Posted by Fred Steiner on December 14, 2017 - 3:16pm

Rev. Karol Farris will celebrate her first Christmas as a pastor later this month. This fall, Rev. Farris accepted the call as pastor of Bluffton Presbyterian Church. Her pastorate began in September and she was installed in November. As a first-time pastor, she describes her position as an “on-going balancing act.”
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“I’m jumping in,” she says. That means preparing for Sunday morning worship services, being on-call for emergencies, becoming involved in church committees and session meetings, getting to know the congregation, working with small groups and even singing in the church choir.
Growing up in a Presbyterian congregation in Paris, Ill., she brings with her lots of musical interest. “My mother was church organist and choir director in my home church,” she said.
And, as she moved to Bluffton, she brought with her 35 boxes of theology books, many of which line the bookshelves in her church office.
Her journey to Bluffton started in her central Illinois hometown. After graduation from the University of Evansville with majors in music and theology, she spent one year in a church service program in Nashville. “I worked in an after school program with children,” she said. Following that, as her vocational discernment developed, she became a church administrative assistant for a year.
That sparked an interest in seminary and she enrolled in Louisville Seminary, graduating in 2014 with a master of divinity and master of arts in spirituality. Following seminary she gained additional experience as a college chaplain intern and pastoral intern and then served one year in a campus ministry program.
Concerning her first Christmas Eve service as a pastor, she says she’s nearly finished planning the service. “We will open with a musical prelude at 6:45 p.m.” she said. “At 7 p.m. is a service of lessons and carols. There will be nine readings and a variety of music with soloists, the choir and music groups.”
As she continues in her first year at the church, she said, “I find Bluffton to be a great community to be a part of and appreciate being in a college town.”
​www.blufftonicon.com/news/2017/12/14/celebrating-her-first-christmas-pastor

By Jeannie Wiley Wolf, Staff Writer, The Findlay Courier
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​BLUFFTON — Bluffton Presbyterian Church has found a new way to tackle hunger in the community. It’s called the Little Free Pantry and it’s there for anyone who needs it.
The pantry looks like a miniature red barn and stands at the rear of the North Main Street church property. Similar to the Little Free Library idea, the pantry is stocked with food instead of books, but still centered around the idea: give what you can, take what you need.
A recent visit revealed the shelves held canned corn, sacks of rice and lentils, a caramel apple cookie mix, bacon bits, instant ramen noodles, a Hamburger Helper kit and cups of cinnamon applesauce.
“It’s a grassroots movement to fulfill an immediate and local need,” church member Diane Winebar said. “Food insecurity can be anywhere.”
She said the idea was brought up at a meeting of the church’s New Beginnings team. The program helps churches make meaningful decisions about the direction in which they are going.
“Because like all organizations, sometimes churches get stuck. So we wanted to discern what God was calling us to be. We knew that we had the potential to be more and do more than we were doing,” said Winebar.
The yearlong process provided information about the church’s membership, finances and building, as well as community demographics. Once the official program was completed, church members decided to keep a New Beginnings team of which Winebar is a member.
“Going through New Beginnings really motivated us,” she said. “And so people came to us with ideas: ‘Well, we should try this; have you ever thought of that?'”
She said the team “honestly tests ideas against our resources and against our hearts. We look at each idea practically. I mean, we may want to do it, it may be in our heart to do it, but it may not be possible. We can’t do everything.”
But when a church member suggested the idea for the Little Free Pantry, they knew it was doable.
Church member Mike Rhonemus volunteered to construct the pantry using wood from an old cupboard that was no longer being used. A foam seal around the door keeps out moisture and insects.
The pantry measures 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide by 2 feet deep and took Rhonemus about 10 hours to complete. His wife, Tenna, also helped. The pantry was placed at the back of the church to provide privacy for the people utilizing it.
“The people who want to put things in do so, the people who take things out can do so, all from the same location,” Winebar said. “So you’ll see people in and out of there, and you don’t know if they’re putting in, taking out, and it doesn’t matter, which is the glory of it.”
Word has spread through the church newsletter and local news outlets, said Pastor Karol Farris.
Students of the Bluffton Community Preschool which is housed in the church were also interested in the pantry, she said.
“The first few days of the preschool, every other student was stopping: ‘What’s this, Mommy?’ So the little kids are very curious. Most people are who haven’t seen it before. ‘What’s that little house?’ So anybody who sees it is going to pause and look and see what this is,” Farris said.
Winebar said anyone is free to donate or take food, but church members are keeping an eye on the pantry and its supply.
“We check for leaking cans, and what have you, and we keep it neat and tidy and organized,” she said.
“I’ve seen everything in there. I’ve seen Jell-O and pudding. I’ve seen soups, personal care items which, according to the Little Free Pantry website, is one of the most needed things,” she added.
Items in glass containers are discouraged for safety reasons.
“We’re keeping track of all that, but really, basically, anything within size limit can go in there,” Winebar said. “And one nice thing about the Little Free Pantry is that it’s very organic, meaning the stock changes. I did notice some packs of pencils in there a few weeks ago, which was lovely with school starting.”
As Halloween approaches, she said people might want to donate bags of candy. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, cooking and baking supplies may be appreciated.
“When people stop by to get things out, they seem to be doing it in a shopping way of picking out the things they actually want or need,” said Farris. “No one is coming in and clearing out everything to hoard it. So people are taking what they need or want, and not just to be greedy about it.”
The Bluffton Food Pantry is only open a few days a week, so the Little Free Pantry provides a “safety net” for those in need, Winebar said.
“This is open 24/7. It’s always there. It’s always open,” she said.
“Our church is very involved in providing things for that food pantry, which is definitely in addition to this,” said Farris. “It’s not a competition in any way. We’re living out the command to love our neighbor as ourselves.”
The church also sponsored an outdoor community movie on the lawn this summer, attended by nearly 100 people. It has also participated in the National Night Out, a community police awareness-raising event, for several years and helps with Family Promise of Lima/Allen County, a faith-based agency dedicated to helping homeless families achieve and sustain independence.
​https://thecourier.com/life/life-news/2017/10/14/bluffton-church-pantry-feeds-community-need/​

​By Fred Steiner

​Bluffton Community Preschool, one of the many important non-profit organizations in Bluffton, will soon have a new home.
The preschool is currently located in First United Methodist Church. Due to the church's need for additional classroom space, this fall the preschool went in search of a new home.
That new home, beginning next school year, is Bluffton Presbyterian Church. Members of the preschool board recently signed a lease with the church.
The move makes the preschool one of the most ecumenical organizations in Bluffton. Its first home was First Mennonite, now First United Methodist and next school year Bluffton Presbyterian.
Seated from left, Christine Clymer, director of the preschool,  and Tenna Rhonemus, President of the Corporation, Bluffton Presbyterian Church.
Standing with the signers are Scott Basinger and Amy Roby, preschool board members; Lori Schmidt, Clerk of Sesson; and  Laura From, Board of Deacons, Bluffton Presbyterian Church.
The preschool's home has been in the United Methodist building for the past five school years. It holds classes during the school year for 3- and 4-year olds Mondays through Fridays from 8:05 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
The preschool’s income is largely from tuition. It is also supported by the Bluffton-Beaverdam-Richland Township United Way. The preschool has a long Bluffton history, beginning with its founding nearly 45 years about by the Bluffton Inter-Church Board.
Today it is a self-sustaining organization. Its teachers are Amber Bingley, 3-year-old class, Linda Headings, 4-year-old class and Melissa McGuire, assistant teacher.
Its board members, in addition to Clymer, are Amy Roby, vice-president, Jen Benroth, secretary, Scott Basinger, treasurer, Sue Schaaf, Emily Koogler and Jeanine Lewis.
www.blufftonicon.com/news/2017/01/17/bluffton-community-preschool-moving-presbyterian-church