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THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF PITTSFORD 4340 S. Pittsford Rd. P.O. Box 207 Pittsford, MI 49271 Terry Bobzien, Pastor A Church Home for You and Your Family! |
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Join us in Faith, Freedom and Fellowship! Worship Services and Sunday School are held at 11:00a.m. every Sunday Join us for Vacation Bible School July 13-17, 5:30-8:30 p.m. PowerLab VBS starts with dinner for the family! |
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July 2006 Newsletter Pastor’s Passages On Exuberance With the apparent success of our Vacation Bible School, I am ready to breathe a BIG sigh of relief and relax. This program has been an act of faith for many of us, because we’re re-inventing the wheel: We haven’t had a VBS for many years, and could only guess at the response we’d have. The response of volunteers to teach, lead and serve was as important as the number of young people we’d have participating. It worked out well, with human effort and God’s blessing. There’s probably a feeling for many of us, “Thank Heaven that’s done!” But wait a minute—this is only the beginning! It’s been a few years since I experienced just the feeling I had on Thursday night when I watched the group disperse to their various activities after our Fiesta Opening. Becky had reviewed the lessons of each of the four days until then, and we sang four or five songs, led by that beautiful band of kids on the Fiesta Songs Video. The response was electric. Not only were the children ALIVE with the excitement of the songs they’d just sung, but they were practically jumping out of their skin to get on to the next segment! These kids were alive with God’s Spirit. They were learning the love of Jesus and they were becoming hooked on joy. It was fun. We knew it must be fun for the youngsters, or they wouldn’t return. It was fun for the adults, too. Some of us became as much hooked on joy as the kids were. God is doing a mighty work among us, friends. We have just begun to feel the movement of the Holy Spirit in directing us in new forms of service and worship. This VBS is the first of many new wineskins God will put before us. This will be a time when God speaks and God provides anew for our congregation. How will we know what is the next step? How will we know what serves the kingdom? How does God speak to us, about God’s plans? We are going to be looking for that same joy I felt on Thursday night! Eugene Peterson, author of The Message Bible, writes in his book, Earth and Altar, “Be still and know. Civilization is littered with unsolved problems, baffling impasses. The best minds of the world are at the end of their tether. The most knowledgeable observers of our condition are badly frightened. The most relevant contribution that Christians make at these points of impasses is the act of prayer—determined, repeated, leisurely meetings with the personal and living God. New life is conceived in these meetings.” New life, new joy, new exuberance. Let us pray… Pastor Terry VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL FIESTA!!!
VBS was a great success, on many levels! Yes, we had many children, averaging over 17, and peaking at 26. In addition, we succeeded in becoming more visible in the community. Besides the children coming from surrounding towns, we had several families from the immediate area that have enjoyed our hospitality. Just as exciting, we had over 30 adult volunteers and participants from our church family! Starting promptly at 5:30 with a meal, the children moved on to singing, story-telling, crafts, games, video, snack and more singing. The kids were very enthusiastic about the songs and motions, led by Becky and assisted by videos. The children learned the meaning of Jesus in their life as they responded to “Jesus is our friend;” “Jesus is our life;” “Jesus is our leader;” “Jesus is our Savior;” and, “Jesus is our helper” (Viva!). A daily Bible Treasure Verse was reinforced by a Bible Memory Buddy which the children kept in their Amigo Packs. The smiles on the children’s faces summed up the results for the many volunteers. This was a major undertaking for us, and it was worth every bit of effort. If you weren’t able to be at the Finale program during worship on July 16, we do have pictures and a video of the VBS. If you’d like a CD of the pictures taken by Robb and Gwen, or if you’d enjoy a VHS copy of the video shot by Lynette, let Terry know. We are now presented with choices and decisions to make. Keep this VBS and the many kids in your prayers. How will we respond to this outpouring of God’s abundance on our ministry? How can this fellowship of believers serve God’s kingdom by reaching into those young lives? We are at a crossroads, and may we all pray that we choose wisely in following a path that will lead to service to our children and communities. Many thanks to those who generously contributed food, time, energy, decorations, money and good will to this VBS. We could list all the names, but it could encompass most all of our church family! God has blessed all of those efforts. Now, we eagerly seek the next steps on our journey as a community of faith. |
Who Said That? A lie can travel halfway around the world while the
truth is putting on its shoes.
Ice Cream Social August 19th. 4:30-7p.m. We hope you will invite your friends and family to attend the annual ice cream social! Sign-up sheets for food donations and workers are now posted on the Fellowship Hall bulletin board. The Ice Cream Making Fellowship Night will be August 6th. at 6p.m., hosted by Brian and Lynette Brocht at their home. Everyone is invited to attend.
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Office Telephone 517-523-2765. Church Telephone 517-523-2385. Terry Bobzien, Pastor, Cell Phone 517-499-5470.
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