Category Archives: Church

Say What?

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Last Wednesday evening, the youth program celebrated a Rock Bash.  No, they didn’t bash rocks directly or against anything else.  The ROCK (Raised On Christ Kids) is the name of the Wednesday evening program for the younger set.  In addition to the children from our congregation, we have participation from two or three other congregations.  Caroline, a high-energy mom leads this program with infectious enthusiasm.  It’s a ton of fun, but it is also serious when it comes to the Bible stories and application of spiritual principles.

Did I mention that it is a ton of fun?  The leaders were all tricked out in wild clothes and with hair to match.  Steve, the lead guitarist had socks on his arms that looked like his arms were covered with tatoos.  He also wore a wig over his short hair.  The hair of the wig fell over his shoulders and down his back.

The kids were putting tint in their hair–bright pink, green or orange.  Wendi was taking pictures of the kids as they were ready.  Caroline put a shirt over Sylvia’s T-shirt and a wild scarf around her head.

After that Sylvia came near Wendi, and Wendi said something to her.  Here is Sylvia’s reaction:

Girls just want to have fun . . .

I’m not sure that Wendi took this shot maybe it was someone else.  All I know is that a couple of gals came rushing into the room where we were about to start prayer meeting.  They said, you’ve got to see this as they handed me a print.  Sylvia will only know about this when she sees this post today.

What do you think Wendi said to Sylvia?  What was Sylvia’s [verbal] response?  Will I be in trouble when Sylvia sees this?
 

Sunday at The Summit

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Sunday afternoon, Sylvia and I went to see our son, Bryant, and his family, Barbara and Briana. Barbara had prepared a very nice meal to celebrate Sylvia’s birthday. Briana made a chocolate pie with whipped topping. It was all very good. We always look forward to our visits with the 3 Bees.  After the evening meal, we went to their church.

Briana went on a mission trip to Mexico with a several of the kids from her youth group. The group meets Sunday evening at The Summit. That’s the name they’ve given to their meeting place. Some of the kids were going to share a bit of their experiences on the trip, and there would be video and still pictures of their 10-day trip. We arrived well ahead of the 6 PM start time.

The High-School kids led the worship service. We all enjoyed a rousing good time of upbeat music with a solid message. As you can see, the young folks all gathered at the front and we all stood for the singing. It was wonderful!

Later we all sat down and some of the young folk that went on the trip shared with us. Several of them started by saying they didn’t really want to go when the time came, but were so very happy that they did go. It was obvious that many of them had life-changing experiences during their time in Mexico.

One young lady told of troubles that she had at home and at school and how she had even come to question the very existence of God. She read from her personal journal of a conversation she had with God. She had written, “Lord, I really need to know that you are there. I need to feel your presence.” She went on to say that she had written those lines just before the earthquake struck. Another one had a similar experience on earthquake day.

The leaders also told their stories of what had happened and what they had seen. There were videos and pictures for us to see. It was a very uplifting experience.

The adult leader said that Riane McConnell (a friend of Briana) would close the meeting with a song that she had written. She sang a beautiful song about letting go and surrendering. Riane is one talented gal!

Then it was over. I looked at my watch — it had to be wrong. Could we have been there two and a half hours? It seemed like a very short hour. What a blessing we received at The Summit.

I Did It! – Monday ~ Last Weekend

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It is quiet around the house this Monday morning. The weekend was a different story. On Friday, we celebrated the birthday of Sylvia’s father. We probably would have done it earlier, but one of Sylvia’s sisters was out of state. The tradition is to meet in Mt Pleasant (Michigan) for the celebration. We have no roots there, but it is a convenient location, being about midway between Sylvia’s sisters.

We meet at a restaurant to eat. After that, someone stops for ice cream and we proceed to the park. We stop at a picnic table near the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial. (Interestingly, one of Sylvia’s brothers-in-law is a Vietnam vet and a retired Lt Col.) There we have the ice cream and one of the sisters brings a cake. This year, Karen brought a homemade German chocolate cake. Super good. We visit the memorial, go for a walk and talk a lot with each other. Then, as the sun is going down, we leave for our homes. It is always a very good day.


Saturday, our church held its annual Hog Roast. The gals had started Thursday preparing food. On Friday, they wrapped up most of the preparation. Saturday after lunch, the guys started cutting up the hog, which was well cooked by then. Sylvia and I worked on the serving line from 4 to 5. After that we had a bite to eat and visited the vehicles at the car show that we held in conjunction with this year’s event. There was also an antique appraiser present, and he did a bit of business, but not as much as he did last year.

At 7, we were back on deck for clean up. We also did setup for Sunday.


The Hog Roast took place in our community center building, which we call the Ebenezer Center. Yesterday we began holding our church services there.

Sunday was Sunday-School Rally Day — this year’s theme “Launch Into a New Adventure.” Sylvia is the Director of Christian Education, so she was a busy gal. After worship service, we have Sunday School. There were kids to promote to new classes. Every class has a new meeting place. We got through that and then we had a paper airplane contest. After that we had rocket launches on the ball field. No church activity of this type is complete without a carry-in dinner. For that reason we wrapped up activities with a dinner. I helped with cleanup and went home. Sylvia came along a couple of hours later. She was tired, but there was a smile on her face. It had been an excellent weekend.

I Did It! ~ Monday

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Dewey Fox and me.


Yesterday, Sunday, I attended a church where I was the pastor for one year. It was their final service before closing the doors after 129 years. The meeting was upbeat, and the message was brought by a fellow I’ve known since we were in High School. His one word to the congregation was, “Continue!” I also had the chance to see some friends from 32 years ago. One of them was Dewey, who is now retired from dairy farming. Our children had been friends, and his wife had given my older son, Bryant, piano lessons. It was very good to talk with this dear fellow. They had a nice dinner afterward, which really hit the spot.


After coming home, I accepted his invitation and called the Crotchety Old Man. He’s in the hospital with failed kidneys. We had a very nice chat, and it was good to put a voice to Da Old Man.

Truth be told, he doesn’t sound very crotchety to me. Could it be he’s just putting on a front trying to make us think he’s mean? That would be my guess. But your mileage may vary.

Best wishes to you Old Man. You blogger buds out here are praying that you’ll soon be back on your feet.

I Did It! ~ Interviews in Spanish

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This happened Saturday in Holland, Michigan. Sylvia, Rey (an Hispanic pastor in West Michigan) and I conducted annual interviews of Spanish-speaking ministerial students. We had three other members on the interview team that spoke only English (Dennis, the team leader; Adam, an Anglo pastor and Clint, an intern). Our leader spent some time with the interviewers going over the process and what he wanted us to cover in the interviews. After that, we met with the students in a large group.

Then we held the interviews (Sylvia, Rey and I led sessions). Clint, the intern, sat in with me. I have known two of the three students that I interviewed for about a year and a half. The interviews went well and took a bit more than an hour to complete all three.

Then we all went for lunch at a Chinese buffet. If that sounds strange, I estimated that between 60 and 75% of the folks there appeared to be Hispanics. The food was great! I found some salmon that was particularly good. We sat at the tables for a while after we finished eating just enjoying being together and talking about things of common interest.

It was a great day.

Supper’s On at Church

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Kathy & Ken at their retirement party.


Wednesday evening services at our church used to be this way: The adults met in the church sanctuary for Prayer meeting. The young children met in the basement for their fun, crafts and lessons. The teens met at the parsonage. The three groups didn’t get together. That all changed when Kathy & Ken retired after careers in the US Postal Service. Ken had a rural route.

Kathy is a former Post Master, an organizer, leader of children’s ministries and very talented chalk artist. She’s also more than a little bit handy in the kitchen. Did I say she can organize?

Our church had just finished construction of our large fellowship hall. We held a retirement party for Kathy and Ken at the hall. Kathy wanted to start something new. Everyone agreed that it was a great idea. Many were willing to become a part of making it a reality.

Her idea has revolutionized Wednesday evenings for all of us. It works this way:
At 5 PM, Supper is ready. Kathy and her crew of volunteers have prepared it there in our commercial kitchen. It’s always tasty and nutritious. This week we had homemade pizza. Yum yum! Another time it could be meat loaf or scalloped potatoes and ham. There will be plenty of fresh fruit and veggies — even hot peppers for those of us who like such things. Garden salads are regular menu items. A variety of beverages are available. Don’t forget dessert. Leave a donation as you fill your plate. Thank you, that will cover the expenses.

You’ll probably see Carmen with her coat on and a large box in her hands. She heads for the door and her car. She’ll be back after she delivers some meals to our friends that aren’t able to get out to be with us.

Now find a seat at one of the many tables. If your friends aren’t already there, they soon will be.

For about an hour folk come in — some having just gotten out of work. We sit around the tables and the adults talk.

The children eat and are soon at play. In warm weather, they go out to the playground and enjoy the swings and slides and climb on the playscape under the watchful eye of an adult or two. This time of year they stay inside and soon the noise level increases.

One hears sounds of joy, squeals of delight, shouts of surprise, and once in a while, a yelp of pain. Someone has fallen. Mom, or another adult, comforts the fallen and makes sure they are okay. The play continues . . . Too soon it is time for the children to leave and go to the church basement for their special program. The teens head for the parsonage for their time together.

Already a crew of volunteers have been doing clean up of tables, chairs and floor. The kitchen crew is cleaning up their area. Other adults head to the conference room for Prayer Meeting and some stay behind for a Bible Study with our pastor.

We love to see visitors from the community come to visit us. They are welcome. So are you if you can make it.

Hungry? I am.

My Wife Left Me

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That’s right, my wife of 47+ years left me in the middle of the night. And here I am alone.

It’s not as bad as it may sound. She is off on a mission trip to Central America. The team met at 1 AM and then drove to Detroit to catch their plane.

Sylvia will be helping to build a church in a Honduran village. She will also be the interpreter for the team. It should be fun. Hard work, but very satisfying fun.

She’ll come back. She always has. If you have moment, say a prayer for her and for the mission team from Sunfield, Michigan.

Thanks. We all appreciate it.

A Frigid Saturday ~ For Horses & Cats

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Yesterday, was supposed to be the Annual Sleigh Ride, Chili Dinner, and Silent Auction at the West Berlin Church. Friday had started well, but ended with a cold front moving into our area. For that reason, the horse masters called Saturday morning to cancel the appearance of their magnificent animals.

Despite the frigid air, the horses would have worked up a sweat as they pulled their sleigh. When they stopped to rest they could take a chill that could result in pneumonia, which could be fatal. The horses stayed home.

We missed the appearance of this team of Belgian beauties.

And this powerful pair of Percherons.

Plenty of folks turned out for the food and fun. Some of them were unhappy that the horses didn’t come. (There was even speculation if it was the horses or the horse men that couldn’t take the cold.) There was plenty of very good food and enough tabasco sauce to bring the chili up to a good taste.

It was a good day. Okay, it would have been better with the horses. Let’s hope they’ll come next year when we try again.

Corporal Continues to Strike Out


Our cat, Corporal, continues to fail in her attempts to catch a bird. As I watched the other day, she came gliding in as low to the ground as she could get. She came up the path where the tractor tire had packed down the snow as I pushed it out of the way to make a people path to reload the feeders. This gave her fair cover and she quickly was within striking distance.

Our feathered friends have discovered her tricks and they are not fooled. As before they left. Corporal tired in a few minutes. This is not working! She went over to the post and sharpened claws, stretched and they walked gracefully away. You can’t let defeat show. She will try again.