May 2010 Newsletter

Dear Friends,
Sometime ago I was listening to the radio and heard for the first time a song entitled “Walking in Memphis.” Marc Cohn writes some interesting lyrics, which includes the following:
Now Muriel plays piano every Friday at the Hollywood
And they brought me down to see her
And they asked me if I would do a little number.
And I sang with all my might
And she said: “Tell me are you a Christian, child?”
And I said, “Ma’am I am tonight.”
I do not know what the author intended in these lyrics, but I do know what I heard them say to me, which is this: one can pick and choose the times one wants to be a Christian, or at least the times one wants to live out their faith. So playing a piano and singing some good old gospel music might very well speak to one’s faith and stir within a person their longing for God – at least for that point in time. Of course it is also true that at other times, when one’s heart isn’t stirred, one can do what one wants and choose not to be a Christian, or at least act like one, at that particular point in time.
I fear this happens all too often in our society with us Christians. There are times when we feel very close to God and affirm our faith by how we live. And then there are other times when we completely ignore God and do whatever we want. So today we might choose to be a Christian, but tomorrow we might choose not to be – at least in terms of our behavior. We decide not to let our faith influence how we act, how we speak, what we watch, how we live.
If this is true of any of us, it is not what God expects or hopes for in our Christian walk. The God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, wants us to live out our faith yesterday, today and tomorrow. There is to be no interruption in how we live out our faith. No pauses, no detours, no lapses. If we follow Jesus – truly follow – living our faith consistently is something we desire to do, not just today, but tomorrow as well.
To live our faith consistently isn’t easy to do, as most of us well know. In fact, we can only do so by the power of God in our lives. Here is the Good News: God provides that power for us. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:20 these words: “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask for think.” Indeed, with God’s mighty power within us, we can live holy lives.
Let us live holy lives, not just when it suits our purposes, but each and every day, each and every night.

Peace,
Pastor Jim

A Little Parable for Mothers

The young mother set her foot on the pathway of life. “Is the way long?” she asked. Her guide said, “Yes, and the way is hard. You will be old before you reach the end of it, but the end is better than the beginning.”
But the young mother was so happy that she could not believe that anything would be lovelier than these years. So she played with her children, gathered flowers for them along the way, bathed with them in the crystal streams and the sun shone on them and life was good. The young mother said, “Oh, surely, nothing will ever be better than this.”
Then the night came and with it the storm. The children trembled with cold and fear, but the mother gathered them close and covered them with her mantle. The children said, “We are not afraid, Mother, for you are here and no harm can come.” And the mother said, “This is better than the brightness of the day for I have taught my children courage.” The morning came and the storm went. There was a steep hill ahead and the children climbed and grew weary and the mother found herself weary as well. But at all times she told them, “A little patience and we will be there.” So the children climbed and when they reached the top they said, “We never could have done it without you, Mother.” And the mother, when she laid down to rest that night, looked up at the stars, and said, “This is a better day than the last one for my children have found fortitude in the face of hardship. Yesterday I gave them courage, today I have given them strength.”
And another day came and strange clouds darkened the sky. Clouds of war and hate and evil, and the way was rough and dark. The children groped and stumbled but the mother said, “Look up, lift your eyes to the light.” And they looked and saw beyond the clouds an Everlasting Glory. It guided them and brought them beyond the darkness. That night the mother said, “This is the best day of all for I have shown my children God.”
The days, weeks, months and years went on. The mother grew old and became little and bent. But her children were tall and strong and walked with courage. When the way was rough, they lifted her for she was as light as a feather.
At last they came to a hill and beyond the hill was a shinning road with golden gates at the end, flung wide open. The mother said, “I have come to the end of my journey and now I know that the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone and their children after them.” The children said, “You will always walk with us, Mother – even after you have passed through the gates.” And they stood and watched their mother as she went on alone and the gates closed after her.
And they said, “We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory, she is a living Presence.” -- Author unknown

Vacation Bible School Planning and Decorating

On Tuesday, May 4th, at 6:30 pm, a very important Vacation Bible School meeting will be held. Please plan on attending if you have a leadership role of any kind in this year’s VBS, such as Bible Story, Chadder, Crafts, Games, and so forth. Also, beginning on that same Tuesday, and for the following Tuesdays in May, we will engage in decorating and painting sets and such for our VBS. All help is appreciated! For more information, please see or call Denise.

Youth Discipleship Class

A new Youth Discipleship Class will be beginning soon. If you are interested in learning more about being a disciple of Jesus, this is the class for you! In this class we discuss God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Prayer, Living God’s Way, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Church, Worship, Baptist History, Salvation and Stewardship. Most students by the end of the class sessions accept Jesus into their lives and then are baptized. This class will help you decide if you are ready to make that kind of commitment to Christ. If you are interested in finding out more, a meeting is being held on Sunday, May 2nd, following worship. Please see Pastor Jim for more details.

Tree Farm Workday

Come join the group for a relaxing, accomplishing, enjoyable time at the Tree Farm in Wautoma.

RELAXING can be Friday, May 14th,if you want to stay overnight!

ACCOMPLISHING will be Saturday May 15th, starting at 9:00 a.m. and ending when you have to leave! Ideas for the day will be yard work; splitting wood; clean cabins for the season; trash pickup along the road property; fire ring repair; stain outside of log cabin. More ideas will be discussed on the April 25th potluck. Watch for updates in bulletin or church weekly updates on computer.

ENJOYABLE will be hikes, volleyball, conversation, meditation and maybe some singing. It all depends on your mood.

BRING your work gloves; rakes; dress for ticks; and anything else you can think of.

Contact Donna Mentink if you need to reserve a cabin for overnight. Otherwise camping is allowed. Fires will probably not be permitted due to the dryness of our spring. (Pray for rain)

Kids in Church

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One bright little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping.”

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.’ Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus!”

A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?” “I wouldn’t know what to say,” the girl replied. “Just say what you hear Mommy say.” The daughter bowed her head and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”

The Art of Apology

The art of an apology can be learned. There are five fundamental aspects of an apology, which Gary Chapman calls the five languages of apology. Each of them is important. But for a particular individual, one or two of the languages may communicate more effectively than the others. The key to good relationships is learning the apology language of the other person and being willing to speak it. When you speak their primary language, you make it easier for them to genuinely forgive you.

The Five Languages of Apology are:
· Expressing Regret: “I am sorry” - Apology is birthed in the womb of regret. Regret focuses on what you did or failed to do and how it affected the other person.
· Accepting Responsibility: “I was wrong” – At the heart of accepting responsibility for one’s behavior is the willingness to admit, “I was wrong.”
· Making Restitution: “What can I do to make it right?” – A willingness to do something to try to make up for the pain I have caused is evidence of a true apology.
· Genuinely Repenting: “I’ll try not to do that again” – The word “repentance” means “to turn around” or “to change one’s mind.” The person regrets the pain he or she is causing the other person and chooses to change his behavior.
· Requesting Forgiveness: “Will you forgive me?” – Requesting forgiveness indicates that you want to see the relationship fully restored. It shows that you realize you have done something wrong. It shows that you are willing to put the future of the relationship in the hands of the offended person.
(Excerpt from “The Five Languages of Apology” by Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas. Submitted by The Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley.)

Church Finances

Through the month of March, we are $2,276 behind on our forecasted church financial goals in the General fund, and $570 behind on our Mission goals. However, we have received $1718 in special missions. As far as our overall budget picture of money spent to money received, we are $174 ahead as of the end of March.

Sunday School

We are so very grateful for our Sunday School teachers, who week after week serve their students by teaching God’s Word. The last day of Sunday School is Sunday, May 23rd. We will honor our Sunday School teachers during that time. Sunday, May 23rd, is the last day of Sunday School until Fall.

Help for the Homeless Results

WEMI – Christian Family Radio, recently held their “Help for the Homeless” campaign, to which many of you contributed. Christian Family Radio was pleased to announce that more than $200,000 worth of personal hygiene items and cleaning products were collected and donated to 43 local crisis and homeless agencies throughout the area. More than 460 area businesses, schools and churches in the Fox Cities, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and Manitowoc worked together with area homeless coalition agencies to stock their shelves for the coming year.
Thanks for your participation! You make a big difference in our community.

Rummage Sales Results

Special thanks to Donna Mentink, who coordinated our church’s rummage sale in April, and to all who helped in one way or another. We raised $500, of which $300 was designated for the General Fund, $100 for the Deacons Fund, and $100 for the Parking Lot.

Birthdays

2 Cathy Strohmeyer
4 Marion Burrows
4 Art Schwandner
6 Jonathon Delikowski
7 Becky Zoglman
10 Michael Smith
12 May Paw
13 Mikayla Weyers
18 Dorothy Hoks
23 Duane Langdon
30 Bruce Brazee

Wedding Anniversaries

9 Dave & Mary Hill
13 Bob & Barb Bell
17 Charles & Judy Pfister
18 Henry & Kim Rose
29 Tom & Kathy Schroder