Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Every once in a while an email comes along that needs to be shared and I think that this is one. When God solves our problems, we have faith in God's abilities. When God doesn't solve our problems, God has faith in our abilities.
One may observe God's accuracy in the hatching of eggs…those of the Canary in 14 days; those of the Barnyard Hen in 21 days; Eggs of Ducks and Geese in 28 days; those of the Mallard in 35 days; Eggs of the Parrot and the Ostrich hatch in 42 days. (Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!)
See God's Wisdom in the making of an Elephant…The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body…too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily. The Horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. A Cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.
How wise God is in all God's works of Creation! Each Watermelon has an even number of stripes on the Rind. Each Orange has an even number of segments. Each ear of Corn has an even number of rows. Each stalk of Wheat has an even number of grains. Every bunch of Bananas has on its lowest row an even number of Bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.
Amazing! There's more…The Waves of the Sea roll in on shore Twenty-six to the Minute in all kinds of weather. All Grains are found in even numbers on the stalks. God has caused the Flowers to Blossom at certain specified times during the day. Linnaeus, the Great Botanist, once said that if he had a Conservatory containing the right kind of Soil, Moisture, and Temperature, he could tell the Time of Day or Night by the Flowers that were Open and those that were Closed. The Lives of each of us may be ordered by the Lord in a Beautiful Way for His Glory, if we will only Entrust Him with our Lives. If we try to Regulate our own Lives we will have only Mess and Failure.
Only God, who made our Brains and Hearts, can Successfully Guide them to a Profitable End. When you carry the Bible, Satan has a Headache; when you Open it, he Collapses. When he sees you Reading it, he loses his Strength, and when you Stand on the Word of God, Satan can't Hurt you! And did you also know…that when you are about to share this story, the Devil will probably try to Discourage you, but do it anyway.
Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no Point.
Yours in Christ,
Bonnie
Domesitc Violence Awareness Month
Did you know that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month? One in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Next Sunday, when you are sitting in church, look around the room and you will realize that the statistic means that there are people in our midst who have lived with or are living with violence.
People from every walk of life; including race, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, economic class, religious affiliation, levels of ability, education, and citizenship are represented in the statistics related to intimate violence. Individuals in our congregations are victims, survivors, perpetrators, and by-standers. We need to do our part in saying clearly that abuse is contrary to God’s will and that it tears at the very fabric of human dignity and the covenant we have with God to care for one another, especially those who are most vulnerable.
What can you do if you suspect that someone is dealing with domestic violence? First of all let them know that if they want to talk, you will listen. Believe them! Refer them to talk to me or to call the domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
October Monday and Tuesday Bible Study
Bible Study will continue on Mondays at 12:15 (bring a lunch if you wish) and Tuesdays at 5:00 pm. at the church. Right now we are studying “Responding to God” by Martha Graybeal Rowlett. Speak to Pastor Bonnie if you would like a copy of the Bible Study. Everyone is welcome.
October Thursdays Knitters and Quilters
Bring your lunch and some hand work or just stop by for social time on Thursdays from noon until 2:00 pm. Libby VanNostrand will teach knitting and crocheting to anyone who might be interested or is stuck on a project. The quilters are often working on quilt squares that anyone can learn to do or tying a quilt.
October 11 Mooncatcher Project
The Mooncatcher Group will meet on Thursday, October 11 from noon until 3:00 pm. Newcomers are always welcome and lots of help is needed. There is cutting, turning, threading,sewing and many other things to do for this project so come see what it is all about.
October 17 Presbyterian Women
The Presbyterian Women will meet on Wednesday, October 17 at 4:00 pm to discuss plans for the Rummage Sale and other upcoming events and to assemble Care Packages to be sent to our college students. The Bible verse letter is “U“. Please come join us for this fun and worthwhile project. If you have cartons suitable for mailing (corrugated shoeboxes with an attached lid are great) we would appreciate having them. We will be sending homemade cookies, candy, gum, snacks, tissue packets and anything else someone away at school may need. There are about 12 packages to be sent out this year.
October 18 Alzheimer’s Support Group
The Alzheimer’s Support Group will meet at 10:30 on Thursday, October 18th at 10:30 am in Fellowship Hall. This group is just forming and is educational as well as supportive and open to the community.
October 18 Parkinson’s Advocacy & Education Group
The Parkinson’s Advocacy & Education Group meets in Fellowship Hall at 2:00 pm on October 18th. These meetings are educational, supportive and open to the community.
October 26-27 Rummage Sale
PW will hold its Rummage Sale on Friday, October 26th from 7:00 am to noon. It will continue on Saturday the 27th from 8 am to noon. Set up will be Thursday at 9:00 am. There will also a food table and a few special items that will be priced over 25 cents. Remember items should be useable and clean.
October 29 Session Meeting
The Session will meet on Monday, October 29 at 6:30 pm at the church. Please let Janis Frisch know if there is anything to come before the Session at that time.
LOOKING AHEAD
November 3 Harvest Ham Dinner
SAVE THE DATE!! SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd!! The Harvest Ham Dinner is an annual event occurring the first Saturday in November. This year will be the 26th year it has been offered. It was originally created to honor the wondrous harvest season and remind us to be thankful for the many blessings bestowed upon us. The harvest dinner is lovingly prepared by church members using produce from our local community or surrounding farms. The dinner is served family style or is available for take-out. The dinner includes baked ham, scalloped potatoes, squash, cabbage salad with onions and fresh parsley, homemade roils, and gingerbread or apple crisp for dessert. The cost is $12.00 for adults and $4.00 for children ages 5-12. The Annual Harvest Ham Dinner is one of the larger fund raising events offered by the church. It is an enjoyable time where people from all over the community gather around God’s Harvest and share in fellowship.
Volunteers will be needed on Friday, November 2nd at 1:00 PM to help with the cabbage and onions and on Saturday at 9:00 AM to peel potatoes. For more information, please contact Colleen Ulrich (661-5151) or Janet Kucel (661-7682).
Christmas Is Coming!
Christmas is coming faster than we might like but it is not too soon to plan a few things:
December 9 -- Christmas Cantata, Christmas Presence at 3:00 p.m. Mark your calendars now!
December 12 – Tim Coombs will be doing A Christmas Carol! $5 admission. Light dinner
included.
December 16 – Children's Christmas Pageant during worship!
December 19 – Blue Christmas Service at 7:00 pm.
December 24 – AM Jail Service – We do 4 short Christmas Eve services at the Fulton County
Correctional Facility including communion. If you would like to come, we take up to five people, please see Pastor Bonnie. If you have never gone before, you will need to provide a copy of your driver's license s cleared by the jail before you can go.
OUTREACH -GET INVOLVED!
Mooncatcher Project
This group finally reached their first goal of 50 kits. These will be going to the ladies and their daughters in Guatemala. The next group that be going with Victor for the girls in his school. We have a good supply of the materials needed but a lot of cutting and preparation goes into getting the materials ready to be sewn. We are meeting on the second Thursday each month and would love to see some new faces. As we have said before, you do not have to be able to sew to take a part in this project that will change the lives of the women and girls who will receive the kits.
Christmas Eve Jail Service
We will be doing our jail services on Christmas Eve Day again this year. See above for details.
FOOD PANTRY
I know everyone thinks it's to early to talk about the Holidays, but the food baskets need to go out. I'm asking for cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, turkey gravy and dessert items. Keep in mind if you get a bag to donate food from the Boy Scouts, all Mayfield food comes to our pantry. If you don't get a bag you can bring food to church on October 21th to stock the shelves. We go through a lot of food during November and December. We could use more of the boxes that copy paper comes in. Thanks for all you do
to support this important mission. The sign up sheets are in fellowship and volunteers
are needed. Thanks again. Crystal
MUSIC NOTES
The Cantata books have arrived and we welcome singers who like a shorter time of commitment. See Mary Lou to get your own personal copy. The concert will be December 9 at 3:00 pm. Rehearsals at the church on December 1, 4 with the orchestra and on December 8. In addition to the cantata, Alex and friends will be presenting a medley of Christmas music. Sandra VanSlyke will also sing Ave Maria.
Yes, the Advent season will soon be upon us and we welcome any extra voices for the season and/or all year. We can supply you with music, robe, a chair and good camaraderie.
We also welcome “special” music throughout the year, i.e. vocal solos or instrumental music. Alex is a great accompanist and Mary Lou can help with rehearsal. Bring out those high school instruments and put them to good use again!
WORSHIP COMMITTEE
This committee organized the “Pastor Appreciation Sunday” festivities including a sermon, “You’ve Got to be Kidding!”, a song - “Hats Off to Bonnie” - presented by the choir as well as a salad luncheon following worship. During the sermon, we talked about the many “hats” that Bonnie wears as pastor of the church. We also suggested that congregation members should be agreeable to wearing “hats” that become available to them: Elder hats, liturgist hats, coffee hour hats, etc. It was a fun time and Bonnie was presented with a white summer hat with pretty ribbons by Mary Seaman. Bryan DeGrout shared a joke and Dick Foster drew a picture of different hats to give to her.
The committee also helped with organizing the luncheon following the service with Storyteller, Juliana Rowe, from New York City – and her telling of the Book of Esther. Thanks to everyone who signed up to bring food for both of these luncheons.
For World Communion Sunday, committee members supplied 4 different kinds of breads from “around the world”. Bethlehem Bread, Liberian Rice Bread, Jewish Rye, and Hawaiian Sweet Bread were on the table for communion.
Soon we will begin to work with Bonnie on getting ready for Advent. New comers are always welcome!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Debra Hall October 2
Kelly Wagar October7
Bill Wemple October 7
Bart Warner October 8
Merry Dunn Brown October 8
Trevor Ruberti October 11
Doris Howard October 12
Christine Gerber October 15
Laura Hime October 18
Maggie Kline October 23, 2012
Jill Kaczor October 25
Trudy Yost October 27
Susan Cichy October 29
Noranne Marcellus October 29
Lorna E. Johnson October 30
CHURCH SCHOOL NOTES
The Sunday School children picked apples at Rogers Orchard on October 7 and will make something with them later this month. This year they have computers in the Sunday School room to learn stories in new ways. There has also been a number of toddlers and young children comin this fall – KEEP THEM COMING! Children will be filling shoeboxes again this year for Operation Christmas Child. A list of suggested items and things not to bring will be available in Sunday School and a box will be in Fellowship Hall later in October.