MIDWEEK MESSAGE #253
Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #253 and to July! It is hard for me to believe I just said that-which means 2025 is half over. I won’t mention that dirty “S” word, you know, the one that begins in “S,” ends in “L,” and has a “choo” in between is one month away. For many of you, I guess the best thing to say is take advantage of the time left. 😁
I have some super good news to share with you! Elijah Clausman, one of the young men who plays guitar in our worship band in the second service (and has a head of hair that some people might be envious of 😁) was baptized Friday afternoon at Hilltop Camp following the close of the Sr. High Wilderness Week. Elijah not only has been part of our band, but has taken an active role in ROOTS. Our very own, Westin Linville, had the honor of baptizing him. Pastor Ryan was standing right there in case Westin decided to hold him under. 😁
YOUTH CORNER
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- Auggie Wood played baseball for the Warner Family Team this summer. They were eliminated when they lost in extra innings (2) while playing in the rain, but played well. Way to go, Auggie! Now, I hear it’s on to football.
- Emmy Wells and her friend, Zara, played softball this summer. Gannon Wiegand played baseball.
- We had some of our young people play T-ball this past month: Collin, Mason and Aiden Chesser and Owen Hutchison.
- Amelia and Hudsyn Biggs are playing basketball at Tier Ten. Is anyone else playing ball at Tier Ten?
- Tessa Floyd, the daughter of Travis and Sierra Floyd, was chosen as 2025 Owen County “Best Personality” winner in the baby contest for the OC Fair. The picture I saw had Grandpa Tony smiling bigger than Tessa.😀
- The Nazarene Church is sponsoring Upwards Soccer. It is for ages 4-9. Early registration ended June 23rd but Jordan Wright (the leader) told me it is not too late to register. They practice and have games on Saturday mornings for one hour (30 minute practice/30 minute game). Evaluations will be held Saturday, July 19th from 10-12:00 at the soccer fields on Hwy 46. Evaluations are only for age groups 6-9. Dates for games are August 9-16-23 and September 6-20-27. Registration is $90. For multiple siblings there is a discount. Registration includes a jersey, socks, and end of the season prize, sticker chart, and snacks. They are also in need of coaches. You may find more info at https://www.spencer.church/upward
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Next Sunday, July 6th the Fair officially begins. There will be a vesper service to benefit WRE on Sunday evening and then all next week the Owen County Fair will be in full swing. There are a lot of moving parts-from the animals, to the displays, to performances, to lots of people interaction, and of course, the food. Take a moment and pray-not only for a good fair, but also a safe one. While you are at it, let’s pray for Cassie Linville, our 4-H youth educator and her crew. This is sort of the culmination of all their work all year long.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes you make a decision and then wonder whether it was a wise one or not? Diana and I were in that boat last week. We had scheduled a church family pitch-in for this past Wednesday and then on Monday we began to wonder if that was a wise choice or not. It was miserably hot. People were gone on vacation and if they weren’t, would they want to come out for a pitch-in? She put a survey on Facebook but even that didn’t tell us much. So, because we had announced it we decided, “Oh well. If only a handful of people show up, it will be worth it.” Surprise! Surprise! We had close to 50 people here and man, was there food left over! Once again, we were surprised. And we learned a valuable lesson: never
underestimate the power of drawing a crowd when there is food involved and people enjoy spending time together. 😀 Thanks to everyone who showed up. The next one is scheduled for July 30th.
Our Sunday with Will, Theresa, Ellie, Audrey and Tallie Reed was like all the others: extra special. Will does such a good job of presenting their work in Kenya and it was super fun to spend some time with Will, Theresa and the girls afterwards. Ellie fit right in with Sophia Kropack and Isabella Chambers. It was like they have been best friends all along. Audrey has this engaging laugh and Tallie is 3 1⁄2 (so she told me) and talked to me the whole time we were at lunch (except when she tired of me and then fell asleep in her mom’s arms). She asked me how old I was and telling her “pretty old” was not good enough. When I told her and she said, “Why Mr. Bill you don’t look that old,” she became my new best friend. Sadly, she didn’t say that at all. 😏 Theresa was telling me that the magic age for having chewing gum is 4 so she wants to know how old everyone is.
I just know this next announcement will break your heart (you ought to see Diana’s). THERE WILL BE NO MIDWEEK MESSAGE NEXT WEEK. It has been 6 years since I have seen any of my brothers. One lives in Camano Island, WA. The other two live in PA. I received an email from my brother, Rob, about maybe coming to see them. Not only has it been a long time, my brother Garry is going to have his 5th or 6th cancer surgery shortly. So following this Sunday’s worship, Jo and I will be taking off to spend the night in Columbus, OH. Monday we will head to PA where we will have a reunion with my brothers and their families. Wednesday we will head back to Columbus and spend Wednesday and Thursday night watching Braden play baseball. It will our last chance as he prepares for college life at Ohio State. We will be back, Lord willing, Friday. Your prayers for our safe travel would be much appreciated. The MM will be back full bore with all the Fair highlights the next week.
This Sunday my sermon is Taking God at His Word from Psalm 108-145, with a big emphasis on 119. The next Sunday will be Wise Advice from Psalm 146-Proverbs 18. I’ll look forward to seeing you both times. Love you all.
Pastor Bill