Hood River Valley Christian Church eNews 541-386-2608 [email protected] www.hoodrivervalleychristianchurch.com June 3, 2015 Sunday Worship Time Chair of Elders Church Secretary Interim Minister Sat/Sun/Mon 10:30am Worship with Children’s Worship & Wonder Kathy Holmson [email protected] Sharon Smiley Rev. Myrna Phillips [email protected] 503 798-7242 Two Weeks and Counting.... One of the formative books I read when I was a campus minister in Oklahoma in the early ‘70s was Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock. The book outlined the impact of rapid, multiple changes on individuals and societies. To put it mildly, change was deemed a challenge. Religions are among the most conservative institutions in our society. Who else do you know is following a two- or threethousand year old story on a regular basis? So it seems appropriate for us as we anticipate the arrival of Alicia, our new pastor, to reflect on our readiness for some change. After all, it will come. No two pastors do their ministries in the same way, and Alicia will work as she has learned to do. In my previous note about our upcoming transition, I asked that we give Alicia some time to settle in and get acquainted. This morning I invite us to ponder and embrace the opportunity she brings us to work together in new and different ways. Rod Parrott Board Chairperson FIRST THURSDAY @ BETTE’S RESTAURANT Everyone is invited! Meet at Bette's Restaurant on Oak Street the First Thursday of each month (June 4) at 9:00am. Invite a friend. This is a new day for the monthly breakfast. We hope Thriftshop workers and Quilters can come to Bette’s for breakfast (or a cinnamon roll!) on a Thursday. Something Special for the Speidels We are preparing A WELCOME PACKET for the Speidel family (Pastor Alicia, her husband Geoff, daughter Kailey and son Jackson) when they arrive. We are collecting flyers on family and kids’ activities and such, and also donations for gift certificates/cards at places such as G Willikers Toys and Mike’s Ice Cream. If you have information or resources to add, please give them to Kathy. Youth News Middle & High School Sunday Class is Sundays at 9:30am with Jennifer Stager & Leslie Hidle Meet in the Youth Room—start with hot chocolate and pastries! Youth Group Meetings Sundays 5:00pm Enjoy dinner all together 5:30pm Study, project time, with games and activities following. Youth Dinners Thanks to Frances Henne and Bev Carpenter who provided dinner May 24, and Kathy Holmson who provided dinner May 31. Dinner cooks are needed: June 7 June 14 You can sign up on the list in the kitchen. Thank you. CAMP REGISTRATIONS Due Sunday June 14 Regional Youth Summer Camps at Suttle Lake Camp in Sisters, Oregon Camp Dates: Grade School (3-5 grades): August 10-14 High School & Middle School: July 26-31 Have registrations to the church office by June 14. Early Bird prices (available through June 30): Grade School $320 Middle & High School: $355 A BABY SHOWER! Honoring Melissa Crosswhite You are invited to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Crosswhite! It’s a GIRL! Saturday, June 20th 1-3:00pm at Laurie and Scott Crosswhite’s home, 3950 Acree Drive RSVP by June 10th to Laurie. Melissa is registered at Target & Target.com PLEASE PRAY FOR: Eileen Royster Bob Williams Jim & Carol Carnes Barbara Buchheit Karen Tyree Patsy Nash Robert Nash Smoke Smiley recovering from heart bypass surgery last week. The Speidel family –Pastor Alicia, her husband Geoff, daughter Kailey and son Jackson— as they prepare for their move to Hood River. Thank you Church Family, For the prayers, support and love from you all during this difficult time. Love in Christ, the Duback/Eskildsen family To our family at Valley Christian Church, The family of Larry Hayes would like to thank you for your support and caring during this very difficult and sad time. We so appreciate the food that the ladies provided for Larry’s celebration The thoughtfulness of our friends and neighbors will never be forgotten. Dianne Hayes & family Thank you to the Prayer Shawl Team, Thank you for the wonderful, blessed prayer shawl which I wear often for prayer and comfort. On May 30 I moved to Rock Creek Assisted Living in Stevenson, WA. Jack and I have started attending Shepherd of the Valley Church close to where we have been living. We both seem to fit in there and we will continue attending. I will always remember the loving kindness and care your church extended to me when I was ill. The prayer shawl reminds me of you and your great church and wonderful choir. Thank you, love in Christ, Lynn Mead A Note from Pastor Alicia Speidel… Hello from almost Hood River. About the time you read this I will be deep in boxes, wrapping paper and end of the school year activities. I will have lists galore of where everything is and I still probably won't know where everything is. Then on June 6 we begin the trek to our new home, arriving on June 7 in Hood River. I am ready for this next step and I pray you are too. We are going to be partners in ministry. We are also going to be learning about how we each operate. This will take time, patience, love and grace. May we all sign on to this adventure wholeheartedly knowing that God is guiding our steps. I look forward to meeting each one of you and to hearing your story. In the meantime back to the boxes and the not being able to find what I need or maybe I will. See you soon. Blessings. Alicia PIES FOR POPS, a popular coffee hour event at HRVCC, is on Father’s Day, June 21. Invite your friends to join us that day. We need someone to coordinate kitchen duties that day—is that something you’d like to do? We also need people sign up to bring pies to share and the kitchen crew gets pies ready to serve. The Pie sign-up sheet is in the lobby. FIRST THURSDAY AT BETTE’S RESTAURANT – Everyone is invited! Meet at Bette's Restaurant on the First Thursday of each month (June 4) at 9:00am. Come by for a bite to eat and visiting with friends. Bette’s has a wonderful meeting space directly behind the main restaurant which is beautifully decorated. Drop by if you can. No host, so your choice of just coffee, breakfast or treat yourself to one of Bette’s famous cinnamon rolls! Bring a friend! When Saying Good-bye Is Saying Hello People rarely have one feeling at a time. I am certainly experiencing a mixture of feelings. I am sad to leave because I have enjoyed knowing the people in this congregation. We have laughed, prayed, worshipped, played, eaten together and shared our love of music and children. I love the town of Hood River and every week feel so blessed to experience these incredible surroundings, I have felt welcomed, supported, and appreciated these past nine months. I also feel a deep sense of hope and excitement for this congregation. Alicia is an extraordinary person of deep faith and compassion. She is a highly skilled pastor who is intelligent, wise and with good instincts. Each person of this congregation will need to step up and explore with Alicia how to be a working team to discern together the will of God for HRVCC. I wish you peace, joy, and love. I look forward to hearing more about the adventure before you and hope to connect with you again at Alicia’s installation. God bless all of you. Myrna Encore Event! Did you miss the Celebrating Women Event featuring Betty Osborne’s “stand up comedy” routine last month? On Tuesday June 9 at 9:30am, Women’s Ministries will show the video Justin Crosswhite recorded that day. Everyone is invited to come watch and after the video, women are welcome to stay for Gertrude Circle Bible Study at 10-11am, in the Vista Room. Book Group News “A tale of ambition and survival on the early American frontier,” Peter Stark’s Astoria, is the new book selection for the reading group. It is the story of John Jacob Astor’s failed attempt in the early 1800’s to establish an American colony on the banks of the Columbia River. Discussion of the book is scheduled for Thursday, June 11, at 7:00 p.m., at the home of Mary Anne and Rod Parrott. Church members and friends are welcome. For a copy of the book, see or call Rod. Pentecost Special Offering Thank you! Our gifts to the Pentecost Special Offering total $477. Pentecost Special Offering supports the work of new church development. One half of what we give is dedicated to our Oregon/SW Idaho Region; one half is used by Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation to support new church ministry. HOW’S YOUR NAMETAG? We’d like everyone to be wearing their HRVCC nametag for Pastor Alicia Speidel’s first Sunday, June 14th, when we welcome her, Geoff, Kailey and Jackson to our church. If yours needs to be replaced, please let Kathy Holmson know. Thank you! Special Music Worship Service May 31, 2015 Pastor Myrna invited her friend Elizabeth (Beth) Eck to join us for a special music worship service last Sunday. Beth is from the Salem area and is a professional singer vocal coach/consultant for area high schools, and for churches in the northwest, as well as working with theater productions. Ayden Phelps, Carly Wyatt and Pastor Myrna joined Beth in singing. Mary Anne Parrott accompanied them on the piano. Musical selections included: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring; Panis Angellicus; Jesus Loves Me; His Eye Is on the Sparrow; At the Feet of God; Ride On King Jesus; Marching On Up; When God Dips His Love in My Heart; The Lord Bless You and Keep You. The congregation appreciated the special worship in song. Photos by Cindy Winfield Seven Things Church Members Should Say to Guests in a Worship Service By Thom S. Rainier from the blog May 20, 2015 One of the more common questions I’m asked relates to growth barriers. For example, church leaders may want to know how to move past the 150-attendance level of the past five years. Or other leaders desire to know how to break though financial giving barriers. Those questions are tough because they often presume a brief response to be adequate. In reality, there are many theological and methodological issues at work in growth barriers. Today, I am looking at a very basic barrier: lack of friendliness to church guests. In a previous blog post, I noted things we should not say to a guest in our worship services. In today’s post I look at the positive perspective: seven things we should say to guests. 1. “Thank you for being here.” It’s just that basic. I have heard from numerous church guests who returned because they were simply told “thank you.” 2. “Let me help you with that.” If you see someone struggling with umbrellas, young children, diaper bags, purses, and other items, a gesture to hold something for them is a huge positive. Of course, this comment is appropriate for member to member as well. 3. “Please take my seat.” I actually heard that comment twice in a church where I was speaking in the Nashville area. The first comment came from a member to a young family of five who were trying to find a place to sit together. 4. “Here is my email address. Please let me know if I can help in any way.” Of course, this comment must be used with discretion, but it can be a hugely positive message to a guest. 5. “Can I show you where you need to go?” Even in smaller churches, guests will not know where to find the nursery, restrooms, and small group meeting areas. You can usually tell when a guest does not know where he or she is to go. 6. “Let me introduce you to ___________.” The return rate of guests is always higher if they meet other people. A church member may have the opportunity to introduce the guest to the pastor, other church staff, and other members of the church. 7. “Would you join us for lunch?” I saved this question for last for two reasons. First, the situation must obviously be appropriate before you offer the invitation. Second, I have seen this approach have the highest guest return rate of any one factor. What if your church members sought to invite different guests 6 to 12 times a year? The burden would not be great; but the impact would be huge. Work around the church building continues… Fellowship Hall floor waxed! Thanks, Laurie Crosswhite! LANDSCAPING WORK The landscaping is looking GOOD! Work on the planting strip north of the parking lot continues on Wednesdays at 8:30am for 2 or 3 hours at a time—or other times if it is better for volunteers. Bring the tools you want to work with for pruning or removing shrubs or spreading bark groundcover. Thanks to the workers: Doug & Linda Massingill, Rick & Jane Damschen, David Nash, Tom Biddle, Bernie Krager, Bruce Holmson, Bob Norton and John Ihle who have been working on this project for several Wednesdays and other times. Doug & Linda Massingill, John Ihle REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE PROJECTS 1. Front entrance—Volunteers have painted the entry structure and the new carpet on ramp has been installed. 2. Exterior paint maintenance—a contractor is repairing some exterior panels and Perkins Painting is starting to paint the problem areas of the exterior. 3. Fixing cracks in the upper parking lot. Professional Pavers have fixed the cracks. 4. Landscaping the church property—Project continues. Trimming the rhododendrons and other shrubs and putting ground cloth under new wood chips to minimize weeds. Wednesdays are landscape project days—or other times if more convenient for volunteers. Volunteers painting the main entrance ramp Thanks to Shirley Ihle, Frances Henne, Mary Patterson, Kathy & Bruce Holmson, Otto Behrmann, Rod Parrott and Chuck Hiatt. Fresh paint and new carpet installed FLOWERS FOR SUNDAYS Flowers celebrating special days. Flowers remembering special people. If you would like to provide flowers for a worship service on Sunday, please sign up on the bulletin board outside the church office. Thank you. Our thanks to Cindy & Tom Biddle who brought flowers May 31. WANTED TO RENT A small travel trailer to be used as a guest bedroom July 15 – August 15. Shirley Ihle (541)386-6843 HRVCC HELP A NEIGHBOR REPORT HRVCC has special fund to help when neighbors are in need The Help A Neighbor fund is available to help members of the church with assistance for a variety of needs: Over the past 18 months, HAN has helped financially after house fires, helped a member fund some needed home care, helped pay for rent, paid the registration fee for a GED, and provided gift certificates for gasoline. We also helped others in the community purchase prescription medicine, helped with bus fare for a client at the domestic violence shelter and purchased a disposable cell phone for another. We also provided rent assistance, helped pay utility bills, and gave gasoline gift certificates to people who needed vehicle fuel. In general, Help A Neighbor assistance grants are for $50 or less. HAN is supported by direct donations from church members and receives a percentage of our Local Service Outreach dollars. The fund was first established in the 1960’s-70’s when several families in the church who had experienced the death of young adult children created the fund in memory of their family members. The fund is administered by John Ihle, Joanie Logan and Kathy Holmson, with input from the pastor. CHURCH LEAGUE SOFTBALL BEGINS IN JUNE Co-ed softball league for post-high school adults. Games are played at Westside School field on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, 6:30-8:00pm. The games are for fun and not highly competitive (no spikes!) Sign up with Fred Duckwall. He can tell you more about the games. HRVCC’s first game is Sunday, June 14th, at 6:30pm vs. River of Life Church FISH FOOD BANK SUNDAY is June 7 Bring donations of non-perishable food, cash and checks for FISH next Sunday. Featured foods for June: soup, cooking oil, tuna, and cereal (cereal is on sale at Rosauer’s, June 4-5!) Also, the new FISH building now has space enough to offer nonfood household necessities such as toilet paper, paper towels, sanitary products for women, diapers, etc. These items can also be included in our monthly collection for FISH. HRVCC T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE Shirts are $12.50 each (checks payable to HRVCC Youth) These T-shirts are great to wear for many church activities: Regional activities Mission Trips Camp Softball & Volleyball Games Relay for Life Team RELAY FOR LIFE July 18 at Hood River County Fairgrounds American Cancer Society Relay for Life of the Columbia Gorge will be at the Fairgrounds in Odell. It will be a one day event starting at 8:00am and ending at midnight on July 18th. The bagpiper is back to play for Luminaria time of remembrance—a moving ceremony you won’t want to miss. HRVCC Relay for Life Team members are Leonard Mays, Joan Lage, Suze Nigl, Kathy Holmson, Barb Ritoch, Katie Ritoch, and Mollie Ritoch. We all know someone whose life has been touched by cancer. You are invited to join the HRVCC team and help fight cancer! If you prefer to support the Relay for Life financially, you may give donations to members at any time. News from Rainier By Mary Anne Parrott Rainier Aldwin, our sponsored child in the Philippines, in February wrote us a letter in response to our Christmas card. The original letter is on the bulletin board; here’s a brief summary: I have only seen snow in the television, so I don’t know how it feels. We had a Christmas party in our school; we sang and danced and we enjoyed the games and good food. We were all very happy. We will soon have our summer vacation church school classes and hopefully another camp. Thank you for helping me. My parents are also happy and thankful of your support. [Women’s Ministry supports Rainier with $25 per month for educational expenses at Damaguete Kalauman Center for Development on the campus of Silliman University; this is done through Disciples of Christ Global Ministries.] Wednesday June 3 9:00am-12:00pm Quilters meet 9:00am-3:00pm Thrift shop Open 6:15pm Choir practice Thursday June 4 FIRST THURSDAY 7:00am Men’s Bible Study 9:00am FIRST THURSDAY breakfast @ Bette’s restaurant Saturday June 6 9:00am-1:00pm Thriftshop open Sunday June 7 Pastor Myrna’s last Sunday Collecting for FISH Food Bank 9:30am Sunday School for all ages 10:30am Worship with Children Worship & Wonder 11:45am Program Council meets 5:00pm Youth groups meet 5:00pm Prayer Shawl Ministry meets Tuesday June 9 10:00am Gertrude Circle meets 3:00pm TOPS Group meets 6:00pm Harmony of the Gorge singers Wednesday June 10 9:00am-12:00pm Quilters meet 9:00am-3:00pm Thrift shop Open 6:15pm Choir practice Thursday June 11 7:00am Men’s Bible Study 7:00pm Book Club meets at Parrotts Saturday June 13 9:00am-1:00pm Thrift shop open Sunday June 14 Pastor Alicia Speidel’s first Sunday 9:30am Sunday School children & youth 10:30am Worship & Children’s Summer Program 5:00pm Youth Groups meet 5:00pm Prayer Shawl Ministry meets Tuesday June 16 10:00am Gertrude Circle meets 3:00pm TOPS Group meets 6:00pm Harmony of the Gorge singers Wednesday June 17 9:00am-12:00pm Quilters meet 9:00am-3:00pm Thrift shop Open 6:15pm Choir practice Thursday June 18 7:00am Men’s Bible Study Saturday June 20 9:00am-1:00pm Thriftshop open 1:00-4:30pm FISH Food Bank Open House Sunday June 21 FATHERS DAY PIES FOR POPS 9:30am Sunday School for all ages 10:30am Worship & Children’s Summer Program Commissioning Youth Mission Trip participants 11:45am Pies for Pops 5:00pm Youth groups meet 5:00pm Prayer Shawl Ministry meets For Sunday June 7, 2015 For Sunday June 14, 2015 Mark 3:20-35 Psalm 138 Mark 4:26-34 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20; (11:14-15) Psalm 20 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 SERVING Sunday June 7, 2015 SERVING Sunday June 14, 2015 Elder this Week Elder this Week Nursery assistant Coffee Hour Hosts Sanctuary Flowers Communion Preparer Bus Driver Diaconate Suze, Jennifer, Hanne NO ONE SIGNED UP Mary Patterson David Nash Serving Team #3 F Thomas B Thomas R Damschen J Damschen Nursery assistant Coffee Hour Hosts Sanctuary Flowers Communion Preparer Bus Driver Diaconate Kim, Leslie & Youth Parrotts Cindy Winfield L Welch Serving Team #4 J Crosswhite J Waits B Williams J Williams
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