Christian Reporter. Worship. Mt. Lebanon Christian June Reverend Arthur Mace. PLEASE JOIN US!

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1 Mt. Lebanon Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Cedar Boulevard At Hollycrest Dr. Pittsburgh, PA Reverend Arthur Mace Worship Fellowship 9:15 AM CAYA (Contemporary) Worship 9:45 AM Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 AM PLEASE JOIN US! Christian Reporter Mt. Lebanon Christian June 2016 Generosity Is the Secret to Our Joy There is an old rabbinic parable about a farmer who had two sons. As soon as they were old enough to walk, he took them to the fields and he taught them everything that he knew about growing crops and raising animals. When he got too old to work, the two boys took over the chores of the farm and when the father died, they had found their working together so meaningful that they decided to keep their partnership. So each brother contributed what he could and during every harvest season, they would divide equally what they had corporately produced. Across the years the elder brother never married, stayed an old bachelor. The younger brother did marry and had eight wonderful children. Some years later when they were having a wonderful harvest, the old bachelor brother thought to himself one night, "My brother has ten mouths to feed. I only have one. He really needs more of this harvest than I do, but I know he is much too fair to renegotiate. I know what I'll do. In the dead of the night when he is already asleep, I'll take some of what I have put in my barn and I ll slip it over into his barn to help him feed his children. At the very time he was thinking down that line, the younger brother was thinking to himself, "God has given me these wonderful children. My brother hasn't been so fortunate. He really needs more of this harvest for his old age than I do, but I know him. He's much too fair. He'll never renegotiate. I know what I'll do. In the dead of the night when he's asleep, I'll -take some of what I've put in my barn and slip it over into his barn." Continued on page 7

2 WORSHIP LEADERS 5 - Chuck Sargent 12 - Joy Pajak 19 - Dan Wahl 26 - Jeff Hawn COUNTERS 5 - Jinny Plavetich & Janet Bowers 12 - Jinny Plavetich & Janet Bowers 19 - Duane Ready, Brad Montgomery 26 - Chuck & Laurie Sargent June 2016 Volunteers ELDERS 5 - Jane McCarty, Verna McGinley 12 - Joy Pajak, Brad Montgomery 19 - Sally Myton, Jeff Hawn 26 - Verna McGinley, Jane McCarty NURSERY 5 - Mary Nicholson 12 - Alice Lawson 19 - Janet Bowers 26 - Laurie Sargent The Barber of Coupe De Ville A young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father, who was a minister, if they could discuss his use of the car. His father said to him, I ll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study the bible a little and get your hair cut; then we ll talk about it. A month later the boy came back and again asked his father if he could use the car. His father said, Son, I m really proud of you. You brought your grades up, studied the bible well, but you didn t get your hair cut! The young man waited a moment and then replied, You know dad, I ve been thinking about that. Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair and even Jesus had long hair. His father replied gently, Yes son, and they walked everywhere they went. SERMON - Reverend Art Mace GREETER - Sally Myton DIRECTOR OF MUSIC - Charles Bieri VISION STATEMENT God's vision for Mt. Lebanon Christian Church (DOC) is that we be a Christ-centered church: growing in faith through prayer, worship, and Bible study; growing in service through outreach; growing in love through Fellowship. Nominating Committee The new church year starts on July 1 st. The Nominating Committee will be contacting people to fill church officer positions for those who are going off after their three year terms. Please prayerfully consider saying yes when called to use your time and talents for our church and for God. Many hands make small work. Building Maintenance Funds The Church Board recognized a large amount of upkeep and building maintenance needs this Spring. These include repairing and painting water damage and mold, replacing fans in the chapel (this task has been finished) and fellowship hall, and much more. Please consider making additional donations to the Building Maintenance Fund during June & July so that we can cover these expenses. Thank you for your generosity and support.

3 MUSICAL NOTES By Charles Bieri Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Chalice Hymnal Page 2) But the fruit of Spirit is love, joy against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22) While gazing at the magnificent Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts, Henry van Dyke ( ) described in Joyful, Joyful, the many aspects of life that should bring us joy. He insisted that his text written in 1911, be sung to the music of Hymn of Joy from Beethoven s ninth symphony. This combination of words and great music makes Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee one of the most joyous expressions of any hymn in the English Language. One of the forceful ideas expressed by van Dyke is that God s gracious love for us should create a greater brother love for our fellow man. With God s help we can become victorious over strife and be lifted to the joy divine as we daily show more love to others. Henry van Dyke was a Presbyterian minister who served as a moderator of his denomination for a time and as a Navy Chaplain in World War One. Later he was the ambassador to Holland and Luxembourg under President Wilson. He also served a number of years as a professor of literature at Princeton University. High honors came to him for his many devotional writings. Yet this one inspiring hymn is the reason Henry van Dyke is best remembered. The Elders pray for those in our congregation who need prayers of healing and spiritual help. We pray for those on our prayer lists and others who have been mentioned to us or during our worship services. If you are in need of prayer and would like to be included in our private prayer list or in the newsletter prayer list, please contact the church office or one of the Elders. If you are asking for prayers for someone else to be listed in the newsletter, please get their permission. Please also pray for our church family and all who are in need of God s healing, comfort and hope. Prayers for Members Betty Archip Don Cribbs Rae Houke Dave Koerber Jack & Betty Rothermel Peg and Bill Samples Jack & Fran Skelly Jocelyn Wagner Prayers for Friends and Family Kathy Comer (Jane McCarty s sister) Sandy Dillner (Anne Totin) Linda Figura (Ed Pajak s daughter) Lois Goff (Pastor Art s sister) Ev Leindecker (Anne Totin) Betty Oros (Dan Wahl) Katelyn Peters (Joy s niece) Mary Seger (Joy s friend) Betty Sell (Joanne Houston s sister) Allan Sparks (Alice Lawson) Steve (Ray Dubiel) Also, please remember in your prayers our members who are homebound.

4 Lunch Bunch for June will be announced at a later time. Please watch the Sunday Bulletin for details. JUNE OUTREACH 66 th Church Anniversary Sunday June 5th, Noon We will celebrate our Church s 66 years of history and all of those people who have blessed us in our church and have been a blessing for God. Hotdogs, hamburgers, drinks and dessert will be provided. Bring a salad or side dish if you can but mainly bring yourself. We will use the front lawn and enjoy what we know will be a beautiful day. Tri-County Men s Fellowship Meeting On June 23rd the quarterly Tri-Count Men s Fellowship dinner and meeting will be at First Christian Church in Canonsburg. This is probably the shortest drive for us to any of the churches so we hope many of the men of the church can make it. Please contact Rev Art or Chuck Sargent if you will be able to attend. The Outreach Team will be collecting new or gently use handbags, shoes and professional clothing for Dress For Success. Blessed to be A Blessing! Mt. Lebanon Christian Church s membership might be small, but we sure are mighty. Since we began tracking outreach in April, we charted 13 hours of serving the home bound, elderly and sick; 5 hours serving the hungry; 18 hours of paying it forward; 9 hours being good neighbors; 2 hours in prayer; 1 hour in youth ministry and 4 hours in church service. In other words, our church family spent over 50 hours being God s hands and feet to the community. Remember to share your outreach stories each week. We are blessed to be a blessing. Look It Up I was reading an article in the newspaper when I came across a word I didn t know. Dad, what is the meaning of the word ostensibly? My dad, as he usually did after work, was watching his favorite show. You have a dictionary, don t you? he shot back. He didn t even look at my face. I went back to my room, and there on my study table was that dictionary. Ten years have passed and I still use that dictionary, along with the lesson I received early in life from my dad: to be self-sufficient. Mt. Lebanon Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) A Church Alive with the Holy Spirit! Cedar Boulevard at Hollycrest Drive Pittsburgh, PA Office: (412) Fax: (412) Every Member Is A Minister Arthur Mace Minister arthurmace99@yahoo.com John McCarty Student Minister jcm8080@gmail.com Jeff Hawn Board Chair jhawn.counsel@gmail.com Chuck Bieri Director of Music charlesbieri@yahoo.com

5 JUNE Raymond & Marie Jensen Jocelyn Wagner 601 Monterey Street 1024 Bank Street McKeesport, PA Bridgeville, PA Geri Offenbach James Powell 1245 Arrowood Drive 123 Hazel Place Pittsburgh, PA Pittsburgh, PA Julia Stricklett Mt. Lebanon Christian Church certainly mourns the death of Julia Stricklett on Sun., May 1, We know Julia fought the good fight, finished the course and kept the faith. She now has received her crown of righteousness. Julia joined the church on May 25, 1952 and taught Sunday School for over 60 years. What a testimony to her devotion to God. BIRTHDAYS 5 - Joanne Houston 12 - Laurie Sargent 13 - Rae Houke 15 - Julie Bowers 16 - Betty Archip 20 - Jason Schwartz ANNIVERSARIES 2 - Roy & Marilyn Voshall 6 - Dan & Lee Ann Wahl 10 - Rev. & Jayne Bishop 18 - Rev. Art & Rev. Janet Scott nnnnmace First Sundays United at Mt. Lebanon Christian Church Our United Service Will be held on June 5th and every first Sunday of the months to come. We will continue to converge together in worship at 11:00 am with fellowship time after the service. There will be no CAYA service on the first Sunday of each month. From the Church Secretary If anyone has changed their address, phone number, , or perhaps wants to add their cell phone number to the Church Directory, please let me know. You can it (churchoffice@mtlebocc.org), mail it or leave a note on my desk. Thank you so much, Joyce

6 Continuation of front page * * * Save the Date * * * One night when the moon was full, as you may have already anticipated, those two brothers came face to face, each on a mission of generosity. The old rabbi said that there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and a gentle rain began to fall. You know what it was? God weeping for joy because two of his children had gotten the point. Two of his children had come to realize that generosity is the deepest characteristic of the holy and because we are made in God's image, our being generous with a servant heart is the secret to our joy as well. Blessings, Art Vacation Bible School at Mt. Lebanon Christian Church! August 9, 10, 11, :30-8:30 PM MtLeboCC.org DIFFERENT DAY On June 20th, we will visit the Heinz History Center on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh. Heinz covers 250 years of Western Pennsylvania History. Some of the many exhibits at the center are Woodworking, Special Collections, Rediscovering Lewis and Clark, The Glass Factory and there are so many more that they cannot all be listed. If you would like to check out the Center, go to The rates are Adults: $16 and Senior Citizens (62+): $14 and the cost of your meal. The van will be leaving the church at 9:00 am. If you care to go, there is a sign-up vestibule.