Category: OVCF News

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #137

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #137.  I know this is a busy week for you getting ready for Christmas so I won’t “bend your ear” too long this week. I was speaking to someone the other day and we were talking about Christmas. I asked her if she was ready and then I said, “Or are you like 90% of the people who aren’t even close?” She smiled and said, “Yep.”

That same person told me her husband would be taking off for Alaska. His family lives in Nome. If my geography is right (and that is suspect since it wasn’t one of my stronger classes in high school) that is almost as far north as one can (wants to) get. She said they go to a certain place, then take a small plane, and then get another small plane. I say all that so you and I can keep in perspective that what we have here is not cold. It is already in the minuses there.  So what we think is cold is sorta like tropical to them. What’s funny is that her husband said, “I may have been raised there, but after a week I’m ready to come back. It’s too cold there.”  Anyway, enjoy the cold this week.  It most definitely will remind us it is winter.

I’d like to remind you again about this weekend. We will have a Christmas Eve service from 6-7:00 and one service on Sunday from 10-11:00.  The Sunday service only will be live streamed.  I honestly think you will enjoy either or both (if you are a glutton to hear the message/devotion twice). Christmas Eve will take a different approach musically but other than that all will be the same. I honestly don’t believe you will be disappointed in either, since both will give you an opportunity to focus on the birth of Jesus.  The young people will also be taking part in the service so you won’t to miss that! And we will conclude both services with a candlelight service.

Also wanted to let you know that the office hours will be a little different this coming week. It will be closed the day after Christmas (Monday).  We will all be in and out at different times this week so call ahead if you plan or need to stop by.

There will not be a Midweek Message next week. I know that has you crying crocodile tears but both Diana and I will be in & out of the office during the week so I want to take the pressure off both of us. It is hard to believe 2022 will soon be history and we will be turning the page of a new year. I’m praying for big things in 2023.  One of the biggest things for me is preaching on Revelation. That series begins on January 8th.  I have been working on the outlines and introductions for the sermons to be preached during January and February. Here are a couple of things you might also like to know:

The theme for 2023 is VICTORY! Diana has worked hard on a banner for the series and after several drafts we have come up with one. I can’t wait to unveil it to you. In fact, here is the banner!

The theme for the series on Revelation is The Lamb Wins!  I think it is a very appropriate theme for the whole book, not just the series.

I plan to take a break from The Lamb Wins! during the months of March and April and focus on To and After the Cross. Resurrection Sunday is in April (the 9th), so I want to focus our hearts on the people who were and are affected by the cross and resurrection.  Then I will be back to Revelation 6 on the first Sunday in May.

By the way: someone has asked about New Year’s Day worship. There will be two services as usual.  What better way to start out 2023 than being with other people studying the Bible and singing songs of praise?

I said I wouldn’t go too long this week. I aim to keep my word.  So let me close by giving you something to think about this week:

One of the most moving pictures during this time of the year is not the movie It’s a Wonderful Life (although that can elicit some tears as he realizes what he has). It isn’t when Scott Calvin comes to fully embrace his role as the new Santa Claus. ☺  It could be the rendering of the biblical Christmas story by Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Actually, it is something written (but not the biblical story). It is a short story by O’Henry called The Gift of the Magi. I suspect you have heard of it or read it. Can there be any more moving story than Jim & Della, a young couple in love, married, and dirt poor giving up to give? Della’s hair was long and flowing; Jim had a family heirloom watch. She cut her hair to buy him the chain and fob; he sold his watch to buy her combs for her hair. O’Henry finishes his story with these words:

“Let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two are the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the wisest. Everywhere they are the wisest. They are the magi.”

Read the whole story: https://www.owleyes.org/text/gift-magi/read/the-gift-of-the-magi#root-218982-8

Jo & I pray you will all have a joy-filled and blessed Christmas season.  The amount of love God has for us to come in the flesh is so overwhelming. May you know it to the fullest!

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #136

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #136. We are inching closer to two weeks out of school, I mean, from celebrating Christmas. ☺  Thanks for your time.

I’d like to start off by asking you to remember our Educator of the Week: Cara King. Cara teaches Kindergarten at MCES and is part of our OVCF family. I know she appreciates your prayers. In fact, I know that all of our teachers do. Both teachers and students are ready for the Christmas break so it is a tough week to teach anything.

Speaking of schools, I want to take a moment and commend you (again) for your generosity. Operation Christmas Child saw over 60 shoeboxes delivered to Sherwood Oaks for distribution to children around the world. Next, we were able to serve close to 125 people during our Thanksgiving meal because there was so much food you helped prepare. Following Thanksgiving we focused our Christmas “gifting” on Backpack Buddies. Diana posted some pictures to the church’s Facebook group of the food you donated which will help over 200 students during Christmas break. Thank you so much! I also want to put out a huge thank you to Rob Babbs for his last minute fulfillment of boxes of crackers for each student to take home. I heard from Linda St. John that they had jars of peanut butter for the students but nothing to send with it. So I contacted Rob and he was able to order boxes of crackers for each student. The elders said the church would pay for them and now each student has a jar of peanut butter and crackers to take home on Christmas break. I mean, after all, what is a jar of peanut butter without crackers or bread? ☺ I’m honored to know someone like Rob, who at the last minute came through. Tell him thanks next time you see him (or send him a note).

I want to remind you again of the Christmas schedule. I’ll just put it here again for you to put on your calendar or refrigerator (which often passes for the calendar):

• Christmas Eve service from 6-7:00 pm
• Christmas morning service from 10-11:00

Here are the details about the services themselves:

• Both services will have singing, Communion, a short message/devotion from me, and a closing candlelight ceremony.
• The young people will be involved in both services. I’m excited to see what all they will be doing to make our Christmas celebration more memorable.
• There will be no children’s programs for either service. The nursery will be open but not staffed. We will have activity pages available for preschool aged children.

I’d like to encourage you to invite others to attend one of the services with you. There are two times when people are more likely to attend church: Christmas and Easter. This is a great, non-threatening time to invite your family and friends.  Spread the word to those you know. We don’t have the luxury of having a newspaper to help with advertising, but the best advertising is word of mouth.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Here is something for you parents who are looking for some time to do some Christmas shopping (or taking a nap as someone suggested) without the children “hanging around.” Jasmine St. John is offering a Parent’s Day Out this Saturday, the 17th, from 12-5:00 in the OVCF children’s addition. She will offer hot dogs/chips for lunch. Donations will be accepted to cover costs and any extra will go to our children’s ministry. Any questions? Please contact her at 812.821.4655.

Holidays always play havoc with scheduled activities. Here are a few of them:

• My Route 66 class will not meet on 12/14, 12/21, or 12/28. Study resumes on 1/4/23. (WOW! We are going to have to get used to that last number).
• Deeper will not meet 12/21 or 12/28. It resumes on 1/4/23. (I’m getting into practice).
• Roots will not meet 12/18-1/8/23. It resumes on 1/15/23. (I think I got the hang of it now).

Down through the years we have ordered Christmas devotional booklets for you to have. This year we ordered one called Jesus: Light of the World. It is 10 devotional thoughts from Our Daily Bread you can use for yourself, a friend or your family this Christmas. Please feel free to pick one up. We also have several different booklets left over from previous Christmases which you may have. They are on the back table in the auditorium.

I’ll have one more MM for 2022…next week. The week of the 25th I will not put out a MM because of both Diana and I being out of the office a couple of days that week.  Have a great rest of the week. Christmas is a time of remembering God’s love. Do that. But please remember than I love you also.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #135

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #135. I always consider it a privilege that you allow me to “invade” your inbox with my ramblings. So, thank you for being so accommodating. ☺ I have important things to share with you in this MM so I hope you will take the time to read it and not delete it immediately. Then again…if you did that there was no sense in writing that last line. See how my mind works…or doesn’t?  Anyway…

Please let me encourage you to pray for Tami Grandi this week as our Educator of the Week. I happen to know this one a bit better than the others, but I’m not sure why. ☺  I send a note to all of our educators and after she got hers she came knocking on my door at home and said, “You could have saved a stamp.” I told her, “Yeah, but I know how you like to get good mail.” Tami teaches Kindergarten at SES.

This past week I received an email from someone (she has asked to remain anonymous so I will honor her wishes).  Here is what her email said: “After Thanksgiving I was exploring on my cell phone and ran across some comments from a couple of ladies in a senior housing project in Cunot. They were excited and thankful that ‘someone brought me a lovely Thanksgiving meal and I didn’t feel so alone.’ A third one chimed in and said she wished she knew where the wonderful meal came from and I remembered you (referring to me) saying that one of our drivers slipped up there. I just typed in ‘Owen Valley Christian Fellowship’ and left it at that. They all typed back how grateful they were, not only for the good food, but the thought of being remembered.”  This person then finished her email saying, “Sometimes we don’t get to see or hear how our actions affect people. And then other times we get a glimpse of how deeply a plate of food can cheer a lonely heart. Just thought I’d share that with you.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself. Jesus once said, “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.” (Mt. 25:35-36 NASB2020). When asked by His disciples when they did that He said, “When you have done it to the least of these, you have done it unto me.”

There is so much truth in Jesus’ words (as you would expect me to say). But just think about it for a moment: by receiving one meal these ladies heard of a church in Spencer who was the hands and feet of Jesus for them. They may never darken our church door, but that is not the point. The fact that we reached out to them made a difference to them.  And we followed Jesus. Thanks again to all who helped with the Thanksgiving meal. You were part of this email.  And thanks to the anonymous person who made my day by sending it to me.

Let’s switch gears for a moment. Okay, let’s switch celebrations. From Thanksgiving to Christmas. We have been telling you for a couple of weeks about our plans for the Christmas weekend. Here they are again:

• Christmas Eve (CE) service from 6-7:00 pm
• Christmas Morning service from 10-11:00

I have a few more details I can share with you.

• Both services will have singing, Communion, a short message/devotion from me, and a closing candlelight ceremony.
• Terrie MacMorran will be leading the singing on CE and Sunday morning will be the regular worship team leading our singing.
• The exciting part is that young people will be participating in both services. Some details still need to be fleshed out so I don’t feel as though I ought to spill the beans at this time. In fact, I guess I should just simply say, “Come to one of the services and find out what the young people are up to!”  ☺ I think you will be glad you did.
• We will close with a time of candlelight and song.

The last time Christmas was on Sunday, Spencer had a paper. That meant we could advertise that we were offering a Christmas Eve service. We had several visitors that evening, and even though they did not come back to worship on any given Sunday, it gave some an opportunity to worship and not feel like they left something out of making sure they had a meaningful Christmas and were able to look in the mirror and know they honored Christ in this most beautiful season. We, unfortunately, do not have the paper to do any advertising this time around, however, you can be the “mouthpiece” about our Christmas Eve service.  If you know of someone who is looking for a Christmas Eve service to attend, please invite them.

One more thing before I close: I have often told you how honored I am to be your pastor. The past 17 years have been the highlight of my 50 years in the ministry. Monday I was speaking to someone and he talked about the church. I’m going to capsulize what he said since it was said in our conversation and it was a long one (imagine that!). He said, “Bill, your church has done some pretty big things in our community. Your church has been the hands and feet of Jesus to many people and you have shown what it means to walk the walk and talk the talk.” I share that with you, not so we can get big heads and think “we are all that and more.” I share that with you because I find words hard to come by when expressing my joy to hear that about OVCF.  My continual prayer is that we will never rest on our laurels; that we will never sit back and say, “We have worked hard for years and now it is time to take a break”; that we will always see our community as a group of people who need Jesus; and that we will never get weary of doing good (I Cor. 15:58).  Thank you again for allowing me to pastor you for these past 17 years.

Lord willing, I will see you Sunday as we talk about The Unexpected Birth.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #134

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #134. Thanksgiving Day is history. Black Friday is (thankfully) a bad memory. Now we start gearing up for Christmas. Hard to believe isn’t it? It seems like not too long ago we were taking the Christmas tree and lights down, and here we are, putting them back up. Gives some credibility to just leaving them up all year ‘round I am thinking. ☺ Time flies when you are having fun…so they say. Anyway, thanks for joining me for this issue of the MM.

Please let me remind you right off the bat to pray for Kim Floyd, our Educator of the Week. Kim is a nurse at SES.

I bet you are just chomping at the bit to hear about our Thanksgiving meal!!

• First, let me say again a huge thanks to the five ladies who organized the whole event: Lizz Bixler, Nannette Edwards, Janet Jones, Karen White, and Stacy Wood.  You ladies did a phenomenal job of putting this together and in spite of concerns (which is normal), the day went off without a hitch.
• Second, thanks to everyone who volunteered-from cooking, to serving the meal, to putting together all the take-out meals, to working in the kitchen, to talking to those who came in to eat, to the delivery people (who were so efficient we were able to finish about 12:15), and last, but certainly not least, to the young people who stood out by the street and “advertised” our meal. Rumor has it that Charli Wood was dancing and Eli Wood (no relation) was encouraging people to come in.  Thanks to Eli, Kayden, Tanner, Cooper, Julian, and Charli for being our outside advertisement. As a side note, it was so good to see sons and daughters helping with deliveries. What better way can there be for young people to learn about caring for others than to see their parents model it?
• Now for the stats: I try my best to be as accurate as possible but I know some slip through the cracks due to setting up the deliveries, so please keep that in mind.  Meals delivered= 90.  Walk-ins= about 20. Meals picked up and taken= 10. Leftover food was also taken to the Owen County EMS and some were delivered to Cunot and Cloverdale Senior Apartments (these latter two were part of the 90 meals delivered).  All told there were close to 125 meals shared with others. While we had less come into the Lions Club to eat, we had far more deliveries than we ever had.  It was so exciting to see new faces mixed with the old faces to make it all run like clockwork.
• Special thanks to the Lions Club for the use (again) of their building. They have been so generous in allowing us to use their facility.  It is a great location.

Moving on from Thanksgiving, this is a reminder that this coming Sunday, December 4th, is the day we would like to have all the food for Backpack Buddies. The plan is to deliver it to the Middle School during the week. Looking at all you have brought makes me know why God has chosen to bless us in so many ways. Your generosity and concern for the young people of Owen County is a sight to behold.  Thank you!!

I know some folks are always looking for Christmas gift ideas.  May I suggest a copy of the ESV Bible? This past year I took a break from the ESV and used the NASB2020. Beginning with the first sermon on Revelation (January 8), I will be using the ESV for 2023.

Now for something a bit more serious that I think is important for you to know. As you can probably imagine, during Christmas we seem to be inundated with requests for help. It is hard to say no to people, so several years ago the elders set a policy for Diana, Pastor Ryan and me to follow. Unfortunately, it was needed, since people took advantage of us. To avoid that and to stop being part of the endless cycle of people calling every church and organization in town for help, we asked for help. Here is the policy we follow:

• When someone calls and asks for help- whether bills, gas, rent, travel, or food- we first ask them if someone from OVCF has recommended that they call. If they say no, then we politely tell them we are unable to help and try to direct them to several options. If they say yes (and give your name), we try our very best to listen and help. We will not give money to anyone. We might offer to help pay/pay on an electric bill or buy a gas card, etc. but they must be recommended by you. Some just hang up when we say that or when we say we will not give them cash.  We are not trying to be cold-hearted, but we are trying to be good stewards of God’s money, money you have given and entrusted to be used wisely. If you have any questions about this approach, please feel free to ask Diana, Pastor Ryan or me about it.

This coming Sunday is the last of the series of Feasts with a Purpose. It will serve as a great lead-in to the series which will run through January 1: Expect the Unexpected. As I mentioned Sunday, the pamphlets I ordered-Feasts of the Bible- have trickled in. I will put them on the back table for you to take. Developing the series has been a real treat for me, so I do hope I have been able to give you a bit better picture of the OT roots and how the NT age of grace is so much more meaningful. January 8th starts my series on Revelation. Yikes!

Speaking of Christmas (that was a couple paragraphs ago), please keep in mind the plan for that weekend. We will have a Christmas Eve service at 6:00 and a service Christmas morning at 10:00 only. Both will be somewhat different from normal fare, but identical, except for the music.  {Editor’s note: did you get that last statement? ☺ }  I know. I know. Sometimes I make absolutely no sense. I’ll tell you more in future MMs.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this, even though I know you have a busy schedule.  I look forward to seeing you Sunday, if not sooner. May you experience the peace, love and joy that we talk so much about at Christmas. You have to know love (John 3:16) because that is why we celebrate this season in the first place.  And never forget that I love you all (but definitely not as much as He did!).

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #133

Hello and welcome to MM#133. Due to the short work week, this will be a shortened version of the MM. (I know what some of you are thinking…shortened? When has Pastor Bill ever shortened anything?) ☺  So…here is your shortened MM.

First, pray for Karen Fisher, our Educator of the Week. Karen is from OVCF and is a bookkeeper at OVHS.

Second, I am so excited about this Thursday.  Our Thanksgiving meal for the community is planned and ready to go. All we need is people to come into the Lions Club or to ask for deliveries. We never turn anyone away who needs a meal.

Third, Thanksgiving Day reminds us of a very important part of every Christ-followers lifestyle: being thankful for all God has done and given to us. We can choose to grumble and complain or we can choose to be grateful. I can choose to praise or pout. I can choose to count my blessings or complain about what I don’t have. But I have noticed how much better life is when my attitude is one of gratitude for the simple things God has given me.  Family. Friends. Job. A ride on a bike. A night with friends. A good book or puzzle. Relaxing with Jo. Eating pizza or ice cream (yum). I thought I’d list specific things I am grateful for. May I suggest you do the same?

• A totally awesome, marvelously miraculous, startlingly surprising, graciously giving, forever faithful God who has never failed me through all my 70 years.
• Jo, my wife of almost 50 years (Lord willing on June 3, 2023). You are my jewel.
• Tami & Janna, my two daughters, whom no father could be more proud of. Braden my only grandson (who will soon have his license). AAAHHHH!! (think Home Alone).
• Ryan and his family. Hiring him in 2013 was the best thing we did.
• Diana & Jim. Diana and I started at OVCF at the same time. It’s been a good 17 years. ☺
• Wayne Akerson, Jeff Carlson, and David Robertson. Three men who serve as elders and whom I am more than honored to work with.
• OVCF volunteers who step forward in so many ways-both big and small (if there is such an animal). The list of volunteers and tasks is too numerous to mention. I take a chance of forgetting someone if I start doing that. Just thank you for stepping up.
• And TO ALL OF YOU…who have given me the opportunity to pastor you for 17 years.  Diana and I both start Year #18 this week. I have never enjoyed being a pastor in all my years than I have for these past 17 years. I am humbled that you have allowed me to love you and be your shepherd. I pray it continues with tons of victories.  I don’t say this emptily: THANK YOU!!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Day.  Eat. Spend time laughing with family and friends. Don’t watch any football. ☺ Above all, remember how good God is. Along the way, remember I love you.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #132

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #132! Thanks for hanging out with me for a few minutes.  I started out MM #131 with these words: “As I start writing this it is Monday and the sun is shining. Can you hear me saying, ‘please let it stay’?” Well, I guess you now see how much clout I have in the weather department. I couldn’t believe Saturday morning. When I came to the office it was cold but that was it. About an hour later I looked outside and AAAAAH snow was falling. I went to the Y trying to figure out what that white stuff was that was falling. As far as I’m concerned, it showed itself enough for the year. It can go back into hiding. But unless I miss my guess God is going to chuckle at that and show me who is boss. ☺

Be in prayer this week for our Educator of the Week: Mary Beckwith. Mary is back teaching at MCES after maternity leave and is juggling a lot of plates right now.  I owe an apology to Mary for a big mix-up on Sunday. Jo told me afterwards that I said Mary is our educator but prayed for Brianna, the educator from the week before. Sheesh! You would think I’m getting old by the way I make silly mistakes. Sorry Mary. I corrected it in the second service. Mary and family were gone this past Sunday celebrating with their former church as they dedicated their new facility. They built it debt free (Yay for them!!). Mary’s late mother always hoped for that to happen. I think it is cool that Mary honored her mother that way.

Just a heads up: At the beginning of Sunday’s sermon I mentioned a brochure the church purchased called Feasts of the Bible. I had ordered 30 and I’m thrilled to tell you we were “picked clean.” Since people from both services had a chance to get one (and I had asked one per household), we have ordered more for anyone else who needs a copy. We hope to have them soon!

And while I’m at it: thanks so much for the encouraging words concerning Sunday sermon. I am praying it lights a fire under each one of us to know more about who Jesus is from beginning to end.

It sure looks like the focus on Backpack Buddies is off to a good start! I can’t wait to see the faces of those who are in charge when we deliver all your donations! ☺  Someone came up to me before services started and was asking and talking about BB. They were so glad we were doing that this year instead of the Giving Tree. While the Giving Tree was a nice effort on our part to make Christmas happy for children and their families, the scope was limited. This BB collection will spread all over Owen County. Diana said Sunday there are about 210 young people who take food home on the weekend so they can eat. We will be collecting food until December 4th, then taking it to OVMS where it is stored and distributed. Kristen Portteus has a class that fills the bags each week and the JROTC classes help when needed. They are all to be commended.

Sadly the Owen Valley Patriots came up short this past Friday night against Monrovia. They finished the season at 12-1. They went further and set a new goal for future football teams. Thanks Patriots for a thrilling season! You played hard and never quit. You done us proud! ☺

We still need your help for the Thanksgiving Day meal. I just looked at the lists and we need folks who will help cook not just the turkeys and hams (if you need help buying one the church will do that), but also the sides. We can still use help with volunteers.  Please call the church office (812.828.9840) to see where you can help or contact Stacy Wood.

Here is your heads up for the week!! Christmas is on a Sunday this year. We plan to offer a Christmas Eve service, probably 6 PM, and then one service on Christmas Sunday at 10 AM. We are still working out all the bugs, but you can plan your Christmas gatherings around those services. We will keep you informed as we get into December.

Early in Sunday’s sermon I mentioned the commitment I made to God, to you and to myself about my study. For those who collect the MM, ☺ it was MM#99 where I communicated to you about that commitment. With the desire to do a series on the Feasts and then after the first of the year a series on Revelation, I thought I would reiterate that commitment to you again as to why I would take on some difficult (for me at least) projects. I’ll start by saying this: it is not unusual for me to read of another pastor who is retiring after 35 or 40 years. On April 13, 1975 I was officially ordained into the ministry by a church in Akron, OH. That does not count the years I preached while in college and the year I was an Associate Pastor after graduating in 1974. That means in 2025 I will have been an “official” pastor for 50 years. I’ve been asked lately when I plan to retire. The answer is, I don’t. There are several reasons why, but one big reason is I love what I do. I have no idea how long God will allow me to do this “pastor thing,” but I personally hope it is for a long time yet…I guess as long as I can be effective and remember how to put my shoes on. ☺  Anyway, here is my commitment to you. I’m not sure if I wrote this years ago or found it somewhere and kept it:

• I promise to keep doing original and hard work in my study. You deserve my best not the plagiarized words of someone else.
• I promise to maintain a heart for God. That means having a devoted time with Him. I prefer early mornings.
• I promise to remain accountable. I don’t want to live as a Lone Ranger.
• I promise to stay faithful to my family. Our nest may be empty but Jo is still a priority to me. She deserves my time, affection, and attention. My adult children and grandson do as well.
• I promise to be who I am. Just me. I plan to keep laughing, joking, saying things a little off the wall from time to time, being a friend, loving wholeheartedly, and making a few mistakes each month day.

There you have my “creed.” I love being your pastor and look forward, Lord willing, to more years serving Jesus hand-in-hand with you. I love you all.

Pastor Bill