Cross Words February, 2016

Transcription

1 We will offer ashes from 10 a.m. 3 p.m. on Ash Wednesday, February 10 th, at the church. Stop by the church anytime and the minister will be available for individual prayer and the imposition of ashes. Ashes will also be available at the Women of Waukee (WOW) meeting that evening. Why do we mark that day with ashes? Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent a time when Christians prepare for Easter by setting aside time for repentance, moderation, and spiritual discipline. The use of the ashes is a sign of our mortality and sorrow for sins. The ashes are made from palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday service. In that way, they also point us to Jesus sacrifice and resurrection. May this Ash Wednesday be a blessing and may the ashes be an outward sign of your spiritual need to be close to the God who loves you. Did you enjoy New Years? I watched bowl games from the couch and ate some chocolate (traditions in my family). And I was struck by how often I heard phrases about Adventure. The 2016 Rose Bowl Parade theme was Find Your Adventure. Iowa State University s catch phrase has been Choose Your Adventure. And our son Jason and his family went to find their Disney Adventure. When I was a child, I loved reading adventure stories. They sparked the imagination and offered choices that could lead to a dungeon or a pot of gold. I learned that life was an adventure in which small decisions could have big consequences. African-American mystic, teacher, and spiritual guide Howard Thurman described our lives as a holy adventure in which our small actions shape what the universe will become. Each decision we make in the course of the day offers new opportunities for a relationship with God and with creation. Maybe you ve never thought about God inviting you to go on an adventure. Let that be Lent for you an invitation to recognize God s presence in your every day. Choose your own Adventure! Partner up with God in creating the world you hope for. Begin a journey that joins the cosmic and your humanity in shaping the health of the planet as well as your own body, mind, and spirit. There is nothing boring about being Christian. It s exciting! What might happen if you chose to affirm throughout the 40 days of lent the following words: I am on a holy adventure with God? Let s begin. Blessings, Pastor Sue T Avenue P.O. Box 278 Phone: WaukeeChristianChurch.com

2 February, 2015 The next CWF meeting will be February 3 at 9:30 AM at the church. Have you purchased your cookbook yet? It is not too late to do that. The recipes are so good that you will want to try them all. Call the church, Ruth Sindt, or Evelyn Dowell and we will save you a cookbook. They make great birthday, thank you or hostess gifts! Between the Covers book club will meet at 6:00 pm on Monday, February 29 th (Leap Day!) to review The Girl in the Spider s Web (crime/fiction) by David Lagercrantz. See you there! Let Your Resolution be God s Solution How do you carry on a conversation with Jesus? If he were sitting right beside you would you be attentive or uneasy? Would you feel comfortable or apprehensive? Marilyn Dowell led the WOW ladies at their January meeting hoping that they would make New Year resolutions keeping in mind what Jesus would say to them if they had the opportunity to just sit and talk with Him. Using the book Jesus Calling, a daily devotional guide, by Sarah Young, a missionary who wrote the book as if Jesus were speaking to you directly, Marilyn used it as a sample of daily devotions that urged us to view each day as an adventure, carefully planned out by your Guide. We are reminded to thank Him for this day of life realizing that it is a precious unrepeatable gift. He will tell you that He is with you every moment. Would Jesus point out your weaknesses? Would He call us out for our attempts to look good? Or would he open our hearts and minds to receive all the gifts he has for us. He would tell us how to transfer our weakness to strengths. And He would urge us to talk to Him. Marilyn suggested that we make our New Year s resolution to do daily devotions as a way to become closer to God. And if Jesus were sitting beside you in conversation, he probably would tell you that a life lived close to Him will never be dull or predictable. The group finalized plans for the Garden Party to be held March 19thand the Church-Wide garage sale to be held the weekend of the All-City Garage Sale on May 7th. We discussed a work day at Ronald McDonald house. Tammy shared a Christmas card from Victor Kumar of Andhra Pradish, India, who was a recipient of a gift from our church. We are thinking that it would be a shoebox or one of the other outreach projects that have come from our church. Karen Neese provided a yummy dessert. The next meeting will be held at Vicki Teas home at 6:30 pm on February 10th.

3 Thanks to The Youth, musicians, and worship leaders for a wonderful Christmas Eve Service George Risinger, Kathy Dean, and all who helped lead worship during Pastor Sue s surgery Keep the WOW garage sale in mind as you are cleaning closets! Put items aside until spring. Stay tuned for more information! The Elves who helped pack away Christmas decorations for another year Everyone who participated in planning our 2016 ministries Those who called on or cared for someone this month Everyone who came out for January Thaw Games What is AmazonSmile? AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when customers shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers. Waukee Chistian Church is one of the charitable organizations that can be selected! So what are you waiting for? Get shopping today!! Dear church family, Thank you for surprising me with a monetary gift at Christmas. My gift to you is serving as I was called. I look forward to getting to know many of you better in the New Year. Blessings always, Pastor Julie Cornelius Your giving is important to the future ministry of God s church in this place. Please give generously and with a cheerful heart. Receipts Expenses October November December $ 9, $ 10, $ 18, $ 11, $ 9, $ 14, Difference ($ 2,310.05) $ 1, $ 3, Money available for expenses $22, $23, $ 27,341.24

4 02/03 Jamie Keller 02/04 Dennis Dowell 02/08 Lorrie Grandgenett 02/12 Alan Finestead 02/19 Vivian Smith 02/23 Sadie Infante 02/25 Charlotte Swallow 02/25 Gavin Reeck 02/27 John McKinney 02/28 Brad Baier 02/29 Joe Younger Let us know if we missed your special day! Dear Church Friends, A note of special thanks to Linda O Hair and Linda Wilcox for taking over the preparation and serving of the Thanksgiving Feast, along with so many others of our church family and friends stepping right in to make it such a delicious feast to be shared by all with a time of fellowship and giving thanks. Thank you so much friends, Lorrie Grandgenett You ve Seen Them Care Now Show You Care About Them! Do you know someone who takes care of a friend or loved one? Then you probably know someone who could use a lift. We challenge you to do a Random Act of Kindness for a caregiver. Take a photo of your random act and post it on the Waukee Christian Church s Facebook page. Then challenge your friends to do the same for someone in their lives. Need ideas? Here are 8 ideas for you to use! 1. Take their kids or grandkids to a movie 2. Do some holiday shopping for them 3. Bring over a guitar and sing familiar songs 4. Stop by with a board game to play 5. Take them out for coffee 6. Teach them a skill they admire you for 7. Visit them with a pet that has a sweet disposition 8. Send them flowers Stay tuned! We will be posting more ideas in the months to come! But just in case the snow is too deep or the ice to thick, the Chair of the Board and the Minister will decide what s in the best interest of Waukee Christian Church members and friends. If Church activities are cancelled for any reason, notice will be sent through our One Call Now phone system. Please make sure the office has your preferred phone number. We will also make attempts to have the information on local television stations. Stay safe!

5 OK, so it s not breakfast but pancakes are good for lunch too, right? Please join us after worship on February 7 th for a pancake lunch. There will be a free-will offering to help support the mission trip to Rippling Hope in Detroit later this year.

6 February Serving Schedule February 7 th 14 th 21 st 28 th Communion Prep & Clean-up Linda O Hair Cheri May Linda O Hair Jan De Jong March Serving Schedule March 6 th 13 th 20 th 27 th Communion Prep & Clean-up Dave Grandgenett Beckie Myers Cheri May Audrey MacRae A/V Jason Keller George Risinger Dave Grandgenett Suzanne Koch Greeter Suzanne Koch Naomi Brumfield Jim Pfeifer Rosalie Pfeifer Youth Greeter Ximen Markway Austin Younger Alayna Younger Alice Ruggles Candle Lighter Austin Younger Suzanne Koch Linda O Hair Alayna Younger Children s Moment George Risinger Kathy Dean Pastor Sue Woods George Risinger Reader Tammy Hardersen Cimberly Hansen Cheri May Sue MacRae Communion Invitation & Offering/Communion Server Linda O Hair Julie Cornelius Juanita McBeth George Risinger Call to Offering & Offering Prayer Cimberly Hansen Linda O Hair Suzanne Koch Jerry Woods Communion Prayer Cathy Conklin Juanita McBeth Cimberly Hansen Cathy Conklin Offering & Communion Servers Shari Burgus Audrey MacRae Ron Hardersen Tammy Hardersen Fellowship Naomi Brumfield Sue MacRae Linda O Hair Shari Burgus Food Pantry Delivery Visiting Shepherds Lock up after church Water Indoor plants A/V Jason Keller Jerry Woods Dave Grandgenett Suzanne Koch Greeter Robin Younger Joe Younger Sarah Infante Karen Neese Youth Greeter Alayna Younger Alice Ruggles Zoey Koch Sam Ruggles Candle Lighter Austin Younger Linda O Hair Suzanne Koch Alayna Younger Children s Moment Pastor Sue Woods George Risinger Kathy Dean Pastor Sue Woods Reader George Risinger Cathy Conklin Shari Burgus Ron Hardersen Communion Invitation & Offering/Communion Server Julie Cornelius Juanita McBeth George Risinger Cathy Conklin Call to Offering & Offering Prayer Juanita McBeth Shari Burgus Ron Hardersen Tammy Hardersen Communion Prayer Cathy Conklin Juanita McBeth Cimberly Hansen Jerry Woods Offering & Communion Servers Lorrie Grandgenett George Risinger Cathy Conklin Juanita McBeth Fellowship Marilyn Dowell Ron/Tammy Hardersen Karen Neese Cimberly Hansen Food Pantry Delivery Visiting Shepherds Lock up after church Water Indoor plants Jan De Jong Ron/Tammy Hardersen Ron Hardersen George Risinger Sarah Infante Cimberly Hansen/Jerry Woods Tammy Hardersen Karen Neese

7 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Knit Wits 1:00 pm CWF 9:30 am Lent Begins 7 lunch am Sunday School 10 am Worship 1 14 st Sunday in Lent am Sunday School 10 am Worship Support Team Mtg. 11:45 am Knit Wits 1:00 pm Knit Wits 1:00 pm 2 21 nd Sunday in Lent am Sunday School 10 am Worship Knit Wits 1:00 pm Imposition of Ashes 10 am 3 pm WoW 6:30 pm at Vicki Teas Lenten Soup Supper 5:45 pm Newsletter Articles Due 3 28 rd Sunday in Lent 29 9 am Sunday School 10 am Worship Lenten Soup Supper 5:45 pm 6:00 pm

8 Waukee Christian Church T Avenue P.O. Box 278 Waukee, Iowa WORSHIP SCHEDULE 9:00 am Education Hour (Adults, Busy Bee s, High School) 10:00 am Worship Service 11:00 a.m. Coffee 11:15 a.m. Youth Group (Elementary/Middle School) OUR STAFF Pastor: Reverend Sue Woods Visiting Pastor: Julie Cornelius Admin. Assistant: Lanita Cavanaugh CHURCH OFFICE... Office Hours Monday-Wednesday-Thursday 8:30AM 3:30PM Phone (515) waukeechristianchurch@msn.com Website waukeechristianchurch.com Like us on Facebook! Waukee Christian Church Waukee Christian Church NOTICE: If you no longer wish to receive the WCC newsletter, please notify the office at If you would like to receive this newsletter electronically, send your address to waukeechristianchurch@msn.com. Thank you. ~ We are People of the Table ~ ~Living Faith on the Edge of Waukee ~ Connecting people to each other and the world. Growing spiritually through the renewing of our minds. Honoring the Image of God in all people. The Waukee Christian Church Newsletter is published monthly.