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February 2008 |
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At this past January’s Council meeting, my resignation as your Senior Pastor became official. Sunday, March 30th, will be my last Sunday here. This is no secret as Rhonda and I had announced these plans back around Thanksgiving. Leaving good friends is never a pleasant task. Leaving this congregation, after being with you for ten years, will not be easy. Our many good memories will be treasured the rest of our lives. The Elders and Council are making plans for an interim period. They would like to have someone to possibly be here in the office part time, answering calls, opening mail, coordinating events, and working with those who are seeking assistance. Though the Elders can certainly do occasional preaching, they see the need to have someone to do regular preaching, worship planning, and spiritual direction while in the “search process”. They are exploring several interim options. The active membership will be called upon to prayerfully consider a permanent pastoral candidate when the Council or Search Committee identifies one. This normally takes anywhere from 6 months to 2 years for most of our churches. While in the search process everyone will be involved by praying and seeking the Lord to direct the hearts and minds of those reviewing pastoral profiles given to us by the conference office. The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference is a very solid, evangelical denomination. We have some of the most passionate and gifted pastors in America – my bias ha ha. It should be a joy for our congregation to work with the C.C.C.C. during this transition. If you haven’t checked out the conference web site, please visit www.ccccusa.com . One common mistake many churches make, according to those who work with churches in transition on a regular basis, is to use the funds designated for pastoral salary as a convenient “savings”. The goal is not to just hunker down in a somewhat defensive mode during this time but to actually move forward in ministry all the while the congregation is in the search mode. To maintain that forward moving vision is key to a progressive church. Please do pray for Rhonda and me, as we have never done what we are about to do. Rhonda’s health has us all concerned. This, of course, could jeopardize our plans. We have always enjoyed the security of month-by-month income from a church for our some 27 years of pastoral ministry. Financially, this will be much different. We need to sell our home and as you know, it is not a good time to sell a house. We will be at the mercy of India’s medical care soon, which is also a little concerning, especially for Rhonda’s needs. Our children will have to make big adjustments in our absence. Mission experts remind me that our situation really is far from the norm. Pastors rarely become missionaries. Usually, missionary candidates are in the age range of 20’s or 30’s and fresh out of Bible college. The Evangelical Church of India and OMS International have high expectations for our presence. I will miss the one-on-one pastoral care and instead will spend most of my time teaching and coordinating training events. I will also miss regularly expounding the Scriptures to the same congregation, challenging men and women to deepen in their walk with Christ. I will miss being with you in the happy times of weddings and baptisms and in the sad times of grief. I will miss observing people experience spiritual birth and the excitement of a whole new life unfolding. We will be the first field missionaries of Friends of Hope. In 1997, I helped found this small mission agency. At that time, we only visioned the funding of a small orphanage in India. That ministry has certainly ballooned over the years. To be responsible for a full time missionary couple is a big step for Friends of Hope. As my graduate work is ending soon, I look forward to having a little more time to touch base with some of you before the end of March. Please pray extra for all our Deacons and Elders as they will be carrying a heavy load this year. We are so blessed with capable and Godly leadership. Your trust and support of them will be big. Leadership can easily slide into arrogance and dictatorial attitudes. Ask God to keep them humble, to help them to patiently labor together in love, and to resist the tendency to make decisions that fit personal agendas versus what God wants for His church. We must keep in mind that we have a supreme leader - Jesus. It is His agenda and not ours that matters. Our congregation has an incredible future as long as we walk in the paths Jesus leads us.
PULPIT FORECAST "To regularly avail oneself to the public exposition of the Holy Scriptures is one of the highest and holiest habits one can ever attain in this life." This Wednesday is “Ash Wednesday”, the time of the year many Christians put more of an emphasis on spiritual self-examination. Lent is the 40 days period of time preceding Holy Week. It is symbolic of the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness before His public ministry. Any time is a good time to reevaluate your spiritual life, not just Lent. Some Christians have a special service of the ashes on this Wednesday, February 5th. The ash mark on the forehead reminds one of their own mortality – “ashes to ashes and dust to dust”. Last year while visiting at Condell Hospital, noticed many of the employees had an ash mark on their forehead. This is common practice in many Christian circles, though not with us. It is good to remember that Lent does not leave us on the ash heap. It ends with Easter. In ends with that powerful reminder that in Christ we have the hope of resurrection of the dust and ashes. We are not having a special meal or service for Ash Wednesday this year. I will use Lent to highlight an especially relevant subject – evangelism. Evangelism comes from the root word – evangel, which comes from the Greek word – uangelion. This word is typically translated “gospel”. It simply meant news that was especially joyous or good. In this same sense, an evangelical Christian could be called a gospel Christian, a Christian who is eager to share the good news of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. It is a contradiction for an evangelical Christian to be bashful about Christ. The term evangelical should characterize a certain type of Christian, one that takes joy in speaking the message of Jesus Christ. Throughout the month of February, I will be using different Scripture text that speaks to a Christian being evangelical, that is the Christian who has the gospel on their lips. In our society, the label of evangelical is used in many ways. Politically speaking, it usually is identified with the more religious Christian who has a rigid, conservative position on social issues. Though this may not be accurate in the historical usage of the term, it does appear to be common here in America. I consider this church as an evangelical church, knowing that several of our people would be liberal in their approach to politics. Some might wonder, “How is this possible?” Using the typical, American definition of evangelical, it would appear to contradict. Using the Biblical definition of evangelical, it would be perfectly understandable. FEBRUARY MESSAGES3rd “Light that Overpowers Darkness” is the title of the message taken from Matthew 5:13-16 & John 9:1-5. We will also share in Holy Communion.
10th “Walking on Water” is the message title using Matt. 14:22-33. The Scouts will be our guests.17th “Churches that Hit on All Cylinders” taken from Acts 6:1-8 is the message title. 24th “Evangelicals Through and Through” will be the Scripture message with Acts 8:1-4; 16:16-34 as the text.
COUNCIL REPORTS from the most recent meeting are always available at the back of the church in the wooden rack at the top of the steps. Don’t hesitate to pick one up if you have interest. Council Meetings are always open to our members. We meet the first Tuesday evening to conduct church business and the third Tuesday evening to pray. Please contact Council President Mike Johnson if you wish to attend or speak at any meeting.
USE OF CHURCH BUILDING AND CHIMES CALENDAR?? The calendar in the Chimes each month only contains the events of our church life. It does not list all the groups using the church facility on different dates. If you wish inquire about using the facility, please call our Facility Coordinator, Jim Pillars.
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COFFEE HOUR2/3 Carol Lawrence & Joyce Richter 2/10 Bob & Carol Dawson 2/17 Megan Bosley & Rosalie Stickling 2/24 Donna & Chris Kramer
USHER SCHEDULE 2/3 Patty Summers & Betty Jones 2/10 Marge McKee & Joyce Richter 2/17 Dawn Brtek & Annette Gathercoal 2/24 Sue McDonald & Cindy Johnson
PICTORIAL DIRECTORY By now most of you should have received your pictures from Olin Mills. We are working on the photo directory and hope to get it soon.
RECYCLE INFO Mae was gracious enough to give us some tips in disposing of household items not usually acceptable in trash pickup. BEST BUY store sometimes sponsors local drop-off events. Call them for their schedule. Ace Hardware takes fluorescent bulbs. Office Depot takes printer cartridges, etc. Apple & Dell take old computers. Sony TV is offering a taek-back until Med-March and $100 credit toward a new Sony. Check with other manufacturers and our waste mgt facility for other take-in events. Dangerous Materials in bulbs & electronics pose a serious health hazard. In most cases, it is best to not bring these types of items to rummage sales.
BIRTHDAYS If you know of anyone who is not on our list, contact Randy Margison.
8: Jim Pillars 10: Jim Lyons 11: Rick Evans 12: Sandy Blake 20: Camden Sybrandy 27: Stephanie Weber
"GOD DOES
PROVIDE!!!! At the
beginning of January in addition to our regular monthly bills and salaries
we had the quarterly statement to Liability Insurance of $858.00 This
sounds like a lot of money but it's about $400.00 a quarter less than
our former insurance company--thanks to Pastor Curry contacting Joel
Genta's father. We also had to pay our yearly Social Security and Mediicare
Tax ( We used to pay this quarterly but since IRS doesn't want to deal with
such small payments we need to to it yearly. $600.00 is a lot extra to come
with. Lydia's Circle helped out with $500.00 from Rummage Sales.
AMAZON.COM?? By Katie Margison Thank you to everyone using the Amazon.com link. October thru November 2007 has generated $108.38 for the Building Fund. If you have not yet used it, it’s simple. Just log in to www.ichoosejesus.net, click on Links, click on Amazon associates link, and then proceed as usual. There is no extra charge to you but Amazon forwards a portion of your purchase amount to the church. Each time you use Amazon please link through our website for us to get credit. A few tips: · Adding the church’s website to your favorites list will get you there in a few clicks of the mouse. · Check if something you buy on a regular basis is available. Consider buying multiples to save on shipping. My insurance does not cover my diabetic testing supplies. If I buy 2 months at a time I save $12 over Walmart’s price (plus I don’t pay tax for another $5.45 in savings) & the church gets $3.95. · Utilize the search program to further narrow the field. Sometimes you get hundreds of options with a broad category. The left side of the screen will often give you additional ways to sort. If the option is there to sort by buyer and Amazon.com is one listed, I highly recommend choosing it. Most items sold directly through Amazon are available for super saver shipping. This means any order over $25 is shipped for free. · Need a perfect gift? Amazon gift cards can be twice a good. We receive 6% when it is purchased and if the recipient redeems it through our website, we get a percentage when they spend it. In fact, you can buy a gift card for yourself (they can be e-mailed to you & arrive in about 2-5 minutes) and use it to buy whatever you were going to buy. This can double the referral fees we receive. Here’s how: Link in to the Amazon site; enter “gift cards” in search box, select Amazon.com card & it will walk you through the procedure. After a few minutes check your e-mail. Open the certificate, it tells you the amount in large numbers and next to it is a button that says, “start shopping”. DO NOT CLICK THIS BUTTON. A little bit lower is a gray box with 3 choices; select “apply to account”. It will take you back to Amazon, you can copy & paste the certificate # or manually type it in. Click on the “Redeem Now” button. Close the Amazon window & go back to the Church’s website to link back on before proceeding to order. A number of us used this method in January and as of the 28th our referral fees earned for the month is $129.93. Please remember – this is not limited to church members. Ask your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers if they shop Amazon. Funds generated through this link go directly to the building fund.
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