Category: OVCF News

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #86

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #86. I hope your week is going well and you aren’t too swamped by all the “Christmas stuff” that has to be done.  Thanks for letting me into your inbox today.

If you came in person or watched online this past Sunday, you already know that I was not here.  We went to Ohio for a couple of days to visit family. Our original plans were to be in Arizona from November 16-21 visiting with my friend, Dave, of 3 Feet Please, who retired in November after 30+ years at the company he helped start.  It really isn’t hard to understand that…Indiana…Arizona. ..November.  He texted me this past weekend to tell me it was 80+ degrees there.  I held my tongue and told him, “Ha. It’s 30-40 here. Eat your heart out.” J  Anyway, we had to postpone that trip (possibly until March) due to Tami’s heart attack and Dave’s wife’s crazy schedule at this time of the year. She teaches disabled children in a public school.  But after preaching 49 out of 52 weekends this year, I needed a break, so we made arrangements to leave town for Ohio. Jo visited her sister in the nursing home on Friday in Sandusky (where it snowed on us as we drove) and we spent a lot of time with Janna and Braden.

Sunday was a real treat for us. We were able to attend Adventure Church with Mike and Ryan Laws. After 17 years at one church they began attending Adventure last August. Some of you will remember Mike, Trisha and Ryan coming to speak the last week of August about their journey through Ryan’s kidney disease and Mike donating his kidney to Ryan. Ryan is healthy and came through COVID really well with just a minor cough.  Mike also asked me to pass along to you: “Please tell your church hello and thank you again for keeping our family in your prayers.” I told him I would.  We enjoyed our visit to Adventure and it looks like they have found a good church family. But I have to admit that I missed being here and look forward to seeing you all Sunday. It is nice to know though, that when I am gone things are taken care of.  Thanks to Pastor Ryan for filling in for me. Jo thanks Crystal and Linda for taking care of the Power Point and Ryan and Diana for taking care of communion.

With Christmas just around the corner OVCF is like about every other church. Lots of hustle and bustle. I love that our building is being used by various organizations and groups throughout the month. Monday the Owen County Chamber of Commerce used the children’s addition for its monthly meeting and Christmas meal. All this week Seven Oaks Classical School is using our building in preparation for their Christmas production Friday and Saturday.  WRE uses our building on Tuesdays during the school year. We have a play group/Bible study group using the nursery some on Wednesdays. Thursday evenings, BOLD young adult ministry meets in the children’s addition. Sunday night’s ROOTS youth group meets here. Their final meeting for this year is Sunday, the 19^th.  However, with all that activity, the church office will be closed on December 24^th and 27^th.

Please keep in mind that we will be having one service on December 26^th. We will be meeting at 10:00.  We know that could be a Catch-22 for us. We could have a ton of people which could stretch our facilities (a nice challenge to have) or people may be suffering from post-holiday syndrome and fatigue and decide to stay home.  J  The nursery and youth programs will also be happening that week!

Congrats are in order for Brock Groomer and Tiffany Frye and to Jordan Kinser and Lindsey Sparks on their recent weddings.

One more thing before I close with a word of encouragement: We will not be having the Christmas breakfast for the community this year. Maybe next year.

I cannot leave this edition of the MM without sharing something I read Tuesday morning during my morning Encounter Time. It comes from Come Let Us Adore Him by Paul David Tripp:

“It’s humbling to write this, but it’s true: Jesus did what He did not because of something special He saw in us, but because of something holy and pure that was inside Him. The Christmas narrative simply removes from every one of us any reason for boasting. There was not and is not one person who has any ability to earn or deserve the greatest gift that was ever given…In three words Paul tells us what motivated Jesus’ journey from glory to earth: ‘He humbled Himself.’ “

“You and I don’t really expect powerful leaders to be humble. We expect a bit of arrogant swagger.  We expect some boasting of accomplishments and an enjoyment of the results of acquiring power. But the Lord of glory didn’t choose to bask in His glory; instead He emptied Himself, took the form of not just a man, but of a lowly servant man. What humility!” (Pages 86-87)

I have been praying for me and for you to have a fresh view of the Christmas story, for God to take the “tired story of Christmas” we hear every year and to let it come alive in my heart and yours.  I know He is doing that for me because I am asking in faith, believing He will. I also pray for you to experience that as well. I am totally blown away by this truth: “Jesus left what was His right, to guarantee for us a place that is not our right but is a gift from his humble hands.”  (Ibid-p.88)

I hope you have a good rest of the week. I love you all and look forward to seeing you Sunday.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #85

Hello! First, did you miss me? Well…did ya? Then again, maybe I don’t want to know.  As you
probably figured, I took the week of Thanksgiving off from writing a MM but I’m back! I hope
you had a grateful Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends, but most importantly with
God, the giver of every good and perfect gift.
We had a terrific Thanksgiving dinner at the Lions Club. In case you were unable to be here
Sunday and were unable to watch or listen to the live stream, I shared some stats from
Thursday’s dinner. Please keep in mind that these stats are as close as I can get since I am
involved in lining up drivers for deliveries.

• Deliveries totaled 77! That number includes personal deliveries with multiple meals at
  the same address. We delivered as far as Quincy and even the old Gosport airport. Some
  didn’t even know Gosport had an airport. I jokingly called it the “Gosport International
  Airport” but it was an airstrip on someone’s land. Fun fact: the one who delivered there
  had also taken flying lessons years ago when it was owned by another individual. That
  total of deliveries also included all the businesses which were open (gas stations, CVS,
  Dollar General, Sheriff and Police departments and EMT’s).
• Curbside pickup totaled 5! This was the first time we tried this. The jury is out on it since
  we told them to call me when they arrived and they came in anyway to tell me they
  were there.
• Eat in/pick up totaled 24! This is where my number is a bit shaky since we had people
  coming in to eat and others came in asking if they could have a meal to go. We had
  approximately 14 come in and ask if they could have a meal or meals to go. We gladly
  fixed them for them to take. One woman came in and asked for 4 meals and said how
  lonely it was to be celebrating Thanksgiving alone. At the last minute she got a call from
  family that they were coming. When she talked about being alone, one of our young
  boys went over and hugged her. Way to go Tanner Wood!

So if your math holds up better than mine, we served approximately 107 people (not counting
the leftovers which went to the EMTs). That is the most we have ever served! And we were
thinking we might have too much food. Speaking of which, we ran out of corn, green beans and
pies. But that was quickly solved. As it was we had one pie and a few slices left and no corn and
green beans at the end of the day.

• • Thanks to Jeanna Srinivasan and her mother, Marcia Morris for spearheading the effort
    this year.
  • Thanks to all of you who worked by cooking and baking turkey, hams, and all the fixins.
    Without you we would have been sunk.
  • Thanks to all who came to help serve, pack meals and be “used” wherever you were
    needed.
  • And a special thanks to all the delivery people. This is more of my territory so I need to
    say a special thanks to each and every one of you.

We received several thank you texts and notes of gratitude (cards and vocally) for our service.
To know someone was blessed by our ministry/service makes it all worthwhile. All of you had
help in making an impact in our community.

Someone said to me Sunday, “We are doing this for Christmas also, right?” I had to tell him no,
because we don’t yet have a coordinator for the Christmas breakfast. I’m going to step out on a
limb and say that this will be the last time an offer will be made for a coordinator. That leaves
just a few short weeks to get the breakfast together. And I will also have to re-reserve the Lions
Club building. So…any takers?

Several weeks ago I mentioned Caleb Hutchison graduating to fulfill his lifelong dream of
becoming a DNR officer. We have another milestone. Congrats to Shelby Wood for completing
her work for a Masters in Human Resources. She walks the plank at Purdue this coming
weekend. This was all while holding a full-time job; being a mom and dad to three active
children (Nikk is deployed right now); and (get this!) doing it with a 4.0 GPA! (In my dreams).
Way to go Shelby!

Something you might (will) want to remember: Sunday, December 26th (the day after
Christmas) we will be having only one service at 10:00. We are unsure of the crowd for that
day so that could be a challenge. Then again, since it is the day after Christmas it might not be
one at all. Each week our Worship Team commits to two services. It is time to give them a
break as well. Please mark your calendar. The youth program will continue as it normally does-
supervised nursery and youth classes.

This past Sunday I started a new series designed to lead us to a special time this Christmas. I’m
calling it “Expect the Unexpected.” My prayer is that this Christmas will hold special meaning to
and for all of us as we think again about the Unexpected Child who became a King.
Couple of extra notes: Jo and I will be gone to Ohio this weekend to visit our daughter and
grandson. Pastor Ryan will be preaching. Also, please be praying for Lindsey Sparks and her
family as they travel to Logan, Ohio for her cousin, Bryce’s funeral.

Have a great week this week. Love you all.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #84

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #84. I hope your week is going well as we dial in closer to Thanksgiving Day.  I hope you are taking time each day to write/say/express what you are thankful for.  I know I am thankful for you.

At this stage, I do not plan to have a MM next week since it is a short week and Thanksgiving Day and its celebration will be uppermost in most people’s minds. I’m guessing the last thing you will need is one more thing to occupy your time. J So I am going to try to get as much in this edition as possible.

I think uppermost in the minds of some is the upcoming Thanksgiving Lunch we are offering on Thanksgiving Day from 11-1:00 at the Lions Club. We had a tremendous influx of people this past Sunday who signed up to help out in some way. Thank you so much for rallying around this venture.

• I interrupt this MM to make an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. As of today (Wednesday), we have only 14 requested meals. We can add in the local workers (police, sheriff, gas station attendants, etc.) and still fall short of what we have had in the past. We, of course, have no clue how many will come to the Lions Club for a dine-in meal. We should know by Monday how many meals will be needed.
• If you are unclear about what I just said, please call the church office to ask Diana. She knows more than I do. J And if you know of anyone who might need a meal, please call the church office (812.828.9840).
• From Diana: Jeanna & Marcia have requested that the food arrive at the Lions Club between 9-10 a.m., hot and ready to be served. If you have questions, please contact Jeanna (812.821.7776) or Marcia (812.821.7786) for more information! J

Thanks again for volunteering to cook and serve in some way.

This next item is a tough one to write about, let alone explain it in writing. Except for last year’s pandemic, we have offered The Giving Tree during Christmas to make sure local children were able to celebrate Christmas. Here’s how it works: We are given names of families who are in need of help to provide gifts for their children at Christmas, and those names are adopted by folks from OVCF. It is all done anonymously, but the greater joy is found in giving. This year we have brought back The Giving Tree but as of this writing no names have been given. Diana wants the names by this Sunday so it gives her time to make the tags of items needed/desired by the children. The staff met Monday to talk about it and we are unable to explain why no names have been given, although we have our speculations.

• ANOTHER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!! This Sunday is the last day to give names to Diana of children in need. If no names are given, we will shut down the Giving Tree for the year. HOWEVER, if you come in contact with a family who needs help for their children in the next couple of weeks for Christmas, please contact Diana. Thanks to your generosity all year long, the church will be able to meet their Christmas need.

Speaking of Christmas gifts: Monday afternoon Pastor Ryan, Diana and I took the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to Sherwood Oaks in Bloomington (the collection site this year). Final tally is 64 shoeboxes for children! That is absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for your generosity and making it possible for children to hear the message of the Good News of Jesus’ birth.

Tuesday morning during my Encounter Time, I read the following story. I want to share it with you:

There was once a young girl diagnosed with a rare disease. Her days quickly went from going to school and playing in the yard to lying in hospital beds tangled with tubes. The doctors ran test after test and concluded she needed an extensive blood transfusion to survive. But finding a matching donor was going to be tough. The parents were tested, but the results came back negative. She had a little brother, and he was a match because they were family. The parents kept that information to themselves until there was other option.

One night while tucking him into bed, they told him. They didn’t ask him directly to do the procedure because of the pressure that would put on him. But reading between the lines he asked, “Can I have the night to think about it?” The next morning he told his parents he would do it. Soon the siblings were sharing a hospital room with tubes running between their beds. As the transfusion was about to begin, the little boy waved the doctor over.

“Yes?” the doctor asked. The boy asked, “How soon will it be before I die?” You see, the little boy thought that by helping his sister, he would have to give up his own life. And he said yes anyway.     Live in Grace-Walk in Love, Bob Goff (#320, p. 371)

I’m thinking I don’t need to make the application. You already know it.  Can there be anything greater to be thankful for than for God’s indescribable gift? I think not.

This Sunday completes my series on Attitude Check, on making sure our attitude is one of gratitude. The Sunday following Thanksgiving Day I will be preaching a series entitled “Expect the Unexpected.”

One more thing: on behalf of Pastor Ryan, Diana, and myself, thanks to the anonymous person who blessed each of us with a card. Please accept our thanks.  We love you and are thankful for you.

Have a great and meaningful Thanksgiving with your family and friends. And please don’t forget the “Giver of every good and perfect gift.” (James 1:17)

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #83

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #83.  I hope your week is going well and you are enjoying these beautiful fall days. This will be one of those “random” messages. Lots to say but no special order in any of it.

Some very special upcoming events which need your attention:

1. This coming Sunday is the last day to bring in your Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Monday the three of us (Pastor Ryan, Diana and I) will be taking the boxes to Sherwood Oaks church in Bloomington. As of Monday morning, there were two boxes left to be filled. If you would like to take one or both of the remaining boxes, please call Diana at the church office and she will make arrangements for you to pick them up.  I am so excited OVCF responded as we have. We will have a total number of shoeboxes for you next week!
2. Thanksgiving Day is quickly approaching where we will be serving our community a meal from 11-1:00. They have three opportunities to receive a meal. We can deliver it. We can make it available for curbside pick-up. They can come to the Lions Club and eat inside. We can really use your help though. We still have some turkeys and hams unspoken for to bake, as well as some empty spots for providing food. Sign-up sheets are on the back table for you to indicate what you would like to bring, OR you can call the church office (812.828.9840) and tell Diana what you would like to prepare. She has the list to inform you where we need help. We need several people who will help assemble the delivery and curbside meals. Also, I need some who will help with deliveries.
3. The Giving Tree is something we had to set aside last year due to the pandemic. Diana has a heart for the children in our community to have a Christmas they will remember. She gathers names of children (via their families or folks who know them) who need help in providing for Christmas. You can do two things to help make it successful. One, you can provide names of children who need help with Christmas gifts this year. Two, you can take one or several of the tags provided and purchase the needed gifts. Every year we have done this I have been amazed how much of a heart you all have for the children/families of this community. From giving names to buying gifts, your heart shows through. I anticipate this year will be no different. Look for The Giving Tree on November 28. Please start giving Diana names now if you know of a family who needs help. She needs all the info by Sunday, November 21.
4. Whether we provide Christmas breakfast is still up in the air. The deadline to let me know if you want to coordinate that is Sunday, November 28^th.

Life is a highway…or is that a puzzle? I guess that depends on who you talk to.  This is more of a personal note to you. Winter comes and it is sometimes hard to get outside. Then again, it might not be hard to get outside; it might be more of “who wants to go outside?” So we find things to do inside. For close to 20 years one of my winter hobbies has been doing 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles. Whether the snow is flying or it is just downright too cold to go out, I find my relaxation is doing puzzles. One of my favorite puzzles to assemble are train puzzles. I’ve done several Titanic puzzles over the years. I have several Back to the Future puzzles. But, and it is a seriously important “but,” there is only so much wall space. Jo is not as fond of my puzzles as I am so she has said, “No” to new interior decorating of our walls with jigsaw puzzles. Can you honestly believe she would do that to me? Wouldn’t you just love to walk into a house where all the walls are covered with train puzzles? No?  You’re no help. J Anyway, I have over 20 1000 piece train puzzles sitting in boxes. I assembled them, then after she looked at it and grunted, “Looks nice,” I took them apart and put them in Ziploc bags in the original boxes. I am looking for a good home for them. They are trains of all kinds with all different scenes. If you would like to work a jigsaw puzzle as a family or individual, I would love to give them to you. You can take as many as you want as long as you will work them. And here is the kicker: I don’t want them back. You can glue them or put them back in the Ziploc bags and save them for another day or pass them along to someone else.  And by the way, I do have some already glued that I’m willing to give to you to decorate your walls. J Just let me know and I can show you what I have by texting pictures to you.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner (do I hear some cheering from the student and teaching section as you read that?), I hope you have remembered to take some time to write down what you are thankful for.  I can choose to be grateful or to grumble. I can choose to praise or pout. I can choose to count my blessings or complain about what I don’t like.  Do you remember the scene in Forrest Gump when he is sitting at a bus stop and offers a lady a chocolate? He says, “Momma always said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’”  Forrest’s momma was right. I love chocolate, but I don’t like nuts in my chocolate. I try to avoid them whenever I can.  We are hit from life on all sides. Some things we simply can’t avoid.  But I have noticed how much better life is when my attitude is one of gratitude for the simple things God has blessed me with. Family. Friends. Job. A ride on a bike. A night with friends. A good book (or a puzzle). Relaxing with Jo. Eating pizza or ice cream, especially that! J Simple things which to some people mean nothing, but to me screams, “Blessings!”  I am grateful for you, my friends. November is an anniversary for me, Jo and Diana.  Jo and I moved here in November of 2005. Diana and I started the same time (she actually shadowed MJ a week earlier). So we start Year #17 this month. I am thankful for the prodding wife and the long phone calls with Caleb Petree which started this train rolling.  (For those of you not familiar with that story, I will tell it next week in MM#84). I can hear the excitement in your breathing already!!  Anyway, back to reality.  Don’t wait until Thanksgiving Day to express your thanks to God. Start today. In the meantime, know that I love you all.  Have a great rest of the week.

Pastor Bill

P.S.  Big congratulations to Caleb Hutchison on achieving his lifelong goal of becoming a conservation officer!!