Dansville Community Center - by Diane Lantzy

I was privileged to visit the Dansville Community Center a few weeks ago.  As many of you may already know, Redeemer’s Thanksgiving Offering will be given to support this Center.   I was not aware of the need in this area prior to my visit – nearly 40% of the people in the Dansville area live at, or below, the poverty level.  So, the needs that this Community Center serves are real and pressing.  It is a real world demonstration of faith in action as James 1:27 instructs us “to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”  The prayer is that those who are touched by this generosity will someday have an open heart for learning about our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Pastor Jeremy Wicks is the Pastor of Millville United Methodist Church and is spearheading this initiative.  He was formerly the pastor of Dansville United Methodist Church – his first appointment and at the time of his appointment, he knew that the Dansville UMC would be closed.  Subsequently, he was appointed to Millville United Methodist Church seven miles away that was also a small, struggling church.

Jeremy shared a huge, seemingly impossible, vision with this small congregation.  Convert an empty church building into a community center to serve their needs and as Jeremy said “Just love on that community.”  He knew this would take a huge step of faith and commitment from every member of this small congregation.  And they rose to the challenge and have made it happen.

What is particularly uplifting is that this generosity of time, talent and gifts that the Millville UMC church family has shown has revitalized their own spirituality.  This is demonstrated by a story that Jeremy related to me. They were preparing to open for their first morning of their Coffee Lounge and a member of the Millville United Methodist Church stopped by.  She didn’t stop by to get in the way, to interfere or because she was curious; she stopped by because she wanted to pray for the people who would arrive in a few hours.  She spent almost 30 minutes praying for those she did not know and might not ever meet.  That and other similar stories made it clear to me that this growing generosity of spirit is impacting the spiritual walk of the Millville church family as much as, if not more than,  those who they are serving.

 My prayer is that the Redeemer church family here in DeWitt, will be generous with their Thanksgiving offering so that the Millville church family is encouraged and the Dansville Community Center can continue to move forward with their remarkable vision.  If you would like to make an donation, you can simply mark any envelope "Thanksgiving Offering" and place it in the offering plate or click here to give online.

 

 

Gratitude - by Ron Bekkering

Gratitude means being thankful, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. It means being aware on an everyday basis of how much you’ve been given. Gratitude shifts our focus from what our life doesn't have to the abundance that is already present. This past week I've had the opportunity to work with high school students, share in training with our senior staff, and spend time with family and friends. 

I for months have been thinking about the word Gratitude and how much I have to be thankful for. My wife has been given the 4 year clear on the cancer that invaded her body. My daughters have both had successful starts to the school year. Redeemer UMC has continued to grow with visitors being seen and talked to each and every week.

I think the thing that I have the most gratitude for is that Jesus continues to make blessings flow over each of us. He gives us breath, allows us to make choices, forgives us when we fall away, and comforts us when we feel loss or struggle. Jesus tells us "In this world we will have troubles, but don't stress because He has overcome this world" and for that I am grateful. So in all this friends I give God praise.

When we get so busy in life with our schedules and life I hope during this time we can take a moment to thank God for all He has done. As a matter of fact “If the only prayer you say in your life is ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart

So take a moment and be grateful, show some gratitude for all we have been given. 

God Rocks and We Roll,
Ron 

PEACE - by Sue Campbell

For the past few months I’ve been using a 1-year daily devotional for women – ‘becoming a woman at peace.’  I’ve tried in the past and not succeeded in making a regular habit of devotional time – but this book seems to be working for me.  It’s a page-a-day book beginning with a Bible verse and ending with a couple of lines of prayer.  In between, the author uses an anecdotal story – from her own life or someone else’s - and draws some insights from it.  The common thread woven throughout is working to have more peace. 

As I was reflecting after reading one day, I came up with my own acronym about peace.  Let me share what I’m trying to focus on:

 

                P – I’m a planner, but I know I gain peace when I’m prayerful 

                E – I want to be aware of the effect of my words and actions

                A – I want to affect others for good and for God

                C – Life goes better when I realize what I can control and what I can’t

                E – I have more daily peace when I focus on eternity

In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul writes:  “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Paul’s words are encouraging – if we’re obedient in telling God what we need and thankful for what He’s done, Paul says we’ll experience peace.  He doesn’t say that every problem will be solved, every plan will be put into play, every broken thing will be fixed…but we still will have peace. 

I can’t explain how that works – that’s the wonderful mystery of our God.  But I know I’ve experienced it and I’ll continue to strive for more of it each day. 

Golden Rule - by Sandy Hrostowski

My mother and father taught us the “Golden Rule” to do unto others as we would like done unto us. So I’ve been reading the New Testament, from The Message Bible, I Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 12-18.  The words from the Bible touched my heart so deeply that I want to share with you. 

And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience.  Over-whelm them with appreciation and love.

Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part.  Our counsel is that you warn the freeloader to get a move on.  Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet.  Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.  And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other.  Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out. 

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens.  This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

I encourage you to take a day and really live the way He wants you to live.  Encourage others and be patient with them.  Look for ways to lift the exhausted.  Take a moment with each person you encounter and tell them something good about themselves. You may just find that it will lift your spirits too. 

The Piano Gals - by Tina Klan & Bev Christensen

Bev Christensen and Tina Klan – Piano Duets

November 15, 2015 @ 1:30pm

A ‘Note’ from Bev & Tina . . .

Every so often, we get together to practice a duet to play at the 8:15am service at Redeemer.  Each time we rehearse, we have a ton of fun, and when we perform, people tell us they wish we would play more often.  Over the last year, an idea emerged to put together a concert of popular and sacred music for everyone to enjoy.

Popular music, because there are so many wonderful songs that are good, but not appropriate during a worship service: songs like “All That Jazz”, “The Blues Concerto”, and “My Heart Will Go On”.

Sacred, because these are the songs that tell our story.  Music is our worship language and the hymns we have chosen speak to our hearts: “Joyful, Joyful” & “Be Thou My Vision” say it all.

We can’t wait to share our love of music and the joy it brings us – with YOU!

Please consider this your personal invitation to join “The Piano Gals” in the Worship Center here at Redeemer.

An hour of exciting and beautiful music played on two pianos.

Sunday, November 15, 2015 @ 1:30pm  (childcare is not provided)

See You Soon!!!

Bev & Tina

Walking in His Will - by Susan Jensen

What a little phrase, but what a big phrase…“Walking in His Will”. It sounds so simple, but people spend literally millions of dollars every year buying books that can lead us to God’s will for our life. Now I’m not saying those are bad books to read, if they bring to a closer relationship with God, that is a good thing.

We humans love our shortcuts, we love getting there 5 minutes faster, we love a recipe that makes cookies that taste the same in half the time, we love our GPS units that get us there with no delays along the way. We’ve all heard that message…“There is a route that will get you there 7 minutes faster, would you like to take that route now?” So it seems natural that we would approach walking in God’s will for our life the same. Give it to me in plain English, preferably in 99 pages or less and I can do this! Again, I’m not saying these books on seeking God’s will are bad, I am personally for any good wording or phrase that makes me focus on God more throughout my day. But there is a book that lays it all out for us, with perfect authority. The Holy Bible. There it is - it’s that simple, yet, we like it in easy to understand common language. Well, that’s even available, “The Message Version” has been available for literally decades, and it rephrases the Bible in easier to understand English, there is even “The Story” that puts the Bible in somewhat chronicle order story format. There are tons of Study Bibles available in different “wording” versions with great study notes explaining what the sometimes strange wording or customs from biblical days meant to them and how that are applicable to us today. (Shameless plug, these are all available at Pages & Prayers Bookstore inside Redeemer Church right here in DeWitt and Bibles are always 20% off the suggested retail price.)

Not sure where to start, try one of the first four books of the New Testament. You can’t go wrong reading the life of Jesus and the example He came to earth to set for us.

Want God’s will for you in a nutshell, look at Matthew 22:37-40 as Jesus was being pressed to prioritize the commandments:

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

It’s amazing, even thousands of years ago, as the Bible was first being penned through God’s inspiration; God knew…we would be looking for a shortcut.

Open God’s Word today and let it speak to your life.

The Great Pumpkin - by Jack Hanneman

Last weekend my wife and I enjoyed a tradition that we started when our 2 girls were first born. We had made our annual pilgrimage to Uncle John’s Cider Mill in St Johns, as we have for over 21 years. It’s a wonderful experience for the entire family. We started at the pumpkin patch, covering the entire 40 acres to ensure we had found nothing less than the perfect pumpkins. Thank God we found the last four.

As the girls walked together, eagerly searching, I was taken back to their earlier years as they walked hand in hand stopping every few seconds dancing back to make sure mom and dad hadn’t fallen to far behind. Their faces beaming from ear to ear, laughing and giggling as they scoured the field - never leaving each other’s side.  Oh the fun they had, always seeming to locate the largest pumpkins in the patch and not quite strong enough to hoist them into the wagon. As I drifted back to the present, I had been witnessing what I had experienced over the last 15 years. Two sisters with an inseparable bond enjoying a family tradition started so long ago. God is good and I am blessed.