Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Friday, July 30, 2010

Keys to Faith

A series of workshops designed around age-appropriate concepts and rituals FPC’s Children’s Ministries thinks every child should understand. These workshops help children grasp basic Christian ideas and practices while also encouraging parents to take an active role in their child’s faith journey in keeping with the promises made at baptism. Parent support and participation in this program is of the utmost importance. Children completing a workshop are awarded a certificate during worship.

Each year of a child’s elementary education is marked by attaining another Key – The Lord’s Prayer, Communion, Prayer, Biblical literacy, Stewardship & Service, and Worship Skills.

4’s & 5’s: The Lord’s Prayer
Workshop – October 31,
9:30 – 10:30am
Presentation – November 7,
11:00 worship

1st Grade: Communion
Workshop – September 26,
9:30 – 10:30am or September 28,
6:30 – 7:30pm
Presentation – October 3,
11:00 worship

2nd Grade: Prayer & Devotions
Workshop – February 27,
9:30 – 10:30am
Presentation – March 6,
11:00 worship

3rd Grade: Bible Knowledge
Workshop – Part One on May 15,
9:30 a.m. in the Polly Scheid Room; Part Two on May 22, 9:30 a.m. in the Polly Scheid Room.
Presentation – June 5,
11:00 a.m. worship

4th Grade: Stewardship & Service
Workshop – January 26,
6:30 – 7:30 pm or January 30,
9:30 – 10:30 am
Presentation – February 6,
11:00 worship

5th Grade: Worship Skills
Workshop – March 16,
6:30 – 7:30pm or March 19,
9:30 – 10:30pm
Presentation – April 3,
11:00 worship

6th Grade: Recognition
Presentation – May 1, 11:00 worship
We will be recognizing those 6th graders completing Doorways and preparing to move on to the youth program.

Mission and Stewardship Projects

Fair Trade Festival

Our first Fair Trade Festival was held in November of 2008 as an opportunity to bring local fair trade retailers into the church and provide early Christmas shopping as well as raise awareness and build community. A delicious multicultural meal was served and world musics contributed to the festive atmosphere. [view webpage]

Interfaith Hospitality Network Quilts

Quilt for the Inter-Faith Hospitality Network families staying at the manse.
After reading The QuiltMaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau and Gail de Marcken, we made a quilt with the help of Lisa Vitkus. In the spirit of the story, we donated the beautiful quilt to the IFHN committee for use in the manse when we host families.

Fair Trade Coffee and Chocolate

We now offer a wide variety of Equal Exchange Fair Trade merchandise, including coffees, teas, cocoas, travel mugs, chocolate bars, snacks,baseball caps, t-shirts and sweatshirts,as we participate in the Presbyterian Coffee Project.

The Presbyterian Coffee Project offers a special link between congregations and communities around the world. Churches can now reach out to neighbors overseas not only with the prayers and offerings we give, but with the goods and products we purchase. A warm cup of coffee (or tea) in our hands is perhaps the most tangible daily connection we have with farmers around the world. It represents warmth, hospitality, fellowship, hard work, and life's pleasures both fine and simple. Buying fair trade through the Presbyterian Coffee Project ensures that more of the money we spend on coffee reaches the hardworking farmers who actually grow it.

Participating congregations testify that the Presbyterian Coffee Project is a great way to help people in need while enjoying fellowship and an excellent cup of coffee. Fair trade practices complement our mission with farmers in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well as our commitment to stewardship of the natural environment. By using fair trade coffee in our congregations, offices and homes, Presbyterians help guarantee that farmers will earn the income they need to feed their families, educate their children and improve their communities. Fair trade is a simple solution that means the difference — quite literally — between surviving and not surviving for small-scale coffee farmers.

Fairmount got started simply by ordering fairly traded coffee. As we have enjoyed this high-quality coffee (as well as offered tea, cocoa, and chocolate for sale), we have taken time to learn about its impact on the people who grow it. We have read about coffee farmers, discussed issues of justice in the global marketplace and taken action in the spirit of love.

In the five years since we began to sell coffee, Fairmount has generated a profit of over $1500, which has been sent to Jubilee USA to support their advocacy efforts on behalf of debt elimination for the world’s poorest countries.

Thanks to all of you and your fair trade purchases, Fairmount continues to make a difference in the world!