It s Been 10 Years! Boy Scout Sunday

Transcription

1 2019, Issue 1 FEBRUARY West Richmond Church of the Brethren Boy Scout Sunday It s Been 10 Years! In 1990, a church youth group founded the original Souper Bowl of Caring. Even though the movement has since expanded from the faith community to many types of participating groups, they continue to be fueled by those coming together to worship and make a difference in their community. This nationwide event, held on Super Bowl Sunday, will be our 10 th SOUPER BOWL OF CARING. We ll have a souper time together while we help those who use the LAMB s Basket. Join us for a soup tasting during fellowship time on Sunday, February 3. Interested in making a soup? Please sign-up in the gathering room as soon as possible so we will have a wide variety of soup to sample! Bring out your best recipe, since bragging rights will be on the line. Last year s chef was Anna Welch. Not a chef? Why not plan on tasting all of the soups? If you have any questions or comments, see Barbara Beers. This year we celebrate Boy Scout Sunday on Sunday, February 10. Scout members will lead worship. The Boy Scouts have met here at West Richmond since 1961 with the founding of Boy Scout Troop #728. Cub Scout Pack #728 came a little later, formed in Over the years, scouts have completed service projects both here and in the community. Join us for worship and fellowship. From the Pastor 2 In Our Congregation 3 Calendars/Schedules 4-5 Around Our District 6-7 Dear Church family, we send you this sincere thank you for your wonderful Christmas gifts. It is really generous of you and we appreciate it, and you, so very much. Pastor Dave, Barbara, Bob, Gabriella, and Joyce

2 P age 2 T h e H er a ld We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord s coming is getting closer. (Hebrews 10:24-25 CEV (Contemporary English Version) I t wasn t too many years ago that churches would advertise through the yellow pages and in the religious section of the local newspaper. Many people who moved into town and were new to the area would look to those forms of media to find a church to attend. Welcome to a new century. When was the last time you looked through a set of yellow pages for anything? Oh, I know, they still go around dumping one on your front porch or by your mailbox; only to be thrown in the recycling bin. When was the last time the local paper even had a religious section? Certainly, times have changed. The internet has transformed all this. Now, according to those in the know, websites and social media are the way to go. P romoting our congregation is no longer placing an ad in the local newspaper. This past Christmas Season, we placed a targeted ad to a specific demographic and location on Facebook. It was an interesting exercise. We noted many unique hits (people not connected with our church who took notice of it) but did not have anyone here for the Christmas Eve service because of the ad. A recent WRCOB post on Facebook again noted several unique hits, many of whom also hit the Christmas Eve ad. This is encouraging news, because someone is looking at us, though they have not yet made contact. The fact is, websites, Twitter, and Facebook are now the front door to our church. Most people will visit a website before they ever walk into a church. We already know some are looking at our door. O ne of the things we all need to do is promote our congregation on the Internet. Go to our website, wrcob.org, scroll to the bottom, and like our website. Then go and like our Facebook page. Share promoted events through your personal Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts. D uring our Souper Bowl of Caring Sunday, I ask that you bring your phones, laptops, ipads and tablets with you. Let s learn how to effectively use them to get the word out about our congregation. Learn how to sign-in on our Wi-Fi, visit our website, share and promote our goings-on through Facebook and other avenues on the Internet. We have tech savvy people who will walk us through the process and answer questions following our worship service on February 3.

3 Page 3 In Our Congregation T h e H er a ld Lenten Study to run March 10 through April 14 After a hiatus last year while we were between pastors, the Christian Education Commission is happy to announce that a Lenten Study will be offered this year. We re trying something different this year. The Study will be held during the Sunday school hour on six Sundays, beginning March 10 and concluding on Palm Sunday, April 14, with Pastor Dave leading the sessions. The adult class, led by Kevin Beer,s will take a break during this six-week period, but will resume on Easter Sunday, April 21. The focus of the Lenten study for 2019 will be an evaluation of some of the words that are often used to describe the Bible. Those words include: Authoritative, Benchmark, Infallible, Inerrant, Inspired, Instructional, Literal, Rules for Faith and Practice, Sufficient and Trustworthy. The six lessons are entitled: 1) Doctrine of Revelation (Where would we be without it?) 2) The Authority of Scripture #1 Doctrine of Inspiration 3) The Authority of Scripture #2 Doctrine of Inerrancy 4) Why 66 Books? The Development of the Canon 5) Why so Many Interpretations? The Clarity of Scripture and Interpretation 6) Scripture for Life A printed outline for the study will be available. We invite you to bring your Bible and join us for what promises to be an enlightening study that will deepen our understanding of the book that is central to our Christian faith and life. All interested adults and youth are encouraged to attend, whether you regularly come to Sunday school or not. If you have not made Sunday school a habit, we invite you to give it a try. Come and participate in an hour of enlightenment and a time of sharing thoughts and experiences with members of your church family. Ann Andrus, Christian Education Commission Chair West Richmond Church of the Brethren 7612 Wanymala Road, Henrico, Virginia Phone: Fax: wrcob@wrcob.org Pastor... Dave Whitten ( ) Administrative Assistant... Barbara Beers ( ) Sunday School... 9:45 a.m. Sunday Worship... 11:00 a.m. Church office (M-F)... 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. If no one is in the office or the line is busy, voice mail will pick up so PLEASE leave us a message. Items for the bulletin s weekly newssheet MUST be submitted by noon each Thursday to the church office. All articles for the March edition of The Herald are due in the office by February 15, 2019.

4 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday If you cannot be present for worship, you can receive copies of the bulletin. Simply contact the church office to make it happen :45 am Sunday School 11:00 am Worship & Children s Church 12:15 pm Souper Bowl of Caring Soup Contest 4:30 pm Group Violin Class 10:30 am Ladies Circle 5:30 pm Hull Street Ministry 6:30 pm Cub Scouts 6:30 pm Boy Scouts 4:00 pm Girl Scouts 6:30 pm Handbells 7:45 pm Choir Hilltop Preschool Closed for Staff to Attend Seminar Scout Sunday 8:00 am Men s Breakfast 9:45 am Sunday School 11:00 am Worship 4:30 pm Group Violin Class 10:30 am Ladies Circle 6:30 pm Cub Scouts 6:30 pm Boy Scouts 7:00 pm Church Board 6:30 pm Handbells 7:45 pm Choir :45 am Sunday School 11:00 am Worship with Children s Church 4:30 pm Group Violin Class 10:30 am Ladies Circle 1:00 pm Volunteer 4:00 pm Girl Scouts 6:30 pm Handbells 7:45 pm Choir 6:30 pm Cub Scouts 6:30 pm Boy Scouts 24 LAMB s Basket Collection 8:00 am Men s Breakfast 9:45 am Sunday School 11:00 am Worship 25 4:30 pm Group Violin Class 6:30 pm Ladies Nite Out 26 10:30 am Ladies Circle 6:30 pm Cub Scouts 6:30 pm Boy Scouts :30 pm Handbells 7:45 pm Choir Ladies Nite Out is always looking for suggestions for new, tasty places to try. Please tell Betty Altic about your favorites!

5 Who s celebrating and Who s Doing What in 1... Jonathan McCloud 5... Joe Martin 7... Eric Evenson Jonathan Reynolds Zack Keithly Jon Beers Ellie Hemenway Bennett Tulli Frank & Betty Fuller Emily Tulli David & Janet Brunk Sarah (Ziegler) Hodkinson Claire Lynch Mark & Andrea Ludwick Beth Martin Peter & Amparito Brunk Jack Mace Gayle (Wampler) Adams February Greeters (Dolly Guyer) Worship Leader (Lib Kinzie) Dolly Guyer Sandi Davis Paula Bryant Betty Altic June Diehl Susan Robertson Scout Sunday Richard Barry Terrie Glass Nursery Care (Susan Robertson) Sandra Lynch & Berkley O Neal Joel & Dolly Guyer Sarah Beers & Shaun Finchum Carolyn Arthur & Terrie Glass Fellowship Host (Susan Robertson) Souper Bowl of Caring Scout Sunday Richard Barry & Paula Bryant David & Judy McCloud Tellers (Nancy Martin) Jeff Goss & Alyce Newman Joel Guyer & Larry McCann Bob & Pat Gangwer Betty Altic & Sandi Davis Want to be included in any of these activities? Please contact its coordinator. If you cannot fulfill an assigned date, please swap with someone and then contact the church office.

6 P age 6 Around Our District District Conference Wrap-Up T h e H er a ld The Forty-Eighth Virlina District Conference of the Church of the Brethren convened at the Bonsack Baptist Church in Roanoke, Virginia on November 9-10, The Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22 was the theme of the 2018 District Conference. Aggregate attendance on Saturday including youth and children was 389 persons. This included 226 delegates (including 65 pastors) and 163 non-delegates from 75 congregations. These participated in the worship, fellowship and spiritual discernment for the district under the leadership of Moderator Debbie Humphrey of the Roanoke, Ninth Street congregation. Assisting in leadership during conference was Moderator-Elect Roy U. Turpin of the Pleasant Valley congregation in Floyd County, Virginia, Pam Clark of the Peters Creek congregation who served as Clerk, Hannah Oakes of the Summerdean congregation who served as Timekeeper, and Daniel L. Rudy of the Roanoke, Ninth Street congregation who served as Parliamentarian. Donita Keister, 2019 Moderator of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, preached Friday night on the conference theme. The president of Bethany Theological Seminary, the graduate school of theology of the Church of the Brethren, Jeff Carter, spoke both Friday night at the Ministers and Spouses dinner and during the Saturday morning worship. Members of the praise team on Friday evening were Paul and Karen Stutzman (Fraternity), Andy and Courtney Duffey (Antioch) and Aaron and Traci Lavinder (Germantown Brick). Attendees were blessed by many gifted musicians: Karen Stutzman, chorister on Friday (Fraternity), Dewey Williard, pianist on Friday (Fraternity), Grant Frederick, organist on Friday (Bonsack Baptist), Fonda Wilson, chorister on Saturday (Cloverdale) and Jan Messner (Lynchburg), pianist. Saturday's business included the following: Ballot Positions Filled: Moderator-Elect Cathy S. Huffman (Germantown Brick) District Board Christina Chris Monk (Copper Hill), Jeffery A. Wray (Fairview, Rocky Mount), Kaylee Nolen (Mount Hermon), Robin Lavinder (Germantown Brick), Stanley H. Hawkins (Duncan Chapel), Gayle M. Harms (Jones Chapel), Frances S. Beam (Concord, Living Faith), Michael G. Battle (Burks Fork), Sam St. John (Roanoke, Ninth Street), and Rudolph H. Taylor, III (Cloverdale). Outdoor Ministries Committee Trish M. Haskins (Fairview, Rocky Mount) and Ronald D. Rucker (Roanoke, Summerdean). Standing Committee Edward C. Woodard (Roanoke, Oak Grove). Program and Arrangements Andy Duffey (Antioch) and Heather Minter (Mount Hermon). Nominating and Personnel Amy Adams (Fraternity), Anne Mitchell (Lighthouse) and Karen Barnhart (Roanoke, Central). The 2018 District Board Budget of $771, (including designated items of $500,000, but not including Camp Bethel) was approved.

7 Page 7 T h e H er a ld Floyd, Iglesia Cristiana Nueva Vida (New Life Christian Church) was received as a congregation of the Church of the Brethren. Other newsworthy items: A Friday evening offering of $1, was received for the Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM) and a Saturday offering of $2, to help offset conference expenses. The District Board reorganized during the lunch hour. Serving as chairpersons are: Tony R. Robertson District Board, Zachary R. Hatcher, Vice Chair District Board, Michael G. Battle Commission on Ministry, Hannah M. Oakes Commission on Nurture, Stacy W. Goff Commission on Stewardship, and Roger G. Stultz Commission on Witness. Samuel C. Foster will serve as Chair of the Outdoor Ministries Committee and David A. Bess will continue as Chair of the New Church Development Committee. Delegates heard the reports of the District Board, New Church Development Committee, Outdoor Ministries Committee and other institutions of the district and denomination, as well as reports from the district staff. Among those representing the wider church were: Donita Keister (Annual Conference), Jeff Carter (Bethany Theological Seminary), Jean Bednar (Brethren Benefit Trust), Dewey M. Williard (Bridgewater College), Nancy McCrickard (Church of the Brethren, Inc.), Mark Hoover (Mutual Aid Assocation), George Barnhart (On Earth Peace) and Mary Ann Glover (Virginia Council of Churches). Delegates also heard that twenty-eight congregations have been involved in PASTORAL PLACEMENT PROCESS in the year ending September 30. The following were in the pastoral placement process as of October 1: Bethel, Boones Mill, Eden-First, Jeters Chapel, Jones Chapel, Maple Grove, Masons Cove, Moneta-Lake Side, Newport News-Ivy Farms, Oak Grove South, Peters Creek, Red Hill, Saint Paul, Saunders Grove, Shelton, Smith Mountain Lake Community and Trinity. We celebrated the graduation of two graduates from Christian Growth Institute this year: Donna G. Hornsby and Frank Roderick Rod Quinn. We held a memorial service for those ministers, former district staff persons, spouses and family members, who have died since the last conference: Ernst Meier, Joyce Gayle Horton Spangler, Norman Luther Harsh, Christine (Chris) Eakin Bain, Owen G. Stultz, Bobby L. Phillips, Barbara Ann Peters, Diana Lynn Lovett, Flemmie Eileen Getz Stultz, Edna Foley Phillips, Elbert Lee Naff, Sr., Hazel Mae Fleeman Moyer, Robert Bob C. Pittman, Paul Robert White, Sr., Wayne Cody Garst and Myron Shipman Miller. Moderator Debbie Humphrey installed Roy Turpin as the 2019 Moderator and Cathy S. Huffman as the newly called Moderator-Elect. Brother Roy shared that the focus of the 2019 District Conference will be based on I Corinthians 1:18, Don t Hide the Cross. The Virlina District is one of twenty-four districts of the denomination and encompasses 93 congregations, fellowships and meeting points with 10,346 members located in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. The Church of the Brethren is a denomination of 112,656 members in 1,026 congregations, fellowships and projects throughout the United States. Brethren are noted for an emphasis on peacemaking, reconciliation and service. Related denominations, formed through mission work, are found in Nigeria, India and other nations. Brethren began in Germany as a movement advocating adult profession of faith and baptism by immersion, separation of church and state, and an earnest desire to live out the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.

8 West Richmond Church of the Brethren 7612 Wanymala Road, Henrico, VA Phone: Fax: Place stamp here! ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED The gathering room will be transformed, by Anna Welch and company, into an Hawaiian paradise island. Luau decorations and edible treats will abound! And that s only the beginning! Highlighting the event will be our very own emcee, Janet Brunk, with all the fun you can imagine. But, she is looking for help. Are you willing to be a Luau dancer? Anna and Janet will provide the music, adornments and instructions with a practice session prior to the evening. The only requirement is to have fun. And now we get to the Variety Show portion. Everyone is invited to participate and your act doesn t need to be Hawaiian themed. What would you like to do - sing, play an instrument, perform a skit, dance, tell a joke, read a poem, etc.? Let your imagination go! All ages and abilities are welcome. Sign-up sheets for dancers and performers are in the gathering room. Carol Goss is assisting with logistics and questions. Bring your friends!