Fred's Notes

George Morrison was a Scottish preacher of some fame. Morrison dreamed one night that he traveled up to heaven.  There at the Pearly Gates he introduced himself to St. Peter.  But St. Peter couldn't find his name in the Book of Life.  Morrison tried to explain that he was a pastor, a man of God.  St. Peter had never heard of him.  Morrison protested that he had spent years in a well-known ministry and had brought many souls to Christ, but still St. Peter couldn't locate him. Finally, St. Peter found him.  "Oh, I do have a notation here," St. Peter remarked, pointing to his name.  "It says, 'One night he sat up all night long with somebody who was dying.'"  For all his great fame and accomplishment, Morrison would be known in Heaven only for his deeds of kindness.

KINDNESS IS A REFLECTION OF THE IMAGE OF GOD IN WHICH WE WERE CREATED.

Having said that, however, we must add something else: CHRISTIANS ARE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN COMMANDED TO BE KIND.

We don't have any choice about it.  Christ told us to love our enemies. He told us to regard sick people, hungry people, homeless people, people in prison, people who are dying as Christ himself.  We are to offer a cup of cold water to anyone who is thirsty.

"While we were yet sinners Christ died for us . . ." writes St. Paul. (Romans 5:8) Christ didn't wait until we cleaned up our lives. He didn't wait until we could reciprocate. He gave while expecting nothing in return--except one thing: That we will pass on the kindness we have received from him to others. That is our Christian call.

Kindness has its rewards. Sometimes when we respond to someone else with love and generosity of spirit, they, too, may become a little kinder, gentler.

How will you be remembered in heaven?  What will the Book of Life have to say about you?  What act of kindness can you give this week?

October 1^st Birthday Breakfast

Carole Rohlfs Cooking

9:15 a.m.

October 12^th Board Meeting

 6:30 p.m.

October 15^th Congregational Dinner

At the Rohlfs'

October 26^th Choir Practice

6:00 p.m.

October 29^th Special Musical Service

See Details Below

October 31 Halloween

Don’t forget the candy!

Serving the Congregation in October

Elder: Delbert Oliver

Deacons: Kathy Joslyn, Michelle Blair

Acolytes: Vanda Spencer, Kathryn Blair, Hailey Blair, Adia Reed

Worship Leaders:

In Memoriam

A gift in memory of Joany Young has been received from Rev. William McKnight and his wife Sue.

October 3^rd Clint Patterson

October 6^th Susie Patterson

 October 6^th Richard Redd

 October 25^th Nancy Lobb

Lectionary

http://www.disciples.org/lectionary/

Parking Lot Fund Update

The fund is at  $8,076 as of 10/1/06.  We’re near our goal of $9,000 and plan to have the contractor re-inspect the lot to determine when we should resurface.  We’re thinking it should be done before we get any freezing weather. 

Special Musical Service October 29

I’d hate to be the third verse of a hymn, because no one would ever sing me!” This was a comment made by one of our members during a discussion of our services sparked by our Sunday morning study of “A Purpose Driven Church."

However, it got us thinking about doing a special service featuring our favorite hymns, with all the verses (although Fred says he’s not so sure about songs with more than four verses).

Carol Jenkins has very bravely agreed to play by request.  (Carol, that is going above and beyond the call of duty!)  Your mission is to figure out what your favorite hymn is, and we’ll try to sing them during our worship service October 29^th!

http://www.missionmississippi.org/TuesdayThursdayPrayerBreakfasts.dsp

A Year Later… Lives and Communities Changed Forever…

By Barbara Jones, Executive Regional Minister, Great River Region

Editors Note:  Barb has written an extensive report on the status of the most affected churches in the Great River Region.  What follows (due to space limitations . . . the whole report would take 5 pages) are excerpts from her report regarding our Mississippi congregations, but we urge you to read the entire report at http://www.grrcc.org/AYearLater.htm

For those directly affected by the storms of 2005, life is not back to normal, or perhaps ”normal” has changed. In the Great River Region, communities south of I-20 have had new priorities placed before them, and it’s a blessing to see how our congregations are responding. Communities across the gulf coast (I-10/12) have varied experiences and are in differing states of recovery… with just as many reasons why that recovery seems to be moving so slowly.

Today, I’d like to share a few of my perspectives with you and hope that you will share them within your congregation. .  .

Starting at the southeastern border of our region and moving to southwestern border, we start with First Christian Church of Moss Point, Mississippi. Moss Point is a community that sits directly north of Pascagoula, and suffered a great deal of damage throughout the community. Nearly every family in the church has faced recovery and rebuilding efforts. Pastor Lester Brooks has shifted his work from the Naval shipyards where he served as an electrician to working as a private electrical contractor. Between pastoring the church and working as an electrician he is busy 24/7. Moss Point was one of the first mission stations for Office of Disciples Volunteering [ODV] in partnership with Week of Compassion and the Great River Region. Congregations from across the denomination have been to Moss Point to help “cut and gut” and rebuild homes there. Rev. Ann Pickett, associate at Moss Point, serves now as the Vice President of Disciples Women of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). To read one congregation’s experience in Moss Point, check out this website: http://www.indianadisciples.org/mission reflections.php

Meridian MS sits straight north of Moss Point by several hours, right at I-20 and I-59, near the Alabama border. Katrina was still F2 when it went over Meridian, and though flooding was not a problem, trees were down and electricity off for several days. First Christian Church stayed open throughout the storm and became the official site for feeding emergency workers. For more than a week, Rev. Tom Sikes and the congregation fed police, fire, MEMA, electrical and rescue crews three meals a day. Much of the work was done using their gas stoves in the kitchen and a generator as there was no power. No electricity meant there was no air conditioning. At the same time, Dr. Randy Nance and others headed south with a medical mission to Long Beach and began caring for residents suffering from storm related injuries and caring for ongoing medical needs. Check out www.pavingyourway.com for more stories from Meridian. They served as a mission station for the Office of Disciples Volunteering early on, and continue their commitment to long term recovery efforts. Most recently they provided a professional crew of steel workers to erect a new building at Westside Christian Church in New Orleans. We couldn’t have done that job with volunteers. Thanks FCC Meridian!!

Moving southwest on I-59 from Meridian, Hattiesburg MS was hit hard with the winds and rain of the F2 strength of Katrina. Though the church was not damaged, the town was inundated with evacuees even though utilities were not restored for weeks. Most members of the congregation lost trees and some had damages to their homes. Phones were not back in dependable working order until late September, and mail was not delivered everywhere until November. Now, the community is struggling with increased population and strain on its infrastructure. Pastor Norman Sanders has reached out with colleagues in town to minister to the community. They are celebrating the congregation’s anniversary this weekend and will have many pastors and former members back to celebrate with them!

Gulfport, MS is still devastated, as are all the coastal communities. The congregation lost several members that decided not to move back. Our church was protected from the storm surge by First Baptist Church, as we sit just north of their property. However, the water rushed through our church, damaging everything on the first floor. Carl Zerwick and a work team from Moss Point were able to “cut and gut” the first floor, treated for mold and got it dried out to begin rehab. ODV has had a mission station there at First Christian Church since early this spring. It will continue to serve as such for up to three years. The sanctuary is nearly finished and once the pews, lectern, pulpit and other wood items have been refinished and carpet laid, the congregation will be back to worshipping in a beautiful setting. Pastor Nick Nickerson’s home is still not repaired as they wait for the contractor to get around to them. They did have flood insurance, but getting the work to be done is their challenge. The downtown area is coming back slowly, but is still looks much as it did a year ago. Debris has been picked up, but not much work has been done on buildings. Mike Lee is the ODV volunteer coordinator there, and lives in an RV on the property . . .

Let’s go north from Hammond to McComb, just an hour or so straight north on I-55. McComb experienced much damage due to downed trees, but like Hattiesburg and Baton Rouge, they have swelled with evacuees who have moved there for “the long haul”. FCC has spent an entire year assisting every week with food preparation for the recovery workers, and are very involved with the interfaith long term recovery organization. Sara Beth Rials, a member of that church, helped the regional office from January through August as one of the youth coordinators who stepped in to see us through the year after Wendi Phillips resigned last fall to work closer to home. Rev. Donald Dick says that the entire mission of the congregation and their sense of calling has changed as a result of the hurricanes. It has not and is not easy, but members there continue to care and reach out to those in need. David Welch, a Disciple working for the Interfaith recovery center there, has joined the church recently, providing a direct connection to ongoing recovery work.

Don’t Forget

The Regional Assembly

November 3-5