Christian Church of Wilkinsburg

The Visitor - October 2004

Notes On The Journey

As I prepare for my surgery this Friday, I feel blessed.  I can't imagine anyone being more supported or prayed for than I am these days.  The cards, calls, e-mails and prayers keep pouring in.  Thank you so much.  I am truly humbled by the outpouring of love and support I have been receiving from my church family and the greater Disciples church family across our region and nation.  We, Disciples, may have our disagreements from time to time, but my illnesws demonstrates once again what an amazing fellowship we really are.

This morning, as I was praying and preparing myself for my surgery, the Spirit gave me a stunning vision.  As I imagined myself lying down on theoperating table, Inoticed that I was bathed in light and held up by hundreds and hundreds of hands.  Dark hands.  Light Hands.  Old Hands.  Young Hands.  Hundreds of hands were holding me up to the Lord for the healing only He can give to me.  Thank you for holding me up to the Lord in your prayers!

Of course, I have my down times.  Times when fear and anxiety seize my heart in a vice grip.  It is during those difficult times that I remember the Psalms and how they encourage each of us to taek all of our so-called "negative" feelings to the Lord in prayer.  As Barar Milligan writes in her book on breast cancer entitled Desperate Hope:

"We can boldly cry out to God, knowing that God wants to listen to our fears, anxieties, sadness - all of our feelings - about having a serious illness.  We don't need to be afraid that God is displeased with our feelings or that he has better things to do than listen to us complain.  Because He is a good God who is deeply interested in each of us, we can say to him 'I am greatly afflicted'.  (Psalm 116.10) - by our fear that we'll die, by our anxieties about the unknown, by our sadness over how our lives will change or by any other feelings."

Dear friends, never forget that real prayer is about being real before the Lord.  Real prayer is about taking the good, the bad, the ugly and the fearful before the Lord for the healing only He can give to us.  I know that I can't make it through this time without real prayer and your very real support.

Blessings with 10,000 beside,

Pastor Janet

God's Healing Place

Every Wednesday Evening, 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Come for Bible study on a healing scripture, and for healing music and prayers.  Pastor Janet as well as local ministers and Disciple pastors will be leading the Bible study.  Bring a friend who is hurting, sick or grieving.  Together we will seek God's healing touch for not only our pastor, but for all.

All-Church Field Trip - Harvest Festival

Sunday, October 23

3:00 pm - leave church

4:00 pm - Worship & Dinner

Join our friends at the Jefferson Center Presbyterian Church as we celebrate another year participating in the Food Resource Bank.  We gave the farmers money and they grew the crop.  The proceeds from the sale of the crop all go toward feeding the hungry of the world.  We might even slip in a side trip to a pumpkin patch.  Stay tuned for details from Kathy McLafferty, chair of the Family & Youth Ministry Team.

Seminarians & Licensed Ministers' Fund

October 17 & 24

"So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.  We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation;, the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness."  Romans 12:5-8

We have been blessed!  We are blessed!  Three wonderful seminarians - Reagan, Nikki and Darla - have given us of their time, energy and talent - while they grew into ministry under the watchful eye of Pastor Janet and really, of all of us.  Through our feedback, encouragement and prayers, these women have grown into fine examples of what ministers should be.

And now we have two licensed lay ministers!  Minister Denise Angell and Minister Fred Davis are contributing their faith and their energy to our Sunday morning worship services as well as making calls to our sick and shut-ins and helping Pastor Janet in ways we probably don't know about.

This is all well and good but you know things don't come easy.  We need to get involved in a a financial way to assist in the education of folks like these.  While not supporting a seminary student at this time, we do have our licensed ministers.  It costs money for schooling and continuing education requirements to maintain their licensure.  Minister Angell is currently going to school full-time to accomplish the goat she has set for herself.

We are asking you to give generously to the Seminarian and Licensed Ministers' Fund in order to assist our ministers, and, hopefully, another seminarian some day, to achieve the calling which they have received from our Lord.  Consider seriously what you can give to help train these wonderful people.

You may give your donations to the church - mark your check "Seminarian Fund" - anytime in October.  They will be gratefully appreciated.

Flock Lunch - Sunday, October 17  12:30 - 2:30 pm

Come enjoy great food and great fellowship.  Flock assignments for this month are:

Jack & Peg's Flock - Bring potatoes, rice, pasta; reheat dishes for serving

Courter & Irene's Flock - Bring vegetable dishes; set up tables & place settings

Susan & James' Flock - Bring Salads; clean-up

Denise & Val's Flock - Bring desserts; set-up drinks

Two Boxes From God

I have in my hands two boxes,

Which God gave me to hold.

He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box,

and all your joys in the gold."

I heeded His words, and in the two boxes,

both my joys and sorrows I stored,

but though the gold became heavier each day,

the black was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black,

I wanted to find out why.

And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole,

Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused

"I wonder where my sorrows could be?"

He smiled a gentle smile and said,

"My child, they're all here with Me."

I asked God why He gave me the boxes,

Why the gold and the black with the hole?

"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,

The black is for you to let go."

Web Site

We have our own web site now!  (As you can tell if you're reading this!)  Please visit us on the web at www.ccwilkinsburgpa.org to check it out.  It's still in final development, and we'd like your feedback.  There are links to activities and schedules, to selected sermons from Pastor Janet, and to various Disciples and community organizations.  Our page on the searchable "For Ministry" site will also be updated to point to this page for more information.

You will also find email links to the church office and to Pastor Janet, and (as time goes on) to other officers and team leaders.  There is also a guest book and a place to send your Prayer Concerns *and to invite others to share theirs) that will be monitored regularly.  Requests will be passed on to the appropriate flocks, teams, or to the Prayer Chain as needed.

We will eventually be moving away from the AOL email that you have and the web page will always have the most current address in the links you will find there.

Please use the Guest Book to let us know that you've visited, to give us your email address if you'd like (we plan to include them in future address/phone lists for those who wish to make the address available) and to give us feedback on the site as it develops.  We'll be happy to discuss adding anything to the site you may want to have considered.

Invitation

We would like to know if the Congregation would respond to the idea that once a month someone could submit a scripture and what it means to them, or why they chose it.  Give any feedback to Crystal, who will email it for you, or send it to the website.

Disaster Relief Efforts Continue In Florida

Storm-weary residents in Florida continue to clean up in the aftermath of hurricanes Charley and Frances, even as they braced for the impact of Hurricane Ivan.  Week of Compassion, the relief and development fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is working with the Disciples regional office in Florida to support Disciples congregations and members affected by the hurricanes.  Contributions are urgently needed and can be made to Week of Compassion.  WOC also is working closely with Church World Service which has deployed six disaster response staff to the state.

In addition, WOC is monitoring the impact of the hurricanes on a number of Caribbean Islands.  To learn more about ways to help in hurricane relief and recovery and other natural disasters around the world, go to www.week.of.compassion.org.

Americans of Faith - OperationVote.Com Be the Voice of Freedom

"When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue."  Proverbs 28:2

Why Vote?

- ONE VOTE kept Aaron Burr from becoming President; that ONE VOTE elected Thomas Jefferson in 1800.

- California, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington became states by ONE VOTE.

- Woodrow Wilson was elected in 1916 by carrying one state by less than ONE VOTE per precinct.

- In 1941, ONE VOTE saved Selective Service just weeks before Pearl Harbor.

- In 1948 Lyndon B. Johnson (our 36th president) became a senator by ONE VOTE.

Voter Registration and Turnout

- Currently, there are 24 million Evangelicals who are not registered to vote!

- In 1996, less than 75% of the voting age population of Americans were registered to vote.

- In 1996, less than 50% of the population actually voted.

- 49 million people are registered, but fail to cast their votes, even at presidential elections.

October Meetings

Congregational Meeting - Sunday, October 10 - 12:30 pm

Youth & Family Team - Tuesday, October 19 - 5:30 pm

Christian Women's Fellowship

Tuesday, October 19 - 12:00 pm

Marge's house, please bring a sandwich

Vote!!

"Let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers who will rule with the fear of God.  The preservation of a republican government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty; if the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted."

- Noah Webster, author of "Webster's Dictionary"

Prayer Concerns

- For the parents and family of Joseph Arrington on his Homegoing afer his valiant fight against the disease of cancer.

- For Pastor Janet and her family during her surgery, treatment and healing and for our church family as we support one another and continue Christ's ministry

- For the Healing

- For the Homebound

- For the Wilkinsburg Community, our police officers, fire department and Chaplains

- For the Peacemakers of the world

Fall Back!

Sunday, October 31 - set clocks BACK one hour!  Come to church really rested!

Friends & Family Sunday

Either Sunday, October 31 or November 7

Prizes awarded to the person who brings the most friends & family!  Reception following Worship.  Who can you invite to worship?  Who can you tell about "A.S.P. - A Special Place" called the Christian Church of Wilkinsburg?

A Recent "Minute for Mission", by Jack Peffer

Why do I consider the Christian Church of Wilkinsburg a special place? I'll speak as if I were in a dialog with a person who had asked about my church.

In the short fifty-plus years of my association with CCOW, the Church has become the most important part of our lives. Margery and I were married here. Our three children were dedicated, baptized and married here.

We were among the original members of the Bethany Class, and our social lives revolve around it. Much of the congregational lay leadership came from the Bethany Class.

The outreach of CCOW has been and is a pacesetter in Wilkinsburg ... Wilkinsburg Community Ministry, Hosanna House, New To You, our Revival in the parking lot. In Pennsylvania and the nation ... reconciliation programs. In the world ... our support of mission programs and Oikocredit.

So has the music program. An excellent choir directory and choir along with great organists and now our gospel singers.
But the overriding reason for the joy we feel at CCOW has been the spiritual leadership of Pastor Janet. She is the personification of compassion. She has made prayer an integral part of church life. Her bible-based sermons are luminous, thought-provoking and inspiring. We continually thank God for bringing Pastor Janet into our lives.

Come and join us!