West Main

Here at West Main we can be called a lot of things!  You could call us fun.  You could call us gracious. You could call us family.  The list goes on and on!  There is ONE thing you could NEVER call us and that is…STAGNATE!  We are a very busy church!  And this is good.

So, amidst all the buzz of activity, I want to challenge you to be a part of two things this summer!

The first is the CIA Service Ministry.  We believe as Christians we are called to live ACTIVELY.  We are called to serve and to love!  That is our MAIN focus in the CIA.  Over the summer we will have six chances to get together and serve our family, our church and our community in all kinds of fun ways.  Please make sure you get a calendar and join up!  We are SO excited about the lineup of work this year.  They vary from manual labor, to yard work, to laundry to helping people pack their containers!  There are jobs for every person.  I challenge you to make these nightsa priority for your family, so you can servet he Lord together!  It is not every week, in order to help fit our busy lives in, to do the service….check us out.  You will NOT be disappointed.

Next are Super Summer Sunday Nights.  Terry started a really insightful and interesting study of the Ten Commandments.  I think we will ALL learn all kinds of new stuff about a topic we thought we knew everything about!  And of course…afterwards we get together to eat and play all kinds of fun and silly games.  It is a great time to be together, study, fellowship and make all kinds of memories.  I hope that you can all make as many of these as possible.

Please mark your calendars.  We have a great summer ahead of us!  I look forward to the memories!  I am so proud to be a part of this amazing family.  So, let’s get together and let’s do this!

                                                   ------Pannell

RAINDROPS

The life of a raindrop is uncertain in its beginning. Because clouds are created and sustained by upward moving air currents, water droplets must reach a size sufficient to overcome the lifting effect of the currents before they can fall to earth as drizzle or rain. Condensation alone cannot generate droplets of sufficient size to produce even a drizzle.

I once sat in a  physics class where the professor was discussing the growth of a raindrop, where tiny cloud droplets coalesce to form a drop of water that will be heavy enough to fall to earth. By the end of the class he had covered the blackboards in the lecture room with mathematics describing the process. When he finished, the whole class applauded. That was my first and only experience of such an outburst of exuberance in a classroom.   Looking back, the wonders of the raindrop deserved such praise, and how much more our God who was responsible for the whole process.

Raindrops seldom are as large as occasional hail and snowflakes, because they break up as they fall. This keeps the drops from having heavy erosive impacts on the ground.  Although sudden downpours may cause rivulets that erode earth, raindrops are moderately sized for a good reason.

Farmers have learned the  value of gentle raindrops over flood irrigation.  When new crops are planted in freshly tilled soil, flood irrigation develops slime on the surface that seals the surface of the soil and inhibits penetration of irrigation water. Not so with raindrops, where the soil is not sealed off and allows penetration. One farmer, who normally uses flood irrigation for established plants, proudly showed me his sprinkler system that had cost him as much as the land. He had discovered artificial rain!

A second lesson is learned when irrigating crops from river sources. Salts carried in river water may build up in the soil and inhibit plant growth. Field drainage that carries the salts away is necessary. When farming flat land, drainage tiles can be placed deep underground to carry excess water away to man-made ditches and eventually rivers. This is especially needful in the desert Southwest where the Colorado River is loaded with salts. Of course, salt free raindrops do the best job of leaching the soil. (This helps us understand why the Lord  made most of the earth hilly and uneven where drainage is natural.)

When rainstorms are over and the excess water flows into streams that return to the ocean, it is often collected in dam for irrigation and recovery of the solar energy that lifted water vapor into the sky in the first place. When released from the dams to lower ground, huge turbines capture the energy of its fall to power electric generators. We try to get all of the good out of raindrops.

Although we are presently in awe of the wonders of a raindrop, we are convinced that all that God does is likewise marvelous and for our good. Even the thorns and the thistles have a purpose. They remind us that the creation that bears the fingerprints of our Creator was once still better before the curse of sin.

                                                          .........James Gibbs

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 

Our theme this year is “Be Strong in the Lord.” We will be studying the Courage of David, the Strength of Samson, the Selflessness of Esther, and the Faith of Noah. VBS this year is June 21-24 from 9:00-11:45 a.m. and is for children who have completed  kindergarten through sixth grade. Lunch and activities will be provided on Friday after VBS.  We still need someone willing to do front set-up; we still need prizes, hot dogs, buns, lemonade mix, and cookies.  I will be in the courtyard foyer this Sunday if you would like to sign up to help.  Thank You, Denise Beeks.

***Please remember that our cookies can have NO  PEANUT PRODUCTS OR BY-PRODUCTS. Please read the labels carefully if you buy cookies.  Also, remember that this applies to our Super Summer Sunday Night Fellowship activities too - please NO peanut butter cookies or sandwiches.

WEDDING SHOWER 

There will be a wedding shower honoring Kelsey Burns and Blain Rennels following evening services on June 12^th.  We will have a Hawaiian theme.  Please bring your favorite recipes, funny stories or advice and lots of your favorite Hawaiian foods for the potluck. Kelsey and Blain are registered at Target if you need gift ideas.

Kelsey and Blain are getting married on Saturday, June 25^th, at 2:00 p.m.  at Cantrall Buckley Park, Area A.  Please RSVP to the family or sign the RSVP list posted on the courtyard bulletin board if plan on attending the wedding.

PRAYER REQUESTS . . .

Please continue to pray for Doris Sutherlin who is recovering from colon surgery at Providence Hospital...no visits or phone calls yet please...(for updates on Doris’ progress please call Angie or Lorraine)...For Sharon Englert who is recovering from colon cancer surgery at home...if you can help with meals for her, please contact Evelyn Bates....Liz and Jess Dunlap request prayers for their friend, Jack Henselman, who will be having leg vein surgery on Friday to save his foot....Mark Moreno request prayers for a friend who lost his mother to a heart attack...For Haddie Pannell who has had trouble breathing....For a complete healing for Mel Hamilton, Connie Kennedy, Ernest Strawn, and Gerry McCord ... For Ruby Newberry  who is now on hospice care  for  pneumonia  at Farmington Square .... For our President, military men, women and families.

ELDER AND DEACON INSTALLATION

Our planned installation of our selected new leaders will be June 26^th. We will be having a potluck fellowship celebration following the morning services.  Please bring a favorite dish to share on that day.