April 2009 Newsletter

When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid the body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” Mark 16:5-7
Easter! Within a matter of days the Christian world will be rejoicing in the news we declare once again to one another, “The tomb is empty. He is risen. Jesus is alive!” There are no words more encouraging than these. There are no words more filled with hope than those that tell us Jesus is risen from the dead. Our own promise of eternal life is tied into Jesus’ resurrection. Because he lives, so shall we!
I find the gospel passage above very interesting. Some of Jesus’ female followers go to the tomb expecting to find it empty. Jesus died; he’s been in the tomb from Friday afternoon on, and it’s now Sunday morning. These followers of Jesus arrive at the tomb, find that the stone sealing the tomb has been rolled aside, and they no doubt are greatly puzzled at what they have found. With hearts and minds full of questions they enter the tomb and are shocked! And who can blame them? They’re expecting to find Jesus, dead, but instead find an angel. The angel says, “Don’t be alarmed!” You’re kidding, right? How can they not be alarmed? This isn’t at all what they were expecting. So the angel goes on and explains to them that Jesus isn’t in the tomb. “Take a look,” the angel says. Then the angel says go and tell the others. The angel also says that in a short while they will see Jesus.
How their heads must have been spinning! I can’t imagine that these followers of Jesus who came expecting one thing, only to find something totally different, were quite able to process all they saw and heard. An angel? An empty tomb? Jesus rising from the dead? Jesus going ahead to Galilee? Go and tell others? It was a lot to comprehend, but they had trusted God this far, and they would trust what God through the angel was telling them now.
Why do we believe in the resurrection, in Easter? Not because we can process all of the circumstances related in our scripture. Believing in an angel, an empty tomb, and a resurrected savior is no less difficult for us to believe than it was for them. Rather we believe as they did because we have encountered the resurrected Christ and have a relationship with him. One of the old hymns goes like this: “he walks with me and he talks with me and tells me I am his own.” When Jesus becomes that personal to us believing isn’t difficult. And shouting “He is risen” or “Happy Easter” becomes the excited response of people who have discovered Jesus is no longer in the tomb, but is alive and well. I hope that you have had such an encounter with Jesus. I hope that Easter puts joy in your heart and peace in your soul because you have met the resurrected savior. If so, make sure to follow the angel’s instructions and go and tell others.

Happy Easter!
Pastor Jim

International Missions

Duane Binkley serves ethnic Karen and Chin refugees both in the U.S. and Thailand. (Moo Khu Htoo and his family is Karen.) A while back, Duane wrote of a Burma village. Here is his story:
“The houses are elevated off the ground with bamboo walls and thatched roofs, so this village looks much like any other. But it is different. For one thing it is on a river bank. The village is on the Burma side of the river but just on the other side, maybe 150 feet away is Thailand.
“The village is Ler Ber Her and it is a Karen village in an area of Burma where the Burma army considers any Karen person to be the enemy. Another reason the village is different is that if it is attacked, by being on the river, the people can flee into Thailand, where the Burma army has no jurisdiction and cannot hunt them down.
“In a period of two years, these villagers in previous locations had been attacked three times. After they were attacked the third time, the people were tired and desperate. So before they built the village in its present location, they did something really different. The Christians got together and dedicated themselves and their homes to the Lord. To remind themselves of this, they cut down a tree, stripped off branches, painted it blue so it would stand out, and placed it as a tall post in the center of the village. They are constantly reminded that their lives and their homes are not their own, they belong to the Lord.
“Finally, what makes this village different is that it has been in its present location now for more than six years. Even if attacked tomorrow, it can only be called a miracle that the village survived this long. This location is in the same general area of previous locations and it is only an hour or so walk to the nearest army base. Yet, after being attacked three times in two years, once the village was dedicated to the Lord, it is still there and the people are surviving.
“It is also our privilege to visit places like Ler Ber Her and to be reminded that no matter where we are and what our challenges are, dedicated to the Lord, the impossible becomes possible. Dedicated to the Lord, we can make a real difference.” (Genesis 35:7)

Phone Buddy Program

The Phone Buddy Program is a free service designed to match seniors living alone in Winnebago County with volunteer “buddies” who call each day to check on them. ADVOCAP performs a background check on all phone buddy volunteers. The Phone Buddy Program offers:
· Reassurance to participants that others in their community care about their well-being
· Daily socialization and meaningful conversation for both volunteers and buddies
· Peace of mind to family and friends concerned for the safety of their loved ones.
If you or someone you love would like to receive calls from a phone buddy or you would like to volunteer to become a phone buddy call ADVOCAP at 426-0150 or 1-800-323-0150.

CPR/AED Classes

Pat Lewis is looking to teach CPR and AED in the near future. If you are interested in participating in these classes, contact Pat.

Saturday/Sunday Night Live!

There has been some interest expressed in holding Saturday evening or Sunday evening worship services. (These services would supplement not replace our Sunday morning worship service, and at least initially would be an occasional service.) A planning team would be required to get this idea started. Such things to be considered include service format, music, child care, etc. If you are interested in participating on the planning team, please email Pastor Jim (pastorjjs@tds.net) by April 11th, and a meeting date will be set.

Whose Cross Is It Anyway?

On Sunday morning, April 5th, during our worship service, the youth of our church, under the direction of Holly Robinson, will be presenting a series of 6 sketches related to Lent and Easter. This presentation is entitled, “Whose Cross Is It Anyway?” Come and discover who the cross belongs to. Does it belong to you?

Tax Day Comments

· “Worried about an IRS audit? Avoid what’s called a ‘red flag.’ That’s something the IRS always looks for. For example, say you have some money left in your bank account after paying taxes. That’s a red flag.” -- Jay Leno
· “The Internal Revenue Code is about 10 times the size of the Bible – and unlike the Bible, contains no good news.” -- Don Rickles

Easter Breakfast

On Easter Sunday, April 12th, the Ministry Council, along with the Isom Family, will be hosting our church’s annual Easter Breakfast. The breakfast will begin being served at 8:45 a.m. Included in this year’s menu are: waffles, omelets, sausage, muffins, juice, fruit, milk and coffee. Recommended donations are $5 for adults, $2.50 for children under 12, and a maximum of $15 for the immediate family. Proceeds from the breakfast will go to assist Amanda Isom on her mission trip to Africa this summer, where she will be helping children with AIDS. If you have not already signed up for the Easter breakfast, you can secure your reservation by calling the church office at 722-4312, or emailing Pastor Jim at pastorjjs@tds.net. (There will be no Sunday School on Easter.)

Resources For Tough Times

Our community has many helpful resources for people experiencing tough times. Here is a list of several of them:
· For inexpensive clothes: the Community Clothes Closet, 1465 B Opportunity Way, Menasha. 731-7834.
· For inexpensive clothes and household furnishings: Goodwill, and St. Vincent DePaul. (Both have various locations.)
· For emergency financial assistance: LEAVEN, 1475 Opportunity Way, Menasha.738-9635.
· For financial counseling, FISC, www.fisc-cccs.org. 886-1000.
· For food assistance, Red Cross Food Pantry, 181 E. North Water St., Neenah, 722-2871; Salvation Army, 130 E. North St., Appleton, 734-3324; St. Joseph Food Program, 1465A Opportunity Way, Menasha, 734-9461; SHARE (see Holly Robinson.)
· For health care: Fox Cities Community Health Center, 1800 N. Appleton Rd., Menasha, 731-7445.
· For information and referral services: The United Way, 1455 Midway Rd., Menasha. 1-800-924-5514.

Pastoral Assistance

Pastor Jim will be out of the office from Monday, April 13 through Sunday, April 19th. If you need pastoral assistance during that time please call Pastors Jon or Tabitha Gallatin of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. Their office number is 725-6822.

Summer Camping at Camp Tamarack

Camp Tamarack, the camp for the American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin, is once again planning an exciting camping season for campers of all ages. The schedule for camp is as follows:
· Young In Heart (for ages 60+), June 8-11
· Senior High Camp (for those completing grades 9-12,) June 14-20
· Primary Camp (for those completing grades 1-2,) June 21-24
· Middler Camp (for those completing grades 3-4,) June 21-27
· Do Your Own Thing (for all ages,) June 28 – July 4
· Junior Camp (for those completing grades 5-6,) July 5-11
· Junior High Camp (for those completing grades 7-8,) July 12-18
· Family Camp (for families of all ages,) July 23-26.
More information is available on the Camp Tamarack website as well as our hallway bulletin board. Partial scholarship assistance is available through Velte Funds – see Pastor Jim. (Also, there is financial aid available through the American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin.) May 24th is the cutoff date to request Velte Funds for Camp. Have Pastor Jim sign your camp registration form by that time.

Camp Tamarack depends upon volunteers to help serve as camp counselors at each camp. This is a vitally important ministry! If you would like to volunteer, see Pastor Jim for a Volunteer Application Form.

Perspective

· “What we see depends mainly on what we look for.” -- John Lubbock
· “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” -- Albert Einstein
· “If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and adore.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
· “It is not the man who has little, but he who desires more, that is poor.” -- Seneca

Going Green

In an effort to reduce printing and mailing costs, the Baptist Light is now available on our website at whitingcommunitychurch.org. Effective with the June newsletter, the Baptist Light will be available in print form only to those who request it. If you would like to have a printed copy of the newsletter, please call the church office at 722-4312, or email Pastor Jim at pastorjjs@tds.net. For those reading our newsletter on our website, you will be contacted via the “weekly update” when the latest edition is available

March 2009 Newsletter

With Willing Hands
Serve, Sacrifice, Surrender.

“For the love of Christ urges us on…” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Dear Friends,

We are called by God to a life of holistic stewardship – to fully serve, sacrifice, and surrender to the One who has given our lives new and eternal meaning. And yet that relationship becomes profoundly multifaceted in its real-world application as we live for Christ in order to make a difference in our communities and respond to many needs “with willing hands.”

You can help make a difference! Service in Christ’s name is both an opportunity and a challenge. For 176 years National Ministries, ABCUSA, has assisted American Baptist congregations as they have confronted and responded to the spiritual and physical needs resident in many communities like ours.

Our church’s contribution to the American for Christ Offering goes to support Christ-centered ministries that are transforming lives across the United States and Puerto Rico. Our giving directly impacts activities, projects and ministries such as:
· Evangelism and Church Planting
· Camps and Leadership Development Conferences
· Community Development and Refugee Resettlement
· Scholarships for education and Volunteers in Mission

I believe God is calling us to support missions in America and Puerto Rico and to join with our sisters and brothers as together we serve, sacrifice, and surrender. Our church’s goal is to contribute $600 to the AFC Offering. Please join this wonderful opportunity to reach America for Christ. We will be receiving the America for Christ Offering throughout the month of March.

For the love of Christ urges us on…

Peace,
Pastor Jim

America For Christ Offering Story

When its membership dwindled to about 40 late in 2007, Pastor Kenneth Hunt and members of First Baptist Church in Huron, South Dakota, prayed intentionally and repeatedly for God’s restorative power: “Lord, help us bring in new members to revitalize our church congregation.” God responded…by linking the Huron church with another American Baptist congregation more than 250 miles away. “I had heard that a group of Karen people, who had been very faithful in our church, were headed to South Dakota to work at a processing plant in Huron and they were looking for a church,” recalled Pastor Bill Englund of First Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. “So I called First Baptist [in Huron]. I didn’t know anyone at the church…it was a blind call.”
Itself a congregation recently struggling with declining membership, First Baptist in St. Paul has found new vitality and focus through its involvement in resettling Karen refugees from Burma. Beginning with support for a single family, First Baptist, St. Paul now boasts weekly worship that includes about 200, half of whom are Karen. More than 100 Karen children attend Sunday school, and three other Karen congregations are hosted by the church. In addition, First Baptist St. Paul assists Karen families with housing, transportation, and car loans, and provides each family with a welcome basket that contains a rice cooker, a 50-pound bag of rice, and other basic household goods. National Ministries, International Ministries, and the ABCUSA office of the General Secretary have provided the church with $20,000 in resettlement grants.
Meeting with a representative group of Karen who came to South Dakota, Pastor Hunt learned of their immediate needs and hopes: “They said, ‘Here’s who we are. We’d like ESL (English as a second language) classes and to worship.’ They asked all the right questions to find out if our church was right for them.”
First Baptist Huron now has about 55 Karen attending church weekly and anticipates 5 to 12 new Karen families to become involved soon. Some of the original members have “adopted” younger Karen families whose parents and elders remain in Burma. In addition, the church sent 10 Karen youth to Camp Judson in the Black Hills with the help of a $1,000 grant from National Ministries and the ABC of the Dakota.

Youth Discipleship Class Mission Project

The Youth Discipleship Class is seeking your support in one of their mission projects. In cooperation with Christian Family Radio and many other churches throughout the Fox Valley, the YDC will be collecting hygiene and cleaning items for local homeless agencies as part of the “Help for the Homeless” campaign. The agencies that will be greatly helped by this campaign include: B.A.B.E.S., Candlelight Vision Corp., Cerebral Palsy of Mideast WI, COTS Transitional Shelters for Men and Women, Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley, Fox Cities Community Health and Dental Clinic, Harbor House, Housing Partnership of the Fox Cities, LEAVEN, Mother and Unborn Baby Care, and The Salvation Army.

Between March 7-31, please drop the following type of items in the collection box in our church: dental and hair care items, cleaning supplies, diapers, baby care items, tissue, laundry detergent, garbage bags, etc. Currently the local crisis and homeless agencies/programs who serve the at-risk and homeless in our area are in great need of these items. On behalf of them, and our three YDC members, thanks for your help!

Adult Membership Class

A new Adult Membership Class will be starting soon. If you are not a member of Whiting Community Church we would love to have you join! For more information call Pastor Jim either at the church office or at home.

Tree Farm News

Tree Farm Church Family Campouts are scheduled for the weekends of Memorial Day (May 23-25), Independence Day (July 4-5), and Labor Day (September 5-7). Future Tree Farm Potlucks at church are scheduled for Sundays March 8th, July 12th, September 20th, and November 8th. Also, a Tree Farm Workday is scheduled for Saturday, May 16th. For more information on these activities, or to make a reservation at the Tree Farm, call Donna Mentink.

Men's Spring Retreat

The American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin Men will hold their Spring Retreat at Camp Tamarack on Friday evening, April 3rd, through Saturday afternoon, April 4th. The retreat leader is Rev. John Walton, Jr., of Calvary Baptist Church, Milwaukee. The cost is $40 for Friday and Saturday (dormitory lodging – bring your own bed roll, pillow, towels – breakfast and lunch); $20 Saturday (lunch) only. (50% discount for young men under the age of 20.) Registration by phone to Karl Byleen 414-427-5738, or email kbyleen@wi.rr.com. Deadline is March 15th. (If you are interested in going see Pastor Jim.)

Generous Giving

There are 60 – plus churches that comprise the American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin. Recently statistics on the Mission Giving of our American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin came out. The following statistics show our ranking at Whiting Community Baptist Church for 2008 in several mission categories:
· 6th in Total United Mission
· 9th in Total American Baptist Mission Support
· 17th in the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering
· 18th in the American for Christ Offering
· 15th in Total American Baptist Mission Support Per Capita Giving by Worship Attendance
· 11th in United Mission Per Capita Giving by Worship Attendance
Congratulations on your wonderful support of mission. While these figures don’t tell the whole story, such as our non-American Baptist Mission giving, they do show your dedication to sharing the Good News through our denominational mission giving. Thank you and God Bless you as you continue your generous support of God’s work beyond our church doors.

21 Great Moments In Life

Laughing so hard that your face hurts.
No lines at the supermarket, bank or post office.
Taking a drive on a scenic road.
Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
A good conversation.
Lying on a warm, sunny beach.
Finding a $20 bill in your coat from last winter.
Sharing a sunset with someone special.
Running through sprinklers.
Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
Friends.
Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
Playing with a new puppy.
Having someone play with your hair.
Swinging on swings.
Making (and eating) chocolate chip cookies.
Holding hands with someone you care about.
Knowing you’ve done the right thing, no matter what other people think.
(Do you have some “great moments” you would like to add? E-mail them to Pastor Jim and they’ll be listed in the next newsletter.)

Free Piano

There is an old upright piano in the old Preschool room that we no longer need. If you are interested in this piano, please see Pastor Jim.

Go Green

You can help with mailing and printing costs of our church newsletter, as well as help the environment by reading our newsletter on our website at www.whitingcommunitychurch.org. If you want to do this contact Pastor Jim and he will remove your name from our newsletter mailing list.