Carol M. Pfeiffer, Pastor
Church phone: 765-489-4430
pastor@nettlecreekcob.com

Eloise Beeson, Secretary
Sunday School: 9:00 a.m.
Worship: 10:00 a.m.

www.nettlecreekcob.com
Continuing the Work of Jesus.
Peacefully.  Simply.  Together
June 2003

Carol's Comments

"Wait"

“Wait, for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”   Psalm 27:14

          Did you ever notice that when you are in a hurry, everything seems to go wrong?  And then it takes you twice as long to do anything.  For example, I was getting lunch ready for our future daughter-in-law and son while waiting for them to come from the airport.  I thought I’d make a new peanut butter pie recipe to go along with the meal. 
          I keep the flour in the refrigerator freezer to keep bugs out.  I opened the top of the freezer part of the refrigerator and proceeded to try to take out the new bag of flour.  It was wedged into the bottom shelf. (I tend to have my food items jammed into the freezer compartment.)  Picture this:  I pulled on the bag and it wouldn’t budge.  I pulled again, getting a good grip, trying to wiggle it out, and the bag ripped open spilling flour in the inside of the freezer and down the front of the refrigerator door onto the floor.  I got the Dirt Devil (good name, don’t you think) and starting cleaning up the mess.  Luckily, I didn’t empty the whole bag onto the floor.  Then the Dirt Devil jammed up with flour.  I had to empty it.  Figuring out that was another chore as well as trying to put it back together.  At last, the mess was cleaned up.
           I opened another cupboard for some Reynold’s Wrap, and an empty glass jar fell out and broke.  Out came the Dirt Devil again.  Finally, the piecrust was made and I continued getting lunch ready.  I put the crust in the oven, as I needed a pre-baked crust for the pie.  I didn’t set the timer as I usually do, for I didn’t need to leave it in very long.  Bob, Andrew, and Gloria came and I put lunch on the table.  After sitting down to eat I remembered the piecrust.  You guessed it.  It was REALLY brown and unusable. 
          Psalm 27: 14 says, “Wait, for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  “Be strong and take heart”. It’s easy to get discouraged when things keep happening…when we have to wait or are delayed in getting a project started. Often we in the church get impatient and plunge ahead with “doing” or busyness when we haven’t taken time to “be” in Christ.  It takes both doing and being to live the Christian life.

I was “doing” all right…I was yanking on that bag of flour.  I was “trying” to make it happen…to come out intact from the freezer.  If I’d taken more time I could have studied the situation then tried to lift up the rack to loosen the grip of being wedged under the shelf.  I wouldn’t have had flour all over the place nor had to clean up the mess.  Sometimes we just plain get tired of waiting for things to happen even in the church.  I wonder if we don’t get tired of waiting for God.  But maybe that needs to be turned around.  Perhaps we should say that God is waiting for us to be present…to be open…to be in tune for God’s will for God’s church.. Sometimes we try to force an atmosphere of spirituality instead of taking the time for God to work it in us…instead of waiting and being in Christ. That is not something that can be forced anymore than yanking on a flour bag.  We need to remain attentive to the working of the Spirit among us and in us.
          Yes, we need to take notice of the working of the Spirit among us.  Where is God present for us…for you?   Have you noticed the Spirit present among us lately?  I can see it.  I have seen the Spirit in the lives of individuals…in the process of planning for an event or service…in the excitement of new possibilities.  We want a dynamic church, but it takes time: a spiritual time of prayer and being present to God’s leading.  Then it takes action or doing.  We, as Christians, sometimes do the praying and forget that we need to be involved in the implementation.  Other times we do the action and forget to keep on praying and seeking the mind of Christ.
           “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”   This verse is bracketed with the words “wait for the Lord.”  Hence, when we begin something we are to make sure the Lord is in it and that we are in the Lord.  Nettle Creek has great potential.  The Spirit is alive.  It only takes a spark to get a fire going.  The question is, “Are we being strong and taking heart?”  I could have thrown up my hands and let the flour and broken jar on the floor.  But leaving a mess isn’t the best thing to do.  Sometimes it can hurt someone.  Instead I did what I could to clean up the mess and continue on.  It takes each of us to do what we can.  It takes the body of Christ to work together.  When Christ and we work together, how can God’s plan for the greater church fail?  So let us—“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  Prayerfully
Pastor Carol M. Pfeiffer

Special Called Church Council Meeting

There will be a Special Called Church Council Meeting to address the financial concerns of the church.  It will take place after worship on June 8.  Please stay for this important meeting. The meal will be provided.
 

1             Lorri Artman, Carolyn Wright
2             Mary Davis
3             Beverly Amick, Al Chapman, Kathryn Hoover
4             Jace Burroughs, Betty Miike
7             Donna Hollenberg
9             June Kendrick, Zsanelle Hoover
10           Aleesa Drennen
12           Erica Hoover
13           Matthew Beaty
16           Randy Werking
17           Paula Sue Blair, Lee McIntire
18           Kim Hall
20           David Reneau
24           Margaret Briar
29           Lorna Peele
30           Moriah Stout
 

Greeters for June:

1      Brad, Beth & Chad Bowman
8      Gary & Cookie Stout
15    Curtis & Valerie Healton Family
22     Ron & Sylvia Hoover
29     Robert & Harriet Burroughs

Continuing to Pray for:

*Tracy Schmittler
Bill DeVinney
Ben & Donna King
Mary Werking
Teri Dunaway
Laura Nicholson
LuFreda Bowman
Estella Hilbert
Ruth Crull
Viola Nicholson
John Earl McCormack
Fred Dilling
 

Test Your Bible Knowledge
In many climates, coats are necessary for survival.
Match each person.

 1.      Joseph (Gen. 37:3)                    a. Coat with collar
 2.      Jesus (John 19:23)                     b.  Embroidered coat
 3.      Aaron (Ex. 28:4)                       c.  Coat of many colors
 4.      Samuel (1 Sam. 2:9)                  d.  Fisher’s coat
 5.      Goliath (1 Sam. 17:5)                e.  Handmade coats
 6.      Hushai (2 Sam. 15:32)               f.  Little coat
 7.      Peter (John 21:7i)                      g.  Coat of mail
 8.      Eve (Gen. 3:21)                         h. Seamless coat
 9.      Dorcas (Acts 9:39)                    i.  Skin coat
10.     Job (Job 30:18)                         j. Rent coat

-No. 214, 3,285 Bible Questions & Answers by Emily Filipi 
 

Keeping informed of Denominational Business:  Annual Conference Information from www.brethren.org Check out the business coming to Annual Conference in July in Boise. 

 You will need Acrobat Reader to open the documents.
Simply click to open them.
 

2003 Business Items

Unfinished Business

1. The Duties and Relationship of Moderators to the Church of the Brethren Organizational Structure.

2. Denominational Name

New Business

1. Query on Congregational Disagreement with Annual Conference Decisions

2. Query for Clarification of Confusion (Re: 2002 AC Action on Licensing and Ordination)

3. Query: The Person and Redemptive Work of Jesus Christ

4. Resolution: Call for a Living Peace Church

5. General Board Recommendation on India
 Relationships

• 2003 Information Packet on-line
• Daily Conference Schedule
• 2003 Annual Conference Ballot

Celebrating Father’s Day
Father's Day, contrary to popular misconception, was not established as a holiday in order to help greeting card manufacturers sell more cards. In fact when a "father's day" was first proposed there were no Father's Day cards!

Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across American other people were beginning to celebrate a "father's day." In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

Father's Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all be honored on Father's Day.     http://www.holidays.net/father/story.htm