Greenfield Avenue Presbyterian Church

We will be having indoor fellowship after worship service this Sunday. We will be having Lemonade and Iced Tea and Halloween Cookies. Fellowship will be held downstairs in Reichart Hall, social distancing is strongly encouraged.

Session calls a Congregational Meeting for October 31st following worship. We will receive the Nominating Committee. We will elect Elders and Deacons to begin on the first Sunday of January. The Nominating Committee’s slate includes for elders Napoleon Lukong (1 year term), Mark Brodaczynski, Kerstin Lefevre, and Jay Saugstad (3 year terms); for Deacons Sandy Schuppel and Mirabel Yuven. We thank those who have agreed to serve. 

In addition to the election of officers, we will hold a town hall meeting to discuss options raised during the Mission Study regarding our building and property. No action will be taken at this meeting, although we may ask for members to serve on a committee to further explore this matter.

You are invited to help beautify our sanctuary for the 2021 Christmas season. You will find a flyer in the bulletin to be filled out and returned to the church. the cost for a pointsettias is $15.00 and you have a choice of white, pink or red. If you have any questions please call Sue at 715-551-3869.

Hanging of the Greens and trimming of the tree will be after Worship Service. If you can please stay and help us beautify our santuary.

Mission Statement - Who we are:

As a family of Christian faith, we believe in including our neighbors in worship and actively supporting mission, as guided by our traditions. 

Vision Statement - Who we see God calling us to be:

To strengthen our Christian community, seeking to deepen our faith in o

  On the first Sunday of November, we will celebrate All Saints Sunday. If you experienced the death of a loved one this past year, we will celebrate their life and faith on November 7th. Please notify Sheri cell (414) 403-1046 by November 3rd so names can be included in the bulletin. Invite friends and family to worship with us for this special service. 

Rev. Jones’ Schedule 

Rev. Jones  will be working from home until he is cleared to drive following surgery. Please contact him via email (revjones96@gmail.com) of mobile phone (608-205-7428) He will work to arrange a ride as needed.

• Monday, October 25 - Worship Committee - Zoom @ 7pm

• Tuesday or Wednesday - Record Worship 1:30

• Thursday, October 28 - Interim Cohort - Zoom @ noon

• Friday, October 29 - Sabbath Day

October 25th Worship

October 25th Bulletin

1. Expectations - Session Approved

   1. Masks: Currently, MASKS ARE OPTIONAL FOR THOSE WHO ARE VACCINATED; ALL OTHERS ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR MASKS. 

   2. Physical Distance: We expect 6’ distance from anyone who is not in your household.

   3. Bulletins: We will have bulletins in worship. 

   4. Offering: Will be collected as you enter and leave the sanctuary in a “Church Box”

It’s the First Sunday, why are we not celebrating Communion? - Rev. Jones

Many congregations celebrate communion on the first Sunday of the month. GAPC has done this for years, maybe as long as you remember. In 2021, we will not regularly celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday of each month, but we will celebrate each month. Let me explain the theology and our Reformed tradition regarding this sacrament. 

First, the Reformation focused the Christian faith to reclaim practices described in Scripture. The Latin Sola Scriptura means through Scripture alone, we gain our understanding of faith by relying on our understanding of Scripture. In the 16th century, many Christians practiced rituals without understanding why they did what they did. The Reformers wanted to guide Christians to a deeper understanding of faith and the practices of faith. 

While John Calvin, our Presbyterian theological ancestor promoted the celebration of communion on each Lord’s day. This weekly practice was seen as excessive by the governing council and too ritualistic. On the other end of the spectrum, our Book of Order states that a responsibility of Session, 

“provide that the Sacraments may be rightly administered and received. This responsibility shall include authorizing the celebration of the Lord’s Supper at least quarterly and the administration of Baptism as appropriate, in accordance with the principles of the Directory for Worship;”

Second, the Presbyterian planning calendar provides a number of theological significant dates for Communion. Baptism of our Lord in January, Transfiguration in February, any Sunday of Lent or Advent, Palm, Easter, Pentecost, World Communion, Reformation Sunday, and Christ the King to name most of the dates. I’ve preferred to celebrate these theological significant dates to connect the sacrament with these theological concepts.

Third, it’s a practical matter. As an Interim Pastor, my goal is to guide the congregation to be ready to welcome a new called and installed pastor. To guide this process, I encourage you to explore new possibilities for your faith practice. Your new pastor may have ideas that will challenge the status quo, “The way we’ve always done it.” In doing things differently during this transitional time, helps to open our minds to the next pastor’s new ideas. So I ask a lot of “why” questions. Why have you had communion on the first Sunday?

So in January, Session approved the celebration of the Lord’s Supper on the second Sunday for the Baptism of our Lord. In February, we will celebrate next Sunday, February 14th which is Transfiguration Sunday. I hope you will reflect on this practice and let me or a member of Session know your thoughts about why and when we “Do This in Remembrance” of our Lord and Savior. 

Grace and Peace,  

Bruce

This week’s prelude: “Adagio” by Charles Callahan comes from a set of variations on SLANE (the hymn-tune name) which we will “sing/hum” as “Be Thou My Vision” in our service this weekend. The melody is cleverly hidden in this rendition so listen closely.

Mary Radspinner (harpist) shares a rendition of KINGSFOLD (“The King of Love My Shepherd Is”) on her harp from way down South in Texas. Mary videos herself in her Houston home and mails the video to me. I video myself as I play the accompaniment in my bedroom and then glue the two videos together. It would be wonderful to video ourselves at the same time but there is a sound-lag over the air-waves that makes that impossible.

Our postlude “Morning Has Broken” (composed/arranged by Michael Burkhardt) is an unusual setting, a gentle toccata. Toccatas are usually boisterous barn-burners but Burkhardt respects the character of this well-loved folk song. Let me know what you think of this rendition… 

Service Opportunities: 

1. Liturgist: If you’d like to serve as a liturgist contact Elder Sue Smith.

2. Greeters/Ushers: There is a sign up at the back of the sanctuary or contact Elder Mark Brodaczynski.

Cleaning Crew: Again, a sign-up in the sanctuary or stay after worship to help. It is helpful to know in advance if possible.