THE CENTE R

Center Presbyterian Church 255 Center Church Road McMurray, PA 15317 Phone: 724 -941-9050 Fax: 724 -941-4189 Email: www.center-church.org centerpres@comcast.net

Are You A Fan?

Pittsburgh is notorious for its fans, especially Steeler fans. Everyone knows there are Steeler fans and bars all over the country, even the world. Penguin fans arent far behind. I was watching a recent away game between the Pens and Tampa Bay. Even though it was being played in Tampa Bay, there were more Pens fans there than Lightening fans. There are still some die-hard Pirates fans out there, too. We always keep hope that our Bucs will pull it together. I have been reading a book called Not a Fan, by Kyle Idleman. He asks the question, Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus? He states that the definition of fan is an enthusiastic admirer. I would have to say that some fans have more enthusiasm than others, like the guy with his shirt off in 10-degree weather, painted black and gold. We have no shortage of those in Pittsburgh sports.

THE CENTER FOCUS April/May2013

There is no shortage of fans on Facebook. Things pop up all the time in your newsfeed saying, become a fan of this person or cowboy boots or a comedian. All you have to do is click the like button and you are a fan! I have 393 likes! Have you ever looked at your collection of likes? What does it say about you? In Kyle Idlemans book, he talks about the difference between a fan and a follower. He says that Jesus was never interested in having fans. Jesus wants more than an Enthusiastic Admirer, he wants a relationship. Idleman states that the biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but arent actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them. The real difference between a fan and a follower is commitment. How do you measure commitment? If Jesus were to grade this on a curve, where would you fall? Or maybe there is a checklist. Lets see, go to church every Sunday, put money in the offering, volunteer to cook a dinner, listen to K-Love radio, drive my kids to Sunday School. Heck, yes! Im a follower of Jesus! But what did Jesus really ask his disciples to do? He told them to leave their boat and nets behind and Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. At once they dropped their nets and followed him. Now, thats a follower. Which are you? A fan, or a follower? Blessings! Becky Boyer
THE CENTER FOCUS April/May2013

Remember In Prayer Our Center Church Family

For Health, Healing and Concern
Lorraine Hardin Laurel Isager Cindy Marcin Marlene Mincin Peterson Family Peterson Family fractured leg Health Issues Health Issues Health Issues Medical Issues Medical Issues

Training and active duty

Chase Cowler Deployed to Afghanistan Jeff Ladisic Deployed to South Korea Trevor Cowler, Kayla Greguric, Andrew Irwin, Mary Irwin, Lew Irwin, Byron Zajdel

And Also For Our Extended FAMILY

Men and Women of our Armed Forces Norma Adams niece, Londyn Ida Peters Gill and family, suffered inutero stroke Mitchell Day Cindy Dehls mother, Sherry Piepenhagen, open heart surgery Dernosheks friend, Chris Zacios, cancer Ed Foleys friends, John and Romaine Duskey, serious health issues Mary Lou Haudenshields cousin, Ron Zanski, Leukemia Newt Hestons nephew, Gabriel Mercado, serious health issues Friend of Pete and Laurel Isager, Lydia Kovac, 7 mos. Old, leukemia chemo Marlene Mincins husband, David, health issues Betty Osburns grandson, Alex Berman, Hodgkins disease, father of twin boys Pastor Pierre of New Testament Church in Haiti Malinda and Brian Pierces niece, Katie Earhart, Takyscis Arteritis Friend of Jean & Ike Roach, Francis Fuller, Liver disease Friend of Jane Roth, Jane Baumberger, serious health issues Peg Rowes niece, Amy Hosmer, breast cancer Friend of Darci Scarff, Rodney Dayo, treatment for brain cancer Julie Shumans grandparents, Clarence and Lois Stough, health issues Smith family friend Betsy Kuhnahan, breast cancer Virginia Smiths brother, Dick Bolger, health concerns Marian Yatskos brother, George Bill Fisher, stroke Emily Zoog, severe migraine headaches THE CENTER FOCUS April/May 2013 Friend of Laura Zuloaga, Amy Bookmiller, brain cancer Visitation is among the highest priorities of life and ministry at Center Presbyterian Church and we continue to develop our ministries to shut-ins, nursing homes and special needs. Please contact the church office to request a visit or suggest individuals who might appreciate a visit. Contact the office to add or remove names of loved ones and to advise us of any changes in the status of those listed or use a prayer request card found in the attendance pad folder. These lists are used by many in their daily prayers.

MAY 12
Bring your mother to church on Sunday, May 12 and join our youth as we worship the Lord. Our seniors will be presenting the message that day and other youth will be leading the liturgy. Dont miss this special service!
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When the weather outside was frightful this past winter, work continued on updating the Center Church library. After almost two years, all the books in the library have now been barcoded and added to a computerized database of our collection. New upgraded software has been purchased and installed. New signage has been added to the shelves and a separate section has been designated as New Books. We are currently in the process of adding new books to our childrens section, thanks to a very gracious anonymous patron. We are hoping to grow this area of the library even further in the coming months. Look for more news on this project in next months newsletter.

THE CENTER FOCUS April/May 2013

NEW THIS SUMMER!!! Summer Mission Camp For kids!

(formerly known as VBS)

JUNE 17-21 9:00-12:00

We are always looking for new ideas in ministry here at Center Church. This year we have decided to do a mission camp for kids! Our teens love to go on mission trips and help others, we thought, why not get the younger kids involved? We are still working on how this will be structured but it will be a little different than our usual VBS. There will be trips taken off campus to do mission projects. Ideas we are brainstorming are trips to a nursing home, food bank, holding a clothing drive, making sandwiches for Washington City Mission, making pillows/blankets for children at Family Promise or Womens shelter, making cards for soldiers, etc. This camp will be open to all children entering 1 st grade through 6th grade in the fall. Children need to have finished Kindergarten. There will be a charge of $20 to help cover expenses. Save the date, June 17-21 for Center Mission Camp. Jesus challenged us to be his disciples and to serve one another in love. Lets do it! Blessings! Becky Boyer

THE CENTER FOCUS April/May 2013

A guest from Ethiopia, Gezahegn Bahiru, will visit Center Church on April 28th
Our Ethiopian partner is one of the fastest growing Presbyterian churches in the world. When our partnership started twenty years ago, Washington Presbytery and Kaffa Bethel Presbytery were about the same size, roughly 17,000 members each. Today, our partner has grown into South West Bethel Synod, made up of eight presbyteries, roughly 300 congregations, and a quarter of a million members! Gezahegn will tell a little about how our brothers and sisters witness and why the Gospel is on fire in Ethiopia. Center Church has also been one of the strongest supporters of the Apple Project. Until a few years ago, apples were unknown in Ethiopia. Gezahegn will explain how your generosity is helping farmers plant Golden Delicious and other varieties, opening up new ways for some of the poorest people in the world to climb out of poverty. God is changing the world,
THE CENTER FOCUS April/May 2013

and we are blessed to be a part of the work.

Its hard to believe the preschool year will soon come to an end. Our children have grown so much this year and learned many lessons that will stay with them throughout their lives. We feel it is such a blessing to be part of their early education. We doing well with registration for the 2013-2014 school year, with 48 students registered so far. Please help us to spread the word in our community! We still have several activities to look forward to before the end of the year. During the week of May 6th-10th , we will celebrate our Moms with a tea in her honor. The children will sing several songs and present their mothers with a special gift. Our School Picnic will be held on May 15th, with activities and games. We will serve lunch to all the families in attendance. The day will end with a Scholastic Book Fair from 12:001:00 in the Narthex. We hope to offer this book fair to church families on Mothers Day, after the 11:00 service. Graduation will take place on Friday, May 17th in our sanctuary. The event is for all preschoolers who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall. Lastly, the preschool will host a 2 week summer camp, from May 28th-June 6th. The themes will be Fun in the Jungle and Circus, Circus. This camp is open to any child in the community ages 3-6 years old. Children do not have to be current preschool students to attend. Let

your neighbors know about this great camp!

May God Bless You All, Bonnie Kline

THE CENTER FOCUS April/May 2013

The PNC continues to meet almost weekly as we go on with our search for the best candidate for our church. As of April 15, 2013, we will have met 37 times as a committee. Since the first PIFs (pastors resumes) appeared online on July 25, 2012, we have considered multiple candidates. This includes reviewing PIFs, listening to sermons, and personally interviewing candidates. To date, we have the following to report: o Weve conducted 20 first interviews by telephone. o 9 second interviews were done either by Skype or in person. o Some have withdrawn their candidacy from nomination, or accepted other positions, while we have decided not to move forward with several others. Our work as a committee continues as we strive to discern the best candidate to lead Center Presbyterian Church to keep us moving forward. We respectfully ask for you as the congregation to continue to pray for His guidance as we proceed through this selection process.

Help is needed on Saturday, May 11, with the clean-up effort around the church properties. We need general cleaning, pulling of weeds and removal of many leaves that have piled up around the property. There will be no new mulch delivered this year so there will be no need to spread mulch! We will also be planting some flowers and maybe some shrubs near one of the manses. Please let Barry Miller know if you can help!
THE CENTER FOCUS April/May 2013

THE CENTER FOCUS

Non-Profit Organization

THE CENTER FOCUS April/May 2013 Return Service Requested

U.S. Postage PAID McMurray, PA PERMIT NO. 113

Center Presbyterian Church 255 Center Church Road McMurray, PA 15317

WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Sunday Worship Service 8:30 a.m. Holy Communion

Traditional Worship Service 11:00 ~a.m. Fellowship Time following both services

For God So Loved The World

Joseph H. Rodgers, Pastor Emeritus