Text: 1 John 4:1-11

Mark your calendar.  Circle May 19^th because this is the day you need to leave open and plan on being at the church at 8:00 A.M. for a church workday.  Below is a list of some of the projects we can plan on taking care of.

1.      Remove wax off the carpet and pew cushions in the church.

2.      Clean the ice machine.

3.      Clean out the garage.

4.      Redo the area around the slide in the playground  (remove mulch and replace with new material, remove and replace landscape timbers.)

5.      Clean all baseboards.

6.      Go through all keys in Maggie’s office and get rid of unwanted keys, re-label good keys and rearrange on metal cabinet door.

7.      Clean kitchen area where needed.

8.      Trim shrubs around the church.

9.      If you look around just a little, there is always more to do.

The Board of Education is in need of volunteers for Vacation Bible School 2012.  This year we will be exploring how to “Trust God” through Sky July 16-20 from 8:30-11:30 am.  We are in need of lots of help in order to make VBS a success.

Here is how VBS runs…

The kids are placed in crews of about 5 kids of various grade levels (K-5^th).  During the week, crew leaders are in charge of leading the kids to stations, encouraging them to participate, and having tons of fun!  We need at least 20 crew leaders.  Even if you can’t help all week, your help is needed the days you are available.

Now, there are 6 main stations in VBS:  Opening/Closing, Chaddar’s Movie Adventure, Bible Story, Snack, Games, and Imagination Station.

There is also a Preschool VBS.  The Preschool VBS is a lot like elementary VBS; they also have crews that visit some of the stations.

Additionally, child care is provided to workers of VBS through the Nursery.

As you can see, there is something for everyone to help with at Sky VBS 2012.  If you have any questions or would like to help out in any capacity, please contactLeslie Pacherat 979-885-8297.

In March we were able to distribute food to 175 families, which helped feed 495 individuals.  We will always be in need of paper grocery bags. Please save them for us.

In the last several months, we have welcomed several new directors at the pantry; Pastor Lani Rousseau as a chaplain and coordinator and Beverly Victory as a coordinator.  Both are representatives from the First United Methodist Church.  We have also welcomed Betty Reptka, a representative from the First Baptist Church, and Mikie Ehret, a representative from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, as directors and coordinators at the pantry.  What a blessing!  Our family at the Pantry keeps growing to keep pace with our needs.  Let your coordinators know how much you appreciate the job they are doing representing your church.

Isn’t it amazing how things always work out for the better?  From the depth of our hearts, we thank everyone for their care, kindness, and generosity.  God’s Blessings.

Vernon Ekarius, Coordinator

As our faith is shaken at times by the so-called wisdom of this world, we may find ourselves asking that question at times when it comes to the resurrection of Jesus. It is a fact that is, of course, central to our faith. St. Paul puts it this way to the Corinthian Christians: “… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain and your faith is in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:14). If Christ didn’t rise from the dead, we might as well stop believing and deny our faith because it doesn’t matter anyway.

But Christ did rise from the dead. God’s Word gives witness to this fact and we believe it happened because we can trust His Word.

That doesn’t stop the world from trying to disprove the reality of the resurrection, however. In response to such criticism and to equip the saints to defend the faith, Higher Things magazine, a publication especially aimed at high school students, but plenty applicable to people of all ages, published an Apologetics issue recently. Apologetics is not apologizing for the faith, but defending it. One article, written by Rev. Jonathan Fisk, who is best known for his bi-weekly Worldview Everlasting videos on YouTube, wrote an article giving facts to support the scriptural account of the resurrection.

Here are some of the basic facts Pastor Fisk cites for evidence of the resurrection:  Jesus was a real human being. Jesus dies by crucifixion and was buried. Jesus had followers who took his death really hard. Jesus’ tomb was empty three days later. Risking death, the disciples preached in Jesus’ name. Why would they do that? Even antagonists like Saul (renamed Paul) convert. Christianity was founded in Jerusalem where all of this stuff happened, yet not a single person has ever been able to produce the dead Jesus’ body.

There is far more detail in the article than I can list in this space, but I encourage you to check out this issue of Higher Things magazine. You can download it for free at http://higherthings.com/news/apologetics-issue.html.

Stand firm in the faith. Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again!

In Him,

Pastor

Theme: Testing the Spirits

Text: 1 John 4:1-11

May 13

Theme: How to Overcome the World

Text: 1 John 5:1-8

May 20

Theme: Left Behind

Text: John 17: 11b-19

May 27

Theme: Even These Dry Bones Live

Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14, Acts 2:1-21

Text: 1 John 3:16-24

Text: Luke 24:36-49

Text: John 20:19-31

In February we handed out food to 226 families, which helped feed 626 individuals.  In 2010 we gave food to 2,328 families or 7,522 individuals.  We will always be in need of paper grocery bags.  Please save them for us.  Thanks to everyone who has saved egg cartons for us in the past.  Since we are getting our eggs from a different supplier, we no longer need to collect them.  They can’t reuse anything because of regulations and health reasons.

Now, let’s get down to talking about the February 21^st fundraiser.  What a wonderful experience.  What a great evening.  All I can say, if you weren’t there and missed it, you missed a very enjoyable evening of food and music.  So many people expressed their feelings on what a rewarding time they had.  “Thanks” to all for making this event such a big success.  We served around 210 plates and made a profit of $2,415.00.

We at the pantry, continue to strive to make life a little easier for the people that seem to have this extra burden to carry.  All of us, and you working together, under, God’s love and grace can accomplish great things.  Phyllis, Patsy, Samantha, and I want to say, “Thank You, Trinity” for your love, support, and generosity.

Vernon Ekarius, Coordinator