If you are wondering how you can gain more confidence, be more respectful, and grow in listening to and loving others then this study is for you. Our sermon and worship series “I’ve Been Meaning to Ask…” has a study element that goes along with it. Topics include the concept of place and culture, what pain we carry, what most we need, and how we continue to venture through life’s ups and downs.
Here is what to expect: video vignettes from the contributors of the study which go in depth to the questions asked each week, commentary and engagement with scripture, full print artwork to interact with, intimate conversation with others, and personal growth in practicing attentive listening as we answer some of the deep questions offered with the study. I am eager to dive in with you all to this work, and if you are at all apprehensive take comfort in knowing that anything you want to share you can, and anything you don’t want to share will be respected. This is truly a study where we all will get out of it what we put in, and I believe it will foster greater trust for all of us. This is a 4-week study and will follow the sermon series. Pastor Nick will lead the discussions in-person on Thursday nights at 7pm and Sundays after church service and coffee hour. Please feel free to join on either day that is convenient to your schedule.
Dates:
Week 1: September 16, 19 (Where are you from?)
Week 2: September 23, 26 (Where does it hurt?)
Week 3: September 30, October 3 (What do you need?)
Dear Members and Friends of the First Presbyterian Church in Victor:
I am writing to you with an update on a recent Session decision regarding our stance on mask wearing and COVID protocols given the changes that have occurred in the past several weeks. We as the session of First Presbyterian have engaged with the data from the CDC, NYS, Ontario County and Presbytery of Genesee Valley, and had a lengthy discussion before making a motion. We first wish to recognize the varying beliefs and data, as well as the varying comfort levels of our church members especially given those who are still at greater risk. We also must recognize that we have a responsibility to what our greatest desire is (to have church without any protocols as we did prior to COVID), as well as to care for and ensure the safety, comfort, and hospitality of all members and visitors. Please let us all remember that we try to do the best that we can with the current information and guidelines, but there are no easy answers.
Our current practice therefore will be based on this motion from Session:
“Mask wearing is optional at our church facility, including worship services, based on personal decision for each adult. Individuals are encouraged to follow the latest CDC and NYS guidelines; Vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks and unvaccinated should continue wearing masks. Children should follow written rules of the Superintendent of the Victor Schools until the end of the school year. After the end of the school year, it is the parents’ decision (whether children mask/do not mask.) Pew separation will be maintained for social distancing. Singing is allowed. We will continue to ask people to sign-in (mainly to track attendance and visitors.)”
What this means is that this Sunday, June 13, 2021, these changes will take effect. We trust you all in this manner and believe you will make the best decision on masking/unmasking for yourself and your family. We also respect and honor any who continue to wear masks even if they have been vaccinated. We will continue to offer worship online for any who would prefer that option; however, our hope is that this change would encourage people to attend in person.
I am sure this will feel weird for some of us, extremely freeing for others, and will come with cautious optimism from us all. I appreciate what our Session has decided as well as what our most immediate neighboring church has decided about this as well at the Victor United Methodist Church. Alongside our partnership together comes a mutual respect and desire to be consistent in these practices. As we engage one another again it may be tempting to do the things we once did openly and freely. Might I suggest what Pastor Ben has also suggested; that any form of appropriate shows of public affection be done so with permission (IE-May I shake your hand? May I give you a hug?). Let us be as hospitable, as loving, and respectful of each other as we can be so that we can truly be welcoming as a church to one another and any visitors.
This way we can continue to live into our motto:
“Whoever you are, however you have come (masked or unmasked), you are welcome.”
Beautifying the sanctuary for worship, with floral arrangements and banners:
The Worship Committee knows that most folks enjoy having the sanctuary look beautiful for worship and part of that is the floral arrangements that we have had over the years. For that reason we would like to offer everyone the opportunity to provide flowers on any given Sunday and that can be done in honor or memory of someone special in your life.
For each communion Sunday (the first Sunday of each month), we would like to have living arrangements or plants provided. To do that we would ask that any interested person sign up using our online “Signup Genius” platform. You can click on this link and it will take you directly to the website to sign up for any given Sunday. While our goal is to have live arrangements on the first Sunday of each month, if you would like to provide them for any other Sunday, that request would not be refused.
If you do sign up, please indicate in the comments section of SignUp Genius what you would like done with the arrangement after the service is over. For example: “I will be in church to take the arrangement home with me.” Or, “Please donate my arrangement to a ‘shut in’ person.” We also can accept up to 2 floral arrangements per Sunday if someone else has already signed up on a particularly special Sunday that you would like to have flowers in church.
As an alternative, we would like to purchase some different “silk” arrangements to have for the Sundays that there are no live arrangements given. For that we would ask anyone willing to please offer a donation of whatever amount you may feel called to give and send that into through your favorite giving medium earmarked for “silk floral arrangements.”
Update 6/7/2021: All banners have been sponsored!! Thank you, thank you!!
Have you noticed the praise banners on each side of the pulpit? Liturgical colors signify a time or event in the life of the church. The worship committee has been displaying these colors regularly and would like to express there meaning more formally with banners. We are hoping that YOU, members of the congregation would like to sponsor one banner or a set of banners. Call a friend and you can each buy one to make a set. Right now we are looking to fulfill the yearly Liturgical calendar. As of now we have the Lenten season ( displayed right now) in the stained glass series which works well with our church architecture. We also have a set for the ordinary WW times which is the green stained glass set in the series. We hope to round the year out with sponsorship of (2)Advent, (2)Christmas, (2) Epiphany, (2) Palm Sunday and (2)Easter banners. In the future we look forward to offering more opportunities of sponsorship to celebrate church life. *The banners are $39.00 each and right now the company is offering 20% discount and free shipping.* Please contact the church office for exact pricing before sending payment, or if you have any questions!
Banners are 18”x5” long. Pictures are included the May newsletter. Palms (2)options for Palm Sunday Poinsettia (2) needed for Christmas Eve/day. Manger and Angel set for up to Epiphany Sunday If you would like to sponsor a set of banners or one banner please contact the church office. We’re looking forward to your help to freshening up our sanctuary.
Thank you to those that have already sponsored banners:
Thank you to Brian and Many Wiser for sponsoring the Lenten banner set and the Ordinary time banner set.
Thank you to Jeff and Jan Astles for sponsoring the Pentecost banner set.
Thank you to Dean and Phidelia Cornwell for sponsoring the Communion banner.
Thank you to Kathleen and Dan Wagner for sponsoring the Easter set.
Thank you to Ardyce Lake for sponsoring the Advent banners.
Thank you to Karen Provvidenza for sponsoring the manger and angel banners.
Thank you to Jean and Tom Hassett for sponsoring the Palm Sunday banners.
Thank you to Donna and David Schake for sponsoring the Christmas Eve/Christmas banners.
The worship committee has been busy working with Pastor Nick in trying to create the best possible worship experience for all who partake either in person or on YouTube.
It is the belief of everyone involved that the services are more enriching with the inclusion of different voices throughout the time of worship. For that reason we are looking for people interested or willing to take on the role of liturgist. That includes parts of the service such as the Call to Worship, Prayer of Confession and Pardon and reading of the scriptures, but could be a variation of any of these. The person providing the liturgy can do so in person or through a recording with either just the audio or with it including yourself on video. For the major services such as Easter we would prefer to have that be in person. Another form of providing additional voices is through leadership of the hymns on Sunday mornings. This too can be offered in person or through a recording. We encourage those with little or a lot of vocal talent to offer yourself in leadership, we promise you that judging will not take place!
Along with these opportunities it has been a pleasure seeing various artists offer their gifts in the time of offering during the service. We would like to make this a regular part of the service as long as we have the volunteers willing toshare in their talents either vocally or instrumentally with Special Music. We have had several members share there talents already this Spring, including Benjamin Song, Isabelle Bright, Marilyn Teel, & Nick Dorland. As before, either a recording or in person performance is welcomed.
Here you will be able to sign up to be a liturgist, play special music, or lead hymns during Sunday worship. Right now you can sign up for either Easter service continuing through the end of May. Your participation in any worship service is such a gift! *Please add a comment in the sign-up form if you are signing up to be a liturgist, whether you will be recording parts of the liturgy, or will be reading live in-person during worship. For special music, please comment with the instrument and the song you will be playing, if you have one in mind.
And if it is easier anyone can always contact the Worship Committee directly to volunteer by letting the Chair of the committee know by email at [email protected] or by call or text to 315-871-8126, please just be sure to let him know who is reaching out and he will get back to you.
It is with great excitement that your Session announces the call of Pastor Nick Dorland as our Interim Pastor! Pastor Nick’s first Sunday leading worship as Interim will be February 14, 2021. Rev. Nicholas Dorland and wife Lindsey live in Greece with their four children: Alivia (8), Jesse (6), Maggie (4), Hannah (1), as well as pets: Cody (Dog), Sven (Hamster), and Daisy (Cat). Nick loves coffee, cycling, playing guitar and drums, and talking about fairly everything. His favorite TV show is The Office, and favorite movie is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Lindsey is an avid baker, crafter, and is employed as a daycare teacher where she gets to show her compassionate nature and love of teaching little ones. The Dorland family loves nothing more than to curl up on the couch for a movie night with popcorn (especially Hannah and Cody), but also enjoy game nights, camping, and going for family walks. Pastor Nick is his preferred title but he is okay with being called by his first name as well, and Pastor Nick is the kind of person who wants to get to know everyone’s stories. He would be happy and eager to provide counsel, a listening ear, and a conversation partner about life. Teaching book studies and bible studies are some of his favorite activities as a minister, and finds the best conversations and relationships have been formed when we talk about the things that mean most to us. Mental health is a passion of his and his favorite author and counselor is Brene Brown. Pastor Nick and family are happy to be serving among the Victor congregation and community and are eager to get to know each and everyone as soon as they can.
Pastor Nick has previously served at Kiskatom Reformed Church in Catskill, NY as minister and most recently at the First Presbyterian Church of Brockport as Pastor and Head of Staff for 3 years. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI. Rev. Dorland and his wife Lindsey live in Greece with their four children: Alivia, Jesse, Maggie, and Hannah.
Praise God with us for his provision and please be in prayer for Pastor Nick as he starts his journey with FPCV! We look forward to his leadership of our church family. Please welcome Pastor Nick and family to our church family! “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4
Thanks to all of you who were able to share your thoughts, support, and concerns regarding reopening the church facility for public worship gatherings. Session has met a number of times regarding this issue and is happy to share with you our plans for this fall.
Starting this coming Wednesday, September 16 at 7:00 pm we will be opening the sanctuary to in-person attendance for our mid-week devotional service only. This service is shorter in duration, does not include our full music staff, and provides a good format for us to establish and practice our safety protocols.
Following a successful experience with the mid-week service, the installation of our high-speed internet hardware, and the Victor school district remaining open for in-person classes, we will proceed with opening for Sunday services. If all goes well, this will happen following Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 12).
For now, and going forward, all services will continue to be live broadcast on the internet.
Click here for our Health and Safety Plan. Please fully read through this information. If you would like to attend this Wednesday’s Devotional service, you will need to fill out a form to register, which will be sent each week via email.
Please note that space is limited to ensure the health and safety of employees, members and visitors. Registration for each week will close when spaces are filled. There will be a chance to register each week for the following week’s Wednesday eve service.
For the time being, Sunday worship will continue to be virtual.
If you have any questions you can reach out to Courtney in the office or Pastor Colin at [email protected].
Dear Members and Friends of the First Presbyterian Church in Victor:
We are now in our third month of a new reality: in life, work, school, church, and relationships. No one is ever fully prepared for this scale of rapid change, and many are now facing very significant challenges tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. We grieve the loss of life, the loss of employment and economic security, and in our faith family, the inability to gather in large groups together face to face. We miss seeing your faces, hearing your voices, and being close enough for a handshake or a hug.
The First Presbyterian Church in Victor /Rev. Colin Pritchard is offering virtual worship opportunities 4 times a week, while the building is closed.
* ZOOM devotional/prayer times are private events, that require an invite and password. ZOOM meeting invites will be sent to members via email. If you know of anyone who is not a member and would like an invite to the ZOOM times, please have them reach out to the office!
Please note this is a tentative schedule as the building remains closed. All services will be publicly livestreamed on the First Presbyterian Church of Victor’s Facebook page at the times indicated. The services will then be available to later watch on our First Presbyterian Church in Victor YouTube channel!
Sundays, 10 am Livestream Facebook Sunday Service
Tuesdays, NOON Devotional/Prayer Time via ZOOM*
Wednesdays, 7 pm Livestream Devotional Facebook Service
We hope that you are all doing well during these difficult times and wanted to share some ways that we are making it possible to share in worship from your homes. You are all probably being inundated with emails and information, so I will attempt to make this as easy as possible for you all! Pastor Colin invites you all to join together for online worship gatherings while we are not able to meet in-person each Sunday. The Sunday worship service will be live at the regular 10 a.m. time, and Pastor Colin will also host a live prayer service on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. These services will be available two ways: via Facebook Live video on our Facebook page, and available for later viewing on our new YouTube channel.
How to access Sunday Facebook Live services:
If you are connected to Facebook, please head over to our page: https://www.facebook.com/firstvictorpres. From here, give the page a Like. If you click on the “following” tab right next to the Like tab, you will be able to set your preferences to see us first in your news feed and turn your notifications on to be notified when we post to the page. That’s it! Then head over to the page at 10 a.m. on Sunday for a live Sunday worship service, and Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. for a Prayer Service. The service will consist of formal prayers, scripture reading, reflections, prayer requests, and of course beautiful music by Rev. Colin Pritchard! *A quick note about Facebook Live: Our Facebook page is public, therefore please note that anything you comment in the comments section will be available for the public to view.
How to access the services on YouTube after the Facebook live has ended:
We have also set up a new YouTube channel! All of the services will be available on this channel for viewing after the Facebook live has ended (within a couple of hours). Click on this link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmok7NM9MktpYEuyLbmRHGQ (or search First Presbyterian Church in Victor in the search bar) to see our Youtube channel and please subscribe! These videos will be available for anyone with internet access to view, if you do not have Facebook or are unable to watch FB Live. There are two services up already if you weren’t able to watch them! Please know that staff and leadership will continue to be available to you and our community in any way possible during this time and are here for your needs. Please stay in touch, check in with each other, and reach out for those that are higher risk. If you have prayer requests or urgent needs, please reach out to Pastor Colin at [email protected], or send the office a message at [email protected]. You can also check for the most up to date news and information on our website https://victorpres.org/ and on our blog at https://victorpres.org/news-blog/
