February 15, 2012 Newsletter
Serving Sunday, February 19, 2012
Donna & John Russell, Elders
Harriett Borger, Deloris Hunt, Don Hunt, Tricia Shelton, Leslie Gossett, Skip Moran, 11:00 Deacons
Don Pearson, Worship Leader
John Russell, Hospital Communion
Serving Sunday, February 26
John & Donna Russell, Elders
Earleen Jones, Worship Leader
Paula Hensley, Dick Funk, Karyl Knowles, Chris Knowles, Lynn Baxter, Evelyn Coley, Deacons
Donna Russell, Hospital Communion
Sharing Brings Joy. To Us. To Others. To God.
Week of Compassion Special Offering
February 19-26, 2012
The survivors of the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake have a long road to travel in their recovery. Yet it's an especially difficult journey for those trying to recover while coping with a disability, such as Mirielle Emerival.
Mirielle is a mother of two boys. Confined to a wheelchair years before the earthquake, she was among the hundreds of disabled people whose only assistance after the disaster came from Church World Service. Our support of Week of Compassion helps Mirielle and more than 600 other Haitians with disabilities have access to small business grants, counseling, tools and other help they need to make a new life.
Mirielle used a $75 grant to start a small business selling candies and baked goods, earning income to meet her family's needs. Your support of this critical offering endorses the belief that all of us can lead a self-sufficient life. Your gifts help individuals shine in the darkness of the most dire hardships. With your generosity, our congregation will continue to touch lives like Mirielle's. Thanks be to God, and thank you so much!
Mireille Emerival was hurt eleven years ago when shot five times by home invaders. After the earthquake, she was accepted to the Church World Service and Service Chretien d¡¯Haiti programme on People with Disabilities.
PRAYER CONCERNS
: Dallas: Fred Wills; Sagecrest: Horace Goodson; Rio Concho Terrace: Hazel Dooley; Joyce Shelby; Sue South; Meadow Creek: Charlotte Pfluger; Myrtlewood: Alzada Marsh, Alan Wells, Jan Randall, Ken Randall; Royal Estate: Corinne McKinney, Bob Williams; St. Angelus: Fay Burk; Regency: Keith Long; At Home: Mary Ruth Stephenson, Esther Jones (Nita Archer's sister), Markie Cotton (Dir. of Plaza del Sol), Esta Smith (Hazel Dooley's daughter), Frances Shackleford (Anne Fish's Mom), Kelly Kelley's mother, U.S. Troops, including Austin Hubbard, Desire' McGarvey.
CABINET MEETING
Sunday, February 19 following 11:00 Worship Service
Meeting will not last over one hour
Lnch will not be provided - you are welcome to bring a sack lunch if you wish.
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY led by Ken Coley
THE APOCRYPHA: THE BOOKS BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS
Tuesday, February 14 ~ 10:30-11:30 am
WOW ~ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
5:30 pm, Begins in Fellowship Hall with dinner
CHANCEL CHOIR REHEARSAL
Wednesday, February 15, 7:15 pm
BAPTISMAL CLASS
The Baptismal Class will be offered during Lent. It is for children and youth who want to be baptized or who have been baptized, but would like a confirmation class. We meet on a Saturday from 10 - 3. The children and youth will make their confession of faith usually the Sunday before Palm Sunday which this year is March 25th. The baptismal service is on Palm Sunday, April 1. The congregation joins together for a Celebration Luncheon where the members of the class are recognized. Please contact Patti at 653-4523 or pattig.tharp@yahoo.com if you are interested.
LEAP YEAR PARTY
To celebrate Leap Year Rainbow ( 3 year olds - kindergarten), FCY (1st- 3rd graders), and JYF (4th-5th graders) will have a party at Concho Valley Gymnastics where we can leap and jump for joy. It will be Saturday, February 25th, from 2:30 - 4:00. We will meet at CVG, 101 N Oakes at 2:30. Children will need to wear comfortable clothing since they will be jumping, running, and climbing. At 3:30 we will walk back to the church and have refreshments. They can bring a friend or two. Please let Patti know by Thursday, February 23rd by calling 653-4523 or e-mailing pattig.tharp@yahoo.com
LADIES WHO LUNCH BUNCH
Sunday, February 19, Meet and decide after church
CENTRAL AREA MEN'S RETREAT
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 "At the Crossroads"
February 24 &25, 2012
Lake Brownwood Christian Retreat
2012 WOMEN'S RETREAT
April 20-22, 2012
Lake Brownwood Christian Retreat¡¡
WEEK OF COMPASSION continues to focus on way "Sharing Brings Joy," this year specifically on how "Sharing Brings Joy to Others." Much of the time, our gifts bring joy to others through the tangible results of our sharing:
A family displaced by natural disaster or political unrest is grateful to receive food, shelter, and the comfort of a safe place to begin to rebuild their lives.
A woman who has had to walk miles to carry potable water for her family smiles as she draws water from a clean well near her home.
A child excitedly arrives for the first day of class at her village's new school.
In addition to the tangible results they are reminded that they are beloved children of God, sisters and brothers of us all, each one a person of scared worth.
This year, as you share your offerings with Week of Compassion on, remember all the ways your gifts bring joy to others. Sow bountifully and share abundantly, knowing that your are helping change lives. May we all give cheerfully and multiply the joy On February 19th and 25th.
"If I see the gift as mine alone to give, I might give hesitantly, even grudgingly, considering my options, then giving from a sense of ought.
If I see the gift as God's who allows me to use it for a time, then the gift can flow more freely, as I join with others to be a channel of God's love and mercy."
Roberta Porter from her poem, Grace in Giving.
SPECIAL SERVICES ON MARCH 11
During both worship services on March 11, the President of Juliette Fowler Homes will bring the message of 120 years of service as portrayed in the Vision and Mission statements --
In the spirit of God's Love, to care for those in the dawn of life, in twilight of life, and in the shadows of life -- To provide residential facilities, care, and support for the benefit of needy persons who may seek its protection and aid, administering to their physical, moral, intellectual and spiritual needs, without regard to the ability of such persons to pay.
Between the 9 am and 11 am services a Brunch will be served for fellowship opportunities for all worshipers.
SINGLE SETTINGS
Dutch treat dinner for singles meets the third Thursday of each month
at 6:00 pm at various restaurants.
Watch for details on the next meeting. | 