The Englewood Christian

Transcription

1 The Englewood Christian Seeking the city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10) Volume 60 Number 2 April 1, 2012 WE ARE ISAAC! He [Abraham] considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead; from which he also received him [Isaac] back as a type. Hebrews 11:19 Drawing parallels between us and characters from the Old Testament Scriptures is perilous work at the very least, but attempting to do so can spark imaginative fires. It is customary to think of Abraham as an example of obedient faith it was reckoned to him as righteousness but it is atypical to compare ourselves to the fruit of faithfulness, God s faithfulness as well as the faithfulness of others. The story of Abraham s willingness to sacrifice his only son of the covenant (his son Ishmael is a story for another day) stands to this day as a pivotal story of God s faithful provision and the importance of trusting in God s promises (see Genesis 22). Radical unwavering faith is critical to our participation in God s redemptive mission of reconciling all things (Col. 1:20), summing up all things (Eph. 1:10) and restoring all things (Acts 3:21) in Christ. However, faith without works is dead (read James 2:14-26). Things need to be reconciled; things need to be summed up; things need to be restored, and God has promised they will be and God has made provision for them to be. In the Old Testament story, God had made promises and those promises were kept. When Abraham believed, he received his son Isaac back as a type, but as a type of what? Isaac was a sign of God s continued faithfulness. No matter how dark and hopeless the circumstance, God will keep promises made and God will make the necessary provision. Also, Isaac was a reminder of the importance of trusting in God s promises and provision. The fruit of Abraham s and Sarah s natural act was the birth of Isaac, but the fruit of Abraham s trust in God was a resurrected Isaac. Isaac became a very important link in the chain of God s redemption completed in Christ. We are a resurrected people dead, buried and raised up (as declared in our baptism) so we too might walk in newness of life (see Romans 6:1-11). We are a continuing link in God s chain of redemption. Many have gone before us (now raised up to glory), and by God s grace many will come after us (bearing God s glory). Let us take our place in God s work of transformation bearing in our life together hope in the midst of hopelessness, selflessness in the midst of selfishness and sacrificial love in the midst of fear-driven hatred. We are Isaac! Mike

2 ` Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others. (Phil. 2:3) Assemble with the flock Oh...those Facts & Figures February s Attendance 2/5 2/12 2/19 2/26 AM PM Sunday Mornings in April: Apr. 1: The Clash of Prophets & Kings Mark 6:14-29 Apr. 8: Easter Sunday Income/Expense Report Income FEB. YTD Offerings 18, , Capital Campaign , Ministry Teams 3, , Bible School Day Care 35, , Interest Income Total 57, , Apr. 15: Apr. 22: Apr. 29: The Miracle in Sharing Mark 6:30-44 Will They Ever Learn Will We? Mark 6:45-56 Purity Which Pollutes Mark 7:1-23 Expense General 11, , Ministry Teams 14, , Bible School Day Care 22, , Total 48, , Sunday Evenings in April Evening Groups will meet each Sunday evening at 6:00 pm except for Easter Sunday. Net Income/Loss 9, , Fluff Offering 2/26... $ / / At our April Ministry Council Meeting, after we finish our round of team reports, we will tackle issues related to Pastoral issues. Anything you would like discussed as part of that topic, let us know so it can be put on the agenda, printed and available for distribution the week before.

3 Our Easter Services Christ the Lord is risen today Alleluia ~ Good Friday Service ~ Friday evening, April 6 th 6:30 pm In the auditorium Sons of men and angels say... Alleluia ~ Fellowship Breakfast ~ Easter Morning, Sunday, April 8 th, 8:45 9:45 am Raise your joys and triumphs high... Alleluia ~ Easter Morning Worship Service ~ Sunday, April 8 th, 10:15 am There will be no evening groups Sing ye heavens and earth reply... Alleluia

4 Ministry Team Meetings Scheduled for this month... *Monday, April 2 nd *Sunday, April 15 th *Monday, April 9 th Youth 7:30 pm ECDC 4:30 pm Ministry 7:00 pm Hospitality Supper Crews for April April 4 th Cooking Crew: Tuesday Night Group Clean Up Crew: Carol/Claudette/Gwen/Helen Dishwashers: Larry/Carl/Ted/Joe April 11 th Cooking Crew: Victory Chapel Clean Up Crew: Laura/Jennifer/Diana/Paula/Rhonda Dishwashers: Rich/Kevin/David/Sam April 18 th Cooking Crew: Mike/Lisa/Jake/Kendra/Laura/Amy Clean Up Crew: Mary/Libby/Tracy T./ Tracy D. Dishwashers: Greg/Dave/Josh/Tyler April 25 th Cooking Crew: Freeman Group Clean Up Crew: Jeni/Kendra/Jenny P./ Rachel Dishwashers: Mike/Jake/Brad/Kyle * * * * * * * * * * Ladies Retreat April st There is a sign-up Sheet at the Information Center Please let us know if you are coming! We will be doing some cooking together in Fellowship Hall as well as some other projects. For those who are so inclined, we will have a Girls Sleepover at the Mission House.

5 Y A R D S A L E To help support our youth group -- 7 th & 8 th graders through high school -- (both Mano de Amistad & Englewood) as they raise money for their summer camping trip to Minnesota. Date of Sale: Saturday, June 2, 2012 Time of Sale: 8:00 5:00 Place of Sale: 654 Middle Drive/Woodruff Place (East of Tech High School from Michigan Street to 10 th Street) Items Needed: Clothing of any kind, Glassware, dishes, furniture, chairs, tables, electronics, any good usable items Items may be brought to Englewood May 28 th through June 1 st, Thank you! See Gwen Stephens for questions/information! * * * * * * * * * * * Friendship Breakfast Saturday, April 28 th 9:00 12:00 We will continue our conversation about Hospitality specifically relating to the CommonWealth and the neighborhood around us.

6 Our love & prayers... are extended to Betty Archer and her family at the death of her daughter, Cindy, this last month. For Your Attention: New feature to begin in the May issue of the Englewood Christian There are a number in the Englewood family who are unable to worship with us personally because of health issues, age, or distance. and we miss them! Through the newsletter we would like to pay special attention to these folks and pass along information regarding special days, birthdays, or any situations that may change in their well-being. We look forward to writing biographies of these folk from time to time so you might become more personally acquainted with them and their gifts, talents and service to Englewood and the community. Life Centers News... Christy Ripperger and Becky Gluff are back from their trip to the Ukraine and have shared some wonderful stories of how God worked while they were there! Thank you for your prayers for their trip and the ministry of life in the Ukraine. The Baby Bottle Offering is almost here! You can start collecting your spare change, and we'll have a bottle or two for you in a couple of weeks. The Life Centers spring banquet will be on May 4, with Jim Daly of Focus on the Family as the keynote speaker and Steve Green as the musical guest. As in the past, tickets are $50 each. Let me know if you're interested in attending and would like to sit together as an Englewood group. Shelley Near Eastside Neighborhood Summit Saturday, April 24 th 7:00 pm Tentative Location: Scecina High School The near eastside taskforce no longer exists this Eastside Summit will be the beginning of ra new avenue of neighborhood planning/involvement please join us!

7 Our very first Garden Workday of the year Saturday, April 14 th. 9:00 Noon Come when you can & leave when you must! There s plenty of work to do to get our Community Garden up and growing this year! All are welcome to join us for as little or as much as you can work! * * * * * * * * * * * An Update from Mano de Amistad Humberto will be leaving on April 13 th to travel with a group of pastors to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador on an investigative mission. The purpose of their trip is to spend time with pastors and churches in those places and engage in conversations to consider how they work together to provide for the basic needs of brothers and sisters there so immigration to the United States is not seen as their only option. He returns on April 25 th. We will be interested and excited to hear about his trip! * * * * * * * * * * * Mother-Daughter Banquet Tuesday evening, May 15 th 6:30 pm If you have your wedding gown you would like to display or model, let Tracey Durcholz know. We would also welcome bridesmaid dresses, or mother-of-the bride dresses. Mark your calendars.tickets will be on-sale soon!

8 Englewood s Annual Music Recital Our annual Englewood music recital will be held on Sunday evening, May 20, at 6:00 p.m. in place of our normal Sunday evening groups. All students grades K - 12 who would like to sing or play a musical instrument are encouraged to participate. If you would like to participate, please write down your name and what you would like to do and give it to Ellen Adams (mailbox A2) within the next couple of weeks. A Reminder... to consider passing up that coke from Village Pantry, that lunch at McDonald s, that on-sale item you just saw that you think you can t live without, and instead put those few dollars in our new Fluff Offering a small way of not only helping to keep our budget on track this year but a way to remind ourselves of how much extra we waste & spend on things we don t really need. (There are special offering envelopes in the pews for this purpose.just a note: if you don t seal the envelopes we can reuse them week after week and save some funds that way thanks!) PARENTS NIGHT OUT! Friday evening, April 13 th... 6:00 10:00 pm Cost: $20 per family (includes supper) A sign up sheet will be at the Information Center Proceeds go toward our summer youth trip Congratulations... to April Gauthier who has been working with a team of students and two professors at Butler University to write a children s book related to Pharmacy. It is finally finished! Here is a link to the book if you d be interested in a copy otherwise, you can just pull it up and take a look: Pogue s Run & Neighborhood Festival Saturday, June 23 rd here at Englewood 5-mile run begins at 8:30 am... Festival begins at 9:00 am More information will be forthcoming over the next few weeks. We will need lots of workers to help with the run & the festival.mark your calendars! You can check online through

9 Missions... Update from Christina About 2 weeks ago, I headed south to Tupelo, Mississippi for my Missionary Orientation and Training with Global Outreach International, my new sending agency. Despite getting sick half-way through the week, it was an amazing time of refreshment, encouragement, challenge and renewal of my commitment to serve the Lord through overseas missions. God definitely confirmed to me during that week that Global Outreach is the perfect match for me. I was able to meet Dr. Sammy Simpson, the 80 year old founder of Global, who, despite struggling with cancer, continues to inspire and challenge so many to follow God's leading in their lives and not allow any fears or obstacles hold them back. As he talked about the vision that led him to start Global Outreach - wanting there to be a family that would exist to help people do the things that God had already called them to do and would not discriminate based on age, gender, or disability - I knew this was the right family for me. And they really are a family. They are very excited about the ministry in Kapsowar and Pokot and what God will continue to do there. I also was encouraged by learning their commitment to the importance of the local church in supporting its missionaries - that the missionary is not alone in their ministry. It truly is a joint effort between me and you, my supporting church. I cannot thank you all enough for your partnership and support and I look forward to continuing the work in Kenya together - to achieve the ultimate goal of reaching the lost with the love of Christ. I also had the opportunity to meet other new GO missionaries who will be serving all over the world - including a family that will be in Uganda, just over the Kenyan/Ugandan border, about 5 hours from Kapsowar! So, where do we go from here? I received lots of information that week, which I'm still trying to sort through. I'm also busy compiling my mailing list for potential partners - it needs to have at least 200 people on it! I'm also working on a monthly budget so I know exactly how much support building I will need to do. Over the next couple of months, I will also be working on coming up with new prayer cards and other resources to use when sharing about my ministry in Kenya. I then plan on starting to build my support team in late spring/early summer with the goal to be ready to return to Kenya by early summer I really was impressed by how much the home office at Global really does to support its missionaries - especially considering they don't take any overhead from the support that each missionary raises. It made me realize that the money that goes to support them is invaluable. I am hoping to get to Indy again soon to fellowship with you all - I can't believe it's already been more than 2 months since I was there! Oh, and another exciting update - a very generous donor has given $50,000 to complete the health clinic in Pokot! Praise the Lord! The building is up and there's a roof on. We are still trying to get water from the well project - it has been one obstacle after another as they continue to drill in a very rough area. We are believing that the Lord will provide, though, as His hand has been on this project. I hope you are all well and I look forward to meeting again soon! In Him, Christina P.S. Thanks to all those who are giving toward Christina s support. The monies that are being given at this point are being held in the church s savings account until time for her to leave for Kenya next year.

10 The Englewood Christian 57 N. Rural Street Indianapolis, In All-Church Breakfast Sunday, April 15 th 8:00 9:00 am Adults. $3.00 Kids $2.00 Proceeds go toward this summer s Youth Trip Our All-Church Breakfast is normally the 2 nd Sunday of the month we have moved it back a week because of Easter Sunday