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Calvary's Parish Visitor Newsletter Vacation Bible School Rain Forest Adventure August 4 – 8, 2008 6:00 – 8:30 pm
Learn Bible stories and themes as you swing through the Rain Forest Adventure All ages are invited and encouraged to join us for fabulous faith stories, fellowship, fun, and food! There will be lots of activities, along with “class” time and crafts, starting off with a light supper for all.
Small Group Ministries Update Are you doing your part in the Great Commission? Help is on the way! Alpha Is Coming! What is Alpha? It is, first of all, an introduction to the Christian Faith. It is designed primarily for non-church goers and those who have recently become Christians. However, because it is done in such a winsome and engaging way, people in every stage of faith life have found it an exciting, revitalizing, and life changing experience. It has proved an effective way for congregations to strengthen faith among and within the congregation, but even more importantly, it has proved a wonderful tool for reaching to others with a positive and non-threatening invitation to learn more about our faith. Some of the topics that will be addressed during this experience at Calvary include the following: Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant? Who is Jesus? Why did Jesus die? How can I be sure of my faith? Why and how should I read the Bible? Why and how should I pray? Who is the Holy Spirit? If you find yourself wondering about any of those questions and would like to explore them in a friendly environment that includes a meal, some great fellowship, good humor, and an engaging presentation, then Alpha is for you! Plan now to be saving Thursday evening, September 11th at 6:00. You will be blessed! Sign Up for the Marriage Course Today! The Marriage Course features Nicky and Sila Lee and covers a range of topics including Building Strong Foundations, The Art of Communication, Resolving Conflict, The Power of Forgiveness, Parents and In-Laws, Good Sex, Love in Action, and concluding with The Marriage Course Party – What Makes Marriage Work? This course will last for eight weeks and is intended for folks who are married or are thinking about marriage! Please note that the only interaction will be between you and your partner. There is no group discussion. The dinner party to begin the Marriage Course will be on Thursday, September 18th at 6:00 pm. September 11th Alpha Celebration Dinner, 6:00 pm September 18th Marriage Course Dinner Party, 6:00 pm Life in the Spirit is a practical, scriptural course on the Holy Spirit. This in-depth study encourages participants to better grasp the power and companionship available to every believer through the gift of the Holy Spirit. The 12 video sessions include worshipful music videos. The cost will be $20 per person. Sign-up sheets are in the narthex. Invite a friend, relative, co-worker, enemy, or stranger today! You are never too young, old, educated, not educated, or whatever to miss this opportunity to strengthen your relationship with God and others in and outside the Christian community. Sign up today and bring a friend, family member or acquaintance. Let us help you in your work in the Great Commission! Yours in Christ, Jim
Outreach News Meijer Community Rewards Calvary’s Outreach Ministry will be signing folks up for Meijer community rewards on Rally Day, September 7th. Meijer Community Rewards is a program that helps schools and churches raise money. When you sign-up you will get a card in the mail. When you go shopping at Meijer’s and have the cashier scan the card, a percentage of your purchase will go to church. At the end of the month Meijer sends church a check. The money goes into the Good Samaritan Fund. If you have any questions please see Sarah Hopper. ********************************
August is the month we begin our Safe Journeys/Car Seat Ministry. We are ordering our first car seats and will hopefully be purchasing our booster seats, as well, very soon. Christian Services is ready to begin taking referrals from area agencies, and the Outreach Ministry is very excited about distributing the seats to the families who qualify. So far, the purchases have been made with grant monies awarded from Thrivent Financial. We are waiting to hear from two other funders to see if we will be able to purchase the remaining seats, which will be stored at various homes of Outreach members. We hope to keep this as an on-going ministry, whereby additional car seats can be purchased through AAA Michigan at cost. The Good Samaritan Fund will be utilized for these additional purchases, as well as with future grant monies. We want to thank everyone who has made this venture a reality, and we look forward to helping take care of the youngest members of our society. ********************************
At our annual Rally Day picnic on September 7th, the Outreach Committee will be holding its first annual Alex’s Lemonade Stand to support childhood cancer research! Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) grew out of the front yard lemonade stand started by Alexandra “Alex” Scott – a childhood cancer patient. In 2000, at the age of 4 Alex opened her first annual lemonade stand with high hopes of raising money for pediatric cancer causes, specifically research into a cure for all types of childhood cancer. Alex passed away in 2004, but her legacy continues. Adults and children have been inspired by Alex’s giving spirit. People from all walks of life have joined in to continue the fight against childhood cancer – one cup at a time – by setting up their very own Alex’s Lemonade Stands and events in their community. The lessons learned from holding a simple lemonade stand to support Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation are simple but powerful. Every person can make a difference in the world. Alex Scott did. So can you! See you at the Lemonade Stand! ******************************** STOCKINGS FOR SERVICEMEN The Outreach Ministry Committee has adopted a new project - Stockings for Servicemen. This project is coordinated by Operation Shoebox who will fill the stockings we provide with goodies and ship them to deployed troops during the holiday season. All we have to do is make the Christmas stockings! We have patterns and directions for the completion of a stocking and are asking that anyone interested in participating in this project complete the stockings by Rally Day in September. Please see Jamie Spellicy for a pattern and directions. Let’s see how many we can complete! So far we are doing great - keep up the good work! If you would like to donate material and not make the stockings just set the material on the table next to the Youth room. ******************************** Outreach Cookbook Calvary’s Outreach Ministry is putting together a cookbook, with the proceeds going to the Good Samaritan Fund. Please leave your recipes (main dishes, appetizers, salads/soups, and desserts; as many as you’d like) in Sarah Hopper’s or Debbie Vogt’s mailbox or email them to Sarah at sarahpack@yahoo.com or to Debbie at Debbie_Vogt2@hotmail.com by August 1st. We hope to be selling the cookbooks by the Rally Day, so watch for more information in the bulletins and newsletters!
********************************** Remember when you could hardly wait for school to start and to go shopping for all those new cool clothes to wear the first few days of the school year? There are many children whose families cannot afford to buy them new clothes for school. Wouldn’t it be fun to be part of bringing smiles to children’s faces? The Outreach Committee is sponsoring a clothing drive to Clothe a Child for School. The items will be taken to Judson Memorial Baptist Church after August 11th for distribution. The Outreach Committee has found that ours is a very generous congregation. Last year we collected about 92 items! We are asking anyone who wishes to participate to take a slip of paper off the clothesline in the narthex and purchase the item(s). Collection dates will be August 3rd and 10th. There will be baskets marked for your items. Thank you for being such a caring congregation. * * * * * * * * * * *
“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing, and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is our friend who cares.” Henri Nouwen, from Out of Solitude
As you have seen in the bulletins this past month, Calvary is going to be offering an opportunity for people at Calvary to experience the BeFriender Ministry. Whether it is as a BeFriender or as someone who requests this pastoral care, the experience will be that of a deeper understanding of unity in Christ by appreciating the value of each member of the community. BeFrienders provide care through a listening presence to anyone experiencing grief, loss, transition, or other concerns which may include, but not be limited to chronic illness, depression, abuse, death of a loved one, job loss, parenting challenges, financial concerns, addiction, relocation or stress of care-giving. There are four foundation principles of BeFriender Ministry. 1) God is present. 2) Caring, not curing. 3) Non-judgmental presence. 4) Active listening. Becoming a BeFriender involves a 10-week commitment to training, and will begin on Wednesday, September 3rd. Tentative time for the training will be on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-8:30 pm. Discussion is still going on as to where the training will be, but hopefully it will be easily accessible for candidates involved. If you have any questions or are interested in becoming a BeFriender, please contact: Blanche Schaudt at 627-5456 or Pastor Kilde or Chris at 321-4292.
The Youth will have an overnight Lock-In on Friday, August 15th, beginning at 7:00 pm through Saturday morning, August 16th. All youth, grades 6-12, are invited to join in the fun. Any questions, please call John Hoesli (290-7163) or Debbie Vogt (282-6367).
The Evangelism Committee is starting a new program here at Calvary. We’ll be making prayer blankets to give to those who request them for someone who is in need of healing of body, mind, or spirit. They will be prayed over while being made, as well as on Sunday mornings during the worship services. Anyone who would like to be involved with this ministry, please contact Chris Castor, in the church office (321-4292) for more details. They are simple fleece blankets with a cross (of different material) stitched on the front of them. Anyone can help, whether you’re a master seamstress or a novice! If you would like to donate money, time, talent, or prayers toward this ministry, it would be greatly appreciated. We’ve applied for a grant through Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to help defray the costs. There will be samples of the blankets available and on display on Rally Day, September 7th.
Sunday, August 10th, immediately following our 11:00 am service, we will conduct a brief liturgy for healing. For those who wish, this liturgy includes prayer, anointing with oil, and the laying on of hands. In addition, we will share prayer requests for healing, as part of this service. You may phone or leave such requests at the office or hand them to Pastor Kilde before the service. Prayer can be for physical, emotional, or spiritual healing.
September 7th – Rally with Us As We Start the New Fall Schedule.. Needed: Books and Volunteers The 13th used-book sale, sponsored by the Library and Parish Ed Committees, will be held after the 10:30 am outdoor Rally Day service on September 7th. The funds raised will be used to add current materials to our library. Browsers will find old favorites, as well as newer materials. Most items are priced at 25 or 50 cents, and include hardbacks and paperbacks. Wanted: Your donations of books for the sale. They will be accepted until September 4th. Please place donations in the box marked DONATIONS, located next to the book cart in the narthex. We will gladly accept hardback and paperback books for both children and adults. Wanted also: Volunteers to man the book sale. Notice: We need to have at least $100 in receipts in order to receive matching funds from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
Building Update On July 1, 2008, Pastor Kilde, Wayne Schaudt, Al Zarka, Building Design Team leaders Bob Carter, Kelly LaGrave, and Phylis Schleicher met with Mary Swanson of Swanson Design. The following items were discussed: * Soil borings have been done. * Exterior elevations illustration, which is displayed in the narthex. * Interior elevations Acoustics Sound System Access ramp to the altar Gathering space amenities * Selection of air lock, sanctuary and gathering space flooring * Civil Engineers are surveying the property. * New windows for the parent room and nursery. * Altar Guild room. * Pre-qualifying contractors to bid on the project. * Target date for ground breaking. The next meeting is scheduled for July 29th at 6:00 pm. If anyone has any questions for this group, please feel free to contact Wayne Schaudt at 507-7406 or Al Zarka at 321-5516.
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