October Surprises



October 19th was a memorable day at PCMK.  As someone commented after worship, "Boy, there were a lot of moving parts in that service today."  There certainly were.  Some were planned and some were a complete surprise!
The planned highlights were two excellent anthems from our choir.  The first was a choral version of "The Lord's Prayer" by Durufle.  The beauty of the music made the French lyrics seem more prayerful than when we say it in English.  The anthem following the sermon built on the theme of "A Glimpse of the Divine."  The music was a dramatic selection from Mendelssohn's Elijah--the story where Elijah has his 'glimpse of God' in the still small voice.
Another planned highlight was the introduction of our new logo and branding of PCMK.  The tri-loop logo has so many elements of meaning that it will be interesting and yet instantly recognizable.  Ron Pence, Herb Reinke, Steve Griffe, Vicki Fuqua, Lisa Flanagan and I worked on this project for many months.  We even worked with a local graphic artist and after many drafts took some proposals to session for input.  These are exciting days at PCMK and this logo will be part of our identity as we journey into the future God has for us.
At the end of the service we introduced two couples as new members of our church.  One couple has an infant and the other is expecting their first.  More baptism coming up!
Then there were the surprises.  The first surprise was seeing friends from my church in Erie, PA sitting in the sanctuary!  John and Diane were always a joy to see in church in Erie, so I had to stop and take a second look when I caught them out of the corner of my eye.  We went for lunch after worship and we caught up on things.  They even treated for lunch as a birthday gift!
And that is the final surprise--the kind words, the cake and the singing of "Happy Birthday" for Terry Flanagan and myself.  Our birthdays are a few days apart in October and it has been fun to celebrate each year together.  We make a great team and we appreciate the love and support of our PCMK family.  We even spent Sunday afternoon together picking pumpkins and going for a Hayride with little Terence.
Later this week I am off to Canada and California for my dad's 85th birthday and a friend's daughter's wedding.  I have made some plans for the trip, but there will probably be some surprises along the way.  And that's the way it should be.
See you in church,
Pastor Dale

hellos and goodbyes

Our new team members (from the right)  Cindy and Barb

The first few days of October were bittersweet around the church office.  Wednesday, October 1st was Cindy Tanico's first day as our new Office Manager.  She was welcomed warmly and trained enthusiastically by Stephanie Boorman, who was on her last few days with us.  Friday was her last day with us before starting her new life in retirement on Long Island.  (Stay tuned for news about the birth of a new grandchild).

 Friday was sad, but Wednesday was all smiles.  At our weekly potluck staff lunch we welcomed Cindy and Barb, who is now a permanent employee after 5 months as a temporary.  She is doing a great job as our bookkeeper.  As you can see from the photo, several of our wonderful office volunteers were able to join us as well.  It was a great day.

These are exciting times at PCMK.  Our new staff team is complete, we have launched the new website, a new logo and branding will be introduced October 19th, and last Sunday we welcomed 7 new members into our fellowship.  God has been good to PCMK!

Drop by the office when you can and introduce yourself to our new staff members.  And you too can be part of the team!  We need more regular and occasional volunteers to help answer phones and prepare mailings etc.  Call Cindy if you have a few hours to share during the week.

See you in church (the sanctuary or the office!)
Pastor Dale