he Voice August 2018 VBS Is August 6-10!! We touch the lives of many children and families during VBS week! Please help us by bringing in school supplies, which supports our joint Mission Project to supply Greenway Elementary with backpacks full of school supplies. VBS will be packing backpacks on Friday, August 10th. On August 18th, we will be celebrating our 65th year as Cedar Hills Christian Church Disciples of Christ and (Murray Hills Christian Church Disciples of Christ). We invite you to worship with us on August 19th and stay around after the service for a potluck. The Voice is a monthly publication of Murray Hills Christian Church (DoC) and is published usually on the last Wednesday of the month for the following month. Murray Hills Christian Church 15050 SW Weir Rd. Beaverton, OR 97007 (503) 524-5230 www.murrayhills.org murray.hills@comcast.net 1
SNOWFLAKES Dr. Larry Snow Larry-snow@comcast.net Friends, One more month. We ve got one more month before summer is over and school starts. Camp is already over but VBS is going to require every volunteer we can get please help. This month will also see Karyn and I both taking vacation. I m going to my nephew s wedding near Welches. And, you may remember that I m going to be gone almost 3 weeks in September to see Austria. To really see Austria we are going to bicycling along the Danube River from Passau in the west to Vienna in the east. But those upcoming events have not stopped us from thinking about the fall. For part of the fall we re going to build our worship around the book of Colossians. Perhaps written by Paul, Colossians is a lot like Ephesians but with some significant differences the biggest being the appearance of what theologians call, The Cosmic Christ who right now is holding together all of creation that s a huge promotion for a carpenter from Nazareth. It s at the end of Colossians that we are told to put on the whole armor of Christ. These will be fun sermons to work on. In the last part of the fall we re going to be participating in the denomination- wide stewardship study called, Overflowing. I say stewardship but this isn t your father s stewardship study. It s not about tithing it s about living in gratitude which I want to do and which I could use some help with. If you d like more information about Overflowing you can go to https://centerforfaithandgiving.org/ overflowing-stewardship-curriculum/ At the same time that we re preaching Overflowing our Elders are going to be offering discussion groups during the week. We will be publishing a schedule of those groups and encouraging you to sign up for one. As a side note Karyn and I have been working with Ellie to coordinate sermon themes with special music. As you might expect the sermons on gratitude would work with lots of different kinds of music. However, the sermons on Colossians have required some real work. There just isn t much music based on Colossians no matter how wonderful I may think it is. I think we ve got it figured out. The team revising our Constitution and Bylaws continues to work. One of the places we have had a lot of discussion is over terms of office and term limits. Currently all our terms of office are for one year with no limits to the number of terms that can be served. It is has been the recommendation that we go to 2-year terms with the possibility of serving 2 consecutive terms unless the Board chooses to make an exception. The team should have a draft of these documents to the Board by fall and to the congregation by winter. See you In Church, Larry 2
Musings Rev. Karyn Dix Karyn.dix@comcast.net VBS is 2 weeks away! This is such an amazing week at the church. There is so much fun energy in the building. I love watching all the kids, knowing that we are sharing God s love and light with them for this short time. So many of our families return year after year, and they bring their friends. I am grateful for everyone who makes this VBS week possible! August 19 th is our 65 th Birthday of being Murray Hills Christian Church (Cedar Hills Christian Church at the beginning). Larry and I have been working hard on a special worship service for the morning. We have gotten a lot of help from Rick Kelly, for our video segment of worship. As we have been working on the service it has been fun to dream about the church s next 65 years! After worship we will get to celebrate together with a lunch. 65 years is a great number to celebrate. It feels like summer just began and yet it is getting ready to wind down. Fall is right around the corner. That means that there is planning and preparation to be done before Fall programing at the church kicks into high gear after Labor Day weekend. We have a bunch of Fun in the Fall events planned. I hope that they are all enjoyed by many people. If you have a fun activity that you would like to lead this fall please let me know. Our intent is to spend time enjoying each other this fall as a church community. As I prepare for all the regular things that happen in the fall I am working farther out than usual. That is because my Sabbatical begins on October 22 nd and I need to make sure that everything is ready for my substitutes. I am excited that Shari and David Eggleston have agreed to fill in for my sabbatical. They will not be doing everything that I would normally do, and they will not be doing any of the Spring planning so I will be doing all the Spring planning before my Sabbatical. I have already begun meeting with them to talk about the job responsibilities that the board has asked them to take on in my absence. I know that they will do a great job while I am gone. Knowing that they are here, filling in, allows me to relax a bit and begin focusing some of my energy on how I am going to spend my Sabbatical time away from the church. 3
And The Beat Goes On Notes from the Director of Music Ministries As I write this note, I am between workshops this summer having just returned from the Handbell Musicians of America National Seminar in Grand Rapids. I love to learn so you will find it easy to imagine I had a great week! The event is structured with multiple classes and concerts each day. I immersed myself in such eclectic topics as Live Streaming: Basics and Beyond, Technology for Rehearsals, Ensemble Ringing (or, figuring things out for the good of the order!) and lots of rhythm classes. The daily concerts included a variety of community handbell ensembles from all over the region. The Detroit Handbell Ensemble build their concert around pride in their city and spotlighting ways Detroit is coming back from the fall of manufacturing. A group from Illinois featured a group of young musicians from a Christian School and the closing concert was a spectacular one featuring the Milwaukie Handbell Ensemble. That was all wonderful and many aspects of what I learned and experienced will make their way into how I approach our music program this year. But, by far the high point for me is always the international camaraderie at this event. My friends of all ages from Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Canada were there as participants and teachers. The hallways and classrooms were filled intense music making, with laughter and deep conversations. I m still smiling. I think musicians understand that great music making demands that we are fiercely committed to learning as much as we can and improving our craft. I believe musicians figure out how to work together because music making demands it. We are richly blessed at Murray Hills that these are core value of our musicians. We work hard, we love fiercely and we are laser focused on bring the best we have to our shared work and always aiming to enrich worship. Oh,... there I go again smiling! See you at the Anniversary worship. Best, Ellie Dates to Remember Monday, August 13, 7 pm, Music Room: Choir rehearsal for Sunday, August 19 th s 65 th Anniversary worship. ALL Welcome! Wednesday, September 5: All adult rehearsals resume. NEW MEMBERS WELCOME Handbells, 6:30-7:30 Choir, 7:30-9 FH&L rehearsals resume Sunday, September 9, 12:30 pm, NEW MEMBERS WELCOME Soundwave Intergenerational Chime Choir Wednesdays, 4-4:45 pm in the Music Room Begins October 17 (no class Oct 31 or Nov 21) and continues through December 12 For Grade 3-6 and any parents or grandparents who d like to join us. Learning together is fun and builds priceless relationships! Ukulele 101 A Laughin and Strummin Good Time for Beginners Got a dusty old, out-of-tune ukulele that you bought eons ago and played once or twice? Is it time to learn a second chord?!! It s okay if you forgot everything. It s okay if you bought it just to look at and never gave it a single strum. It s just okay! This class is part of the Fun In The Fall series see info on how to register later in the newsletter! 4
We hope that all our children are enjoying their summer! Remember that Sunday School, Worship & Wonder, and Way of the Child begin again after Labor Day, on September 9 th. The mission trips are behind us and the youth are enjoying Regional Camp this week. Many of the youth are involved in VBS in a few weeks. We hope that they are also taking some time to rest and be ready for school to begin. Youth Group will resume on September 9 th with a fun event for both groups. Watch your email for more information. We are looking for people to teach and shepherd in our children s programing. There is a ONE week commitment and the curriculum is fun! Please contact Pastor Karyn or the church office to let us know if you are interested. Police Rest Stop The temperatures are climbing there s forecasts of 100+ degrees! Our officers really appreciate the Gatorade/ Powerade in the fridge and as our stock dwindles, we would invite you to bring in some to have for our amazing police officers! Our officers also like beef sticks/pepperoni sticks and our supply of those is getting lower too. We appreciate your thoughtfulness and faithfulness. 5
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One of the events we love to participate in is back again! Join us Thursday, August 23rd at 7:05 pm at Ron Tonkin field to watch our own Hillsboro Hops play the Everett AquaSox. Tickets are available now from Krista. First come, first serve. Tickets are $15/each. Be there early to enjoy the food, player autographs, and as a special treat, the mixed barbershop quartet that rehearses at the church, All Mix d Up, will be singing the National Anthem that evening! Come join us Thursday mornings at 10 am as we work our way through the Gospel of Matthew. This is not a closed group so please feel free to drop into this group whenever you are available. Isaac Soon August 1 James Pesheck August 3 Delinah Soon August 6 Sidney Allee August 9 Cheri Hainer August 10 Carl Robinson August 10 Vicki Smallwood August 14 Gorman Donegan August 15 Katie Eide August 15 Tyler Annand August 20 Mike McCord August 20 Annie Sturgill August 21 7
Fun In The Fall Event Series Fun In The Fall events are available for sign ups! Simply go to our website: www.murrayhills.org and click on the Fun In The Fall tab. There are also sign up sheets in the narthex. We are so excited to have new and returning events for everyone to come join! The Food Pantry is in need of additional volunteers. Volunteers are needed through the week to restock the pantry and on Thursday afternoons to unload the truck delivering food from the Oregon Food Bank. Volunteers are also needed to serve on Monday afternoons, Wednesday mornings, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Sunday, August 12, following worship, the Food Pantry will be serving an appreciation tea to its volunteers and will also be recruiting new volunteers. Contact Gayle Hernandez for more information at gayle.hernandez@gmail.com. THANK YOU for your continuing prayer for the Evangelism-Fellowship Development team in their prioritizing of open doors for ministry. We have prioritized that the guest book needs to have someone there for both worship services. Please pray that 3 or 4 people will volunteer for each worship service to fulfill that ministry of evangelism. Would you like to Volunteer to be at the guest book? Please see Pastor Larry Snow or Wallace Prowell. Monday Night Book Group We are currently reading Reiki Healing Touch: And the Way of Jesus. We will begin a new book in September. Alzheimer s Support Next meeting will be Wednesday, August 8th Quilts For Kids Is on hiatus until fall! The next Foot Clinic is Saturday, July 28th, 10 am Noon. The Needlers meet every Wednesday from 1-3 pm in the Fellowship Hall. 8
School starts on August 27th. This means we need to take our backpacks full of school supplies to Greenway on August 20th, which is right around the corner. Please start bringing in school supplies so we can bless the children of Greenway Elementary School and start their year off knowing that people care about them and their education. In addition to collecting supplies for Greenway Elementary we are also collecting 3 inch binders for one of the Middle Schools, again, that one of our congregation members works at. Supplies needed: 3 inch binders Ream of white paper Crayola crayons Crayola markers Fiskars pointed scissors Ziploc bags (sandwich) Spiral notebooks-wide ruled colored pencils headphones composition book college ruled Dry erase markers pencil top erasers Baby wipes Elmers glue sticks Ticonderoga pencils (sharpened) pink pearl erasers pencil box composition book wide ruled Lysol disinfecting wipes 5 flash drives (6Gb) ruler (with inches and centimeters) two pocket folders (red, blue, yellow, green) Kleenex Liquid hand sanitizer 9
Murray Hills Christian Church 15050 SW Weir Rd. Beaverton, OR 97007 Phone: (503) 524-5230 E-mail: murray.hills@comcast.net PLEASE PLACE STAMP HERE 10