|
|
First Christian Church of Stow (Disciples Of Christ) |
| Mid Week Reminder |
“The Newsletter”
September
2010
First Christian Church of
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome Sunday Breakfast and Worship
Sunday, September 5
Our
annual “Welcome Sunday!” will be Sunday, September 5th, and will
include an all-church pitch-in breakfast in Fellowship Hall between services,
and the welcoming and installation of our new Youth Ministry Intern, Amber
Bowers.
Worship
times will remain at 8:30 and 10:45, with the breakfast from 9:30-10:30. (No Sunday School
classes this day.)
Please
bring with you a breakfast dish or item to share—breakfast casseroles, donuts,
fruit, bagels, (cold pizza!) are all great items to bring for this pitch-in
breakfast. Ham, coffee, juice, milk, and
dinnerware will be provided.
Let
us end our summer days together and look toward a new year in the life of FCC
Stow as we worship with one another and break bread together as a church
family. All are welcome!
***********
Name The Newsletter!
After months of working on,
and reworking, and fine-tuning the new look and layout of our church’s
newsletter you now hold in your hand a nearly finalized and finished rendition
of this monthly newsletter. Special thanks
to all who have offered their input and thoughts on how we can make this
newsletter more user friendly, informative, and cost efficient.
But the new newsletter is not
done yet! And your help is needed to get
it done. Since this will now be a
monthly publication a new name is needed! All are invited and encouraged to submit name
suggestions for our church’s newsletter.
(And please do so because right now the leading contender is “Jonathan’s
Journal of Rumburg Ramblings” and no one wants
that!)
You may submit your name
suggestions to the church office or by emailing Kathy. The new name will be unveiled in the October
newsletter.
The Pastor’s Pen
“People make us
sick. People make us crazy. People make us better.”
This quote, from someone
whom I do not know, was presented during one of the Advance Conference keynote
addresses I had the privilege to hear during my week as an Advance Conference
Faculty member. The theme for the week
was “Growing Closer To God By Getting Personal With
God.” I like this quote because it
speaks an oxymoronic message that we all know is the bittersweet truth! The very things that make us sick and crazy, make
us better.
God knows the capacity
that each human life holds. Humanity
holds a capacity for good and a capacity for not so good. It holds a capacity to make people sick or
crazy, but also a capacity to make people better, too. But have we ever considered that the very
things people do that we think make us sick or drive us crazy are the very
things that make us better?
Jesus himself was just
such a person who drove others crazy and made them sick with anger and
frustration because he challenged and disrupted the status quo by healing the
un-healable, confronting the day’s so-called leaders, offering teachings that
convicted the rich and gave status to the poor, eating meals with the outcast,
and then loving all without condition.
But he was also one who made us better.
We are made better
people by people, by one another. But
sometimes in order to be made better we are often challenged and confronted and
convicted in such a way that it makes us sick and makes us crazy. Is that such a bad thing though? Not if we are willing and want to be
better. For how can we get better, how
can we serve better, if we are not willing to be changed? But that is where people are often made sick
and crazy—when they are asked to change.
Sure, we can stay the
way we are, and keep on doing everything the way we always do it. And truthfully, no one will be the worse for
it. But will people be better for it?
If we want to draw
closer to God, and get personal with God, then we must understand in order to
draw closer to God, get personal with God, and ultimately serve others better
and help them to get close and personal with God, that doing what we have
always done will not get the job done.
So may we all be
mindful, and consider, how the things that make us sick, and perhaps drive us
crazy are actually the very things that make us and our church better.
Your Pastor and Friend,
Jonathan
*************************************
Church Door Access Codes
In an effort
to maintain the best security for our church building it is wise to
periodically change the church door access codes. On August 1st the door codes were
changed. The trustees have provided the
new codes to committee chairpersons. If
you are in need of an access code, please contact your committee chairperson,
Rick Lloyd or the church office.
Having an
access code allows committees and members to have their meetings and perform
their duties easier. It also comes with
responsibility and accountability. Please do not share this code.
Thank you,
Church
Trustees
*************************************
Save the Date!
Regional Asembly
2010
October 15 & 16
One
Body: Clothed in Love
Special Opening
and Closing Preacher
Rev.
Dr. Sharon Watkins
General Minister and President
Bring the whole
family!
Registration Packets are in the office.
Visioning Team Update
Our most recent meeting was held on Tuesday
August 10. We began the discussion of areas where our church has room for
improvement. We're happy to report that the list was shorter than the
list of strengths from our July meeting. We also discovered that some of
our strengths are weaknesses and some of our weaknesses are strengths.
Perhaps we could use a little jujitsu on the weaknesses and flip them into
strengths. Some members of the church have already turned in their
completed survey forms, and we hope
to have
lots more by our next meeting on September 14. During our September
meeting we will go over the survey forms and see how our ideas match up with
the congregation's ideas. If you haven't already done so please turn in
your survey form. It is vital that this vision discernment process
include the entire congregation; we want ideas from every member of
our
church.
New
Children’s
Sunday
School Class
The Christian Education team is
excited to announce that we will be starting a new Sunday school class this
fall. It will be for third-fifth graders
and will be taught by Lynn and John Fauvie. They will be meeting in the Kingdom room (
We are very excited about the
addition of this class and hope that the parents and the children will become
just as excited and eager as we are. And
of course, parents will have the option to go to one of our adult classes
during this time.
This class will start on September 12,
2010. Don’t forget about the Welcome
Sunday breakfast on September 5 from 9:30-10:30. If you have any questions about these classes
please contact Cheryl Delaney, Lynn or John Fauvie,
or John McCreight.
*****************************************************
Attention
all Youth and their Families,
Our annual kick-off picnic will be
on Sunday, August 29th from 5:00-7:00 in the churchyard. Please bring a side dish or a dessert to
share and your own table settings. We
will provide drinks, hotdogs, and buns.
This is for the Chi Rho and C.Y.F. and their families. Bring yard games and your own chairs!!
from the
Directors of Music
September begins the new
year in church music. We hope
you’re having a relaxing summer. For
returning singers and ringers as well as new ones, here is our fall start-up
schedule. If you would like to be a part
of one of our groups, there’s a place for you.
Choirs
We have two children’s choirs: Acorn Choir for grades K-2 and Crusader Choir for grades 3-6. The two rehearse separately (learning to play
handchimes/handbells) and together (presenting
musicals in December and April). The
children rehearse Wednesdays at 5:30,
beginning Sept. 8. Children’s Choir
Directors Cora Dowey and Cheryl Delaney would love to
tell you more!
For girls in 7th-12th
grades, there’s Grace Notes, and for
boys in 7th-12th grades, Bass Notes. These groups
sing separately and together and will be joining our worship band to help lead
worship. We sing traditional and
contemporary styles and welcome new singers.
Rehearsal times vary; speak with Cheryl or Ralph Lorenz to learn more.
Our adult choir, the Chancel Choir, rehearses Thursday
evenings from 7:30 to 9:00, beginning Sept. 9. We welcome new singers, including high school
juniors and seniors. The only
requirement is a love of singing—and laughter.
Talk to Ralph or Cheryl Neff Lorenz.
Spiritus is a smaller, auditioned choir that sings more
challenging and specialized music. Our
regular rehearsals are Thursday evenings, 9:00-10:00. Ralph and Cheryl direct Spiritus.
Handbell Ensembles
Our learning handbell
group is Joyful Noise, rehearsing Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00,
beginning Sept. 8. Joyful Noise is
both Joyful and Noisy! This fellowship
of ringers is age-inclusive and open to all.
The only requirement is the willingness to learn and the love of
Spirit-filled music. To learn more,
speak with director Barb Eppley.
Our other handbell
ensembles, Joy Bells and Celebration Ringers, do require a
certain skill level and an open bell position to join. Joy Bells will begin regular rehearsals at
6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9, and Celebration Ringers will begin Sunday,
September 12, at 12:15 after worship.
See Ralph Lorenz to learn about either of these ensembles.
Other Groups
In Silent
Praise, we “sing” with our hands, using the signs of American Sign
Language. This is a beautiful,
expressive way to convey the meaning of music, and we learn each song together—no
previous experience is necessary. We
welcome all ages from 3rd graders through adults. We usually rehearse one Saturday morning a
month from 10:00 to 11:30 in the Choir Room; our next rehearsal is Saturday, Sept. 25. Contact Cheryl Neff Lorenz to learn more.
The
Way is our worship band; we rehearse as needed. If you play an instrument and would like to
help accompany worship music, speak to Ralph Lorenz.
The
First Christian Orchestra plays occasionally for special services. Anyone who can play an instrument at the
level of a hymn is welcome to join us.
See Ralph Lorenz for further details.
… and from the
Drama Department
In 2006 we
added a new dimension to the performing arts at First Christian Church. Building on the long tradition of children’s
musicals, we produced a major adult musical, Godspell. With the success of this wonderful show, we
realized that God has blessed us with the resources to use drama in ministry.
The
Christian Performing Arts ministry is a place to provide church and community
members an opportunity to develop their spiritual
lives through the performing arts, and to create and foster a Christian
atmosphere that ministers to the congregation and community. With the help of God, we share the love of
God through our words and actions.
In 2007,
we produced Children of
Speak with Karen Hoffman, our drama
director, if you would like to participate in this exciting ministry, whether
acting or behind the scenes.
PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS!!
Does it seem too hot to talk about
October already? Well, it is right
around the corner and before we know it our front yard will be a sea of
orange. The pumpkins are coming!
Here are
some ways that you can help.
1. Pray for the pumpkin patch that we
can reach people in the community and show them God’s love and what First
Christian Church of
2. Sign up to work in the pumpkin
patch. It’s fun
and you get to meet a lot of people.
3. Come help unload the pumpkins. It is a great way to get exercise and to
fellowship with our church family.
We already have a volunteer that
will handle the money everyday. Please
consider what you can do to help? Thank
you again for your continued support.
The pumpkins will be arriving on
Sat. October 2, at 9:00 a.m. so mark your calendars. We need lots of helpers to unload the
truck. If you would like to volunteer
for unloading please call the office or talk to Tim Neitz
or Cheryl Delaney. Sign up sheets will
be in coffee hour.
The Pumpkin
Patch team
*******************************************
In
Sympathy
The sympathy of the church is
extended to Lib Cowles upon the death of her brother, Robert Green, on August
24th. Robert was a resident
of
FCC Garage
Saturday, September 25
FCC
Stow is planning to have a BIG Garage Sale on September 25th to
raise money for people who have little to live on. We hope to raise as much money as possible to
support Crop Walk, the
In order to do this we need your saleable
cast-offs! (Please no tired or worn out
items.) You can drop off your donations
on: Saturday, September 18th from 8am to 1pm; Sunday, September 19,
after church until 1pm; and Monday through Friday from 8am to 1pm.
Help will be needed on the Friday before the sale to price
all goods, and help will be needed to pick up large donations. If you are available to help you can show up
Friday, or contact Dave Harlow or Sue Vaughn.
Additionally, for the sale day, Rae
Howard has graciously volunteered to help make food available for our
shoppers. Rae will welcome your help
and/or your baked or cooked donations.
Crop Walk raises funds to aid in
natural disasters, such as
The
And the
So start your Fall
cleaning now, and help support these important ministries!
Thanks in advance for your support,
Dave Harlow
Garage Sale Chair
*******************************************
New
We are pleased and excited to have Olan Mills scheduled to
take our pictures and create a new pictoral directory
for our church. Our first scheduled
sessions have already been sent off to Olan Mills and their representative will
be calling everyone to remind them of their date and time.
We also have currently scheduled Monday, September 27 and
Tuesday, September 28 for photography sessions.
If our first sign-up dates did not work for you please try to plan for
one of these days.
But what if you
can’t be available for the 27th or the 28th? Please let the church office know if you
cannot make the dates we have scheduled.
Olan Mills is working with other churches in our area in September. They can schedule you into one of the
available time-slots at another church. For
our homebound members who cannot come to the church, we are planning to send
one of our member-photographers to your home.
We will call and make an appointment.
If you do not hear from us soon, please call the church office.
We have been asked if you can submit a photo that you already
have. If your photograph was taken by a
professional, Olan Mills must have a release from the photographer or the
studio which took the picture in order to copy it. If a family member took the picture we should
be able to include it in the directory.
Our Olan Mills representative would have the final answer as to which
photographs can be used.
You do not have to be an ‘official’ member of our church to
be included in our directory. “Regular visitors,” those who have been attending worship or any other
function of the church regularly are invited and encouraged to participate.
For your participation you will receive a FREE 8x10
photograph of your choice. Of course,
you also have the opportunity to purchase additional photographs. Each family will also receive a free
directory. These directories are very
helpful for our members, new and those who have been here a while, to get to
know one another and to put names with familiar faces.
If we are able to stay on schedule and we expect to, we should
a new directory in your hands before Christmas!
Sharing our Hearts,
Our History and Our Healing: A Pilgrimage to
January 1-January 11, 2011
On January 1, 2011 the Ohio
Delegation will begin its pilgrimage to the wonderfully restorative
Along this pilgrimage each will have a chance to stand on
the lookout, overlooking the waterfall, walk the labyrinth in the stillness of
a native forest, pray at the peace pole. They will see first hand the power of the
February earthquake and the restoration that has emerged. They will immerse themselves in this
incredible culture of hospitality and generosity. And then, work along side fellow brothers and
sisters in Christ, and be part of the physical and spiritual construction of
Shalom for our world.
The Christian Church in
For more information about how you
can be part of this incredible ministry or if you are willing to help
financially support this ministry, contact Jonathan, coordinator of the Ohio
Delegations to
*****************************************************
Coming
Soon. . .
Future Funds Chows will begin again
in October. Watch for it in our next
newsletter.