Activities
SMALL GROUPS
To "belong" to a church can mean having your name on the member list, or it can mean true belonging to a fellowship of believers.
 friends who know you and by whom you are known
friends who in mind and spirit long for connection with God
friends who support you on your journey
At First Presbyterian Church, one way we encourage this personal and supportive friendship is through small groups. In a small group, you are accepted for who you are, wherever you are on life's journey. Members of a group commit to the levels of trust and integrity that create strong community and promote wholeness.
Here are small groups currently active at FPC:
Just Believers
This group has been continuously active for several years. Participants meet every Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. in the church Parlor. Everyone brings a brown bag lunch. Group members share about their lives while they share the meal, after which there is a Bible study or another program for spiritual growth. (Meetings are less frequent in the summer.)
The Next Group
This is the group you may be the one to start. What do you care about? What wound never heals? What do you long for? How has God spoken to you, lately? Once you identify the part of you that is coming to life and start to tell it to others, you will find those who want to join you on a journey.
When you're ready to take responsibility and get moving, call the small groups coordinator or the pastor. With their support, you will find your way from there.
Small groups coordinator: Keith Schuman, (765) 342-2725
Pastor: Christy Wareham, (765) 342-3282
Music Program
Our congregation identifies the exceptional music program at First Presbyterian as one of our most outstanding characteristics. The programs of the Ministry of Music continue to provide a coordinated music experience for worship under the caring and committed guidance in service planning from Christy Wareham and the musical leadership of Jan Harrington , Chris Young and Katy Strand.
There are two standing ensembles for worship-the Bell Choir and Chancel Choir. Chris Young continues to provide a standard and ethic of superior music-making each Sunday that is rarely experienced anywhere in the United States. He manages to make our hymns soar, helps the Chancel Choir always sound better than we deserve through his brilliant accompaniments, and consistently provides service music to enhance the worship which offers inspiration without fail. It is a privilege and an inspiration to encounter his committed artistry week after week.
Each year, we benefit from special events with extra music outside the regular worship services. Special services occur on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Hanging of the Greens (Advent 1), a Service of Lessons and Carols , and the Candlelight Christmas Eve Service, all of which have special musical elements intended to enhance the spiritual meaning of these annual services.
The 2005 Hanging of the Greens service was altered to include an Agape Feast before the actual service, and a symbolic processional from Keller Hall to the Sanctuary to dedicate the decoration of the church in preparation for the season of Advent. We retained the previous year's slightly more liturgical format for the season of preparation, included some of the younger emerging musicians in the church family in solo musical capacities and included the actual placing and dedication of the church decorations by the congregation.
Maundy Thursday's Tenebrae service was based on a reading of the Passion Scriptures with congregational responses from the Bach St. John Passion.
Instrumentalists and soloists from the IU School of Music assisted to enhance the celebration of Pentecost, Christmas Day, Easter and Pentecost.
If you have interest in participating in the music program, please contact Jan Harrington at the church at 765-342-3282.
Parish Nurse:
The First Presbyterian Church has an active health ministry whose mission is to promote the health of the congregation and the community through education, screening, and support regarding issues of health. Health refers to a process of wellness which encompasses the interconnectedness of the body, mind, and spirit of each individual. Our goal is to encourage personal responsibility and self empowerment of individuals regarding their health in an environment of faith and love.
There are two parish nurses who provide health promotion activities for the congregation such as regular blood pressure screenings, health assessments, educational programming, and referral to community resources. These nurses work in consultation with the pastor regarding parishioners who may be in need of such services.
The Health Cabinet, comprised of members of the congregation, serves to direct the health ministry. Examples of health promotion activities that have been sponsored are organized walking programs, yoga classes, speakers such as Ann Ryder, flu shots at reduced cost, and health fairs for the community. The Health Cabinet has initiated a free community clinic, Good Shepherd, to serve uninsured persons from Morgan County with a generous grant from the Kendrick Foundation and in partnership with Morgan Hospital and Medical Center. The health ministry serves not only members of the congregation, but the community as well as part of the church's commitment to serve others in the example of Christ our Savior.
Mission Team:
The First Presbyterian Church is a strong leader in the Martinsville community in heart, mind and spirit, undertaking several local mission projects which span the calendar year. These include:
Annual canned food drive
Salvation Army bell ringers at local retail establishments
Meals on Wheels deliveries
Red Barn support
Habitat for Humanity support
Relay for Life participation
Natural Church Development:
WHAT IS IT?
Natural Church Development (NCD) is an effort to improve the life of our church. We focus on qualitative growth...and trust that, when folks are excited about what is going on at church, and feel enlivened by it, God will provide new members and help us grow (quantitatively), in a natural way.
Remember the surveys we took last fall? Those surveys were part of the NCD process, and helped us identify where to start. For First Presbyterian, the surveys indicated that we should start with passionate (translation: energized, excited) spirituality. The NCD team was formed to focus and coordinate projects that would help to expand, strengthen, and enliven our spirituality. The NCD team has identified 6 projects to work on in the coming months, some familiar, some new:
1) A panel in this publication where congregational members can share spiritual stories, art work, inspirations, poems, experiences, and such with the rest of us. We have some VERY talented, and deeply spiritual folks among us – watch for this!
2) Inspirational speakers who have strong spirituality messages for us – think of people whose lives have changed profoundly by their calling to forgive, to reach out to those in need, to work for the betterment of our world.
3) Our leadership (Session members) have already committed to a spiritual discipline in their lives, and report on this to us when they are lay leader. They may read the Bible, or another book with spiritual meaning, pray, meditate, or many other discipline. They inspire us to work on our spirituality. We’d love to see our whole congregation make a personal commitment to implement a spiritual discipline.
4) We will be starting more small groups with spirituality as a focus. Christy and Bob Wilson are well on their way to beginning the “Living the Questions” group – will you join them?
5) Enhancing the prayer chain – we’d love to see more folks involved in the prayer chain, and hearing more from the congregation about what sorts of needs your family/friends have that we could support in prayer. We’d like to follow up with good news and hear how our prayers were answered. We’d like to gather prayer chain members for semi-annual celebrations and get-togethers. We’d like to find more reason to pray!
6) Mission, outreach, and evangelism are direct expressions of one’s spirituality. Not all members are called to evangelism, or skilled in it, just as not all members are called to a certain mission project, or skilled in the work they may be doing. But, there are those of us who are called, and we want to find ways to promote and encourage those members to take their spirituality in any of these directions. The world could use more of it!
The NCD team would love to hear from you! If you would like to participate in any of these projects, or have any ideas, input, questions, or encouragement ...please contact one of the members of the NCD team:
| Lee Bridges |
(317) 834-6539 |
cleebridges@prodigy.net |
| Lynette Liberge |
349-6394 |
libergel@msdmail.net |
| Rebecca Nunley |
342-9651 |
crnunley@scican.net |
| Keith Schuman |
342-2725 |
keitheschuman@lycos.com |
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