THE WINDOW OCTOBER 2015

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1 THE WINDOW OCTOBER 2015 ANDERSON HILLS CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST) Update received from the Extreme Team The Fellowship Hall is painted and is nearly completed. It looks lovely and fresh. There are some finishing touches to be accomplished and it is the Team s hope and intent to have it all completed by Turkey Dinner time! The Youth Room is currently a work in progress. An energetic crew worked on Saturday to prepare this space for painting on Saturday, October 3rd. VOLUNTEER PAINTERS ARE STILL NEEDED! Contact Nancy Martin Finishing work is still needed to complete the largest room on the left hallway and the Junior Worship Room on the right hallway (between the kitchen and nursery). New light fixtures have been installed in the hallways around Fellowship Hall. The Team has a Financial Goal of $3,000 with $1,600 already given. Prayerfully consider making a contribution to this fund. This money is for a variety of items needed in order to put ALL the finishing touches in the areas currently being worked on. The most recent group of workers to be thanked are: Gayle Roush, Addie Reese, Laurie VanDierendonck, Susan Smith, Greg VanDierendonck, Al Eichorn, Sean Riffle and Nancy Martin. Next Clean-Up and Work Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 24th, 9 AM - 1 PM IPM Mobile Pantry at AHCC Wed. Oct 7 9 am noon Volunteers always needed * Contact Kathy Zwayer Film Screening and Discussion Tuesday, October 6, :30-9:00 PM Explore the legacy of slavery through the documentary film, "Slavery by Another Name" Location: Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 1950 Nagel Rd., Anderson Township This program is free and open to the public. Inside this issue: Pastor s Note 2 Prayer Requests 3 Disciples Women 4 Editorial Cinti Enquirer 5 Serving in October 7 Birthdays/Anniversaries 7 October Dates 8

2 Page 2 From my heart Once there was a church that hired a toymaker for an architect. He made church pews so they were like crazy putty. They could be bent so people could see each other. Once the people turned the pews back to back and it worked. There is hardly a Sunday when they have them all in long, straight rows. People can make the pew any shape they want depending on what they want to do. Well, I don t think we ll be having crazy putty pews anytime soon but the story is a reminder that we don t want to become so rigid in our ways (or thinking) that we can t try things out and see what happens. It is great to have the choir back in our Sunday worship; it is uplifting to see new faces in the pews; it is exciting to see the Education and Fellowship Hall areas getting a new and fresh look. There is new energy flowing as the Worship Team meets and considers how worship can continue providing people with the opportunity to have an encounter with God. The Ministry Team, newly formed had their first meeting in September and they are working on prioritizing their tasks and considering goals for the months ahead. It is inspiring to see the generosity of people caring for people outside the church with outreach projects like socks and underwear, critical need items for IPM and soon coats and outer wear for children. It is encouraging to be meeting with area pastors and members of GAPP (Greater Anderson Promotes Peace) to plan and co-ordinate learning and interactive events to help fight racism. On page 5 of this newsletter you can read the editorial that was in the Cincinnati Enquirer which is just one outcome of our meetings. The Transition Team continues to meet and is currently looking at the infrastructure of the church to figure out how things might be structured differently to meet the current needs of the congregation as well as be appropriate for the current size of the congregation while allowing for the growth that is coming. I believe they will have a proposal for the Board to consider in January. Romans 12:9-21 are verses that hold good practical instructions for the church inside AND outside of the building. Grab your Bible and take a look - simple to understand, not necessarily easy to accomplish. I continue to thank God for each one of you - God has brought us together for a reason which we may never completely understand but as we pray and trust, God will always show us the next step. Blessings, Rev. Nancy Communication Update Communication takes many forms. The beautiful transformation that is taking place in the education and fellowship wing says a lot. It says we care about our surroundings and want to have a pleasant, warm, welcoming environment. It shows that we are planning for an exciting future, not struggling to hold it together or keeping a tight grip on the past. It shows that we have people who care and who put their time and resources into their church home. Changes are happening in the office as well. Beginning next week we start using our church management software to build our database and groups to track attendance, streamline mailings, and overall make things much easier than having to manage the many different lists that Lynda manually manages in the office. This software will do much more for us as we learn how best to use its features. These are just a couple of things happening in the realm of communication. As always, please let me know if you have any ideas on how we can make improvements. Thanks, Karen Serenil.

3 Page 3 Prayers for Russ & Gail Halsey Jeff Tincher Jim McSorley Linda Cary s Father Jim Hackney Georgia & Wayne Barnes Robert Tincher Jeff Tincher Linda Cary Family of Jim McSorley Family of Tabitha Clim Family of Martha Drew Thanksgivings Linda Cary Teri Crouch Cindy Thomas Joys Jonathan Payne Marriage of Brad Smith & Maureen Boeing Don Shellabarger Marriage of Carl Brinker & Eisha Buch Kathy Zwayer Blessings for the marriage of Brad Smith and Maureen Boeing. Wedding ceremony took place at their home on September 5, 2015 Blessings for the marriage of Carl Brinker and Eisha Buch. Wedding ceremony took place in Colorado on September 19, Jim McSorley passed away September 16. Services were held at Holy Trinity Church in Batavia on Monday, September 21, The graveside service was at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Mt. Healthy. Reconciliation Ministry Special Offering SCHOOL YARDS NOT PRISON YARDS. This year's theme, #ReconciliationGeneration: School Yards Not Prison Yards, is undergirded by Psalm 78 which reminds us of God's steadfast blessings in our past and present, and God's faithfulness toward restorative justice. God's unfathomable grace toward each of us informs our courage to impact future generations for Christ's shalom. As the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ,) we are committed to addressing racism as a sin and restoring all of God's children to the fullness of their humanity. Special Offering will be received Sept 27 and Oct 4 Save the date!! TURKEY DINNER will be on November 14, 2015

4 Page 4 Disciples Women The October meeting of Disciples Women will take place on Wednesday evening, October 14. Officers will meet at 6:30 to take care of any business and the meeting will start at 7:00 with refreshments and a short fellowship time, followed by our Bible Study: Red Hot Faith. Be sure to mark your calendar now for AHCC s annual Turkey Dinner which is not too far away, November 14. For the second year we will offer a Bake Sale where all kinds of desserts can be purchased to take home. Last year s Bake Sale was very successful so we are asking all bakers (or occasional bakers) to bring in something to sell. Last year we had a great variety of items: cupcakes, cake pops, breads, muffins, all kinds of cookies and pies, and this variety made our sale very appealing. Use your imagination and help our Bake Sale! Disciples Women will be collecting coats for kids attending Brantner Elementary School for our October Service project. There will be a sign up sheet available starting in October for those wanting to purchase a coat when the opportunity becomes available. We will work closely with a representative from Brantner who will contact us that a child is in need of a coat, hat and gloves for the upcoming winter months. Once the need is identified a person on the sign-up sheet will be notified to purchase the coat within 24 to 48 hours in order for us to get the coat to the child in need. If you want to support this service but do not think you will have time to go out and purchase the coat you can give a donation for the coat and we will do the shopping for you. Thank you in advance for your support. AHCC collected a total of 478 items for the Socks and Underwear drive. Thank you for your generosity. Our donation will be delivered to the City Gospel Mission soon. September we partnered with AHCC youth to collect much needed items for IPM. Our collection was successful and we thank you for your generosity. Our donation will be delivered to IPM soon.

5 Opinion: Anderson tackling racism head-on Louise Lawarre and Henry Zorn 12:34 p.m. EDT September 23, 2015 (Editorial: Cincinnati Enquirer) Women pray Thursday at a makeshift memorial on the sidewalk in front of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in June after the slayings of nine African Americans, including the pastor.(photo: AP file) Louise Lawarre is executive director of Greater Anderson Promotes Peace and Henry Zorn is pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Anderson Township. The shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, earlier this summer has been deeply troubling to us and other people of faith in Anderson Township. This act of racially motivated violence took us back to 1998 when a swastika was painted on the home of a Jewish family in our community. That act of hatred prompted 21 congregations to respond with a declaration that said, in part, that silence condones acts of hatred while action demonstrates our community s desire to be welcoming. We believe that our churches and our community continue to be bound by that declaration. Three months following the heinous shooting at Emanuel AME Church, racism continues to dominate the daily news. We who live in substantially white communities like Anderson Township may be comfortably insulated from racism which makes it easier for us to be part of the problem. We recently read a perspective that convicted us to the core and reminded us of why we cannot be silent, essentially condoning acts of hatred. It s not hard to fume at the thought of the killer of Mother Emanuel s Nine, Lisa Sharon Harper, senior director of mobilizing, wrote in the September/October issue of Sojourners magazine. And it feels good to click like and share posts calling for the removal of Confederate flags. But if we stop there, bias beats us. It is the unconscious biases of the masses that keep us from moving forward, not the explicit biases of the few. Conversation around this sensitive and complicated issue of racism is not easy, but it is necessary. In Anderson Township, a group of concerned individuals in our interfaith community, along with members of Greater Anderson Promotes Peace, have been meeting to dialogue about racism and how we can respond with action that transforms hatred into welcome. We are asking some questions: How can we, living in substantially white Anderson Township, become more aware of, informed about and sensitive to matters of racism? How do we get in touch with our unconscious biases? How can we better understand the concerns and experiences of people of color? We are developing a program that we will offer to our community. Our first event, Oct. 6 at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 1950 Nagel Road, will be a film screening and discussion of the documentary Slavery by Another Name, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Douglas A. Blackmon. The event, 6:30-9 p.m., is open to the public. Our conversations and planning are ongoing, and we hope to continue talking and offering programs well into next year to grow our awareness and understanding of racism. In respect for those who died at Mother Emanuel Church and those who continue to suffer the oppression of racism each day, we simply cannot rest. In Anderson Township we are attempting to do the hard work to repent of our bias and be people of action working toward a unified vision of what it means to be community, fostering the common good of all. Page 5

6 Page 6 Sundays at 9:30 AM The group is now discussing the book, Whole: A Call to Unity in Our Fragmented World, written by Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Cleanup & Work Day at AHCC Saturday * October 24 * 9 am - 1 pm Contact: Sean Riffle AHCC has been invited to share in St. Timothy s Blessing of the Animals for St. Francis Day. Sunday, October 4 at 2 pm on the lawn behind St. Tim s. They will have a little liturgy and then individually bless all the pets. This event is done in conjunction with LCR. IPM Mobile Pantry at AHCC Wed. Oct 7 9 am noon Volunteers always needed IPM s Music with a Mission Offers Melodic Melodies The 2 nd Annual Music with a Mission benefit concert will take place on October 18 at 3 p.m. at Armstrong Chapel in Indian Hill. The concert featuring approximately seven church choirs and musicians will benefit Inter Parish Ministry s (IPM) Choice Food and Clothing Pantries. Kristy Swift, Music Director at Newtown United Methodist Church is coordinating the choirs. Former IPM Executive Director, David Meredith will emcee the event that raises funds through a lively voting process after each performance. Over $7,000 was raised last year. The event will conclude with the entire ensemble of choirs performing under the direction of Ben Basone, Music Director at Armstrong Chapel and Neal Hamlin, Music Director at Hyde Park United Methodist Church. Refreshments will be served in the church atrium following the concert. Prepare for an afternoon of beautiful, inspiring music as choirs lift their voices in song. There is no charge for the event. But, attendees will want to vote with dollars to support IPM and thank the musicians.

7 Serving in October... Page 7 Worship Leaders Oct 4 Worship Team Oct 11 Worship Team Oct 18 Worship Team Oct 25 Worship Team Deacon and Fellowship Snack Schedule Greeter Karen Serenil (10/18) Preparers Doug Roush (10/4) Cindy Thomas (10/11) Usher Teri Crouch (10/25) Subs All Deacons should be prepared to sub Junior Worship Oct 4 th - Cinda Thompson Oct 11 th Jennie Cox Oct 18 th Laurie VanDierendonck Oct 25 th - Children in Worship Today Elders Oct 4 th - Sean Riffle/ Scott Shellabarger Oct 11 th Laurie VanDierendonck/ Gayle Roush Oct 18 th Susan Smith/ Katy Lee Oct 25 th Gayle Roush/ Sean Riffle ~Church Office Info~ Pastor Hours Rev. Nancy A. Eichorn s office hours will vary from week to week. Please check with her or call the church office for current hours. Secretary Hours Lynda s hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. If you would like your name removed from our Monthly Newsletter, please respond to this or call the church office at (513) , and we will promptly remove your name. If you would like to receive your newsletter in printed form, please let us know that, too. Thank you. ~AHCC Fellowship Hall Rentals~ Karate: Tuesday & Thursday 5:30 8:00 pm, Saturday 9:00 10:30 am. Contact Kim Webber at October Birthdays 10/1 Bob Gibbs 10/3 Charlie Cox 10/5 Tony Gemma 10/7 Amy Sanders 10/10 Patricia (Hall) Crane 10/12 John Martin Jr. Tom Moore 10/17 Greg VanDierendonck 10/18 Mary Alice Zwayer 10/26 Shannon Harwood 10/30 John Branch 10/30 Gabe Lyon October Anniversaries 10/11 Brian and Jennie Cox

8 Anderson Hills Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 8119 Clough Pike Cincinnati, OH Rev. Nancy A. Eichorn Interim Pastor Office Hours Lynda - Secretary T, W, Th 8:30 AM - 1 PM Join us on Sundays 10:30 AM Worship Junior Worship ~ Most Sundays Patient children waiting on their parents who are at yet another church meeting! October Dates Oct 1 Oct 3 Oct 4 Oct 5 Oct 7 Oct 8 Oct 11 Oct 12 Oct 14 Oct 15 Oct 18 Oct 19 Oct 22 Oct 24 Oct 25 Oct 26 Oct 28 Oct 29 Youth Room Painting Adult Bible Study Choir practice Olive Garden Cub Scouts IPM Mobile Pantry Adult Bible Study Administration Team Choir Practice Cub Scouts den Board Meeting DW Officers DW Meeting Adult Bible Study Ministry Team Choir Practice Elders AHCC Cleanup Day Adult Bible Study Choir Practice Cub Scouts Pack Transition Team 9 am 9:30 am 11:30 am 6:30 pm 9 am 12 pm 9:30 am 11:30 am 6:30 pm 6:30 pm 9:30 am 11:30 am 9 am - 1 pm 9:30 am 5:30 pm 6:30 pm The new 2015 AHCC Directories are ready! Contact the church office if you need an extra copy or would like a directory mailed. Next Board Meeting Monday, October 12 Reports due October 5 AHCC Building Rental and Weekly meetings *Tues *Thurs *Thurs *Sat Anderson Karate Anderson Karate Anderson Karate 5:30 pm 8 pm 5:30 pm 8 pm 9 am 10:30 am