Happy Mom’s Day!

It’s now been four years since my mom passed away on her 85th birthday. Her name was June, and she was a really good mom. It is so easy to take our annual celebration of Mother’s Day and compose the overly-sentimental poetry that (at least for one day) puts our moms up on pedestals of rose-colored perfection. My mom wasn’t perfect, but she loved me and my siblings very much- and we always knew that. She did a lot for us- from cooking our meals to running us to and from activities to making sure our clothes were clean and presentable. My mom participated in our church and the PTA and in our community. And she was very proud of my dad’s accomplishments, too. Sometimes she put her own needs on hold for our sake.

I never fully appreciated this, of course, until I was a parent myself. And even now I recognize that being a dad isn’t quite the same as being a mom. But I do know something now about providing for kids, and playing taxi driver, and making sacrifices for a greater good. Just like being married, being a parent is demanding sometimes. And exhilarating sometimes. And very funny sometimes. And heartbreaking sometimes, too.

Here is one of my favorite stories about my mom: I think it was my second year at Monmouth College. It had been a couple of months since I’d last been home, and I probably hadn’t called for quite a while, either. One afternoon I stop by my campus mail box and there’s a note that I have a package! (This is one of the best things possible if you’re a college student, believe me…) So I take the box up to my room and begin to unpack it. It is almost totally filled with my favorite chocolate chip cookies! (I told you she was a really good mom!) Now, she also packed a few other items like deodorant and toothpaste and laundry detergent. (Of course.) But at the very bottom she included a piece of stationary, a pen, and home-addressed stamped envelope! (I never said she wasn’t sarcastic…) Just a friendly little reminder that I was still part of the family and I needed to check in… So pardon me for setting aside the Mother’s Day superlatives and trying to keep things more or less real. My mom worked hard to be a good parent. Sometimes she got it right, sometimes (like we all do) she fell flat. She let her anxieties get the best of her sometimes. And she could play the guilt card, too. But she was smart and caring and funny. And I miss her.

So Happy Mom’s Day, Moms! Thanks for the years that you pour into your families. Thanks for all those times you do your best and all those times you don’t. Thanks for loving your kids despite all the mistakes we make and the times we break your heart. Thanks for teaching us the Lord’s Prayer and making us go to swim lessons. Thanks for your encouragement, and your discipline, and the mistakes, too. Thanks for never giving up.

Peace,
Kerry

Helpers (Still) needed to Record Worship Services

For a year now, the web-page has been ready and the equipment has been purchased. We are getting closer and closer to being able to record church events and our Sunday worship services and then posting them on tolonopresbyterian.org.

What we need now is to interface our church’s sound system with our video camcorder and get a crew of folks who will take turns recording. Kerry is just beginning to work his way through the operating manual transferring video onto DVD or the webpage.

He’s happy to train who-ever’s interested in learning to use the equipment. Just give him a call at the church or at the manse or drop him an e-mail. Also, please brainstorm ideas for how we can use this new equipment to better share and promote our ministries.

Prayer List

• All the people who are lonely through the holidays, may they find someone to help
• Our church and its current ministries and missions
• Our leaders, like the Elders and Deacons
• Our community and the people searching for a deeper connection with God…
• All those who are ill or facing surgery, may they find healing
• All those in harm's way, may they find strength and courage
• All those travelling, may they have safe journeys

Please Contribute!

If you have articles, reports, letters, or announcements that you'd like included in the Tolono Pres News, please don't hesitate to contact our office at 485-3725 or at tolonopres@yahoo.com.

The deadline for submissions to the March newsletter will be Monday, February 27th.

Also, please take lots of photos of church events and send them into the office. We'll publish some of them into the newsletter and archive them all in the office for future use! Some will also appear on our web site: tolonopresybterian.org.

May Birthdays

• 5/3 - Gracie Schweighart
• 5/5 - Robert Hesler
• 5/8 - Linda Duggins
• 5/12 - Linda Smith
• 5/12 - Winnabell Gambel-Radmaker
• 5/13 - Marsha Gates
• 5/14 - Charlotte Steel
• 5/18 - Gary Fisher
• 5/18 - Greg Fisher
• 5/25 - Michael Maxwell
• 5/29 - Jacob Cross
• 5/31 - Tyler Evans
• 5/31 - Zach Woolard

May Lay Leaders

April Pianists