First Christian Church of East Moline September 2018

Transcription

1 Helmets of Hope trivia night Veterans ministry nears milestone Homecoming Weekend a prayer service a picnic on The Pointe a homecoming worship Trunk or Treat XII Operation Christmas Child A Rise Up, Church workday A small church doing BIG things First Christian Church of East Moline September 2018

2 I don t pay attention to many television commercials (thank God for the 30 second forward buttons on DVRs) but there is a characteristic common to many of them that incites great unrest in my spirit. It happens in toothpaste commercials and infomercials for personal care products such as knee braces and hair replacement treatments. It happens when they sell the latest, leanest, coolest, and hottest cooking technologies. And it happened just this morning in the commercial I saw, whose product whose identity or purpose I can t for the life of me recall. It is smiling users. I recently saw a toothpaste commercial in which a woman somehow flashed a continuous full-mouth smile as she maneuvered the brush around her front teeth. Have you EVER smiled as you brushed your teeth? Is the prospect of ridding your gums of early morning bacteria SO gratifying that it makes you break out in dental joy as you brush down the varmints? Another commercial in which I observed the same effect: Around a dinner table, parent and children bare their choppers to the camera as they dig into the evening s meal prepared with whatever gadget the commercial is peddling. When s the last time you smiled as you stuck a fork in a pot roast or a spoon into a pile of green beans? Nobody (other than stars of such commercials) does that Writing to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul commanded them to rejoice always (1 Thess 5.16). He told the Philippians the same thing (Phil 4.4) Peter urged his readers to rejoice insofar as (we) share Christ s sufferings in the fiery trials that will come our way as followers of Jesus. (1 Peter 4.13) When I read those verses, I sometimes think they might as well ask us to smile while we brush our teeth or eat our liver and onions. Yet, it s an important notion, this idea of rejoicing in the Lord. So it must mean something other than what on first glance we fear it might means. I think it s akin to the what the psalmist says in Psalm 23: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Notice the context of that proclamation is lonely shadows of death, shadows the psalmist does not claim to evade. His point is that EVEN WHEN he s in the company of loss and isolation, he will not fear, there will rise within him a confidence borne of God s abiding presence. Something similar happens in the psalm we reviewed during this month s Abundant Life League meeting, Psalm 46. There, the writer speaks of mountain-crumbling earthquakes and surging ocean waters (apologies to the victims of Hurricane Florence). The writer describes a world in chaos, where kingdoms crumble and destruction afflicts the earth. Into such a desperate scene the psalmist introduces a river that brings joy to a city that cannot be destroyed due to God s protective presence in it. Into such desperation, that is, the psalmist brings cause to smile as you brush your teeth. [COLUMN CONCLUDES INSIDE BACK PAGE] ANDFROMBILL (cont) Psalm 46 ends with some of the most quiet yet evocative words of Scripture: 10 Be still, and know that I am God I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. 11 The LORD of Heaven s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress. Now we know why we can smile and rejoice and celebrate in the midst of the chaotic world in which we live: God is alive, well, on the throne, and, most important, here among us. May that word encourage you today. A flat roof repair update We re excited to report that this week workers tore off the old surface on our church building s flat roof and completed the installation of a new surface. Ever since the old surface s installation in 2013, we ve had issues with leaks in various locations in the lobby and the south end of our building s upper level. After several unsuccessful repairs of the old surface, the general contractor who oversaw the project decided to hire a local company to remove and replace the old surface, at no cost to us, with a material widely used in modern flat roofs. The result should be an end to the leaks that have plagued us for so long. Once confident of such a result, we ll work with our general contractor to effect repairs to the office and south hallway ceiling surfaces that have suffered the most obvious damage. We ll keep you posted. CROP Walk 2018 approaches The 2018 version of the annual Quad Cities CROP Hunger Walk takes place on Sunday, October 7, beginning at 2:00 p.m. New to this year s event, walkers will be able to choose from three distances - two, four, or six miles. Not new to this year s event is its cause: to raise money to support anti-hunger efforts in the Quad Cities (25% of the money raised) and around the world (the other 75% of the money raised). Over the next three Sundays, we ll accept both financial donations before and after worship (make checks out to Church World Service), and, via a sheet at Mission Central, the signatures of those who intend to participate in this year s walk. As best we can find, our church first participated in the CROP Walk twenty years ago, back in Now it s time for walkers and donors to rise up and make our church known again. NOT by proud boasts, but by miles walked and money donated. Now we know why we can smile and rejoice and celebrate in the midst of the chaotic world in which we live. Saint Augustine: Without God, we cannot. Without us, God WILL not.

3 Centennial year about to begin We ve talked about it for months; now it s less than a month away - the launch of our congregation s 100th year in ministry. We ll begin the final twelve months toward our centennial with a Homecoming Weekend, October Friday, October 19, 7:00 p.m. A Prayer Service We ll begin our centennial year with a time of prayer. We ll pray our thanks for the years our church has served this community; for the people who have served, pastored, and worshiped among us; for the challenges and opportunities God has seen us and toward; and for the future of our ministry that is clear to God, if not always clear to us. Saturday, October 20, Noon A Picnic on The Pointe and More We ll gather on The Pointe to eat chicken - which the Church will provide - and other food (bring food to share if you can; if you can t bring food, come to the picnic anyway; God ALWAYS provides) As we eat and share conversation and memories around the picnic tables, we ll have numerous games set up on our south lawn, PLUS the QCs latest video gaming phenomenon: The Gamez2Go bus, aboard which kids both young and not-so-young will be able to play a variety of video game systems on large screen TVs and at no charge In addition, we ll have a display of memorabilia to enjoy (if you have pictures or other mementos that you re willing to lend to us, please share them ASAP so that we can begin to layout the memorabilia display.) We ve invited several people who through the years have been connected to our church to join us for this picnic (actually, the entire Homecoming Weekend). With this article, we invite YOU to join us Sunday, October 21, 10:30 a.m. Homecoming Worship We ll sing hymns as well as contemporary praise songs. We ll lift prayers of gratitude for where we have come from and of anticipation of where we are headed. And we ll set an ambitious agenda for our centennial year in ministry. Join us as we worship the God who called us into being 99 years ago, and continues to call us into ministry today. First Centennial Event: a holiday film Join us for an evening of food and fun as we share a casual potluck meal, then watch a couple of Christmas-themed cartoons and watch a family-oriented holiday film (if you have a suggestion, let the office know) We ll start at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 10, at 5:00 p.m. In December, we ll take a drive around the area to look at Christmas lights, and perhaps participate in a Christmas Walk. Stay tuned Trivia night to raise money Our Helmets of Hope household supply ministry to veterans receives no money from our annual church budget (though earlier this year it DID gratefully receive a $1,000 distribution from one of our special funds). As a result, fundraisers are a necessary component of the ministry s operation. The next big Helmets fundraiser is the trivia night we have scheduled for Saturday, October 13, beginning at 7:00 pm. Here s what you need to know in order to pray for and help with this major event: We re searching for more teams to compete in our trivia event. Currently, reservations are below expectations, so if you have friends or family members who participate in trivia nights, tell them about ours. Chances are, anyone who participates in trivia nights also knows other people who participate in them. The more word about our event spreads, the more chances we ll have to gain participants. Our event will be hosted by Mr. Trivia, a wellknown emcee for such events in our area. He s generously agreed not to charge us for his services because our event will raise money to serve veterans. Entrance Fee: $10 per person, or $80 per table. Participants may bring their own food (a practice common at trivia nights) but we ask that they purchase all their beverages from us. Look for the sign up sheet at Mission Central to sign up to donate cases of soft drinks or bottled water. We ll hold a 50/50 raffle and separately raffle off several gift baskets constructed of donations from several area businesses. So far, we ve received donations from ten businesses (the complete list will be published at Mission Central, on our website, and in next month s newsletter) Even if you can t play or donate to this event, you can pray for us Helmets of Hope closes in on 13,000 Last week we made the 64 th delivery in the 33 month history of our household supply ministry to veterans called Helmets of Hope, deliveries which have now provided nearly 13,000 total items to veterans who moved off the streets and into housing of their own with the help of VA subsidies. More than 300 veterans have received essential supplies such as rags, cleaners, and paper products from our ministry after they moved off the streets. Praise God We are the Body of Christ, which means we are the hands and feet and mouths of Jesus in the world today. The Lord is OUR shepherd, WE shall not want

4 We want YOU to be part of our centennial video Rise Up, Church work day this Saturday Trunk or Treat XII coming to FCCEM on Halloween An Operation Christmas Child ministry update As part of our centennial celebration, in October 2019 we will distribute a DVD video presentation depicting a bit of our story - where we ve come from, who ve we ve been, and where we believe we re headed. One component of that DVD will be comments from people of all ages who have been or currently are connected to our church. Want to be part of our video? It won t be hard: You ll share your memories and observations about our church with Bill Coley the only difference from any other conversation being that a video camera will be running while you talk. We ll record your interview at the church or in your home, whichever is most convenient for you, and on a date and at a time that fit your schedule. You won t have to dress up or prepare much in advance. We ll celebrate your contribution just the way you offer it. Only a fraction of what you say will actually end up in the finished video. We ll complete our recording of all interviews by May 1, to give us plenty of time to edit the video into final form. We ll give copies of the DVD to every homebound and active household in our church, to first time worship guests, to everyone who sits for an interview, and, for a small fee, to anyone else who asks for one. Sign up at Mission Central beginning this Sunday to express your willingness to sit for an interview. We ll then contact you as our centennial year progresses to set up an appointment. Early indications are that the weather will cooperate with our plans to hold a Rise Up, Church workday this Saturday, September 22, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Our agenda includes an access ramp onto The Pointe to build -... a wooden sign identifying The Pointe to install -... a sidewalk along the east side of the building to replace We won t get all of those things done this Saturday But we will begin, in hopes of completing the ramp before our homecoming weekend on October and then for this year s Trunk of Treat night. You can help, inside our outside Bats seems to be under control You may not be aware that over the last few years, we ve had quite a problem with bats in our building s upper level, particularly our worship center. Our Christmas Eve worship in 2016, for example, was interrupted by a hyper-excited bat s dive bombs toward the evening s multimedia operator. We tried a professional pest control service, but the bats soon found other ways to get in. Fortunately, we found small, lightweight, and portable machines that emit high frequency sounds that humans, dogs and most other animals can t hear, but that drive bats to move out. We deployed two of the machines in the front of our worship center nearly four weeks ago, and have found no evidence of bat activity since. Praise God We re ready to plan this year s version of Trunk or Treat, our annual Halloween night outreach to the neighborhood during which we welcome hundreds of kids and their chaperones to our grounds to receive goodies and a good time. For the third consecutive year we ll set up on The Pointe, using our picnic tables as rest stops for our guests to receive candy, hot chocolate, s mores, and assorted other fun stuff. YOU can help us make this year s event - our twelfth- better than ever by participating in the planning meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, September 26 (6:30 p.m.)... donating bags of individually-wrapped candies by depositing them in the collection area at Mission Central beginning Sunday, October 7. In each of the last two years, we ve welcomed more than 500 people to our grounds for Trunk or Treat (our event has developed quite a good reputation through the years). We need your help... lending us portable, battery-operated lights or lanterns. We expect our new access ramp onto The Pointe to be completed by Halloween, but we want as much light as possible to help our guests navigate the terrain.... bringing your young ones by for a visit (or just stop in on your own)... praying for our success. Pray for God s continued blessings. We re excited to be serving as an Illinois drop-off site in this year s Operation Christmas Child (OCC) collection of shoe boxes filled with age- and genderappropriate items that will be distributed to children in developing nations. This year, for the first year in our nearly two decades of OCC participation, other groups and churches will bring their completed boxes to us, where our team will welcome, pray for, log, and package them to be taken to Harvest Bible Chapel in Davenport, the area s central station for OCC boxes this year. You can be part of our OCC operations this year in a couple of ways: You can help staff our collection site during some of our hours of operation: Monday-Saturday, Nov 12-17: 10am-Noon; 6-8pm / Sunday, Nov 18: 2-4pm; 6-8pm / Monday, Nov 19: 8-10am. You can donate items for OUR OWN boxes, which will we will pack during a party on Saturday, November 17 (5:00 p.m.) See Mission Central for information about each month s collection emphasis (August was school supplies; September has been clothing; October will be toys and personal care items). You can pray for God s abundant blessing on our efforts. Church newsletters are witnesses to the life and ministry of a church. What have you done this week with what God has given you?

5 Attendance DATE Sunday Groups Sunday Worship August August September September September Finances (through August) Income $38, Expenses $44, Needed for 2018 Budget $41, Prayer Matters Recent Concerns Jim Clark - hospitalized for heart issues The people and states affected by Hurricane Florence Homebound Ethel Dawson th St. Ct. East Moline Serving in October - Welcome Team - - Multimedia Operator - Shari Coley Noelle Ledbetter, Ashlie Ledbetter - Praying at the Table - - Presenting LifeSounds - Jackie Hume, Maurine Unzel Maurine Unzel - Preparing Communion - - Serving Communion - Suzie Guthrie Faith Ballard, Marsha Jones - Providing Childcare - Dawn Dumoulin NOTE: You can help with any of these Sunday morning ministries Contact the church office to make yourself available. A Birthday in October Nicole Sullivan Helen Shoulders Suzie Guthrie NOTE: We can t tell people about your birthday or anniversary unless you tell us. Contact the church office with your information A building use request A community of Christians who call themselves the African Congregational Church, consisting primarily of immigrants from the African nation of Togo, have approached us about using our fellowship hall as their worship space on Sunday afternoons. The group currently meets at Camp Milan, but the Camp s schedule of groups using the Camp as a camp or retreat center disrupts their worship schedule too frequently. Our general board s discussions with the Church are in their initial stages. To-date, we only that we will require a written agreement, and that the Church have its own insurance coverage. We will keep you posted.