Hello there, WE NEED YOUR HELP!! We have our clean-up day scheduled for this Saturday morning, starting at 9:00.  As I type this the weather forecast is predicting SNOW!!@%&% tomorrow, but as to how much is questionable depending on which weather report you listen to.  Obviously, if things are soggy, wet and snow covered we will reschedule everything until the following Saturday.  But it everything

Hello there, I love it when there is a lot going on at our church and November is starting off as very busy.  If you want to check out November’s First Press for more details, then click here. First off, many of us were overwhelmed once again by the horrific news of the deadly shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA.  Here

Hello there, Sunday is our Celtic Heritage Sunday, with one service at 9:00.  There will be bagpipes, Celtic hymns, music and liturgy, with the Chancel Choir singing.  I will be preaching on Mark 10:46-52 and my sermon title is “In-sight in Light.”  Following the service there will be delicious Kettel House scones down in the Social Room.  So wear your kilt or your tartan or

Hello there, In the Gazette this morning it said the fall colors are almost at peak.  I don’t know about the rest of the state, but the tree beside the church parking lot is about perfect.  I hope you are enjoying some of the beauty of God’s creation. I will be talking about creation in my sermon this week based upon an interesting passage from the

Hello there, Ray Blue will be with us on Sunday.  It is always great to have Ray and his sweet jazz saxophone.  He will be playing at both services and then Dick Watson will be joining him for an afternoon jazz concert at 3:00 in our sanctuary.  There will be no charge for the afternoon concert but a free will offering will be taken. I

Hello there, Last week I sent a letter to members of FPC Marion, and then I announced in church on Sunday that I have made the decision to retire next summer, on August 1, 2019.  It is 10 months off, but after what will be 24 years of serving as pastor, we will all need that time to make the transition go as smoothly as

Hello there, First off, one of our members, Dick Norton, passed away and we just received word that the visitation for him will be tomorrow, Friday the 21st, from 4:00 to 7:00 at Cedar Memorial.  It does not give us a lot of time to get the word out, so we wanted you to be aware of what was going on.  Keep his wife, Nadine,

Hello there, Well, everyone is back to school.  Another Hawkeye-Cyclone football game is in the record books.  Starbucks is serving pumpkin spice lattes.  You need a blanket to sleep comfortably at night.  We may still turn on the air conditioning during the day, but fall is upon us. I think spring and fall are the best seasons here in Iowa.  Winter and summer seem to

Hello there, The Evangelism and Membership committee would like to try something different with this edition of my Weekly Contact email.  We have many talented and committed people in our congregation including you.  But often needs go unmet, simply because people are unaware of what is going on.  We are asking you to click here and fill out this online survey so we can do