Food for the Flock. Inklings... About Simplicity

Transcription

1 Gingrichs Mennonite Church 100 Forney Road Lebanon, PA (717) Inklings... About Simplicity Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. -1 Thessalonians 4:11 One of our favorite television shows of all times is The Waltons. You may remember the show. It featured a three-generation family living in the mountains of southern Virginia during the 1930s and 1940s. We followed the family through the wake of the Great Depression through World War II, but one thing always remained constant: the family always came home to the simple life they grew up with on Walton s Mountain. Lore and I still watch the show sometimes, and normally, one of us will comment at some point of the show, We were born too late! We would love to live that simple lifestyle. On more than one occasion after we said that, out thoughts were interrupted by the clip, clop, clip, clop of one of our Amish neighbor s horse and buggy as they made their way past our house. We ve often wondered out loud, Maybe those Amish neighbors have got it right after all! The common thread of our nostalgia for The Waltons and our admiration of our Amish friends is the desire for simplicity. While Paul doesn t use the word in 1 Thessalonians 4:11, I have to wonder if that s not what he had in mind for the believers in the city in Asia Minor. Live a quiet life, brothers and sisters. Mind your own business. Oh, and work with you own hands (so you won t have to depend on others), just like we told you before. In other words, live a simple life! One of our goals since moving back to Lebanon County has been to try to live a more simple life as described by Paul and illustrated by our favorite TV show and our Amish neighbors. No, we re not simply longing for the good old days, nor are we planning on giving up all the amenities of modern life. But are there things that all of us can do to better follow Paul s encouragement? Volume 2, Issue 5 May 2015 Page 1

2 Richard Foster in his Celebration of Discipline, offers us some specific ways we can implement simplicity into our hectic lives. He suggests: 1. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status 2. Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you 3. Develop a habit of giving things away 4. Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry 5. Learn to enjoy things without owning them 6. Develop a deeper appreciation for the creation 7. Look with a healthy skepticism at all buy now, pay later schemes 8. Obey Jesus instructions about plain, honest speech 9. Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others 10. Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God What have we done to try to live more simply? Like I said, we only made this a priority since moving back to Lebanon County, so we haven t done all that much yet. But we have made a conscious commitment to buy local whenever possible. We try to stay away from the big box stores to purchase as much as we can from local farms and businesses. We ve also taken steps to grow and raise more of our own food. We haven t bought eggs in nearly a year now, thanks to our five laying hens. We have a few breeding rabbits that we hope will be producing bunnies that will ultimately wind up in our freezer, and we re trying our hand at raising chickens for the same purpose this year as well. We ve also just started our vegetable garden for the second year in a row, and we re still enjoying the produce from last summer. We get our drinking water from a local spring. Other steps we re considering is making more of the things we use and the things that we give as gifts (food and crafts) and the possibility of alternative sources of our electric (that one s a long-term goal!). I m certainly not suggesting that we re doing everything right nor am I suggesting that you have to go and do likewise. But I would like us to consider this: what can all of us do to live more simply that we will have more time and energy to offer back to God and in the process, just might take better care of the world that He s given to us? I ll let Brother Foster conclude: May God give you and me- the courage, the wisdom, the strength always to hold the kingdom of God as the number one priority of our lives. To do so, is to live in simplicity. (From The Celebration of Discipline) Blessings, Pastor Jim Schwenk Volume 2, Issue 5 May 2015 Page 2

3 Nursery Schedule The nursery will be staffed with 2 people every Sunday. A high school/young adult will be paired with an older member. The nursery is intended for children ages infant to kindergarten. All other children should remain in the auditorium with their parents/grandparents/guardian. After Sunday school we would like all children to be in the auditorium until it is time for the sermon. Children may be taken to the nursery at this time. This will give the nursery workers opportunity to attend worship. May 3 rd Diane & Audrey Hoover May 10 th Esther Kraybill & Tyler Schwenk May 17 th Ashlea Good & Elaine Freed May 24 th Jean Weaver & Tyler Schwenk May 31 st Barb Turley & Lois Diem Operation Christmas Child 2015 We want to thank you for the generous outpouring of love for the children of the world you provided through our Samaritan s Purse Operation Christmas Child collection for We were told as a first time Reception Center, to expect around 500 boxes. We nearly doubled that amount, falling just short of 1,000 boxes collected! Praise the Lord! For 2015, our plan has two parts. First, we want to encourage you to plan on packing one or more boxes for collection in November. We have empty boxes available. Just ask Lore if you would like one or more. Secondly, each month, from January through October, we will be collecting specified items. You can purchase them as you do your weekly or monthly shopping. Then just bring them along to church, and deposit them in the large, OCC collection box in the foyer. We will save the items until November. Then, in early November, we will have a church-wide packing party! So what are we collecting? May T-shirts June Toy cars and dolls July Toothbrushes, combs, hair brushes August Small stuffed animals September Small balls and stickers October Your choice appropriate things to add to the boxes **If you are interested in helping in the nursery during worship service, please contact the church secretary (717) Volume 2, Issue 5 May 2015 Page 3

4 Upcoming Events Men s Breakfasts After a month off, our monthly men s breakfasts will resume in April. Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events Saturday May 23 at 6:00 a.m. (We will be serving breakfast to those using the overnight shelter sponsored by Lebanon County Christian Ministries. Location and details to follow) Gingrichs Night Out Come join us in a church night out with a picnic followed by a baseball game. Saturday, August 16, 2015 (PINK NIGHT) Gates open at 4:30pm Game begins at 6pm. Cost of the tickets is just $24 for adults and $14 for children (12 & under). Tickets include a picnic menu to include: hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ chicken, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, chips, popcorn, cookies, soda and water. Price includes both meal and game ticket. Sign-up sheet is located on the bulletin board outside of the sanctuary. We need to provide them with a headcount as soon as possible. Please be sure to indicate how many adults and children. We need a minimum of 20 individuals to confirm this event. Please contact Pastor Jim Schwenk if you have any questions regarding this event. We hope to see everyone there to enjoy a fun filled evening among our church family. Book Release Pastor Jim s new book, George Whitefield: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought, is scheduled to be released by the publisher on May 1, It is already available for preorder on the publisher s website, and at Volume 2, Issue 5 May 2015 Page 4

5 Message From The Umble s Greetings from the Ryan and Bethany Umble family! We trust you are experiencing God's faithfulness in your congregation and local community. We were excited when we recently heard from our Missionary Support Team that Gingrichs has made a commitment to financially partner with our ministry in Cambodia. Thank you so much for this commitment and support! Your support makes it possible for us to continue our work of developing Christ-centered missional leaders in Cambodia and beyond! We plan to return to Cambodia the first week of June. In the meantime we continue to work with our Missionary Support Team in closing the gap on our remaining support needs. Please pray that God would supply the necessary finances. Even more importantly, pray that God will prepare our hearts and minds for this next season of ministry. With gratitude for your partnership, Ryan and Bethany Umble Volume 2, Issue 5 May 2015 Page 5