church stuff

Hey all!  What a great weekend!  Thanks for all your help in pulling it off.  We had 30 guys out for Guys Night – congratulations to John Cochrane on winning the Ping-pong tournament!  Thanks to Willie Demps for the great food and everyone for coming.  We are already planning our next one!

 

Also – we had over 90 people attend the Talent Show last night and 13 wonderful (and fun) performances!  Congratulations to Stephanie Cochrane for her winning performance (hope you’re wearing your “winner’s crown” with pride)!  Also - thanks to Sue Billau and Jan Demps for the organizing the food and for everyone who brought something to eat.  Thanks to those who set up and cleaned up afterwards. 

 

I enjoyed seeing everyone in church Sunday morning!  Hope you were encouraged by the message about Elijah.  It’s amazing to realize how much one person can accomplish when they believe God is real and aren’t afraid to show it!

 

Some other things to consider…

 

Keep praying for Diane Stemen, Phil Duncan and Gordy Acosta as they recover from surgery.  Diane is going to have to begin radiation and chemotherapy treatment soon.  Not fun! 

 

Debbie and I will be leaving this Thursday for a few days to visit Phillip in Texas.  We’re excited to see him!  Bill Bennet, director of Camp AoWaKiya (a Christian Youth Camp up north) will be speaking next Sunday morning.  This is a GREAT youth camp (I’ve been involved with this camp for almost 20 years!).  We’ll be taking up a special offering on Sunday for the ministry there (there will be no adult service in the evening.  High school will meet as usual).

 

Finally – Please pray about our church finances!  Our giving is down by almost $6,000 so far this year from where it needs to be.  Put simply, the current ministry here cannot be sustained at our present level of giving.  If you haven’t given for awhile, this would be a great time to begin!  We know this is God’s church, and we know that ultimately He is responsible for making it function effectively.  But we each have a part, too!

 

I know our church finances are impacted just like everyone else’s because of uncertainty in the market, but I don’t think God wants our commitment to giving waver because of fluctuations in the economy!  If you have the ability to give a special gift – it would be very much appreciated!  It would be a tremendous blessing if someone reading this right now could give a generous gift of $1,000, $5,000 or even $10,000!  Maybe God will use you to be that special blessing!

 

Well – have a great day and a blessed week.  I’m looking forward to attending the Awana Grand Prix this Wednesday night!  Come and watch (or participate) if you can!

 

Pastor Bob

Weekend events and prayer request!

Dear Folks – I was just reading about Elijah this morning and was impressed at his total confidence in God – even in the face of tremendous difficulties around him.  I have been thinking about the chaotic state of affairs in our own country and was struck by how much some of our leaders remind me of the prophets of Baal dancing around the altar of their money God, trying to get our economy back on track and “save” our way of life.  If the situation weren’t so serious – it might be humorous. 

 

At some point and in some fashion, God will make Himself known, just as He did to the Israelites.  God is working His plan and it involves Him being glorified above all others.  We can be sure of that!  The challenge to me was wondering which group I can most identify with – the prophets of Baal who bought into the culture and worshipped false gods; the people of Israel – who hesitated between following the world or following God; or Elijah – who knew God and followed Him fully – even in the face of opposition.

 

Also - I wanted to remind you about a couple of events coming up this weekend! 

 

Guy’s Fun Night!  We are having a Guy’s Fun Night tomorrow (Sat @ 7pm).  We’ll have food, ping-pong, dodge ball and horseshoes (among other things).  One of the purposes is to simply enjoy being with each other and encouraging each other.  A second purpose is to invite and meet some new friends or family that haven’t been involved in our church.  A third purpose is to get the youngsters and older guys together for some FUN!  We don’t always take time to hang out together!  It’s going to be a pretty laid back and enjoyable evening, and we want you to be there!  (Wives – make sure you remind your husbands and sons to go!)

 

Talent Night!  So many people enjoyed this last time we did it, the CE committee wanted to organize it again for this Sunday evening @ 6pm!  We have several people who are signed up to participate and we’d love some more.  We aren’t necessarily looking for professionals, we just want to see you (or your family) do something!  The more people that participate, the better!  We’ll have fun together and enjoy light snacks.  This fun event will replace our normal Sunday evening service.  Plan on coming!

 

Please keep praying for Diane Stemen (Tim Brososky’s sister).  She had cancer surgery this week and is recovering at home.  She needs further treatment.  If you would like to send her a note, her address is 18120 Sharon Valley Dr. Manchester, Mi.  48158.  Her email is R4Stem@aol.com.

 

Also – pray for me tonight (Friday).  I will be co-facilitating a Parent Workshop in Adrian on Substance Abuse Prevention.  It’s a great opportunity for me to represent God and our church to the community.

 

Pastor Bob

 

 

 

prayer request

Dear folks – just a quick prayer request for Gordy Acosta (Bob & Jo Fetters son-in-law).  He is having eye surgery this morning to repair a problem he’s had for awhile.  It is outpatient surgery and there are no anticipated problems, but they still would appreciate your prayers today!

 

Pastor Bob