MILESTONES Marriages • Philp Arndt married Caitlin Bazan on August 7 in Holland, MI. Philip is the son of members Chris and Sherri Arndt. • Josh Lawrenz married Paige Goodie on June 5, in Nashville, TN. Josh is the son of member Ann Lawrenz. Josh is an orthopedic oncologist and Paige is a speech pathologist at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.
Deaths • Pray for Sara (Perry) Mascetti and family as they grieve the loss of Sara’s mother, June “Hattie” McRoberts, who passed away on July 30. • Pray for the family and friends of Joyce Anderson who passed away on July 28. Services were held. • Pray for Ralph and Carmen DeGroot and their daughter, Wendy, as the grieve the loss of their son-in-law and Wendy's husband, Nick, on August 11.
A Season for Companionability — Virginia Hughes (continued from page 6) My sisters were going to stand on their own. They had an apartment and real jobs. They wanted to be college students, not second mothers to us upon which our lives depended. I listened enough to know there was shared joy in getting beyond Dad’s daily scrutiny too. They cheerfully passed the mantle of their combined household duties onto me. I was going to need to help a lot more in the kitchen, with laundry, cleaning bathrooms and on it went. I did not want the mantle they were passing down. Their exit made me the last man standing as the middle eldest daughter. I insisted that I had not grown. I had not changed. They set me straight with the fact that if they had grown, then so had I, silly. That is how it works. They ordered me to get off the suitcases and stop being a big baby. They assured me with hugs as they pulled away that I would get used to it, I could do this, and furthermore, I should be glad to help, not be such a pain, considering all they had done for me. Besides, I could visit over a weekend. Not every weekend, but occasionally. We would cook and eat together again. I think of Jesus and how companionable he was with his disciples. Jesus fed multitudes with bread, called himself the bread of life,
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• Pray for John (Debbie) Goding and family as they grieve the loss of John's mother, Arlene, who passed away on August 5.
Births • Peter Samuel and Alice Jean McEuen were born to Sam and Audrey McEuen on August 27. Audrey was recently part of the College Church staff. The twins join their big brother, Gregory Thomas. • Zoe Anda Duttweiler was born to College Church midterm missionaries Caleb and Marisa Duttweiler on July 29 in Stelienbosch, South Africa. Zoe’s paternal grandparents are College College Church missionaries Rodney and Kathy Duttweiler. • Amelia Reese Johanik was born to Jake and Tiffany Johanik on August 4. Amelia’s paternal grandparents are members Jim and Heidi Johanik. Jake serves with the United States Space Force.
and broke bread as a sign that his body was broken for us. His blood was shed for us. Imagine how the disciples must have lost their appetites after the betrayal and murder of Jesus. All that violence. The guilt and fear weighing on Jesus’s followers, everything had its flavor—until Resurrection Sunday. What had he promised as they counted those longest of days? What did you write down, Matthew? John, did he say he was coming back? Let us piece what has been written and count the days. There was an armed guard by the tomb, that’s terrible. Oh, how was this going to work? Finally, the day arrived. And the women were up so early they received the news first, “He is risen just as he said!” He appeared to them. He met the disciples on the beach by the cooking fire, feeding them. They were restored and together again. Jesus asking Peter to feed his sheep, feed his sheep, feed his sheep. Surely, he cannot be speaking about leaving so soon. Jesus is saying he will be with them always. Then he sent the Holy Spirit who gave them the power to go into all the world. To change the world. This is the power we have in our daily lives. We aren’t merely affected by weird, unexpected, and inevitable changes all around us. We wear the mantle; we carry the gospel news. This is our winning season, a time to be a friend who will sit and share the bread of life and offer companionability.
