MIDWEEK MESSAGE #184
Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #184. As you can tell I have been doing this for quite a while. 184 times to be exact. I started the MM during COVID in order to stay in touch and to let you know my thoughts and what was happening at OVCF. Even though we are back to normal (although some might wonder about me ☺ ), I hope the MM still ministers to you and keeps you informed. Thanks for giving me this chance to enter your world.
Please pray for our Educator of the Week: Jenny Hess. Jenny is married to John and she is the homeschool educator of their two daughters, Mia Rose and Meilynn. Mia Rose will graduate in 2024. They have been attending OVCF for close to two years.
Our Mission of the Week is Youth for Christ, OVHS Campus Life and local club director, Cassie Linville. Cassie has been involved as the leader for 4 years. She gets help on Monday night club nights from Westin, her husband; Pastor Ryan and Hope; and from Macy Carlson.
YOUTH CORNER
Several of our young people deserve recognition this week.
- Alli Anderson is the OVHS wrestling manager. After wrangling horses and her brothers, keeping the wrestlers in line must seem easy. ☺ I hear she absolutely loves this gig.
- Jackson Courson is on the OVHS JV wrestling team. He has won his last two wrestling matches. He seems to be following in the footsteps of his brother, Logan Cain, who also wrestled for OVHS.
- And here is one that is different: Maddie Sparks has been chosen to be a peer helper to a classmate who suffered a traumatic brain injury. She and 4 other students are being trained by therapists from Riley Hospital to help their classmate adjust to school. That says quite a bit about Maddie! Her mom, Lindsey Kinser, is the proud mama who shared that info. We are proud of you also Maddie! Maddie is a 5th grader at MCES.
- That’s all I have for this week. Anyone else you want to add for a future MM? Please let me know by text or email.
*An impressive number of School of Education Bloomington faculty members have been ranked among the most influential scientists in their fields in an annual list from Stanford University. Our own Valarie Akerson (Science Education) was chosen as one of 18 faculty from IU for this prestigious honor. Proud husband, Wayne, sent the article to our small group.
Several events are happening over the next couple of weeks:
- My last Route 66 class for this year will be this Wednesday, the 13th. I will resume 66 on January 10th at 6:00.
- The last Deeper for this semester will be this Wednesday at the East homestead. Deeper will resume in January (Wednesdays from 4-5:30 at the Easts).
- This Sunday night ROOTS will be having their Christmas party and it will be the conclusion for ROOTS for the year. Look for it to resume on Sunday, January 14th.
Just to remind you about December 24th:
- There will be ONE service on Sunday morning, the 24th, at 10:00. The youth classes will be meeting.
- There will be a Christmas Eve service on Sunday night at 5:00. The service will not be a repeat of Sunday morning. Sunday evening will include traditional Christmas carols, some testimonies, a short devotion from me, and a closing to usher in the hope and joy of Christmas morning. I guarantee it is something you would never expect from me! (And no, I am not singing). ☺
Andy Wood wanted to remind the Military Care Team they will be meeting after the second service next Sunday to pack items to mail to our service members. He will be buying the items this week, but if anyone has any additional snacks or letters of support they would like mailed, you are welcome to bring them next Sunday, and they will make sure the items are sent. This is a great ministry to our service members. Thanks to Andy for taking the leadership of this team.
Backpack Buddies was a huge success! Thanks so much for all your help and concern for the 200+ students of the school system who will benefit from your generosity. Diana will be posting some pictures to the church’s Facebook group.
Robert Anderson is being considered for the position of elder of OVCF. Our practice is to present him to the church and then allow for you to respond within two weeks if there is a spiritual reason why you think he should not be one of the elders. If there is nothing, we will announce the result on Sunday, December 24. Remember, any letter must be written and signed.
My theme for 2024 is Run with the Horses and the Scripture is Jeremiah 12:5- “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?” (NLT) January 7th, the first sermon of the year, will be on that Scripture. The next 7 weeks will be a more in-depth look at “Welcome Home where…” The basis for those sermons will be from Colossians 1-3. I’ll give you more details next week since that will be the last MM for 2024.
Thanks again for allowing me to enter your world. If you have any suggestions for making the MM more relevant or more informative feel free to pass your suggestions along. Send them to me at pastor@ovcf.org or text me. Thanks for being you. I love you all much.
Pastor Bill
