The Missionary Church East Central District Newsletter

Transcription

1 The Missionary Church East Central District Newsletter Volume 451 June 2012 Hilty Memorial Home Purchased by Mennonite Home The Missionary Church ECD has reached a verbal agreement with Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio to sell to them Hilty Memorial Home in Pandora. Working with an outside firm specializing in the sale of nonprofit nursing homes, the District Executive Board reviewed several proposals, settling on Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio because of their commitment to be Christcentered, upholding many similar values and traditions. By selling Hilty Home to Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio, the facility will continue to operate as a non-profit entity. of Hilty Home, will remain in her same capacity. Joy comments, Hilty Home will have many benefits by joining Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio. We will be able to combine efforts to obtain services, meet regulations, and ascertain long-range plans that the organizations can work on together. Hilty Home will be stronger and better able to carry out their mission by joining a strong organization like Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio. Inside this issue: From Our District Superintendent 2 Kid s Alive! 3 Kid s Kamp 3 Journey 3 From Our Director of District Ministries 4 Coming Events 5 Camp Banquet 6 Laura Voth, CEO of Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio, states, Hilty Home and Mennonite Home have been sister organizations for years, and the idea of working together in a formal fashion just makes sense. Joy Reichenbach, current administrator Camp Meeting Moves to a New Time For the first time in its 127 year history, Ludlow Falls Camp Meeting will be held entirely in the month of July. The Camp Board felt a change was necessary to help alleviate conflicts with summer school activities among our youth campers attending Journey. This year, Camp Meeting will run from Saturday, July 21 to Sunday, July 29, While every cottage and lodge room is spoken for, we do hope many will drive over for a day or two, or at least attend a few evening services. [Cottages and Lodge Rooms are still available for RENEW, August 2-5, 2012]. Speakers Another change to Camp Meeting this year is the decision to have three main camp speakers. Rev. Jeff Getz, East Regional Director for the Missionary Church, will challenge us during the first weekend of camp, with Rev. John Gregory, Senior Pastor at St. Marks Missionary Church in Mishawaka, Indiana preaching the (Continued on page 5.) Your District Team: Rev. Dale Leinbach, District Superintendent dalel@ecdistrict.org Rev. Jeff Gerig, Director of District Ministries jeffg@ecdistrict.org Mrs. Jean Gerig, Secretary jeang@ecdistrict.org Mrs. Wendy Dyke, Financial Secretary wendyd@ecdistrict.org District Office Information: Phone: (937) Fax: (937) Website:

2 Page 2 From Our District Superintendent Learning a New Language Most of you are aware we spent a number of years in Sierra Leone. Probably two of my most difficult years as a missionary were those spent learning the Kuranko language. Edie still remembers the language of the Themne people she grew up among as a missionary child in Sierra Leone while I have lost most of what I learned. Why? There are probably a lot of reasons but one main reason is that I tried to learn Kuranko as an adult, Edie learned Themne when she was a child growing up in Sierra Leone. (Also, Edie continues to speak the Themne language as she meets quite a number of Themnes in Washington DC when she travels there with her job as a tour guide.) The most difficult part of language learning for me was trying to think in the new language. I thought English was the correct way to speak and Kurankos just didn t have it right. For example, we say, I have a knife. The Kurankos say A knife is in my hand. At Camp Meeting last summer Stephan Manley used two phrases consistently: selfsourcing and Spirit-sourcing. Obviously they represent different ways of living. One is living according to what I want, what I think is best, what I believe is the best idea. The other is to live according to the leading and under the power of the Holy Spirit. One is selffocused, self-powered and selfvalued. The other is Spiritfocused, Spirit-powered and Kingdom-valued. I have begun to try to use these phrases to remind myself of how to live as a Christian. I have been asking the Holy Spirit to wake me up when I find myself doing the self-sourcing thing. But in doing so, I have discovered that trying to bring myself back to Spirit-sourcing, I pray in language that is selfsourced. For example, I pray, God help me to focus on you in this situation so I can live the way I should. Then it hits me how much of my prayer focuses on me, just look at the words. I am learning a new language, and it is difficult because I have spoken the language of self for so long. Being a Christian is not about doing the right thing, it is about being in right relationship with God, and that changes the focus. You see, a lot of the wrong language, I learned in church. In the novel, So You Don t Want To Go To Church Anymore by Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman, they write of a scene where a group is trying to be more authentic and are considering meeting in house fellowships. Didn t the early church meet only in homes, especially as it spread outside Jerusalem? Ben added. As far as we know, yes. So then that s the way we should do it, Marsha chimed in. Marsha, Marsha, why do you love that word so much? John asked with deep tenderness in his voice. What word? Marsha acted stunned. The same work that John hasn t been using all night, Roary broke in. He turned to John. I ve listened to you carefully and you haven t used the word should one time tonight. Is that intentional? Why do you ask? I ve been told all of my life what I should and shouldn t do, especially about religious things. But you haven t talked in those terms at all. You seem to see this not as choosing between right and wrong but simply living in a reality that already exists. I thought you would tell us how we should do church. If there is anything I d say we should do, it would be to stop should ing ourselves and others. Certainly there are things that are right and things that are wrong. But we ll only truly know that in Jesus. Remember, he is the TRUTH itself! You will never be able to follow his principles if you re not following him first. Jesus saw this attitude of should, must, etc. in the rich young ruler. Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life? (Matt 19:10) Notice that the focus is on what HE had to DO. Being a Christian is not about doing the right thing, it is about being in right relationship with God, and that changes the focus. Now, my prayers are more like God, keep me aware of the Holy Spirit already in me that my life will be lived for your glory. I am trying to focus more on him and less on me. Join me at camp this summer; we might learn a new language again this year.

3 Page 3 Rallies Inflatables Project Electives Pizza party This year the Youth Ministries Committee made the decision to go back to one dedicated youth camp, Journey, to be held Sunday, July 22-Saturday, July 28, 2012 at Ludlow Falls Camp. A fantastic schedule is being planned, with many off-site activities. The cost for Journey remains the same low price of $130, which when broken down is less than $20 per day! Pastor Chad Seabright, itinerant youth evangelist with the Nazarene Church, returns as our youth speaker for Journey. Chad was our youth camp speaker back in Promotional material for Journey will soon be posted on our district website, under Coming Events. Some scholarships are available, but limited. Contact your local church youth director or the district office for more information.

4 Page 4 From Our Director of District Ministries A Thorn in the Flesh If you ve ever done any gardening before, you know the feeling of picking up brush clippings and getting a thorn prick in the hand, or even worse under your fingernail. It hurts. I mean, it really hurts! I know this from firsthand experience. In life, we experience many thorn pricks, figuratively speaking. We call them our thorns in the flesh, defined as something or someone that continually causes problems; a source of unhappiness. We all have them, whether a physical ailment, a difficult person, or a troublesome situation or circumstance. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul writes about his thorn Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. The Greek word used here by Paul for thorn is not the ordinary word but rather, which means a stake, giving the picture of being impaled. The picture is of Roman hanging, which meant ramming a large stake through a person and then sticking the end of the stake into the ground, leaving the person suspended in the air. Haman, in the book of Esther, made his stake seventy-five feet long so that everyone in the city could see Mordecai suffer. The only thing was that it ended up being Haman on the end of the stick. Ouch! The point is that this was the kind of thorn Paul was experiencing, not a small sticker to the hand, but a stake through the flesh causing considerable, almost unbearable pain. Some say Paul s thorn was a physical ailment, maybe something to do with his eyesight like cataracts, or something disfiguring. There are a few who think it may have been malaria. It could have been something debilitating as a result of one of his beatings. But it s possible that the thorn wasn t physical at all, but spiritual. Some take Paul s words a messenger of Satan to be more literal, concluding that an actual demonic spirit was sent to Paul to torment him. I struggle to see the connection here as to why God would allow this demonic spirit to stay in Paul s life and how it would keep him from being conceited. Another possibility could be that the thorn was a person that Satan was using to discourage Paul and create opposition to his ministry to the Gentiles. I hope you don t find the cartoon sacrilegious but I saw it posted on Facebook and had to laugh. We all have difficult people in our lives; people who drain us emotionally and spiritually. Some cause us significant pain. Paul had Alexander the metalworker (1 Timothy 4:14) and Demetrius (Acts 19). John had Diotrephes (3 John 9). Jesus had more than his share, but particularly Caiaphas, the high priest. Sometimes our thorn comes from people and places we least expect, such as when Satan used Peter to try to get Jesus to change his mind about dying on the cross in Mark 8. Paul prayed three times to have his thorn removed. Jesus also prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane for His thorn to be taken away. In both instances, the thorn remained, God s will was accomplished, and God s grace was sufficient to carry the day. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all Psalms 34:19. As long as we live this life on earth, there will be thorns. As I age, I m learning there will be physical problems. As long as I follow Jesus, there will always be spiritual battles to fight, and life in general tells us that problem people will always cross our path. So what are the positive takeaways from having a thorn in the flesh? Here are a few that come to mind. (Continued on page 5.)

5 Page 5 A Thorn in the Flesh Continued from page 4 1. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are not alone in our afflictions and that God uses them for our spiritual benefit. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our heart knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8: James, like Paul, reminds us that our thorns can be used to build character in us. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2-3 This doesn t mean that we take on a sadistic approach to life, craving pain and hardship, but rather that when a difficulty comes, we see it as an opportunity to better ourselves, to learn lessons in perseverance, patience, and trust. 3. And finally, the Apostle Peter reminds us that our thorns should serve as a reminder that a better day is coming when Christ s glory is revealed and should be seen as a privilege when that suffering is tied to our faith. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:13. That is our blessed hope! No one likes a thorn in the flesh, or a pain in the side, or a pain in the neck, or a pain anywhere else. I go out of my way to get rid of the pain in my life. Who leaves a thorn stuck in their hand? I certainly don t consider it a joy when I find myself in one of those character-building moments. Yet, that is what I see the writers of the Bible asking me to do. To see my thorns in the flesh as opportunities to better myself and draw closer to God, knowing that if I am in His June 16, 2012 Take Me Out to the Ball Game Progressive Field, Cleveland June 24-25, 2012 Kid s Alive! June 25-30, 2012 Kid s Kamp July 21-29, 2012 Camp Meeting July 22-28, 2012 Journey Youth Camp August 2-5, 2012 RENEW will, everything that happens will be for my good. Embrace the journey God has for your life and trust Him to take care of the pain management. Guess it s time to trim the sticker bushes in front of the house. Camp Meeting Continued from page 1 second weekend. Both will alternate during the weeknight evening services. Dr. Dennis Engbrecht, Senior Vice President at Bethel College will be our morning Bible teacher during the week. Worship Carl White will return as our Camp Meeting Worship Leader, but due to health issues, will be with us for only the first weekend. Dan Dinkler, Associate Pastor of Worship Arts at Appleton Alliance Church in Appleton, Wisconsin, has agreed to come and lead in worship for the remainder of the week. We are also pleased to have PROV3RB5, a men s vocal ensemble from Bethel College, with us throughout the second half of Camp Meeting. Special Guests Rev Tom Murphy, Director of Development & Communication for the Missionary Church will be on the grounds Monday, July 23 and Tuesday, July 24 to assist families with Will & Estate Planning. He will host a planning workshop on Monday morning at 9:30 AM in the Ministry Center and is also setting up individual appointments for those dates. (Continued page 6.)

6 Camp Meeting Continued from page 5 Camp Banquet Jim Barron will stop by Camp Meeting on Friday, July 27 for a kid s performance in the Tabernacle at 1:30 PM. Jim is a frequent guest at Ludlow Falls and his zany mix of comedy and illusion never fails to entertain. This year s Family Fun Carnival will be held the last Saturday of camp, July 28 on the ball field beginning at 2:00 PM. As always, the fun and games will not be limited to the kids. We invite you to take advantage of the ministry of Ludlow Falls Camp by attending one of our two camps, Camp Meeting, July 21-29, 2012 or RENEW, August 2-5, They will be special times that make memories for the entire family. This year s annual Camp Sharing Banquet was held in the dining hall at, Saturday, May 5, in conjunction with our annual Cottage Owner s Weekend, when cottage owners and other friends of Ludlow Falls come to help get the campgrounds ready for the summer rental season. Jeremy and Laura Burns shared with the ninety who attended why is special to them. Jeff Warner gave an update on the various upgrades made at the camp, while Jeff Gerig gave an update on the capital campaign, sharing that over fifty percent of monies pledged have been received. We praise the Lord for the very generous offering that was received, with over $10,000 being given to the camp for various projects. The Missionary Church East Central District 607 South Market Street Troy, Ohio U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 325 Non-Profit Organization Troy, Ohio RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED