! Watch the bulletin and bulletin boards for information about how you can help.

JKPC Youth Group is active and looking for more to join them!!   We are meeting on the 2nd Friday night of each month for Mission Work and a Game Night and the 4th Sunday for a fun lesson and fellowship.  Bring a friend anytime - the more the merrier.  Please contact Craig or Tracy Damone with any questions. (317)286-3451  tracydamone@comcast.net

We wanted to let you know what we've been doing - Josh Stiles says:  "Once a month on Friday night and Saturday, the Youth Group has gone over to St. John's Food Pantry in Speedway.  We go on Friday to bag up the food and put it in a storing area. Then on Saturday we give out the food.  One month we gave out 200 pairs of bags!  We do things in order by first "shopping" (which is when we put the food in bags), then we put it in a storing place.  Finally, it gets handed out.  We give out a variety of food like canned fruit and veggies.  Also, we give out cereal.  We have a lot of fun doing this.  All the donations from our Food on the First go to St. John's.  So, make sure you bring in your goods."

Last month we called to your attention that it is getting that time of the year that we start collecting baby/toddler items to be sent to the Kayenta Presbyterian Church in Arizona for Indian families living on a reservation nearby. We have been collecting these items, new or in very good condition, for over 30 years, which is when our senior highs went there on a mission trip. They have been so appreciative of our donations as these families are in great need and their income is extremely low. Boxes have been placed in the halls for your donated items. We will have these boxes out through April so watch for those sales to help our cause. Your thoughtfulness will be extremely appreciated.

Remember the PW Annual Garage Sale will be held Saturday, April 10th from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Start collecting those items you can donate. Watch for sign up sheets on the bulletin board and more information in the April Tidings.
Betty Baird and Sandy Jordan – Co-Chairpersons

John Knox will be hosting a hands on sound workshop led by nationally recognized HOW-TO-CHURCH SOUND MINISTRIES Saturday, May 1, 2010 from 9am to 6pm. If you, or anyone you know, might be interested, please pass this information along to them. Participants receive a workbook, literature, continental breakfast, snacks and lunch plus 8 hours of up close and personal HANDS-ON training. How to sound workshops bring more than $120,000 of equipment, including analog and digital mixers, wireless/wired microphones, compressors, equalizers, personal monitoring systems and equipment for musicians to help lower stage volume. Cost is $159 (register by April 17, 2010-$139 per person.) $129 per person if registering five or more people ($109 per person if registered by April 17, 2010.

To register call Hector, 732-741-1275 or Linda 301-739-5721 or to register on line go to www.howtosound.com/register. For more information visit the web site at www.HOWTOSOUND.com.

Food items (nonperishable) are collected on the first Sunday of the month and then taken to St. John’s Storehouse. Bring your items on Sunday, March 7th.

The 2010 Membership Directories are now available. Please take one per family.

Articles for the next issue of the Tidings are due by Wednesday, March 17. The preferred way to turn in your articles is email them to Cyd Kladden at cydkladden@yahoo.com or the church office (jkpcoffice@comcast.net).

Daylight Saving time will begin this year on Sunday, March 14. So when you go to bed Saturday evening, be sure to set your clocks AHEAD one hour. That way, you won’t be late for church on Sunday morning!

In March the Winter Seminar Series will continue with the reading and analysis of a book written by Pope John Paul II. The Gospel of Life was written in 1995 to address the full sense of the value and inviolability of the individual human life. It is not written only for Catholics. The book is dedicated to, “all people of good will.”

Class will meet on Saturdays, March 6, 13, 20 and 27 in the Library from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. To ensure adequate supplies of the book you will need to register no later than February 14, 2010. To register see Gary Shaw either in person or by e-mail at gshaw@skilesdetrude.com.

As we enter the winter months, sometimes weather can be a problem with events we have scheduled at the church. If you are unsure of whether an activity will go on as planned, please call the church and we will have an updated message on the main menu.

We will record any announcements there for changes or cancellations of events due to weather, and will keep that updated accordingly. Also, Frank Mansell will send a group email to those on his list to notify you, as well. If you are not on Frank’s list and would like to be, email him at jkpcpastor@comcast.net.

Food on First—St. John’s Storehouse

At the September 20 S.E.T., representatives from St John’s Episcopal Church shared an overview of their congregation’s food ministry which distributes food on the second Saturday of every month. The number of families being served each month continues to grow. As you shop for items to donate to Food on the First, please keep the following list of desired items in mind:

Canned fruits and vegetables	Spaghetti and pasta	Hamburger/tuna helper
Canned meat / other proteins	Beans	Tomato sauce/ pasta sauce
Rice-a-roni	Bread	Peanut butter / jelly
Potatoes	Sugar	Flour
Detergent	Toilet paper	Holiday treats
Baby foods	Baby formula	Diapers
Pet food

Volunteers to help during the distribution day or days the group stocks the pantry are appreciated. For additional information see a member of the GMO Team or call one of the pantry coordinators directly - Mary (840-7894) or Kevin(858-8584 or 840-2370).

Thanks for Saving Soup Labels and Box Tops!

YES! Our church continues to save Campbell’s Soup “Labels for Education” and General Mill’s products “Box Tops”. These items are sent to Kemmerer Village, and Presbyterian Child Care agency in Assumption, Illinois. The labels and box tops are worth $0.10 each and help provide special school supplies, books, playground equipment, etc, for the school. PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGES…..instead of the old “face” of the soup labels, we now need to save the BARCODE portion of the label, along with the face of the little “Campbell’s kid” next to the barcode. Simply cut this small portion out! For Box Tops, please save the small Box Top symbol on many products---General Mills cereals and many snack items. Zip Lock bags and some tissues have Box Tops symbols, too! Look around for the symbols---it is an easy way to help others! For items you use anyway, it is “no purchase necessary”! Please place your saved Box Tops and Campbell’s Labels in the red mesh basket in the right hand corner of the bulletin board outside the church office ANY TIME! This is an on-going project. THANKS for your help!

Recycling at John Knox — Small and Large

One thing you will have noticed with the onset of construction is that we have moved the paper recycling bin from the north driveway entrance. It is now located beside the aluminum recycling bin, on the southwest corner of the parking lot (beside the storage barn). When construction begins, the north driveway will be blocked-off for public access, as that will be the staging area for contractors. You will be able to park on the north side of the building, but you will only be able to come in through the south driveway (at the stop light).

Also, if you have large metal items you are disposing of, call Harlan Rolfson and he will take them for recycling and donate the funds to the building fund. Grills, air conditioners, guttering – all sorts of things can be turned in for recycling, and Harlan is happy to do the heavy lifting for you! Call him at home at 271-8345, and help out the environment and the church at the same time!

Winter Coats For Homeless Adults

We would like to support to the Wheeler Mission ministry of Rev. Salig who distributes coats to homeless men and women in Indianapolis. We are not asking the congregation to purchase new coats, but to keep this opportunity in mind if you have serviceable adult size coats you would otherwise be donating to Goodwill or other organization. A collection box will be placed in the coat room.

Our Church Is Helping Our Community

Our church continues to provide support for our neighbors in quiet ways that you may not be aware. Kim Grant, our church secretary, keeps detailed records of assistance given to folks in need who come into the church requesting assistance. It is the church's policy that we help individuals once annually. Unfortunately, this is a necessity to help prevent fraud and enable us to help more people with true needs.

Assistance given in 2009 (as of June) include: 7 full-day bus passes; $25 Kroger gift cards to 4 people; $25 gas cards given to 2 people; $25 butterball turkey gift certificates given to 2 individuals. Turkey gift certificates?? YES! A church member received these as a bonus/prize at work, and found out that they were taxable gifts! By donating these certificates to John Knox Church, the gifts became tax-DEDUCTIBLE, and they helped to feed some families! Do you have a similar gift that you would like to donate? What a wonderful way to share with others to provide for some basic needs---food, and transportation.

Flowers on Sundays

Did you know you can add to the beauty of our worship each Sunday by offering flowers for both services? Just sign-up on the chart outside the office. Either provide your own arrangement, or Kim Grant can order an arrangement from a local florist, and then acknowledge your gift in the bulletin. Call Kim (291-0308) if you have any questions!

Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program Press Release

December 15, 2008

"Reverend Frank Mansell has been selected to participate in the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program...

The focus of the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program will engage pastors in explorations of critical economic, educational, and political challenges facing Indiana communities and help them develop the knowledge and skills to become stronger leaders in their congregations and communities."

Click here to read the complete press release.

$$$$ Scrap Metal $$$$

Old grills, copper and other metal items can be recycled. Cash received from these items is being added to the Capital Campaign fund. If you have anything to donate, please call Frank Mansell (291-0308) or Harlan Rolfson (271-8345).

Another Way To “Reach Out By Reaching In”

The Board of Deacons has a special invitation for you. It is easy---and will be enjoyable for all parties, most likely! Imagine living alone in your home, or being surrounded by the same faces every day in a nursing home. The days could be long and lonely. What a wonderful treat it would be to receive a visitor from your home church. Beginning soon, there will be a list of our shut-in members, those in nursing facilities, or assisted living areas, that would probably enjoy a visit from a caring John Knox member. This may be someone you have known for years, or a new name and face. It would be lovely if someone could plan to drop in for a visit each month, or as your time allows. It would be fun to update those members that cannot attend church as to the current activities at John Knox--- perhaps show pictures, or child-crafts that have been created. Oh, my-- Speedway is changing—what a discussion that could be! In turn, you would have an opportunity to learn about an interesting and experienced life that has been lived. Senior citizens always have interesting tales of times gone by---from a perspective that we often could not have imagined.

Watch for a list by the large map to the right of the kitchen door at John Knox Church. Open up your heart and a few minutes in your schedule to make a difference in someone’s life. Reach OUT, by reaching IN to some of our seniors.

Click here to see the calendar for January.

More announcements...