December News Letter

Our Community Commons Brook Park Community Church of the Brethern D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 Pastor’s Corner: A Message of Change Well I’ve done it now! I’ve crossed the line and there is no coming back now. I’m in so much trouble that I don’t know if I will ever be fully forgiven. I dared to ask the question that might just be the undoing of us all. I asked my Mom if we could change the Christmas Eve tradition to another day so that my family won’t be running from the East side to the West and trying to do a night service at church. Can you hear it? The big explosion of emotion and guilt, that comes when we dare to challenge tradition. We’ve all been there when we get married and have two families to please along with our own new traditions. It isn’t an easy balancing act, and most of us try to do it all until we physically and emotionally are so drained that the Holidays become dreaded. We all want to make everyone happy and in the end we go crazy. Change is hard and it causes us to reevaluate things that maybe we haven’t evaluated in a long long time. So what do we do? Do we continue to do the same things and cause ourselves misery? Or do we dare to try something new? Something that we can do that will both honor the old and the new. Tough questions and tough roads to plow, but necessary non the less. This time of year we are reminded of the birth of Jesus Christ and the message that He brought with Him. It was a message of change, a message that challenges the listener to reconsider their life choices. Jesus says Himself that He didn’t come to change the teachings of old, but to fulfill them. He knows that we need to honor both tradition and change. His message is received well at first, however when He continues to push for change He gets into trouble with the traditionalist. Brothers and Sisters we have seen another year of much change, and we have seen the struggle between the old and the new. I believe that this year will challenge us even more in finding that balance, as there is much change on the horizon. We can choose to fight it and try to derail it, or we could just embrace the movement of the Spirit. One way leads to stagnation and the other to fear. As your Pastor I’m choosing to embrace the change and see where it takes us. God has some great things intended for us and with that we will have to be strong and persistent. Otherwise we will get no where. Please join me this Christmas season in embracing the message of hope and change from the Christ Child. Blessings, Pastor Dan OUR COMMUNITY COMMONS DECEMBER 2011 2 Nurture Commission Cyndi Bova- Chair Jeff Gough Josh Swanson Christmas Tree We hope all are enjoying the new Christmas Tree that was donated by 2 families, we want to thank them for their beautiful gift. We want to encourage anyone to add special bulbs or decorations to the tree this season and we will wrap them up and keep them to place on the tree each coming year. Advent Readers We are excited that we have 5 special readers for Advent: November 27th – Aubrie December 4th – Nick December 11th – Morgan Allen December 18th – Julia December 24th – Mary Hill Christmas Dinner The Christmas Dinner will be Wednesday, December 21st at The Garden in Brook Park. The menu’s will be hung in the vestibule for viewing meals range from $6.45 to $10.00. Please sign the Attendance Sheet on Sunday morning or contact Cyndi, Jeff or Josh to get a reservation. Advent Cookies Advent Cookies hours will be each Sunday through December 18th. There will be no cookie hour on December 25th or January 1st, January 8th will be the first Cookie of 2012. OUR COMMUNITY COMMONS DECEMBER 2011 3 Witness Commission Mary Rohrl, Mark Pollack, Sierea Swanson and Linda Cronan Witness commission has been very busy this year. 1st.We had many fundraisers for the camp scholarship fund. Over $900.00 has been raised this year. We will continue fundraisers so our youth may attend church camp at Inspiration Hills. We were able to sponsored 7 children this last summer for church camp with money left over to start the new year. Our next fundraiser will be a silent auction over the first 2 weeks in December. Witness commission would like to thank you all for your love and support of our youth. 2nd We had many adults and children in the home day parade in July. 3rd Many church members attend the interfaith service for thanksgiving on 11/22 at Mary, Queen of the Apostle Catholic Church. 4th Community garden has another successful year. The community and church members were truly blessed by all those vegetables. Many of the vegetables were given out at the food pantry and the clothing give away. 5th Audrey's Closet had another successful year. We added a few new ministries this year. We started serving community meals in Feb. and so far have served 546 meals with the next meal on 12/17. We also started a kid's lunch program this summer and served 331 lunches. We will continue this lunch program in 2012. We opened our community cupboard to the community and so far we helped over 1069 people with food. We have had 5 clothing give away this year and served over 1000 people. Lastly the helping hands group has been busy this year during small home repairs and building a ramp. The witness commission would like to thank each and every one who has helped with any of these ministries. 6th The outside groups continue to use our church for their meeting place. As of 12/2/11 Brook Park Community Church is the newest member of the Cleveland Food Bank with a $750.00 grant money in our account. Praise Jesus. OUR COMMUNITY COMMONS DECEMBER 2011 4 Stewards Commission Greetings Brother and Sisters, As this year winds down, it brings me to my final year for being on the board. I’ve been reflecting back over the last six years. When I first was asked to serve I said “no, it’s not really something for me.” I didn’t think I was really board material. Eventually I did except, what a life changing experience decision that was. I’ve learned so many new things over this span of time. I’ve grown more as a person; it’s given me a greater respect for life, people, and has brought me spiritually closer. With all the projects that we have done over these six years, it’s helped me to get to know a lot of you. What an awesome experience that has been. I’ve been very blessed working with such great talent. For that I would like to thank all of you for trusting in me and helping the Stewards over the last years in improving our church, supporting our church and supporting all the needs of our church. Truly the stewardship of our church is more than the four members that form this committee. It takes all of us in some way to make this body of Christ work. Holman’s Bible dictionary states stewardship is: “Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation.” In the bible it reads: “When Jesus becomes our Lord, He becomes Lord of our time, talents, finances, and everything we posses. We realize that we are not our own, we are bought with a price.” (1 Cor 6:19-20) We often think of stewardship as our money in tithe to the church, but it goes further than that. Such as our talents and gifts. (Acts 11: 27-29; 1 Cor 3:10-17) How about our bodies and minds? (RO 12:1-2) Are we caring for them as God would want us to? Then there is our family. (1 Pe 3:1-7; 1 Ti 5:8; Eph 5:25-31) Are we teaching and shepherding in the way the Lord has set before us? (Eph 6:1-4) I would say I have seen our church family use our talents and gifts the way the Lord wants us to. We care for all the way our Lord asks us to. And I know you have taught and been shepherds to Bailee, Austin, Mayvis, Kristi and me many times over. I’ve been blessed to serve for our church. I look forward to the challenge asked of me. With out your support and love I would never had been able to do this job I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and happy new year. God bless and thank you, Phil Skinner Treasurer’s Report Cynthia Allen • Through November, our Total Offering (Envelopes & Loose Plate) is $87,873. We will need almost $7,700 in December in order to achieve next year's (2012) Total Offering Budget of $95,525. • Through November, our total year-to-date net income is $3,345. Although behind in our giving, we have been able to cut expenses this year, resulting in a positive bottom line. • The approved 2012 Budget, with projected offering of $95,525, shows a projected net loss of almost $4,000. • Our balance in our Audrey's Closet account is $16,322. This includes Audrey's Closet, Community Cupboard, and the Agape Meals. • We have approximately $59k in our Building Fund and have already collected $1,400 for our next Heifer Project ark! • We sent almost $900 to Camp Inspiration Hills in November. • Starting in 2012, please turn in all receipts, even if you'd prefer to donate the items that you have purchased. We will be tracking these as "Non-Monetary Donations" in order to get a better idea as to how much it actually costs to maintain our church and its various ministries. Simply write "Donation" and a description (or Expense Line Item Number) on your receipt and place in your offering envelope. OUR COMMUNITY COMMONS DECEMBER 2011

June/July/August 2011

Pastor's Corner

If you are reading this, then I guess Mr. Camping was wrong again; if you’re not reading this, then I guess he was right. The May 21 Judgment Day memo is the brainchild of an 89-year-old radio evangelist named Harold Camping. Using a mathematical system of his own creation to interpret obscure prophecies in the Bible, Camping originally predicted that Sept. 6, 1994, would be Judgment Day, or the day of the "Rapture" when Christian believers will ascend to heaven, leaving the rest of humanity to its deservedly dreary fate.

3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)

One of Aubrie’s favorite things to say is “wait for it.” I watched Marmaduke, the movie, with Aubrie, and in it the dog farts in bed and says, “wait for it” before he does it, and Aubrie just loves to say it now. Many years ago the prophet Habakkuk had the same message, just not about expelling gas. So things are bad, we can all see that, but when is it bad enough? When will God put an end to it and call the game? The Bible tells us we do not know the time, but it will come. So what do we do in the mean time? We wait for it. And while we wait, we prepare! We make sure that we are walking the path with Jesus, and then we make sure others are doing likewise. Our job as a church is to get others to join us on our journey. We do this by showing the love of Christ to all we can. We won’t do this by fighting and gossiping, but by loving. We have a job to do, and we have to do it in a way that is counter cultural. Love all, forgive all, and be at peace with all. It isn’t easy but it is required!

Brothers and Sisters the end times will come. I don’t know when, and if we are reading this, then May 21st wasn’t it. We are commissioned to be travel agents and help others as well as ourselves prepare for the trip. Ask yourself what you are doing to help this? Ask yourself what you are doing to hinder this? Increase the positive and decrease the negative. If we can do this, we will all have happy endings.

Until Sunday, Pastor Dan

Stewards

• We have a lot of plans for the summer months to keep us busy. To start we’d like to thank the ladies who weeded the flower beds a couple of weeks ago. That was a big job and it looks good. Unfortunately, with the spring we are having, we will need to have it done again and again to keep up with it. We are also looking for some donations of some perennials to pretty up the beds and so that we don’t have to keep planting. Any and all help is appreciated.

• We will be making a permanent cabinet for the sound box in the back of the sanctuary. This, when done, will match the praise band stage up front.

• We will also be working on some new storage for the Community Cupboard as it is growing in use and donations from some outside sources. You will notice the deep freezer in the fellowship hall. This was donated to us to use with the Community Cupboard so that we can also take in meats and other frozen foods to distribute.

• We are planning to have a meal or two after church to help fund some needed updates in the bathrooms. Happy eating and easier on the budget.

• A big thank you to Berlene and Rose (and anyone who helped put them up) for making the sheers for the windows in the sanctuary to help cut down on the sun glare (now we need sun to test them out).

Witness

• We had a Clothing Giveaway on May 14th. We had an amazing 200 people served that day! What a blessing it was. We also gave out 8 Bibles to some children who came with their parents. They were truly excited to receive a Bible of their own, and we were just as excited to give them out. We also opened up the Community Cupboard to several in need. We are hoping to set up two more giveaways in the summer. The first will be June 25th and the second will be August 13th when the garden starts to produce its harvest.

• The next Community Meal is set for June 18th serving from 4-7. This is being advertised on Craigslist, in the Brook Park Memorial school newsletter, as well as at the clothing giveaway in May. This meal will be a cookout. The sign up is going around for helpers and donations.

• The next project is going to be lunches in the summer for neighborhood children. There is a need in this area for a program as there are many children in the Brook Park schools who receive breakfast and lunch at school and then have nothing during the summer months. We would like to fill that gap and feed our children. Margi Jay will head up this summer project. It will be from June 14-Aug 18 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30-1pm serving. All three Brook Park schools will be notified. Parents are also invited to stay with their children and eat. There will be fliers passed out inviting them to VBS in August as well.

• For the past month in between the raindrops the Helping Hands have been building a ramp for Pat Cronan. They have worked hard and enjoyed the camaraderie. Bless them.

Nurture

• We have a couple of semi-quiet months ahead of us. However, we are planning to continue Cans for Cookies through the summer months. This means cookie hours will continue and we are asking for help with baked goods (maybe more pastries for morning time in July and August, than the usual cookies). June 5th is the next cookie hour.

• Summer worship hours begin on June 12th. Worship will begin at 9:20 am with announcements and this will hopefully allow us to be out before the summer sweltering heat hits.

• Father’s Day is June 19th and we will recognize our dads as we did our moms for all the love they give to us.

• On July 10th Brook Park Home Days ends their weekend with fireworks and we will have our annual picnic in the back yard of the church to fellowship together and watch the fireworks. Please bring your own meat and dish to share as well as your table ware and lawn chairs to sit on.

Christian Education

• After reviewing more than a dozen applications and conducting four interviews, the Christian education commission and Pastor Dan have agreed upon a candidate for the Youth Minister position to present to board. This will take place at the 5/17/2011 board meeting.

• Sunday School continues to go very well. We have decided to continue Sunday School in the Summer, in the form of a single combined-ages class, meeting at the normal time during worship. Sunday School will revert back to the current a two-class model again in the Fall.

• During worship on the last Spring-schedule Sunday, the CEC will recognize all of the children who have participated in Sunday School this calendar year and all of the teachers who have volunteered their time. Additionally, new high school and college graduates will be recognized. If you know of anyone in the church who is graduating, please let someone on the CEC know!

• VBS curriculum (Inside Out and Upside Down on Mainstreet) has been ordered. VBS will be held from August 7th-11th, from either 5:00PM – 7:30PM or 5:30PM – 8:00PM, depending on what works best for the volunteers and attendees. Parents and volunteers, please mark your calendars – it’s going to be a blast!

Deacons

• The Deacons are now in the discernment process for three new deacons. Their term is for 4 years with 3 coming off each year. Their new year begins on July 1st. Please keep the deacons in prayer as they go through this process for you.

From My Desk To Yours - Karen

Well, American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are over for the summer. A couple of let downs as far I’m concerned, but life goes on. I also randomly/intermittently watched The Biggest Loser this season. I was impressed. Not only was this a show about changing lives for the better, mentally and physically, it was a show about working together for everyone’s benefit. Weekly they had to choose who would go home, and they honestly agonized about it. Sometimes contestants purposely gained a pound or two to be forced off to save another from going home. They seemed to be there to help each other. It was not every man for himself. What an amazing concept to help each other out. The end result was also not a popularity contest with America voting; it was each person’s gain (well loss actually) that got them where they were. The one who won was there because she had truly changed herself for the better, for herself and her family. But they were all winners on that show; no one came away unchanged. They were all healthier and happier with themselves. Why can’t that be the way we all live-helping each other win and winning to make a change for the better in our lives. Why do we have to vote for the prettiest and the most popular when we can work together and all be winners?

April/May 2011

Pastor's Corner

Ezekiel 37 is one of my favorite Old Testament stories. Ezekiel finds himself in the middle of a dry land full of bones. No life to be found, void of hope and a future. What a lonely place that must have been, and how depressing! I mean if we are honest with ourselves there are times in our lives and careers when we feel as if we also have been dumped into the valley. We sit in meeting after meeting at work with new, fresh ideas and all we get in response is “no way, that won’t work, you’re crazy, we have never done it that way before.” Or maybe your relationship has led you to the valley where you always do the same things over and over again, never trying anything new and exciting. It is a tough place to be when you’re looking for life, and want to live life. However, unfortunately, we are too often surrounded by those who would rather die in comfort, than live with change and uncertainty. For sure, life is often scary and out of control, and there is nothing more controlled than just lying there dead. God wants to show Ezekiel and you and me that there is nothing in that valley that glorifies Him. He has to come and breathe His Spirit into the dead bones to bring them to life, and then and only then is He glorified.

Brothers and Sisters lately we have seen God’s breath breathing new life into our church. We have seen many new faces in worship, we have seen many new programs proposed and started, and we have even seen a proposal for a new building. This is scary stuff for those who are happy with the status quo and the way things used to be. I mean new people sit in our seats and we may have to find a new seat or rudely ask them to move, in which case we won’t see many new people. New programs mean new ways of thinking and doing, and that is scary. On top of all that there are these crazy folks out there talking about a new building; don’t they know we are fine the way we are? I don’t mean to be flippant, but I think if you take a step back and look with Christ-like eyes, you will see Ezekiel’s story. We can choose to be bones or we can choose to be alive.

If we were to take a hard look at church history and our church’s history, we would see that our Christian ancestors had to make some radical changes in the way they did things or we wouldn’t be here today. When Sunday school was first proposed, the Church at large thought it was crazy and it would never last. When music was first introduced, the same reaction occurred. When single men and woman were allowed to sit together in worship, some thought the end had come. If we were to go back in time and worship and run church the way we do now, we would have been thrown out of the church. Make no mistake, things have changed over the years and they will continue to change. If we stop growing and changing, then we die. Is that what we want?

In closing I would like to quote theologian Richard E. Byrd, “give wind and tide a chance to change.” You may just find yourself liking the new ways, and in a few years they will be the old, comfortable ways.

Until Sunday, Pastor Dan

Stewards

• We are looking into the prices of the materials to build a platform for the praise band and their instruments.

• Another event in the works for Stewards is an after church dinner fundraiser to help cover the costs to re-vamp the bathrooms. We will be looking to repaint the walls, retile the floors, and replace the toilets.

• With spring just around the corner, weather-wise, we will be looking for help with cleaning the yard waste and soon we will be back to mowing the lawn.

• The copier in the office has been replaced. As many of you remember, we had no bulletins a few weeks ago due to the old copier finally dying of old age. The new copier can do what needs to be done, but we do ask that you ask for help in making copies as there are settings that need to be changed with each type of copy made.

Witness

• The Clothing Giveaway was on March 19th. We were pleased to serve 101 adults and 8 children. This is the most we have had for our one day giveaways. Blessings to all who helped.

• The next Community Meal is set for Saturday, April 16th from 4 to 7pm. The set up and cooking time will begin at noon that day. If you know of anyone who would benefit from coming that day, please pass along the information. Please ask them to call the church on Tuesdays or Thursdays from 8-11am to leave a name and number of those coming.

• We continue to have fundraisers for the Camp Scholarship Fund. We will be selling Easter Candy this month to build the fund. We will also be doing the Easter breakfast this year instead of the Youth Group. Our goal is for us to be able to send any and all of our kids to camp this summer, based on desire to go not on need of assistance.

Nurture

• Easter is soon with us.

• We will be soon passing out Flower Order Forms. We have always decorated the front of the sanctuary with beautiful spring flowers and this year will be no different.

• We have already shared the service of Ash Wednesday together and begun the season of Lent. The season continues this month as we head to Palm Sunday, April 17th which is the beginning of Holy Week. During Worship on Palm Sunday we will be having baptism of the Youth who have chosen to join the church family membership. On Thursday, April 21 at 7pm we will come together to celebrate Love Feast with feet washing and communion. On Friday there will be a Choir cantata and scripture readings with communion for Good Friday Service which is also at 7pm. There will also be a service on Holy Saturday, April 23rd at 7pm. This is a candle service of the extinction of the light.

• This leads us to Easter Sunday, the Service of Light! SonRise service will be at 8am followed by breakfast. Easter Worship Service is at 10:20.

Christian Education

• The CE commission has finalized the job description for the Youth Minister position. It is now posted both on the church website (brookparkbrethren.org) and in the narthex. If you know of anyone who might be interested in the position, please forward this information to them.

• We are looking for adults interested in helping out with planning and fundraising for the Jr. and Sr. High Youth, as members of the new Youth Support Team. This group will plan and direct the youth fundraising efforts (for NYC, trips, etc.), will coordinate transportation and chaperoning for youth events, and at least one representative from the YST will attend the second half of each of the Sunday afternoon youth meetings. Please let Matt, Meredith, or Tammy know if you are interested.

• The first few weeks of the new Sunday School schedule have gone very well, and overall attendance is up. Youth meeting attendance and Soteria service attendance are also increasing. Thank you to all of the teachers, helpers, and nursery staff for sharing your gifts.

• Bibles for the children and youth who had not yet received one were ordered and distributed. If you did not receive one and would like one, please let us know.

• Pastor Dan’s baptism class is currently underway and going well.

Deacons

• The book cart will be wheeled out weekly in to the vestibule. Check out the books for some great reading. Donations are accepted too.

• The Deacons are ready to start the process of nominations for new deacons. Every year three deacons come off and three new go on for a four year term beginning July 1st. Please take a few minutes and fill out a form with up to three names to call to be deacons. The forms must be completed by May 15th.

Other Important Tidbits

• Offering Envelopes-If you'd like your own box of offering envelopes, please call or see Margi Jay.

• Recycling-You know helping make the Earth a greener place is near and dear to my (Margi’s) heart. Perhaps you have noticed the green and yellow dumpsters in the school and city parking lots. You can put all your newspapers, junk mail, magazines, phone books, (yes, they take them now), and lightweight cardboard (ex: cereal boxes, granola bar boxes, anything not corrugated). The city has 2 dumpsters in the football field parking (across from city hall) lot where you can take heavyweight cardboard. They are marked cardboard only. You will notice your amount of trash drop significantly if you recycle all your paper and cardboard.

• Brethren Disaster Ministries is supporting Church World Service with its relief efforts in Japan. If you feel called to donate gifts of money you can go online at www.brethren.org/emergencydisasterfund or send donations to
Emergency Disaster Fund 1451 Dundee Ave
Elgin, IL 60120

From My Desk To Yours - Karen

I was out of the office most of the week of St. Patrick’s Day, and when I came for choir practice, imagine my surprise to see the whole flower bed outside the office window filled with purple crocuses already up and blooming. What a beautiful treat that was. Living in the Cleveland area, we have learned that Spring comes when it is ready, calendar or not. When it does finally really arrive, we are blessed to see the beauty of color and songs of birds. When it seems like we just can’t take anymore of the cold, and we are tired of being isolated from everyone, that small flower of faith pops up, and we are renewed. The change in us is as visible as the change in the earth around us. May the spring blessings find us all.

January/February/March 2011

Pastor's Corner

1 Corinthians 10:13

13” No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

As I write this I have just left the emergency room with my wife in a leg brace and on crutches after she fell and badly hurt her knee. We will be seeing an orthopedic surgeon today to see if surgery is needed. This event comes at the most inopportune time. You see I’m still recovering from back surgery with one more on the way in a few days; I’m also trying to overcome a cough that won’t go away. Harmony is scheduled for a procedure to help with some preexisting issues the day after my second back surgery. Aubrie has a stomach virus that keeps coming and going, and she just started a new gym class. My mother is scheduled for knee replacement surgery. Just to add one more issue to this already chaotic situation, my jeep developed some issues while trying to get Harmony to the emergency room after her fall. Sounds like a bad joke doesn’t it? However I’m still waiting for the punch line!

1 Corinthians 10:13 can be translated in a couple of different ways. The one that is most common talks of temptation; however, the word “tempted” in Greek can also mean “tested”. This is the scripture where we get the all-familiar saying, “God will not put more on you than you can handle.” You can see where I’m going with this I’m sure. As a pastor, I encounter folks everyday who have been dumped on such as we have in the last few weeks, some even more so. Maybe you’re one of those people who read my story and say “that isn’t anything let me tell you about my life.” We all have these stories; we have all lived or are living through these trials. When these things over take us, we find ourselves thinking, “Lord how much more do You think I can take?” My favorite has always been, “Lord I wish You didn’t have so much faith in what I can handle” or I think “You may have misjudged my testing threshold.” It is overwhelming what we find ourselves in all of a sudden, and we just don’t see how we are going to get out of it. I caution on asking God what next, for when I do so there always seems to be an answer that I don’t like.

So how do we survive? How will my family and I ever get through this? I mean not just the problem of trying to be ten places at once, but what if Harmony has to miss a lot of work; what then? And if I dare say it what if something else happens?

Have you ever felt this way? I know you have, we all have. It is crazy, it is overwhelming, and it is so out of control. I believe that is the issue most at hand; it is out of control! Whose control? My control! Now we see the issue don’t we?

In Matthew 4:35-41 the disciples find themselves in an out of control situation. Jesus had asked them to set sail on the sea, and He decided to take a nap. The problem is that while He was sleeping, a terrific storm kicked up and the disciples thought they were going to drown. Sound familiar? I can relate. I feel like I’m going to drown in all this stuff I’m in right now. The funny thing is Jesus is still sleeping like a baby. Now let me paint a picture for you if I can. This wasn’t a luxury cruise liner of a boat; this was a raft with open sides and a shallow hull. It was the kind of boat that you would see two lovers taking across a calm pond to watch the stars. However this was a storm in the middle of the sea with no land in sight with waves bigger than the boat and lots and lots of water. Did I mention that Jesus was asleep? The disciples woke Jesus in panic and asked what to do. I can imagine Jesus slowly stretching and rubbing his eyes, kind of like Aubrie when I have to wake her in the middle of the night, awake but not quite with not a care in the world. Jesus looked around, saw the storm and asked why they were frightened. You have to be kidding me, right! Jesus looks at my situation and asks me why I’m stressed. Is He that disconnected with my life? He doesn’t have a clue! But just as the disciples had to have been asking the same questions, Jesus raised His hand and the storm vanished. He then asked the disciples why they were so afraid and did they still lack faith.

I have to be honest; my faith is wavering at this moment. I know it could be a lot worse, but you have to admit this is pretty bad. Harmony and I had to discuss scheduling of surgeries and possible reschedule, and we sounded like old people in the emergency room. However, I know just like in the past when life has overtaken us, God will see us through. We will look back at this and laugh and wonder what we were ever stressed about. Psalm 30 says, “…although pain may come by the night, joy comes in the morning”. The morning can’t come fast enough.

Until Sunday, Pastor Dan

Stewards

*We have many projects in the works right now. To begin, at the end of this month, on Jan 28-29, we are planning on scrubbing and waxing the fellowship hall floor. We can use any help offered, especially to move the items out of the hall.

*We will also be removing and cutting up the old and broken pews that are in the hall.

*In the ladies bathroom the floor tiles need to be replaced and we are also looking to replace the toilets as they are old and use a lot of water. New efficient toilets will reduce the water consumption and lower our water bills a bit.

*Next on the list to be replaced are the tables in the Sunday School rooms. They are very old and sagging.

*The big job/improvement we hope will be replacing the projector screen in the sanctuary and mounting the new one permanently to the front wall which will eliminate the cluttered look in the front by the altar.

Witness

*On February 12th we will be offering the first of many free community dinners. This first dinner will be Italian fare and will be served from 3:30-6:30pm. We are asking for reservations so we have a head count. There will be cap of 150 people to be served, so a phone call and reservations are necessary. Please spread the word to any you feel would benefit from this dinner. The next dinner will be on April 16th. The information so far has been put out to the families in the Berea School System. If you can help with set up, serving, clean up or donation for these meals see Jan Skinner and Alice Ramser who are in charge of the kitchen.

*We are collecting clothes still for the next clothing giveaway, set for March 19th from 9-2pm. The set up will be Friday, March 18th from 5-7pm. A new side on the clothing giveaways-if anyone does a lot of traveling and would like to, we would like to offer the hotel hygiene products at the giveaways. If you don’t use these products but can take them anyway we can put them out as well to help. These can also go into the community cupboard.

Nurture

*We’d like to start by thanking everyone who stayed and helped undecorated the church after the Christmas season ended. Many hands make light work.

*Cookie hours continue the first Sunday of each month. If you would like to help and bake cookies/bakery, please see anyone on Nurture.

*This is a slow month for us, but things will be changing soon as Lent begins in just a month.
We will be hosting The Ecumenical Ash Wednesday service this year on March 9th. Then the Easter season begins a few short weeks later.

*The new sound system is in place and there are still a few kinks to work out, but we can hear everything now. We are looking to also purchase four wireless portable speakers to mount in the fellowship hall and the nursery room since the new system does not work with those old speakers. The system itself is paid for, 80% coming from grant monies and the remaining from our Memorial Funds. We thank everyone who helps with the working of this each Sunday.

Christian Education

Membership Classes –
*We have decided to separate membership and baptism classes. The membership classes will focus mostly on the denomination’s history and beliefs, while the baptism classes will also include a large focus on personal faith.
*We would like to get a class going in the next month or two. Please contact Pastor Dan if you would like to become a member or be baptized.

Vacation Bible School –
*We are beginning the process of selecting VBS curriculum.
*VBS will be held August 7-11, 2011.
*Please check your calendar, as we will start looking for volunteers soon! We will have 3-4 planning meetings for the volunteers, starting in late spring.

Youth Minister –
*The Christian Education commission is working with Pastor Dan to put together a detailed job description for a new youth minister position, focusing on the Junior and Senior High youth. We feel that engaging the youth is crucial, so we are open to filling this position from inside or outside our Church body. In any case, the youth minister would need to be vetted and approved by Pastor Dan, the executive board, and any other church leadership required by our bylaws.

Sunday School –
*In early spring, youth and children’s Sunday School will undergo some exciting changes! Pre-worship Sunday School attendance is variable and low, which makes it difficult for teachers to plan lessons. Also, we have many more children attending Children’s Church than Sunday School. Therefore, we will eventually be moving children’s Sunday School to take the place of Children’s Church (during worship).
*Pre-K through 2nd grade will be in one class, and 3rd through 5th grade will be in another. We are currently looking at using the Brethren Press’ “Gather Round” age-specific curriculum for these classes. We will be working with the teachers to navigate these changes.
*The Junior and Senior High youth will each be combining their Sunday School with Youth Group meetings. This is still in the planning stages, but one idea is to have Junior High (6th-8th grade) youth meet on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month from 4:15-6:15pm, and the Senior High (9th-12th grade) youth meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, also from 4:15-6:15pm. Meetings, led by the youth minister, would include bible study, a focus on personal faith, team-building, service, and of course fun! The youth would then have the option of staying for the potluck meal (6-7pm) and Soteria service (7-8pm). The evening service would be an awesome place for our youth to get plugged in!
*Please note that these plans have not yet been implemented, and the current Sunday School/Youth Group schedules are still in effect. We will update you when the switch is made.

Deacons

*We are excited to see new families attending church with us. Please join us in welcoming them into our church family.

*We also have seen steady use of the community cupboard this winter. Please continue to bring in donations. Always needed are cans of heat and eat soups and stews, rice and noodle packets, peanut butter, etc. Particularly needed are cereals, boxed or instant foods, baby foods, feminine products, personal hygiene products, and of course money.
On behalf of the deacon body, thanks and God Bless.

November and December 2010

Pastor's Corner

The family and I took a vacation in October in which we went camping. When my wife first proposed the idea, my first thoughts were it is going to be cold and possibly wet. I really didn’t want to go. However, I knew that both Aubrie and Harmony love camping so much that they would do it in the middle of a snow storm if need be. So I sucked it up and put on my happy face. Little did I know that the cold and wet would be the least of my worries on this camping trip. As we hauled the camper through Ashland heading toward Mohican, something so terrible happened that I could barely speak of it; as we pushed past the Ashland line my cell phone service stopped. I know, I know, take a deep breath; it was pure horror. My new iPhone with no cell signal and no 3G service, and there wasn’t even a blip of a bar for me to have some hope. The message at the top on the phone simply read “no service”. Suddenly the rain and cold didn’t seem the worst thing possible. I had entered into technology despair.

We quickly got camp set up in the cold rain, and it wasn’t that bad. We ran over to a friend’s house and took warm showers and washed and dried some of the things that had gotten wet in the set up. Once we were heading back to camp, an idea struck me; there is a McDonald’s just a few miles down the road with free wi-fi. And so it started the hourly trip to McDonalds to check my email, facebook, and other internet connections. At first I found myself wanting to be there so I could be plugged in, but something amazing happened. The longer we were camping, the less I cared about checking. I started to enjoy the uninterrupted time with Harmony and Aubrie: no phone, no television, no computer games, just the three of us and the dogs. As I finally let the “noise” of technology go, I started to hear the beauty of family around me. This got me thinking how distracted we are on a daily basis to what really is wonderful and beautiful around us. In Luke 10 we hear the story of Mary and Martha and the difference between busyness and just being, in which Jesus makes it very clear that being trumps busyness. So after I settled down, I really enjoyed no distractions and time with my family. As Advent draws near, there will be busyness and chaos, but let us not forget to take time to put all that away and just be: be with family, be with God, just be.

Until Sunday,
Pastor Dan

Stewards

It is almost time for the annual congregational meeting. We need for you to attend to voice your wishes for the upcoming year. The meeting is scheduled for Nov 14 after worship. We will have the budget to discuss and vote on, a slate of names for the next year on the board to vote on, commission reports to learn from and projects to discuss. You will receive an outline copy of the budget before the meeting so you have time to review it first. Please attend so we have as many voices as possible.
Other things we are working on are work days to get some things ready for colder days. One job in particular is we need to clean the floor in the fellowship hall which is an all day project.

We will also be doing some campaigning for the building fund repayment. The children have been doing an awesome job collecting, but it is time for us all to think about the commitment we made to repay this self-loan in a timely manner. We are 1/10 of the way there to repayment. Let’s keep that thermometer going up.

Witness

We are planning our next clothing giveaway. The date is Saturday, Nov 20th from 9am-2pm. The set up will be the night before. We have some clothes in the shed, but we’d like to see more. Please spread the word that we are taking donations for this community service.

The dinner we had on October 3rd for the Camp Scholarship Fund brought in $392.00. We are very thankful for that. We are planning a silent auction on Dec. 5th during cookie hour. We will have jewelry and crafts for you to bid on. Come and see. If you have something to donate, please see a Witness commission member.

The Community Garden was a huge success. We are so thankful to Evelyn Gough and her committee of gardeners. We gave away a lot of fresh vegetables at the August Clothing Giveaways, and during the last month or so Pastor Dan and crew delivered vegetables to some of our shut-ins and families who could use a helping hand. The garden is cleaned up for winter and ready to go for next year.

The big project we have been working on is Audrey’s Closet. We will have a report at the meeting on Nov 14th but here is a peek. The proposed cost is $278,000 for the building. It will house the clothing, a soup kitchen area, bathrooms, food cupboard, and helping hands storage area. We are hoping for most of the amount to be covered by grants from Northern Ohio District and Elgin offices. They are offering grant monies for projects that are service to the community. That is definitely us.

Nurture

So this is where things get busy, the holiday season.
On Sunday, Nov 14th we will be having a potluck dinner for the congregational business meeting either before or after the meeting, depending on Pastor Reid’s schedule. We will let you know how the timing for that day and meal will be as soon as we make final arrangements. However the timing works though, plan on a potluck dinner which is always fine fellowship time.

On November 21st at 7:00pm we will be the host church for the Thanksgiving Ecumenical Service. This is a service that begins the holiday season and is a time when we can share our blessings with our Brothers and Sisters in Christ from around Brook Park. The Associate Pastor from Mary, Queen of the Apostles Catholic Church of Brook Park will be delivering the message. There will be a fellowship time with coffee and cookies afterwards. If you can bring any desserts please do.

On Friday, November 26th after 6pm, we will be pulling out our church Christmas decorations and greenery and will start putting them up. We will continue our Hanging of the Greens on Saturday, Nov. 27th after noon. In trying to allow the Seventh Day Adventists their quiet time of worship, we will start when they are done with worship.

From that weekend on until Christmas we will be in the season of Advent. And with Advent comes special readings during worship, the Advent candle lighting, and cookie hours every Sunday. Join us for this special season.
Christmas Eve Service will begin at 7:00pm. It is a special time in the church for all of us to share our faith.

Christian Education

Sunday School is underway. We will soon be starting the season of Advent not only in worship but in Sunday School too. Come and join us for a month long journey into Advent.

We have been collecting for Heifer one Sunday a month with the children. So far we have collected $1,253 towards Heifer. For those who aren’t sure what Heifer is, it is an organization that, through donations like ours, sends animals to needy areas of the world to help families with their farm production. We send animals such as cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, goats, and geese. This organization was started by Brethren 70 years ago and the organization has gone worldwide and across faiths. Two years ago we collected the needed $5,000 to send an entire ARK (the whole collection of animals) overseas. We are trying to do it again.

Deacons

Last month we had a Love Feast celebration with the Seventh Day Adventist congregation who meet here on Saturdays. It was a nice time of connection with another church group.

The next Deacon Family Event is scheduled for Nov. 13 at 6:30 here. We will be hosting a family game/snack night. We are also trying to get together a hayride event. More on that when we have it.

From My Desk to You - Karen

This week I had to conference with my students and let them know how they were doing in class and what were their strengths and weaknesses. For some I had to be the one to tell them that they are not passing my class. That is a hard thing to do when I know the student is trying. It’s a hard thing for them to hear too, that even though they are trying, it is not enough and they will not pass. I try to make it as painless as I can by reminding them that success is their goal, no matter how it arrives and that maybe taking the class again will be good and make them more confident in their abilities. There are usually tears from some, disbelief from others, and occasionally disgust at me and themselves, but ultimately I am doing it in their best interest. Like many things in life there are attempts and sometimes failures, but with attempts come lessons and new strengths, and with failures come new insights and new opportunities. These are not failures if something good comes, they are blessings that we are able to try again.

September and October 2010

Pastor's Corner

Well folks it has been a long year already for the church. We have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.

We have seen good in updates to the building, which will pay for itself in heating savings. We have seen the good in our new Sunday night service that has opened up worship for folks who can’t make it on Sunday mornings. We have seen the good in another successful VBS, and finding out what it means to be a hero for Christ. We have seen the good in loose change for the building fund that has become a great way to include the kids in stewardship. We have seen the good in new leaders stepping up in the congregation who have never served before, and they are bringing new ideas and energy to the church. We have seen the good in the new kids group meeting after church; their singing and acting has been a joy in service. We have seen the good in our clothing giveaway and the community garden. And there is a lot more good coming in a new Sunday school format with a new energy, a new youth group format to hopefully attract more teens and preteens and have them take an active role in the church and missions of the church. We have the future of Audrey’s closet and what that could mean to missions and outreach.

We have also seen the bad. We haven’t really noticed an increase in attendance, baptisms, or dedications in the church. We have failed at reaching out to the un-churched. We have tried half heartily a few times to reach our neighbors, but obviously we need to rethink and redo our approach. We have seen the bad in “red tape” that we have experienced in trying to get Audrey’s closet off and running. We have seen the bad in some of us becoming lazy in our service to God or maybe just defeated in our attempts.

Unfortunately, we have seen the ugly also. Our budget is on the way to being 10-15 thousand dollars short, which is affecting the savings of the church. It is scary to think where we will be next year if we continue on this pace.

Depressed yet? I am! But I have good news. In the story of Exodus do you remember the whole desert drama? Moses goes and tells the slaves that they need to get out of Egypt and follow God. But what is Egypt? It is the place where they can’t grow, where they can’t be free. It is the place, however, where they have food and shelter, and they know what is going to happen day-to-day. For our purposes let us call that place “here” where we are today. Moses comes and tells them that they need to go from “here” to “there.”

“There” is the land of milk and honey; sounds like a good place to be to me! So they leave “here” to go “there,” but the journey requires they go through the wilderness. The wilderness is a place where there is no food, no shelter, nothing but each other and God. After being in this wilderness for a little while the people start to complain and rebel against God. They have no control, things are bad and they just don’t think they can take it anymore. They lose sight of the land of milk and honey.

Brothers and Sisters, I believe we are in the wilderness. We are at a place where we aren’t sure if we can make it, doom and gloom are at the table; we throw our hands in the air and say, “there is nothing else we can do.” We have lost sight of the land of milk and honey. God has us on a journey and just like the Israelites, He is with us and He will provide for us. He doesn’t want us to just use our energy; He wants us to use our faith. We may have to live on manna for a while, but if we stay faithful we will make it to the land of milk and honey.

So we have a choice in these hard times. We can choose to not trust God and think we were better off “here” and stay “here.” We can choose to just give up and die. Or we can choose to continue the journey trusting God and keeping the faith, weathering the tough times knowing that sooner or later we will come to the land of milk and honey. If you’re wondering, I choose milk and honey; will you join me?

Until Sunday,
Pastor Dan

Stewards

The year is moving along, and it is budget time for next year. You will soon be hearing about programs from the commissions so that you know what we are doing now and want to do next year. Budget is not a favorite topic, but a necessity. The programs and ministries we do here are incredible and we should be shouting them out. We do good things here. But it also takes funds to get them done. We are behind in this year’s budget. You see it every week in the bulletin. But to keep doing what we are so good at, we need to be more conscious and focused in our giving to the church. The Congregational Business Meeting is set for Nov 14 after worship. Please mark this on your calendars. We need your help and your voice.

A concern has been raised that requires your help. Several times recently the church front doors have been left open and unlocked after everyone has left the building on Sunday mornings. This is unfortunately an unsafe practice. Please be mindful if you are the last to leave that the doors are indeed locked.

You may notice the parking lot has some patchwork done. We are trying to alleviate the large puddles and the cracking of these spots. We will be announcing some work days coming this fall. With the extreme weather of this summer and busy schedules, we did not have much time to get some things done.

You may be seeing some busy days in the next months here at the church. We will now be hosting a symphonic orchestra practicing here on Tuesday evenings. Also the Seventh Day Adventist will be holding a month long evangelical time four nights a week for four weeks. We are pleased to have them here worshipping on Saturdays. They have been very grateful and gracious in their use of the sanctuary.

Witness

The Community garden is growing like a weed! And the vegetables it produces are a blessing to those who receive them. Pastor Dan has been taking his Wednesdays and gathering veggies and taking them to some of our shut-ins and those who need a boost. The talk is to make the garden bigger next year. We hope you have all been able to enjoy it as well.

The Summer Camp Scholarship Fund needs to be replenished. We were able to help six kids go to camp and next year we hope to do the same. We will be having a fundraiser dinner on Oct 3rd after worship and will plan on several more.

Speaking of Inspiration Hills, the Annual Chicken BBQ day at camp is on Sept 18th. The day begins at 10 am with a fishing Derby (run by Mark Pollock), and the dinner is served between 11-2pm. Besides chicken, they do also serve hotdogs. As in the past, all churches who participate are asked to provide four pies for dessert. Come and enjoy! It’s a great day. After the dinner there is an auction for the theme baskets donated. If you have an idea for a donation basket, please see a witness commission person.

We had two clothing giveaways in August. The first on Aug 14th we served 51 adults and 17 kids. For the giveaway on Aug 21st we had 51 adults and 24 kids. Awesome!

The plans for Audrey’s Closet are still being worked on. The building will have to be masonry with 2000 sq ft of floor space. It will have bathrooms and a shower. It will also have a kitchen and serving area for 100 people for dinners to be served. It is still very early in the planning stages and the funding from district has not been formalized, but the plans are coming closer.

Beginning in Sept we will start collecting hats and gloves again for the fall and winter needs. We will be taking them to the Berea Children’s Home again as well as they are always in need.

Nurture

Nurture is gearing up for the holidays, so we are a bit quiet, but not silent. We have some things going on and some things beginning up again. Regular Worship hours will begin again on Sept 12th with worship at 10:20. This is also the beginning of monthly cookie hours to resume. With the regular worship hours, comes choir. Choir will resume with Matt Stone as director and practices will be after worship.

Please remember to welcome and greet Chris Dines who is at the piano sharing his gift of music.

On September 19th we are planning a potluck dinner after worship to ring in the new year of worship. Plan on coming and sharing in the fellowship of a meal together.

Christian Education

WOW was it hot VBS week! And we are not just talking about the outside temperatures. We were on fire with our quest to be Heroes for God. We learned and had fun all at the same time. We averaged 20 kids per night. Ask any one of them if they had fun, and their response will be a resounding YES!

That leads us to Sunday School which begins on Sept 12 at 9:15. We will have a new format this year. Pastor Dan has been working with Christian Ed to create a VBS-like format to be used all year. We have the teachers in place already too. The basis is a lesson that everyone will follow (even the adults are on board here). One week will be skits and the lesson, one week will be crafts to relate, then there will be a week of music. The lesson choices will follow the Christian Calendar. The classes will be grouped pre-school to 6th grade and then 7th grade to 12th grade. The adults will follow the same basic plans as well (well maybe not the craft part). We will be kicking off the new year as we left off- with a BREAKFAST. Come and get in the spirit!

We would like to say thank you to Karen Baer for her years of service to the senior high youth. She is stepping down as advisor and Christi Cyngier is stepping up with Pastor Dan as her sidekick. Welcome aboard.

Deacons

The deacons welcomed in four deacons for the next term. They are Ruth Bauman, Mary Ellen Larkin, Juanita Reynolds, and Jan Skinner. We would like to thank those going off: Robin Bloch, Alice and Mike Ramser, and Meredith Stone.

You will notice on the Community Cupboard that there have been locks put on the cupboards. This is to help regulate what goes in and out. We will keep a basket for donations, and the deacons will then organize and keep track of the contents. If a need arises for the cupboard, please see a deacon, Pastor Dan or Karen and they can get you set up. Thank you for understanding and always helping the cupboard needs.

Leadership Discernment Committee

This is the time for the LDC to be active. We will have forms for next year’s church board available on Sept 12, 19, and 26. This gives the LDC the month of October to go over the names and create a slate to present to the congregation at Nov. business meeting

From My Desk to You-Karen

More than meets the eye. That was the theme for this summer’s NYC in Ft Collins, Co. Besides twice daily worship and small group (like Sunday School) and workshops, five from our group went on a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. Wow, talk about more than meets the eye. The mountains are beautiful from a distance (looking out our dorm), but up close they are breathtaking. The sheer size is incredible and makes one feel very insignificant in the scheme of the world. The colors and the height of the rock formations are stunning. We walked only 1.7 miles up, but it took us 2 hours to do it. We stopped for much needed breathing breaks, but also to sit and be a part of that spot for a moment. We took pictures with our cameras and our phones, and we chatted and absorbed. That was truly a place where God was, all around us. The warm air was cooled by the occasional rain (and we were too), and the peacefulness was calming. We heard the sounds of animals scurrying around and birds calling each other, and a few other hikers coming and going. We were excited to make our destination at last and had fun going down the trail back to the beginning. We breathed in the beauty of the mountains, and after encouraging each other to keep going-to make it there-we saw in ourselves and each other that we too are “more than meets the eye.”

May and June 2010

Pastor's Corner

So what is Church of the Brethren anyway? So, you’re “anti-Baptist?” So, are you Amish?

Have you ever had to answer these questions with friends and neighbors or family? I have, especially coming from another tradition. It always makes me giggle what people think we are and what they think we aren’t. I’ve heard everything from cult to “they don’t believe in Christ.” My Southern Baptist friends in Florida just wanted to know if “we were saved.” But all jokes aside, I do at times find it hard to explain who we are in easy-to-digest terms.

In the late 1800s and into the1900s, our Brethren brothers and sisters came up with a solution. The “Brethren Card” was first published by Brethren’s Book and Tract Work around 1887. Here is an example of what this card stated.

Be it known unto all men:

That there is a people who as little children (Luke 18:17) accept the Word of the New Testament as a message from heaven (Heb. 1:1,2) and teach it in full (2 Tim. 4:1,2; Matt. 28:20).

They baptized believers by trine immersion (Matt. 28:19) with a forward action (Rom.6:5) for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), and they lay hands on those baptized, asking upon them the gift of God’s Spirit (Acts 19:5,6).

They follow the command and example of washing one another’s feet (John 13:4,17).

They take the Lord’s Supper at night (John 13:30), at one and the same time, tarrying one for another (1 Cor. 11: 33, 34).

They greet one another with a holy kiss (Acts 20:37; Rom. 16:16).

They take the communion at night, after supper, as did the Lord (Mark 14:17,23).

They teach all the doctrines of Christ: peace (Heb. 12:14), love (1 Cor. 13), unity (Eph. 4), both faith and works (James 2:17,20).

They labor for nonconformity to the world in its vain and wicked customs (Rom12:2).

They advocate non-swearing (Matt. 5: 34, 37), anti-secretism (2 Cor. 6: 14,17), opposition to war (John 18:36), and doing good unto all men (Matt. 5:44,46).

They anoint and lay hands on the sick (James 5:14,15).

They give the Bread of Life, the message of the common salvation unto all men without money or price (Matt. 10:8).

Dear reader, for the above we contend earnestly, and you, with all men, are entreated to hear, to examine and accept it as the world, which began to be spoken by the Lord, and the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

The above principles are briefly explained in tract form and will be sent with a catalogue of the publications of the Committee free to anyone by addressing the General Mission Board, Elgin, Illinois.

So now that you know what it is to be Brethren, you can go and share this with all who ask! Seriously though, notice how scripture supports belief, and our stances are not of man but of God. This is unique to the Brethren and one of the big reasons I call myself Brethren. My response when someone asks what is Brethren is this, “We are a peace-loving, scripture believing, Jesus seeking, pot-luck eating group of loving Christians.” That is the best I have come up with so far!

Until Sunday,

Pastor Dan

Stewards

The Stewards are pretty quiet this time of the year. With the sanctuary done, we can concentrate on the general upkeep of the church, inside and out. That means the flower beds, lawn mowing and parking lot repair.

We have also been keeping a close look at our financial situation. Being low on giving makes us more aware of the needs and wants in the church and forces us to understand the differences. Our budget was approved at our congregation meeting in November, and now we need to step up and accept that responsibility of meeting that budget. We have discussed cutting line items from the budget which we don’t want to do, but we need to look at the big picture and stay as financially stable as possible.

Witness

June 6th is a busy day at church. Witness is also getting in on the day. We will be hosting a Hot Dog dinner after church to help fill the Summer Camp Scholarship Fund. We will also be hosting other dinners throughout the coming months to prepare for next year’s summer camp.

We had a clothing giveaway on both May 8th and 15th. Between the two Saturdays we had approximately 75 people coming in. We also had about 20 helping hands between setting up and working the days. Our next giveaway is set for August 14th and then again on Aug 21st. The initial set up is Friday evening, August 13th. These dates we hope will coincide with the harvest of our church garden and the harvest will be shard with people who come in for the giveaway.

July 11th, HomeDays, will be busy for Witness too. We are going to sign up to be in the parade this year. We have done it in the past and feel it is time to do it again. This is good advertisement for VBS and for the church. Hopefully we can get a float together with a church sign. We will have more on that during announcements at church in the coming Sundays. During Sunday of HomeDays, we are also hoping to have a booth set up in our front yard by the church sign to sell water bottles, lemonade, hotdogs…as a church fundraiser. We are asking for a volunteer to set this up. The youth can help with the parking lot.

Nurture

On June 6th we will be having our last cookie hour until fall. During this time we will have a cake to recognize our graduates, high school and college. During Worship we will formally recognize them. From high school we have Vicki Baer and Michael Horner. From college we have Samantha Bova, Christi Cyngier, Rebekah Jay and JT Tan. We wish them all blessings for their future plans.

On June 13th we will begin our summer Worship hours. Worship will begin at 9:20 with announcements and service at 9:30. Come and Join!

We are sad to say that we are looking for a piano player or organ player for the morning worship service. JT will be leaving us. He has agreed to stay until we find someone to replace him. If you know anyone who would be interested in working with us and sharing their talents, please let nurture or Pastor Dan know.

On July 11, Brook Park will be celebrating the end of their HomeDays weekend with their annual fireworks display. We will be having our annual Picnic in the backyard of the church. We will be charging for parking again this year. So, if you are coming for the picnic, come early and park in the back of the lot before 7:45 when they start to close off the streets. The picnic will begin about 5:30/6:00. Bring your own meat and a dish to share, plus your own plates and such. Bring a chair and join us after dark for the fireworks; they are always worth it.

The Soteria Service on Sunday evenings continues to grow each week. This service begins at 6pm with a potluck and worship begins at 7pm. This service is different than the morning worship in music, scripture, and message. The music is praise band led and the service is casual but filled with the Spirit.

Christian Education

We are coming to the end of another year of Sunday School. We want to thank everyone involved with the Sunday School program this year, teachers and students. We will be hosting an appreciation breakfast for Sunday School on June 6th during the Sunday School hour. Please come and join us.

VBS is coming soon. The dates are August 8-12. The theme this year is Super Heroes of the Bible. We are still in need of volunteers to teach and help in the different areas. Please see one of the Christian Ed commission today to sign yourself up for a fun week.

Next year for Sunday School we are trying something different. We will be doing a large group class of K-7th grade. This will allow the older kids to help the younger ones. The senior high group will include 8th-12th grade. The format will be different too. We will be working on a rotating basis. Each week will be based on a different aspect of the same lesson (ie: crafts, music, story, video). We are hoping the format will intrigue you to come and the lessons and fun will make you want to come back.

Pastor Dan and Harmony’s Kids Group is still meeting after church every Sunday for fun, lunch and working on different worship projects/skits. All are welcome; the ages are 4-14. We hope to bring something to the service once a month, so all kids are needed and wanted.

Senior High & Junior High

Well the time is here. NYC is upon us. We are ready, willing and excited to go. Everything is paid for and reserved and ready for take-off. Now we just have to sit and wait for July 17. When we do get back, we will put together a slide show and a presentation of our trip to share with you, for if not for you all we would not be going.

It is now time for the next group of youth to step up and begin the journey again.

From My Desk to You-Karen

Well, she went and did it. Just as I was settling into Garrett graduating, Vicki decided to go ahead and join the crowd. Here at church we have six graduating this year. From high school and college, they are about to step out into the world and make their mark. They have worked hard for this moment, and it is their time to shine. I have watched most of these graduates grow up and move forward ,and the world awaits them. I think they are ready to meet that world. We have done well here raising them. It really does take a village to raise a child, and our “village” has done its job. Look at these young people and you see it. They are good kids, and good kids go out and do good things in the community around them. Blessings to them and praises to those responsible.

Deacons

The Deacons are in the process of collecting names for new deacons. The Deacons are on a four year term going from July to July. The forms are in the vestibule by the sanctuary doors. Please take a moment to fill out a form by June 6. They need several weeks to go through the names, pray over their choices as well as asking their choices to carefully think their decision through.

June 6th is also nametag Sunday by the Deacons. They are asking for everyone to wear their nametag which is a big help when we have visitors. Each first Sunday of the month will be designated nametag Sunday.

Jun 12th from 5-8pm is the next game night sponsored by the Deacons. This month’s theme for the night and potluck dinner is an All American Cookout. Bring your own meat to grill and a dish to pass for the meal. Last month was a lot of fun.