September 29, 2010
re-treat: the act of withdrawing into seclusion; a period of group withdrawal for religious exercises and meditation, or for study and direction
It’s a crazy and busy world. Modern families have schedules that make one dizzy! Between soccer games, plays, choir practice, studies, church and grocery shopping, it’s VERY hard for parents to find any time for themselves. And sadly, it’s often harder to find time to work on our spiritual lives. Sometimes, we really need to force time into our schedules for this. That is why churches often host such events called RETREATS.
They are times to get away from the pressure of the “real world” for a brief period and focus on resting our souls and minds, and listening to God. They are times to laugh and play with friends. They’re times to close your eyes. They’re times to create and strengthen community and family. They’re WONDERFUL events if we will just give ourselves over to them.
It really is important for us to strive to lead balanced lives. This balance MUST include REST. I suspect that many of us justify our own busy lives by making the excuse that Jesus was busy too. But was He as busy as we seem to be? Spend some time reading through the gospels specifically asking yourself this question: How did Jesus spend his time on earth? You will quickly see that Jesus did have a very balanced life! There were times when he was really busy but those were usually
balanced with relaxed times when he walked and talked with his friends or withdrew into the hills to pray. Busy times of work and teaching the crowds and disciples were always balanced with times of solitude, praying, meditating, and renewing His focus on God.
So, I believe it is essential that we too rest, and that we RETREAT! For all the amazing accomplishments modern culture boasts, we often forget the simple things. We need to learn to relax and enjoy life. It is good to take a nap, slow down, and look around you at the glorious world God has created.
West Main has a Women’s Retreat coming up very soon. If anyone deserves a break, it HAS to be the modern day woman! They rarely get time to themselves out of the house that includes interaction with other adults, rather than diapers or homework! It is my sincere prayer that our women will make the time to go and our men will support this effort. We are blessed with some amazing women here, and I am excited to see what God will continue to do through them. Jesus understood the need for retreat. Do we? There is still time to sign up! Get your registrations in today! Pannell
Does Church Attendance Mean Anything? (Part One)
An often-heard question from the lips of children is, “Do I have to go to church?” The proto-typical parental response is, “No, you get the privilege of going to church.” What about your view of church attendance, do you get to go to church or do you have to go to church? Is church attendance a privilege or just an obligatory duty?
The ultra-conservative congregation where I first became a Christian gave me some of my own initial impressions of church attendance. Sunday morning attendance was obvious, and Wednesday night and Sunday night attendance were expected. A verse I frequently heard was Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” In addition, an unwritten rule for being a deacon or an elder was faithful attendance. If a brother’s name was not considered for the deaconship or eldership, a common reason stated would be, “He is a good man, but he does not come on Wednesday night.” Even if this brother’s work schedule prohibited Wednesday night attendance, the implication was that he should be striving to change his schedule or perhaps there was some kind of hidden unfaithfulness. In other words, if he is a good man, then why has God not blessed him with the time off to attend?
What does church attendance mean? Is attendance really a proper biblical gauge or measure of faithfulness or faithlessness? What exactly do we mean by church attendance? Does church attendance mean any and every activity of the church, or are we talking primarily about Sunday morning worship? My conservative upbringing taught me that if the elders designate times to meet, such as Wednesday night and Sunday night, then the members ought to honor the authority of the elders by attending those set times. If you “forsook” (a favorite word of my conservative congregation) meeting with the saints, then you were disrespecting the elders and working against their spiritual obligation to tend to your soul. Now, who would want to be guilty of working against the soul-care of the elders?
We ought to honor the times set by the elders for the care, development, and growth of our spirituality and faith. However, such honor given to elders assumes the elders have taken the time to know what the schedules, obligations, obstacles, and challenges each member faces. Elders cannot simply throw out times to meet, or blindly depend on traditional meeting times to meet the needs of an ever-growing and ever-changing congregation. For instance, in today’s culture, businesses operate 24/7, and young people especially are prone to have to work nights and weekends. For many today, even Sunday morning worship is becoming a luxury to attend. Elders today have an awesome responsibility to schedule congregational times of faith development and soul-care amidst a sea of changing times, work schedules, and other obligations. I am uncertain that any congregation in our present culture and society could schedule meeting times to accommodate all members at all times.
Nevertheless, elders must try and they must be creative in the times and opportunities they structurally offer members of the congregation. A hint of one creative response comes from church history. Pliny the Younger (61-112 AD) was a Roman magistrate who wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan on how to judicially deal with the growing number of Christians under his jurisdiction. After torturing two Christian slave girls for information on what Christians were doing, Pliny reported this interesting little nugget to Trajan: “They had been accustomed on a fixed day to meet before dawn and sing antiphonally a hymn to Christ as a god.” Why were these Christians meeting before dawn? The answer is that these slave girls, like the majority of slaves that were Christians, could not meet any other time due to the nature of their work. For Christians in the first century, church attendance at least meant you loved and cared for one another to the point that the Body of Christ was willing to rise before dawn in order to be together. How many elders and congregations today would be willing to rise before dawn to meet the needs of its members? Just what does church attendance mean to you, dear brother and sister? In the following weekly bulletin articles, we will explore this question more in-depth. Until the next time, I pray you do not “give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.”
Terry
2010 Women’s Retreat
October 15-17
Little River Christian Camp
This year we will have returning, the fantastic, enthusiastic, excited and fun to be with guest speaker, Clara Hinton. Retreat cost will be $65.00 and includes everything! Please make plans to come, and invite someone. Recruit for me! Registration forms are available in the lobby. Grab one for more information and to register now. Contact Jessie Pannell with any questions. Thanks! It’s only 2 weeks away!
Harvest Craft Fair: Calling all crafters –now is the time to get all of your craft creations together and ready to sell. We will be holding a Craft Fair at West Main on November 19 & 20 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Booths will be available to rent - a table size of 6x8 is $20.00; and a table size of 8x9 will be $25.00. Call a friend and share a booth if you don’t have enough items to sell. Call Debra Burchett for booth space or more information.
James II Needs: Our James II Pantry is in need of some items ... cereal, canned vegetables, soups, sauces, canned or powdered milk, shampoo. Thank you for all of your help to support our James II Program.
Christian Woman’s Magazine: Ladies it is time to renew your subscription to Christian Woman’s Magazine. Renewal cost is $15.98. See EEthel Flock to renew your subscription.
Prayer Requests . . .
EvaLoy Knight requests your prayers as she has been diagnosed with lung cancer and will have surgery on Friday ... Lillian Casebier as she recovers from knee surgery ... Ernie Strawn as he recovers from having a pacemaker put in last week ... Barbara Garlitz needs your prayers for her health ... Evelyn Bates for her recovery from bronchitis ... Buddy Denzer for his recovery from a broken rib ... Angelina Darland thanks you for your prayers while she was in Mexico and please pray for her grandfather who is in a lot of pain ... For our President and all of our military men, women and families.
Come Celebrate the Harvest
Hey ya’ll ....Ready to put on your overalls and straw-hats and listen to the down-home good time sounds of the Old Time Fiddlers? Don’t forget to bring your favorite autumn potluck dish and wear something that’ll make you feel like ropin’ the nearest cow. Kids, bring a carved pumpkin. There’ll be a candy giveaway. Cost is $5.00 per couple; kids free.
Date: Saturday, October 23
Place: At the home of John and Charlotte Winters
Time: 4:30-9:30 p.m.
***P.S. Please bring 1-2 cans of food for the food drive to get an early start on the Christmas Baskets. Trade your cans in for some goodies .... Yeaaaa!!!
August Financial Statement
INCOME:
| General Fund Contributions | $20691.00 | |
| Transferred from other acc’ts to GF | 10000.00 | |
| Non Budgeted Contributions | 3234.56 | |
| Development Funds & Rents | 1305.00 | |
| Interest/Other Income | 325.12 | |
| Total Income for Month | $35555.68 |
EXPENSES:
| Administration and Payroll | $12112.83 | |
| Youth on Fire | 830.19 | |
| Vision Ministries | 547.83 | |
| Office | 398.67 | |
| Nurturing Brethren | 1435.49 | |
| Operational Ministries | 2815.88 | |
| Worship & Facilities | 1717.85 | |
| Non-Budgeted Mission | 6951.11 | |
| Non-Budget funds to GF | 10000.00 | |
| Development & Kings Hwy | 3597.16 | |
| Total Expenses for the Month | $40407.01 |
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OCTOBER SERVERS
Coffee Servers: Fran and Cindy Sharpe
Nursery: Oct 3 - Janelle Meinhardt & Tabitha Walker
Oct 10: Ranae & Wyatt Westeren
Oct 17: Christi & April Olson
Oct 24: Christi & Kayla Olson
Oct 31:
Greeters: Russ Gann, Josh Johnson, Christi Olson, Charla Simpson
SEPTEMBER ATTENDANCE
1st Sunday 220
2nd Sunday 265
3rd Sunday 230
4th Sunday 231
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Oct 15-17: Women’s Retreat at Little River Christian Camp
Oct 23: Harvest Party at the Winters’ Home; 4:30-9:30 p.m.
Nov 14: Anniversary Sunday and Potluck
Nov 19-20: Harvest Craft Fair; FSR
Lost and Found
***We have three buffet sets that have been in the kitchen since our worship at Emigrant Lake. Please check with the office to pick these up if they belong to you.
***A toddler girl’s black patent shoe has been turned into the office that was found last week. Please contact the church office to claim it.
