April 13, 2011
Summer is Coming
The summer is coming. It is just around the corner. This means barbeques, baseball, ice cream, swimming pools, camping trips and . . . . CIA SERVICE!
It is time for each of you to get out your CIA shades, your work boots and gloves and get ready to serve! Last summer was our inaugural season of Christians In Action and it was a HUGE success. We learned how to do and how not to do several things and we served all kinds of needs in our church and community.
We grew closer together as we worked fervently as servants in God’s kingdom, and truth be told, we had a BLAST doing it! So, many have been asking when it is coming . . . .
It is HERE! Terry and I are working hard on solidifying the final schedules of events. We hope to once again have 4-6 nights of service, a carnival at the clothing giveaway and an end-of-the-summer celebration at Emigrant Lake.
As we are filling in the gaps right now, we need ideas for service projects. We are looking for ways to help our church families as well as ways to get out into the community. Please give Terry or I any ideas you may have. Details will follow soon.
CIA…Christians in Action “I’m Just a Servant”
-- Pannell
Remembering Dan Slovak . . . . .
We are saddened to announce the passing of one of our members, Dan Slovak, this past week. Dan and his family moved to the Rogue Valley in 1963. He was employed as a meat butcher when he first moved here. He then changed careers and went into construction. He quickly became involved in the work at West Main, becoming a deacon of our building and maintenance in 1976. Dan oversaw the construction of the expansion projects at West Main. First, came the construction of the expansion of the auditorium and the installation of the (then) new baptistry. He also built the cross that hangs over the baptistry. Did you know that Dan personally built the lights for the auditorium that are hanging up now? Ever wanting to keep our children safe in the upstairs classrooms, he built the fire escape from the youth room. He and Don Walker installed the rock veneer that surrounds the building. He then oversaw the expansion of our Fireside Room and the offices. He made sure the minister’s new office had a window and a courtyard so that it would be pleasant for the minister to work in. He built and maintained the wood fence that surrounds our property. Seeing that our neighbors needed a place to rest while walking, he built the concrete bench at the end of our parking lot. His mark on our West Main building will endure for many years. Many people have fond memories of working with Dan during our remodeling projects. Also, for a time, Dan was our church custodian.
Not only did Dan do our building projects, but he enjoyed cooking as well. Did you know that Dan was one of our camp cooks for a number of years? He helped so much with getting camp ready and taking supplies to camp. Dan also cooked for the men’s breakfast meetings, our Wednesday night evening meals, (who knew that he could cook zucchini in so many ways?), the barbeques for our neighborhood during VBS, (he could pour cement and clean up after VBS in the same day - he just kept going until the job was done), and also helped cook at our salmon barbeques. People didn’t even know that he could cook until he took on that ministry. He was a tireless servant who worked in the background helping others who needed him or his construction skills. He also enjoyed going to the church pinochle parties. He also enjoyed having his pilot’s license and flew the mail plane for Skyways to Eastern Oregon. Along with his family, his West Main family was ever important in his life - he was a good friend to many people here.
Dan moved away in 1995 to help his sons with their pipe bending business after the construction business took a downturn. After their business closed and he retired, he moved back to the Rogue Valley to be closer to his family. Many times he met up with some of our members for coffee or breakfast at McDonald’s and discussed the latest book he was reading. Our sympathy is extended to his family. Memorial services for Dan will be held on Saturday, May 7th at 11:00 a.m. at the building. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to our church camp fund.
Fellowship after Memorial Service
****There will be a sandwich/fingerfood/potluck fellowship following the services for Dan Slovak on May 7th. Please bring lots of your favorite foods to share.
Daddy-Daughter Dinner Dance April 30th
Please arrive promptly at 5:00 p.m. in your beautiful dress to get your photo taken with your special guy. You will receive a special wearable keepsake of the event. Dinner will be served and after dessert you and your guy will share some laughs and dancing. For more information, please contact Marcie Dixon.
****Items we need to borrow for the event:
Up to twelve card tables and about fifteen strands of white mini single-strand, non-blinking Christmas lights. If you have any of these items, please let Marcie Dixon know ASAP. Also, Barbara Logsdon will be doing the cooking for this event - if you can help serve, help cook, or provide some ingredients for the dinner it would be greatly appreciated. See Barbara this Sunday by the visitor’s center to volunteer.
We Will Have A Church Work Day on Saturday, April 23rd, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Please bring your shovels, hoes, gloves, rakes, tools for trimming bushes, etc. We need help in pulling our weeds in our flower gardens. We will also be putting down some bark in our flower gardens. Thank you for your help - if you need more info, contact Dan Beeks.
Prayer Requests . . .
Please continue to pray for a complete healing for Mel Hamilton and Connie Kennedy ... It was good to see Mel here Sunday walking with his walker ... For Truman Scott who is now at home recovering from his stroke - please pray for his complete healing and for his speech therapy ... For Ernest Strawn who is having radiation treatments ... For Dan & Sharen Hargis who are not doing well at this time and would appreciate your phone calls ... Nina Sanderbrink as she recovers from hernia surgery ... For Iris, daughter of Evelyn Bates, who is having heart blockage problems ... For Vicki Pearman, as she begins new medical treatments that have lots of side effects ... For Jerry McElroy, friend of the Pannell family, who has lung cancer ... For Cooper Albright, who is feeling good now and awaiting the results of his latest blood tests ... For Jeff Curnow as he makes decisions in his life ... For our President and all of our military men, women and families.
Thank You Note:
After six days at UCLA in the Ronald Reagan Medical Center in the stroke/trauma center, it was good to come home to my loving family at West Main. The flowers, cards, calls and visits were greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for surrounding us in prayers. Truman and Ferne Scott
Teen Food Drive
Please help our teens as they collect food for a community food drive. Please bring lots of canned foods to our building. Please leave the food by our new visitor center. For more information, contact Brian Pannell.
Elders, Deacons, and Ministry Leaders - please reserve the date of May 7th, for a Saturday Morning Breakfast in the Fireside Room at 7:00 a.m.
Camp Fundraiser . . . Save the date of May 21st for our Camp Fund Raising Dinner in the Fireside Room. More details to come.
Calendar of Events
April 23 Workday at the Building Beginning at 8:00 a.m.
April 30 Daddy/Daughter Banquet; 5:00 p.m.; FSR
May 7 Elder/Deacon Breakfast; 7:00 a.m.; FSR
Memorial Service for Dan Slovak; 11:00 a.m. at the Building
May 21 Camp Fundraiser Dinner; FSR
