"A body of believers glorifying God, outwardly focused, committed to growth in personal transformation and in number." 2013 Ebenezer Reformed Church 2997 N. German Church Road Oregon, IL 61061 Office: (815) 732-6313 www.ebenezerreformed.com Pastor: Brion Brooks Parsonage: (815) 732-2682 Email: pastor@ebenezerreformed.com Secretary: Dee Haak Email kendeehaak@att.net Treasurer: Bill Welty (815) 732-1303 Email: bill1303@oglecom.com Assistant: Mark Lohman *Newsletter editor: Jean Woodin Prayer Chain Requests: Contact Marge Barnes (815-732-1207) or Connie Rieck wdcrieck@comcast.net INSIDE THIS ISSUE Page 2: Calendar Page 3: News and Events Page 5: Schedules Page 6: Operation Christmas Child Page 7: Birthdays and Anniversaries Page 8: My Hope with Billy Graham *Newsletter articles are due SUNDAY November 17. Items can be emailed to newsletter@ebenezerreformed.com or put in the box in the Narthex. Thank you. CONSISTORY MEMBERS 2013 ELDERS Carl Berg - (815) 732-3144 Home (815) 440-1899 Cell Email: colafb@gmail.com Council: Stewardship & Property Dale Flanagan - (815) 732-3774 Home (815) 677-7880 Cell Email: Daleflanagan85@Hotmail.com Council: Music & Worship Ken Haak Consistory Clerk (815) 397-2410 Email: kendeehaak@att.net Council: Music & Worship Gary McDanel (815) 234-8233 Email: McDanel8754@comcast.net Council: Missions & Outreach Bill Reecher Consistory Vice President (815) 713-1640 Email: breecher1@comcast.net Council: Discipleship & Education Joe Wolf (815) 562-3041 Home (815) 739-4745 Cell Email: jwphoto@t6wireless.com Council: Music & Worship - Chairperson DEACONS Lance Barnes - (815) 732-1207 Home (815) 761-9531 Cell Email: lancenmarge83@yahoo.com Council: Stewardship & Property Tony Berg (815) 721-0590 Email: aberg1959@yahoo.com Council: Missions & Outreach - Chairperson Dale Boomgarden - (815) 645-2160 Home (815) 222-8734 Cell Email: ddboomgarden@gmail.com Council: Stewardship & Property - Chairperson Steve Raine (815) 978-7300 Email: s.raine@comcast.net Council: Discipleship N E W S L E T T E R & DEducation A T E Larry Seabold - (815) 391-4191 Email: lseabold@bergstrominc.com Council: Stewardship & Property Ceri Woodworth - (815) 742-5736 Email: cwoodworth@byron226.org Council: Discipleship & Education - Chairperson 1
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 All Saint s 2 Fall Work Day Day 3 Daylight Saving Time Ends Food Pantry Collection 8:30AM Prayer 9:00 AM Sunday School 10:00 AM Worship All Souls Service 10 8:30AM Prayer 9:00 AM Sunday School 10:00 AM Worship 4 5 6:30 PM Worship & Music Council 6 1:00 PM Ladies Aid 6:00 PM Youth Group/ Women s Bible Study/ Men s Bible Study/ Kid s Club 7 4:30 7:00 PM Soup Supper 8 9 11 12 13 6:00 PM Youth Group/ Women s Bible Study/ Men s Bible Study/ Kid s Club 14 15 16 17 Newsletter Articles Due Christmas Child Boxes Due 8:30AM Prayer 9:00 AM Sunday School 10:00 AM Worship 18 19 6:30PM Naomi Ruth 20 21 6:00 PM Youth Group/ Women s Bible Study/ Men s Bible Study/ Kid s Club 12:00 PM Christian Fellowshipers 22 23 24 8:30AM Prayer 9:00 AM Sunday School 10:00 AM Worship Celebration of Word & Music 25 26 6:30 PM Elders 7:00 PM Consistory 27 Time TBA Thanksgiving Eve Service 28 29 30 Created with WinCalendar Calendar Maker More Calendars: 2013 Calendar, 2014 Calendar, Holiday Calendar 2
Fall Work Day Saturday November 2 will be a fall clean up day. Please plan to come help get the church and grounds ready for winter. Daylight saving time ends in 2013 at 1:59 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3. That is when clocks will pop back an hour, to 1:00 a.m. instead of 2:00 a.m. This is that blissful time of year when you gain an hour of sleep, or your favorite activity if you are a night owl. Most phones and computers will automatically change the clock for you. However, if you are relying on a phone alarm to get you to church on time Sunday morning, you will want to doublecheck to ensure the setting to update automatically is set. Food Pantry Collection Sunday November 3 is our food pantry collection for the People Helping People food pantry. We have special requests from the folks in Byron for cake and/or brownie mixes; any kind of cereals; and canned fruit. As you make your thanksgiving plans, please remember those neighbors who have so much less in their pantries than most of us. Please place monetary or food donations in the grocery carts in the church foyer. All Souls Service On Sunday November 3, we will honor those souls who no longer walk with us. As in the past, the service will provide an opportunity for worshipers to come forward and light candles in memory of men and women, now dead, who have made a significant impact in their lives and in their faith. Hope you will all attend. Operation Christmas Child Christmas Shoe Boxes (with suggestions for filling) will be available November 3 and must be returned by Sunday November 17. Please pray for the collection, processing, transportation, and delivery of shoebox gifts across the globe. Pray for God to touch the hearts of the children who receive shoebox gifts and hear the Good News of God's best gift, His Son, Jesus Christ. There is an additional insert in this Newsletter with more information about Operation Christmas Child. Ladies Aid The Ladies Aid Missionary Society meets the first Wednesday of each month at 1:00 P.M. at the church. There is a Bible Study, devotions, refreshments and each member brings a scripture verse for roll call relating to a certain topic. Ladies Aid takes an offering to support various ministries throughout the community, denomination and the world. They also serve luncheons when requested by family members at the time of funerals in the church. Do you have a couple hours to give one afternoon a month? Age doesn t matter; this ministry is open to all women of the church. This month s meeting is November 6. Connie Bader will lead the devotions. June Noorlag is the hostess. The Bible Study is What have we learned? and roll call will be a Scripture verse on Knowledge 3
Soup Supper Thursday, November 7 from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM is the annual Soup Supper fundraiser for work camp. We will be serving Chicken Noodle, Broccoli Cheese and Vegetable Soups and Chili, along with pie, cake and a beverage. There will be a sign up sheet in the Narthex for helpers. Naomi Ruth Naomi Ruth is a women s Bible study that meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month (except December & January) at 6:30 P.M. Each member takes turns leading the Bible Study. This group is open to all women of the church. Are you looking for a Ladies Bible Study? Come join Naomi Ruth on November 19 Mary Goerks will lead the Bible Study. Christian Fellowshipers Christian Fellowshipers is a time for anyone over the age of fifty to get together for Christian fellowship and fun. They meet the 3rd Thursday of every month at noon for a potluck meal. There are no officers but we do collect a free will offering, which goes toward a fund for Ron & Marge Sanford who are missionaries that work with "To Every Tribe Ministries" out of Brownsville, Texas. Each month a designated host and/or hostess plan and serve the event. There is scripture reading and prayer. Outings to local restaurants or other activities are scheduled. If you are fifty or over you are invited to the meeting on November 21 at noon; please bring a dish to pass. Ron & Connie Bader are the hosts this month. Celebration of Word and Music. Sunday November 24 will be a Celebration of Word and Music. Is there a particular scripture passage that has special meaning to you? How about a hymn or song? There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex on which you can write your name, the scripture passage you d like read, or the song you would like to hear sung. There s only one catch. We ll be asking you to introduce the song or the reading giving a brief explanation of why it is special to you. Depending on the response we get, we can t guarantee that every song or scripture will be read, but we ll do our best! If you have questions or concerns, see Pastor Brion. Tres Dias Abundant Life Tres Dias #29 (Rockford based): Men's weekend- November 7-10 Women's weekend- November 14-17 Please prayerfully consider attending this fall- Any questions ask Pastor Brion, Joe or Susan Wolf, Lynn Jorgenson, or Jane Freeman. 4
November 2013 Schedules es 3 rd GREETERS: Joe & Susan Wolf Ceri & Alex Woodworth USHERS: Mumma Family and Grace Henley 10 th GREETERS: Jean Woodin & Genevieve Sweeney Hugh & Beryl Blumeyer USHERS: Bill & Melissa Reecher and Grace Henley 17 th GREETERS: Ron & Connie Bader Marge & Lance Barnes USHERS: Ruth Shelly, Lula Reineke and Grace Henley 24 th GREETERS: Carl & Marilyn Berg Tony & Kathy Berg USHERS: Dean & Connie Rieck and Grace Henley NURSERY 3 rd Stacy Flanagan & Abbie Ring 10 th Jen Christenson & Lydia Zabran 17 th 24 th Kara Schriner & Kim Carow Deb Boomgarden & Anna Ring 3 rd 10 th 17 th 24 th Erin Mumma & Tracie Raine/Paige Schriner Liz Brooks & Genevieve Sweeney/Abbie Ring Mary Goerks &Tyler Carow/Anna Ring Ceri Woodworth & Kaley Mumma/Heidi Raine 5
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November Birthdays 2 Luke Meyers 3 Ryan Snodgrass 5 Dave Bjorklund 9 Beryl Blumeyer Genevieve Sweeney 11 Zach Reecher Rosalyn Smith Cassandra Sievers Ben Smith 12 Pat Oltmanns 13 Mark Stewart 16 Bill Welty 19 Becky Reining 20 Kortney Bersch 24 Joe Headley 26 Breccan Berns 29 Ashley Groves Abbie Ring Ellen Mason Vada Rosenbalm Ashley Considine 30 Stacy Flanagan and Anniversaries!!!! 4 Mr. & Mrs. Ken Haak (1966) 8 Mr. & Mrs. Jason Gittleson 12 Mr. & Mrs. Richard Andrist We are trying to keep the birthday and anniversary list up to date. If your birthday or anniversary is incorrect or missing, please send an email to newsletter@ebenzerreformed.com or put a note in the newsletter box in the Narthex. Thank you!!!! A Thanksgiving Day Prayer Lord, so often times, as any other day When we sit down to our meal and pray We hurry along and make fast the blessing Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing We re slaves to the olfactory overload We must rush our prayer before the food gets cold But Lord, I d like to take a few minute more To really give thanks to what I m thankful for For my family, my health, a nice soft bed My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head I m thankful right now to be surrounded by those Whose lives touch me more than they ll ever possibly know Thankful Lord, that You ve blessed me beyond measure Thankful that in my heart lives life s greatest treasure That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place And I m ever so grateful for Your unending grace So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You ve provided And bless each and every person invited Amen! -Scott Wesemann 7
Billy Graham s Call to America My Hope with Billy Graham: An Outreach to U.S., Canada July 30, 2012 - In November 2013, the biggest North American evangelistic event in more than 60 years of Billy Graham's ministry will take place on the week of his 95th birthday. The event: My Hope with Billy Graham. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14 For Billy Graham, it's always been about one thing. From his 1949 tent revival in Los Angeles, to the 16-week New York Crusade in 1957, to more than 200,000 flocking to Flushing Meadows, N.Y. in 2005 to hear him preach one last time it's always been about the Gospel. In November 2013, one event will attempt to send that message out to the United States and Canada at one singular time. It's the biggest evangelistic undertaking for North America in the 60-plus-year history of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The name of this endeavor: My Hope with Billy Graham. "It could be Billy Graham's final call to America to turn to God," explains Preston Parrish, BGEA Vice President for My Hope with Billy Graham. The method will change, but the message will be the same. And the stakes have never been higher. On the week of Billy Graham's 95th birthday, Nov. 7, 2013 Christians across the entire U.S., as well as Canada, will be invited to reach their nation like never before one friend, one family member, one neighbor at a time. This My Hope with Billy Graham program will be available via DVD, streaming video, and on other media platforms, as well as a nationally televised broadcast on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013 Mr. Graham's 95th birthday. "He believes the Lord is going to let him live until he's 95," Parrish said. "What an important time to do this, and what a culmination for his ministry of evangelism." My Hope is not a new evangelistic project at BGEA. For more than 10 years, 57 countries around the globe have hosted My Hope, leading to more than 10 million recorded decisions for Christ. Most recently, My Hope was used in the European countries of Portugal and Spain, along with the African country of Zambia. "Every church that tried it saw results," said Bill Conard, director of My Hope with Billy Graham at BGEA. For more information visit http://myhopewithbillygraham.org 8