One-on-One with Pastor Jerry is a weekly report on family news and church and community activities, events, ministries and missions. Visit this page each week or sign up to receive it weekly in your inbox. Archive issues can be viewed at NoblesvilleFirst.com/one-on-one-archive.
May 12, 2022
Book 8, Volume 4
Things are progressing on the home front. We put our house up for sale this past weekend and ended up with five offers. One offer included free pizza every Friday night until closing. I guess they wanted to make their offer stand out. It was a strong offer, but we went with one that included an escalating clause which put it on top. Our inspection is tomorrow so if we get past that hurdle, we should be all set for closing on June 7.
I’ve also accepted a position in Evansville as Director of Development for Wesselman Woods, www.wesselmanwoods.org. Wesselman Woods is a nature preserve which happens to be the largest urban old growth forest in the United States (200 acres). Wesselman Woods has a nature center and walking trails. Considerable environmental education is offered, and the ancient forest also serves as a center for research and education with the local universities. I’m excited to exercise my gifts to help preserve this treasure of creation and will be glad to let someone else be in charge. I hope you come and visit if you are ever in the area.
We have some schedule changes to get on your radar. On May 22, we have several things to celebrate. First, this will be the last Sunday for our choir before they take a break for the summer. They will be singing at the 8:30 and 9:45 Traditional Worship.
This is also Graduation Sunday in which we recognize high school and college graduates. For this purpose, we are combining the two 9:45 worships into just one experience in the Sanctuary so the graduates can all be recognized together. Student Ministry Director David McKenzie will offer the message with some help from the seniors. There will be no 9:45 Contemporary Worship in Celebration Hall.
Also on May 22, at 11:00, we will hold our combined worship with Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church outdoors at Teter with the leadership of the Praise Band and musicians from Bethel A.M.E. We have enjoyed a special relationship with this congregation in recent years. We have worked together to make the M.L. King Celebration an event that brings our community together. We would like to continue to build upon that relationship. We plan to gather at the Teter outdoor worship space if weather permits and if it doesn’t, we will hold the service in Celebration Hall (Door 2,7) at the same time. We have lined up a donut truck to encourage some fellowship following worship. Pastor Mindy Mayes and I will share the message at this worship experience.
After meeting with Pastor Jill and incoming Pastor Nicole Caldwell-Gross, we decided to go with a trimmed down summer schedule beginning May 29 that will resemble our schedule before the pandemic. We will hold Outdoor Worship at Teter at 8:15, Traditional Worship at 9:45 in the Sanctuary and Contemporary Worship at 11:00 in Celebration Hall. This schedule will ease pressure on the tech team and Praise Band for the summer and make it possible for Pastor Nicole to preach at all worship experiences when she begins her ministry here. The worship schedule can then be revisited in the fall.
This is a big week for the Teter Organic Farm. First, we celebrate the Teter Plant Sale which recorded record sales of $15,100. We are not sure if our profits will surpass previous years due to much higher energy costs this year and a winter freeze that forced us to restart all of our plants. Thanks to Tina Dillard and all her volunteers for the many weeks of care put into these beautiful plants.
We are grateful to finally get a break in the weather, just in time for our Teter Planting Days. This week we are putting thousands of plants in the ground, and we are removing three-year-old mulch from the Teter worship area and re-mulching in time for our May 22 worship with Bethel A.M.E. Indiana Academy came out on Tuesday and got a good start on the mulching project, but we need additional volunteers to finish this work. We are working from 10:00 to 2:00 today (May 12), tomorrow (May 13), and Saturday (May 14) this week. We will take whatever time you can dedicate!
You might also be interested in the Teter Foraging Hike this Saturday at 2:00 pm. Certified herbalist Gregory Monzel will be sharing his advanced knowledge about the plants at Teter. Cost is $20. Pre-registration is required (18 and over only) and there’s a maximum of 15 participants. Learn more at TeterOrganicFarm.com/foraging.
Family Promise of Hamilton County is currently seeking donations of Gift Cards for local gas stations and restaurants. Family Promise helps the community coordinate their compassion to address the root causes of family homelessness, providing prevention services, shelter, case management, and stabilization programs. Please mark gift card donations "Family Promise" and drop them off in the church office. Click here to learn more about Family Promise and the work they do.
The next Ugly Quilts workshop is next Friday, May 20 from 12:30 to 3PM in Celebration Hall (note that it deviates from the typical 2nd Friday). They’re currently in need of all sizes of comforters and blankets in any condition. They need only be clean. Stained and worn ones can be used for stuffing. No sewing skills are required. Training is provided. The sleeping rolls that the team makes, along with hats, gloves, socks and toiletries, are distributed through the trustees office and a homeless outreach group in downtown Indianapolis. Donation boxes are located next to the restrooms in the hall across from the Sanctuary. Learn more at NoblesvilleFirst.com/UglyQuilts.
The Teter Adventure Club got off to a great start despite torrential rain. 35 kids and 15 more volunteers and parents enjoyed donkeys, miniature horses, outdoor fun, activities, and snacks ... all for FREE. The next Teter Adventure Club will be Friday, June 3.
Another event for children at Teter is Nature Play Day on Saturday, June 4. Check out the details at TeterOrganicFarm.com/PlayDay.
Parents and their children under age five are welcome to come hang out at the Noblesville First playground for Pop In and Play every Wednesday from 10 am to noon in June and July. Older siblings are welcome to play, so bring the whole family for a morning of fun in the summer sun. Rainy day? No problem! We will open up our indoor play space in inclement weather. We hope to see you at one or all of our Pop in and Play events in June and July. Feel free to reach out to Ally Hall if you have any questions about the Pop in and Play events at ahall@noblesvillefirst.com.
As mentioned earlier, on Sunday, May 22, we'll take time during 9:45 worship in the Sanctuary (Door 1) to recognize graduating seniors in the congregation---those earning high school, undergraduate and post-graduate diplomas. Each graduate will receive a gift. In preparation, we want to gather the following information about each graduate: name, school from which they're graduating, and plans for after graduation. To ensure we have a gift for you/your graduate, please submit this information this week to Director of Student Ministry David McKenzie at dmckenzie@NoblesvilleFirst.com.
Everyone in the congregation is invited for A Faith Filled Farewell open house honoring those who retired from Noblesville First during the pandemic and those retiring this year: Jerry Rairdon, Matt Hantelman, Jenell Hadley, Tom Shriver-McGrevy, Cindy Romano, Carol Miller, Don Gustafson, Carol Darling, and Amanda Lindorf. Come on Sunday, June 5 from 2-4PM in Celebration Hall (Door 2,7) for refreshments and a brief program at 2:30PM. Questions? Contact Julia Kozicki at julia@thekozickis.org. People have been asking about how to make love gifts for the retiring staff. You can bring cards the day of the reception and we will have boxes for each person, or you can send cards into the church office marked for the individual staff member or click here and choose "Love Gift for Retiring Staff" from the drop-down menu to make a contribution that will be divided among the retired/retiring staff members.
The Noblesville First Kids program (birth-12th grade) runs from 9:45-10:45 on Sundays.
The preschool-5th grade classes will jump over to Acts 16:16-40 and find two more early followers of Jesus: Paul and Silas. After being arrested, they could have given up their calling to share Jesus’ love with others. However, they had resilience even in the middle of this challenging situation. They bounced back and decided to worship God, right there in jail! Bottom Line: You can choose joy when life gets hard. We hope that kids start to understand that when they choose joy, they can point others to Jesus.
The 6th-12th grade class will finish up their "Superhero Parables of the Comics" series by looking at Batman and Robin. Batman and Robin are a great crime fighting duo, and we'll explore how they teamed up and their relationship as Master and Apprentice can show us how Jesus wants us to be discipled and eventually disciple others. Many of Jesus' parables, The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 and Proverbs 13:20 gives us an idea of how this can be achieved.
This Sunday, May 15, we have the honor of hosting the UMC Indiana Annual Conference Bishop Julius Trimble. He will be preaching at 8:30 and 9:45 Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary (Door 1). Bishop Trimble will affirm the value of our United Methodist connection. Pastor Matt Hantelman will share a message "What It Means to Be a Methodist" in Contemporary Worship at 9:45 and 11:00.
We have shared our plans for Sunday but be sure, if you are gone for the weekend, to tune into Thursday Worship with Pastor Matt Hantelman at 6:30 pm tonight on Zoom. Thursday Worship offers an engaging discussion oriented approach to the message. Find the Zoom link and more information at NoblesvilleFirst.com/ThursdayWorship.
Share prayer requests and check out the week's opportunities to connect on the Next Steps page at NoblesvilleFirst.com or on the Noblesville First mobile app. And share your pastoral needs by emailing care@noblesvillefirst.com or calling the 24/7 Care Line at 317-773-2590.
Pastor Jerry Rairdon