The Olive Branch October 2012

Transcription

1 The Olive Branch October 2012 Olive Branch Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Richard D. Cline, minister Pat Dressler, secretary Web Address: (office) Office Address: Where Would We Be Without the CWF? I grew up as a member of the Pfafftown Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). My father and mother were members of that church, as well as my grandfather and grandmother, and my greatgrandfather and great-grandmother on my grandmother s side. So I guess it should be no surprise at the great number of memories I have of my mother and grandmother s involvement in the Christian Women s Fellowship (or more simply, CWF) of my home church. My mother always seemed to be cooking, sewing, or working on some CWF project. The one I particularly enjoyed was the fall bazaar, when the women would prepare about 200 twelve-inch chicken potpies to be sold for $10.00 apiece. I enjoyed it because my mother would also make some pies for home consumption! To this day, I have never tasted a chicken potpie as good as the ones made by my mother! The CWF did many things for the Pfafftown church. It seemed that if there was a job to do, more times than not the women were involved in getting it done. Which is not that unusual, as I found out when I became a minister. Every church I have served has had an active, working, involved CWF program. And Olive Branch is no exception. We are so fortunate to have our CWF, and all the talents of its members, to assist in the ministry of our church. They are continuing a rich tradition which started as early as 1874 when the women of the Christian Church held a national meeting to start a missionary society to help others in special need, and which became a national organization within the Christian Church in 1949, when the Christian Women s Fellowship was started. Its mission statement in 1949 was to develop all women in Christian living and Christian service as a part of the witnessing church of Jesus Christ. And that it has done, and done well. During October many things that are important to the CWF of Olive Branch Christian Church will take place. Members of our CWF will be responsible for the planning of the Regional CWF retreat at Blackstone. This is an important honor for our women, and one that they have been planning for months. And then on Saturday, October 27 the CWF Fashion Show, Country Store, and Quilt Raffle will take place. This is a major fundraiser for our CWF, and one that needs all of our support. If you can t attend the luncheon, then buy some raffle tickets, or just make a donation. It is our chance to thank them for all that they do! I am thankful that Olive Branch has a CWF that seeks to build up all the ministries of our church. Where would we be without them? I don t even want to find out! This month, take the time to thank and support our CWF. Blessings, Richard

2 Don t get too comfortable! I ve been reflecting this month on how well things are going at Olive Branch. Attendance at worship continues to grow. Participation in ministries continues to grow. Our giving is exceeding our budget. New members with remarkable talent are joining. To me, those are signs that God is planning something big for this congregation. He would not be inspiring all that participation and providing all those resources unless He had a plan to use them. I don t yet know what that plan is. It may be that we will find the youth minister we have contemplated for years. It may be that we will sponsor a refugee. It may be improvements to our facilities that will enhance worship, make visitors (especially those looking for a church home) feel more welcomed, and enable us to improve or expand our ministries. Any of those will mean some changes from the way we do things now. So don t get too comfortable. In the coming months we will be preparing a budget, selecting some new leaders for the congregation, and making plans for next year. Pray that we will discern God s plan for the use of the resource He has given us. Andy Bradshaw Board Chair The following scriptures will be used during the Sunday worship in July. The underlined passages are the primary passages for Pastor Richard s sermons. October 7 Mark 10:13-16; Genesis 2:18-24 October 14 Mark10:17-31; Amos 5:6-7, October 21 Mark 10:35-45; Job 38:1-7 October 28 Mark 10:46-52; Job 42:1-6 Sunday, October 7 th, is World Communion Sunday. Join with us as we celebrate and commune with Christians all over the world during our morning worship. All Saints Day All Saints Day is Sunday, November 4 th. We will affirm once more that every believer whom God has called by His grace and sanctified by His Spirit has been called to sainthood. We will give thanks for the memories of those believers from our community of faith during the past year whom are now with God, and thanks for those within our families outside of our church family who influenced our lives. And we will lift up our voices in praise to the saints of every generation who have served as an example and directed our lives to God. For all the saints whom from their labors rest thou name, O Jesus, be forever blest! If you would like to give thanks to God for the life of a saint who has passed away since our last All Saints Day last November, please call the church office no later than Monday, October 29 th. A candle will be lit in their memory as part of this years service, as they continue to look over our shoulders.

3 SERVING IN OCTOBER October 7 October 14 October 21 October 28 October 7 Elders Jim Thacker, Kim Riffle Norm Harbour, Missy Harbour Bob Key, Gail Key Donna Perger, Bob Schmidt Deacons Mike Ayers, Norman Hall Maralyn Carr, Don Morse HOMEBOUND Tommy Hoar, Audrey White Church Family: Murray & Paulette Moyce, Lena Jeffries, Pat Allred, Jimmy Allred & family, Jesse Hall, Russell & Sarah Waid, Bruce Kerr, Judy Biggs, Helen Pruitt, Jerry Ainsworth, Dave & Bonnie Willard, Lucy Hall, Robert Wilkins, Brittney Kidd, Janice Floyd, Duie Brantley, Janet Fletcher, Norma Stockton, Agnes Ivy, Joann Mitchell, Maddie Woodruff, Ronnie Henk, Ann Bradshaw, and Maddy Elam. October 14 October 21 October 28 Lewis Williams, Sheila Yeatts Sean Gormus, Dawn Gormus Michael Heslink, Emily Friend Danny Pitts, Elna Pitts Dale Teagle, Morgan Rowe, Barbara Schmidt, Abby Matschke Acolytes October 7 8:30/11:00 Lauren Ries, Bryant Walker October 14 8:30/11:00 Justin Cooper, Emily Lang October 21 8:30/11:00 Angelica Poland, Maggie Sheppard October 28 8:30/11:00 Kelsey Creech, Lauren Morse October 7 October 14 October 21 October 28 Deaconess Linda Hutton Kid s Club Tonya Meadows Edie Larkin Marney Brickhouse Tracey Hutton Family and Friends: William Phares, Jr., Bob & Betty Millican, Bill Perkins, Eric Siemon (Marney Brickhouse s son), Trevor Waite (Ellen Waite s grandson), Jan McGinnis, Tim McKinny (close friend of the Duke s), Christina Vitek (Irma & Bob Gustafson s 6-year old granddaughter), Eddie Ratcliffe, Sarah Kerr (Bruce and Carol Kerr's granddaughter), Peggy Dickens (Vicki Anderson's sister), Joyce Parker (Judy Eley s aunt), Don & Linda Patten (friends of Keeta Hodson), Thomas Wynne, Karen Dutton, Karen Evans, Gary Sullivan (Roy & Ellen Sullivan s son), Kelly Hipple, David Barrow, Iris Reeder (Nancy Griffith s sister), Sheri Jones Vaughan, Scott Edwards, Susan Hovemeyer (Debbie Johns sister) & her husband Chuck, Shelton Edwards (Vickie Anderson s nephew), Dale Head (friend of Linda Mason), Rosevelt Rogers (friend of Gene & Cheryl Johnson), Judy Baker (Pat Dressler s sister), Lisa Pipkin (friend of Missy Harbour), Carol Matschke Costello, Mark Saulsman, Perkins Gormus, Jr. (Sean Gormus father), Craig Knoll, Amy King, Jennifer Ashnault, Joe Hester, Dr. James Whittemore, the young girl who attended VBS at Olive Branch who now has Tourette s Syndrome, Billy Gormus (Sean Gormus Dad), Kimberly DaSilva, Cornelia (Jill) Moore (Dale Teagle s sister), Bill Goodrich (Denise Cooper s father), Libby Norris (friend of Cleve Wright), Wilber Rogers (friend of Cleve Wright), and the men & women in our Armed Forces. NOTE: To add or remove a person s name from the Prayer List, please contact the church office:

4 Christian Women s Fellowship CWF Reminders Service to our Lord and our church is what CWF is about and we welcome all the ladies of the church to come and help us in that endeavor. The Fall Retreat at Blackstone is October 12th thru 14th. The theme this year is "Pie in the Sky" and will be hosted by OBCC CWF ladies. We are really excited and hope that anyone who can will register to attend. We will have several vehicles leaving from the church on Friday the 12 th, so if you need a ride please just let me know. Registration forms are available in the office or ask Shirley or me. For more information please give me a call. CWF ladies are selling raffle tickets for a beautiful quilt and afghan. The drawing will be at the Fall Fashion Show/Luncheon on October 27th here at Olive Branch. The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by the fashion show. Christopher & Banks are once again providing the clothing. Please put this date on your calendar as we will have some beautiful and clever items handmade by our CWF ladies on sale at the Country Store, as well as lots of Silent Auction items, our "Award Winning Chicken Salad", beautiful fashions worn by our OBCC fashion models, and a delicious luncheon. A lot of love and hard work go into this event and we use this money to provide for those less fortunate both here in our community as well as abroad. This past year we have been using these resources to beautify the New Fellowship Hall as well as Richard's office. Tickets will be on sale soon so please plan to attend and bring your friends. May God Bless You Always, Marney Brickhouse President Blessing Boxes On Sunday, October 7 th, our Blessings Boxes will be dedicated during the morning worship. OLIVE BRANCH BELL/CHIME CHOIR The Bell Choir did an excellent job of playing during the worship service on September 23 rd and certainly added to the worship experience. In spite of the logistics of fitting eleven ringers into the choir loft, and in front of it, it was a privilege to play. In case some were not familiar with the faces in the choir these are our ringers. Starting with the big bells down to the little bells: Skip Jensen, David Love, Jodi Stinely, Ann Bradshaw, Linda Hutton, Carole Kerr, Diana Love, Marney Brickhouse, Irma Gustafson (also Substitute Director), Shirley Harrison, and Barb Schmidt. I want to thank all who are participating for their dedication and hard work (with a limited amount of frivolity at practices!). Playing in a Bell Choir requires a high level of commitment because when someone is missing, so are their notes! So, I do appreciate those who have made this commitment! Bob Schmidt Director

5 Update from the Program Planning Team Advocates The Necessity of Evangelism October Birthdays 2 Steve Perger 10 Courtney Holt 12 Mike Garrett 14 Norm Larkin David Pitts Helen Pruitt 15 Nancy Cates Dale Teagle 17 Dustyn Meadows 19 Linda Heslink 20 Cheryl Trexler 28 Anastasia Abid 29 Nancy Griffith NOTE: If you have not seen your birthday listed, and would like it included, please contact the church office. October 7 October 14 October 21 October 28 Charlie & Helen Pruitt Harold & Nancy McKeel Bradshaw Don & Jessica Morse If you wish to donate flowers for the Sanctuary, sign up by the appropriate week (PLEASE PRINT). You are asked to bring your flowers and place them on the floor in front of the communion table by 8:00 a.m. on your Sunday. People watched as the Olympic torch made its way around the world until it reached the Olympic Village. They came from North, South, East, and West to compete in the different events, challenging themselves to grueling workouts, denying themselves things they ordinarily enjoyed, and perhaps, leaving home to train under the best coaches. The list of sacrifices goes on and on in order to be the best that they could be in a sport that they love. We celebrated with them the joy of victory and empathized with the tears of defeat. These things parallel with our Christian journey where the Apostle Paul tells us in I Cor. 9:24-27: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly, I do not fight like a man beating air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." This does not mean we would lose our salvation, rather the privilege of representing Christ to others when we don't "practice what we preach". James 1:12 reads: 'Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.' And in Isaiah 49:6b we are told, "I will make you a light to the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth". The torch was extinguished after the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games. Our torch for Christ must burn brightly to the ends of the earth, for all the world to see, until Jesus comes again. Louise Smith PPT Evangelism Advocate

6 Reconciliation Offering The 2012 Reconciliation Offering will be received October 7 th. The theme this year is "Seeds of Hope" acknowledging the power of God in us for strengthening the ministry of Reconciliation and our witness on Christ's behalf. The Special Offering is used to fund our Church s mission priority to become a pro-reconciling/anti-racist church through experiential education, inclusive worship and intentional dialogue across racial/ethnic difference. Funds from this offering are providing for leadership development in our camps, our communities and our congregations as well as providing resources to promote small group study and community-action. Your giving is changing lives and building hope for realm of God for our children and for Christ's Church! Carolyn Hunt PPT Outreach Advocate Are You Ready to Walk to End Alzheimer s? The Walk to End Alzheimer s (used to be called the Memory Walk) takes place on Saturday, Oct. 27th, 10am, at the Williamsburg Community Building. Christy Jensen serves as the Williamsburg Community Chair for this year s Walk. Olive Branch was the first church to create a team for this year s Walk and we are known as the Olive Branch A Team! Please join our team by going online: SoutheasternVirginia?team_id=41914 &pg=team&fr_id=1412 or you can fill out a paper registration form and pass to me and I will help you get registered. There is no fee to register and everyone who raises $100 will earn a really neat purple t-shirt! August 6, 2012 Again, many thanks for your overwhelming generosity to the St. Olaf Food Pantry. In July we served seventy-five families (about 200 people), including fourteen new families. With your help and support we can continue to meet the need. God Bless, Tony Melzer Many of us are touched personally by Alzheimer s disease and related types of dementia. Participating in this Walk and/or sponsoring a walker on the OBCC team is one key way we can support the Alzheimer s Association. Let s go Olive Branch A Team! Beth Nease Team Captain

7 Family Nights are held each Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. with a covered dish dinner, followed by a program. We will be using Invitation to the New Testament A Short-Term DISCIPLE Bible Study. Bring your family and invite friends. Thank you to everyone who baked and helped at the event on Sat 9/22. We raised $ and counting. We are splitting the funds between the youth group and the Alzheimer's walk. Check out the pictures below taken at the Amber Nease event on Saturday. We would like to invite the members of Olive Branch to join us at Renwood fields Farms in Charles city on October 20th for a night of fun going through a corn maze. The cost is $12.00 for adults. I will have a sign-up sheet in the narthex. It is not a scary/haunted maze. Join us for some fun!!! CHECK us OUT On FACEBOOK!! Courtney and Abby

8 Your faith will grow stronger by trusting in God each and every day. How strong is your faith? When we have faith in God, it isn't a question of how big our faith is, it is a question of how powerful our God is, and with God all things are possible! Exercising our Faith In God How Much Faith Is Enough? Prayer: Dear Jesus, we say we believe, but sometimes our actions don't show it. Help us to show our faith by our actions. Dear Lord, help us to trust in you each day so that our faith will become strong. Amen. Scripture: The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you. Luke 17: 5-6. How much faith is enough? Do we need to have a lot of faith, or will just a little bit do? The answer may surprise you. Do you know what faith is? Faith is believing and trusting in God. Faith is like a muscle, you have to exercise it every day to make it strong. Sometimes we say that we have faith in God. We say that we believe that He can do anything, but then we act as if everything depends on us. That isn t a very strong faith. Jesus told his disciples that if they had as much faith as a tiny mustard seed, they could tell a tree to move from one place to another and the tree would obey them. Now, that is a strong faith, isn't it? Do you have as much faith as a mustard seed? Do you know how big a mustard seed is? It is so small that you can hardly see it!

9 God hears my prayers.

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11 The Olive Branch

12 The Olive Branch Non-Profit Organization U. S. Postage PAID Norge, VA Permit No. 2 The Olive Branch published by Olive Branch Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 7643 Richmond Road P. O. Box 190 Norge, VA (757) Address Service Requested *Note: If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter, please contact the church office.