Northeast Community News – May 07, 2013
Dear Friends and Family,
What a full and joyous day we had in the Lord, Sunday! What a joy to receive Anna Boeve, Naretta Cardosa, Juliana Orban, and Gary Parker into membership! What a joy to elect our 2013-2014 church board, auxiliary councils, and delegates to district assembly and conventions! What a joy to have all of our new members serve communion! It was a full day, but it was a God-sized day where God moved and filled us with joy!
God’s message this week was from John 14:23-29 and was titled, “The Promise of God’s Peace.” Do you want peace? Do you know how to receive and keep peace? It seems God placed within us the desire to seek and find peace, but if we aren’t careful we might find ourselves trying to manufacture peace ourselves! From herbal supplements, to sleeping aids, to reading books, magazines, and online blogs, to using or abusing alcohol or drugs some are tempted to ‘get peace at any price’ and face a long-term cost for their efforts!
In John 14:23-29 we find Jesus addressing His anxious and shaken disciples who have just learned He will not be with them much longer. In fact, within 24 hours Jesus would be dead and placed in the tomb and He was preparing them to hold steady in what was about to take place – namely His arrest, beating, and death on the cross!
Jesus said in v. 27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
Here we learn Jesus wants to give us a peace that is unlike the peace the world gives! While the peace we manufacture for ourselves masks our problems and only lasts for a short time, the peace Jesus offers disciples relieves the fear and anxiety within forever!
How? First, Jesus tells them though He is leaving, they will never be alone. In fact, He declares in v. 26 He will send the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26). We can have peace in the midst of the storm because the Spirit of Christ lives in us, comforts us, teaches us, and reminds us.
But Jesus mentions something in v. 23 we often overlook! “…If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). There is aprofound connection between peace and obedience.
Perhaps consistent peace eludes us because we desire Jesus’ peace without living as He taught us. When we refuse to align ourselves with Christ’s teaching, we shouldn’t be surprised peace eludes us, either. The bottom line is if we want the promised peace Jesus offers, we need to obey the truths Jesus taught! If we want peace we need to:
· Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness!
· Embrace the discipleship essentials by spending time daily in God’s presence, feeding on His Word, praying and attending worship!
· Engage in acts of service, loving your neighbor as yourself!
· Maintain relationships characterized by grace, love, and forgiveness!
· Love others and ourselves as Jesus loved us!
If you long to live a life of peace even when the world around you starts crashing in on you, don’t take turn to self-medicated self-attempts or pray that God will somehow drop a one-time peace bomb on you; pray the Holy Spirit will help you obey the model Jesus lived and obey the truths that Jesus taught and live in the peace that Jesus offers! Amen!
WED. NIGHT ADULT BIBLE STUDY ON CHRISTIAN DISCIPLINE AT 6:30PM
Most of us want to be deep, strong, wise, and mature Christians, but we may not realize those attributes require discipline and concentrated effort! This week we will examine the discipline of Missions! Since the fall of humanity into sin, God has been on a mission to bring His sinful creation back into a right relationship with Him. Will you join Him on His mission? Join us Wednesday and learn to connect with God, reach out to others, and stay on track! You can do this! Hope to see you there!
Church Election Results
Remember! In the Church of the Nazarene church members elect all church board members, auxiliaries, and even lead pastors. We trust the Holy Spirit guided this election and will guide us into the new church year beginning June 01. Below are the results of our May 05th election! Thank you for praying and taking part in your church!
2013 / 2014 Church Election Results
Trustees (*) : Larry Branagan, Theo Orban, Pat Parsaca
Stewards
(*): Irene Pratt, Steve Hammond, Gary Parker
SDMI Superintendent (*): Pastor Amy Orban
NMI President (*): Janie Hathaway
NYI President (*): Theo Orban
NMI Council: Liz Bowman, Gerry Dawson, Tracy Tamm
District Assembly Delegate District Assembly Alternate
Shannen Parsaca
NMI Convention Delegate NMI Convention Alternate
Gerry Dawson
Sunday School Conv. Delegate Sunday School Conv. Delegate Alt.
Gerry Dawson
NYI Convention Delegate
Steve Hammond
(*) By Nazarene Manual, these elected offices also serve as Church Board Members
Blessings! Pastor Dan
Hello from Pastor Amy
My office hours will vary every Tuesday, and if you need to see me, just call! 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 three weeks.
NEWS AND EVENTS
This Just In – Pastor Amy is taking a Summer Writing Hiatus!
I would like everyone to know not to expect weekly writings from me over these summer months. Surely I will be inspired to share some things with you over the summer, but after a year of school and ministry, I am feeling like a well gone dry, and I want to take the summer to rest my creative writing muscles and my brains. Thank you all for so much feedback and encouragement as my love to write has bloomed into something very special for me this year! And don’t worry, you will still have to suffer through my teaching and preaching over the summer! Love, Pastor Amy
Church Work Days Continue! Next: Saturday May 25th, 8am-12pm
Our trustees continue to hold work days on the last Saturday of every month. Everyone is asked to come chip in and help keep up the maintenance of our building and grounds. No matter what your skills, they can put you to work. There is always plenty to do, especially now that the weather is warming up and we can get outside! Talk to Theo Orban or Pat Parsaca with any questions.
Our Next Wednesday Night Potluck is May 29th @ 5:30pm
We continue to hold potluck dinners on the last Wednesday night of every month one hour before our Bible study and family night. Our theme has been soup, salad, and bread. Bring a dish to pass, a dessert, or drinks, and show up for good food and fellowship! Talk to Julie Orban with questions or to help set-up or clean-up.
Family Sports Schedules!
We have several children in the church who are involved in sports with their schools. If you have a child who would like their church family to support them in sports, please give Pastor Amy your schedule and she will publish it in the newsletter!
Alannah Parsaca’s soccer schedule: Note – contact Shannen Parsaca with questions!
May 7: @ Whistle Stop Park
9: @ Walker Charter
14: @ Walker Charter
16: @ Timberland Charter, Muskegon
You Can Write to Larry!
Most of you know that Larry TerHaar was sentenced last week to 2.5 years in prison. There is no doubt that he could use some words of encouragement from his church family, and it is important for him to know that he is in our thoughts and prayers. If you want to write him, here is his address:
Larry David Shane TerHaar
#866962
c/o Charles Egeler Facility
3855 Cooper St.
Jackson, MI 49201-7517
Indian Lake Nazarene Camp Events
If you don’t know, Indian Lake is a Nazarene campground where people from churches all over our district gather for District Assembly, children and youth camps, and various other activities. Pastor Dan and Janie own two cabins there, and usually invite everyone down to visit during family camp week in July. It is a beautiful place, and a lot of fun! Here are some upcoming events at Indian Lake as we approach Spring and Summer:
May 21-23 – Work and Win. More work days to spruce up the camp after winter. The camp is including free meals and lodging for workers!
May 25-28 – Memorial Day Weekend. There will be family activities on Saturday, and a concert on Sundaymorning.
July 4-6 – Family Festival. Fun filled days with activities for all ages, including a 5k walk, other sports, water slides and rides, animal show, crafts, swimming, ponies, pontoon boat rides, a climbing wall and zip line, an outdoor movie and more!
CHILDREN AND YOUTH CAMPS!
Discovery Camp (grades 1-2-3): July 1-3
Boys & Girls Camp (Grades 3-4-5): July 29-August 2
Middle School Camp (Grades 6-7-8): July 18-22
High School Camp (Grades 9-12): July 14-18
This year, Indian Lake is offering a special promotion! If we get three new campers to attend camps, the fourth goes for free! Registration for camp begins April 15th, so begin planning! Please note that scholarships are available to help pay for kids who want to go to camp. You can see the bulletin boards, the tables outside of the sanctuary, or Pastor Dan or Pastor Amy if you are interested and want more information. You can also go to the website: www.ilnccamps.org, or call 269.649.2281
Postcard Greetings Now Available
Is there someone you’ve missed? Someone you used to look forward to seeing each week but they are missing? Maybe there is someone you would like to invite to church or to a potluck or to Sunday school, but you’re not sure how to go about it. Well, one possibility is to send them a postcard! We recently had postcards made and they are available to anyone who would like to send them to invite, encourage, miss, or welcome someone to the church! Interested? See a Sunday school teacher or Pastor Amy or Dan.
Girl Scouts Meet in our Building! Next Meeting Monday May 20th at 6:00pm
The Girl Scouts program meets 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!
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 Pastor Amy or Irene Pratt.
Upcoming Events
May 12 Mother’s Day
May 21-23 Work and Win at Indian Lake Nazarene Camp
May 25 Church Work Day 8am-12pm
May 27 Memorial Day
May 29 Wednesday Night Potluck @ 5:30pm
June 02 Communion Sunday – NO Children’s Church
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