The Echo Lick Creek Church of the Brethren 1500 Center Street, Bryan, OH 43506 (419) 636-1581 office@lickcreekchurch.org January/February 2018 Volume 45 Issue 1/2 Behold I Make All Things New! Revelation 21:1-5 It is 2018. Happy New Year!! Do you remember back a few years ago at the year 2000? It was a year that we feared. Would our computer s work? Would the world end? Would life as we know it stop completely? And there were those who planned for that moment intently and were ready just in case. They gathered food and water clutching to the unknown. And yet 18 years later the world continues, computers still work, the world did not end and the food that was stockpiled has either spoiled or has been eaten. For some the world seems to be a place of even more chaos. There are wars, rumors of war, fear, hatred, anger, and a heightened sense of entitlement, or a heightened sense of being offended by the words others speak. And yet we just celebrated the coming of Jesus at Christmas. The Advent of his first coming to the very earth he created. Think of the words penned by John, words that would have been confusing at best. Remember John walked with Jesus and then has this great revelation of things yet to come. Here are his words from Revelations 21:1-5 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, Look, God s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. And the one sitting on the throne said, Look, I am making everything new! In our deepest longings, in our deepest fears, in our deepest darkness we wait for something new. We wait for things to be made right and put back in order. And God states at the right time I will make all things new. The new-ness of God is always available for each of us. What do you have that needs to be made new? This makes me think of the words of a song that we sing from time to time in our worship time. New earth, heavens new, Spirit of God moving; new sea, creatures new, Spirit of life moving; New man, woman new Image of God moving. Sing a new song to the one who has said Behold I make all things new. As we enter 2018 may we seek to experience the New-Ness of God in our ordinary everyday life. And may our heart long for a time of Behold I make all things new. It is a new year HAPPY NEW YEAR and may God be with each of us creating new-ness out of our past. Pastor Bill
Minutes from January Leadership Team Meeting The Leadership Team meeting of the Lick Creek Church of the Brethren was held on January 2, 2018. Present were Linda Shambarger, Chairrman, Shelly Price, Doug Hohenberger, Glenn Shearer, Beth Holsopple, Pastor Holsopple and Jan Masten. Absent were Sherrie Herman and Bernie Schleisser. Chairman, Linda Shambarger opened the meeting with devotions using the Upper Room and scripture from Psalm 139. Roll call and the minutes of the previous meeting were read by Jan Masten, clerk. The minutes were approved with one correction. Treasurer, Doug Hohenberger stated that he divided the 2 cent club offering between Habitat, Heifer International, and The Sanctuary and sent it to them. The checking account as of 12-31-2017 is $4978.64. The report was filed for audit. Pastor Bill reported it was a busy holiday season and he was especially pleased with the communion and candlelight service at the end of worship on Christmas Eve Sunday, as it was well received. He expressed Thank You for the Love Gift at Christmas from the congregation. He is getting ready to start Bible study on January 10 th. Glenn Shearer, deacon chair, reported that the deacons helped with the bread and cup communion on Christmas Eve Sunday. They are meeting on January 14 th. Director of worship, Beth Holsopple, stated that the advent readings went well and everyone was very willing to help. She enjoyed having the families involved. A meeting of the worship committee will be held in the coming weeks. Director of Education, Sherrie Herman had nothing to report, except children were here in December. There was no report from Property director. A couple of issues were discussed and Linda will meet with Bernie to discuss them. Shelly Price, Director of Special Events mentioned she was working on the schedule, but needed to confirm some dates. Under old business Doug said that David Herman has sold his business and that Aaron Herman was donating snow removal this winter for the church parking lot. We will need to get someone to do mowing in the summer. The date for the next Team Meeting will be February 6 th at 6:30 p.m. Glenn closed the meeting with prayer. Respectfully submitted, Janice Masten, Church Clerk Pathfinders Sunday School Class Party January 20, 6:00 PM In the Church Parlor Potluck in the church parlor. Please bring a white elephant gift per person to exchange. January 10 6:30 p.m. Please join us for Bible Study beginning January 10 at 6:30 p.m. Our focus will be on the Book of Ruth. Answer: A
Celebrations of Christmas at Lick Creek Church ADVENT CANDLES Pictured left to right are Gillian and Chloe Davies as they read about the celebration of Christmas while their mother, Angie Davies, lights the Advent candles. DONATIONS Pictured above is the manger full of donations for the Outreach Center. Members, friends and guests were asked to donate the items during the Advent season. CHILDREN S STORY Pastor Bill is pictured at the right using a smiling emoji to tell the children about Christmas. There were lots of children in church that day as they were visiting their grandparents for family celebrations.
We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there's nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all. ~ Oswald Chambers Solution is found on page 2 Deacon Caregivers for the month of January: Becky Shearer 419-636-4470 For the month of February: Glenn Shearer 419-636-4470 Statistics Dec. 3 Dec. 10 Dec. 17 Dec. 24 Dec. 31 Adult Sunday School 17 20 16 14 n/a Worship Service 34 31 54 70 37 Tithes & Offering $2030.48 $639.59 $2224.57 $2613.00 $1397.00
Cancellation Procedures in the event of Weather Emergency Pastor will contact the Williams County Sheriff s Department and Bryan Police Department on the weather emergency status. Anniversary and Birthday listings may be unintentionally incomplete. If you are aware of an omission, please notify the office. Thank you. January Birthdays February 1 - Todd Naveua 4 - Parker Harris 12 - Billie Kornrumpf 5 - Amy Boyer 14 - Hannah Naveau 26 - Tina Beattie 25 - Noah Beattie 28 - Marissa Harris Level 1: Travel advisory, use caution Level 2: Essential driving only such as employment or doctor s visit. Level 3: Emergency travel only. Pastor will confer with Leadership Team Chair to make a joint decision based on the following: Are parking lot and sidewalks clean? What is the weather forecast? What is the emergency status level? Church event (s) will be cancelled if emergency status is Level 2 or 3. Notifications will be given to the following radio stations: WBCL, WBNO, WLZZ, WDFM. 30 - Beverly Keck Anniversary January 31 - Mary Beth & Michael Burton February 19 - Olan & Jean Zigler Bible Quiz Epiphany is the last of the 12 days of Christmas. Epiphany celebrates the wise men seeking the holy family at the time of Jesus birth. Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? they asked. This interesting story is found in only one of the four gospels. In which Gospel is the story told? A. Matthew B. Mark C. Luke D. John The answer is found on page 3.
Lick Creek Church of the Brethren 1500 Center Street Bryan, OH 43506 Return Service Requested Worship Schedule 9:15 AM - Sunday School 10:30 AM - Worship Jan. 2 Jan. 7 Jan. 10 Jan. 20 Feb. 6 Leadership Team Meeting Take down Christmas decorations Bible Study Starting Up Again Pathfinder s Class Party Leadership Team Meeting The Echo is a publication of the Lick Creek Church of the Brethren and is published bi-monthly (except for December). Articles are to be submitted to the church secretary by the 15th of each month. Editor & Copy writer Publisher Proofreader Brenda Arnold Verle Harner Jan Masten