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.
