This Sunday . . . 

Follow Me and Step Into the Boat

The Education and Formation Committee invites you to “Follow Me and Step Into the Boat” by reading, watching and even stepping into a boat for an adventure. 

Read: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown or The Boys in the Boat Young Reader Edition also by Daniel James Brown. 

Watch: The documentary entitled "The Boys of '36' available on Amazon Prime.

Step Into: One or both of the boating adventures coming up on Sunday, August 27th and Saturday, September 9th. See details below.

Copies of the book are still available in the church office. Pastor Tim introduced us to this book in his sermon on Sunday, May 7: YouTube 

Benderson Park Boating Adventure

Sunday, August 27th from 3-5pm

Location: Benderson Park on the island. Take the east bridge and follow it down to the left.



Attire: water shoes or old sneakers

Cost: $10 per person Memo line: Benderson Boat.

**Must be 6+ to participate.**

Join your church family and STEP INTO a Dragon Boat! Team Building Specialist Don Bickel will lead us in conquering land challenges for team bonding. He uses playful games to build communication and trust to prepare the group for a dragon boat adventure. The real connection happens on the water learning the synergy of paddling a 20 person dragon boat together. Teams learn the commands to paddle as one boat. We will finish with a race to victory, but everyone will be a winner after a day on the water together. Spots are limited so RSVP soon!



Questions about what to expect? Contact Emily Weitekamp at emily.weitekamp@gmail.com or our boating guide Don Bickel at dbickel0825@gmail.com

KAYAKING DAY SEPTEMBER 9

Kayak day is coming! Meet your church family on Saturday, September 9, at 8:40 a.m. on the bay side of Turtle Beach (8918 Midnight Pass Road), Siesta Key. Bring your own kayak or rent from our preferred vendor, Ultimate Kayak SRQ at (941) 720-8807, and ask for the discount rate for FPC. Call Pete by Thursday, September 7, to reserve: single kayak $35, double kayak $40, for 3 hours. Pay them by credit card or cash.

We’ll paddle in the bay down to peaceful Midnight Pass Beach to swim in the Gulf, if you like. Bring sunscreen, hat, clothes that can get wet, and water to stay hydrated. Afterward, we’ll have lunch at Turtle Beach Grill. If you don’t want to kayak, meet us at Turtle Beach Grill around 12:30. For more information, call or text Wendy Miller (941) 321-8488. 

Family Promise of Sarasota/Manatee

Francis House

August News

Wonderful news! An expectant mother, along with her eight year old daughter, and an 18 month old, will be settling at Francis House this week! Francis House is located on the grounds of Pine Shores Presbyterian Church. The house is fully furnished and beautifully decorated. It is going to be a safe and comfortable setting as the family prepares to welcome their new family member.

Our congregation can help in two ways……

We will provide a healthy, hot meal for the family on the weekends of August 18-20 and August 25-27 and September 1-3.  Contributing a home cooked meal or contributing for a purchased meal are welcome. Please contact Pam Mathes at 518-495-3776, if you wish to help.

Family Promise is seeking volunteers interested in interacting with the new mothers and their children. Please consider attending a training to become a volunteer.

(Note: Persons delivering hot food do not need to take this training.)

Thursday, Sept. 7 10:00 -11:30 a.m.

First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota

2^nd Floor

--Or--

Thursday, Sept. 7 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.

Pine Shores Presbyterian Church

Council Room in Administration Building

Volunteers will need only ONE session. 

Please RSVP your choice to Mary Margaret Barbour, 404-216-6208, mmbarbour38@gmail.com

Brentwood Elementary School Welcome Back Breakfast

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU

Last Thursday, August 3^rd was the first day for teachers returning for the 2023-2024 school year! Thanks to First Presbyterian Church, they not only had an abundance of school supplies for the students but were treated to a delicious breakfast for all staff. There were three kinds of Quiche, Frittatas, and Bacon, catered by Nellie’s Deli. FPC members baked delicious breakfast breads and treats to add to the fare along with fresh fruits and juices. The teachers were delighted as many shared that they look forward to this amazing treat each year. Special thanks to Lorraine Foltz, Tony Williams, Mary Williams, Kay Dunn, Rachel Martin, Rev. Tim Boggess, Sandi Soper, and special guests Ron and Jinny Miller, former Invest in Children coordinators. Also, our thanks for more delicious treats to Marcia Schaper, Joanne Simons, and Wendy Miller. A wonderful anonymous donor funded the catering from Nellie’s Deli.

First Presbyterian Preschool

Rare Summer Openings for Fall 2023 Enrollment

First Presbyterian Preschool has a couple of openings for this up-and-coming school year. 

Please contact the preschool office to learn more about our community and play based programming.

Call the preschool office for more information (941) 366-2000

or check out our new website

Fall Salt Shakers Coming Soon

Joining Salt Shakers is a wonderful way for members and friends of First Presbyterian Church to get to know each other. Groups of 6-8 people (singles or couples) meet once a month from September through November/December. Each group decides whether they want to have a potluck at a member’s home, dine at a restaurant or have a picnic or brunch. Sign up forms are in the foyer of Fellowship Hall and the narthex of the Sanctuary. Questions? Call Diane Bittner (941) 755-2268 or Marcia Schaper (941) 922-5245. Last day to sign up is Sunday, August 27.

Sisters of the Road is a weekly prayer group that meets via Zoom at 10:30 AM on Wednesdays. We use Take Our Moments and Our Days, Vol. 1, (available on Amazon) as our format and take turns leading a brief discussion of the two scripture passages indicated for that session. We divide up FPC’s weekly Prayer List and pray for those people and others in our daily private devotions. We welcome new members to our joyful fellowship. Please contact Janet Olshewsky (janetolshewsky@verizon.net) for further information, or use this Zoom link to pop in and try us out.

Financial Update

July                                                   Actual                Budget

Revenues (pledge, non-pledge, and other receipts)      

$63,440.71           $60,398.53

Expenditures                                      89,402.59             78,603.55

Year-to-date

Revenues (pledge, non-pledge, and other receipts)     

680,100.64             616,814.06

Expenditures                                     $584,583.43          $584,336.70

Thank you for your generous gifts and pledge fulfillments, especially during the summer months. 

Cheryl's August Health Awareness ........

FPC's Weekly All Faiths Food Distribution 

We have expanded our food offering and are now averaging over 100 families per week!

Join us on Thursday mornings to volunteer. We start packing food at 8:30 a.m. and serve from 9:30 A.M.-11:00 a.m.

First Presbyterian Church Sarasota is now on YouTube

Prayer List

Click on the link below for the prayer list. Thank you for praying for healing and encouragement for these dear ones.

ACS Church Life App is Still Available

   for Download at Your App Store

We just found out that the ACS church life app is still available for download from your app store (Apple and androids). For those of you not familiar with Church Life, it is an app that is available to church members. You can search for members, view phone and  address information, photos, and family members. You can send a text or call with a simple tap on the phone number. You can even send an email. Download it now before it is no longer available through your app store.

If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Garcia, finance manager (941) 955-8119.

Pastoral Care

When you or a loved one is hospitalized, it is important that you contact the church or the pastor to inform us directly and inform the hospital that you are a member of our congregation and would welcome a visit. Hospitals will not contact the church. We have also discovered that some will no longer even list a patient as our church member on their internal records unless the patient is careful to note their relationship with our congregation. Thank you for your assistance.

We’re Here for You!

The FPC care team, Stephen Ministers, deacons, elders and church staff continue to be available for you. Please feel free to reach out to Cheryl Track, Faith Community Nurse (941) 320-3828 or call the church office (941) 955-8119 if we can be of support to you.