Please note the following recommendations...

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3 Please note the following recommendations November 2002, Vol. 97, No. 11 GLEANER STAFF Editor Edwin A. Schwisow Consulting Editor Steven Vistaunet Advertising and Copy Coordinator Kara Krieger-McGhee Assistant Copy Coordinator Kirsten (Katie) Torkelsen Design MCM Design Studio, LLC. CORRESPONDENTS Alaska John Kriegelstein Idaho Don Klinger Montana Larry Unterseher Oregon Helen R. Smith Upper Columbia Doug Johnson Washington Phil White Walla Walla College Bradley Nelson Published by the North Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (ISSN ) Postmaster send all address changes to: North Pacific Union Conference P.O. Box Vancouver, WA Phone: (360) gleaner@npuc.org Address-change requests must be submitted by U.S. mail. SUBMISSIONS All announcements, features, news stories and family notices for publication in the GLEANER may be submitted directly to the editor at the address listed to the left. Material sent directly to local conference correspondents may be forwarded to the GLEANER. PLEASE NOTE Every reasonable effort is made to screen all editorial material to avoid error in this publication. The GLEANER does not accept responsibility for advertisersʼ claims. GLEANER, (ISSN ) is published once per month for a total of 12 issues per year by the North Pacific Union Office, Columbia Tech Center SE Tech Center Pl. Suite 300, Vancouver, WA It is printed and mailed at Pacific Press Publishing, 1350 N. Kings Rd., Nampa, ID Subscription rate: $12 per year. Periodical postage paid at Vancouver, WA and additional mailing offices. LITHO U.S.A.

4 ome years ago in the Upper Columbia Conference, a youth group decided to test the friendliness of Adventist churches. So one Sabbath, they dressed up like street kids punks and their adult sponsors drove them to some Adventist churches in the area. Unannounced, they walked in. Without too severely taxing your imagination, you can guess that their receptions could have been better. I hope that through the years weʼve become a visitor-friendly denomination. As my wife, Sue, and I visit churches around the Northwest, weʼve been inspired with certain things our churches do to make guests know they are welcome. Adequate parking. If your parking lot was adequate 30 years ago, when the average car brought four people to church, it may not be today, when fewer than two people arrive per car. Designated guest parking. If guest parking is located closest to the entrance, it makes a positive statement. Multiple greeters. One of my favorite churches meets members and guests with umbrellas on rainy days. Guests should always be shown not merely told where to go. Lunch invitations. Our home church has either a potluck or designated families prepared to invite every visitor to lunch, each week. Attractive and professional signage. If they canʼt find you, they wonʼt come! Attractive facility and clean bathrooms. Cleanliness is next to godliness, especially in church. Worship service sensitivity. Assume youʼre coming for the first time to an Adventist church. Would you feel comfortable in your home church? Relational activities. In todayʼs culture, many come to the Church through the side door, i.e. social activities and small groups that open the heart and mind to more traditional evangelism. Christ-Centered. And finally, we need Christcentered, biblically based, love-filled messages shared in the sermon, the music, and study of the Bible. These are just a few elements of church hospitality Sue and I have noticed and appreciated. Youʼll find other good ideas in this GLEANER issue. And if your church has had particular successes in church hospitality, why not share the news with our readers by sending letters to the GLEANER editor? If we would humble ourselves before God, and all our church members were kind and courteous and tenderhearted, there would be 100 conversions to the truth where now there is only one (Ellen G. White, 9 Testimonies, 189, paraphrased). So, when those street people show up at your church, maybe it wonʼt be a disguised church youth group. They may be coming because theyʼve heard how friendly you are.

5 Malachi 3:3 says, He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. This verse puzzled some in a Bible study group. They wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didnʼt mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, How do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and answered, Oh, thatʼs easy - when I see my image in it. Browse added features and news items. Enjoy one-stop access to regional and international church news. View monthly Gleaner stories before printed version arrives. Share your reaction get timely response to specific issues. Join the growing number of informed Northwest Adventists who wish to be more closely connected to the life and mission of their Church.

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41 Anchorage 4:58 4:39 4:22 4:07 3:54 4:29 4:06 3:44 3:23 3:05 4:08 3:52 3:38 3:25 3:16 4:08 3:54 3:41 3:31 3:23 5:36 5:27 5:20 5:14 5:10 4:58 4:49 4:41 4:34 4:30 5:22 5:14 5:07 5:01 4:57 Billings 5:01 4:51 4:43 4:37 4:32 4:59 4:48 4:39 4:32 4:27 5:13 5:03 4:55 4:48 4:43 4:49 4:39 4:31 4:24 4:19 5:20 5:10 5:02 4:55 4:50 5:08 5:00 4:52 4:47 4:43 5:05 4:57 4:50 4:44 4:41 4:58 4:48 4:40 4:34 4:30 4:42 4:32 4:24 4:18 4:14 4:32 4:22 4:13 4:06 4:01 4:39 4:30 4:21 4:15 4:10 4:44 4:34 4:25 4:18 4:14 4:47 4:37 4:29 4:22 4:17 Bellingham 4:50 4:39 4:30 4:22 4:17 4:52 4:42 4:33 4:26 4:21

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