Dearest Faith Community Near and Far-

1. IMPORTANT!!
   • Saturday is our second Saturday workday. We haven’t had one in a while, but we still have work inside and out that needs to be done. Please come and do what you can to get the church and church campus back in order. 
   • Note: the outside work will be outside the gardens as there are still dangerous trees out there. 
2. Worship update:
   • A reminder, we will be starting breakfast at 10 and worship at about 10:30 am. It’ll be a continental style breakfast. 
   • We’re trying new things in the sanctuary. Let your session know what you think. Our goal is to ensure everyone has a place they find comfortable for worship. 
   • Pastor Syl of First Presbyterian Church will be preaching for the remainder of Pastor Devon’s sabbatical. We’re making some adjustments to worship to accommodate, so you’ll note some changes as we work things out. Please be patient. 
3. Disaster relief update:
   • We have spent all of the SBP grant and have moved on the Community Foundations of Sarasota grant (CFS). 
   • Our Methodist partners recently did outreach to our food pantry clients. As a result they have an Emergency Response Team (ERT) coming to Port Charlotte to assess 15 – 20 homes for needed repairs. The ERT staff person will be staying in the trailers – probably Sunday night through Wednesday. 
   • We have two groups coming this fall, one 9/30 and the next 10/8. 
4. Building and grounds updates:
   • The backsplash in the kitchen should go in on Saturday.
   • Rollershutters for the kitchen and media room will be installed next week. These will close off those areas as needed. 
   • Other aspects of the kitchen are coming together. Such as we have one of the three faucets set up. Lots of organizing still needs to be done, but we will not be doing that on the Saturday workday because of the backsplash being added at that time.  
   • The trees that need to come down will be taken down on the 13th.
   • We don’t have a date yet for the awning, but we’re working to scheduled it. 
5. We would love your input to grow musically   .
   • Are there hymns you would like to sing more often?
   • What are your favorites?
   • Worship music you listen to at home but never sing or hear played in church?
   • Do you play an instrument? Sing? Know of someone who would contribute musically to our services.
   • All helpful suggestions for improving our  music /worship experience are welcomed.
   • A suggestion box will be placed in the foyer/ or you can reach Heather DeGroot 570-875-8527 or at aamazing49@yahoo.com 
6. Christmas cantata!
   • Practices will begin September 28 at 6:30 each Thurs
   • Will perform Dec 17 Sunday morning at First Presbyterian and Dec 17 Sun afternoon at Wintergarden.  More details about times to follow. 
   • Music scores and CD’s will be available to anyone who would like to participate.  
   • If anyone wants to sing but doesn’t like to drive after dark we can arrange transportation. 
   • Please know this is open to “anyone.”  You do not need to read music or have a perfect voice to sing. Just a desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Should be fun!!!
   • Contact Heather DeGroot for music. We are excited about this opportunity and need you to help make this happen!
7. If you have a need, please reach out! The pastor@wintergarden email will go to Pastor Syl while Pastor Devon is gone. He will be covering for much of Devon’s time away.
   • Office number: 941-743-5335
   • Julie- Bookkeeper and Office Admin- office@wintergardenpres.org
   • Wendy- Disaster Relief – disasterrelief@wintergardenpres.org 
   • Kymmie- Food Pantry and Community Garden- foodpantry@wintergardenpres.org 
   • Eric- Project Manager for building and construction- meister6ho@gmail.com 
   • Heather- other congregational needs such as hospital visits – aamazing49@yahoo.com 

Much love, 
Wintergarden Presbyterian Church 

Saturday, September 9, 2023 WORK DAY!!We haven’t had a 2nd Saturday work day in a while. And even though the gardens are off limits as we wait for trees to be removed, there is still plenty to do – inside and out! A work list will be created this week and posted. Please, come and help.

Worship with Wintergarden
Sunday, September 10, 2023
+++++
Breakfast Church @ 10:00 am
Worship following about 10:30 am
IN THE SANCTUARY and on Facebook Live
*Please bring a dish to share. 
+++++

How to access the bulletin:
Bulletin HERE
How to Access Services Online:
Join us on Facebook for Worship Services
https://www.facebook.com/wintergardenpres
Remember, you don’t need a Facebook Account
to join us for worship. 

You can also click HEREfor the Facebook link.

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE

Sunday, September 10, 2023 Breakfast Church @ 10:00 am followed by Worship @ 10:30 amSermon: Peter Gets a D Minus Matthew 16:21-28

Every Monday Lectio Divina Every Wednesday Food delivery Every Thursday Food Pantry 12-4pm Sept 13 The Chosen Watch Party & Bible Study Sept 19 Homeless Coalition meal (Every 3rd Tues.)Sept 20 The Chosen Watch Party & Bible Study Sept 27 The Chosen Watch Party & Bible Study Sept 28 CNS Care N Share (Every 4th Thurs.) Sept 29 Family Fun Night (Last Friday of every month)

Beginning Sunday, September 10 after Worship Follow Me Biblical Practices for Faithful Living

This is Pastor Syl and his wife Betania. Syl is the new pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Port Charlotte. Since he is part-time, we have been able to work it out for Syl to lead us during Devon’s sabbatical. This is Syl’s first Sunday with us. We are excited and blessed that Syl will be with us during this time. Below is a bit more about Pastor Syl.  The Reverend Silvio Esteves or just Pastor Syl (like the first part of Silver) is a native of Brazil, although, he holds two citizenships. One from Brazil and another one from Spain, since his family came to Brazil from that country. Because of that, he can speak fluently Portuguese and Spanish.Pastor Syl began his studies at Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia, passing through the prestigious McGill University (considered to be the Harvard of Canada), and graduating with a Master of Divinity from the Presbyterian College in Montreal. He also holds a Master of Theology from Tyndale University in Toronto Syl was then ordained by the Presbyterian Church in Canada.He is married to Betania. Add an “a” to the end of “Bethany” and that is how you can say her name. Betania is also from Brazil and they have two sons, Gabriel (25) and Pedro (21). Syl and his family lived for almost six years on Canada’s French-speaking side. Nonetheless, they are not strangers to the US, having lived here for many years, more specifically in Atlanta, the towns of Crested Butte in Colorado, and Sun Valley, Idaho.Syl and Betania love to take long walks and meet new people. They are both delighted they can be part of Wintergarden during Pastor Devon’s sabbatical and are looking forward to meeting the people in our church.You can see more of Pastor Syl at Facebook.com/SylEstevez or Instagram.com/SylEstevez/.

Facebook for Wintergarden Presbyterian ChurchFacebook for the Garden of Eatin’ at Wintergarden Presbyterian Church

FOOD PANTRY VOLUNTEERS NEEDEDPlease contact the church office at 941-743-5335 or email at foodpantry@wintergardenpres.orgIt is starting to warm up, which means we need to be able to rotate volunteers more frequently while outdoors. If you can come and give an hour or more, please talk with Kymmie and come join us.

Interested in joining our Garden? Garden of Eatin’ – Food Forest For more information click HERE.

At Wintergarden Presbyterian Church we’re eager to pray with you!   Please let us know how we can pray by submitting a Prayer Request online (link below). The prayer requests are emailed to Pastor Devon once submitted.

Prayer Request

Lectio Divina for Monday, September 11, 2023All are welcome to join us as we continue to engage in the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina together as a community.  This Week’s Scripture: Matthew 18:15-20 We will gather via Zoom for an intentional time of listening, reflecting, responding, and resting in the Word of God. We will meet on Mondays from 8-9 am.  Here are some details about Lectio Divina.  Lectio Divina, literally meaning “divine reading,” is an ancient practice of praying the Scriptures. During Lectio Divina, the person listens to the text of the Bible with the “ear of the heart,” as if he or she is in conversation with God, and God is suggesting the topics for discussion. There are four movements for Lectio Divina:  1. Lectio: (Listening to the Word of God or Reading God’s Word) 2. Meditation: (Reflecting on the Word of God) 3. Oratio: (Responding to the Word of God) 4. Contemplatio: (Resting in the Word of God) Here is the Zoom Link:  Join Zoom Meeting: Click HERE https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87832080869?pwd=TUxCRThUcEdRbTNTWmJ6emZRamUyZz09  Meeting ID: 878 3208 0869 Passcode: 396015 +16465588656,,87832080869#,,,,*396015# US (New York)