Tuesday, September 18, 2012

NE NEWS - September 18, 2012


Northeast Community News – September 18, 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

What a wonderful day we had in the Lord, Sunday! We had 9 visitors with us and it was a blessing worship God together in song, prayer, and the cheerful giving of our offerings, too! After missionary moments led by Janie, she prayed for our alabaster offering and Jean played a marching hymn while we filled the little church to its rafters with our alabaster offerings! Praise God for everyone who joins God on his mission to seek and save the lost! God is good! Amen!

God’s message this week came from Nehemiah 8:1-18 and was titled,“Revive Us Again!” When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem he discovered more than broken down walls and burned gates; he found broken, burned out people! The Evil One tries to draw us away from God! If you are beginning to fall away or have never known the power and presence of God, you need revival!

Nehemiah chapter 8 points to many keys of revival and the first one is to have a hunger and thirst for God. In v. 1 we find ‘all the people assembled as one man before the Water Gate’ telling Ezra to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses (the only Bible they had at the time). In v. 3 we discover Ezra read for 6 hours a day! What were these people hungry for? For God!

If you want to experience the power and presence of God in your life you need to ‘check your appetite.’ You need to hunger for God more than a new car or iPad! Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matt 5:6). If you want revival, hunger for God, not possessions!

The second key to revival is surrender! In Nehemiah vv. 4-6 we find Ezra standing on a platform and all the people standing; all the people lifting their hands and responding Amen! Amen!; all the people bowing down! The people understood God was large and in charge and surrendered themselves to Him! If you want to experience revival you need to surrender to God, too! You need to yield to the Holy Spirit and say Amen! Amen! (so be it or let it be done)

The last key to revival is obedience! In vv. 10, 12, and 14-17 Nehemiah, speaking for God, instructs the people to go out and enjoy choice food, give to those who don’t have it, and build booths to live in and you know what? They did it! They responded in obedience! What was the result? They had greater joy and worship than they had had since the time of Joshua! They were revived and on fire! If you want revival, check your appetite, surrender to God, and respond in obedience!

This week’s Wednesday night adult study is called ‘Living a Holy Life’ and will explore how we ought to live as Christians! Join us at 6:30pm Wednesday to talk about how to live a holy life! It should be fun and enlightening!

BREAKING NORTHEAST COMMUNITY NEWS!
Because of your continued faithful giving, new windows are on order for the classrooms in the basement fellowship hall! That's right! The same windows that let the wind blow papers off pastor's bookcase; the same windows that lack locks and the ability to open because they are being held shut with 'caulk and chunks of 2x4s' are being replaced with brand new vinyl windows in about 5 weeks!

It gets better! Your trustees got a quote over a year ago for $4349 to do the work, but guess what? THE PRICE WENT DOWN to $4098!!! Now, what do you know that has dropped in price like that? Nothing! We believe God is leading the way! Now, does somebody want to say Amen? (I heard that! I want to say Amen, too!)

There’s more! In addition to the windows the trustees also made a motion to accept a bid for new signage! That’s right! In a matter of weeks they will install professionally made signs so visitors will know where the nursery, church office, and bathrooms are located! God is good!

All right, I’ll tell you one more thing! The sewer pipe from the parsonage to the road has been filled with roots and needed cleaning every year or water would flood the basement. It cost us $300 to clean it out, but guess what? God arranged for us to meet another sewer cleaner who only charges $150 and they told us 2 weeks ago there weren’t any roots and we could wait 2 years this time! Now, if you aren’t blessed now by all God is doing, well, you might be dead! God is good!
Blessings! Pastor Dan

Hello From Pastor Amy/Your Part-Time Church Secretary
My office hours will be on Tuesdays from 8am-5pm, but if you need to see me, you may want to call first. My responsibilities also include preparing our weekly program, so if you have an event that you would like to put in the program or newsletter, please feel free to contact me!

On Prayer Requests: If you have a specific praise or prayer request which you would like to appear in the program and/or newsletter, please make sure to fill out the tear-off sheet in the weekly program, or contact me at any time.

Please Update Me! We have a long, ongoing list of prayer requests. Please keep me updated. Requests will be pulled from the newsletter & program after 3 weeks. Thank you!

Church Office:  616-459-2773  My Contact Info:   616-514-9521 or amyorban@hotmail.com

NEWS & EVENTS

Alabaster Offering Thank You!
We held our Fall Alabaster offering last Sunday, and we are thrilled to report that we collected $519! Every penny of this money will be used on the mission field for the purchase of land and buildings. This was an incredible outpouring of support for missions! What a generous offering, thank you and thank you to all who give!

Engage the Word – Small Groups are Coming!
As a church we are participating in a 40-day Engage the Word program. We have several people who are willing to lead small groups in their homes for 6 weeks. Meetings will include Bible study, discussion, and a time of prayer for one another. Our prayer is that everyone in the church gets connected to a small group and participates in this great program. Please be praying about this and consider plugging in. Here is what we have so far (more details to come):

Janie Hathaway: Thursday Nights
Irene Pratt: Saturday Mornings
Amy & Theo Orban: TBA
Julie Orban: Monday Nights

We will be releasing a sign-up for small group locations and times within the next week! If you are willing to lead a small group, it’s not too late –talk to Janie Hathaway or Gerry Dawson.

Kids Go to Chuckie Cheese Oct 6!
When the dust settled, 3 of our children read all 6 children’s missionary books last year (June 2010-May 2011) and won a trip to Chuckie Cheese’s! Congrats to Alannah Parsaca, Bradlee Toole, and Karlee Toole for all their HARD WORK! But there is more - you have set an example for all of us! May we all grasp the importance of reading our missionary books! Thanks to everyone who read to the kids, encouraged them to read, and believed in them!

ATTENTION KIDS! Want to go to Chuckie Cheese next year? Start reading this year’s children’s missionary books! Let’s see if we can send 10 kids next year!

Girl Scouts Meet in our Building! Starts in October
We are thrilled to announce that beginning October 1st, the Girl Scouts program will be meeting in our building every other week on Monday nights @ 6pm. If you have a girl who is interested in joining, there is a $12 registration fee, and the group will tentatively be meeting every other Mondays of the month. Also, if parents of girls are interested in volunteering, they are also more than welcome to register to be a part of the program! Talk to Pastor Dan for registration forms ASAP, the first meeting is only two Mondays away!

Blanket Drive Starts – October 7th
In addition to our food drive (see below), we are starting our annual blanket drive for Mel Trotter Missions on October 7th. When our compassionate ministries team set out to discover real needs in our community, they found out that often the homeless men, women, and children who come to Mel Trotter do not have blankets for sleeping. Please bring your new or gently used, clean blankets to give to this great cause! Thrift stores are a great place to look, and Wal-Mart usually sells warm fleece blankets for under $20. The drive will continue throughout the month of Oct, and there will be a table in the back of the sanctuary where you can put your blankets.

Healing Service Planned – THIS Saturday, September 22 @ 6:00pm
In the church of the Nazarene, we believe that part of Jesus’ ministry to us is that of healing. In this service we will be considering the need for healing in all realms, that of the physical, but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual. Please join us for this special service and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and life. We will be singing, worshipping, hearing a message from Pastor Amy and having a time of anointing with oil. Everyone is invited to attend, please feel free to bring friends and family members!

Mission Mania- Saturday September 22nd
The church of the Nazarene is committed to spreading the gospel to all the ends of the earth. On the local level, we support worldwide missions through prayer, education, and financial giving. Each year,Mission Mania is a gathering where everyone in the district is invited to come see all the ways that God is moving through missions. It is a day of food, education, inspiration and fellowship. We will be leaving the church at 9:30am and coming back around 1pm. If you are interested in attending, talk to Janie Hathaway.

Missionaries Visit! Sunday September 23rd
We will be having missionaries to Kenya with us in service on Sunday, September 23rd. Russ and Donna Lovett have been serving in the Africa region since 2001. They will bring us the message from God and share their experience with us. This is a great time to invite friends or family to church. We will be taking up a special love offering for the missionaries. Plan on being there!

Last Wednesday Night Dinners are back!
The last Wednesdays of the month we are bringing back our soup, salad, and bread dinners before Bible study. Bring a dish to pass and show up at 5:30pm for dinner and fellowship. Everyone is welcome, bring friends and family and neighbors! If you can help set-up or clean up please talk to Julie Orban! See you there!
Next dinner: September 26 @ 5:30pm

Monthly Work Days Planned! Can You Help?
The trustees are planning to hold monthly workdays beginning in August to take care of our building and grounds. There is always work to be done, from painting to raking to cleaning and repairs and everything in between. No matter what your skill level, the guys can put you to work! The workdays will be held on the LAST Saturdays of the month from 9am-12pm. Talk to Pat Parsaca or Theo Orban with questions or to help.
September Work Day: Saturday, September 29th

Northeast Community Walking/Jogging Club
Do you like to walk or jog and wish you had some friends to walk with? Do you need to loose a few pounds, make a few friends, or just want to hang out with a few Christians and have a few laughs while getting a little exercise? If you said yes to any or all of those questions we have good news for you! Starting Tuesdays Aug. 28 through Nov. 20 we are gathering at the church at 6:00pm and then going to a nearby walking trail to walk or jog 5k or 3.1 miles for 13 weeks! Of course, during the weeks of ArtPrize we will be walking downtown! If you walk all 13 weeks you will have traveled 65k or 40 miles! You can do this! Interested? Let Pastor Dan know or just show up!

Alternative Adults – New Sunday School Book Began, Join Anytime!
The alternative adult class which meets in the room at the bottom of the stairs has started a new book on. This is the third book in a series about our lives as followers of Christ. Each week, we get into the Word and we have rich discussion about how the Bible applies to our lives today. Please feel free to join this class at anytime! If you want a book, see Pastor Amy or Gerry Dawson. We have nursery coverage & children’s Sunday School during this time as well for those who have little ones.

More Missions Celebration! 44 Books Read!
This year, our missions department has a goal for us to read 100 missionary books. They are proud to report that so far, we have read 44 books. You can check out the books, but they are also available in audio form on CD for those who don’t love to read. No excuses! Talk to Janie Hathaway to start reading.

October Children’s Church Changes!
Beginning in October, children will remain in service during our time of family prayer. Our children’s leaders have decided that there may be children who would like to be at the altar praying, and there are probably some families who could benefit from a shared prayer time at the altar. The children will be dismissed to regular children’s church following our prayer time. Let’s encourage our children to come to the Lord and pray!

Compassionate Ministries Food Drive Coming! October 7-13
Access of West Michigan has facilitated a food drive to support 60+ Kent County food pantries like North End Community Ministry (NECM) for many years. Every month, pantries (like NECM) serve over 20,000 people who have no other place to turn for help. Last year food collection dropped from 100 to 60 tons annually and they are seeking new ways to get critically needed food and personal care items.

Can you help? Between Sunday Oct. 07 and Saturday Oct 13 our local Compassionate Ministry team led by Janie Hathaway will be collecting food for the countywide food drive. All the food we collect will go to NECM and will stay in our neighborhood helping hungry people right here!

Want more information? See Pastor Dan or check out this link for the flyer! http://accessofwestmichigan.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Flyer1.pdf

A Night of Christ-Centered Testimony
Pastor Amy is planning an alternative service on Saturday October 20th at 6:00pm. Come and hear what God is doing in the lives of his people! We always hear the good news from the preachers and “professional” clergy, right? Well this is a night where you can hear great stories from all kinds of people about how awesome Christ really is. This is a great time to invite friends, family, neighbors, or anyone else who could use some good news.

Pastor Amy is looking for volunteers to speak for 10-20 minutes about how Christ has changed their life. If you are reading this and know that this call is to you, please see me! Also please note that this will be a casual night, and you do not need to be polished or profound at public speaking to share your heart for Christ! Won’t you pray you about it?

Addition! If you want to praise God and give your testimony in another way, such as by singing a special song or even doing a power point presentation, your creativity is welcome!

New Website! New Facebook Page!
We have launched our new website!
Please send any input or ideas to Shannen Parsaca at slparsaca@gmail.com  
You can also check us out on Facebook under “Northeast Community Church of the Nazarene” 

Want to help, but not sure how?
If you are wondering where to plug in, but are not sure how, we have opportunities. Current opportunities include a soundboard worker, nursery helpers, children's workers, potluck coordinators, visiting our shut-ins, greeters and ushers, visitor follow-ups, Sunday School teachers, music leaders, people willing to shovel snow in the winter, and much more. It doesn’t matter how long you have been attending our church, serving is a great way to honor God and get to know the people around you! If you sense a call to a specific area or need some ideas to pray about, please contact Amy Orban or Cherry Pakiela or Irene Pratt.

Upcoming Events
September 22   Mission Mania 9:30am-1pm
September 22     Healing Service @ 6pm
September 23     Missionaries Visit
September 26     Wednesday Night Dinner @ 5:30pm, Family Night follows @ 6:30pm
September 29     Church Workday, 9am-12pm
October 5           First Friday Chinese Lunch @ 11:30am, Hibachi Alpine
October 6           Kids Chuckie Cheese Party
October 7           Compassionate Ministries Food Drive Begins
October 7           Blanket Drive Begins
October 7           Communion Sunday/Family Church – NO Children’s Church
October 11-13   Come to the Fire Retreat @ ONU
October 13          Compassionate Ministries Food Drive Ends
October 20          Testimony Service @ 6pm



Reflections from Pastor Amy 
Weekly thoughts, life-lessons, and reflections from a redeemed child of God,
 a mother, a wife, a student, a sinner under the Cross of Jesus Christ, and a Pastor-in-training.                                    September 18, 2012

This week I was assigned to read a sermon by John Wesley titled “Catholic Spirit”. If you don’t know, the theology of John Wesley provides the foundation for our denomination, the Church of the Nazarene. At the core of his message was the holiness message – he believed that our hearts, minds, and souls should continue grow in grace and love and obedience for God throughout our lives.

This sermon answered the following question: what should be our attitude toward other Christians who do not agree with us about beliefs that are non-essential to our salvation, such as how we worship? He stresses to us the absolute importance of certainty in our own faith and understanding as a prerequisite to interacting with others. Here are my thoughts sure to be loved by some and to bore some others to tears. If you are interested in reading the original sermon by Wesley, see my final citation at the bottom of this article.

Wesley’s sermon, Catholic Spirits, is a call to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. He speaks specifically about how this rule of love should play out in our interactions with other Christians who hold differing opinions than us on lesser issues.

We must know with certainty what it is we believe. Wesley is not calling us to embrace every opinion, rather he is calling us to take personal responsibility before God and our own consciences to have certainty in what it is that we believe. A catholic spirit begins with our own true and sincere love for God and neighbor, as Wesley described it, “in simplicity and godly sincerity.” If we start here, we do not have to feel threatened by the opinions of others, we will not be tossed around by every possible disagreement. Our eyes will be on ourselves and God, and on the command to love our neighbors, and to love our fellow Christians with true love. So to deal with diverse opinions within Christianity, we begin by knowing what we believe for ourselves and being sure of that.

When we can be totally convinced that our faith, in understanding and in practice, is as true and right as we are capable of it being in light of what we know, then we can join hands with other Christians without having to convince them of our own rightness and without having to try and convince them to come our way. “Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?” (2Kings 10:15). Wesley explains this question by saying our concern should essentially be whether or not the person with whom we are joining hands is loving God to the best of his ability and conscience, and that the person too believes that we also are doing so.

Wesley says we can unite under love for God and neighbor, and simply no more than that is required for us to “join hands” with others to glorify God and do His work. We do not need to try and convince others of our right opinions, nor do we need to bend to their opinions. Instead, united under love for God and neighbor, we can trust one another, love one another, and sincerely pray for one another. This is not superficial love with only tolerates, but true love that trusts and sincerely wants the best and the truth of God for both parties. Under love for God and neighbor we can unite with others who differ from us without being threatened, without being tossed about, and most importantly without losing our own integrity before God.

The problem with uniting with others in love even when we don’t think alike, is that there are many who are unwilling to do so – specifically there are many who define less generously what they will and will not call an “opinion”, and what is and is not an “essential” belief worth dividing over. Those are ones who would likely call John Wesley a liberal relativist and would accuse him of condoning far too open-minded of a spirit (despite the fact that he clearly is not arguing for this and addresses this concern within the sermon). I have close relatives who fit in this camp and we disagree regularly, sometimes friendly and sometimes not so much.

Truth be told, I personally find it easier to have a catholic spirit with my many non-Christian friends that I sometimes do with fellow Christians. With non-Christians, it is already my expectation that they operate from a completely different moral and philosophical compass than I do, thus I anticipate stark disagreement, and I know my role is just to love them and be a real friend to them. With Christians it can be more difficult to set aside lesser issues. This speaks to my own need to define my beliefs for myself. I am learning that there are more things which are not as black and white as I once thought they were, and I don’t have to be scared of that.

This sermon first and foremost challenged me to reach a place where I am firm and confident in my beliefs and practices, fueled by a sincere love for God and always willing, within that love, to let Him mold me. Working out our own individual salvation “with fear and trembling” seems to be a prerequisite to any kind of Christian unity. Once there, I am to stand firm while still taking hands with others who have a sincere love for God. This is simple love for God at its finest, putting aside every opinion which we can in good conscience put aside, all for His glory.                                                                                                   

Wesley, John. “The Sermons of John Wesley - Sermon 39 - Catholic Spirit.”  The Wesley Center Online at Northwestern Nazarene University. 1999 Wesley Center for Applied Technology, Nampa ID. 09/01/2012

With Love, Pastor Amy

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

NE NEWS - September 11, 2012


Northeast Community News – September 11, 2012


Good afternoon family and friends,

We had another wonderful Sunday this week. Did you notice the new palms? Did you notice the returning visitors? Were you enjoying the sunshine along with the cooler weather as Fall approaches? Our praise team is growing stronger, Theo is getting more comfortable in the sound booth, and God is moving while we worship Him!

Our message this week came from Matthew 8:18-22 and was titled, “What Divides Your Heart?”
We see in the story of Abraham in the book of Genesis how God has always wanted to reign in our hearts unchallenged by anything or anyone else. God promised Abraham a son, and promised Him that through this son, Abraham would have offspring that numbered more than the stars, and that they would be a blessing throughout the entire world.

God was faithful to Abraham, and his son Isaac was born. Imagine the joy over this special son, this gift from God! But then, God tells Abraham to go, and sacrifice Isaac as an offering.
Hold on – What?? Yes that’s right, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. Abraham makes the tough decision to do what God tells him to do – He obeys God. But God stops him just in time. God saves Isaac, Abraham gets to keep his son, and God blesses Abraham for his obedience.

So what’s the point? The point is to show that God wants our total, undivided obedience! He wants our hearts to belong entirely to Him. Even good things, like love for our children, cannot take the place of God as master of our heart.

Jesus brings this truth to life throughout the gospels. In Matthew 8:18-22, we took three lessons about true discipleship and a heart that is undivided. The first lesson is this: Don’t underestimate the cost of being a disciple. Did you know that follow Jesus has costs?

In v.19, we see a teacher of the law come to Jesus, making the bold claim, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go!” and Jesus responds in v20, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head.” What Jesus was saying is simple – don’t underestimate the cost of following me, there is more to it than you can see right now.

Do we ever try to sell the life of discipleship like it is a Big Mac or a happily-ever-after Disney movie? The truth is that Jesus does not need us to advertise or sell him like the world advertises and sells things. Jesus gives us peace, but it is peace that passes all understanding, it is a different peace than the kind of peace the world gives (see John 14:27). The peace of Christ surpasses anything the world can sell or advertise.

If we are looking for popularity, materially stability, or and easy life, we should probably look elsewhere. It is getting harder to be a disciple of Jesus in our culture today without being seriously disliked. The life of discipleship to Christ is defined by two words: GO and FOLLOW. We are at the mercy of Christ, and we often live unsettled lives as He tells us to GO and FOLLOW whenever and wherever He needs us to. It can and will cost us, and He calls us to die to ourselves, and to rise to life to live for Him and Him alone. What divides your heart from total commitment to following Him? What cost aren’t you willing to pay for Jesus?

Second we come across a man who is already a disciple of Jesus. When Jesus tells him to follow him across the lake, the man says “Lord, first let me go and bury my father”, but Jesus replies “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” V21-22

Now these are harsh words from our Lord, and the debates are many as to what He meant in this statement. But one thing we can be sure of: In essence, Jesus was saying that no, not even your good-intentioned excuses and delays are acceptable. Follow me, now.

As Christians we try to be aware of the more obvious sins which separate us from God. We avoid blatant disobedience. But what about those things in our hearts which masquerade as good or noble but are really just sin in disguise?

I have, at times, made my heart the throne for my husband. I have allowed my sweet little children to be the idols of my heart. I have been guilty of loving them more than I love Christ. When I sensed God calling me into ministry, part of my resistance was based on a fear that He would call my family away from my parents, that my children would not get to be close to their grandparents. Good intentions, good desires, but no longer good if they trump Jesus as master.

You see, God gives us gifts all around us. They are in the form of our spouses, our children, our friends, our things. And instead of thanking God for these gifts He has given us, we have a way of turning and worshipping these gifts instead of worshipping the gift-giver. Sin has so twisted us that even our good desires, even our good intentions, even our well-meaning and appropriate love can be warped into idols and sin which quietly draw us away from Christ. These things must be torn out of our hearts like extracting a rotten tooth. They simply cannot be allowed to remain, because if they do, they will surely cause all forms of spiritual sickness. They have to go, and Christ must reign unchallenged on the throne of our hearts. God wanted this from Abraham, and it is what He has wanted for all of His children, all across time, even to us today.

This is a tall order – how can we do it? We are unworthy. We can’t rid ourselves of ourselves. Self is a big problem, it requires a big solution. This is the final point: With God, all things are possible! (see Matthew 19:26). Everything we need to turn our hearts to God has already been provided in the Cross. Our responsibility is to hunger after God, identify those things which divide our hearts, and surrender to His work within us. So what divides your heart? You will never know His peace which passes understanding until your heart is no longer divided!

Blessings to you all, thank you for allowing me to preach the gospel to you!
With love, Pastor Amy

Hello From Pastor Amy/Your Part-Time Church Secretary
My office hours will be on Tuesdays from 8am-5pm, but if you need to see me, you may want to call first. My responsibilities also include preparing our weekly program, so if you have an event that you would like to put in the program or newsletter, please feel free to contact me!

On Prayer Requests: If you have a specific praise or prayer request which you would like to appear in the program and/or newsletter, please make sure to fill out the tear-off sheet in the weekly program, or contact me at any time.

Please Update Me! We have a long, ongoing list of prayer requests. Please keep me updated. Requests will be pulled from the newsletter & program after 3 weeks. Thank you!

Church Office:616-459-2773  My Contact Info: 616-514-9521 or amyorban@hotmail.com


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NEWS & EVENTS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


School Pal-Paks Thank You!
We received enough donations to make 20 School Pal-Paks which will be sent to children who need school supplies! We also have some leftovers which will be donated to North End Community Ministry and will thus go to local children right here in Grand Rapids. Thank to you everyone who gives, it makes a difference!

Did You Know? We have libraries!
Did you know that we have libraries for you to use? Upstairs we have the adult library which is full of good reads. Downstairs we have the Jiquirria-Vaughn-Orban memorial library which was recently started by Julie Orban. Don’t know where you are going? Just ask! Please feel free to browse, and talk to Gerry Dawson if you want to check out a book. We would love to see everyone start utilizing these great resources!

Alternative Adults – New Sunday School Book Began, Join Anytime!
The alternative adult class which meets in the room at the bottom of the stairs has started a new book on. This is the third book in a series about our lives as followers of Christ. Each week, we get into the Word and we have rich discussion about how the Bible applies to our lives today. Please feel free to join this class at anytime! If you want a book, see Pastor Amy or Gerry Dawson. We have nursery coverage & children’s Sunday School during this time as well for those who have little ones.

Alabaster Offering – Sunday, September 16th – THIS Sunday!
Our Fall Alabaster offering will be taken on Sunday, September 16th. What’s that, you might ask? Twice a year we take up a special offering, and every penny of the proceeds goes to support the buying of land and buildings for mission work around the world. Many people collect their loose change for several months and donate all of it, and you can also get your own alabaster box off of the sound booth at the back of the sanctuary. Thank you for giving!

Mission Mania- Saturday September 22nd
The church of the Nazarene is committed to spreading the gospel to all the ends of the earth. On the local level, we support worldwide missions through prayer, education, and financial giving. Each year, Mission Mania is a gathering where everyone in the district is invited to come see all the ways that God is moving through missions. It is a day of food, education, inspiration and fellowship. We will be leaving the church at 9:30am and coming back around 1pm. If you are interested in attending, talk to Janie Hathaway.

Missionaries Visit! Sunday September 23rd
We will be having missionaries to Kenya with us in service on Sunday, September 23rd. Russ and Donna Lovett have been serving in the Africa region since 2001. They will bring us the message from God and share their experience with us. This is a great time to invite friends or family to church. We will be taking up a special love offering for the missionaries. Plan on being there!

More Missions Celebration! 44 Books Read!
This year, our missions department has a goal for us to read 100 missionary books. They are proud to report that so far, we have read 44 books. You can check out the books, but they are also available in audio form on CD for those who don’t love to read. No excuses! Talk to Janie Hathaway to start reading.

Healing Service Planned – Saturday, September 22 @ 6:00pm
In the church of the Nazarene, we believe that part of Jesus’ ministry to us is that of healing. In this service we will be considering the need for healing in all realms, that of the physical, but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual. Please join us for this special service and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and life. Everyone is invited to attend, please feel free to bring friends and family members.

Monthly Work Days Planned! Can You Help?
The trustees are planning to hold monthly workdays beginning in August to take care of our building and grounds. There is always work to be done, from painting to raking to cleaning and repairs and everything in between. No matter what your skill level, the guys can put you to work! The workdays will be held on the LAST Saturdays of the month from 9am-12pm. Talk to Pat Parsaca or Theo Orban with questions or to help.
September Work Day: Saturday, September 29th

Northeast Community Walking/Jogging Club
Do you like to walk or jog and wish you had some friends to walk with? Do you need to loose a few pounds, make a few friends, or just want to hang out with a few Christians and have a few laughs while getting a little exercise? If you said yes to any or all of those questions we have good news for you!
Starting Tuesdays Aug. 28 through Nov. 20 we are gathering at the church at 6:00pm and then going to a nearby walking trail to walk or jog 5k or 3.1 miles for 13 weeks! Of course, during the weeks of ArtPrize we will be walking downtown! If you walk all 13 weeks you will have traveled 65k or 40 miles! You can do this! Interested? Let Pastor Dan know or just show up!
Please Note: NO WALKING CLUB TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18th! RESCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20TH!

Last Wednesday Night Dinners are back!
The last Wednesdays of the month we are bringing back our soup, salad, and bread dinners before Bible study. Bring a dish to pass and show up at 5:30pm for dinner and fellowship. Everyone is welcome, bring friends and family and neighbors! If you can help set-up or clean up please talk to Julie Orban! See you there!
Next dinner: September 26 @ 5:30pm

October Children’s Church Changes!
Beginning in October, children will remain in service during our time of family prayer. Our children’s leaders have decided that there may be children who would like to be at the altar praying, and there are probably some families who could benefit from a shared prayer time at the altar. The children will be dismissed to regular children’s church following our prayer time. Let’s encourage our children to come to the Lord and pray!

Compassionate Ministries Food Drive Coming! October 7-13
Access of West Michigan has facilitated a food drive to support 60+ Kent County food pantries like North End Community Ministry (NECM) for many years. Every month, pantries (like NECM) serve over 20,000 people who have no other place to turn for help. Last year food collection dropped from 100 to 60 tons annually and they are seeking new ways to get critically needed food and personal care items.

Can you help? Between Sunday Oct. 07 and Saturday Oct 13 our local Compassionate Ministry team led by Janie Hathaway will be collecting food for the countywide food drive. All the food we collect will go to NECM and will stay in our neighborhood helping hungry people right here!

Want more information? See Pastor Dan or check out this link for the flyer!http://accessofwestmichigan.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Flyer1.pdf

A Night of Christ-Centered Testimony
Pastor Amy is planning an alternative service on Saturday October 20th at 6:00pm. Come and hear what God is doing in the lives of his people! We always hear the good news from the preachers and “professional” clergy, right? Well this is a night where you can hear great stories from all kinds of people about how awesome Christ really is. This is a great time to invite friends, family, neighbors, or anyone else who could use some good news.

Pastor Amy is looking for volunteers to speak for 10-20 minutes about how Christ has changed their life. If you are reading this and know that this call is to you, please see me! Also please note that this will be a casual night, and you do not need to be polished or profound at public speaking to share your heart for Christ! Won’t you pray you about it?

Praise Team Singers Wanted!
Would you like to sing with Pastor Dan on Sunday morning? One commented they ‘didn’t know they could join me’ and she was surprised. Pastor Dan would love to see more folks use their gift of singing with him on Sundays. All he requires is a humble spirit, a willingness to attend practice on Wednesday night after bible study and Sunday morning at 9:00am, and a desire to worship God! Interested? Let Pastor Dan know!

New Website! New Facebook Page!
We have launched our new website!
Please send any input or ideas to Shannen Parsaca at slparsaca@gmail.com  
You can also check us out on Facebook under “Northeast Community Church of the Nazarene” 

Want to help, but not sure how?
If you are wondering where to plug in, but are not sure how, we have opportunities. Current opportunities include a soundboard worker, nursery helpers, childrens workers, potluck coordinators, visiting our shut-ins, greeters and ushers, visitor follow-ups, Sunday School teachers, music leaders, people willing to shovel snow in the winter, and much more. It doesn’t matter how long you have been attending our church, serving is a great way to honor God and get to know the people around you! If you sense a call to a specific area or need some ideas to pray about, please contact Amy Orban or Cherry Pakiela or Irene Pratt.

Upcoming Events
September 16  Alabaster Offering
September 22   Mission Mania
September 22  Healing Service @ 6pm
September 23  Missionaries Visit
September 26  Wednesday Night Dinner @ 5:30pm, Family Night follows @ 6:30pm
September 29  Church Workday, 9am-12pm
October 7        Compassionate Ministries Food Drive Begins
October 7        Blanket Drive Begins
October 11-13 Come to the Fire Retreat @ ONU
October 13      Compassionate Ministries Food Drive Ends
October 20      Testimony Service @ 6pm

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

NE NEWS - September 4, 2012


Northeast Community News – September 04, 2012

Hello Friends and Family,

What a terrific day we had in the Lord, Sunday! We started with a great hour of discipleship! If you aren’t part of a Sunday school class you really don’t know what you’re missing! Pat Parsaca led our time of announcements, we had five people lead our worship singing, we enjoyed singing, prayer, and a time to give our offerings to God, too! After the Word was preached we closed by sharing the elements of communion at the Lord’s Table. God is good! Amen!

God’s message this week came from Nehemiah 7:1-5, 64-65, and was titled, “Is your name written down?” In v. 5 God puts into Nehemiah’s heart the need to assemble the people and register them to repopulate Jerusalem, and genealogy is of critical importance. While Nehemiah doesn’t direct connect genealogy with salvation and eternal life in our passage, genealogies were vitally important for a Jew to be able to prove she or he is a descendant of Abraham. Failure to be recorded meant you were excluded from God’s chosen people. To be excluded from God’s chosen people meant you were outside the Kingdom and without eternal hope.

The Mishnah (the authoritative collection of Jewish oral history) suggested that those separated from God, or outside of the kingdom, existed for only one purpose – ‘to fuel the fires of hell.’ While this surely wasn’t Christ’s teaching, you do get a sense of how serious it was not to be included in the genealogical records.

While Christ didn’t suggest those outside the Kingdom of God were created to fuel the fires of hell, John declares in Revelation 21:27 “Nothing impure will ever enter it (heaven), nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lambs book of life” (Rev. 21:27). So, those written in the Lambs Book of Life are going to heaven! Yea! But what about those who are not written down? Well, they are going to hell.

If you’re not on the list what should you do?

In Nehemiah’s day if your name could not be found on the list validating you were a descendant of Abraham you went to the priest administering the Urim and Thummim (v. 64-65) to make a prayerful decision.

But what about today? Does your family heritage or light and dark stones determine who goes to heaven today? In a word – NO!
Since the resurrection of Jesus some 2000 years ago you need, in faith, to simply receive and believe on Jesus Christ as Savior, Redeemer, Lord, and Friend! God sent Jesus in His love and grace to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). The good news is your salvation and the possibility of heaven isn’t dependent on your family history or which stone the priest pulls out, but on your willingness to receive the love God has for you in faith!

This week’s Wed. night adult study is called ‘What God Really Wants’ and will explore the true nature of our relationship with God! Is God the enemy, a tyrant, or cosmic policemen or a kindly grandfather with a long beard that need to be manipulated into giving us what we want? Join us at 6:30pm Wednesday to talk about what God really wants! It should be fun and enlightening!
Blessings! Pastor Dan

Hello From Pastor Amy/Your Part-Time Church Secretary
My office hours will be on Tuesdays from 8am-5pm, but if you need to see me, you may want to call first. My responsibilities also include preparing our weekly program, so if you have an event that you would like to put in the program or newsletter, please feel free to contact me!
On Prayer Requests: If you have a specific praise or prayer request which you would like to appear in the program and/or newsletter, please make sure to fill out the tear-off sheet in the weekly program, or contact me at any time.
Please Update Me! We have a long, ongoing list of prayer requests. Please keep me updated. Requests will be pulled from the newsletter & program after 3 weeks. Thank you!
Church Office:616-459-2773  My Contact Info: 616-514-9521 or amyorban@hotmail.com

NEWS & EVENTS

School Pal-Paks Thank You!
We received enough donations to make 20 School Pal-Paks which will be sent to children who need school supplies! We also have some leftovers which will be donated to North End Community Ministry and will thus go to local children right here in Grand Rapids. Thank to you everyone who gives, it makes a difference!

Game Night – Thursday, September 6th @ 6:00pm
Want something to do on a Thursday night? Show up at the church at 6pm for games and food. Bring your favorite game, some chips or pop, your kids and your friends – everyone is welcome! Once everyone arrives, we will order pizza from across the street. The cost is typically about $3 per person for pizza if you are able to chip in – but if not, there will be plenty to go around. We will meet in the annex upstairs – see you there!

Did You Know? We have libraries!
Did you know that we have libraries for you to use? Upstairs we have the adult library which is full of good reads. Downstairs we have the Jiquirria-Vaughn-Orban memorial library which was recently started by Julie Orban. Don’t know where you are going? Just ask! Please feel free to browse, and talk to Gerry Dawson if you want to check out a book. We would love to see everyone start utilizing these great resources!

Come to the Fire 2012
Olivet Nazarene University is hosting the 2012 Come to the Fire Women’s retreat from October 11-13. This is an amazing opportunity for women to fellowship and be spiritually nurtured in a powerful way. Check out the poster on the bulletin board, and there are also brochures on the table for more information. We want ALL WOMEN to know that we are already planning for hotels, food, etc! So if you are interested, please talk to Janie Hathaway or Pastor Amy. Registration Deadline + $25 non-refundable deposit due by: September 9th

Alternative Adults – New Sunday School Book Begins This Week – September 9th
The alternative adult class which meets in the room at the bottom of the stairs is beginning a new book on Sunday September 9th. This is the third book in a series about our lives as followers of Christ. Each week, we get into the Word and we have rich discussion about how the Bible applies to our lives today. Please feel free to join this class at anytime! If you want a book, see Pastor Amy or Gerry Dawson. We have nursery coverage & children’s Sunday School during this time as well for those who have little ones.

Alabaster Offering – Sunday, September 16th
Our Fall Alabaster offering will be taken on Sunday, September 16th. What’s that, you might ask? Twice a year we take up a special offering, and every penny of the proceeds goes to support the buying of land and buildings for mission work around the world. Many people collect their loose change for several months and donate all of it, and you can also get your own alabaster box off of the sound booth at the back of the sanctuary. Thank you for giving!

Healing Service Planned – Saturday, September 22 @ 6:00pm
In the church of the Nazarene, we believe that part of Jesus’ ministry to us is that of healing. In this service we will be considering the need for healing in all realms, that of the physical, but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual. Please join us for this special service and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and life. Everyone is invited to attend, please feel free to bring friends and family members.

Monthly Work Days Planned! Can You Help?
The trustees are planning to hold monthly workdays beginning in August to take care of our building and grounds. There is always work to be done, from painting to raking to cleaning and repairs and everything in between. No matter what your skill level, the guys can put you to work! The workdays will be held on the LAST Saturdays of the month from 9am-12pm. Talk to Pat Parsaca or Theo Orban with questions or to help.
September Work Day: Saturday, September 29th

Northeast Community Walking/Jogging Club
Do you like to walk or jog and wish you had some friends to walk with? Do you need to loose a few pounds, make a few friends, or just want to hang out with a few Christians and have a few laughs while getting a little exercise? If you said yes to any or all of those questions we have good news for you!

Starting Tuesdays Aug. 28 through Nov. 20 we are gathering at the church at 6:00pm and then going to a nearby walking trail to walk or jog 5k or 3.1 miles for 13 weeks! Of course, during the weeks of ArtPrize we will be walking downtown! If you walk all 13 weeks you will have traveled 65k or 40 miles! You can do this!

Interested? Let Pastor Dan know or just show up and get some fresh air with good friends! Everyone is welcome! Our pace will be set by those who show up!

Last Wednesday Night Dinners are back!
The last Wednesdays of the month we are bringing back our potluck dinners before Bible study. Bring a dish, a salad, a dessert, or a drink to pass and show up at 5:30pm for dinner and fellowship. Everyone is welcome, bring friends and family and neighbors! If you can help set-up or clean up please talk to Julie Orban! See you there!
Next dinner: September 26 @ 5:30pm

Compassionate Ministries Food Drive Coming! October 7-13
Access of West Michigan has facilitated a food drive to support 60+ Kent County food pantries like North End Community Ministry (NECM) for many years. Every month, pantries (like NECM) serve over 20,000 people who have no other place to turn for help. Last year food collection dropped from 100 to 60 tons annually and they are seeking new ways to get critically needed food and personal care items.

Can you help? Between Sunday Oct. 07 and Saturday Oct 13 our local Compassionate Ministry team led by Janie Hathaway will be collecting food for the countywide food drive. All the food we collect will go to NECM and will stay in our neighborhood helping hungry people right here!

Want more information? See Pastor Dan or check out this link for the flyer!http://accessofwestmichigan.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Flyer1.pdf

A Night of Christ-Centered Testimony
Pastor Amy is planning an alternative service on Saturday October 20th at 6:00pm. Come and hear what God is doing in the lives of his people! We always hear the good news from the preachers and “professional” clergy, right? Well this is a night where you can hear great stories from all kinds of people about how awesome Christ really is. This is a great time to invite friends, family, neighbors, or anyone else who could use some good news.

Pastor Amy is looking for volunteers to speak for 10-20 minutes about how Christ has changed their life. If you are reading this and know that this call is to you, please see me! Also please note that this will be a casual night, and you do not need to be polished or profound at public speaking to share your heart for Christ! Won’t you pray you about it?

Praise Team Singers Wanted!
Would you like to sing with Pastor Dan on Sunday morning? One commented they ‘didn’t know they could join me’ and she was surprised. Pastor Dan would love to see more folks use their gift of singing with him on Sundays. All he requires is a humble spirit, a willingness to attend practice on Wednesday night after bible study and Sunday morning at 9:00am, and a desire to worship God! Interested? Let Pastor Dan know!

New Website! New Facebook Page!
We have launched our new website!
Please send any input or ideas to Shannen Parsaca at slparsaca@gmail.com  

You can also check us out on Facebook under “Northeast Community Church of the Nazarene” 

Want to help, but not sure how?
If you are wondering where to plug in, but are not sure how, we have opportunities. Current opportunities include a soundboard worker, nursery helpers, childrens workers, potluck coordinators, visiting our shut-ins, greeters and ushers, visitor follow-ups, Sunday School teachers, music leaders, people willing to shovel snow in the winter, and much more. It doesn’t matter how long you have been attending our church, serving is a great way to honor God and get to know the people around you! If you sense a call to a specific area or need some ideas to pray about, please contact Amy Orban or Cherry Pakiela or Irene Pratt.

Upcoming Events
September 6    Game Night @ 6pm
September 7    First Friday Chinese Lunch @ 11:30am, Hibachi Grill Alpine
September 9    Pastor Amy preaches
September 9    Registration for Come to the Fire Retreat
September 9    New Sunday School book starts in Adult Alternative class
September 22  Healing Service @ 6pm
September 26  Wednesday Night Dinner @ 5:30pm, Family Night follows @ 6:30pm
September 29  Church Workday, 9am-12pm
October 7        Compassionate Ministries Food Drive Begins
October 11-13 Come to the Fire Retreat @ ONU
October 13      Compassionate Ministries Food Drive Ends
October 20      Testimony Service @ 6pm


Reflections from Pastor Amy 
Weekly thoughts, life-lessons, and reflections from a redeemed child of God, a mother, a wife, 
a student, a sinner under the Cross of Jesus Christ, and a Pastor-in-training.                                    

September 04, 2012
I have officially started classes in pursuit of my Bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministry. So far, as I adjust to hours upon hours spent devouring books and scripture, I have experienced moments sublime along with moments of panic. I am adjusting to the hunchback which comes along with hours spent in front of the computer screen writing paper. It is a new season in my life.

I tell you this because there was a point when I hungered and thirsted after reading scripture and writing and quietly reflecting. However since my classes have started, I find that I am reading, writing, and reflecting like a machine. With that in mind, I have decided that rather than coming up with something new for you each week, I may very well just share with you something from the vast well of things I am learning in my classes.

You may call this cheating, and that is a fair assessment. I hope I will not disappoint you, my loyal readers. I hope that you can find value in some of my more interesting and gripping lessons for the week. I hope you will want to learn with me, and I with you.

That being said, I would like to start with two questions I had to answer this week based on our required reading titled “How to Think Theologically” by Howard D. Stone and James D. Duke. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys theology or thinks it is important. The question went something like this:

Why is it important to think about our theology? In essence, why do we need to have a clear understanding of what we believe?

I argue that it is important because if we do not know well what we believe, we are sure to be tossed about by the circumstances of life. People often give up or push against the Christian faith because they have accepted a theology without really thinking about it, and it has failed them in some way. They never went any further than that to examine what the Christian faith really means.  If we do not critically examine our faith and have a solid anchor, then the trials and crises of life will baffle us and leave us wanting to throw our hands up and give up on our faith.  I have found this to be true in my own life, as well as in the lives of others.

It makes a serious difference in the real world whether or not we as Christians have a solid understanding of our faith, and whether or not we can communicate that understanding to others, especially because of the Great Commission. How can we possibly go and make disciples of all nations if we don’t know what it is that we are trying to pass down to other people? How can we share the Gospel if we do not have a working and accurate understanding of what the Gospel really is?

Examining our theology and knowing what we believe is important because our faith itself prompts us to seek more and more understanding of God. Our faith gives us the desire to live the kind of lives which He calls us to live.  We have a responsibility, as recipients of grace through Jesus Christ, to examine and learn what it really means to be a follower of Christ. We must do this hard work, and we must be willing to discard ideas and practices which are incorrect. 

This work must be done in order for us to be faithful to the Gospel of Christ. As humans we are quick to run wild with our own impulses and ideas, which can lead to all kinds of false beliefs and damaging theology. Serious damage has been done by Christians who have failed to think seriously about their faith and thus have hurt other people with misleading theology. We simply must know what it is that we believe, why we believe it, and how it plays out in the way we live our lives. We also must know how to explain and articulate it to a very confused world.

Another question: When has your theology (and your faith) been challenged by a crisis or been proved inadequate in the face of experience?

Most of you know that in July of 2011, our 12 year-old nephew Jiquirria died. They were at a campground and he was told not to go swimming until grandmother came down to the lake. But when he was taunted and challenged by some other boys there who were swimming out to a raft in the middle of the lake, he jumped in. They found him at the bottom of the lake almost an hour later and he was taken to the hospital, but pronounced dead.

My conviction that God was good and would carry us through this horrible thing never left me, however I was absolutely assaulted with an incredible amount of difficult questions which I found I could not answer – questions from grandmother, from his parents, from conversations with my husband, and from within myself. The desire to answer these questions, not only for myself but for the hurting people around me, led me to delve deeper into my faith.

 Today I am certainly not totally resolved. No matter how much theological understanding you have, you sometimes still reach the point where you won’t see the answer to the WHY question on this side of Heaven. But this experience has broadened and deepened my faith, and given me the confidence to know that I can bring my big questions to a bigger God who loves me.

So if you think that theological thinking is only for the scholars, those weird guys who sit around in their office and use big words, think again. Theology is not just for ordained clergy and teachers. My theology brings clarity to what my role is as I try to counsel and love one of my non-Christian friends who is dying. My theology helps me to know with certainty that God is good despite all the death and suffering I see. Our theology and the understanding of what we believe is inseparably linked to the living out of our faith, especially in challenge or crisis.

 With Love, Pastor Amy Orban                                            Phone:616-514-9521Email: amyorban@hotmail.com

With Love, Pastor Amy Orban                                            Phone:616-514-9521Email: amyorban@hotmail.com