Although this is the August newsletter, you might be reading it before August begins. Therefore, just a reminder that Vacation Bible School begins on Sunday, July 31st at 6:00 pm, and continues through Thursday, August 4th, meeting each day from 6:00 – 8:15 pm. A kickoff dinner will be held on Sunday at 4:30 pm. The theme this year is Marketplace 29 AD, and is a joint effort with Faith United Methodist Church, which is where VBS will be held. For more information please contact Trudi Woods or Holly Robinson, who are co-directors.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Palmer Theological Seminary
Palmer was founded in 1925 as Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. The founders were motivated by the desire to provide another option for graduate level theological training in the Baptist context. In the early days the founders maintained that conservative institutions were too narrow especially with regard to the prohibition of women in the ministry and the absence of “social concerns”. Originally located in Philadelphia, the seminary relocated to Wynnewood, PA in 1940, which is just outside the Philadelphia city limits. Palmer’s motto is the whole gospel for the whole world through the whole person. Palmer Seminary is one of the four American Baptist Institutional Support ministries our church is supporting this year.
Being Cool For School
Being Cool for School is an event being held on August 20th, to help children in need in our community with school supplies, new clothes and shoes. The event is sponsored by the Community Clothes Closet. Last year over 1,300 children were blessed by this event, thanks to the kindness of individuals and businesses in our community.
The Community Clothes Closet would welcome your donations of new clothes, shoes and school supplies. They would also appreciate Gift Cards and cash donations. If you would like to help with this drive, please bring your donations to the Community Clothes Closet, 1465B Opportunity Way, Menasha, before August 12th. For more information, call 731-7834.
The Community Clothes Closet would welcome your donations of new clothes, shoes and school supplies. They would also appreciate Gift Cards and cash donations. If you would like to help with this drive, please bring your donations to the Community Clothes Closet, 1465B Opportunity Way, Menasha, before August 12th. For more information, call 731-7834.
Healing And Recovery
Healing is central to our Christian faith and to our calling as Christian people. Jesus’ promise is one of healing. God provides for our healing and recovery.
In the Gospels there are 58 references to healing: Jesus is seen as healing someone, on his way to heal someone, or on his way back from healing someone! Jesus as God makes clear that healing along with salvation are at the center of God’s relationship with mankind. When John the Baptist sent his disciples to inquire of Jesus if he was the Messiah, Jesus answered: “Go back and tell John what you see … the blind see again, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them (Luke 7:22). We are saved not only from sin and death but also from sickness and suffering.
Jesus commanded his disciples to heal. The practice of healing is presented in concrete terms. “Is any one among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:13). Every Christian is called to exercise some from of healing ministry: It might be praying for the sick, publicly or privately. It might be putting prayer into action by giving someone a smile, a word of encouragement, a moment of comfort, a helping hand, a gift of love, joy or peace.
God also provides for our healing through the calling of health professionals: doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, and others who care for the sick and suffering. Special training and experience is the “anointing oil” of the skilled physician or counselor. God wants us to actively seek the care we need. God wants us to be healed. That’s the promise of Jesus.
(This article was prepared by the Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley, 886-9319, to support the mental health and family care ministries of congregations.)
In the Gospels there are 58 references to healing: Jesus is seen as healing someone, on his way to heal someone, or on his way back from healing someone! Jesus as God makes clear that healing along with salvation are at the center of God’s relationship with mankind. When John the Baptist sent his disciples to inquire of Jesus if he was the Messiah, Jesus answered: “Go back and tell John what you see … the blind see again, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them (Luke 7:22). We are saved not only from sin and death but also from sickness and suffering.
Jesus commanded his disciples to heal. The practice of healing is presented in concrete terms. “Is any one among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:13). Every Christian is called to exercise some from of healing ministry: It might be praying for the sick, publicly or privately. It might be putting prayer into action by giving someone a smile, a word of encouragement, a moment of comfort, a helping hand, a gift of love, joy or peace.
God also provides for our healing through the calling of health professionals: doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, and others who care for the sick and suffering. Special training and experience is the “anointing oil” of the skilled physician or counselor. God wants us to actively seek the care we need. God wants us to be healed. That’s the promise of Jesus.
(This article was prepared by the Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley, 886-9319, to support the mental health and family care ministries of congregations.)
Speak Like A Parent
Here are some definitions used by experienced parents:
AMNESIA: condition that enables a woman who has gone through labor to have kids again.
DEFENSE: what you’d better have around the yard if you’re going to let the children play outside.
DROOLING: how teething babies wash their chins.
DUMB WAITER: one who asks if the kids would care to order dessert.
FEEDBACK: the inevitable result when a baby doesn’t appreciate the strained carrots.
FULL NAME: what you call your child when you’re mad at him.
GRANDPARENTS: the people who think your children are perfect even though they’re sure you’re not raising them right.
INDEPENDENT: how we want our children to be as long as they do everything we say.
LOOK OUT!: what it’s too late for your child to do by the time you scream it.
PRENATAL: when your life was still somewhat your own.
SHOW OFF: a child who is more talented than yours
TEMPER TANTRUMS: what you should keep to a minimum so as to not upset the children.
AMNESIA: condition that enables a woman who has gone through labor to have kids again.
DEFENSE: what you’d better have around the yard if you’re going to let the children play outside.
DROOLING: how teething babies wash their chins.
DUMB WAITER: one who asks if the kids would care to order dessert.
FEEDBACK: the inevitable result when a baby doesn’t appreciate the strained carrots.
FULL NAME: what you call your child when you’re mad at him.
GRANDPARENTS: the people who think your children are perfect even though they’re sure you’re not raising them right.
INDEPENDENT: how we want our children to be as long as they do everything we say.
LOOK OUT!: what it’s too late for your child to do by the time you scream it.
PRENATAL: when your life was still somewhat your own.
SHOW OFF: a child who is more talented than yours
TEMPER TANTRUMS: what you should keep to a minimum so as to not upset the children.
Memorial Gift
Our thanks and appreciation to Cathy and George Strohmeyer, for the donation of the new round tables in our fellowship hall. The tables are a memorial to Cathy’s parents, Ed and Thelma Meyer.
August Birthdays
4 Lori Bowers
8 Andy Bowers
9 Jenne Steffen
10 Dottie Dowman
12 Trudi Woods
14 Brittany Kesselhon
14 Donna Mentink
16 Dave Mentink
16 Denise Schmitz
18 Joy Veldboom
19 Myrna Lopas
21 April Bachorz
21 Robert Bell
21 Grace Zoglman
22 Mikayla Hoehne
23 Christi Lewis
29 Ellen Lehl
29 Luke Moravec
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
July 2011 Baptist Light Newsletter
Dearest Friends,
In some ways it feels like I have been pastor at Whiting Community Baptist Church for a very long time. Actually I have – 19 ½ years! I measure the length of my time by Leah Bowers. Leah was born the month after I came to WCBC. This coming fall Leah will be a sophomore in college! 19 ½ years is young for a person, but a long time in many other respects. Did you know that the average length of a pastor serving a church is around four years?
At the same time it seems like only yesterday that I began my ministry at WCBC. However, all I have to do is look at pictures of myself back then and compare them to the present time to know that it has indeed been almost 20 years. Where has the time gone? And what happened to that mustache? . . .and the brown hair?
I remember preaching at WCBC long before I was called here to be your pastor. It was in 1983, and I was a potential candidate for another church. I never dreamed that nine years later I would be called to pastor the Whiting Community Baptist Church. God works in wonderful and mysterious ways.
I consider myself extremely blessed to have been called to be your pastor. I have been in ministry since 1980 – 31 years. Well over half of those years have been at WCBC. I am amazed. And I am grateful. Thank you for granting me the privilege of being your pastor!
A pastor’s role is very unique. Preaching and teaching are a big part of it, and I have certainly enjoyed that aspect of my ministry. Thanks for listening all these years! But more important than the preaching and the teaching are the relationships that develop over the years. I think of the many ways that I have been invited into your lives. I have had the great privilege of dedicating your children, baptizing your youth, officiating at your weddings. I have had the holy privilege of sitting with you during hospital stays for yourself or for a loved one, being with you in times of crisis, and walking with you through the death of one you held dear. You have let me into the most intimate circumstances of your lives – in times of joy and sadness, in times of grief and pain, in times of celebration and thanksgiving. I do not take these privileges for granted. I hold them in awe and thank you for trusting me with such experiences. They were a blessing to me.
You are a very special congregation. I will forever hold you in my heart with joy and thanksgiving. We have shared many special times together. I have been truly blessed and honored to have served God with you through the Whiting Community Baptist Church. Thank you for that honor.
I now pray that God will bless and encourage you as a congregation; that you may always know how special you are in his eyes. Continue to trust in God and follow God’s leading. May God’s peace and hope fill your hearts in this present time and in the days ahead.
The words of the Apostle Paul at the end of his first letter to the Corinthians are also my words to you as I conclude my ministry with you: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.”
Love,
Pastor Jim
In some ways it feels like I have been pastor at Whiting Community Baptist Church for a very long time. Actually I have – 19 ½ years! I measure the length of my time by Leah Bowers. Leah was born the month after I came to WCBC. This coming fall Leah will be a sophomore in college! 19 ½ years is young for a person, but a long time in many other respects. Did you know that the average length of a pastor serving a church is around four years?
At the same time it seems like only yesterday that I began my ministry at WCBC. However, all I have to do is look at pictures of myself back then and compare them to the present time to know that it has indeed been almost 20 years. Where has the time gone? And what happened to that mustache? . . .and the brown hair?
I remember preaching at WCBC long before I was called here to be your pastor. It was in 1983, and I was a potential candidate for another church. I never dreamed that nine years later I would be called to pastor the Whiting Community Baptist Church. God works in wonderful and mysterious ways.
I consider myself extremely blessed to have been called to be your pastor. I have been in ministry since 1980 – 31 years. Well over half of those years have been at WCBC. I am amazed. And I am grateful. Thank you for granting me the privilege of being your pastor!
A pastor’s role is very unique. Preaching and teaching are a big part of it, and I have certainly enjoyed that aspect of my ministry. Thanks for listening all these years! But more important than the preaching and the teaching are the relationships that develop over the years. I think of the many ways that I have been invited into your lives. I have had the great privilege of dedicating your children, baptizing your youth, officiating at your weddings. I have had the holy privilege of sitting with you during hospital stays for yourself or for a loved one, being with you in times of crisis, and walking with you through the death of one you held dear. You have let me into the most intimate circumstances of your lives – in times of joy and sadness, in times of grief and pain, in times of celebration and thanksgiving. I do not take these privileges for granted. I hold them in awe and thank you for trusting me with such experiences. They were a blessing to me.
You are a very special congregation. I will forever hold you in my heart with joy and thanksgiving. We have shared many special times together. I have been truly blessed and honored to have served God with you through the Whiting Community Baptist Church. Thank you for that honor.
I now pray that God will bless and encourage you as a congregation; that you may always know how special you are in his eyes. Continue to trust in God and follow God’s leading. May God’s peace and hope fill your hearts in this present time and in the days ahead.
The words of the Apostle Paul at the end of his first letter to the Corinthians are also my words to you as I conclude my ministry with you: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.”
Love,
Pastor Jim
Vacation Bible School
Imagine yourself in a Judean Marketplace around 29 AD. The buzz in the marketplace is that Christ is journeying close by and may be coming. Come to the Marketplace and
· SMELL the aromas of bakeries
· HEAR the sounds of workers and animals.
· SEE the villagers in Bible-times attire
· EXPERIENCE learning the occupational skills of the times
· JOURNEY with the caravan to visit the great storyteller
· SING AND DANCE Israeli folk dances
· WRITE Hebrew in the Scribes Shops and make many other Bibletime crafts in the Marketplace.
The Marketplace will be held in Faith United Methodist Church from 6:00 pm until 8:15 pm, each evening on July 31 through August 4, 2011. Marketplace AD is a co-ministry of Whiting Community Baptist Church and Faith United Methodist Church. For more information, call Trudi Woods or Holly Robinson.
· SMELL the aromas of bakeries
· HEAR the sounds of workers and animals.
· SEE the villagers in Bible-times attire
· EXPERIENCE learning the occupational skills of the times
· JOURNEY with the caravan to visit the great storyteller
· SING AND DANCE Israeli folk dances
· WRITE Hebrew in the Scribes Shops and make many other Bibletime crafts in the Marketplace.
The Marketplace will be held in Faith United Methodist Church from 6:00 pm until 8:15 pm, each evening on July 31 through August 4, 2011. Marketplace AD is a co-ministry of Whiting Community Baptist Church and Faith United Methodist Church. For more information, call Trudi Woods or Holly Robinson.
Upcoming VBS Preparation Schedule
Tuesday, June 28 @ 6:00 - kitchen crew
Thursday, June 30 @ 6:00 - marketplace shopkeepers
Sunday, July 17 @ 10:30 - drama team
Sunday, July 17 - set up begins
Tuesday, July 26 @ 6:00 - tribal leaders
Sunday, July 31 @ 4:30 - KICKOFF DINNER
Sunday, July 31 @ 6:00 - VBS BEGINS!!
List of food items needed will be available on Sunday, July 3rd.
Other items needed: fabric scraps of all sizes and colors, buttons of all sizes and colors, empty kleenex boxes (long, flat boxes), wire hangers, brown paper bags or brown packing paper.
Thursday, June 30 @ 6:00 - marketplace shopkeepers
Sunday, July 17 @ 10:30 - drama team
Sunday, July 17 - set up begins
Tuesday, July 26 @ 6:00 - tribal leaders
Sunday, July 31 @ 4:30 - KICKOFF DINNER
Sunday, July 31 @ 6:00 - VBS BEGINS!!
List of food items needed will be available on Sunday, July 3rd.
Other items needed: fabric scraps of all sizes and colors, buttons of all sizes and colors, empty kleenex boxes (long, flat boxes), wire hangers, brown paper bags or brown packing paper.
July Birthdays
2 Grace Bell
6 Heather Rose
6 Jeremy Rose
8 Zachery Woods
11 Barb Bell
12 Joe Najodowski
17 Hsar Say Paw
18 Rachel Luebker
20 Paw Yu Lee Goggin
21 Jim Schmitz
24 Brianna Demarais
24 Kathy Schroder
31 Jessica Gulbrandsen
6 Heather Rose
6 Jeremy Rose
8 Zachery Woods
11 Barb Bell
12 Joe Najodowski
17 Hsar Say Paw
18 Rachel Luebker
20 Paw Yu Lee Goggin
21 Jim Schmitz
24 Brianna Demarais
24 Kathy Schroder
31 Jessica Gulbrandsen
Honoring Pastor Jim
HONORING PASTOR JIM, JULY 9TH AND 10TH.
See your mail for details.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR 19 ½ YEARS OF LOYAL SERVICE HERE AT WHITING COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH !
See your mail for details.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR 19 ½ YEARS OF LOYAL SERVICE HERE AT WHITING COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH !
American Baptist Mission News
Taku and Katie Longkumer are newly endorsed International Ministries missionaries to North East India. Taku was born in North East India, and has seen God’s miraculous work in his family’s history. Taku’s grandfather was among the first Christian converts of his village in India in the early 1900’s. He and other new believers were persecuted and forced to settle elsewhere. Due to illness Taku’s grandfather, mother and elder brother died, and Taku’s father was sent to a school established by missionaries. After he received a basic education that included Bible training, he became an evangelist in 1953. He took his young family, including Taku, to the nearby village of another tribe that had not heard the gospel. In fact, its inhabitants still practiced headhunting.
Taku describes those early years. “The darkness I remember was not simply based on the absence of light in the jungle, but it came from the oppressive, spiritual darkness of evil.” Each evening Taku’s father would invite the villagers to sit by the fire in their small hut, where he would serve them tea while telling stories of Jesus. After many years, which included a series of miraculous events demonstrating the power of God over the power of the spirits, the villagers began to respond to the gospel message. They then became the evangelists until the entire village became Christian. Taku concludes, “The victory of Jesus’ love impacted every aspect of village life. Because of the gospel, fear and violence were replaced by joy and peace.”
Taku describes those early years. “The darkness I remember was not simply based on the absence of light in the jungle, but it came from the oppressive, spiritual darkness of evil.” Each evening Taku’s father would invite the villagers to sit by the fire in their small hut, where he would serve them tea while telling stories of Jesus. After many years, which included a series of miraculous events demonstrating the power of God over the power of the spirits, the villagers began to respond to the gospel message. They then became the evangelists until the entire village became Christian. Taku concludes, “The victory of Jesus’ love impacted every aspect of village life. Because of the gospel, fear and violence were replaced by joy and peace.”
Church Finances
As of the end of May we were $1,582 in the red. That is, we have paid out $1,532 more to pay our bills than we have received in our general fund giving. Please pray about our church finances. Thank you.
Note from Margaret Huff
“I wish to thank Whiting Community Church for all I and my family have learned from you over the years. The scriptures say to “go and tell”. You have equipped many to do this. My family alone has contact with many church congregations – not all at one church. What a blessing! When we have someone move away, don’t feel a loss, feel a gain for they are taking these truths with them – to “go and tell” and to “plant a seed.” You have done much. – Margaret Huff.
Judson College
Judson College (now Judson University) is an evangelical Christian university of the liberal arts, sciences, and professions, offering a wide variety of BA programs. The faculty, board and administration feel that Christian Higher Education should include a consideration of commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Judson equips students to be fully developed, responsible persons who glorify God by the quality of their personal relationships, their work and their citizenship within the community, the nation and the world.
Judson was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was named after the first American Missionary abroad, Adoniram Judson, who arrived in Burma in 1813 and lived there for 37 years. Judson is located in Elgin, Illinois, and is one of our four designated missions for 2011.
Judson was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was named after the first American Missionary abroad, Adoniram Judson, who arrived in Burma in 1813 and lived there for 37 years. Judson is located in Elgin, Illinois, and is one of our four designated missions for 2011.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)