Category: OVCF News

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #268

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #268. It is always good to chat with you and let you know some of what is happening at OVCF and with the people of our church family.

SUNDAY IS A DAY FOR US TO REMEMBER!

• • • Our 21st anniversary celebration is now in the history books. It will go down as a day of joy, laughter, reminiscing, visits from old friends who came back to celebrate with us, new faces, food (lots of it), and a walk through of our new building with the chance to write Scripture or prayer requests on the exposed lumber. Thanks to everyone who contributed in some way and made it a day to remember.
    • Just FYI: I saw some of the requests on the stud walls and if any of them come to fruition it will most definitely be a day of rejoicing.
    • Before any online giving had been tabulated, we had over $8000 given toward the Building Fund to continue the work on our addition. With the online giving, a total of $9444.28 was given!!
      Thank you!! 🙂
    • We crossed the 200 barrier in attendance. I had one of our visitors say, “Now I know why you need to expand.” Confirmation from a new voice is nice.
    • What’s next? We are still waiting for the outside doors to come in and then be installed. When that happens HVAC will soon be installed, with electric and plumbing to follow.
    • The entryway from our current building to the new building will not be opened until the doors come in (they are expected in 4-5 weeks) and our HVAC is installed, due to security and heating. With the weather getting colder it would be hard to keep our current auditorium comfortable, as well as be cost effective.
    • Meanwhile, if you would ever like to walk through the building, we invite you to come when the office is open and take a walk through. As you do we ask that you pray as you do so for God to do a mighty work in that place and in His people who are meeting there. We are already praying for lives to be transformed.
    • We have always strived to keep you informed and up-to-date and promise to continue doing so either from the pulpit, through emails, or through the MM.
    • Oh, by the way: here are some of the comments on the post-it-note board in the new addition. People were asked to comment on their impressions/thoughts.
      • • • 1 Service! More room to grow 🙂
          • I like 1 srvic (a younger child…at least I hope) 🙂
          • More open and meeting new people
          • More room for the pre-school class!! (heart emoji)
          • One service. Meet new people
          • Room for a fellowship area, space for growth (heart emoji)
          • Designated meeting space for adults that isn’t the children’s classrooms
          • Can’t wait to get to know more of my church family better! (heart emoji). Excited for space to serve others
          • I’m so looking forward to see the early service people we started with 21 years ago! Praise God for what HE has done. May we make Him proud.

Don’t forget to pray for Angela Mayle as our educator of the week. Angela is the inclusion teacher for the Kindergarten classes at SES. She helps students who are struggling with the basic foundations-spelling, math and reading. She has been married to Brent for 25 years and they have one daughter, Addison, a junior at OVHS. When Jo and I go to SES to read to the K classes it is not unusual to see Angela sitting on the floor cross-legged teaching the kids. I said Sunday that she has my ultimate respect for 3 reasons: 1) she is sitting on the floor; 2) she is sitting cross-legged; and 3) she can still get up from the floor! 🙂

YOUTH NEWS

• • • Several of our young people were given the Top Cat Award for this past 9 weeks of school. The Top Cat is given to students who are helpful, friendly, and show the school’s life skills. Congratulations to Sophia Kropack and Brantley Schneider for their award!
    • Tanner Wood has been chosen as VP of the Student Council at SES. That deserves a Big High 5 (which I got Sunday).
    • The Girl’s Cross Country season came to an end in Brownsburg this past Saturday. Alli Anderson and Aubrey Mangia ran well and both set significant PRs, going under 22 minutes. But no one advanced. Liam Hogan, a friend of many of our young people, also had a big PR and went below 17 minutes, but did not advance. Tom Mangia, Aubrey’s father, said they had a good day, but it is probably the toughest regional in the state.
      Well done and great season Alli and Aubrey!

Have you remembered to be praying for Anna East? Anna is serving with YWAM (Youth With A
Mission) in New Zealand until the middle of February.

I thought it was pretty cool when Sonia Clausman, Aaron’s wife and Elijah and Abigail’s sister-in- law, was able to share that when she was a child she was a recipient of an Operation Christmas Child shoe box!! We have said all along that in addition to receiving a shoe box, each child also receives a gospel booklet in their language of God’s love for them. Sonia’s family still lives in Pakistan and her father pastors a church there. An added bonus: this coming Sunday Aaron and Sonia are going to share their love for mission work, especially in Pakistan. They will be speaking about 10-15 minutes in each service. I look forward to hearing more. Join us please.

My sermon Sunday is The Impact of One Life from Luke 19-John 8. I’ll give you a preview. I’m going to speak about 5 lives that were changed by Jesus and why. See if you can figure out the 5. See you then. Know you are loved. 🙂
Pastor Bill

P.S. My 2026 theme: STILL THE ONE! More info coming!!

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!

• • • 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.

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

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #266

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #266. We are on the downslope heading toward a much-needed and much-welcomed Fall Break by all. There will not be a Midweek Message next week because of Fall Break, but please try to contain your disappointment. 🙂 Have a good rest of the week and a safe time if you are traveling.

Please be praying for Cara King, our educator of the week. Cara has been married to Brad for 34 years and they have two children, Cooper and Cambria. She is a Kindergarten teacher at McCormick’s Creek Elementary and has been teaching for a total of 30 years. Cara is also involved on our worship team and is the coordinator for the elementary classes in our children’s programs. I have it on good authority that she and Kris Samick are 3 days apart in age (but I won’t tell who is older or how old) and have been lifelong friends.

Another prayer concern: Anna East leaves for New Zealand for her mission trip with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) this Thursday. Pastor Ryan is flying out with her to help her on the initial flight and getting settled, then will be flying back on the 16th. Please pray for Anna’s time in New Zealand, that it would be fruitful and life-changing. And safe. And please pray for Pastor Ryan’s safe trip back home, as well as the whole East clan as they adjust to Anna being away on her trip.

I have some fantastic news to share with you (other than I have a birthday coming up)!! 🙂 By the time you receive this, the building materials will have been delivered and construction of the shell will have begun, weather permitting. That is a full week earlier than they predicted! It looks like our dream of over 7 years is finally becoming a reality. That also means we will have the much-anticipated blessing of being able to walk through the addition during our 21st anniversary celebration on October 26th.

• • • Two services (9:00 and 10:45 am) followed by a pitch-in dinner.
    • We anticipate a large crowd so if you would like to help and are able to, please park in the grass on the east side of the parking lot. Part of our future plans are to expand the parking lot to the east.
    • Remember: all giving that day will go to the Building Fund, unless otherwise designated. We will continue paying cash for the building as we move forward.

YOUTH NEWS

• • • The combined choirs had a music-filled afternoon this past Sunday. While I don’t have a complete list, I do know of several of our young people who were in the concert. Cecilia Arnold had a solo. Also in the concert was Aasha Srinivasan, Sophia Kropack and CJ Wood. I’m sure there were more, so if I missed someone please let me know.
    • Akaydia Beckwith represented OVMS at the state cross country meet on Saturday. She placed 269th out a field of 457 runners with a time of 14:03! Tad Nicholson was part of the boys’ cross country team at the state meet. The OVMS team placed 45th among 56 teams. Tad finished 384th out of 584 runners!
    • Akaydia also had a barrel race this weekend and finished 2nd and 4th in her classes.
    • Conrad and Calvin Keene are playing Fall baseball at the sports complex.
    • Skyler (5th grade) and Dax and Piper (twins) led the pledge at the last school board meeting. They are the children of Zach and Nicole Bell.
    • There is no Deeper on Oct. 8 & 15. ROOTS will not meet Sunday, the 12th. Enjoy your Fall break!

Operation Christmas Child has begun! Every year we have gladly taken part in putting shoe boxes together for children. This effort is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse and the goal is to show the love of Jesus to thousands of children around the world. You may pick up the shoeboxes and labels at the display in the hallway. Boxes are due by Sunday, Nov. 16th. If you have any questions, please ask Diana.

Brandon and Anna Chandler are new parents to Lydia Diane, born on 9/29 at 8:46 PM. She weighed 8#14oz, and was 21” long. Congrats to Brandon and Anna, as well as grandparents, Jason and April Chandler, as well as aunts, Gloria and Gracie. Justin and Stevie Chandler are also an uncle and aunt.

Kris Samick has set up two Meal Trains for families in the church. If you go to the OVCF Facebook group you will see one for the Chandlers (new baby) and one for the Pendleton family (Maverick is a 2nd grader at PES who has had brain cancer for over 2 years. He is back at Riley). The Meal Train is a great ministry and is much appreciated by the families who are shown this kind of love. Please contact Kris if you have any questions.

Something to think about: One of the outreaches we do for Spencer and the Owen County area is we offer a Thanksgiving lunch at the Lions Club. In a few weeks I will be coming to you for help in several different areas-delivery, serving, preparing food. I just wanted to give you a heads up that it will be coming.

I mentioned Sunday that my friend Dave passed away. He has been an important part of my life since 2016 when I was hit by a hit-and-run driver while riding my bike. When I first met Dave he was leading the 3 Feet Please organization that advocates for states to pass a law that requires drivers give cyclists 3 feet when they pass. He has made several visits here, been generous to OVCF, and has met many of you. He was one of my best friends, even though he lived in AZ. In February of 2024 Jo & I spent a week with him and his wife, Susan having fun and visiting Sedona and the Grand Canyon. It was less than a week later I received a phone call from him and soon found out he was hospitalized with an aggressive glioblastoma. He fought valiantly for 18 months but last Monday night/Tuesday morning he finished his fight. Our last time together was in March when they came to visit and spend a few days with us. Sometime in November Jo and I will be going to AZ for his celebration of life. In the meantime, would you please pray for Susan and her family? Thanks.

My sermon this Sunday is entitled Keeping Things in Order from Matthew 22-Mark 7. I look forward to seeing. Until then…know you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #265

Hello everyone! Welcome to Midweek Message #265. We can definitely tell Fall is in the air. Cooler mornings. Warmer afternoons. Cooler evenings. I appreciate you taking the time to read this.

Please pray for our educator of the week: Tami Grandi. Yeah, I tend to have a personal knowledge of this one. 🙂Tami is in her 4th year teaching Kindergarten at SES. Before that she taught at Fairview Elementary in Bloomington. Before moving here to take care of her aging parents, she taught in the Knoxville, TN school system for 15 years. She is a big fan of Ohio State sports, but does attend IU women’s basketball games with friends. She is also, sadly, a huge fan of the Atlanta Braves baseball team (much to her dad’s dismay and embarrassment).

It was a great day to witness the baptism of Eli Wood this past Sunday! Congrats, Eli!

YOUTH NEWS

• • • First up is a correction. In last week’s MM it said that the OVHS girl’s XC team placed 7th out of 10 in the race. It should have said they placed 7 runners in the Top Ten of the meet. I apologize for that mistake.
    • This past weekend both Alli Anderson and Aubrey Mangia ran well for the OVHS cross country team.
    • This will be a big weekend for the OVMS cross country team. Akaydia Beckwith will be running in the State Championship. Tad Nicholson and the boys’ team will also be competing in the State Championship. We are proud of you!!
    • Upwards soccer season has come to a close. Jo and I were able to watch Hudsyn Biggs, Alexander and Isabella Chambers, Conrad Keene, Jordan Mangia, and Barrett Zigler play Friday night. We celebrated with Hudsyn, Alexander, Isabella and Barrett when they scored goals. Izzy had three and Hudsyn had two. It was Barrett’s first goal of the season. It was fun watching them! Two of our other young people, Boston and Berkley Groomer, were registered to play but Boston broke his arm just before the season was to start so that was a big NO for playing. I’m betting they will be ready to play next year.
    • Julian Carson (grandson of Mike & Nannette Edwards) had a monster day playing with the Canes 11U baseball team over the weekend! He had two triples, a double and a single!
    • If you get the Friday Fun Facts that Kris Samick puts together and mails out for S-OCS, you would have seen that PES had a family picnic day. You would have also that seen Joe & Emily Pavich and their three, Charlotte, Thomas, and Margaret (the latter two are twins) were featured. The picture looked like the three young ones were busy while dad was taking it easy. 🙂

FUTURE CHURCH-WIDE EVENTS

• • • Operation Christmas Child is an annual event we love to be involved in. This Sunday shoeboxes will be available in the hallway for you to take and fill to help a child enjoy a Christmas very few of them have a chance to celebrate. Along with the box they also receive a short presentation of the Gospel message that Jesus loves them and that He is the ONE who is behind the giving. If you have questions, please talk to Diana! 🙂
    • This is just a heads up for you!! Thursday, November 27th is Thanksgiving Day. I would love to revisit our annual Thanksgiving meal for the community! More information will be coming soon!

The biggest news of all though is scheduled for October 26th when we will be celebrating our 21st anniversary as a church family. God has blessed us so much in those 21 years! We can tell you that we will have two services that morning followed by a pitch-in. We are also hoping the shell of the new building will be up so you can walk through it and see what God has enabled us to accomplish. I will tell you more when we get closer. But for now, please circle that date on your calendar: October 26.

• • • One really important item about that day: all giving that day, unless otherwise designated, will be for the Building Fund so we can continue finishing the project. For those who may not know: we made a commitment to pay cash for the new building so we can stay debt-free. We believe God will bless that desire.

I have a story to tell you about the way God works, especially when it amazes us beyond our wildest dreams. Seventeen months ago on April 18, 2024 I lost a dear friend after his 15 year battle with cancer. I met Jim when we lived in Terre Haute and we became fast friends and rode a lot of bicycle miles together. When we moved to Sandusky, he and Tina came to visit and would also spend a day at Cedar Point. When we moved here, we would go back and forth visiting and riding (and, of course, eating). He and Tina moved near Whiteland to be close to their daughter and grandsons and as his cancer reared its ugly head again, Jo and I would drive to visit. Our final trip there was April 18th and we were less than 5 minutes away when Tina called to tell me Jim had gone to heaven. I still think about him, especially when I ride.

Fast forward to two weeks ago when I was asked to pray for Keaton Jackson and brought you on board with that request. As I was texting with someone who knew Keaton and his mother, Jessica, she said that she and Jessica were looking for a Sunday when they could come because Jessica thought it would be “cool to come hear her dad’s best friend preach.” I was stumped so I asked who Jessica’s dad was. You probably already know where this is going…it was Jim. Jessica was his daughter from his first marriage. I knew of Jessica but had no idea of her married name. I look forward to introducing you to Jessica and Keaton someday.

My sermon Sunday is entitled In the Right Place from Matthew 5-21. Yes, you read that right. Matthew. The New Testament. 🙂 I look forward to seeing you there. Until then…know you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #264

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #264! Thanks for joining me this week! I hope your week has been going well.

Please remember to pray for our educator of the week, Hannah Foster. Hannah teaches and is also the director of the daycare at Sweet Owen Industries. Hannah’s husband, Matthew, is currently deployed in Kuwait and is hoping to be home in January or February. They are the parents of 10 month old James. While praying for Hannah this week, please remember to pray for Matthew as well.

What a privilege it was to hear Eli Wood make his confession of faith before the church in the second service. Eli will be baptized on Sunday at the YMCA at 12:50. We invite you to join us there as Eli’s new adventure really begins.

I’m excited! For the past 6-7 years, I have been reading to the Kindergarten students at several of the elementary schools in the S-OCS system. This week starts the monthly adventure all over again. In fact, by the time you read this I will have read to SES and GES for the month of September. Pete the Cat and the Lost Tooth was this month’s selection. Pastor Ryan reads to the K students at MCES (He read to them today!). I know he loves reading to his students as much as I do to mine.

Speaking of reading!! Something new is cooking at PES! The new 3rd grade teacher grew up across the street on our cul-de-sac in Terre Haute. Ashley was a red-headed spitfire who was an absolute delight to have as a neighbor and to also see at the church I pastored on Sundays. We moved away in 2000 and had not seen her since. Tami told us Ashley was a new teacher at PES, so when I took the K books out last week, Jo and I arranged with Kris Samick to be able to visit Ashley. It took her a minute to realize who we were. It had been 25 years since we had seen her and we haven’t changed a bit so it must have been her 39 year old brain. 🙂 When we stopped in to see her, many of the class remembered me reading to them 3 years ago. One of them was Charlotte Pavich. We are working on reading to her class once a month, but obviously not the same books I read to the K classes. We are actually working on team reading (Kris, Ashley, and myself) the C.S. Lewis book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I absolutely love that book and it is a great book to get third grade imaginations pumping.

YOUTH NEWS

• • • The OVHS cross country team is on fire! They placed first in Saturday’s meet at Greencastle and placed 4th in the Top Ten. Aubrey Mangia finished 7th and Alli Anderson 8th to help the team do so well.
    • OVMS cross country news: Akaydia Beckwith qualified individually for the girls’ MS State Championship. Tad Nicholson and the boys’ team qualified for the MS State Championship as well! We have some very talented young people at OVCF. 🙂
    • Jo and I were able to watch Alexander and Isabella Chambers, Conrad Keene, Jordan Mangia, and Barrett Zigler play in the Upwards soccer league Saturday.
      (Man, was it hot!). Their final games are this Friday night. Starting times are unknown at this time. Following the games (which will also include Hudsyn Biggs who was gone Saturday), they will receive awards for playing, then have a big bonfire. If you are free and want to watch and support some of our young people having fun, make your way to the Upwards soccer field just past the 43/46 intersection. Games last 1⁄2 hour.

NOW FOR SOME CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS!

• • • Tonight (Wednesday) is the Church family pitch-in at 6:00. I look forward to seeing you there.
    • Sunday: B-Town worship night at Switchyard Park at 6:00. This area-wide event is open to all ages. For more info you may go to their Facebook page (B-Town Worship Collective) or ask Pastor Ryan.
    • Anna East leaves for her four month YWAM (Youth With A Mission) trip to New Zealand on October 9th. Make sure she is on your prayer list.
    • OVCF’s 21st anniversary celebration is on October 26th!! I will have more details as they develop in upcoming issues of the MM. Meanwhile, please set this date aside. Two worship services. One big pitch-in. Important detail: The offering that Sunday will go to the Building Fund (unless otherwise designated) to help complete the building addition.

SOME PRAYER REQUESTS:

In MM #262 I mentioned that I was going to try to keep you up to date on some of the prayer requests we receive, especially after Sunday. Here are a few you can remember:

• • • Brenee Helderman is moving to Green Bay, WI to live with her sister. She has received a preliminary diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
    • Bobby Anderson and son-in-law, Logan Cain, left yesterday (Tuesday) for Camp Pendleton, CA. They will be driving a huge Penske truck and hauling a car on a trailer for the 3000+ mile trip. Kathryn will be flying there on Friday with their two dogs.
    • Jane Schneider, Will’s mom and Janet Jones’ sister, has been fighting a glioblastoma for about two years. She is at the Majestic Care facility in Bloomington.
    • Keaton Jackson, a friend of Nate Rode’s, has been fighting cancer since he was 7. His most recent chemo shows no improvement on his cancer. In fact, it is wrapped around his spinal cord and impinging it. Surgery for that is Wednesday (today). He is 14.
    • Rylee Robb, Sherrie Pavich’s great niece, began her chemo last Wednesday for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Rylee and her parents were baptized two Sundays ago in Lake Michigan.
    • Brenda Willis (Sierra Floyd’s grandmother) and Lester Schenck (Dave’s dad) both met Jesus this past weekend. Pray for the families.

My sermon Sunday is The End and the Beginning from Habakkuk 1-Matthew 4. I look forward to seeing you. Until then…know you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #263

Hello everyone! Welcome to Midweek Message #263. I hope your week is going well and you are enjoying an extra measure of God’s blessings.

Remember to pray for Gabrielle Corder, our educator of the week. This is her third year teaching Kindergarten at Gosport Elementary School (GES). Gabby has been married to Caleb for 3 years and they have a 15 month-old daughter, Charlotte. Caleb and Gabby have gotten involved in the Gosport community since moving there and were both involved in the recent Lazy Days Festival. Both have been baptized since coming to OVCF 3 years ago. 🙂

A COUPLE OF DATES FOR THE CALENDAR:

• • • Teen Worship Night at the East’s Friday, September 19 from 6:30-9 PM. Dinner followed by worship. All MS and HS students are welcome.
    • Next OVCF family pitch-in is Wednesday, September 24 at 6 PM.
    • Btown Worship Night at Switchyard Park- 9/28 at 6 PM. NO ROOTS. All invited to the worship night event.

OVCF’s 21st anniversary celebration will be October 26th

• • • Two services- 9:00 and 10:45
    • Pitch-in meal to follow
    • Walk throughs are planned for the new addition. You will have the opportunity to see where different rooms will be located.
    • We invite you to write Scripture or prayers on the unfinished walls in the auditorium.
    • All giving that day, unless designated, will go to our Building Fund to help complete the addition.

YOUTH NEWS:

• • • Congrats to Tad Nicholson. He ran in a cross country meet this past Wednesday and placed 6th for the team and 9th overall. His time was a personal best.
    • I went to a MS volleyball match last Thursday. They girls played hard but lost the first two games. They were without several of their starters. One was Rusti O’Neal, who was thought to have a concussion. (She did). Get better, Rusti! Amelia Biggs is a manager on the team.
    • Saturday the OVHS girls ran in a cross country meet in Brown County. Alli Anderson ran well for OV and had a personal best. Aubrey Mangia ran well until a fall interrupted her on the course.

I purposely held my thoughts to a minimum in order to include the remarks I made Sunday about the events of the past week. I was asked to say something and because I never want to talk politics from the pulpit, I wanted to make sure my remarks were just that: non-political. I appreciate all the positive feedback I received, but since some of you were not able to hear or to watch, I thought I would include them here:

This past week our country has faced some horrific events. On September 11th we commemorated the most devastating attack on American soil when two planes hit the Twin Towers, one hit the Pentagon and one was taken down early in a field in PA. 2977 precious souls lost their lives in the attacks. This past Thursday was the 24th anniversary of that attack. (I hope you took some time to remember). Bookending that remembrance was a brutal attack of Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska by a man who should never have been on the streets, and the assassination of conservative commentator and Christ-follower, Charlie Kirk. Sadly, the use of video has brought both the stabbing death and the assassination to our eyes and to be forever burned in our memories.

For various reasons very little was said about the stabbing death, possibly due to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I don’t care what political persuasion you are and how you feel about him. What I do care about is the response to his death. From celebration to extreme sadness and tears, I am glad that except for some rogue people, people across the aisle are appalled at the senseless killing of another human being.

What has me disconcerted is the hatred and vitriol spewed out about his death, both locally and nationally. What is even more appalling to me is that some of this is coming from those who call themselves Christians. You may not have agreed with his views, but no one should rejoice in the death of another, especially one who follows Christ. Two weeks ago in a sermon on pride I said, “Pride rejoices in an evil person’s death.” I mentioned how some were not sad that Ozzy Osbourne had died. It saddens me (as well as maddens me) that those who call themselves Christians can rejoice over the death of another. The hatred and mean words must stop with each one of us. Ironically, while all this was going on, there was a revival taking place on the campus of Ohio State University, where our grandson attends, with hundreds of students coming to Christ and being publicly baptized. THAT is the solution right there: giving our hearts and lives to Jesus.

Instead of hatred I suggest we pray. We need to pray for a move of God in our country. We need to pray for the family of Iryna Zarutska. We need to pray for Charlie’s widow and 2 young children who will now grow up without a dad. We need to pray for our own hearts, and ask God to help us get rid of any hate we carry toward anyone, to learn to forgive and live as Christ would have us live. If you have spewed out some of that hate, you need to repent because that is not the way of Jesus.

I can remember after 9/11 the politicians who could not see eye to eye on what was the best thing to eat for breakfast, standing on the steps of the Capitol and singing together, “God Bless America.” Was it for show? Possibly. But it told us that we need God’s blessing on our country. I would also add that we need to start saying, “America, bless God.” We need to turn our hearts to Him and pray for Him to work in the hearts and lives of each of us, especially His people. I still believe in a God who can change this country around and bring peace and healing.

This Sunday’s sermon is God’s Unfailing Love from Hosea 1-Nahum 3. I look forward to spending time with you. Until then, just know you are loved.

Pastor Bill