The Good News. The Pastor s Pen. September 2016 Northfield Presbyterian Church. Last Sunday I opened my sermon with these

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1 September 2016 Northfield Presbyterian Church The Good News The Pastor s Pen words, Last Sunday I opened my sermon with these Amazing things will happen when you follow Jesus! Some of those things will leave you standing in awe; some will leave you in tears of joy, and some will make you hang on for dear life. Regardless of the nature of the experience all will require faith. A stroll through the Gospels or a journey through the book of Acts will make it pretty plain to all of us that following Jesus isn t child s play and yet children seem more ready for the adventure than many adults. It s probably because their lives haven t been conditioned by society s norms, the comforts of life or the fears of the unknown. Yet, the older we get the more cautious many become. In years gone by I probably took more risks, but for the wrong reasons. Some turned out okay and those that didn t caused me to pull in the reins a bit. Is anyone out there tracking with me yet? But I ve also discovered that putting my faith in Christ put me in a whole new world of faith and risk. The cost of the lessons and discipleship were not any less challenging, but the rewards from those faith steps have been more gratifying and meaningful in the big picture. As most of you are aware, Jan and I stepped into the foster care world three years ago to provide respite for full-time foster parents. That was low risk. But after three of those experiences, a call came one day for an emergency placement which I thought would be short-term (two to four weeks), but that never got shorter and ended up five days shy of one year. We have maintained contact with the children and family for the past 16 months and Jan felt we should continue to keep up our certification just in case something came up with the kids again. I was in agreement.. The Lord was certainly directing that, because the number of CEU s I needed was virtually impossible given the time restraints. All the doors opened up including credit for a course we hadn t remembered. On August 17 th Jan received a call from the family asking if we d be able to take the kids on a voluntary basis for a little while. The next morning at a meeting the little while became a bit longer than another short-term commitment. Truly, only the Lord knows what will happen in the days, weeks and months ahead. I come to you to ask for prayer support now as you did so faithfully two years ago. Remember the kids family in prayer for personal growth and healing, and that Christ might have an open door into their lives. Remember the kids so that they might be able to understand and endure the separation from their family again, and that they might make a healthy adjustment to our home again. As Jan and I continue following Jesus we are convinced that, just as He was in the boat when the storm came down on the disciples on Galilee (Luke 8:22-25), He is in our boat for protection and safety too. I know that some of you are being stretched as you follow Jesus call into His ministry and mission whatever it may be. Hang in there. Don t let the wind and the waves upset your boat. The fact that Jesus is in the boat calmly sleeping is His assurance to you that all will be okay. For those who haven t jumped into the boat, let me encourage you to join the cruise. It is all part of the cost of discipleship. Speaking of which, I will be focusing on the second step of discipleship this Sunday considering the essential place of the Cross for those who call themselves Christians. Please remember to take time to reflect and to examine yourself as we come together at the Lord s table. In His Grip, Art

2 Christian Education News Our elementary age children will continue to work with The Gospel Project materials from Lifeway during their Children s Only Worship time on Sundays. A dedicated rotating group of teachers will be continuing to minister to them. Contact Michelle Williamson if you would consider working with this group. The Jr. and Sr. High kids will begin a Confirmation Class using Teen Alpha materials. Gary and Margaret Anderson will head up a group of volunteers to work with them. Adult Sunday School will return Sunday September 11th at 9:00 a.m. Topic suggestions to be discussed. Bring ideas! Please be in prayer for all these efforts as the new education season begins. Tuesday Night Bible Study: Acts You re invited to join this interdenominational study of Acts, beginning September 6th at 7:00 pm in room 201. The study books have homework questions that are discussed the night of the study. The leader, Keith Miller, will provide additional insights and historical background. Material cost is $17.00 for the booklet. This 30 week study will meet every Tuesday with breaks for holidays and a week in the spring. Come enjoy the fellowship and enlightening conversation. Contact Keith or Ellen Miller with any questions. Open to all! Choir News FALL CHOIR KICKOFF BEGINS ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH AT 7PM. We have some new music to work on and we will be beginning our Christmas Music practices that evening as well. Handbells begin on Thursday, September 29th from 6:45-7:15 p.m. There will be no Choir practice on September 8th. New voices and talents always welcome! PANTRY ITEMS CONTINUE TO BE COLLECTED The Women s Association will continue to collect food items for the Macedonia Emergency Center. They need dry, boxed nonperishable food items such as: Spaghetti noodles and all other types of pasta either in a box or bags as well as rice, instant potatoes, cereal, hamburger or tuna helper, etc. There is a container in the narthex where church families can drop off their donations on Sundays or any other day they are in the building. Thank You!

3 Women s Association Please join us! Our first meeting this program year will be Monday, September 12 th at 10:00 a.m. in the family living area. We will be studying PHILLIPIANS: JESUS OUR JOY, by Donald Baker. The first discussion titled The God Who Pursues Us based on Acts 16: 6-34 will be led by Fran Merriam. The rest of the study will be based on scripture passages from Philippians that offer help with encouragement, joy, humility, stress-free living, and being better servants of Christ. Books will be given to you at the meeting. No preparation is necessary for this first gathering. Just come ready to reflect on God s word, share your thoughts, and enjoy fellowship. Contact this year s co-moderators Margaret Stitt or Fran Merriam if you have any questions about the group. Hope to see you on the 12 th. Prayer Gathering Invite NPC and VBC Women are invited to join with women in our area for an evening of prayer. Cry Out is a national simulcast gathering on Friday, September 23rd from 7 to 10 p.m.. We can gather with other women at Hope Alliance Bible Church at 5050 Stanley Ave. in Maple Heights. All are invited to a lite dinner at 5:30 at Hope Alliance. If you are interested please contact Jan Stewardship Report The summer has had some high electric bills to offset the many days above 90 degrees! Bigger projects are coming out of our capital improvements fund which are not reflected in the numbers below. AUGUST YEAR TO DATE INCOME: $ 16, ,599 EXPENSES: $ 16, ,651 No Special Fund activity this month. Richard Meyer Gil Polcen Tara Russo Logan Schmid Cynthia Kokenos Jaclyn Russo Sue Foote Trudy Polcen Debbie Czech Tyler Fenn Barb Harbert Ethan Schmid Sydney Fox Billie Mordas Debbie Brooks Debbie Satola Keith Kremyar Stephanie Schmid Rosemary Flanagan Paul Schmid 1-Sep 4-Sep 8-Sep 10-Sep 12-Sep 13-Sep 14-Sep 17-Sep 17-Sep 18-Sep 19-Sep 20-Sep 22-Sep 24-Sep 28-Sep 29-Sep 30-Sep

4 September 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat COMMUNION 5 Labor Day Day Care and Office Closed 6 7pm VBC Dance Team 7 7pm VBC Bible Study am Men s Bible Study at Chick Fil A 11 11:30 Deacons pm VBC Dance Team 14 7pm VBC Prayer :30 Anti-Trafficking Team 19 7pm Session 20 7pm Day Care Board 21 7pm VBC Bible Study Cry Out Prayer Event 24 8am Men s Bible Study at Chick Fil A :30 pm Day Care Family Night 29 6:45 pm Hand Chimes 7:15 pm Choir 30 5:30 pm Community Meal

5 Northfield Presbyterian Church 7755 S. Boyden Rd. Northfield, OH