MINISTER - FRAN HAYES

We are now in the season after Pentecost. On the Day of Pentecost, we celebrated the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church. Through Peter and the prophet Joel, we heard God's promise: ìI will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

As a congregation, Littlefield has been through some challenging times and transitions in the past and continues to face the challenges of being faithful in a new time. This is a time for us to be open to the Spirit, a time for prophetic conversations, visions and dreams to guide us into a faithful future.

The Holy Spirit has been on the move, and the Pentecost church needs to be on the move. Our mission is to radiate the gospel of Jesus Christ, the resurrection power of new and abundant life for all, beginning where we are and reaching out in ever-widening circles.

A few months ago, the Presbytery received an anonymous, one-time grant to be used by congregations for new mission projects. We submitted a proposal and were awarded a $1,000 Faith in Action grant.

Our neighborhood has been changing, and we need to find ways to build relationships with new neighbors, to have conversations with people in the community about what they see as the needs and possibilities here, and to explore new ways to work together. So, we're planning a neighborhood block party where we can make new friends, enjoy food and music from different cultures, have fun together, and share information about Peace Camp. We'll need different kinds of help to make this happen, and we hope people will come out and enjoy some time with our neighbors.

The season of Pentecost reminds us that the same Holy Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles and gave birth to the church still blows into our lives and continues to prod, cajole, and urges us forward. The Holy Spirit guides and empowers us and urges us on to live into God's vision, to be God's beloved community.

Our faith assures us that, even in the midst of challenging times, there are reasons to hope and to live expectantly as we work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.

Peace…Salam…Shalom.

SCRIPTURE READINGS

June 3
First Lesson-1 Samuel 3:1-20
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
Epistle Lesson-2 Cor 4:5-12
Gospel Lesson-Mark 2:23-3:6

June 10
Hebrew Scripture-1 Samuel 8:4-20 (11:14-15)
Psalm 138:2
Epistle Lesson-2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
Gospel Lesson-Mark 3:20-35

June 17
Hebrew Scripture-1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Psalm 20
Epistle Lesson-2 Corinthians 5:6-17
Gospel Lesson-Mark 4:26-34

June 24
Hebrew Scripture-1 Samuel 17:1a, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49
   or 1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 10-16
Psalm 9:9-20 or 133
Epistle Lesson-2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Gospel Lesson-Mark 4:35-41

PRAYER MINISTRY

Blessings Come in Many Guises
When troubles come and things go wrong,
And days are cheerless
and nights are long,
We find it so easy to give in to despair
By magnifying the burdens we bear—
We add to our worries by refusing to try
To look for 'the rainbow'
in an overcast sky—
And the blessing God sent in
a 'darkened disguise'
Our troubled hearts fail to recognize.
Not knowing God sent it not to distress us
But to strengthen our faith and
redeem us and bless us.
- Helen Steiner Rice


SCRIPTURE
Humble yourself therefore under the
mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you
in due time; Casting all your cares upon
him: for he careth for you.
- 1 Peter 5:6, 7


PRAYER OF PRAISE
Dear Lord, You have given me so
many blessings; I will celebrate Your gifts.
Make me thankful, loving, responsible, and
wise. I praise You, Lord, for the gift of
Your Son and the priceless gift of
salvation. Make me a joyful Christian, a
worthy example to others, and a dutiful
servant to You this day and forever.
Amen.
- 100 Days of Praise for Women


FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Let us endeavor so to live that when
we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.
– Mark Twain

MARY CIRCLE END OF YEAR PICNIC

June 4 @ 6:00 p.m.

The Mary Circle will meet on Monday, June 4. Reminder that this is a Salad Potluck. Please let the church office know if you are planning on attending.

TAIZE WORSHIP SERVICE

Our next Service is Tuesday, June 5, at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. There will not be a service in July or August. All people regardless of faith background and age are welcome. You are invited to dress comfortably and casually. Invite a friend!

Household Hazardous Waste Collection
for Wayne County Residents

Saturday, June 9
from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Location: Henry Ford College
5101 Evergreen Rd, Dearborn

There are flyers in the Library or on the Littlefield entrance bulletin board for more details. You can also go to the website: www.WayneCounty.com for more information on items accepted.

CEREAL FOR SUMMER

Through Sunday, June 10 We are so grateful for all the cereal we have received so far. Thank you! You still have three more Sundays if you're able to contribute to the Presbytery of Detroit's campaign to help curb hunger this summer.

MUSIC, TEACHER
& WORSHIP LEADER RECOGNITION

SUNDAY, JUNE 10

We hope you will plan on joining us for worship and a special reception to celebrate our worship, education and music leaders. Help us say ìThank Youî to these saints that share their gifts.

WORSHIP COMMITTEE

On Sunday, June 10, we will celebrate and recognize our worship, education and music leaders. What we are blessed to enjoy at Sunday worship is the result of many hours of planning, preparation and rehearsal on the part of those in our music program. We also appreciate those that are involved in the teaching and caring for our little ones. If you attend any of the Bible studies or Lenten book studies, you are benefiting from the planning and preparation of those leaders as well. Help us say ìThank Youî to these saints that share their gifts. Please join us at a cake reception following the worship service.

We are now planning our worship schedule for the summer months. If you are interested in being a liturgist for worship, please contact the church office. If you would like to share your musical talents with us, please also contact the church office with the dates you are available. Thank you to all who are willing to serve Littlefield Church!

EVANGELISM AND MEMBERSHIP

Our next Engage! Book Group will meet on Wednesday, June 13. We will discuss Bryan Stevenson's book entitled Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. In this work, Stevenson sheds light on the injustice in our justice system and calls attention for the need for reform. Ted Conover wrote in a New York Times review: ìThe message of this book, hammered home by dramatic examples of one man's refusal to sit quietly and countenance horror, is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. 'Just Mercy' will make you upset and it will make you hopeful.î Before the discussion begins at 7:00 p.m., we will gather at 6:15 p.m. for a pizza and salad dinner. We encourage all to come.

Our Music Director, Lonnie Luzod, is performing in the musical Company at The Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale. We are organizing a group to see the 5:00 p.m. performance on Sunday, June 10. We are also planning to gather for dinner prior to the performance at a restaurant near the theatre (9 Mile Rd and Woodward).

We are finishing updating our Church directory. During the month of June your deacon will be giving you the new 2018 Littlefield Directory. If you already have a directory, the new one will completely replace the sheets in the directory you currently have. In other words, you will replace all of the sheets in your current loose-leaf binder with the sheets that you will receive. Many thanks to Ken Nietering who is our directory photographer and editor.

We have organized a planning team for our Annual Church Picnic. If you have not done so, please mark your calendar for Sunday, August 12. We will be meeting at the Hemlock Shelter in the Hemlock Park in Dearborn.

SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Starts June 17
Worship is at 10:00 a.m.
No Sunday school or choir for the summer.
Childcare will continue.

LITTLEFIELD MUSIC CONCERT
June 19 @ 7:00 p.m.

Our fifth annual fundraiser concert to benefit the Littlefield Presbyterian Church Music Program will be held in our sanctuary on Tuesday, June 19, at 7:00 p.m. The concert will feature the Littlefield Church vocal and instrumental musicians and our special guests, Renaissance Voices, directed by G. Kevin Dewey. A free-will offering will be taken and a reception will follow in the library. If you enjoy our Sunday morning worship service music, you will not want to miss this event. Invite your friends for a wonderful evening of musical entertainment at Littlefield.

LITTLEFIELD NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK PARTY

We hope you are saving the date for our community block party on Saturday, July 14, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Thanks to the Faith in Action Grant, we are able to host this event to get to know our neighbors - both down the street and within our own church walls. This promises to be a truly multicultural exchange and we look forward to hearing how we can best serve the community. We'll share joyful music cross-culturally, provided in part by our own Littlefield Folk. Free halal food will be provided by Al-Ameer. We're also asking for supplemental side dishes to pass. A sign-up sheet will be available during coffee hour to sign up for food, to contribute outdoor lawn games, to help with set-up and clean up, and to pass flyer invitations around the neighborhood. Please plan on coming so our neighbors can see the many faces that make up Littlefield Church.

17th ANNUAL PEACE CAMP
July 24-26

Peace Camp will be here soon and for the 17th year! On July 24, 25 & 26 our Fellowship Hall will be transformed into a creative space for children, 6ñ12 years old, to make a neighborhood of peace. They will sing songs, share meals, play games and learn the tools for living peacefully in community.

As usual, we need YOUR HELP to make this a successful 3 days for the campers. If you are able to help out with set-up, food preparation, registration, crafts, clean-up or working with small groups of children, please place your name on the Peace Camp Volunteer Sheet that you will find on the Library table.

Registration forms in English, Arabic and Spanish will be available from the office, on our web site, or the Library table. Please pick up a flyer or registration forms and spread the word about Peace Camp. We will again be collecting school supplies at Peace Camp for needy children.

Please join us in this intergenerational community experience!

WORSHIP & PICNIC IN THE PARK

The summer season is almost here!

We hope you will join us for our Annual Church Picnic on Sunday, August 12, at Hemlock Park. We have rented a shelter and will be having our morning Worship Service in the park before the picnic. We hope you will come and bring your friends for a unique worship experience followed by the usual food and fun. So that proper planning for food can be accomplished, look for the sign-up sheet on the Library table closer to the event day.

SUMMER CHILDCARE

It's that time of year again when we are looking for help with childcare during the summer. If you would like to volunteer for one or two Sundays, please contact the church office. Thank you.

AMAZON SMILE

Earn money for Littlefield while you shop! For every purchase you make through Amazon Smile, Littlefield will make 0.5% profit. Easy fundraising! Here's what you do:

  1. Go to www.smile.amazon.com
  2. Sign in with your usual Amazon username and password
  3. Under the “Supporting” link, search for “Littlefield Presbyterian Church” and select it.
  4. Shop as usual!

Littlefield will ONLY earn money if you shop on smile.amazon.com (not the regular amazon.com site) and if you have selected us as your preferred charity. If you have any questions on set up, please contact the church office.

LITTLEFIELD LOGO

Littlefield now has an official logo! A small team of Littlefielders worked together with local graphic designer Lisa Thomas to convey who Littlefield is, and Lisa came up with a beautiful design that was approved by Session at the last meeting. Be on the lookout to see our peaceful dove appear in various places.

SPRING TEA

On Saturday, May 12, at 2:00 p.m. the Presbyterian Women in Littlefield held their 9th Annual Spring Tea Fundraiser. The church lounge was transformed into a Victorian Tearoom. Tables were set with fine china, silver, fresh flowers and fine linens. Our ears were tickled by the sounds of classical piano coming from the fingers of Mr. Alonzo Luzod. Hats and gloves were displayed and borrowed by those who braved the rain and left their spring chapeaux at home! The scones and cream had been prepared by Kathleen Sleder of “flour, sugar, salt” and they sat awaiting us. The kettles were boiled and ready to make the teas of our choice.

For a little over two hours some 41 women drifted back to a time when ëtaking tea' meant conversation, relaxation and a sense that we had all the time in the world. After scones, finger sandwiches and sweets (and several cups of tea) we enjoyed a program entitled “Parasols, Fans, Hankies and Gloves” by Phyllis Barkey. We learned that hankies, were older than we thought and definitely part of a 'class system' of old.

Many purchases were made at our Marketplace and we are very grateful to all who donated. Our coffers have been augmented by over $900!

Many thanks to all who baked, sorted, donated, priced, help set up or clean up, sold tickets, attended and generally supported this endeavor. We appreciate it!

PROPERTY COMMITTEE

In my first 5 months as chairwomen of this committee, I have come to embrace Gilda Radner's character Rosanna Rosannadanna's mantra “It's always something…if it's not one thing, it's another.” In a building of this size and age and with the amount of daily usage it gets, it helps to have some comic relief. We continue to do the small maintenance jobs and will employ outside help when necessary. If you have maintenance skills and time to work at the church, please leave a phone message for me or at the church office. We can always use more people to be part of this committee and we welcome new ideas.

CHURCH MISSION STATEMENT

Who we are:
We are a community of ordinary people
committed to growing together as disciples of Jesus Christ
through worship, fellowship, learning, prayer, and mission.

Why we exist:
To love God, one another, and all people.
To show God's love in our work for peace and justice.