Help Set Up for Sunday School!

The church was cleaned this week and the Green Room was “taken down” for it.  If you can come a few minutes early tomorrow — say 9:00 or so — we could certainly use your help in putting up the tables and the chairs again.

Thanks very much!

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Music at the Gazebo this Sunday

Come to the Forest Ridge Gazebo Sunday, June 16, at 6:30 pm for a night of light jazz music by Luminosa Blue.

Bring a lawn chair!

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Bible Study, Anyone?

Any interest?  Easy to set something up for our Green Room; notify Dss Candy if interested.

A Hunger for God’s Word

The following article by Canon Phil Ashey first appeared in the June 14, 2013 edition of the AAC’s Weekly Email Update. Sign up for this free email here.

Dear Friends in Christ,

I want to follow up on the Anglican perspective video on Inductive Bible Study by sharing a bit more about the Bible study that I am now a part of on Monday nights.

We are currently studying the Gospel of John. The difference is that we are not using Bibles with chapter divisions, verses and footnotes. We are using the plain text of the Gospel of John in two versions, ESV and Amplified, printed out on 8.5×11 paper without any chapter or paragraph breaks. We do have numbers for the lines on the left so that we have some way of referencing where we are! But this “manuscript” is simply the text of the Gospel of John itself. This is exactly the way we did ‘manuscript’ studies Bible study “dig-ins” when I was involved in Stanford Christian Fellowship (Inter-Varsity).

We meet in the large basement of a home. There is wonderful hospitality and social interaction prior to the study. We start promptly at 7 pm with a brief introduction of newcomers and prayer. We spend 30 minutes around tables in small groups “reading, marking, learning and inwardly digesting” the text we have been assigned to read. The wonderful thing about this manuscript is that you can mark it up, highlight it, circle repeating words, draw lines of connection, and write down observations and questions as much as you want! And we all do. The holy silence while people take the text so seriously and dig in to it is absolutely tangible!

After that first 30 minutes of personal study, we then spend another 30 minutes sharing around the table what we observed and learned. The conversation is deep and rich and lively and leads to further observations, interpretation and application (the three dimensions of inductive Bible study).

By now an hour has gone by. Our host invites the whole group to come back and each person to share for no more that 60-90 seconds one thing that they learned from the text that night. No one has to share – in fact, if you don’t want to share, you can say “pass”. But most people do. Before we begin the sharing we pray for the Holy Spirit (again) to guide us into the truth of this inspired text. Since there are 52 people at this study (even more last week), it takes about 45 minutes for everyone to share.

Think about that: 52 people gathered on a Monday night to spend over two hours in Bible study. And here is another remarkable thing – of those 52 people, I would guess at least 40 were between 18-25 years old! We had people ranging in age from 8 to 78 years old! Through the sharing, we discover how rich and full of “grace and truth” God’s word really is, like a diamond with many facets, each person contributing an observation of one of those facets. At times it feels a bit like popcorn, with one observation provoking another and another.

What strikes me is the deep hunger young people have for the word of God and its practical application to their lives. My three daughters, ages 26, 18 and 15, are also in this study (at different tables, of course!). As a father, I can think of no greater joy than to hear my own children receiving and sharing deep insights from God’s word.

I believe with all my heart that this is a picture of the future we have as Anglicans as a younger generation of leaders rises up, established on the sure foundation of God’s word. We ended with another 30 minutes of prayer for personal needs – and that, too, was deep, fervent and moving. As I head into Provincial meetings of the Anglican Church in North America next week (and for which I bid your prayers), I’ll be thinking of this Bible study and the hope it portends for revival in North America!

Yours in Christ,

Phil

The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey

Chief Operating and Development Officer, American Anglican Council

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Hand Chimes Workshop

Handchimes, Handchimes !!

 

You are invited to come and learn to ring handchimes.  They are a beautiful instrument played in choir form that is fairly easy to master.  I will be teaching note reading, basic rhythms, and ringing technique to all beginners.  No musical background needed; we will start at the very beginning.

For those of you who read music and/or have rung in a handbell choir before, I will teach techniques and have more advanced music to ring.

 

Where?      Christ Our Hope (3425 Valley Street near Forest Ridge)

When?       Every Wednesday June 19^th – July 31^st (except July 3^rd)

How long?  1:00 – 3:00 for the first week, then we may divide the time up

Who?                 Any child of 10 yrs & older AND adults (no matter your age!)

 

• Learn to read music or improve current music reading skills
• Learn a unique instrument
• Ring in a choir
• Have fun learning rhythm, techniques, and ringing music together
• Short commitment to see if you like it!

 

RSVP to Lorelei Albert 233-3507, or email loreleialbert@att.net , so I can plan accordingly.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

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Wednesday Evening Prayer Cancelled

Because of a number of conflicts, we are cancelling Evening Prayer for this Wednesday only.  It will resume next week, June 19, at 7:00 p.m.

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Thanks!

Christ Our Hope is again the t-shirt sponsor for the Forest Ridge Fighting Fish swim team.

The team thanks you very much for sponsoring our tie-dye t-shirts. I pray that the Word of God is proclaimed through this sponsorship.

Karla Herman

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June and July LAMB/WMPL Prayer Calendar

From Dr. Kris Prenger. Thanks for praying!

June July 2013.pdf

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Many Hands Made Light Work

Thanks to all the following people who showed up today to help off-load, assemble, and configure our new seating:  (In no special order) Greg, Karla, Theresa, Maria, Caroline, and Joey Herman, Martha and Tom Berger, Ian and Byron Swanson, Pat, Darlene, Alex, and Bob Prenger, Michael Evanhoe, Fr. Chris and William Herman, Amanda, Nathan, James, Stephen (and Jane) Roberts, Jeff Brown,Dss Candy, Sherry and Lydia Mathis.  Gosh I hope I didn’t miss anyone!  It was a superb effort, and the new seating looks marvelous.  Thanks be to God for every single person who was involved in this project!  The chairs will be dedicated to the Glory of God on Sunday.

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Reminder — Chairs Tomorrow!

We will be off-loading our new sanctuary chairs from the delivery truck, beginning at 10:00 a.m. — Lunch will be provided.  We need as many hands as possible to make this go quickly.  Please come if you can arrange the time!

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Prayer Request — Hannah Mathis

I talked with Fr. Harry about Hannah’s being at the Base Hospital ER.  He told me she had had “flu-like” symptoms since Sunday, had responded to medication at first, but was not responding to it now.  The doctors are trying to determine what may be causing the problems.  She was being prepped for a CAT scan when I talked with him about an hour ago.  Please pray for Hannah’s comfort and healing and for the doctors to be able to determine what is happening and respond appropriately.

O Almighty God, the giver of all health, and our help when we turn to You for comfort; We pray for Your child Hannah, that she may be healed from her sickness and we pray for the doctors and staff who tend to her, that they will have Your wisdom and understanding as they work to find a cause and then a cure, that You may be glorified in this, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

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New Chairs Arrive June 6 — HELP!!

Our new sanctuary chairs will arrive at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 6.  The truck will park by the kitchen door so that we can use the ramp for unloading.  There is no lift gate on the truck so we’ll probably have to form a “bucket brigade” to pass the chairs along….therefore, we need lots of people to help.  Plan on arriving as close to 10 as possible — lunch will be provided.  Repeating — we need lots of people to help — so if you can make a couple of hours available next Thursday morning, it would be greatly appreciated.

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ACNA Magazine

The current issue of The Apostle, the magazine of the Anglican Church in North America (of which we are a part) is just out.  There is a very good article about the Anglican Chaplaincy program which many of you may find interesting.  To read the magazine, click on the link below, then click in the box to the right that says “The Apostle”  to be taken to the magazine itself which is in pdf form.

http://www.anglicanchurch.net/

Both Fr. Harry and Dcn Carl are a part of this Anglican Chaplaincy program under Bishop Derek Jones.

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Prayer Request

From Jon and Sherry Miller:

Abby’s dog Zoro is lost and we are praying that he be found safe and returned to Abby.

Oh Father, we thank you for giving us the gift of pets.  Through their love and loyalty, we are better able to understand Your love for us.  We pray for the safe return of Abby’s dog Zoro, and ask You to protect him until He is found.  We ask this, thanking You that no request is too small for our loving Father, and we ask through the precious Name of Jesus Christ, Your son our Lord.  Amen

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Diocesan Newsletter-How to Subscribe

How to Subscribe to the Diocesan Newsletter

As promised, I’m sending you instructions that you can email to your parishioners, post on your website, or print in a Sunday bulletin.

1. Go to the Resources page: 
   http://rec-mdcs.org/resources/
   
2. In the Links of Interest list in the right margin, click on ”Subscribe to the Diocese  newsletter.”
3. Enter your email address in the box.
4. Click on [Subscribe to list].
5. Follow the instructions that  will be emailed to the address you entered.

Also, you can find links to all back issues of the newsletter on the Resources page under the Newsletter heading.

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Prayer request

Please pray for Doris Prenger. She is in the hospital with pneumonia and an irregular heartbeat. She is also being grated for low hemoglobin levels

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Praise Report!

My friends,

 

Thank you so much for your prayers today.  Damon had a triple by-pass procedure in about 4 hours.  The doctors are pleased with the surgery and say he came through with flying colors.  He will need our continued prayers for the healing process but he is through the hard part. Kirsten is holding up well too.  Her sister, my oldest daughter Synnove, drove down to be there and to help out.  What a blessing.

 

Again Thank you and God bless you for your support.

Martha and Tom

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Miami Valley Women’s Center Walk for Life

The Women’s center Walk for Life is this Saturday, May 18th! If you cannot walk in the walk – you could still give to this wonderful cause. Please go online at www.miamivalleywomenscenter.org and donate to a walker. Lisa Trimbach is walking and wants to raise over $1000 dollars.

Thanks for supporting this wonderful ministry.

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Preparation for Pentecost

At yesterday’s service, God brought the congregation a word through Sherry Mathis which encouraged us to prepare for Pentecost by seeking Him to see if there are things blocking us from receiving and yielding to His Holy Spirit.

John 14:16 —  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

Ephesians 5:18b — And be ever filled with the Spirit…

May God enlighten and encourage you this week as you prepare for The Feast of Pentecost.

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Anybody need a dryer?

From Anita Evanhoe:

Maytag Neptune clothes dryer. Worked fine when we moved it to garage several months ago. You move it, it is yours.

Give me a call if interested. Anita Evanhoe 937-236-8388

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Update and Continuing Prayer Request

From Martha and Tom Berger:

Good morning,

 

My son-in-law Damon’s heart cath revealed that he will need by-pass surgery (at 50). It will be this week but they have not set the day and time yet.  He was on a blood thinner and it has to get out of his system first. I ask your continued prayers for Damon, Kirsten, and the team of doctors.

Thank you so much, Martha and Tom

Almighty God and Father, we give you thanks for the protection of Damon and trust You to complete the work that You have begun in Him.  We pray this this surgery will have a successful end, and that You will use this time to draw Damon closer to Yourself by Your Holy Spirit.  We ask Your blessing on the family as they anticipate this surgery, that You will give to all Your immeasurable peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen

 

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