the Tidings
SEPTEMBER 2024
Seeking to Find the Joy Inside this issue: Adult Education . . . . 12-14
Board of Trustees . . . . 8-9 Care Ministries . . . . . . . 6-7
Children’s Ministry . . 26-27 Churchwide . . . . . . . 10-11
College Ministry . . . . . . . 20 Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Generosity . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 GUMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
GUWF . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19 Health & Wellness. . . 24-25
Hospitality . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
I once visited with someone in the hospital with a gracious attitude. They were concerned about their diagnosis, but said, “I can’t imagine how I would get through this without the Lord.” They then said, “I think of others in this hospital who don’t know the Lord’s peace.” Then as we prayed, I prayed for the person’s healing. When it was their turn to offer a prayer, they thanked God, that in their hospital stay, they would have an opportunity to share God’s love and peace with others who are worse off than they were. Praying with an attitude of thanksgiving teaches us not to worry. The patient for whom I was offering prayer was teaching me what it was to live in joy.
Tim Carpenter Senior Pastor
In the early days of the church, Paul wrote a letter to the Philippians to encourage them. In Philippians 4:2-5, in the midst of his encouragement, he had some words for two key members of the church at Philippi who were having a disagreement. They were two women, Euodia and Syntyche. He wrote: "I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
Membership . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Lest anyone ever denigrate the role of women in the church’s life, it should not go unnoticed that Paul upholds Euodia and Syntyche as fellow workers in the gospel along with Clement, whom tradition tells us became the second bishop of Rome.
Message from Pastors Tim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Mimi . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Paul pleads for them to be united in Christ by an attitude of joy, to rejoice in Christ, and to be gentle toward one another. He encourages them to focus on their common relationship with Christ, and to let their spirit always be careful toward others, looking for the good and not the negative. And to do all this remembering that the Lord is near.
Missions . . . . . . . . . . 15-17
I once read a devotion that talked about how both hummingbirds and vultures fly over our nation's deserts. The vultures thrive on that which has died. Hummingbirds seek the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on the past of what was, with what is dead and gone. Hummingbirds live on new life, filling themselves with freshness. And each bird finds exactly what it is looking for. And so do we all. (Steve Goodier, Quote Magazine, in Reader's Digest, May, 1990.)
Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Older Adults. . . . . . . 21-23
OLEC . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-31 Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Remembering the Lord is near, let all of us heed Paul's words to the two women in Philippi. Let our relationships with Christ be central to how we treat others, rejoicing in all that God means to us, seeking to find the joy in all situations.