Pilgrim Call Newsletter February 25, 2015 Issue 612

Transcription

1 Pilgrim Call Newsletter February 25, 2015 Issue 612 Newsletter of First Congregational Christian Church Note from Pastor Jon Tice Accepting God's Gift of Love From In Touch Ministries, by Dr. Charles Stanley 1 John 4:7-12 \ Many people simply can't believe that the Lord loves them. Others believe that He loves them, but only when they are pleasing Him in some way. Why is it so hard for us to accept His unconditional love? One reason is that we have a hard time loving others without condition. We might say the words "I love you" to our spouse, children, friends, co-workers, or fellow believers but all too often are calculating in our mind whether or not they've lived up to our standard. We sometimes excuse ourselves from loving certain people because their behavior upsets or annoys us. The fact that we place restrictions on extending favor causes us to wrongly assume that the Lord does likewise. Another reason is poor self-image. Considering ourselves unworthy, we refuse to accept God's love. You know what? None of us are worthy of the heavenly Father's goodness and mercy so you can let go of that excuse once and for all. We're not coming to Him based on our worth. Rather, we're coming to Him based on His grace, and our position is secure in Christ. To put yourself down as "beneath His grace" is to trample on His loving, generous gift. God arranged an awesome divine way for us to be reconciled to Him, and His greatest desire is for relationship with each of us. If you feel unloved or struggle to accept yourself, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of our heavenly Father's love for you and to sink it deep into your heart. Receive the truth that He reveals. It will be a completely different story about your value as an individual.

2 Attendance for Sunday, February 22 nd, 2015 Praise Service: Adults 51, Children 3 Classic Service: Adults 44, Children 1 Total 99 Leaders for Sunday, March 1 st, 2015 Lay Leader: Jaynie Ribble Greeters: Joe & Toni Orr Ernie & Susan Cottingham Junior Church: Nancy Phillips, Pam Nierman Prayer Concerns February 23 Patsy Roberts, please pray for her as she recovers at St. Joseph Hospital. February 22 Arnella Defenbaugh, (friend of Barb Linzey s) please pray for healing following knee surgery. February 20 Joe Carey, please pray for healing and discernment as his cancer has returned in his jaw. February 18 Barb Rink, please pray for Barb as she recovers from knee surgery. February 16 Connie Kistler, Nearly New volunteer. Please pray for healing following a ruptured appendix. She is wintering in Florida and has been in the hospital there. February 16 Knox, a 2 year old, who has cancer in his eye. The eye needs to be removed, then chemo to prevent spreading to the other eye. How sad. Angie Love would like for us to pray for Knox and his family February 16 McQuillen Family, (co-worker of Angie Love s) upon the loss of their 39 year old daughter, Amy. Please pray for the family of this young wife and mother. February 16 Carol, Jo & Tom Hightower s daughter. Please continue to pray for miraculous healing for Carol s foot. The healing has slowed back down, so she will have surgery next week to remove infection. She meets with the surgeon on March 12 th about amputation. Please continue with the prayers February 15 Clarence Gilbert. Please pray for a friend of Rusty Ferguson's, Clarence Gilbert and his wife Gerri. Clarence seems to have had a heart attack and is in the hospital in Ft. Wayne. He also broke his femur in a subsequent fall. Prayers would be much appreciated. February 14 Shawn Schweitzer, please pray for healing. Shawn dislocated his knee cap last week. February 9 Family of Thelma Hamilton, please pray for the Hamilton family upon the loss of Thelma on Friday, February 6th. She is at rest and peace with her Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. February 4 Reverend John Staton, please pray for John and his family. He still has a feeding tube in place, so he is doing rehab to build back muscle memory and strength for swallowing. He has been moved to The Barrington in Carmel, 1335 S. Guilford Rd., Carmel, IN 46032, room K Phone # after 4:00 PM. February 1 a sweet prayer request from 9 year old Cheyenne. Please pray for her dad David Reeves, for her mom Stephanie, for Jesus, for Marcia, and for her church family! Continued prayers for: Peggy (friend of Angie Love), Norma Knack, Jim Ball, Todd Herren, Craig Cook, Sandy Smith, Sonie Durbin, Frieda Williams, Ellen Johnston, Steve Cooprider (Matt Johnston s dad). Continued prayers for cancer challenges: Stephanie Standridge, David Reeves, Linda Trent, Helen Willoughby, Sandra Bargerhuff (in remission), Jerry Sexton, Bill Schoby, Linda (Mandy Behler s friend). Please continue to pray for these members and friends of people in our congregation who are facing cancer treatments, those who have finished treatments, and those in remission. Military Soldiers of our Church David Carey Aaron Knight Riley Johnson Andrew Reed Richard Young Adam King

3 March Sun 1 Mon 2 Activities Tue 3 Wed 4 Thu 5 Fri Ladies Bible Study 7:30 Choir 1 PC 6:15 Lenten Communion/ CAM, Prayer time :30 Men s & Ladies Bible Studies 7-9 Psi Iota Xi 6:30 The Fresh Start 1 PC 7:30 Choir 6:30 Diaconate 6:15 Lenten 7 Trustees 6-10 First Nazarene \ Serve at Rescue Mission 23 6:30 Men s & Ladies Bible Studies Ladies Bible Study 7:30 Choir 1 PC 6:15 Lenten Fill the Pantry Parenting get together 22 Sat PC 7:30 Choir 6:15 Lenten :30 Man-2Man Breakfast :30-12 Wild cat Guardians

4 March Birthdays 1 st Dale Bohall 2 nd Sandy Winslow 4 th Elaine Calloway Kris Bewley Sierra Coon 5 th Bob Hoshaw 6 th Mary Drake 9 th MacKenzie Coon 10 th Tyler Janssen 11 th Dr. Jim Paff Douglass Staley 12 th Sarah Scott Birthdays Continued 14 th Jaunita (Cree) Moss Lisa Smeltzer Riley Worl Karen Hosier 17 th Gina Rodriquez 18 th Marilee Neer 19 th Emily Bailey 20 th Hannah Rayn 21 st Rick Schoenian 23 rd Mitchell Cook 24 th Marcia Grant 25 th Kiah Parrott 26 th Jaynie Ribble Vicki Clifford Birthdays Continued 28 th Tara Rodriquez 29 th Carole Podwell March Anniversaries 1 st Roger & Cindy Pyle 11 th Joe & Joanna Bailey 13 th Ralph & Lindsay Mongosa 23 rd Rick & Denise Young 24 th Dale & Eileen Bohall March Prayer Calendar Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Pastor Jon Tice & Family 2 Rick & Vicki Maughmer 3 Karen McCoy 4 Kent & Stacey McFadden 5 Chris McQuiston Xavier, Oliver 6 Martin Martino 7 Jay & Suzanne Meck 8 First Congo Family & Friends 9 Jim & Marty \ Meck 10 Bill & Marty Menges 11 Ralph & Lindsay Mongosa 12 Marilee Neer Waverly, Landrum, Graysen 13 Dave & Pam Nierman Christopher 14 Ron & Mary Lou Nutt 15 First Congo Staff 16 Eric O Banion Elise, Ethan 17 Joe & Tonia Orr Matt, Andrew 18 Ryan Orr 19 Jim Paff 20 Steve & Amanda Parrott Kiah, Karson 21 Mary Ann Peabody 22 Nearly New Volunteers 23 Ron & Nancy Phillips 24 Tom & Carole Podwell 25 Cindy & Roger Pyle 26 Nina Ray 27 Autumn Reichel Parker, Paityn 28 Tracy Reichel, Donnie Bush 29 All Kokomo Area Churches 30 Dave & Stefanie Reeves Cheyenne 31 David Reynolds

5 Lenten Series Please mark your calendar for this special time of growing in God! The next five Wednesdays, February 25 March 25, we will have our Lenten Soup Suppers and services in Pilgrim Hall. The dinner will begin at 6:15 and the teaching time will begin around 7:00. Each of our different ministries (boards) will be providing a delicious meal consisting of a variety of soups, salad, breads and desserts. If you are on a ministry or would just like to help out with a meal, it would be great if you Pull would me out check of the the sign-up net board in the lobby and offer to bring something. We will conclude our series with a Maundy Thursday Service on April 2 which they have secretly nd at 7:00 in the Sanctuary. We hope that you will plan to join us for this Lenten Series as we grow in being disciples and making disciples of others! laid for me, February 25 Steps to Spiritual Renewal: Meditating in Truth For You are my strength. March 4 March 11 March 18 March 25 Steps to Spiritual Renewal: Communicating in Prayer Steps to Spiritual Renewal: Surrendering to Simplicity Steps to Spiritual Renewal: Choosing Service Psalms 4:4 Steps to Spiritual Renewal: Recording Your Journey Lenten Luncheons Sponsored by the Howard County Ministerial Association Weekly community gatherings will be held at First Christian Church (corner of Sycamore & Malfalfa) at 12:00 on Thursday s during Lent to examine God s Tender Mercy & Forgetfulness. Various pastors from our community will be speaking each week. The schedule is on the glass door in the lobby. Meals are $7.00. THE BODY: Race, Discrimination and the Role of the Church TEFILLAH: Tefillah is the Hebrew word for prayer. This word suggests the act of connecting and joining, to one another, but more importantly to the almighty God. Please plan to attend a prayer service to pray for unity in the Kingdom of God and greater fellowship in the city of Kokomo. The Tefillah will be held on Tuesday, March 10 from 6:30-8:00 PM at Fresh Start Ministries (801 W. Mulberry). Drinks and refreshments will be served following the prayer service. BLUSH BLUSH is celebrating 5 Years with a girls and ladies event being held on Friday, March 13 from 6-10 at First Church of the Nazarene. The guest speaker is Katie Wolfe (GetRealInc.) with special music brought by Shuree. Tickets will be available at our church March 1 st and 8 th or at Itickets.com. Plan to bring a friend or two and come celebrate with BLUSH! Ladies Bible Study s Our ladies will be taking a deeper look into the life of Moses as we embark on the study Walking with Moses, Talking with God. Both groups will continue discussing Chapter 1 on Wednesday, March 4th at 10:00 AM, and on Monday, March 9th at 6:30 PM. More books have been ordered. If you plan to attend the study and don t have a book yet, please let Stacey know. The cost is $10.00 each. Copies of Chapter 1 are available in the office. SERVICE PROJECT OPPORTUNITY Youth of all ages are invited to plan to attend the Wildcat Guardian Spring Clean-up event on March 28 from 8:30 am- noon (weather permitting). Meet at the Senior Center on Superior. Wear old clothes and closed toed shoes as you will get dirty. Supplies are provided. Children 12 and under will need to have adult supervision. Notify Stacey if you would like to serve in this way to work out needed details. Thank you in advance for helping in this way. Men s Bible Study on Monday s The next Men s Bible Study will be on Monday, March 9th at 6:30. The Way Youth-Grades 6-12 The Way will meet this Sunday, March 1st from 5:30-7:30.

6 Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 83 Kokomo, Indiana First Congregational Christian Church 505 W. Mulberry Kokomo, IN Come Worship With Us On Sunday Mornings! 9:02 Praise Service 10:00 Sunday School/Small Groups 10:45 Classic Service Contact Information: Phone: (765) Nearly New: Web Site: kokomofirstcongo.org Facebook:FirstCongo-Kokomo, IN. Prayer Time in the Chapel The First Sunday of each month, the Chapel will be open for anyone to come in and pray during the Youth Group Meeting from 5:30-7:30. Our goal is for this to be a time to pray for our youth as well as the entire church family. Thank you to the Gingerich s & Mara Williamson for hosting the Penguins for a spur-of-the-moment sledding adventure. They had a lot of fun! Man-2-Man Breakfast Postponed and Rescheduled for this Saturday!! Man-2-Man Breakfast Saturday, February 28th at 6:30 AM Please come and enjoy the food, fellowship and faith! For information or a ride, please call Rex Gingerich at Or the office at