Continuing the Work of Jesus.

Peacefully.  Simply.  Together

May 2003

Carol’s Comments
                                         How’s Your Diet?

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.  Philippians 4:8-9

Recently our Miniature Schnauzer, Ernie, was acting strangely.  Bob had fed him some of his organic cereal with cranberries that morning—rather let him finish it up.  Later I noticed that Ernie was acting oddly.  He was staggering around…seemed dizzy and his legs were weak. I wondered if the cranberries had made him sick.  I also wondered if perhaps he might have had a stroke or a heart attack.  He didn’t seem to be sick or in any pain, though. 

We watched him a couple of days and he seemed to improve but not totally.  I decided to take him to the vet for a check up to see if he had indeed had a stroke or a heart attack.  “Was he dying?” I wondered.  The vet took a blood sample and then called me the next day to let me know the results.  Ernie is probably older than we thought he is, as he was a hand-me-down dog.  We were not clear about his age.  Some of the results indicated that his age might be catching up with him.  Also, he was a tad bit anemic.   He needed to be on a different dog food, as his dog food was not meeting his nutritional needs.  Older dogs, I learned, need a different diet.  We changed his food and now he seems to be his old self again.  What caused his difficulty we do not know.  How long he will have to live also unknown.

          Now what does this have to do with anything?  Pondering the situation with our dog, I wonder if we really watch our spiritual diet…what we ingest into our body, mind, and soul.  All sorts of trash is on TV nowadays.  Morality seems to have fallen by the wayside.  Newspapers and magazines are no better.  Pornography is easily accessible.   Yet many of us don’t think about what we’re feeding our souls with this bombardment from the media.  We don’t realize how much it impacts our souls. 

 How many of us spend as much time watching TV as reading the scriptures or a spiritual book?  Or how many of us are faithful in attending worship, or spending time in prayer, or in service to others?  If truth be known, probably most of us would respond, “Not much.”

          We are the gatekeepers to our body, mind, and spirit…what we feed into them.    Isn’t there a saying that says something like, “Trash in, trash out?”  One gets out what one puts in or allows to be fed into our mind, bodies, or heart.  Possibly we each need a spiritual check-up. We are reminded about what we feed our souls in the Philippians passage.  Our spiritual lives are just as important as our bodies and minds.  What we feed our souls impacts us in a way that we are either easily discouraged, fearful, and anxious; or we become peaceful, hopeful, grace-filled and forgiving.  Just maybe discouragement, fear, and anxiety make us a tad bit anemic in our spiritual lives. 

Let us each take our spiritual temperature, as a vet, takes an animal’s temperature.  Then let us see where we come out.   Is our prayer life drawing us closer into relationship to God and neighbor?  Are we any more service-minded than we were a year ago?  Or are we anemic?  If we’re not more service-minded, perhaps a change in diet is called for.  Perhaps exploring other prayer disciplines would rejuvenate one’s prayer experience and deepen one’s relationship to God.  Sometimes we get stuck in one prayer discipline and asking God to show us where we are stuck or bogged down will lead us to be more open to God and others.  Perhaps coming together in Bible study and prayer groups would strengthen the bonds of love for one another and the world.  Perhaps prayer partners would help to hold us accountable.

We all need to grow in Christ, but we need to keep allowing ourselves to be fed by the Spirit, Scripture, prayer, and service to others.  

So…how IS your diet?

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Carol M. Pfeiffer

Todd Stout Competes in National Contest
Todd Stout will be flying to Dallas, TX on Tuesday, April 29th to compete in the National Contest for Business Professionals of America.  He is one of six members of the parlimentary procedure team from Hagerstown competing in this contest.  They competed at the national level last year in Chicago and placed 10th in the nation.  Their goal is to place exceed last year's finish. They will also have time to do some sight-seeing while they are in Dallas.  Their agenda is full for the five days they will be gone.  The group will return home on Sunday, May 4th.

Elizabeth Bach Recital/Reception

Elizabeth Bach extends an invitation to you to attend her recital/reception Saturday, May 3 at 4:30 p.m. at Bethany Theological Seminary Nicarry Chapel. 

Church Women United May Friendship Breakfast
At the United Congregational Church in Hagerstown, there will be the Church Women United May Breakfast on Saturday, May 3 at 9 a.m. 

Student Minister-in-Training Reception
Don’t forget the reception for Tom Richard on May 4 following the worship service.  Join us for worship and to share with Tom about how he has ministered to you during his student time with us.

Handbells to Play
The Handbell Choir of Bethany Seminary will provide special music on May 4 during our morning worship. We hope you can join us to welcome these guests and be blessed by their music.

War and Faiths:  Searching for Common Ground
Come hear expert panelists and join in live public discussion of religious diversity and war in a post-9/11 world. This event is sponsored by the Religion in America class, Indiana University East, and by the friends of IU East community events.  It will be held in New Castle Fieldhouse on Monday, May 5, 2003 from 7-9 p.m.  Speakers will be Rabbi David Burstein, Dr. Sayyid Syeed, Pastor Jim Lyon, Mr. Steve Bell, Moderator.  A children’s area will be provided.  Refreshments follow the event.

Mother& Daughter Salad Supper
Women please join us on Saturday, May 10, 6:00 p.m. for a Salad Supper.  Bring a salad, your mother, daughter(s) or friends and enjoy the evening.  Valerie

 Lyles will speak on “Is Your Ministry a Mystery.”

Patricia Ronk’s Open House/Reception.
You are all invited to an open house/reception for Patricia Ronk and her parents on May 11 at 4:30 p.m. in the church fellowship hall.  Patricia will be graduating from Bethany on May 10, and invites you to celebrate her graduation and to meet her parents at the reception.  They will provide the main entrée, with a pitch-in for salads and desserts.  Patricia will be leaving Indiana to return to Virginia to work in late May, so this will be a goodbye time as well. 

Our Annual Smorgasbord
Don’t forget to come for lots of good fun and fellowship at the Annual Smorgasbord, May 17 from 4:00-7:00 p.m.  Bring your appetite and friends and family.

Junior High Event
The Junior Highs next event will be a Movie Night May 18, 6:30 p.m. at the parsonage.  Bring a friend and a snack. 

Congratulations to Our High School Graduates
Elizabeth Bach  - Graduation:  June 1, 2003, 2:30 p.m. at Tiernan Center, Richmond High School.  She will attend Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa with a major in Environmental Science.

Ashley Beaty - Graduation:  Hagerstown High School, June 1, 2003, 2:00 p.m. She will attend Indiana State at Terre Haute, IN and major in business.

Vanessa Hilbert - Graduation:  Hagerstown High School, June 1, 2003, 2:00 p.m.  She will attend Indiana Wesleyan College, Marion Indiana.
 

Todd Stout will graduate from Hagerstown High School, June 1, 2:00 p.m.  He will be attending Rose-Hulman College at Terre Haute, IN and major in Civil Engineering.

Congratulations to Our College Graduates
Julie Wieseke will graduate from Manchester College May 25, 2:30 p.m. with a double major in Psychology and Spanish.  She plans on moving home and working a year and then return to college to get a Masters Degree.

Julie Birdsong - Graduation:  July 19, 10 a.m. in Worthen Arena at Ball State University, Muncie IN with a major in Biology and a minor in Chemistry.  She will continue working at Hoosier Microbiological Laboratories (Muncie) as a microbiologist for a while and then attend graduate school next year for microbiology.

Daniel Potter will graduate from Purdue University, May 17 with a Bachelor's Degree in Hospitality Management.  After graduation, he is moving to Charleston South Carolina to attend Johnson and Whales Culinary School.  He is moving in June and plans to set up residency in Charleston to work full time this summer.  He will start school in August to complete his culinary training.

Paul Pfeiffer, son of Pastor Carol and Bob, will graduate from Ohio Northern University, May 25 with Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and a major in Physics.  He will attend Notre Dame in the fall to pursue his doctorate in physics.

Congratulations to Our Seminary Graduate
Patricia Ronk will be graduating from Bethany Theological Seminary, May 10.  She will be leaving Indiana to return to Virginia to work in late May.

Preaching Schedule
May 4 -  Tom Richard                    Acts 3:12-16 and Luke 24: 33-53
May 11 - Julie Wieseke    Sharing her slides and ministry experiences in worship
May 18 - Pastor Carol    "Faith is in the Following"  I John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8
May 25 - Guest speaker

Ministry Abroad -Serving Christ
Julie Wieseke will give the worship message in word and slides of her ministry experiences on May 11.  Come worship with us and and learn about world needs.

From the Board Chair                                                   
In an effort to reduce our phone bill, we’ve recently gotten rid of all the extra features on our phone.  This in includes both Caller I.D. and Call Waiting.  So now at our house, if the phone rings and you want to know who it is, you have to answer the phone.  And if I’m waiting for somebody to call, then I can’t be surfing the internet at the same time.  I never realized how handy those features were.                            

But the same things that are great on my phone are lousy in my Christian walk.  How many times has God called me to do something and I put Him on “call waiting?”  “Yes, Lord, I’ll get to that as soon as I’m done with this thing.”  Or those times when God calls me to service and I’m waiting for the Caller I.D. to let me know if I really want to take the call.  What works great with G.T.E. causes static between my God and I.

I give you the same challenge I give to myself.  The next time God calls; just answer it.  And let us answer like Samuel did, “Here I am Lord.” 

Don’t be content to leave God on hold.

Curtis Healton, Board Chair 
 
Thanks from the Worship Team
THANKS to the singers and instrumentalists who provided special music on Palm Sunday and Easter, and for our regular instrumentalists and song leaders. Special thanks to Dee Reneau and Beth Bowman for coordinating vocal music for Palm Sunday. We give thanks to God for talents to share in praise and worship!

Vacation Bible School
This year’s Bible School will be held June 16-20 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. The theme this year is “Buckle Up for the Ride of Your Life.”  See Kathy Denney or Carol Bullock for further information.  Volunteers are still needed.  Look for details about a VBS planning meeting soon.

Continuing to Pray for...Unity - Tolerance – Peace
*Jamie Cate's mother, Teri Dunaway     
*Leona Peters  (Marcia Stout's 91 year old grandmother)         
Fred Dilling           Ben King         Richard Foulke         
Estella Hilbert    LuFreda Bowman  

                                                                      
 May Birthdays

1        Sally Schmittler 3        Diane, Andrew, Stacie Mendenhall 6        Jacob Burroughs 8        Darin Briar                                                 10      Mary Jane Dye 12      Denise McIntire 16      Brent McCormack 17      Gene Beeson, Krista Swoveland, Joy Jaske 18      Cinda Howell 21      Marjorie Briar 23      Krista Hollenberg 31      David Stout

Did U Know?

Nobody ever drowned in sweat.

Though vice may be nice, virtue won’t hurtue.

God claims by grace those who have no claim to grace.

Greeters Schedule
May 4        Brandon Hilbert & Otis Johnson
May 11      Jodi Johnson & Eloise Beeson
May 18      Kathy Denney, Carol & Allan Bullock
May 25      Betty Hoover & Loretta Higgs

Nursery Schedule
May 4        Brad & Chad Bowman
May 11      Teresa Renaker & Brandon Hilbert
May 18      Eloise Beeson & Kylie Cooper
May 25      Jodi Johnson & Todd Stout

Musician            Organ                  Pianist            Chorister For theMonth
May 4            Rita Hilbert                 ?                           Dee Reneau
May 11          Lucille Dilling              Marjorie Briar
May 18          Rita Hilbert                 Karen Garrett
May 25          Lucille Dilling              ?

District Wide Gathering Is Set for May 3
The subject is The Authority of Annual Conference Statements and Individual Conscience. The South Central District Advisory Board has identified this issue as one that has caused division within the District.  We feel it is important to have dialogue on this subject.  Location:  In Kokomo, Indiana at First Presbyterian Church, 200 W. Jefferson St, Saturday, May 3.  It is being organized by the District Advisory Board, South Central Indiana District, Church of the Brethren.  For more information: District website; www.cob-net.org/church/indiana_southcentral.htm.  Please let the district know that you are attending.  Call: 1-877-402-1082 or e-mail: scicob@hoosierlink.net.

Healing Out of Silence –Association of Brethren Caregivers Event    (ABC)
Caring Ministries Assembly: a Spiritual Growth Event for Pastors, Deacons, Chaplains, Health Professionals, and other Caregivers will be held August 14-16, 2003 at Bridgewater, VA, Church of the Brethren.  See Pastor Carol if you have interest in going.  Cost is $95.00 before the June 30 deadline and $120 late (after June 30).  Keynote speakers:  Tilden Edwards, founder and Senior Fellow of the Shalem Institute, Deforia Lane, associate director of the Ireland Cancer Center and director of Music Therapy, Marlene Kropf, executive director of the Office of Congregational Life for the Mennonite Church USA, and Carol Sheppard, assistant professor of Philosophy and Religion at Bridgewater (VA) College.  If you have questions, contact Linda Timmons at (800) 323-8039, ext. 300 or e-mail: ltimmons_abc@brethren.org; fax (847)742-5160.

Women’s Camp
Women: Plan to join in the fun at Camp Mack as we share in the fun and make new friends as well as grow in spiritual depth.  Camp is June 12-14.  Let’s go as a group together.

Campers – Camp Registration Extended
Due to the uncertainties of the world situation, Camp Mack has extended the date for accepting camper registrations at the discounted rate until May 15, 2003! Openings are available in all camps except for those scheduled from August 3-9. The August 3-9 camps are full.

Registration forms are available from your Camp Representative, Kathy Denney, or on line at www.campmack.org.

This year's Bible study theme is "Under God's Roof." The theme will be the basis of daily Bible studies, morning watches, and vespers as well as activities throughout the day. Campers will learn to build a strong foundation in their faith.
Please encourage all children and youth in our congregation to take advantage of this opportunity for spiritual growth and leadership development while they make new friends and enjoy being in God's great out-of-doors. Let camp help our children and youth deepen their faith and thus their ability to cope in these uncertain times.

 Camp Mack News                                                    
It’s time to sign up for your Booth at this year’s Camp Mack Festival. Please sign up for your booth by May 10th. Your Camp Rep has sign-up information. This year's AMF is October 4th. If your congregation is unable to have a booth of your own, why not consider working with a neighboring congregation to provide a booth? Or you may volunteer to help in any of the areas shown on the form, such as parking, entertainment, children’s activities, etc. Plan to be a part of this year’s AMF!

Seasoned Citizens always have lots of fun, laughter, great food, inspiring Bible study and relaxation at their retreats. Hurry to sign up for May's Seasoned Citizens retreat to be held May 12th - 15th. Cost is $85 per person. Or you may sign up for both the May and October retreats for the reduced price of $160.00 each.

Calling All Young Adults:  Your Young Adult Retreat is May 30 - June 1. This is for all young adults, single or married, 18 years of age and older. Plan to attend. Fee is $62.00.
Volunteer counselors, prospective counselors, C.I.T.s and directors: plan to attend the Leadership Training, May 31st. Meet Camp’s new Program Director, Curt Rowland. Pick up your counselor materials, meet other counselors and receive creative ideas for Bible study and other camp activities.

Prayer Requests: Please pray daily for: Camp Staff, especially arriving summer staff, Leadership training & counselors, Campers.

More Important Dates: Birdwatchers’ Retreat May 8-10; Fishing Camp June 6-8

A Quiet Place Quote: No matter how quietly I speak, God hears. – Teresa of Avilla

"A Mother's Path of Life"

The young mother set her foot on the path of life.
"Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said:
"Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe
that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed
them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark,
and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother
drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary.
But at all times she said to the children,
" A little patience and we are there."
So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."

And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the
stars and said, "This is a better day than the last,
for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness.
Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I have given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the Earth,
clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light."
And the children looked and saw above the clouds an
everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness.
And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years,
and the mother grew old and she was little and bent.
But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage.
And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was
as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill,
and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey.
And now I know the end is better than the beginning,
for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."

And the children said, "You will always walk with us,
Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."
And they stood and watched her as she went on alone,
and the gates closed after her. And they said:
"We cannot see her, but she is with us still.
A Mother like ours is more than a memory.
She is a living presence."

Your Mother is always with you.
She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street;
she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks;
she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well.
Your Mother lives inside your laughter.
And she's crystallized in every tear drop.
She's the place you came from, your first home;
and she's the map you follow with every step you take.
She's your first love and your first heartbreak,
and nothing on earth can separate you..
Not time, not space...not even death!
~Unknown~