November 3, 2010
Our First Halloween in Oregon
I remember our first Halloween in Oregon. My wife and I were childless, and we were excited to pass out candy to trick or treaters. We carved the pumpkin, turned on the lights and waited for the fun to begin. Everything began quite as expected. There were ADORABLE little kids coming dressed as fairies, princesses and frogs. We saw a fair share of Power Rangers and Dora the Explorers. The occasional teen came along looking for a sugar fix as well!
What we were NOT expecting were the adults. The first few confused us, but we really didn’t think too hard about it and as the evening progressed, it kept happening. We were having adults, most of them not at all in any sort of costume, coming up to the door for candy. The doorbell would ring, and they’d simply hold out a dirty pillow case or wrinkled trash bag, without saying a word and wait for the food to fall in. Then they’d silently turn around and walk away. We laughed at first, scratched our heads secondly, and ended up just plain confused. I figured it out later. These were HUNGRY people. Many were most likely homeless, and the rest close to it. If they had a chance to get some food for free they were going to take advantage of it even if it was simply a bunch of junk food and candy!
I felt guilty later for my blindness to their situation. I wish I had been a little more intuitive and taken the chance to share some love and hope. But what struck me most was the level of hunger that exists in our town. We are surrounded by people who are hungry. Ask any school administrator and they will attest to that! As God’s people we are called to feed the hungry.
I am glad to attend a church that does this so lovingly and regularly. How lovely was it to watch our kids bring in that food on Sunday? How wonderful is it when the Fireside Room is full on a Safe Harbor night, or at Thanksgiving? How rewarding is it to deliver a Christmas Basket full of food for a family in need? Thank you for your response to the pantry needs, and be on the lookout for a call for canned goods for Christmas in the near future.
I am proud to serve with such loving, and giving people. May we work even harder to eradicate hunger in Medford!
– Pannell
Does Church Attendance Mean Anything? (Part Six)
Throughout these series of bulletin articles dealing with attendance, I think at least one valuable insight has surfaced. The valuable insight that has surfaced is that attendance is more of a result than a cause. For instance, attendance by itself cannot cause an individual to be faithful anymore than a student merely attending college will guarantee learning. Now it certainly helps a student to become educated if he or she actually shows up to class, participates, and studies. In a similar fashion to a college student, an individual who attends and participates in congregational worship, Bible studies, and fellowships will also likely learn and grow in faith.
Additionally, we know from the book of Hebrews that at least one cause for the result of attendance is the fact that we see the Day of Christ approaching, and so we increasingly spur each other on to more and more good deeds and the fellowship of mutual encouragement (Heb 10:24-25). Therefore, if attendance is more of a result then a cause, then does attendance not partially serve as an outward sign of an inward belief and conviction concerning matters of faith?
We are now bumping up against a difficult question concerning what takes place in an individual’s heart. However, the truth is, there are multiple causes operative within an individual’s heart that may prompt him or her to attend activities of congregational life. Unfortunately, there is not a strict one to one correspondence between congregational attendance and purity of heart. In other words, a genuine belief and conviction concerning the coming of Christ and the common faith we share does not necessarily drive all the internal causes within the heart. Members attend for all kinds of reasons that may or may not be rooted to the best of motives.
One example of congregational attendance not rooted in the best of motives is the case of some Christians we read about in the books of First and Second Corinthians. In Corinth, apparently, there were individuals who gathered in part for the purposes of showing off, pride, and control of others (1 Cor 1:1ff; 3:1ff; 5:1-2; 12:1-13:1ff; 2 Cor 11:1ff). Another example of a faulty sign of attendance is from the book of Jude that speaks of men who are “blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves” (v.12). Now I doubt that individuals in Corinth or those of whom Jude speaks of actually stood up in the gathered assembly and said, “We are attending this congregation because we like to show off, flaunt our pride, and control and take advantage of others.” Therefore, attendance can be a deceptive outward sign of what is actually taking place in the heart.
Nevertheless, despite the above mentioned difficulties discerning the outward sign of attendance, attendance is still one criterion by which faith, belief, and conviction in the heart becomes manifest. Not all signs are false signs. The question, dear saint, is what does your outward sign of attendance say about what is truly in your heart?
– Terry
FIREPROOF YOUR MARRIAGE
Our Seminars will begin this week. Please consider how you can help with child care and classes for the children during our seminar sessions. Please contact Denise Beeks to volunteer.
SESSION ONE - HE SAID / SHE SAID
November 6, 5:30-8:00 p.m.
SESSION TWO - HE FIRST LOVED US
November 10, 6-8:00 p.m.
SESSION THREE - LOVE FOR A LIFETIME
November 17, 6-8:00 p.m.
SESSION FOUR - BREAKING FREE
December 1, 6-8:00 p.m.
SESSION FIVE - FORGIVENESS
December 8, 6-8:00 p.m.
SESSION SIX - A BETTER WAY OF LOVING
December 15, 6-8:00 p.m.
James II
Thank you children, for your wonderful response to our food drive! What a blessing it was to see all the food that you brought for our pantry on Sunday. Thank you again for all of your help in supporting our James II program.
Safe Harbor
Anyone who is interested in helping with our Safe Harbor program is invited to come to our planning meetings in the Fireside Room on Friday, November 5 and Friday, November 12 at 6:00 p.m. each evening. A simple dinner will be served each evening. For more information please contact Lance or Betty Lake.
Prayer Requests
Ernie Strawn has been diagnosed with lung cancer and as he awaits treatment options ... It was good to see Eva Loy Knight back with us this past Sunday ... Debi Robbins asks your prayers for balance in her life ... For our President and all of our military men, women and families.
The Memorial Service for Barbara Garlitz is scheduled for Saturday, November 13, at 1:00 p.m. at the building.
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. We still have two booth spaces available. Call Debra Burchett for booth space or more information.
Children’s Bulletin - We now have a Children’s Bulletin for our elementary age children. There are two bulletins: one for ages 3-6 years; and one for ages 7-12 years. Please pick up the one that is age appropriate for your child. They are located on the table in the back of the auditorium. We will have a reward party for all those children who have completed and turned in their bulletins. Contact Denise Beeks with any questions.
Anniversary Sunday and Potluck Luncheon is scheduled for November 14. Invite your friends and former members to come celebrate sixty years with us. Bring lots of your favorite potluck dishes!
Thank You
We would like to give a very BIG thank you to all who helped with our blanket tying this year. It was a blessing to have so many come and help us with this project. Thanks also for your support of the food drive this last week. Many members of our community will be blessed because of your generosity.
Jennielle Denn and Wyndee Thomas
for Children’s Worship
Remember to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
November 13 Memorial Service for Barbara Garlitz at the building; 1:00 p.m.
November 14 Anniversary Sunday and Potluck Luncheon
November 19-20 Harvest Craft Fair at the building; 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
November 25 Thanksgiving Dinner at the building; 2:00 p.m.
