Presbytidings – February 2026
The Newsletter of First Presbyterian Church
216 West Third Street, Wayne, Nebraska 68787
(402) 375-2669 + www.fpcwayne.org
“Our chief end is to glorify and enjoy God forever.”
LENTEN SOUP SUPPERS TO BEGIN FEBRUARY 25th
Lenten Soup and Sandwich suppers will begin on Wednesday, February 25th and continue until March 25th Soup suppers will begin at 6:00 p.m. followed by our Lenten worship service at 7:00 p.m. Sign-up on the sheet in Fellowship Hall to bring soup, sandwiches, dessert or other items for the meal.
COFFEEHOUSE STYLE WORSHIP
Please plan to join us for the first CoffeeHouse style service in 2025 on February 15th. This casual discussion-based service helps us learn about Scripture and each other. Jane O’Leary is the discussion leader for February. A fellowship host (s) is still needed. Following CoffeeHouse a brunch style lunch will be provided by members of the Session before the conversation with Forest Walk consultants.
SAVE THE DATE – February 15th
Forest Walk Conversation
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect 1 Peter 3:15 NIV.
Forest Walk consultants, Dr. Loren and Becky Shellabarger, are working with the church to help us understand our identity, develop relationships, identify our strengths, focus on God’s mission, and guide us as we move forward.
In the Church Identity Document provided to the Session the consultants commented about FPC, “Your identity flows around being a gathering place that shares God’s hope for each other and your surrounding community.” What do you think, do you agree? How are we building, sustaining hope in our community? Come and share your thoughts. All members and friends of the congregation are encouraged to participate.
Forest Walk will be leading a large group conversation following worship February 15th, come share your vision for FPC, how we can further impact our community, deepen our relationship, and continue to serve God.
I’m Not Just February
By Annette Wynne
I’m not just February
With winds that blow
All day, and piled-up snow;
I’m Washington and Lincoln, too,
Who kept our country’s flag for you!
I’m Valentine of airy grace-
With golden hearts and hearts of lace
And pretty cards that people send,
Quite as a secret, to a friend.
Though I am short of days and small,
I’m quite a big month, after all!
Accessed from https://discoverpoetry.com/poems/february-poems/
HOMESTEAD PRESBYTERY
Homestead Presbytery will gather on Saturday, February 21st, via Zoom. Contact Pastor Teresa for more details or register at the Homestead Presbytery website.
SESSION
The Session will meet on Monday, February 23, at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.
COMMUNION
Next month, Communion will be held on Sunday, March 1st. The Communion Elder will be Jeryl Nelson.
FPC ANNUAL REPORT
Pastor Teresa’s letter was from the Annual Meeting held on Sunday, January 25th. If you would like a copy of the report, you can pick up a copy on the Opportunity Table or contact Jenny at fpcwayne@gmail.com
FROM THE PASTOR……
2025 Annual Report from the Pastor
The prophet Isaiah served as a mouthpiece for the Lord during one of the most trying times in the history of the Israelites. The setting for the 43rd chapter of Isaiah is the captivity of the Israelites in Babylon. The people felt discouraged, defeated, deflated, and depressed at their lowest point when God sent word through the prophet Isaiah. God knew the people needed reassurance and their memory jogged that God was their Creator –the One who made them out of nothing, who had been present with them through the generations. The word of the prophet helped them get unstuck from fear, anxiety, and hopelessness. There are times churches also find themselves stuck in fear, anxiety, and hopelessness.
Recently I read an article entitled “Three Ways Almost Every Church Gets Stuck”[*] by Rev. Carey Nieuwhof, a well-known author and church consultant. Nieuwhof writes that at some point most every church gets stuck, either in the past, the future, or the present. When a church gets stuck in the past, you hear voices saying let’s go back to the way it was. It can be hard to let go of memories of a time with lots of children and a full sanctuary for Sunday worship. The problem, of course, is that you can’t go back to the way it was. What worked in the past, worked because the conditions were right then and those conditions have changed. There’s a world of difference between learning from the past and living in the past. Nieuwhof says “Churches that live in the past never have much of a future.”[†]
God’s word to the Israelites is as pertinent for us as it was for them, God is encouraging us to look forward not backward. God said to the Israelites,
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43: 18-19
God is saying “I’m about to do something brand new. Let go of the past and look forward because God is more interested in your future than your past.”
Nieuwhof says churches can also get stuck in the future, as strange as that sounds. In that scenario the conversation is always about what could be, what should be, what might be, but there is no plan to get there. A vision without a plan isn’t a dream, it becomes a disappointment because it is dangled in front of people so often and for so long that no one believes it anymore.
A church can get stuck in the past, in the future, a church can also get stuck in the present. How does that happen? One indicator a church is stuck in the present is that there is no forward movement, no experimenting, not even diagnosing. We can feel discouraged because we’re a small congregation and feel we don’t have enough, enough people, enough resources, enough energy to thrive, so we quit trying and we get stuck.
How do we get unstuck? Our work with Forest Walk is one way the Session has embarked on to get us unstuck, to help us plan our next steps, to vision for the future. Forest Walk has reminded us that we have many resources that might make other churches our size envious. We want to move forward which means that we want to get unstuck, so we must learn from the past, imagine the future, and create a plan to move toward that future.
We should celebrate what we have and continue to try new things and experiment- like our 2025 5th Sunday project preparing hygiene kits for Church World Service, extending welcome to international students, interaction with the community through Christmas Caroling, and Trunk or Treat events. CoffeeHouse service will resume on February 15th on the third Sunday of each month. CoffeeHouse provides thought-provoking discussions lead by members of the congregation and an opportunity to invite someone to join us for worship. We continue our work with and support the Wayne Food Pantry, the Deacons Coat Closet, which support our community. We want to welcome visitors warmly whether they are coming for worship or using the Coat Closet or Food Pantry. Each of us is a part of this faith community and we need to encourage and invite others to reinvigorate our community in mission, and worship.
My favorite contemporary hymn is entitled Hymn of Promise written by Natalie Sleeth. The last half of the first verse says:
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
Bulbs planted in the fall remain out of sight until the right combination of sun, rain and warmth triggers the new growth to break through the ground exposing a small green tip. I feel a sense of anticipation that like that bulb responding to the warmth of the spring sun and rain, God is at work in our midst and we need to be watching for those the first hints of new growth. Let’s keep cultivating and planting new ideas, sharing your ideas for worship, mission, local outreach with a Session member or me. Even though we are in midwinter I feel a sense of optimism about our work with Forest Walk, about what God will lead us too next. Let’s look forward rather than backward, let’s see what is and what might be rather than pine for what was. Let us watch for the new growth which will be revealed in God’s time.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Teresa
PROJECT WARM-UP
March 22nd
The Session has approved a special project of making fleece blankets for area emergency services. This will be our project during the worship hour for March 22nd . We will gather and work on making tied fleece blankets. Each blanket requires 1 ½ to 2 yards of fleece. If you have fleece at home, you would like to donate that would be appreciated. You can often find fleece by the yard at big box stores. If you want to donate fleece, please have it at the church March 15th This is a project that our youngest to our oldest folks can participate in. Let’s see if we can complete six blankets on our first try.
LOOKING AHEAD TO LENT & EASTER
Observe a holy Lenten season this year.
- We will begin Lent with an Ash Wednesday service on February 18th beginning at 7:00pm.
- Palm Sunday Service on Sunday, March 29th at 10:00am.
- Celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord at our Easter Sunday service at 10:00am on Sunday, April 5th, 2026.
FPC CHURCH DIRECTORY
Please submit any address or phone number changes for you and for your family members to fpcwayne@gmail.com or call the office at 402-375-2669. Thank you!
FELLOWSHIP HALL PIANO
The Fellowship Hall piano is available to anyone who would like it and will move it. The Aerosonic piano is in good useable conditions, however would likely need tuning after moving. Please speak to Pastor Teresa if you are interest in the piano.
2026 CLASS OF ELDERS AND DEACONS INSTALLED
January 18th ruling elders and deacons were installed by Pastor Teresa Bartlett at the First Presbyterian Church of Wayne. Jeryl Nelson was installed as ruling elder, replacing outgoing elder John Fuelberth and Gail McCorkindale was installed to her second term on the Session. These elders join Dr. Mark Hammer, Dr. Gerard Ras, Suzanne Sjuts, Brian Bowers in visioning, guiding and governing the congregation. Karen Marra and Gordon Granberg are the incoming class of deacons and join Karen Johnson, Sydney Story, Jenny Hammer, Tiffanny Heese. The ministry of the deacons is one of compassion, witness and service to members or persons in distress. The deacons manage the Coat Closet at FPC.
The First Presbyterian Church of Wayne is located at 216 West Third Street and was organized in 1881. First Presbyterian is a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Presbyterians are in the reformed theological tradition, with a strong emphasis on the grace of God through Jesus Christ. The church has representational leadership by both ministers and church members.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF WAYNE
THE SESSION 2026
Elder Class Phone
Mark Hammer (Property, Fellowship) 2026
Gerard Ras (Administration) 2026
Brian Bowers (Property) 2027
Suzanne Sjuts (Worship, Outreach, Discipleship) 2027
Jeryl Nelson (Administration) 2028
Gail McCorkindale (Worship, Discipleship, Administration) 2028
Jane O’Leary, Session Clerk
BOARD OF DEACONS 2026
Deacon Class Phone
Jenny Hammer 2026
Sydney Story 2026
Tiffanny Heese 2027
Karen Johnson 2027
Gordon Granberg 2028
Karen Marra 2028
COMMITTEES OF THE CONGREGATION 2026
Nominating Team: Mark Hammer, John Fuelberth, Jay O’Leary, Karen Johnson & Sydney Story
Financial Review: Jeryl Nelson & Mark McCorkindale
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION: Suzanne Sjuts, President; John Fuelberth, Vice-President;
Jane O’Leary, Secretary; Jodi Pulfer, Treasurer
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Shari Dunklau, Mark McCorkindale, Kent Pulfer
February 2026 – First Presbyterian Church
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| 1 | 2 5:40am KTCH 104.9 Moment for Living | 3 5:40am KTCH 104.9 Moment for Living 1:15pm Kinship Bible Study | 4 5:40am KTCH 104.9 Moment for Living | 5 5:40am KTCH 104.9 Moment for Living | 6 5:40am KTCH 104.9 Moment for Living | 7 |
| 8 10:00am Communion Mark Hammer, communion elder Presbyterian Pealers perform | 9 | 10 1:15pm Kinship Bible Study | 11 10:30 Pastor at WACAM | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 CoffeeHouse Worship – Forest Walk Consulting to follow | 16 | 17 1:15pm Kinship Bible Study | 18 7:00pm Ash Wednesday Service | 19 | 20 | 21 10:00am Homestead Presbytery Via Zoom |
| 22 1:30pm Country View Chapel | 23 7:00pm Session Mtg. | 24 1:15pm Kinship Bible Study | 25 6:00pm Lenten Soup Supper 7:00pm Lenten Service | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Each Sunday Morning: 9:00 Bells Practice | 10:00 Worship 11:00 Fellowship |
FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS
(Would you like to see your birthday listed here?
Just contact the church office 402-375-2669 or fpcwayne@gmail.com)
10 Jodi P.
20 Karen M.
25 Pat S., Gabriel P.
27 Jan L.
28 Amy B.
Contact Information:
First Presbyterian Church
216 W. Third Street
Wayne NE 68787
FPC Office/ Wayne Food Pantry/Wayne Coat Closet
402-375-2669
Tuesday – Friday, 9am – 12 noon
Websites:
Church: https://fpcwayne.com/
Wayne Food Pantry: https://fpcwayne.com/food-pantry/
Wayne Coat Closet: https://fpcwayne.com/wayne-coat-closet/
FPC Service Recordings can be found at:
*Facebook @ First Presbyterian Church – Wayne, Nebraska
*Our website @ fpcwayne.com
*YouTube @ FPC of Wayne Nebraska
FPC Online Worship Bulletins can be found at:
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
First Presbyterian Church – Wayne, Nebraska
Wayne Food Pantry – Wayne, Nebraska
Wayne Coat Closet – First Presbyterian Church
Pastor Teresa Bartlett
402-375-2669 (office)
319-795-2911 (cell)
GET OUR NEWSLETTER BY E-MAIL
If you would like to receive this newsletter by e-mail (save a stamp, save a tree!), go to www.fpcwayne.org; on the home page, in the right hand column, there is a widget that says, “NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION: Enter your e-mail address to receive Presbytidings, our church’s newsletter, by e-mail.” Enter your address in the white box, and click on the button that says, “Sign me up!” You will need to confirm your subscription through an e-mail message that will be sent to your inbox; this is safe! It is designed to keep spammers out of the picture! Share our newsletter with all your friends and family. Simple!
[*] 3 Ways Almost Every Church Gets Stuck Accessed 1/8/2026.
[†] 3 Ways Almost Every Church Gets Stuck Accessed 1/8/2026.
First Presbyterian Church of Wayne, Nebraska 