The Voice. February The State of the Church has been rescheduled to Sunday, February 26th during both services.

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1 The Voice Murray Hills Christian Church SW Weir Rd. Beaverton, OR (503) February 2017 Where there is need around the world you are there. Through the Week of Compassion you are there when there is hunger or disaster or poverty. In places like Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or even in Alabama in the wake of a tornado, through the Week of Compassion, you are there. This year s Week of Compassion will be received on February 12 and 19. On Sunday, February 12, the newest Week of Compassion staff member Caroline Hamilton-Arnold will be our pulpit guest. Caroline holds a Master of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology and a BA from Texas Christian University. Before joining the staff of Week of Compassion, she served as Transitional Associate Minister at Newtown Congregational Church (UCC) in Newtown, CT. A native of Texas, Caroline now lives with her husband, Jeremy, in New Haven, Connecticut. Over the next several weeks we ll be sharing more information about the Week of Compassion and the ways that we are present with people in need. If you d like to learn more about the Week of Compassion you may go to weekofcompassion.org. The State of the Church has been rescheduled to Sunday, February 26th during both services.

2 SNOWFLAKES We re going to remember this winter for a long time. Even in Missouri, I don t remember a longer stretch of being unable to drive into my garage, unable to drive without chains, unable to do much beyond work from home and marvel at the beauty of snow lots of snow. The hardest thing for me has been cancelling worship. I would much rather keep the normal schedule. But I m afraid that I would have been alone. We did a strange thing on January 15th. We met at Ava s Roastaria in downtown Beaverton. Karyn bet that maybe 8 people would come. I chose 12. We ended up with 30. Yes, we did stream the worship via Facebook but evidently a bunch of you had been snowed in long enough and were willing to come out. Me too. We didn t do anything very remarkable. Karyn and I delivered our state of the church address. We shared prayer concerns. We celebrated the Lord s Supper. And then we visited. On the way home, Karyn, Kathryn, Joan and I all agreed that we felt as if we really had been to worship. Which is to say this; I ve had people say that they d like to stay home and watch worship over the internet. I suppose that works in a pinch but it really doesn t feel like worship until we re together. There is something incredibly energizing about worshipping as part of a community that you can t get anywhere else. I ve been in worship almost every Sunday of my life and I am sure it has changed me. I am grateful for all the times and places I ve been able to worship with others. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24, NRSV) See you in Church Larry Dr. Larry Snow Larry-snow@comcast.net

3 Musings Rev. Karyn Dix On February 19th I will be leaving for Memphis with some adults from MHCC. We are going to Memphis to experience a Freedom Journey. This is a Civil Rights Tour that pulls the conversation into today, and what the Civil Rights issues are today. I have taken this trip with two different groups of youth and I am super excited to be going with some adults. First CONGO Church in Memphis is a unique church. I think some of the ways that they are using their building for ministry have some lessons to teach us here at Murray Hills as we move forward with different partnerships and rentals. I look forward to more conversations around this. I know that many of you lived through the Civil Rights Movement. You know how much things have changed since then. But there is still work to be done. And I know that some of you might think that this is too political. This is not a political trip. It is a trip for us to learn from our past so that we can make informed choices about our future. Memphis has a rich history. There is a lot that we can learn from its history. I look forward to the conversations I have with the group of adults going with me this trip. They will definitely bring different perspectives and ideas than high school students do. It is going to be an amazing trip and I look forward to sharing with you when we return.

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5 Youth Dinner and Fundraiser The Four Seasons Dinner and Silent Auction Fundraiser for Youth Summer Mission Trips April 8, 2017 Doors open at 5:30 pm Save the date for a night of great food (Cooked by Joan Snow), a fabulous silent auction, and fun times with the church youth. The middle school will be returning to The Just Living Farm (Yakama Christian Mission). The High School will be going to All People s Center (The Disciples Mission Site in L.A) Our Freedom Journey team is leaving on February 19 th for a week of Civil Rights history and current action. Look for a time that they will share their experiences when they return. RENEW! Find healing relief and prayerrenewal with the practice of Reiki. Class available March 3rd and 4th! See Linda Brown for details.

6 The Foot Clinic s this Saturday, January 28th from The next Foot Clinic will be March 11th. Hightimers Quilts for Kids meets monthly on the second Thursday beginning at 9 :30 am in the Fellowship Hall. For more information, contact Kay Merrill. Since we were unable to meet in January we now have reservations at Godfather's Pizza on Barrows Road for Sunday, February 5, at 1:00. If you can join us please let Bobby Prowell know at or wmprjp@gmail.com. If you have a special pizza you would like for them to prepare please let me know that also. Needlers meet every Wednesday, from 1 3 pm in the Fellowship Hall. Anyone is welcome. REST STOP NEEDS With the snow and ice we had recently, our Rest Stop was utilized more than usual by our officers. This is an amazing show that our ministry is alive and embraced! However, more officers than normal equals a diminished supply! We need major donations of the following: Trail Mix Granola Bars Protein Bars Chips/Pretzels (individual bags) Creamer (individual containers) Gatorade

7 Who Loves Chocolate??!! We all know how Lent is supposed to work on Ash Wednesday we wear ashes on our foreheads and then we give up something we really like until Easter. What if we did it differently? This Lent Karyn and I want to build Lent around the book Chocolate for Lent by Hilary Brand which is based on the movie Chocolat. Brand writes, The film s philosophy of indulging yourself, enjoying life and learning to be yourself very much taps into the spirit of our age. Perhaps we should first explore whether the idea of giving up something for Lent be it chocolate, wine, television or sex is valid. Is it even Christian? This will be a thought-provoking series! Each Sunday we re going to be showing brief clips from the movie as part of our sermons. But first we need to see the movie; in its entirety. It is available for viewing on Netflix. It s a cheap movie to purchase, but nothing would be more fun than watching it all together --as a group so that s what we re going to do. Friday evening, February 24, 6:30 p.m. Of course we ll be serving chocolate to snack on while you watch it (okay maybe we ll be serving other things too). Please join us. Both of our Christmas Eve Services are Traditional Candlelight Services with communion.

8 Pray Tuesday Nights Let s pray together. Every Tuesday Night there will be someone in the Ground Level Room to pray. Come pray together in person, or pray from home every Tuesday Night at 6:30 pm. Let s fill the year with prayer! Facebook Class We ve been using Facebook more as a means of communication lately. Would you like some help to access our Facebook page? Please join Krista in a class Sunday, February 5th during the 10 am Sunday School Hour in the Spiritual Formation Library. Pastor s Class Pastor s Class Lent is just around the corner and it s time for a Pastors class. This class is for anyone interested in being baptized this Easter. Please contact Karyn for information about a Pastors class. In February our kids will continue to explore the scriptures using the weekly lectionary readings. In one of their lessons they will be looking at Deuteronomy 30:15-20 with the focus of What is God calling us to do: {Love, Pray, Believe, Share). They will also be looking at Leviticus, Matthew, and 1 Corinthians. February is a full month for the youth! We will be having a Superbowl party at the church on the 5th. There is a Regional Middle School event Feb And we are collecting donations for the Dinner and Auction to raise money for the Mission Trips.

9 Memorial Service for Leona Rapacz Saturday, February 11th :00 am Luncheon Following Donna Laney February 2 Elaine Beusch February 6 Mary Jean Davis February 8 Miles Vance February 13 Sharon Blickenstaff February 14 Audrey Bates February 17 Gary Arndt February 18 Pat Churchill February 19 Windra Bodine February 21 Howard Thompson February 22 Krista Tjossem February 23 Joyce Bolton February 24 Betsy Hatfield February 26 Jane Kennedy February 28 Alyson Carnathan February 29

10 So- New Year s Eve Game Night The Ordination of Bonnie Vance

11 Youth Bowling FUNdraiser

12 Murray Hills Christian Church SW Weir Rd. Beaverton, OR Phone: (503) PLEASE PLACE STAMP HERE