The guide knew that none of us had done this before, and so he got our attention quickly.  “Listen up – I’m going to tell you what you need to know before we hit the 13-foot waterfall.”  Some of the group thought he was kidding.  But as the guide reminded us we’d signed our waivers for a reason and detailed the things that could go wrong, suddenly the life jackets and helmets we were all wearing seemed like a very, very good idea.

The very first thing the guide taught us was how to sit in the raft, which was more counter-intuitive than I’d thought.  The center of the raft had three large inflatable cylinders which looked for all the world like places we should sit.  They weren’t.  The guide explained that if we sat in the middle of the raft, when we hit rocks, the raft would fold up like a taco.  Instead, we sat along the edges of the raft, listened to the guide tell us how to use the cylinders to anchor our feet, and thought about how easy it would be to fall out of a raft sitting on the edge as it goes over a waterfall.

Which made the guide’s next instructions all the more interesting.  After showing us where to put our feet, he told us to test our footing by leaning backwards and touching the top of our helmets to the water.  If we’d planted our feet correctly, we could bend completely backwards over the edge and still not fall out.  It was one of the first acts of trust the guide was calling us into.  Some did it immediately, others balked.  But no one ended up in the water.

The rest of the story will have to wait a while longer, but later that night (yes, we all survived), we reflected on how we had just experienced a living parable, of what it means to trust God as our guide.  We all start out never having done this before – we learn (or not) as we go – and there are real obstacles and challenges that will come our way through life.  The Guide knows the river, knows the obstacles and the dangers and what needs to be done to succeed in our journey.  We have the option of ignoring the warnings of the Guide, of assuming that we can just do our own thing and everything will turn out fine.  But sometimes the right thing to do isn’t always the obvious thing, which is why we need a Guide in the first place.  And then when the Guide tells us to do something, there is a purpose to it, even if it seems a bit scary.  When we touched our helmets to the water, bending completely over the side of the raft with our feet planted, we learned to trust our footing.  It gave us a measure of confidence to face what was coming next.  Likewise, many of the challenges and instructions God gives us are to prepare and train us for what comes next.   The choice is ours of whether we will listen and follow the Guide.

Blessings on the journey!

That day is also Grandparents’ Day, so we encourage all to invite grandparents and/or grandchildren to be with us that Sunday so we can properly recognize, thank, and honor them for their impact on our lives.  Those whose grandparents and/or grandchildren are unable to attend because of distance or other factors, or if they are no longer living, may wish to spend some time thinking about the blessings you have received for being part of their lives.  You may wish to share some of those ideas in class that morning.

Pat Olson will continue teaching the youth class.  In working on books of the New Testament, the group will explore the life and teachings of Jesus to determine what it means to be a Christian today.  This will be done in an exciting new and more welcoming environment!

The children’s class space will be updated, but still with a Biblical theme.  This group will also learn more about Jesus while continuing our journey through the Bible, as we are in the New Testament now.  The class format will be the same as in former years, with the theme introduced the first Sunday of the month (this year by Caroline Overzet) with the Bible story.  On the second Sunday, Carol Mueller will lead the class in a craft activity related to the theme.  Under the leadership of Jean Schneider, the children will share a song or other activity with the congregation during worship on the third Sunday.  On the fourth Sunday, Laurel McKee will guide the children in activities relating the Bible story to everyday lives.  We will continue having Pastor Brian will sing, talk, and pray with the children at the beginning of the session each week.  Our September focus will be “The Greatest Commandment, Matthew 22:36-39.  As we explore “Love God, Love Others,” our memory verse will be Matthew 22:37: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”

The adult class will be facilitated by various members of the class.

If you are not currently participating in one of our classes, now would be a great time to join us!  Please pray for the students and teachers in all of our classes.  Thank you!

Caroline Overzet

Memorial Baptist is a contributing member of this project.  Pastor Brian and Pat Olson currently serve on the task force of Care INC.  Additional churches and agencies participating in Care INC include Ascension Lutheran, Church of Peace, Church of Our Savior, Community Church, Community UMC, Covenant UMC, First Presbyterian, FdL Assembly of God, Grace Christian, Grace Reformed, Holy Family Catholic/St. Vincent de Paul Society, Hope Lutheran, Immanuel Trinity Lutheran, Pilgrim UCC, St. Paul Episcopal, Salem UMC, Salvation Army, The Garden, Solutions Center and Fondy Food Pantry.

The first initiative of Care INC was to set up and maintain a central database of those requesting assistance.  This database can be accessed via the internet by all authorized personnel of participating churches and organizations.  This database is up and running, streamlining coordination in providing help.

The second initiative of Care INC is to develop a mentoring system that will connect, in a timely manner, those in the pews who have skills and expertise with those who are in need.  In collaboration with the Solutions Center, Care INC is seeking to develop a list of people willing to be contacted to serve as short-term mentors, particularly in the following areas:Finances, Lanugage Skills, Parenting, Resume Development and Personal support.  If you would like to volunteer in a different way, we welcome additional skills.   Please prayerfully consider your participation in this very important initiative.  Contact Pastor Brian or Pat Olson to volunteer or request more information.

Economic Development: International Ministries (IM) sends development workers and missionaries to build and strengthen local economies. Utilizing their expertise in agriculture, finance and technology, these IM personnel train local leaders and work alongside them to achieve short-term goals and long-term sustainability. IM is introducing micro-enterprise and applying modern approaches to improve sanitation and install clean water systems in many areas. IM equips families to fight hunger and poverty and ensure that dignity grows as families achieve success through their own diligent efforts.

Education: The importance of basic education lies at the very heart of our American Baptist values.  The ability to read helps families come to know the message of the Bible and gives them the opportunity to choose a personal relationship with Christ. The chance to attend school means reduced child labor, improved health and economic empowerment. Basic education and a solid understanding of Christianity give students the tools to lead in their churches and communities. International Ministries (IM) helps to educate thousands of children and adults each year. Education is IM’s second-largest Ministry Focus Area as our missionaries, development workers and volunteers partner with Christian schools serving children, orphans, refugees, immigrants and others deprived of the opportunity for an education.

Evangelism: Global evangelism is a gradual progression of cultivating trust and growing relationships in villages, towns and cities throughout the world. During the nearly 200 years of its history, International Ministries has been committed to walking alongside those who have never heard the message of God’s love shown in Jesus Christ. Through the teaching, preaching and ministering of IM’s missionaries, millions of these formerly unreached people have become Christians.

The Mission Ministry Team welcomes Shirly McCormick to our team!  She has a great heart for mission and we look forward to having her work with us.  Please pray for her and the rest of the team, which consists of Carol Cross, Pearl Mertens, and Caroline Overzet.  Also, please remember to pray for various mission experiences, both locally and afar.

(Check the Calendar Page for a complete list of meetings and opportunities)

Bible Study – 6:30 PM every Sunday in the Fellowship Hall.  The readings for September are Psalms, Mark 14-16, and Titus.

Choir Practice – The new church choir season will begin on Wednesday, September 8^th at 6:30 PM in the choir room.   If you like to sing, are able to follow recorded accompaniments, and can commit to attending rehearsals and Sunday morning worship on a regular basis, give our choir an opportunity to help you share your gifts.  Altos, basses and tenors are especially needed!

Grandparents Day – Sunday, September 12^th.  We’ll be honoring grandparents during the worship service; so grandkids, invite your grandparents and vice versa!

Sunday School – Sunday School classes for all ages begin at 9:00 AM Sunday, September 12^th.

Knitting Group – 9:00 AM Saturday, September 25^th, in the Youth Room.  Knitters and crocheters of all ages and skill levels are invited to come for fellowship and fun!

I have to confess, I’ve always kind of skimmed over this passage to get to the rather interesting exchange that follows between Jesus and his disciples: When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”  But [Jesus] turned and rebuked them.  Then they went on to another village.

That’s just an interesting story on so many levels – not the least of which being that James and John felt that they had the authority to call down fire from heaven on people that rejected Jesus; talk about a temptation to abuse power!  But seriously, although the center of the story is about Jesus’ rejection of that kind of petty retribution, there’s more going on here than I first realized.  I’d failed to pay attention to why the Samaritans rejected Jesus, because that in itself is a little unusual.

See, in the Gospels, one of the things we tend to find over and over is that it’s the outsiders who are much more likely to be open to Jesus’ message and ministry.  John’s story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 is a prime example.  But here, we find that although Jesus’ purpose is to enter a Samaritan village as part of His ministry, they reject Him.  Why?  Because His face was set toward Jerusalem.

You see, the Samaritans and the Jewish people didn’t get along well; there were hundreds of years of bad blood between them, and one of the sore spots was where God should be worshipped: in Jerusalem or on Mt. Gerizim.  Who is right?  Who is closer to God?  The text gives us a clue that the reason the Samaritans of this village rejected Jesus is because He continued to see His mission in terms that included the enemies of the Samaritans (which is, ironically, one of the problems that the Pharisees had with Jesus: that He continued to spend time with sinners and tax collectors and Gentiles).

We tell ourselves that we would never reject Jesus if He reached out to people that were different than us.  We would never turn our backs on Christ for loving people of another race, for spending time with “sinners” or outsiders.  Yet how often do we condemn our brothers and sisters in Christ who reach out to people whose opinions, politics, culture or lifestyle are different than ours?  There’s no room for self-righteousness on the right, left or center here; it’s a question of whether we’re really able to believe that God loves the world that He gave us His only begotten Son, not just the people we approve of or agree with.

I’ve got a friend from college who has a ministry with people in positions of power and influence in our government.  Our politics are miles apart, but I agree with him wholeheartedly when he spoke about the need that our leaders have for spiritual care.  Let us not throw stones when others are called to minister in areas we have a difficult time embracing, lest we find ourselves turning our backs on the mission of God that is always bigger than our vision can encompass.

Pastor Brian

“This has been our repeated prayer over the last several months, as changes in our family and ministry situation have required us to reconsider where God is directing us.  The Lord is trustworthy when we commit our ways to Him; this has been confirmed to us yet again in this time of discernment when we have repeatedly been placed exactly where we needed to be and given exactly what we needed at each moment.  Family love and responsibility have played a significant part of our decision.  We will be relocating to Arizona for a time to help David’s parents.  We were hoping to find ministry-related work in that area, and are excited that David has been offered a job at Rainbow Acres, a residential community for developmental disabled adults that is related to American Baptist Churches.  This has been an answer to prayer for we have been very aware of the gloomy job market in the USA and the need to provide for our daughters, Lisa and Kara, in college, as well as for Betsy’s continued seminary study.  We ask for your continued prayers as we make the necessary transitions.”

[Note: Dave has now accepted the position at Rainbow Acres.]

The Mission Ministry Team and the Diaconate are exploring how to use the funds allocated to support of the ministry of Dave and Betsy in India.  Some ideas were discussed at the congregational meeting on Sunday, June 20.  You will be updated as plans and ideas progress.

Please continue to keep the Perkins family in your prayers.  Thank you!

Caroline Overzet, Mission Ministry Team Chair