Heart Beat. Giving The Best Away. of Lebanon Mennonite Church

Transcription

1 VOLUME 28, ISSUE 3 MARCH 2016 Heart Beat of Lebanon Mennonite Church Giving The Best Away Dear Church family, This past weekend Mark Diller, Jeremy Gibson, Tom Leggate and I traveled to Hesston College in beautiful downtown Hesston, Kansas, to attend the Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series Seminar entitled Not Just On Sunday which featured speakers Shane Claiborne and Nes Espinosa. Both Shane and Nes are from a part of The Simple Way...an intentional community in intercity Philadelphia, PA. We had awesome times of worship times, had stimulating conversations, heard inspiring presentations and enjoyed meeting local people from Kansas and people from 16 other states. One of the most memorable/impactful statements I heard was the best is meant to be given away and shared. Shane was telling about his time in India with Mother Teresa and how every year before school started they would throw a big celebration for the street children of Calcutta. One time Shane met a boy who said it was his birthday...but he knew he wasn t getting any presents S. Second Street Lebanon, OR Editor: Lynn Brubaker Reporters: Everyone Pastor: Brent Kauffman Purpose: To promote a spirit of love and caring by getting the heartbeat of the church family in their individual and corporate life activities. All information given to the newsletter must be signed if it is to be printed and if considered controversial may not be used. Please direct any questions, comments or complaints to the editor or pastor. ANNOUNCEMENTS Please stay after the church service today to share in the February birthday dinner potluck.

2 VOLUME 28, ISSUE 3 MARCH 2016 Shane said he felt terrible for the boy and he knew the nuns all said they were not to play favorites...and never give anything to one child that you couldn t give to every child...but he felt so bad for the boy that he decided to sneak the boy an ice cream cone for his birthday...so he got the ice cream cone and smuggled it back into the group of street kids and gave it to the birthday boy. But, instead of discreetly eating the cone quietly, the boy busted Shane and shouted out, Hey! We ve got ice cream! Then the boy lined up all the street kids and with a great smile announced And a lick for you...and a lick for you...and a lick for you...until everyone had their lick...and then proudly said to Shane, And I ve saved a lick for you and I too! Shane said, I faked my lick and the boy triumphantly finished off the cone...and in that instant he had a better understanding of what it meant to really be in community. Acts 4:32-37 tells the story of the early church living in community. Everyone contributed what they had... and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them. (Acts 33c-34a) We are a community of followers of Jesus...and yet in my 60 years as a part of the gathered church family, I have yet to witness or even hear of someone selling property just so they can make a donation to the church. We are a community of followers of Jesus...but we often hold other members of the faith community at arm s length...afraid to get too close or allow other disciples to know the depth of this angst we re experiencing. Once I experienced a similar situation of community and sharing which happened without thought for health implications. I had encountered a homeless man who was asking for anything (food, money, etc) that we d be willing to give him. I told the man I didn t have any money for him but I d get him some burgers at Carl s Junior if he could wait a few minutes...and he agreed to wait for me. When I returned with the burgers several others had joined the man...and after thanking me for the gift... he ripped off the wrapper and took a bite like he hadn t eaten in a month! Immediately he handed the burger to one of his cohorts and they also took large bites without thought or concern for personal dental hygiene

3 of the other person! The first burger was gone by the time each person had two bites and then they devoured the second burger in the same manner. From the germ perspective, I was appalled! There appeared to be no reservation about sharing bites on the same sandwich without knowing when the last time one of the biters had brushed their teeth, or if they had a cold or some other disease. But I also had a glimpse of their true community...they accepted each other exactly like they were! They shared the best of what they had at that moment...the food that they each desperately needed! The Micah House Update (last month s submission) As a committee we continue to meet monthly and are currently working on ideas for fundraising, forms needed for volunteers, flyer for distribution in the community, procedural forms for start-up and insurance questions. Fresno Pacific is still interested in working with us to see if they might have a grad student interested in volunteering for a school year. We will continue to update the church as we progress with this project. Stephanie Fisher I think we (LMC) can learn from both of these stories. We often have a strict code of conduct or cultural hurtles that people must cross before we allow them to enjoy the benefits, love and acceptance of community. God loves each of us unconditionally and the best we have to offer is God s love! How can we do better at extending God s love to all people? How can we be more efficient as conduits of mercy and grace as we allow God s love to flow through us into a hurting community? Let s talk more! Keep the Faith! Pastor Brent MARCH MEMORY VERSE The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Luke 4:18-19

4 LMC Board Minutes January 20, 2016 Attendance: Pastor Brent Kauffman, Mark Diller, Erika Harris, Sheri Miller, Roger Snook Minutes: Pastor Brent opened with scripture and prayer. Minutes from November board meeting were approved. The church calendar for February was reviewed. Commission Reports: Resource: Roger reported that batteries and lights were checked. The AED battery is now on a schedule to be checked monthly. The roof will be inspected. Re-sealing the asphalt parking lot is advised. Resource will look into security lights for entryway. Nurture: Erika noted that the children s Christmas program was successful in involving children and encouraging visitors. No events are planned in the next month. Outreach: Sheri noted that there will be a combined birthday/anniversary potluck on 1/24. One of the fridges was left propped open. Sug gested a reminder to the congregation about double checking that fridge doors are closed. Fellowship: Brent reported for Jeremy. Pastoral Care: Brent reported from Rod s . PCC Continues to meet the 2 nd Tuesday of each month. Sunday morning prayer time continues in Associate Pastor s office. Focusing on scripture and listening. Invite others to participate and pray regarding ministry opportunities. Held congregational breakfast/ discussion time regarding Associate Pastor position. Continuing to discuss what that might look like. Encouraging LMC members to consider how each of us might help fill the gap regarding youth ministry and other opportunities. Pastor s Report: Katherine Pitts from PNMC will be speaking Jan 31. Bob Buxman is the new District Pastor. Will be at LMC Feb. 28. Hesston College AVDS seminar Feb Being the Church - Not Just on Sunday. Youth trip to Navajo Nation Reservation July MDS trip scheduled for March has been cancelled. Brent will be attending his father s memorial in Montana in March. Prayer Summit Feb. 1-3.

5 Brent attended PNMC Conference Communication meeting in Salem. Good spirit among differences. Kids Korner Transformation Lebanon Community worship with pastors from Roseburg. Micah house committee is working on grants plus working with Fresno Pacific University and OSU. Ash Wednesday service without Albany Mennonite this year. Good Friday service with Albany. Mental Health meeting with Mike Rinkin will not be held until February due to health issue. 1. One step forward, two steps back 2. Double or nothing 3. Peppermint twist 4. Forefathers 5. Enroll 6. Addresses Brent acknowledged those having surgery and recovering from surgery as well as those dealing with recent losses. Treasurer s Report: Jill reported that giving is above budget at this time. December giving is usually very good, but tends to be lower in the summer. Old Business: Micah House planning continues (mentioned in pastor s report). 1. You can count on it 2. Foot in the door 3. No can do 4. Honest to goodness 5. Way overpriced 6. Living on a shoestring New Business: Announcement will be made to congregation about commission nominations coming up. Meeting Adjourned Respectfully submitted, Mark Diller, Church Board Chair 1. Drawn to scale 2. Round of Applause 3. Splitting Hairs 4. They're all the same 5. There's no end to it 6. Different strokes for different folks

6 March Birthdays 1st ~ Basil Gregory, th ~ Ron Litwiller, th ~ Willard Nofziger, th ~ Mike Yoder, th ~ Ryan Sottolano, th ~ Moses Mast, th ~ Joan Baker, th ~ Phoebe Hankins, st ~ Karen Gregory, rd ~ Darwyn Gerig, th ~ Sydney Boshart, th ~ Carter Shank, th ~ Anne Jantzi, th ~ Amy Borntreger, th ~ Rachel Hankins, th ~ Ginae Boshart, th ~ Martin Brubaker, th ~ Erica Miller, st ~ Bob Baker, 1956 Anniversaries 41 years 3/08 ~ Brent/Debbie Kauffman 6 years 3/27 ~ Joshua/Diana Zinda