The Trumpet January 2020 Volume 37 Issue 1

Firelands Presbyterian Church

2626 East Harbor Road

Port Clinton, Ohio 43452

419-734-6211

Fax 419-734-5411

www.firelandschurch.org

Rev. Mark Cooper, Pastor

Ed Bettendorf, Clerk of Session

Susan Larcey and Kay McIntosh, Musicians Musical Art Series

Darrell Brand, Treasurer Kenari Saxophone Quartet
Rachel Johnson, January 25 at 7:00 PM
Preschool Director Classic Sax from Baroque to Jazz. This concert is
Janine Dress, sponsored the Stouffer family and CIC Following the
Administrative Assistant concert, there will be a reception for the audience to
meet the artists. Tickets are available at the door for
Mark Owen, Custodian $15 ($12 for Firelands members); students are admitted
free of charge.

Table of Contents Care Giver’s Support Group

News & Notes ....................................... 2
Thank You ...................................... 2 & 3
Session Highlights & Notes ..................... 3
Pastor’s Page .................................. 3 & 4
January Lectionary ................................ 4
Monthly Prayer List &
January Celebrations ............................. 5
Calendar .............................................. 6
Ministry Schedule ................................. 7
Musical Arts 2019-2020 Season .............. 8
January 15 3:00-4:30 PM
The Firelands Caregiver Support Group will meet on
Wednesday, January 15, from 3:00-4:30 in the
Firelands Church Library. Over the past few months we
have created a powerful spirit of support and acceptance
for the challenges care giving sometimes brings. Let us
support you in caring for yourself as you care for your
loved one! Feel free to call Anne O’Malley (440-488-
3055) or Carol Clemons (419-732-0644) with any
questions.
Firelands Family Friday Feast
January 17 at 6 PM
It’s a New Year! Come and treat yourselves to a night
out with your church family. We will meet at Waldo
Peppers (Knoll Crest Shopping Center) and our
organizer Connie Brand.
Please sign up on the sheet on the gathering table.
January 2020
Janine on Vacation
Janine is on vacation Tuesday January 28 – February
24. She is at an All Ohio Lutheran Clergy Conference
January 28 -30 in Columbus and then she will be on her
way to Florida via the Amtrak Car train. Barb Kroll will
be in the Office Thursday February 13 & 20 to print the
bulletin.
Please Pay Per Capita
Your Finance and Stewardship Committee is again
asking the membership of Firelands Church for your
support to please consider making a donation of $35.00
per member to help us cover our Per Capita asking from
the Maumee Valley Presbytery. The approved 2020 Per
Capita of $35.70 is broken down into the following:
General Assembly $8.95, Synod of the Covenant $3.25
and Maumee Valley Presbytery $23.50. This year our
total apportionment is $3,177.30 based on a
membership of 89.
Your valued consideration towards this asking will be
greatly appreciated and will support our financial budget
here at Firelands Church. You can place your donation in
your Sunday offering envelope and please be sure to
indicate your desire by marking the outside of your
offering envelope or on your check. You can also leave
your Per Capita donation ay the church office or by
mailing it there, again marking your intention on your
envelope or on your check.
Membership and Friends again thank-you for your
financial commitment for administrative year 2020. Our
contribution to the Maumee Valley Presbytery Per Capita
asking is a sign of our support and grace that keeps us
together as a body of Christ in Northwest Ohio and
Southeast Michigan
God Bless, Bill Sharp, Chair
Finance and Stewardship
Thank Yous
To my Firelands family,
Thank you so much for your generous gift and prayers
during this past holiday time.
Janine
To the Firelands Mission Committee,
Thank you so much for the Walmart Gift Card. Your
thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated.
Janine
Page 2
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for the gifts- the gift card and
check. It is my pleasure to serve as your pianist but I
am grateful for the gestures of appreciation. FPC is
wonderful in so many ways.
Susan
Worship and Music Committee extends thanks to
all who added to our Advent Season
Thanks to Sally Wahlers for her spectacular job
coordinating the Advent decorations in the church.
Thanks to Nila McCullough who coordinated the Advent
Wreath participants and provided the special readings
for each of the Sundays in Advent and Christmas Eve.
She also ordered an Advent Meditation guide booklet to
share with the congregation.
Thanks to Susan Larcey for her work coordinating and
accompanying the special musicians for Advent:
Brian Shifflet, cello on Dec. 15, 2019
Jen Daniel, French horn on Dec. 22, 2019
Gen Bettendorf, vocal soloist on Christmas Eve
Thanks to the Sometimes Serendipity Singers who sang
Dec.8 and 15, 2019. They also sang for Service of the
Longest Night on Saturday, December 21, 2019
Thanks to Alison Falls who lead an Advent Meditation on
Peace on Thursday December 12, 2019
Thanks to Pastor Mark who coordinated our community
Service of the Longest Night on Saturday, December 21
with the Port Clinton ministerial association. Thanks to
Marilyn Umlauf and Sally Wahlers who prepared the
sanctuary. We extend our appreciation to Alison Falls for
her efforts in sharing information with D’arcy Egan for
his Beacon article about this service.
A special thank you to Jo Coon who created the beautiful
stained glass window quilt which is now hanging for the
prayer corner in the sanctuary.
We also extend our gratitude to Janine whose efforts in
creating posters and programs for our extra services in
this busy season are always appreciated.
Thanks to our supply pastor Judi Frank who preached
for our service on Dec. 29, 2019.
Firelands Presbyterian Church,
Thank you for the Paper products given to us to give
away to others.
Janice Russell, Treasurer
Ottawa County Holiday Bureau Port Clinton
Thank Yous Continued
January 2020 Page 3

Happy New Year and thank you to FPC's most
benevolent congregation:
For all the Christmas articles of giving that were
collected this season; those who "rang" the bell at
Kroger for Salvation Army; packers and deliverers of
goody bags for those working Christmas Eve; lovely
poinsettias to grace our sanctuary; and the beauty of
the decorations hung throughout the church.
The PJ's donated for Salvation Army were a BIG hit as it
seems the pajama table was empty quickly at their
"giving" day December 18.
Thank You from PCUSA for your Joy offerings which will
help Clergy in financial need and Presbyterian College
Students.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, one and ALL for all
that you do for Mission.
Ginny McCook, Chair
Mission Committee
Firelands Members,
Thank You for the two bags dropped off at the Danbury
Township Police station Christmas Eve. All the goodies in
the bag were enjoyed. The candles were especially
appreciated.
Highlights of the 12/10/19
Stated Meeting of Session
1. Received and approved Treasurer Vicki Wheatley’s
Financial Report.
2. Bill Sharp presented a draft of the proposed 2020
church budget to members of session. This remains a
work in process at this time; it is scheduled to be
ratified in January 2020. Expect to hear more about the
budget over the next month or two.
3. John McIntosh has been named the Chair of the
Christian Education/Spiritual Nurture Committee. 4. The
church’s conversion to natural gas has been completed.
As part of that process the furnaces were converted to
natural gas, the propane hot water tank has been
replaced (the old one sold for $300) and the propane
stove in the kitchen is in the process of being replaced
(the old one was sold for $2000). The funds received for
these old appliances will go toward our facilities
improvement completion.
5. The Preschool (and refurbished playground) has
passed its recent State Inspection (10/18/2019).

Chief Michael S. Meisler

Preschool Update
A Firelands Church Preschool trifold info brochure
recently was created and printed, and will be distributed
to i.e. area elementary school secretaries, Ottawa
County Department of Job & Family Services, and United
Way in Ottawa County for referrals. If you’d like to refer
a young family, please ask Karen Salzgeber for a
brochure. Our church sign also will be advertising
Preschool openings, thanks to Karen Coffin. Firelands
Preschool needs kiddos! Please pass the word! Thank
you in advance!
Coat Collection for
Salvation Army
still going on until
the end of January!
Please help the local Salvation Army help others by
giving a new or clean, gently-used coat. This project is
sponsored by your Mission Committee has started.
Coats can be for children or adults of any size and are
welcome until the end of January. There will be a place
for these in the Gathering Area.

Pastor’s Page
Last night, as I write this, Jill and I took down our Christmas decorations. We have many large plastic bins of
Christmas decorations. This year, though, most of them stayed in the attic. Maybe it had to do with Jill being in
Hawaii for Christmas and it wasn’t worth it to decorate for just me. Or, more likely, it had to do with it just seeming to
be too much trouble to get all those things down and unpack them just to repack them and haul them back to the
attic a few weeks later. So, it was up with our minimal Christmas decorations, like the pre-lit Christmas tree we
bought at Target a few years ago so we wouldn’t have to go through all the agonizing trauma of actually stringing
lights on a tree. Then, all we had to do was hang a few generic glass balls on it, which was so much easier than
dragging out all the more precious, more meaningful decorations we’ve collected over the decades, from the kids’
January 2020 Page 4
childhoods and so forth. Yes, we haven’t dispensed with decorating altogether, but we’ve stripped the whole thing
down to a very precise science.

I’m not sure it is a good idea to minimize decorating for Christmas. The decorations, the lights, can be very beautiful.
Certainly our church sanctuary looked (and still looks) beautiful during the holiday season. Sometimes we might be
tempted to think it would be nice to leave the decorations up all year. Why reserve the beauty for just a few weeks?
There are a couple of reasons not to leave them up all year. First, we would probably just get used to them. Their
beauty would become routine to us and, thereby, disappear, simply be the way things are, boring.

There is something else, though, something more important, about Christmas decorations. They are meant to be
symbols of the beauty of Christmas itself, a beauty not limited to one season but something that fills our hearts, all
year long, whether the decorations are set up and visible or stored away in plastic bins somewhere. If we believe,
truly believe, in what Christmas is all about then the sense of that beauty never leaves us but is there with us
regardless of what it says on the calendar.

So, I hope you enjoyed the Christmas season. I hope you reveled in the beauty of it all, and laughed and celebrated
with your family and friends. But when everyone is gone, and all the decorations are down, hang on to the beauty of
Christmas, for it is not limited to simply a few days. Because of what Christmas means we can sing, not just on one
day but all year long, “Joy to the World! The Lord is come!”

Mark

January Lectionary
January 1, 2020 Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 Psalm 8 Revelation 21:1-6a Matthew 25:31-46
New Year's Day

January 5, 2020 Jeremiah 31:7-14 Psalm 147:12-20 Ephesians 1:3-14 John 1:(1-9), 10-18
Second Sunday after or or
Christmas Day Sirach 24:1-12 Wisdom of Solomon
10:15-21

January 6, 2020 Isaiah 60:1-6 Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 Ephesians 3:1-12 Matthew 2:1-12
Epiphany of the Lord

January 12, 2020 Isaiah 42:1-9 Psalm 29 Acts 10:34-43 Matthew 3:13-17
Baptism of the Lord
First Sunday after the
Epiphany

January 19, 2020 Isaiah 49:1-7 Psalm 40:1-11 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 John 1:29-42
Second Sunday after the
Epiphany

January 26, 2020 Isaiah 9:1-4 Psalm 27:1, 4-9 1 Corinthians 1:10- Matthew 4:12-23
Third Sunday after the 18
Epiphany
January 2020 Page 5

Ongoing Prayer Concerns

For those receiving medical treatment or therapy, or undergoing medical tests:

Debbie Ballinger, Dan Barlow, Bonnie, Jenatha Boose, Phyllis Crisp, Harold, Kim Hudson, Diane Jordan, Craig
Kaiser, Stephen Kessler, Angjuli Lele, John McLaughlin, Ele McLaughlin, Simon Mercurio, Michael, John Prestbo
Sarah, Sue, Jack Schmidt, Jeff Thompson, Justin Waugh, Gary Waugh, Ann Wagnitz.

For those facing the infirmities of age:

Jeanne Black, Wilma Cooper, Jane Kaiser, Jamie Petty, Betty Rodwancy, Bob Rodwancy, and Irene Wilson

For those seeking freedom, security, and hope:

Bobby, Justin, Sara, Val, and CASA Families

For those in the service of our country:

SMGT Jeff Bundy, Steven Coffin, FBI; Brant Crandall, USA; Cole Daniel, USCG; Matthew Devries, USAF;
Stu Gliwa, USMC; Aaron Haynes, USA; Andrew Hogue, USA, Ted Livingstine, USMC; Sanju Shinde, USMC;

For those in mission for our Lord:

Esther Wakeman, our co-mission worker in Thailand:

The National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, Berea Presbytery;

To add or delete someone from this list, please contact Janine Dress in the church office.

January
Celebrations
Richard Dietz 3 Richard Coffin 18 Pat and Bill Sharp 27

John Madison 8 Karen McCollough 21 Bob and Maxine Wilson 31

John Rogers 10 Patricia Anderson 22

Is your birthday or anniversary
Sally Walter 11 Merissa Jagucki 25
missing or incorrect? Contact the
office so we can make the
Tyler Gogolek 14 Jim Layton 26
changes to the list!

Bob Wilson 16 Marsha Bordner 26

Bill Umlauf 16 Heather Stouffer 28

January 2020 Page 6

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

OFFICE HOURS 10-2 PM : 1 2 3 4

MONDAY, THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY UNLESS NOTED ON
THE CALENDAR

5 6 7 8 9 10 11
9:15 Sunday 10 Bible Study @
School Fulton St. Café
10:30 Worship 4 Finance
Stewardship
Committee
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
9:15 Sunday 5 – 7 Free 10 Bible Study @
School Community 7 Session Fulton St. Café
10:30 Worship Dinner @
3:- 4:30 Care
Bistro163
Givers Support
Group

19 20 21 22 23 24 25
9:15 Sunday 4 MAS 1:30 Pastoral 10 Bible Study @ 7:30 MAS
School Committee Friends Fulton St. Cafe Concert
10:30 Worship

26 27 28 29 30 31
9:15 Sunday 10 Bible Study @
School Fulton St. Cafe
10:30 Worship
JANINE ON VACATION JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 24
January 2020 Page 7

Don’t Forget Your Time to Serve!

Ministry Names
Monthly Deacon of the Month Chuck Coykendale
Communion Steward John Vardyan & Marilyn Umlauf
Monthly Locking Bill Sharp
Jan. 5 Greeter(s) Ginny McCook
Reader Susan Rogers
Communion Assistant Bill Sharp
Servers Tim Flora, Bob Reynolds, Dave Moore, Dick Dietz,
Nursery Volunteer Debbie Flora
Pianist Susan Larcey
Jan. 12 Greeter(s) Nila & Ernie McCullough
Reader Karen Coffin
Communion Assistant Alison Falls
Servers Nila & Ernie McCullough, Dick Coffin, Marilyn Umlauf
Nursery Volunteer Anne O’Malley
Pianist Susan Larcey
Jan. 19 Greeter(s) Marsha Bordner
Reader Ernie McCullough
Communion Assistant Jean Witkowski
Servers Marsha Bordner, Susan Rogers, Dave & Sally Wahlers
Nursery Volunteer Nila McCullough
Pianist Susan Larcey
Jan 26 Greeter(s) Cindy Constien
Reader Karen Ditz
Communion Assistant Karen Coffin
Servers Jay Viery, Bill Sharp, Ed Bettendorf, Dick Dietz
Nursery Volunteer Marta Vielhaber
Pianist Susan Larcey
January 2020 Page 8

The Musical Art Series / Port Clinton, OH

2019 - 2020 Season

TRIO DAVINCI
Sunday,
VIOLIN, ‘CELLO, PIANO
September 22, 2019
MAX RABINOVITSJ, MICHAEL CHERTOCK, PAUL YORK
3:30 PM
THREE WORLD-RENOWNED ARTISTS
SPONSORED BY:
Dr. Jay M. Mann

Sunday, CLEVELAND POPS JAZZ ENSEMBLE

October 20, 2019 HOT NIGHT OF COOL JAZZ
3:30 PM Sponsored by
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick and Jack Hilbert

Saturday, JOHN AND NANCY-WILLIAMS SHUFFLE

November 16, 2019 SCENES & SONGS OF THE STAGE
7:30 PM Sponsored by
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick and Jack Hilbert
EARL E. WARNKE MEMORIAL CONCERT
Friday
CLEVELAND’S BURNING RIVER BRASS
December 13 , 2019
7:00 PM OUR CHRISTMAS GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY
AT ST. JOHN LUTHERAN CHURCH
207 ADAMS ST.
PORT CLINTON, OH 43452
Sponsored by
CROWN BATTERY AND THE MUSICAL ARTS STEERING COMMITTEE

Saturday, KENARI SAXOPHONE QUARTET

January 25, 2020 CLASSIC SAX FROM BAROQUE TO JAZZ
7:30 PM Sponsored by
THE STOUFFER FAMILY AND CATAWBA ISLAND CLUB
GAVIN GEORGE, PIANO
Sunday,
March 22, 2020 TEEN INSPIRING AUDIENCES WORLDWIDE
Sponsored by
3:30 P.M.
ARBY’S PORT CLINTON AND MILLER FERRIES TO PUT-IN-BAY
YOUNG ARTISTS FROM THE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC
Sunday,
April 26, 2020 A Triumph of Trios:
3:30 P.M. Sponsored by
BASSETT’S MARK
MARK KOSOWER, ‘CELLO AND
Sunday,
JEE-WON OH, PIANO
May 17, 2020
3:30 PM. A CELLIST FOR THE AGES
- THE PLAIN DEALER
Sponsored by
DUBBERT’S OUTDRIVE SERVICE AND 1812 FOOD & SPIRITS AND ROSIE’S BAR & GRILL
STEVE AND LISA BALL,
Sunday,
GUITAR, BANJO AND DOUBLE BASS
June7, 2020
3:30 PM GUITAR, BANJO, DOUBLE BASS RECREATE
CARTER FAMILY APPALACHIAN ROOTS MUSIC
Sponsored by
FREDERICK AGENCY