September 2026      Good Stuff   

There’s so much good stuff happening at WFPC!    

Please continue to let us know of any “News” you would like to share.   

News from your Session:    

If you need to contact Rev. Brian Copeland: rev.briancopeland@gmail.com, 850-524-4884.  Office hours Thursdays 1 pm – 5 pm. Be sure to stop in and visit while he is in the office.      

You may view our worship service on the church Facebook page. (Weedsport First Presbyterian Church) 

**If you “like” the worship service, it will be shared via Facebook to others! ** 

Congregational Meeting will be held on October 11^th following worship.  Nominating and presentation of information regarding removal of pews to prepare a hospitality area. 

A girl scout group of 4^th and 5^th graders will be meeting in the dining hall 2 Thursdays a month, 6-7:30 p.m.

Loose Change Offering: 

The church will be donating $300 to Choices for Change which is part of Elder Choice in Elbridge and $300 to Saint Peter & John Soup Kitchen in Auburn.  Choices for Change offers social and structured adult day services to functionally impaired adults. The soup kitchen provides free lunches Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. The donation funds come from the loose change offering collected each Sunday.

September 11^th Remembrance will be held on September 27^th at “The Point” at 4 p.m. in Marcellus as an ecumenical service.  A dish-to-pass will follow.   

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27 

Just to let you know we miss seeing you in church.  Attendance is not what it was before COVID and there is plenty of room for you! 

Worship:    

Worship will be held in the sanctuary starting in October.  For safety we will only be using the front entrance.  Other doors will be locked.  If you need to use one of the locked doors you may ring the bell for assistance. 

We will worship at Marcellus First Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 18^th to celebrate their 225^th anniversary. The service will begin at 11 a.m. followed by a luncheon.

All Saints Day will be celebrated Sunday, November 1.  If you have a friend, family member, or church member you would like to remember please contact Linda Willis or Rev. Brian Copeland.

Sunday, October 4^th will be World Communion Sunday.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE WORLD COMMUNION OFFERING

The World Communion Offering, received during A Season of Preparation leading up to World Communion Sunday, is a new way for Presbyterians to “love kindness” expressed in action, often involving mercy, faithfulness and steadfast commitment. Racial justice, gender justice, global witness, and ecumenical and interfaith engagement are the important causes supported by this Offering. In addition, a grant program has been created as part of this Offering that allows any council of the PC(USA) — session, presbytery or synod, regardless of participation in the World Communion Offering — to apply for ministry funds to support their own efforts to do ministry around these cause areas. This directly supports the ministries of our councils in their neighborhoods and around the globe.

       Tori “participated” too!

The choir grew on Sunday, July 26^th, as the Marcellus First Presbyterian Church choir joined our Praise Band when we had a joint worship service at our church.  It was beautiful to listen to them all!

Christian Education:

Rev. Copeland is holding a Bible study based on the book, Appreciate These Things by Jill Duffield, Thursdays, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Vacation Bible school was held the week of July 13-17 at the Methodist church, 9

a.m. to noon.  The theme was Snowball Mountain. Our mission was “Safe and Warm,” a community service organization that provides healthy meals and personal hygiene items, socks, hats, and gloves to the unhoused. They also offer a warm and welcoming drop-in center providing snacks, beverages, and other needed items. $335 and many, many items needed were collected.  Next year’s VBS will be a boardwalk theme.

Rev. Brian – the puppeteer!            Inside recreation (too smoky outside that day!)

            Science                                                            Crafts

            Domino fun!                      Closing worship                    Opening worship

Mission:  

Our September Blood Drive netted 22 units, which means as many as 66 people may be helped! Our July drive yielded 21 productive products!  That was good considering the weather was so hot we had to close for 30 minutes and then had to end the drive early due to the heat.

The next blood drive will be held Monday, Nov 2nd, 12:30-5 pm (please note not our usual Thursday) at the Methodist Church, hosted by WFPC.  If you have time to volunteer, please contact Cyndy Rooker.  You can also make an appointment to donate at redcrossblood.org.  Our July drive yielded 21 productive products!  That was good considering the weather was so hot we had to close down for 30 minutes and then had to end the drive early due to the heat.

We have been collecting school supplies for the elementary and Jr./Sr. High Schools. There is a box for school supply donations in the Fellowship Hall.  We will collect through September.

Items requested:

Elementary school: #2 pencils, Sharpies, Crayola crayons, Crayola markers, solid color folders, glue sticks (Elmers preferred), a few backpacks

High school: snacks - bags of chips, granola bars, Goldfish, fruit snacks

We are also collecting bottles and cans for the Honor Flight.  The official collection dates are Oct. 4 & 4.  There is a tote in the Fellowship Hall where you can drop them off.  

Upcoming Dates:   

Sept. 25 – Sennett Federated Pop-Up Kitchen

Oct. 3^rd & 4^th – Honor Flight bottle and can drive 

Oct. 4 – World Communion Sunday

Oct. 11 – Pastor Appreciation Sunday/Session and Committee meetings following worship

Oct. 16 – Sennett Federated Potters Pop-Up Kitchen

October 18 – Joint worship with MFPC at MFPC at 11 a.m. 

Nov. 2 – Blood drive (Note: not our usual Thursday)

Nov. 15 – Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes returned

RuthAnn Greer celebrated her 90^th birthday on September 4!

     November will mark 3 years of the Clothes Closet operation! PS - The fall/winter clothing is out now.  Donations of summer clothes are no longer accepted (due to lack of storage).

Our July Doug’s to Go fundraiser was held to benefit our church.  The profit, $315, and the donation jar, $65, will be used to offset the lawn care expenses.  Thank you to all who supported this event.

Sandi Kreplin will celebrate her 80^th birthday on September 29^th! 

AND Martha Mills will celebrate her 80^th birthday on October 14^th!

Roger’s son, Andrew with Roger’s picture at induction ceremony.

Linda Willis’s brother, Roger Sturgis, was recently inducted into the Viet Nam War Memorial.

Roger Gordon Sturgis, born December 6, 1945, in Auburn, NY, served in the United States Marine Corps and is listed in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s Honor Roll as a veteran of the Vietnam War.  His home-of-record is Weedsport, NY, and he is remembered for his service and sacrifice.

Military Service

• Branch: United States Marine Corps
• Induction Year: 2026 (per VVMF records)
• Service Period: 15 years, including three tours in Vietnam 
• Branch of Service: Marine Corps 

Roger joined the Marines in 1966 and served with distinction, completing multiple deployments in Vietnam. After his military service, he worked as a Deputy Sheriff in Hardeman County, Tennessee for 17 years, retiring in 2023. 

Deb Dennis and Dawn Gross            Richard Cathy

June 28, 2026, Deb Dennis’s dad, Rick Cathy, and many other veterans were honored at the Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, Flags of our Heroes. The Honor Flight of Syracuse takes living veterans to Washington, DC to honor them, as well as a photo of the deceased veteran taken on the flight then the photo is placed in front of the appropriate memorial. A picture of the veteran is sent back and honored here at the War Memorial. They honor the individual people and families as well as give them a packet with the picture they took at Washington with a certificate. It was a very emotional honor and lots of tears. If you have a veteran that has passed and would like to honor them just look up FlagsofOurHeroes@HonorFlightSyracuse.org.

 Barbara Gray and Linda Fey had fun being our “Blooming Beauties” in their “matching” floral skirt and pants!

David Seitz’s new address is:

310 Arthur Drive, Unit 128, Box 20, Charleston AFB, SC 29404

I’m sure mail from home would be appreciated!

THANK YOU!   

To Nathan Gray for setting up for us at the blood drive. Moving all the tables and chairs and setting up our registration area.

To the Building and Grounds committee for arranging the removal of the fencing in the play area and dumpster. 

To all who donated to the school supply collection.  We have provided an amazing amount of supplies!!!

To The Praise Band/Choir for the beautiful music they provide on Sundays.  We especially enjoy the addition of the flute (Joanne Slauson), guitar (Dan Thomas), and percussion (James Marshall).  Of course, we always enjoy the weekly organ and piano (Laura Granger and Marian Smith).      

To all who volunteer at the Clothes Closet and to those who donate clothes.      

To Joanne Slauson for keeping the website up-to-date, and Rev. Copeland for recording and posting the church service on Facebook.   

Thank you, Connie Horr, for being the best proofreader!  She makes sure our newsletters are easier to read and understand!    

Please pray for…   

Linda Fey who will be undergoing knee replacement surgery October 7^th.

All our U.S. men and women serving in our armed forces. 

The family of Rev. Stuart Hayes, who passed away suddenly on Aug. 25th

Joyce Dragone, a friend of Connie Horr’s, who has cancer and is undergoing treatments. 

Carole Harkness Burns as she battles aggressive skin cancer.  

Mat Grudzien.  Send positive thoughts for health. 

Charlie Rooker who is undergoing treatments for cancer.

*If you would like to have someone added to the birthday list, please let us know, thanks.   

IMPORTANT REMINDER!       &       

Please be sure to turn off the lights and lock the doors to the church whenever you leave the building.   

INFORMATION WORTH REPEATING:    

(This information will have been in previous newsletters, but it is worth reprinting.)    

The “Weedsport Presbyterian Church” has a Facebook page.  Feel free to follow.  There is a link to the webpage in the “Welcome” for an easy way to link back and forth.  Feel free to contact Joanne Slauson (joanneslauson@gmail.com) for any changes and additions on the Facebook page.    

If you are interested in being a greeter, or providing refreshments for coffee hour, please sign up on the calendar in the Narthex. (Anyone can be a greeter.)    

Now that the church service starts at 11:15 a.m., Adult Sunday School starts at 9:45 a.m.  This may make it easier for you to join us upstairs in the Koinonia Room Sunday mornings before church to get some very interesting background of the day’s scripture.  Dan Thomas has a wealth of knowledge to share!     

Weedsport Good Samaritan Fund reminder: Do you know someone that might need our help?  We would like to offer this reminder.  The Weedsport Good Samaritan Fund is available to assist with emergency medical, utility, and other needs that may arise. Please contact Cyndy Rooker if you have any questions or know of someone who could use assistance.   (Must be a resident of WCSD or Weedsport.)   

What’s Going on At Church:

Sunday:

9:45 a.m.                     Adult Sunday School led by Dan Thomas

11:15 a.m.                   In-Person worship

1-3 p.m.                      Square Dancers in the dining room

Tuesday:

10-1 p.m.                    Free Clothes Closet

7-9 p.m.                      Square Dancers in the dining room

Wednesday:

9 a.m.                          Join Rev. Copeland at Finally Ours Restaurant for coffee hour

Thursday:

10-noon                      All Things Creative

1-5 p.m.                      Rev. Copeland’s office hours

3-5:50 p.m.                 Free Clothes Closet open

11:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.            Dog Training classes

12:30-5:30 p.m. Red Cross Blood Drive at UMC, First Thursday, odd number months (Jan.,    March, May, July, Sept., Nov.)

5:30-6:30 p.m.             Bible Study (Rev. Copeland)

6-7:30 p.m.                 Girl Scouts meet in dining room (twice a month)

  Reminder: We have several fire doors within the church.  For safety reasons, please be sure they are shut whenever possible.