There are many ways in which our lives intersect with one another. Please keep these concerns in your minds and hearts in the coming days.

 

•         Those from our congregation who are traveling to Nicaragua (January 5 ~ 25): Jeff Osborne, Eric Reichenbach, Julie Garber, Joel & Bev Eikenberry, and Ed Miller. This is the 30^th anniversary of the first Medical Practicum which went to Guatemala in January 1981. Ed Miller went on that first trip as well.

•         Barbara McFadden is a proud new grandmother. Her son, Joel and daughter-in-law, Laura, have a little daughter, Emma, born December 28 in Colorado. All are well and doing fine.

•         Those who were unable to worship with us due to their current health limitations, including:  Jane Cassell, Barbara Smith, Dorothy Gable, and Eunice Brightbill.

•         The family of Lucile Kinsley. Lucile died Wednesday, December 29. The Memorial Service will be Saturday, February 19 at 3 pm in the Timbercrest Chapel with visitation one hour prior to the service.

•         Don Gable hospitalized at KCH in Warsaw.

•         Milly Gilbert recovering in Timbercrest Healthcare as a result of a broken pelvis.

•         Those who wish to keep their concerns unspoken.

 

•         Our sister church in El Salvador, Emanuel Baptist. We share in thanksgiving with Emmanuel Baptist the baptism of 15 persons and the reception of 7 persons by reaffirmation of faith on Sunday, December 26.

•         The Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) is asking partner churches to be in prayer for the Referendum in southern Sudan. The vote scheduled for Sunday, January 9, will decide whether southern Sudan will secede from the northern part of the country. This vote is the result of the comprehensive peace agreement reached in 2005 after decades of civil war.

•         And in beginning of this New Year, we pray for peace in the world.

Dear Church Family,

How I miss you all and long with all my heart to worship with you again. A mere “thank you” is inadequate to express my appreciation for your cards, encouraging notes, assurances of prayer and various gifts which express your caring. Sometimes in the lonely watches of the night, I hold your cards to my heart and draw on the strength of your love and faith. We are “…bound together in the bundle of living… 1 Sam. 25:29.” I have been blessed with anointing by Pastors Kurt and Karen. My journey is long, arduous, and complex, but I am on my way. In God’s own time I shall again join you in worship in person, not just in my thoughts.

Love from my heart to yours. Ruth Bowman

The Family Life Center is open from 8 to 10 am for walking and exercise. Nursery School may use the FLC from 10 to 11.

 

 

9:30 am Peace Patch Preschool resumes

10:00 am Staff Meeting

5:00 pm  Weight Watchers – Room 220

6:30 pm  Worship Center Decor

7:30 pm  Volleyball

 

   7:00 pm Pastoral Ministry & Personnel

 

  9:30 am   Peace Patch Preschool - FLC

  7:00 pm   Education Commission

 

Walkers may enter FLC door

   9:30 am Peace Patch Preschool – FLC

   5:30 pm ECR Training

   5:30 pm Parents’ Night Out

   8:00 pm Indoor Soccer

8:30 am Deacon Training-Conference Rm

8:30 am ECR Training

 

January 2 – 8:    Kurt 982-4233, cell 1-260-450-0759

January 9 – 15: Karen, 982-8420, 578-1247

January 9 Text - Isaiah 42: 1-9 New Things I now Declare. Pastor Kurt. Ecclesia Choir

January 16 Text - Mark 2: 13-17. The Calling of Levi. Pastor Kurt. Ecclesia Choir

January 23 Text - Matthew 4: 12-23. Let go of the nets!  Pastor Kurt. Taizé Choir

January 30 Text – Matthew 5: 1-12. Blessed are … Pastor Kurt.  Melodia Choir. Bell Choir

 

Questers Class meets in the Chapel and is studying Robin Meyers’ book, Saving Jesus from The Church. Each week there will be a different discussion leader.

Koinonia Class meets in the Conference Room with Gordon Bucher this quarter.

Jan. 9 - A Prophet Arises I Kings 17-20

Jan. 16 - Preacher to Preacher I Kings 21-22

Jan. 23 – Amazing Preachers II Kings 3-6

Jan. 30 – Revolution Deals II Kings 7-10

It’s time to get your January calendars and resolve NOW to join us for “Food, Fun, Friends” on Wednesday, January 12! Our Pizza Hut buffet and salad bar begins serving at 6 pm. Look for the Sunday, January bulletin R.S.V.P. insert or contact Joel Eichenauer (982-1509). The church office could pass your message on to on to Joel as well (982-7523).

 

 

 Sunday, January 9 - 5pm. Movie night and make your own pizza. Meet in the kitchen at 5pm to top your pizza. Pick up is by 8pm.

Monday, January 10 - registration for NJHC. Please get a check to Jim Chinworth (payable to: Manchester CoB) by January 20. Jim will register everyone at one time.

 Saturday, January 29 - Dad's and youth in the FLC, 6-7:30pm. Wear comfortable clothing. 

 

 Wednesday, January 5 - 8:30pm. If you plan to register for CCS, meet at Jim's house at 8:30pm. Bring a laptop if you can to register online.

 Sunday, January 9 - Baptism, faith and identity during the SS hour. Pantry delivery at noon and then lunch at the Chinworth's.

 

 Bring $$ support and food items by this Sunday, January 9 for our next Pantry Delivery Sunday. Canned fruit, vegetables and soup are always needed, as well as peanut butter and toilet paper

 

Both Yoga and Zumba-Gold are often flexible, depending on the weather. Please call the instructors for information:

Yoga: Adria Pickett, 1-260-774-9336

Zumba-Gold: Mandy Shull, 1-317-431-5744

 

Council Meeting Minutes -- January 2, 2011

Moderator Richard Harshbarger called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary.   Executive Board Chair Anne Myers who brought the Executive Board’s motion to affirm the calls of Barbara McFadden as Deacon Chair and the following persons as deacons:   Ernie Barr, Liz Hoffman Bauer, Joan Fahs, Lois Good, Ann Hartsough, Tom Hess, David Kreps, Bev Petry, Amy Shively, Elizabeth Waas Smith, April White, Dorotha Williams, Marie Willoughby, and Don Willoughby. The motion was affirmed by a voice vote.                          Dwight Beery, Clerk

 

Join us January 13 at 9:30 am. Bring a dish to share and stay for lunch. Call Esther Rupel if you have questions.

 

“As the days are getting longer, the cold is getting stronger” and you may find yourself feeling the effects of “cabin fever.” Our pastoral staff are all good listeners. However, you may need a regular partner on your journey for awhile, due to any number of reasons, so ask the pastor about our Stephen Ministry program. A Stephen Partner can walk with you through the winter storms.

 

The Perfume Fund originated with a sermon on Mark 14:3-9 titled “Foolish Generosity” (November 23, 2008). Here’s a piece of that sermon:

The sermon also suggested that we could practice that kind of giving – with joy, generosity – and so we started the fund with an offering on Christmas Eve of 2008 and collected money throughout the next year. On Christmas Eve of 2009, we chose our first recipient from among nominations offered by our children and youth. You may remember that the recipient was the Food Pantry. Over $15,000 was donated to help those in need of food assistance in our community.

Last Friday night, following the Christmas Eve worship service, we selected a recipient for this year’s Perfume Fund. Nominations were received from children, youth, and adults 90 and over. A total of 14 nominations were submitted and Chloe Leckrone’s nomination, The Scout Fuller Fund, was chosen to receive the $5221.16 collected this year.

 

Scout Fuller, who died on July 7, 2007 at the age of 8, is remembered fondly by many in our congregation. The Scout Fuller Fund for Social Justice was established in her memory by her parents, Abby Fuller and Neil Wollman, and her family, to “support individuals and organizations who, in the spirit of Scout Fuller's concern for others and sense of justice, are working to improve the lives of others.” Currently the fund supports a Manchester College student, who would be otherwise unable to afford doing so, to work as a summer intern or volunteer with a not-for-profit organization that works to improve the lives of others. The fund has made awards the last three years. Information about recent recipients can be found at www.scoutfullerfund.org

 

 

 

 

 

Church Women United expresses “Thank You” for the generous number of Christmas Cookies given to the Thrift Shop. These cookies brought grateful smiles to the shoppers.

Dorothy Weldy

 

Manchester College received a $35 million grant from Lilly Endowment to launch a School of Pharmacy. The grant--the largest in Manchester College history--will help the college develop its first doctoral program on a Fort Wayne campus, surrounded by regional hospitals, pharmacies, and health care facilities and services. (For details, visit www.manchester.edu/pharmacy .)

 

 

We are in desperate need of tutors. Contact the Learn More Center, 603 Bond Street, PO Box 272, or call 982-6138 to become a tutor to an adult learner. www.learnmorecenter.org

 

For 2011, all Wabash County School Groups will be admitted at no charge!

Week of January 9: This week begins with the remembrance of Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:13-17). What do you recall about your own baptism? Raise a prayer of thanks for the life granted as you exited the waters.

Week of January 16: Martin Luther King, Jr., famously noted that the most segregated time in the United States is Sunday morning. In this week of prayer for Christian Unity, pray that God's people may come to know the vision of Christ for a united Church (John 17:11).

Week of January 23: This week Bethany Theological Seminary students and professors return to course work. Say a prayer of blessing for those who accept the call to study the Christian faith and serve the Church. How might you share this prayer with current students and ministers?

Week of January 30: Matthew reminds us in the Beatitudes that “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” After the holidays many around us suffer from the physical loss of close family and friends or mourn in countless other ways. Pray for those whom you know to mourn in this season, and ask that you and your congregation might be a source of comfort.

 

Bethany Theological Seminary has received a $200,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations for financial support of its Presidential Forum. The grant will be used to establish an endowment to create perpetual funding for this event. This Forum brings noted speakers to campus for in-depth study and discussion of current topics.

The seminary also has received a $25,000 grant from Barnabas Ltd. to reactivate its Exploring Your Call (EYC) program for high school juniors and seniors. Barnabas Ltd. is an Australian foundation founded by the parents of current Bethany Board of Trustees member Jerry Davis. More than 50 youth attended EYC events at Bethany during the first half of the last decade, and several current seminary students report that EYC was an important catalyst in their decisions to pursue ministry. Russell Haitch, associate professor of Practical Theology and director of the Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults, will direct and staff the program. The next EYC is scheduled for June 17-27, 2011.

 

National Older Adult Conference

September 5-9, 2011

Additional conference information will be posted on the Church of the Brethren website.

Registration materials will be sent to past NOAC attendees, congregations, and district offices, and will be available at www.brethren.org/NOAC around March 1.

Thank You,

Kim Ebersole, 800-323-8039 ext. 302