MIDWEEK MESSAGE #267
Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #267. I hope you had a good Fall Break and it hasn’t been too hard to get back into the daily grind. 🙂
My Fall Break was somewhat unusual for me. I attended a Chaplain/First Responder Training on Wednesday in Bloomington. When Ryan White became the Owen County Sheriff he asked if I would become the chaplain for the OCSD. I accepted and over the past 3-4 years have found myself involved in various types of “chaplain” situations, many different from any I have previously experienced. When Sheriff White asked me if I would like to attend this training, I knew I needed it. It was very helpful and enlightening and I hope it makes me a better chaplain, a better peer supporter, and also a better pastor.
The latter part of my Fall Break was officiating a wedding. Jo and I stayed in Carmel for me to officiate the wedding of Hunter Sturgeon and Abbey Butcher. Hunter is Jerry & Carol Sturgeon’s son. Jo and I agree on many things but there is one big, no make that huge thing, we agree on: neither one of us ever want to live in a big city. Carmel has to be the “roundabout capital of Indiana.” We love Spencer! We met people who had never heard of Spencer nor where it is located. Our “between Terre Haute and Bloomington” answer gave them a good idea, but we always finished with “and we love it there.”
Okay…enough about me. I want to remind you to pray for our educator of the week: Kristine Mangia. Kristine taught at 2 previous schools then taught at PES for 17 years. She made the move to SES 9 years ago. She has been married to Tom, one of our elders, for 8 years and they are the parents of Mason, Aubrey, and Jordan. Kristine also serves on the Hospitality Care Team here at OVCF. If you go for coffee before 2nd service you will see her there with a smile on her face. (Her son, Jordan, will also be greeting you with a blueberry muffin in his mouth). 🙂
NOW FOR THE BIG AND REALLY EXCITING NEWS!
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- If you happened to be gone last week for a Fall Break getaway, you missed seeing the progress on the new addition. You could hardly miss it this week! WOW! The walls are up; the roof is on; the siding is on; and most of the interior walls are framed. The doors are not done but should be here this week. I was amazed when I saw the progress just by being gone most of the day on Wednesday and then Thursday and Friday.
- That is going to make our 21st anniversary celebration even more exciting! Keep in mind that happens this coming Sunday, the 26th.
- We will have two services-one at 9:00 and one at 10:45.
- Following the second service we will be having a church-wide pitch-in.
- We will also be able to take a walk-through of the new addition so you can get a more “close up” view of it. You will also be given an opportunity to write on the studded walls any praise or prayer you want to leave as a memento to God for His goodness to us.
- I look forward to the day we occupy the new auditorium and lift our voices to “How Great Thou Art.” We must never forget that God has made this all possible. His goodness and blessings upon us and your faithfulness in giving for the past 7 years has brought us to this place of celebration. Thanks goes to God and thanks goes to you, who dreamed along with us of being in a facility where we could all worship together.
- Keep in mind that all giving that day, unless designated, will go toward finishing the project. As we have said many times in the past, and for the new ones who have recently joined the OVCF family, we will proceed as the money is available, and will not go in debt to do this project.
- ONE VERY, VERY, VERY (DID I SAY VERY?) SPECIAL REQUEST: We are going to need all the parking we can get, especially for that second service and the pitch-in. If you are physically able, and it is not muddy or wet, may I ask you to park on the east side of the parking lot in the grass (where our future parking lot will be)? I’ll be there so you will know where to park.
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CONGRATULATIONS to the OVHS Girls’ Cross Country Team! They will be going to the regionals in Brownsburg this Saturday! Alli Anderson and Aubrey Mangia are part of this team. A friend of many of our young people, Liam Hogan, will be going as an individual competitor. I’m super excited about a future possibility that will begin to take shape in just a few weeks. You may have heard me talk about reading and forming some thoughts in my mind about a special needs ministry as part of our children’s programs here at OVCF. I’m happy to say that several others have also volunteered to help in making that a future reality. As I write this, 14 folks have agreed to be on the team to help dream, brainstorm, and plan to make this possible. Two of the 14 are young people who have a huge heart for special needs kids. I don’t know the time table of this venture due to our limitation of space at the current moment, but it is wise to begin planning NOW for this ministry to become a reality. I’ll share more with you after our first meeting. It is scheduled for Monday, November 10 at 6:00. You might be thinking that you would like to consider helping in one way or another. Please feel free to come to that meeting and give your positive thoughts on how we can reach out to these young people and their families and friends. All I ask is that you please let me know if you are interested in coming.
I’ve also had to make a tough decision due to the season of life this church fellowship is in. I’ve decided to forego having a Thanksgiving meal this year for the community. It really takes a lot of organizing and cooperation to make it happen. We made a decision a couple of years ago to not overload our church family with events and happenings during the months of October-December. After Operation Christmas Child, I would really like us to focus on giving to Backpack Buddies in December. There are kids in our community who need food during the holidays, and even weekly. We can do our part with that. More information will be coming.
My sermon this Sunday is Jesus the Radical from Luke 4-18. I look forward to sharing that with you. Until then…know you are loved.
Pastor Bill
