Crossroads Connections

Transcription

1 J a n u a r y Crossroads Connections A c h u r c h i n t h e c r o s s r o a d s o f l i f e I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e : A M o m e n t w i t h 1 P a s t o r M i k e T h a n k Y o u! 2 J a n u a r y S u n d a y 3 S e r m o n s P r a y e r s 4 W o r s h i p L e a d e r s 5 C a l e n d a r 6 P r a y e r f r o m 7 s p a c e... W o r s h i p t i m e s : S u n d a y S c h o o l a t 9 : 3 0 a m. W o r s h i p a t 1 0 : 4 5 a m. A M o m e n t w i t h P a s t o r M i k e Here we stand, on the verge of a new year was a tough year in our region, our nation, and our world. It was a year marked by conflict and division, between rich and poor, black and white, nation and nation, peacekeepers and terrorists. It hurt to hear of innocent school children gunned down by extremists, and other innocent school children abused by sexual predators. The fabric of community, of social covenant, is ripping and shredding in so many ways. Yet behind the scenes, not making headlines in the papers and vivid images on the news channels, good people are still working to bring reconciliation; to tear down barriers; to heal the sick and injured; to comfort the bereaved; to make peace and justice real. As we re still in the season of Christmas, it s good to remember that God didn t send Jesus into a nice, pleasant world. Most of the divisions, hatreds and animosities that I mentioned above were making things miserable for most people then. They didn t have the modern technology that we have to kill people, but they found their ways. They didn t have mass communication to stir things up, but people knew they were hurting. And into that world God sent Jesus. What an act of vulnerability. What an act of compassion. God made the ultimate commitment to prove that love was still stronger than hate; that life was stronger than death; that hope was stronger than fear. The church lives out that message. Sometimes it gets bogged down. Sometimes it gets confused. Sometimes it gets fearful. But still the message is there that God, who is love, wants something better for us all. Will 2015 be a better year, or a worse year, than was 2014? Who knows? But we can still love as God would have us love. We can still be agents of positive change. We can still sing against the darkness. In the words of This Is My Father s World, we can still affirm, Our God has made this world; oh, let us ne er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. Amen to that. Pastor Mike Mike and Sandy Dixon truly appreciate the congregational Christmas gift, the cards, and the other expressions of love that have made this Christmas season special to us.

2 C r o s s r o a d s C o n n e c t i o n s Page 2 T h a n k Y o u! To: Jim Buckhannon & Tom Petrekovich for the installation of the two new stoves in the kitchen! From: Hospitality Committee To: Jim Buckhannon & Tom Petrekovich for the placing on the north wall, the Women of the Bible paintings by artist Faith Cotter. From: Worship Committee To: Santa for visiting and gifts! From: The kids at Crossroads To: Pat Hayes for her fantastic cake and cupcake creations for our various special events. Yum! From: Hospitality Committee

3 J a n u a r y Page 3 C h u r c h B o a r d N e w s The next scheduled Board Meeting will be Sunday, January 18, 2015 at 12:00pm. The installation of officers, elders and deacons will be during worship on Sunday, January 11, In addition we will confer the title of Deacon Emeritus to Virginia Johnasen and Curt Sutton. J a n u a r y S u n d a y S e r m o n s January 4, nd Sunday after Christmas The Message: A Gift of Light Scripture: Jeremiah 31:7-14; John 1:1-18 Theme: A tale of darkness and light. January 11, 2015 Epiphany The Message: Wisdom in the Night Scripture: Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12 Theme: What made the wise men wise? January 18, nd Sunday after Epiphany The Message: Who s Calling? Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-18; John 1:43-51 Theme: When God calls, answer! January 25, rd Sunday after Epiphany The Message: More than a Fish Story Scripture: Jonah 3:1-10; Mark 1:14-20 Theme: The big one that didn t get away.

4 C r o s s r o a d s C o n n e c t i o n s Page 4 P r a y e r s Virginia recuperating after a fall on Thanksgiving Waller family injured after a serious car accident Ongoing back issues for Carole Thompson and Helen Richter The people of the Philippines affected by typhoon damage and floods Continued prayers for Tom Hull Prayers for 2yr old Eli Jodie Hoehn is seriously ill Geri & Don (friends of Patty P.) death of Geri's father Celebration and praise prayers for Jan Evans as she reports no sign of tumor Linda Petrekovich waiting on test Brooke (granddaughter of Jan) having medical tests Death of Nelson Rodriguez-Arté Death of Marvin Sanford C h r i s t m a s T r e e C a r d s Many thanks to those who sent Christmas cards to the church during the Advent season. The cards were added to the tree in the gathering area: Jim & Patty Buckhannon Don & Carol Brookshier Meredith & Noelle Moder Pat & Connie McAllister Mary Weygandt & family Maggie Daugherty Ron & Debi Johnson (a letter from the family is posted on the bulletin board in fellowship hall) Staff of Bread for the World O u r H o m e b o u n d Ray Doctorman Rollie & Jodie Hoehn Vera Hudson

5 Worship Leader Mike Thompson Lori Burgess Bob Green Jan Evans Elder Carole Thompson Mona McAllister Jan Evans Bob Green Greeter Marie Reichling Jim Buckhannon Pat Killian Curt Sutton Audio-Visual Pat McAllister Pat Hayes Kay Marshall Pat McAllister Deacons Prepare Deacons Serve Deacons Candles Deacons Sanctuary January 4 January 11 January 18 January 25 Shirley Holmes Pat Hayes Pat Hayes Mary Weygandt Lay Worship Leaders January 2015 Patty Buckhannon Mary Weygandt Patty Buckhannon Jim Buckhannon Shirley Holmes Pat Hayes Pat Hayes Meredith Moder Pat Hayes Pat Hayes Patty Buckhannon Mary Weygandt Patty Buckhannon Jim Buckhannon Shirley Holmes Patty Buckhannon Shirley Holmes Patty Buckhannon

6 4 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 9:30 Sunday School 10:45 Worship 11 9:30 Sunday School 10:45 Worship 18 9:30 Sunday School 10:45 Worship 12:00 Board Meeting 25 9:30 Sunday School 10:45 Worship January :00 Lunch Bunch 5:30 Dinner/Video 7:00 Choir Practice 5:30 Dinner/Video 7:00 Choir Practice Happy Anniversary! 19 Tom & Jessie Hull 4:15 Elders Meeting 5:30 Dinner/Video 7:00 Choir Practice 5:30 Dinner/Video 7:00 Choir Practice 1 SEGA Prayers for the Month 1/4-1/10 Hematite First Christian Church, Hematite, MO 1/11-1/17 Villa Ridge Christian Church, Villa Ridge, MO 1/18-1/24 Liberation Christian Church, St. Louis, MO 1/25-1/31 Crossroads Christian Church, Caseyville, IL 1 Jo Jones Ryan McAllister 4 Faye Pritz 8 Nicolas Clay Christian Moder New Year s Day (Office Closed) Happy Birthday! 15 Pat Hayes 16 Connie McAllister 22 Corrine Goodall Ron Johnson 23 John Weygandt 24 Greg Marshall 26 Carol Brookshier 30 Claire Weygandt

7 J a n u a r y Prayer from space... Apollo 8, the second manned mission in the United States Apollo space program, was launched on December 21, 1968, and became the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth orbit, reach the Earth s moon, orbit it and return safely to Earth. The three-astronaut crew Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to witness Earthrise, on December 24, The prayer on Christmas Eve of 1968 can easily be a prayer for the end of 2014 and the new year ahead. Page 7 Give us, O God, the vision which can see Your love in the world in spite of human failure. Give us the faith to trust Your goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness. Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray with understanding hearts. And show us what each one of us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace. By Frank Borman, Apollo 8 mission

8 C h r i s t i a n C h u r c h 2415 North 89th Street Caseyville, IL (618) Interim Pastor - Rev. Michael Dixon medixon2@earthlink.net Office Manager - Patrick McAllister crossroadsdisciple@sbcglobal.net Hours: M,T,W,Th 8-12 Music Director - Carol Brookshier clbrookshier@charter.net Nursery - Connie McAllister Custodian - Richard Reichling We re Disciples: a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world U p c o m i n g E v e n t s L u n c h B u n c h On Tuesday, January 20, 2014, the Lunch Bunch will meet at noon at Bandana s, 4608 N. Illinois St. (Hwy 159), Fairview Heights, IL. A sign-up sheet is in fellowship hall. L i f e l i n e H e a l t h S c r e e n i n g Vascular & Hand Surgery, Ltd. Is sponsoring preventative health screenings Friday, January 30, am to 4:30pm Fellowship Hall Crossroads Christian Church 2415 N. 89th St. Caseyville, IL Pre-registration is required. Call (888) Pink colored information flyers are available in the greeting area and in Fellowship Hall.