MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF WALNUT GROVE CHRISTIAN CHURCH OCTOBER 2016 VOLUME 10

Transcription

1 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF WALNUT GROVE CHRISTIAN CHURCH OCTOBER 2016 VOLUME 10 We will be doing 2 events this year! Moore Park in Arcola Sunday, October 30 th 4:30pm, walk 5pm United Methodist Church in Humboldt Monday, October 31 st 5:30pm 7pm

2 Eunice Club will meet on October 17 th at WGCC. Cereal Eunice Club Luncheon October 15 th WGCC Auction will start at 11:30am, will eat at 12:00pm. BEGINNING OCTOBER 4 TH True faith produces fruit. A faith without action and without life change is ultimately a dead faith. The book of James speaks to the realities of a living faith in Jesus the kind of roll-up-your-sleeves and get-your-hands-dirty discipleship that is borne out of an authentic relationship with the risen Lord. James writes to believers who know suffering, who've faced trials, and who ultimately desire a deep relationship with God. Through 6 sessions, Francis Chan works through James verse-by-verse, challenging followers of Christ to move beyond a private, intellectual knowledge of God and His Word, to a vibrant faith that impacts every square inch of life. Meeting places: 1pm (Edwards Funeral Home) (Terry & Lynn Leffler s Home) (Vaughn & Debbie Plunkett s Home) (Frances Hudson s Home)

3 From our Pastor... Try to contain your excitement surrounding the 2016 Presidential Election. I know it is tough not to get a little giddy when you see another television ad for one of the front-runners, yard signs or bumper stickers, latenight stand-up routines or stirring stump speeches with the prepackaged lines. You probably plan your dinner around the well timed and conveniently scheduled robo-calls which help magnify your voice as part of the democratic process. There is something about the election cycle that seems to bring out the best in people, healing any momentary fractures, offering vision which rallies us towards a shared peace. I know Tuesday, November 8 th ; you will go to your voting place eager to cast your vote. The only apprehensive moment is when our excitement is tempered by our worry in having to hurt the runner up s feelings. If only there was an option (D) All of the above. How are we supposed to choose between two highly skilled candidates who are defined by words such as integrity, honor, and service? Alright, enough is enough. I ll stop. There is enough to laugh at in the political sphere without me adding anything. With each passing week, you ve probably heard people express their frustration surrounding the entire process, parties and politicians. Politicians are turned into punch lines, accusations are shot back and forth like flaming arrows, and apathy sets in as many plug their ears and find their eyes glazing over. In the midst of this type of atmosphere, I want to give you a word of warning and a word of wisdom. Let s start with the warning. As much as you might be inclined to retreat from the marketplace of ideas, to pull back from the fracas which is forming a government, remember that our politicians always reflect those who vote. In 2012, the Bipartisan Policy Center found that some 93 million eligible citizens did not vote. Furthermore, our leaders are always a lagging indicator of where we are headed and who we have become collectively as a society, not a leading indicator. In other words, they rarely cause radical change, while they often reflect radical change. It is time as Christians that we re-focus not on changing how those around us vote, but on offering those around us the hope of a changed heart through Jesus Christ. In way of encouragement, remember, you are not the first people facing a society which seems to be headed in a way counter to your beliefs. You are not the first people wrestling in a world that doesn t quite seem to understand your worldview or perspective. In fact, God gave voice to these concerns as the Israelites faced life as exiles in Babylon. In Jeremiah 29:5-7a we hear God s advice in response, Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your son and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there, do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it God didn t say withdraw, sabotage, ignore, but instead pray. He told them to invest, engage, and multiply. In fact, despite their faithlessness before exile, he put them in a place where they could live out their faith in God, where the darkness of Babylon could be contrasted with the light of Yahweh, and where the captive could radically change the heart of the captor. As the intensity over the next month builds, allow your prayers for our nation to increase in proportion. As the barbs between parties pick up why not respond with bent knees. Remember, it is God who is sovereign; it is Christ who saves, and as you cast your vote between two imperfect people allow your faith to shine bright, your heart to be guided by God, and your vote to reflect something greater than just belonging to a political party. Pray. Engage. Vote. - Steven

4 Friday Food Packs for Kids WGCC has partnered with the Arcola school district to help with their Friday Food program. Too often, a child s last real meal is at lunch on Friday and they won t get another one until school starts Monday morning. This program helps with that. With this program, kids are given a bag of food/snacks to take home with them each Friday so they have food for the weekend. We would like to keep the snacks as healthy as possible, however that can be a challenge with nonperishable foods. We also need to make sure they are individual sizes! Kids will be discretely carrying the bags home, so small sizes are a must! Here is a list of suggestions the school has provided for us: Applesauce (snack cups) Fruit cups Soup/Spaghettios (cans...kid friendly) Pretzels & crackers (little snack bag size) Pudding cups Juice boxes/ Capri Sun Granola bars Easy Mac - Macaroni & Cheese (the ones that are individual, you just put them in the microwave) Individual boxes of cereal (the travel size boxes that come with 6-8 different kinds of cereal in a pack) This is an ongoing commitment for us; please consider making this a regular addition to your giving. If you have any questions, please contact Carol Nelson or the office. As mentioned earlier, we will be doing 2 Trunk or Treat events this year. We will be hosting our normal one at Moore Park in Arcola and this year, we ve also been asked to help with the Humboldt United Methodist Church s event. All summer we ve been doing outreach to Humboldt and this is a GREAT way to continue that. Since trunks will already be set up from our Arcola Trunk or Treat, it will be easy to just leave your trunk set up and bring it on out to Humboldt the next day. As always, we need as many trunks as we can get to make this a success. This is one of our most popular events and the kids look forward to getting to show off their costume one extra day! There is a sign-up sheet on the connection bulletin board. If you would like to help out but don t want to do a trunk, we will need help serving food as well! There will be a place on the sign-up sheet for that as well. We need you!

5 October 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Nursing Home Admin Office Closed Family Fun 4pm Men s 12pm Council 6:30pm Office Closed Penny Chupp Meals Gavin Coombe Wheels Eunice Club Luncheon Eunice 9am Jeff & Lisa Edwards Denny & Pat Johnson Trunk or 4:30 (Arcola) Team Mtgs. Albert & Ivy Beachy Alex Hoshauer Dean & Carol Nelson Lora Coslet Trunk or 5:30pm (Humboldt)

6 ` Phone Boothe I was looking at a phone book today. It got me thinking a few things. Firstly I was slightly shocked that companies still spend money to give these away freely. Second I thought to myself, to have your name in that book is kind of special. It means that at some point you might be special enough for someone to look up your name and call you up to talk just to you. That is kind of special in this day and age. anyone can send a Facebook message, anyone can text you, but someone willing to take time out of their day to look you up, know how to spell your name, in my case remember the "e" on the end, and find you then dial the phone to call. Also to be in the Coles-Douglas, Charleston, etc. phone book means that you have a home in that area. As I was thinking about this I thought to myself there is a book in heaven in which God has scribed my name down in ink. God took time to list my name among the greats. It means that I have a home there with God. It means that God will one day look up my name and say, "well done my good and faithful servant, in you I am well pleased." Jesus has paid the price for your name to be placed in the book of life. Follow Him with all your heart, and you one day will hear those words, the words worth all of the costs of life. Praise God -Aaron ` Published and mailed by Walnut Grove Christian Church E County Road 1700N Arcola IL Office Phone (217) WORSHIP 10:30am SUNDAY SCHOOL 9:30am FELLOWSHIP 9:00am OR CURRENT RESIDENT Steven Stern Pastor Aaron Boothe Youth Pastor Tera Arnold.Ministry Assistant Deanna Woolley.Bookkeeper Diana Groff. Custodian