|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
l Home l About Us l Calendar l Newsletter l Worship l Christian Education l Missions l |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
l Pastor's Blog l Contact Us l Links l Directions l Fun & Fellowship l Prayer List l |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
THE BEACON LITTLE HILL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH July / August 2008 . . John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence"
“The first painting that Trumbull completed for the Rotunda shows the presentation of the Declaration of Independence in what is now called Independence Hall, Philadelphia. The painting features the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence — John Adams, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson (presenting the document), and Benjamin Franklin — standing before John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress. The painting includes portraits of 42 of the 56 signers and 5 other patriots. The artist sketched the individuals and the room from life.” —from the “USHistory.org” website Pastor’s Ponderings July / August 2008 John Trumball’s painting depicts the Declaration of Independence being presented to the President of the
Continental Congress in early July 1776. For us, as Christians living in the United States of America, here are key
words from that foundational document that affect our professing and living out our faith (highlights are mine):
“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political
bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the
separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to
the separation.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed . . .”
Our Founders did believe in God, and believed that all human dignity and worth comes from God.
As we see, they used the terms “Nature’s God” and “Creator”—and did so intentionally; as Jon Meachem (editor of Newsweek)
states in his book American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation, “For the Founding Fathers,
God’s grace was universal”. Therefore they sought to be as inclusive as possible in terms of affirming individual conscience and
belief while still affirming God’s universal grace.
The Founders were aware of what happens when a nation demands that its citizens all be members
of one specific church. The Pilgrims came to the New World because they wanted to worship God in a way different than
the Church of England demanded. When they formed the Plymouth Bay Colony, they found
that there were some who wanted to worship God in a way different than what they demanded—who then
went and formed another colony. Therefore, to avoid such dynamics, in forming a new nation the Founders sought to affirm the
value and importance of religious belief, but not demand SPECIFIC religious belief—
part of the gift of liberty that God endows.
In that spirit, therefore, the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution (our foundational document of
our governmental organization and of our individual rights, ratified in 1791) states in the First Amendment:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . . “ This means that our government cannot declare a national religion. As U.S. citizens, we are free to believe and
worship as we choose; our government cannot force anyone into any specific religion. One interpretation of this is that allowing
any mention of God at all is out of bounds, that “freedom of religion” means “freedom FROM religion”—that it is establishing a
religion to allow even one mention of God. This clearly is not what the Founders meant.
What it does mean is that we can lift our voices in the hymn “God of the Ages,” and can sing with confidence
“In this free land by Thee our lot is cast”. We can affirm the freedom that Nature’s God has endowed us with—freedom
to affirm our faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Grace and Peace, Women in Mission To Sell Hoagies in July and August Hoagies (Italian or Turkey) for $5 each can be purchased from the Women in Mission both in July and August. For July, they must be purchased by Sunday, July 20, and picked up Saturday, July 26. For August, the dates will be Sunday, August 17 and Saturday, August 23. Order forms will be in the Sunday bulletin; if you wish to order otherwise please contact the church at 412-741-4920.
“Festival in the Park” Saturday, June 28 Both Joyous And Wet! The Blueberry Hill “Festival in the Park” for Franklin Park Community Days was a bit shorter than anticipated—we did begin at about 2:30 PM, but we were rained out a little after 6 PM. A good time was had by all, with wonderful participation by the Women in Mission, the Christian Education crew, and the Youth Group. Glenda and her gang made windsocks with a welcome to Little Hill (appropriate for a day that was windy even before the rainstorm) and we handed out our business-card size Little Hill rainbow magnets. Next year we’re thinking about attracting folk with Brett race car!Those who participated and/or stopped in included: Samatha , Lucas , T. J. , Jerry , Dave & Linda , Hazel , Ben & Caleb & Glenda , Doris , Bob , Lois , Taylor , Rick , Brett & Jennifer & Luca & (12-day old) Ariana , Pastor Bruce Stollings, and Brittanie . Some more folk were planning on coming out for the evening, but by that time the event had been rained out!
Alternative Worship and Community Dinner Successful So Far Our new Alternative Worship Service and Community Dinner have run for four weeks so far—and so far, so good! The Community Dinner runs from 5 – 6:30 PM, with the cost $5 per person, for a main course, vegetable, potato or something, tossed salad, beverage and dessert. Chef Lance Harris’s meals are playing to rave reviews. We have had from 27 to 35 for dinner each night, most of whom have stayed for worship, although not all—and it is not required to do so! This worship has attracted from 27 to 39 each evening. It has indeed provided an option for many who have Sunday morning schedule conflicts. It has attracted new people, several of whom have come back again. The band has received many appreciative comments. Thanks to Steve Kayner, who has been planning the music and leading it, as well as to his wife Amy, who has sung and helped with running the sound. Sharon has also helped run sound much of the time. Others in the band are Ben on keyboard, Taylor on bass, Rick on guitar, and Ron on drums. As stated last month, please continue to be in prayer for this new opportunity to praise God in worship, that it will—as we trust and pray that Sunday morning does—meet the needs of those who choose to participate. In addition, be in prayer that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide the planning and raise up people to participate with their gifts and talents, given to them by God. Youth Room Appeal Continues Contributions of chairs, sofa, tables and lamps continue to be solicited for the Youth Room. We have received a nice chair and television so far—thanks to those who made those contributions! Thanks for Nursery Contributions Marlyn and Bill ’s donation of a crib and Mary and Dwight’s donation of a changing table have completed the Nursery. Thanks to them for their contributions! Little Hill Magnets Available Well over a thousand Little Hill magnets are available for you to use as outreach tools! Each magnet is the size of a business card, and has on it the Rainbow photo of Little Hill, along with our address, phone number, and website info, as well as the tag “Come Share in God’s Love”. Please take one for yourself and several others to give to friends and others you meet who may be looking for a church! Blessings and Godspeed to Tom and Phyllis On Sunday, June 22, we celebrated the contributions of Tom to our congregation as we bid farewell and Godspeed to Tom and his wife, Dr. Phyllis . Tom and Phyllis have bought a farm in Virginia, and as you read this are unpacking from the move. Tom has not been a part of Little Hill for a long time, but has served God nobly in a variety of roles including Pastor-Parish Relations Committee, Lay Delegate to Annual Conference, Lay Leader, and most recently on Evangelism/PR Committee and Purpose/Mission/Vision Leadership Team. In addition, he has assisted in leading worship and has been active in the Lenten Studies. We will miss Tom’s steady and faithful leadership and consistent understated enthusiasm.
Bible Study Resumes in Fall The Wednesday evening Bible Study will resume in September, continuing a short-term study on some of Jesus’ parables, using the Bible (of course) and Maxie Dunnam’s book Twelve Parables of Jesus. You don’t need to have already been attending to join in September! Bible Reading Plan—Continues! Our church-wide Bible reading plan continues; we’ll be reading the Bible through in a year; Pastor Bruce’s sermons will also be based on those same passages.
THROUGH-THE-BIBLE READING PLAN 2008
July August 1 Is. 1-3; Titus 3 1 Is.65, 66; Ps. 62; Jn. 3 2 Is. 4, 5; Ps.115, 116; Jude 2 2Ki. 21; 2Chr. 33; Jn. 4 3 Is. 6, 7; 2Chr. 26, 27; Philem 3 Nah. 1-3; Jn. 5 4 2 Ki. 15,16; Hos.1; Heb.1 4 2Ki. 22; 2Chr. 34; Jn. 6 5 Hos. 2-5; Heb. 2 5 2Ki. 23; 2Chr. 35; Jn. 7 6 Hos. 6-9; Heb. 3 6 Hab. 1-3; Jn. 8 7 Hos.10-12; Ps.73; Heb. 4 7 Zeph. 1-3; Jn. 9 8 Hos.13, 14; Ps.100, 102; Heb.5 8 Jer. 1, 2; Jn. 10 9 Mic.1-4; Heb. 6 9 Jer. 3, 4; Jn. 11 10 Mic.5-7; Heb. 7 10 Jer. 5, 6; Jn. 12 11 Is. 8-10; Heb. 8 11 Jer. 7-9; Jn. 13 12 Is. 11-14; Heb. 9 12 Jer. 10-12; Jn. 14 13 Is. 15-18; Heb. 10 13 Jer. 13-15; Jn. 15 14 Is. 19-21; Heb. 11 14 Jer. 16, 17; Ps. 96; Jn. 16 15 Is. 22-24; Heb. 12 15 Jer. 18-20; Ps. 93; Jn. 17 16 Is. 25-28; Heb. 13 16 2 Ki.24; Jer.22; Ps.112; Jn.18 17 Is. 29-31; Jas. 1 17 Jer. 23-25; Jn. 19 18 Is. 32-35; Jas. 2 18 Jer.26, 35, 36; Jn.20 19 2Ki.17; 2Chr.28; Ps.46; Jas. 3 19 Jer.45-47; Ps.105; Jn.21 20 2Chr.29-31; Jas. 4 20 Jer.48, 49; Ps.67; 1 Jn. 1 21 2Ki.18,19; 2Chr.32; Jas. 5 21 Jer.21, 24, 27; Ps.118; 1 Jn. 2 22 Is.36,37; Ps.76; 1 Pet. 1 22 Jer.28-30; 1 Jn. 3 23 2Ki.20; Is.38,39; Ps.75; 1Pet. 2 23 Jer.31, 32; 1 Jn. 4 24 Is.40-42; 1 Pet. 3 24 Jer.33, 34; Ps.74; 1 Jn. 5 25 Is.43-45; 1 Pet. 4 25 Jer.37-39; Ps.79; 2 Jn. 26 Is.46-49; 1 Pet. 5 26 Jer.50-51; 3 Jn. 27 Is.50-52; Ps. 92; 2 Pet. 1 27 Jer.52; Rev.1; Ps.143,144 28 Is.53-56; 2 Pet. 2 28 Ezek. 1-3; Rev. 2 29 Is.57-59; Ps. 103; 2 Pet. 3 29 Ezek. 4-7; Rev. 3 30 Is.60-62; Jn. 1 30 Ezek. 8-11; Rev. 4 31 Is.63, 64; Ps. 107; Jn. 2 31 Ezek. 12-14; Rev. 5
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR JULY / AUGUST 2008
Thursday, July 3 7 PM Worship Band Rehearsal
Sunday, July 6 Holy Communion, Food Bank Sunday 9:45 AM Adult Sunday School 11 AM Worship, Children’s Sunday School 5 – 6:30 PM Community Dinner 6:45 PM Alternative Worship
Tuesday, July 8 noon Keenagers
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR JULY / AUGUST 2008 (continued)
Thursday, July10 7 PM Worship Band Rehearsal
Sunday, July 13 9:45 AM Adult Sunday School 11 AM Worship, Children’s Sunday School 5 – 6:30 PM Community Dinner 6:45 PM Alternative Worship
Wednesday, July 16 7:30 Church Council (members: Lucas , Jerry , Sara , Hazel , Glenda , John , Leilanie , Doris , Bob , Peggy , Bertha , Jennifer , Terrie , Tom , Jean , Billie , Josie )
Thursday, July 17 7 PM Worship Band Rehearsal
Sunday, July 20 9:45 AM Adult Sunday School 11 AM Worship, Children’s Sunday School 5 – 6:30 PM Community Dinner 6:45 PM Alternative Worship
Thursday, July 24 7 PM Worship Band Rehearsal
Sunday, July 29 9:45 AM Adult Sunday School 11 AM Worship, Children’s Sunday School 5 – 6:30 PM Community Dinner 6:45 PM Alternative Worship
Thursday, July 31 7 PM Worship Band Rehearsal
Sunday, August 3 Holy Communion, Food Bank Sunday 9:45 AM Adult Sunday School 11 AM Worship, Children’s Sunday School 5 – 6:30 PM Community Dinner 6:45 PM Alternative Worship
Tuesday, August 5 Women in Mission
Thursday, August 7 7 PM Worship Band Rehearsal
Sunday, August 10 9:45 AM Adult Sunday School 11 AM Worship, Children’s Sunday School 5 – 6:30 PM Community Dinner 6:45 PM Alternative Worship
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR JULY / AUGUST 2008 (continued)
Tuesday, August 12 noon Keenagers
Thursday, August 14 7 PM Worship Band Rehearsal
Sunday, August 17 9:45 AM Adult Sunday School 11 AM Worship, Children’s Sunday School 5 – 6:30 PM Community Dinner 6:45 PM Alternative Worship
Thursday, August 21 7 PM Worship Band Rehearsal
Sunday, August 24 9:45 AM Adult Sunday School 11 AM Worship, Children’s Sunday School 5 – 6:30 PM Community Dinner 6:45 PM Alternative Worship
Thursday, August 28 7 PM Worship Band Rehearsal
Sunday, August 31 9:45 AM Adult Sunday School 11 AM Worship, Children’s Sunday School 5 – 6:30 PM Community Dinner 6:45 PM Alternative Worship
Looking at New Vehicles? Before you make a purchase speak to John Eakin at 724-266-0486 so he can offer employee and friends’ discounts for your new General Motors Vehicles.
From E-Mail: “You Took My Parking Space at Church” One day, a man went to visit a church. He got there early, parked his car and got out. Another car pulled up near him. The driver got out and said “I always park there! You took my place!” The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, “That’s my seat! You took my place!” The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but he said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said “That’s where I always sit! You took my place!” The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still he said nothing. Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out “What happened to you?” The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns and a tear fell from his eye, “I took your place.”
DATE SERMON / WORSHIP EVENT 11 AM Liturgist 11 AM Ushers 11 AM Greeters
July 2 Ben C. August 19 Sabrina E. July 3 Doris E. August 21 Jim S. July 11 Elaine H. August 22 Pat F. July 16 Thelma B. Josie T. Bob F. August 26 Ken S. July 17 Amanda S. July 18 Rev. Kathy C. July 27 Cindy M. Melissa M. Dwight S. July 28 Barb K. July 31 Quentin D.
July 13 Dave & Linda C. August 16 Doug & Elaine H. July 16 Jim & Thelma B. August 24 Tim & Missy C. July 24 Brett & Jennifer M.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
