Inside Faith Congregational MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF FAITH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AUGUST 2018 PASTOR S PEN Your church leadership is already making plans for the official launch of our church s 5-year vision. I ve mentioned its foundations to you in previous newsletter articles. One of the key components is Growing in Our Relationship with Christ. Growing means changing. And not many of us like changing, right? Change is uncomfortable, and growing is almost always accompanied by growing pains. Any church that buys into its own vision for the future, especially if that vision calls for growth, will go through times of discomfort and dissatisfaction. It s all part of the process. With this in mind, I d like to share an article with you on the topic of COMPLAINING ( Three Types of Complaining by Robert Biswas-Diener). Please know that we ALL complain. But there is good complaining and bad complaining. If we are to enter a new season of church growth, we will likely enter a season that contains some complaining. Remember, how much Israel complained on the way to the Promised Land? It was a tough journey...and they needed to grow...a lot! So, as we move forward to the place where God is calling us, let us commit ourselves to growth that brings about positive change and growth that brings out the best in us. It may not be easy sometimes, but we can do it! Yours in Faith, Pastor Rob Hunter
If complaining is so awful, why is it so prevalent? There is a growing body of research addressing complaining: what it is, and when and why it happens. To begin with, complaining is simply expressing dissatisfaction. This usually happens verbally and usually happens in the wake of a negative situation. Traffic was worse than expected. The movie was disappointing. The contractor did shoddy work. The city council should never have approved that new development. Of course, it is not just situations but also personal factors that are involved. You ll notice, for example, that some people tend to complain while others hold their tongues. Indeed, there is a complaint threshold that must be reached before someone decides to grumble. This threshold is still being explored but it likely has many facets. One may be locus of control, or how much control a person feels she has in a situation. If an airline misplaces your suitcase, for instance, you are more likely to lodge a complaint because you feel that your notification of the problem will help to solve it. There may be other personal factors involved as well such as tolerance for conflict, age, and desire to present one s self positively. It is useful to understand that complaining (and by extension complainers) come in types. There are those who never seem to be satisfied. These are known as chronic complainers. They have a tendency to ruminate on problems and to focus on setbacks over progress. Some research suggests that making a habit of complaint can re-wire the brain so that those particular thinking orientations become ingrained. It is possible to re-wire this re-wiring to make it more positive, of course, but chronic complainers probably don t think it would work all that well.
A second type of complaint is the familiar venting. Venting is expressing emotional dissatisfaction. It turns out that people who vent have an agenda. They tend to be focused on themselves and their own presumably negative experience. By showing their anger, frustration, or disappointment, they are soliciting attention from their confidantes. They can feel validated by receiving attention and sympathy. Venters are particularly likely to discount advice and proposed solutions to their problems. They aren t looking to solve anything; they simply want validation. One unfortunate downside to both venting and to chronic complaining is that it can dampen people s moods. In one series of studies, researchers tracked people s moods before and after hearing a complaint. As predicted, listening to gripes made people feel worse. What s more, the complainer also felt worse! The last type of complaint is known as the instrumental complaint. Unlike its wrinklenosed conceptual cousins the instrumental complaint is all about solving problems. When you confront your romantic partner about overspending on the credit card, that could be instrumental complaining. Especially if you focus on the impact of the problem, the importance of change, and cooperate to create a plan for change. One study suggests that these types of complaints make up fewer than 25 percent of all complaints. In one study, researchers found that happy people complain less. They also looked at the evidence that the happy folks in their study were more mindful. They hypothesize that more cheerful folks are likely to complain more mindfully more strategically, if you will and with a specific goal in mind. When viewed this way a rough guide for complaining emerges: Avoid dampening your mood by complaining only rarely Complain only in instances where you believe it will effect real and positive change Consider whether affirmation or some other strategy will work instead of complaining Limit your exposure to complaining by limiting your exposure to
FAITH STAFF Pastor Rob Hunter Choir & Music Director Hazel Graham Administrative Assistant Frank Grieco STEERING OFFICERS President Marcia Steiner Vice President Wilma Osterhoudt Treasurer Kelly Phillips Secretary Paula Akucewich MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH Outreach Ministry Patty Hesser Discipleship Ministry Bob Santom Property Ministry Rich Pecho Stewardship Ministry Ron Knepshield Worship Ministry Carol McDonnold Volunteers Needed to get See Patty Hesser or Sharon Ruzga
Sisters in Faith Luncheon Back to school supply drive Saturday, August 4 @ 12:00 Noon Located on US 1 in PSL. All Ladies are invited. Sign up sheet in the lobby. Collecting Any ITEMS for children ages 2-14 that will fit in a shoe box. 2nd Sunday of each month Please sign up for boxes See Gladys Dolan for more information. #2 Pencils Glue Sticks Composition books Pocket folders Facial Tissue Samaritan s Purse Operation Christmas Child: Sisters in Faith is coordinating shoe boxes for the Operation Christmas Child program again this year. We have boxes available for those who would like to get an early start. You can pick one up the second Sunday of the month in the lobby until October when we will have them available every Sunday. For more information contact Gladys Dolan. COMMUNITY KITCHEN VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Have you experienced a significant loss? Every 3rd Tuesday, 7:00 pm at the Church See Gladys Dolan for more info. Table Set-up Wait Staff Drink Stations Bus Person Greeters Dish room Pick up Bread/Desserts See Karen Overly or Patty Hesser for more information.
READINGS FOR AUGUST 2018 August 1 Isaiah 18-22 August 2 Isaiah 23-27 August 3 Isaiah 28-30 August 4 Isaiah 31-35 August 5 Isaiah 36-41 August 6 Isaiah 42-44 August 7 Isaiah 45-48 August 8 Isaiah 49-53 August 9 Isaiah 54-58 August 10 Isaiah 59-63 August 11 Isaiah 64-66 August 12 Jeremiah 1-3 August 13 Jeremiah 4-6 August 14 Jeremiah 7-9 August 15 Jeremiah 10-13 August 16 Jeremiah 14-17 August 17 Jeremiah 18-22 August 18 Jeremiah 23-25 August 19 Jeremiah 26-29 August 20 Jeremiah 30-31 August 21 Jeremiah 32-34 August 22 Jeremiah 35-37 August 23 Jeremiah 38-41 August 24 Jeremiah 42-45 August 25 Jeremiah 46-48 August 26 Jeremiah 49-50 August 27 Jeremiah 51-52 August 28 Lamentations 1-3:36 August 29 Lamentations 3:37-5:22 August 30 Ezekiel 1-4 August 31 Ezekiel 5-8 11-Gary y 13-Patricia Leader 14-Judy Luttrell 16-Charles Stracuzzi 17-Harold Wagner 17-Judy Byrne 22-Marcia Steiner 26-Brandon Burford 27-Dennis Dierksen 29-Shirley D Andrea 30-Madilyn Joann Geraci 30-Sarah Lewis 13-Dee & Bill Davis 25-Deborah & Jim Tyger 29-Betty & Bob Gordon 31-Karen & Mike Overly
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 Sisters in Faith Luncheon 12 pm 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Sermon: Is Your Bread Perishable? 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Sermon: How Did you Get Here? 1st Day of School No Stewardship Steering 6:30 pm 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Sermon: Is Eternal Life in You? Shepherds 10:15 am Growing through Grief Choir Rehearsal 1 pm 26 27 28 29 30 31 Sermon: Can You Accept It? PRIMARY ELECTION