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Spring has sprung and another successful Easter Egg Hunt has occurred. This year our church was blessed to have community collaborators in the form of Toledo Hardee's and the Tama and Toledo EMS services. While Hardee's provided eggs with special coupons, members of both Tama and Toledo EMS provided eggs and cheerful greetings for all who stopped by to say, "Hello". Next on the docket is the Annual End of the Sunday School Year Picnic. Our final day of youth and adult Sunday school will take place on Sunday, May 18 with a picnic luncheon following our regular 10:30 AM Sunday service. All are invited to join us for Sunday services, Sunday school, Bible study, and other activities throughout the year. In the meantime, feel free to keep in touch by watching our website and blog for updates or by subscribing to our monthly newsletter. Newsletters can be provided through traditional USPS or digitally as an email attachment. If you would like to be added to our email list, please visit the "Contact Us" page and submit your name, email address, and other relevant contact information. God bless and have a splendid spring and summer!    
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Well everyone, here we are at the mid-point of August. The Iowa State Fair is nearly over, the 108th Annual Meskwaki Powwow had another successful year, and many students will return to the classroom in less than a week. As we look forward to September we rejoice in the opportunity to return to routines that fulfill our social desires and spiritual needs.
Our women's group, Deborah Circle, will host their monthly meeting on Wednesday, September 4 at 2:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall. All women are invited to join in on the devotions, lesson, and refreshments. They are currently studying Lesson 7 of Sacred Encounters. Beginning on Sunday, September 8 our Sunday school classes will kick off with our annual Rally Sunday breakfast of donuts, juice, milk, and good conversation. This event begins at 9:15 AM and is open to students of all ages and their families. After Sunday school, we will be celebrating our youth at our 10:30 church service in the Sanctuary. We will first hear from our Camp Bear Creek attendees before honoring our third grade student with a special Bible. Monday, September 16 brings the first night of Adult Bible Study this fall. The group meets on the first and third Mondays at 6:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall and is following The Chosen series with conversation after each episode. As it has always been and continues to be, all are welcome to join us in any group, class, or worship service hosted at the 1st Presbyterian Church of Toledo. We look forward to seeing all of the familiar faces and welcoming all of the new ones. Blessings to you and yours until we are able to greet one another in person. Happy 1st day of June! As with any new beginning, we reflect back on the past that has led us here.
Last month we wrapped up another successful Sunday school year with our kids performing a medley of toe-tapping songs and the annual End of the Year Picnic. The day was filled with good music, fun times, and delicious delicacies. Many thanks to all who contributed to the success and joy of the day! Additionally, we thank Pastor Kerry Carson for fulfilling the role of "fearless leader" while Pastor Tom was on leave. We are so thankful for his help and leadership over the past several months. Looking ahead, we welcome back Pastor Tom and Jean Bower at tomorrow's service. Their presence has been missed and we look forward to seeing them both in the near future. For those who have visited our church in the past, you may remember Pastor Doug Darnold and his wife, Leanna. The Darnold's now live near Stanton, Iowa and will be soon celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. We miss them dearly and hope that the 50th opportunity to celebrate their union is as joy and love filled as their first! We thank God for the many blessings of good times and loving people with whom we can share. He has blessed us in providing leaders who support us and our mission as we seek to fulfill the needs of our congregation and community. We welcome all who wish to join us on Sunday morning during service at 10:30, and encourage any families who would like their children to join our Sunday school program to contact us before August 1, 2024 to allow ample time for connection and information sharing before classes begin in September. Have a great summer and we hope to see you all soon! It is amazing how time seems to fly, especially when we have a deadline or look back at the past. Therefore, that seems to be my only excuse as to why an entire year has passed since the last post. We are currently in the thick of the Lenten and Easter season again and spent time today preparing for our annual Easter Egg Hunt. As you can see in the picture below, it was a wild time! Next Sunday we will celebrate the beginning of Holy Week with a special song led by our Sunday school children during the 10:30 service. Thursday evening, we will be hosting our annual Maundy Thursday service acknowledging the Last Supper and the night Jesus was betrayed. Service will be held in the basement Fellowship Hall beginning at 7 PM. On Saturday afternoon, the fruits of today's labors will be ripe for the picking for all community children under the age of 12. Join us on the Tama County Courthouse Lawn for some Easter fun and a chance to meet the Easter Bunny. We will begin the "hunt" at exactly 1 PM, so arrive early as the eggs don't last long after the whistle is blown! Finally we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ during our Easter Sunday service beginning at 10:30 AM. Children and adults are welcome to arrive at 9:15 to join in on our Sunday school classes. We look forward to seeing you at the many Easter events taking place in the next two weeks and hope you come back more regularly than this blogger posts! Blessings to you all and Happy Easter!  Two of our youngest helpers investigating the quality of the egg container...  Invite your families, friends, children, grandchildren, neighbors, nieces, nephews, cousins, and more to join in on the fun!
Spring has sprung and the Easter season is in full swing! This Sunday we begin the final preparations for our annual Easter Egg Hunt by filling the eggs with candy and treats. All children ages 2 - 12 are welcome to join in the fun on Saturday, April 8 on the Tama County Courthouse lawn. The hunt starts with a whistle at 1 and is done by 1:10, so be sure to arrive early! The Easter bunny will also be making a special appearance and is available for pictures. In the meantime, we hope you all have a blessed Easter season filled with redemption and rejoicing, and look forward to seeing everyone on the 8th!
 Merry Christmas Eve everyone! We hope you all are staying warm despite these frigid winter temperatures. To ensure the safety of all, we have chosen to cancel our Christmas Eve Service previously scheduled for tonight. We will have services tomorrow morning at our usual 10:30 service time.
Just a reminder, we do not meet for Sunday school on December 25 or January 1. Sunday school classes will resume on January 8. Confirmation classes also begin on January 8 for all youth in grades 7 and up. We hope you all have a safe, warm, and merry Christmas with your loved ones and a blessed new year! As anyone familiar with our congregation knows, our pulpit is currently being filled by Rev. Kerry Carson of Conrad. We as a congregation are thrilled to have him and his family with us through the end of the year. This Sunday we celebrate Pastor Appreciation Month with a potluck luncheon. Please feel free to bring your favorite dish and help us celebrate and thank Pastor Kerry for his amazing support and leadership during this time. Additionally, we support our pastor, Rev. Tom Bower, as he continues his work with two schools in Egypt with whom he as been involved with for many years. Congratulations and thank you for all of your dedication and work with people around the world Tom!
As the seasons change, we prepare for new beginnings. On July 31, we officially said, "See you soon" to Pastor Tom Bower and his wife, Jean, as they prepare to return to Egypt to continue their work in education, and welcome to Pastor Kerry Carson and his wife, Marijke, as they join us through the end of the year until the Bowers return. After much deliberation, we have decided to alter our Sunday school and church service times to better meet the needs of our congregation. Beginning on Sunday, September 4, church services will begin at 10:30 AM. Sunday school will kick off for another year of fun on Sunday, September 11 and will meet from 9:15 - 10:15 AM. All children who are potty trained and age 3 or older are welcome to join our youth Sunday school class. Adult Sunday school classes will also resume on the 11th. Adult Bible study will start a new series with Pastor Kerry on Monday, September 19 at 6:30 PM entitled, "A Walk Through the Bible." According to Pastor Kerry, after completing this series, learners will be able to work their way through the Bible with a greater knowledge base in a matter of minutes. As we close out the month of August, we want to acknowledge the joy we were able to celebrate today as a congregation. In July of 2021, the Music and Worship Committee made the recommendation to our Session that we invest in a new piano for the sanctuary and dedicate it in honor of John Finical III, who shared his love of music and the Lord with our congregation for many years. One year later, the piano arrived. Today we had the honor of celebrating John's legacy with members of his family. We are so blessed to have been able to share so many great moments and memories with John and his family over the years and are thankful to have this beautiful reminder of some of the most important things he cherished during his time here on earth.
Galatians 5: 22 - 23 states that , "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control..." (Holy Bible, NIV). Recently our church was able to celebrate the first bud of spirituality and the beautiful bloom that comes with age and the teachings of Jesus. On Sunday, May 8th we were honored to baptize another of our beloved children promising to guide, support, and teach them the way of the Lord. Then, on May 15th, we were able to celebrate the graduation of a former Sunday school student and congratulate them on their many successes, those both achieved and to be attained. We are so honored and humbled to be able to play a part in the lives of these children, from birth through adulthood and thank each and every one of their parents for allowing us these amazing opportunities. At this time, we are on summer break for both Sunday school and Bible Study, but will return this fall. It would be our privilege to guide your child through the Bible along with our current students. If you would like to get more information or register your child for Sunday school, please leave us a message at 641-484-3522 or email us at [email protected]. In the meantime, feel free to join us for Sunday services which begin at 11:00 AM.
Below: Just a few of the pictures from our Annual Easter Egg Hunt. Join us every year on the day before Easter at 1:00 PM on the Tama County Courthouse Lawn!
Don't forget to come meet the Easter bunny and pick up some treats this Saturday at 1:00 PM!
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