MIDWEEK MESSAGE #265
Hello everyone! Welcome to Midweek Message #265. We can definitely tell Fall is in the air. Cooler mornings. Warmer afternoons. Cooler evenings. I appreciate you taking the time to read this.
Please pray for our educator of the week: Tami Grandi. Yeah, I tend to have a personal knowledge of this one. 🙂Tami is in her 4th year teaching Kindergarten at SES. Before that she taught at Fairview Elementary in Bloomington. Before moving here to take care of her aging parents, she taught in the Knoxville, TN school system for 15 years. She is a big fan of Ohio State sports, but does attend IU women’s basketball games with friends. She is also, sadly, a huge fan of the Atlanta Braves baseball team (much to her dad’s dismay and embarrassment).
It was a great day to witness the baptism of Eli Wood this past Sunday! Congrats, Eli!
YOUTH NEWS
-
-
- First up is a correction. In last week’s MM it said that the OVHS girl’s XC team placed 7th out of 10 in the race. It should have said they placed 7 runners in the Top Ten of the meet. I apologize for that mistake.
- This past weekend both Alli Anderson and Aubrey Mangia ran well for the OVHS cross country team.
- This will be a big weekend for the OVMS cross country team. Akaydia Beckwith will be running in the State Championship. Tad Nicholson and the boys’ team will also be competing in the State Championship. We are proud of you!!
- Upwards soccer season has come to a close. Jo and I were able to watch Hudsyn Biggs, Alexander and Isabella Chambers, Conrad Keene, Jordan Mangia, and Barrett Zigler play Friday night. We celebrated with Hudsyn, Alexander, Isabella and Barrett when they scored goals. Izzy had three and Hudsyn had two. It was Barrett’s first goal of the season. It was fun watching them! Two of our other young people, Boston and Berkley Groomer, were registered to play but Boston broke his arm just before the season was to start so that was a big NO for playing. I’m betting they will be ready to play next year.
- Julian Carson (grandson of Mike & Nannette Edwards) had a monster day playing with the Canes 11U baseball team over the weekend! He had two triples, a double and a single!
- If you get the Friday Fun Facts that Kris Samick puts together and mails out for S-OCS, you would have seen that PES had a family picnic day. You would have also that seen Joe & Emily Pavich and their three, Charlotte, Thomas, and Margaret (the latter two are twins) were featured. The picture looked like the three young ones were busy while dad was taking it easy. 🙂
-
FUTURE CHURCH-WIDE EVENTS
-
-
- Operation Christmas Child is an annual event we love to be involved in. This Sunday shoeboxes will be available in the hallway for you to take and fill to help a child enjoy a Christmas very few of them have a chance to celebrate. Along with the box they also receive a short presentation of the Gospel message that Jesus loves them and that He is the ONE who is behind the giving. If you have questions, please talk to Diana! 🙂
- This is just a heads up for you!! Thursday, November 27th is Thanksgiving Day. I would love to revisit our annual Thanksgiving meal for the community! More information will be coming soon!
-
The biggest news of all though is scheduled for October 26th when we will be celebrating our 21st anniversary as a church family. God has blessed us so much in those 21 years! We can tell you that we will have two services that morning followed by a pitch-in. We are also hoping the shell of the new building will be up so you can walk through it and see what God has enabled us to accomplish. I will tell you more when we get closer. But for now, please circle that date on your calendar: October 26.
-
-
- One really important item about that day: all giving that day, unless otherwise designated, will be for the Building Fund so we can continue finishing the project. For those who may not know: we made a commitment to pay cash for the new building so we can stay debt-free. We believe God will bless that desire.
-
I have a story to tell you about the way God works, especially when it amazes us beyond our wildest dreams. Seventeen months ago on April 18, 2024 I lost a dear friend after his 15 year battle with cancer. I met Jim when we lived in Terre Haute and we became fast friends and rode a lot of bicycle miles together. When we moved to Sandusky, he and Tina came to visit and would also spend a day at Cedar Point. When we moved here, we would go back and forth visiting and riding (and, of course, eating). He and Tina moved near Whiteland to be close to their daughter and grandsons and as his cancer reared its ugly head again, Jo and I would drive to visit. Our final trip there was April 18th and we were less than 5 minutes away when Tina called to tell me Jim had gone to heaven. I still think about him, especially when I ride.
Fast forward to two weeks ago when I was asked to pray for Keaton Jackson and brought you on board with that request. As I was texting with someone who knew Keaton and his mother, Jessica, she said that she and Jessica were looking for a Sunday when they could come because Jessica thought it would be “cool to come hear her dad’s best friend preach.” I was stumped so I asked who Jessica’s dad was. You probably already know where this is going…it was Jim. Jessica was his daughter from his first marriage. I knew of Jessica but had no idea of her married name. I look forward to introducing you to Jessica and Keaton someday.
My sermon Sunday is entitled In the Right Place from Matthew 5-21. Yes, you read that right. Matthew. The New Testament. 🙂 I look forward to seeing you there. Until then…know you are loved.
Pastor Bill
