The Ledger
monthly newsletter of Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church
March 2020
| The Godliness of Generosity
The Season of Lent contains the 40-days from Ash Wednesday (02/26) to Christ’s Resurrection Sunday (03/12, Sundays are not included). This is not a biblical season, but an ecclesial one meant to help us in our faith by reminding us of how much we have to repent of, and how much God offers to give us. It is called “Lent” because of an Old English form of the word “lengthen” (this is the calendar season when days in the northern hemisphere get longer). This year our worship and devotional study will concentrate on God’s generosity to us – and our reflection of His liberality with our own generosity. In addition to Sunday worship we offer you family-friendly devotionals with take home activities to enhance and complement what we do in worship. Pick up a devotional at the church or ask for an emailed copy or an electronic link to get your own. As we journey through this season together, we invite each of us to focus intentionally on the spiritual practice of giving. On Sundays and in our devotionals we will explore a Gospel passage and a |
| form of giving that will help us examine why we give, what we give, the power of our gifts, and the impact our giving has on others around us.
And we have a special gift from our denomination’s Foundation, Ministry Relations Officer. He will lead our Deacons and Elders (and anyone else who would like to participate) on a Saturday Retreat (at the church) on March 7, 8:30am-12:30pm (lunch included). And on Sunday, March 8, the Rev. Dr. Rob Hagan will preach and then guide our whole church on a venture into understanding Legacy Giving. I truly hope everyone will stay – you will be blessed and we will grow in faith and understanding. Our expectation is that we will discover something new of how we view God, our faith, and the world around us. May God bless you this Lenten Season. Mark
|
Legacy Giving Seminar
Legacy Giving is defined as “making and impact and doing Christ’s work, even after our lifetimes!”
Sunday, March 8, the Rev. Dr. Rob Hagan, Presbyterian Foundation’s Ministry Relations Officer, will preach during worship and then invite us all to lunch and guide us in a seminar on:
- The theology of Legacy Giving
- The joy of giving
- Giving Now and Later
- Later
- Wills
- IRA
- Insurance
- Now
- DAF
- Trusts
- Endowments
Culture of Generosity March 7, 8:30am-12:30pm, lunch included, Pastor Rob Hagan, from the Presbyterian Foundation, will lead a workshop building a culture of generosity.
Reading through the Bible
Several of us committed ourselves to read through the Bible last year. Each person was blessed, surprised, by how much this simple practice enhanced our faith!
The Church Office has pre-printed schedules you may follow for 2020, or just plan to read 3-4 chapters per day (approximately 100 chapters each month). We will plan occasional gatherings to talk about what we’ve read, questions that have arisen, and insights we have gained.
By March 1, you should be at Joshua 13.
LPC’s Day-2-Pray – March 2
On the 2nd of each month we join forces with others across our region to pray through the seven spheres of influence in our city and county.
This month we pray for EDUCATION:
- For wisdom for teachers and coaches, bringing encouragement and God’s will for each student.
- For Project six19, that God will open doors in every school for the message of sexual integrity and God’s grand design for sex, and healing around extramarital sex and the use of pornography.
- That participation in “Churches Loving Schools” mentoring increases by 10 churches and 100 mentors, resulting in relationships that earn the privilege to preach Christ.
- That Spokane School District will adopt curriculum in Human Growth and Development which promote healthy and biblical values and strengthen marriage in our society.
Invest 5 minutes on Monday, March 2, praying for the greater Spokane region. Pray from your home, your office, your car, your bed.
Trivia Question
What was the pastor’s salary in 1907, and how did that compare with others?
Just-for-Fun Keeps on Singing!
Enjoy J4F’s music and fun entertainment on Mon, March 16, 6pm at Maplewood Gardens.
Children’s Church
We have the volunteers! If you are one of them, please talk to Mark ASAP to get the background checks started! We hope to get this rolling by April 5! And it’s not too late to sign-up! Talk to Mark ASAP.
Adult Faith Class on Sundays
The fourth Sunday of every month, 9-10:15am, we hold a Faith Class for all adults (choir members, it’s harder for you, but you can come late after rehearsal). Right now we are using a video curriculum from Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ book and movie. It’s never too late to join us! (And we also do a Potluck Continental Breakfast! Come in for the goodies, too.)
Sign-up in the main hallway!
Congratulations
Andrew Wheeler and Gulaida Tursunbekov were married on February 20, 2020, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Condolences
At the end of January we lost a saint to glory, our deepest sympathies to the Roloff family as we celebrated Lolabelle Roloff’s resurrection on February 8, one week before her 95th birthday.
CEO:Mission
Pastor Mark is planning a trip to Kenya in late July 2020 – that’s just FOUR MONTHS away! He would LOVE to have more folks from LPC join this faith adventure. But the time to act is NOW!
On this trip we will meet the CEO leaders, the children in Kiminini and Mumias, and we will bless and pray over the groundbreaking of the not-yet built orphan facilities.
Supporting this mission by regular or occasional donations is also deeply needed and appreciated! And more and more orphans could use a sponsor! Talk to Mark about any of these options.
Future Church Learning
- When we go out to eat, tell our server we are about to say grace, and ask if there’s something they would like us to pray for them. Simple, right? Courageously show our faith by engaging with a server and offering Jesus’ love by praying. Then reflect on how this changes us as well.
- Pray for our neighborhood communities – what we notice, what we hear about, what we see in the news; and then act on those prayers – invite a neighbor over for coffee, send a card, offer a service, etc.
Finance Update
| Income | Expenses | Difference | Year-to-Date | |
| Jan. | $8,005.00 | $9,303.36 | -$1,298.36 | -$1,298.36 |
| Feb.* | $8,468.46 | $9,072.06 | -$603.60 | -$1,901.96 |
| YTD | $16,473.46 | $18,375.42 | -$1,901.96 | *as of 02/19 |
Great job in February almost catching up to our budget! This was helped by an anonymous donation of $1,500 – and we are grateful for such blessings as that as well. Please consider how you will bless LPC this year, and how we will serve God together with you!
Also, please remember our Special Fund Drives for our Child Empowerment Outreach mission:
- Ongoing ministry support for the orphans. “Kenya Children” on memo-line.
- Sponsoring a child through CEO:Mission.
There’s a Ground-breaking trip planned in July. Is this something you might consider?
Up: Our relationship with God – worship, Bible study, Sunday School
In: Our relationship with one another – fellowship, games, food, support, Deacons
Out: Our relationship with our community – food pantry, Pastor’s fund, dinners, etc
Further Out: Our relationship beyond Spokane – CEO, Kenya, audio Bibles, etc
Administration & Communication: Monthly newsletter, weekly bulletins, copier, etc
Facility maintenance, etc.: Our facilities, buildings, van, parking area, equipment, are tools for furthering the work of ministry.
Let’s see if we can faithfully meet this challenge. Thank you for your generosity!
Trivia Answer
We paid our first pastor $1,200/year (this was double the average clergy salary of $600), about the same as a teacher, $675; minimum wage workers made $475, accountants earned $2,000, dentists made $2,500, mechanical engineers earned $5,000!
In 2020 we pay our pastor $42,009/year (45% of the average clergy salary of $94,000), average teacher salary across the country is about $60,000; fulltime minimum wage workers make about $28,000; accountants earn $59,000, dentists make $219,000, mechanical engineers earn $82,000.
lidgerwoodpresbychurch 