March - Greenville Community Church

GREENVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH
MARCH 2011 NEWSLETTER
What Would Jesus Cut?
People have been asking a series of questions that began, as best as I can tell, with, “What would
Jesus do?” It’s a good question to ask before making an important decision, especially a decision with
moral implications.
The popularity of this question is traced to Calvary Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan. At that
church, several members of the youth group read In His Steps, a book written by Charles Sheldon and
published in 1896. Sheldon asked the same question. Next, someone in the Holland church fashioned
a bracelet out of cloth and included the letters WWJD. Soon, not only were youth wearing versions
of the bracelet but others, younger and older, also wanted a visible reminder of the enduring question.
After WWJD bracelets became popular on a wider scale, I began to notice variations. When the price
of gasoline skyrocketed, I saw “What Would Jesus Drive?” At a college cafeteria, someone posted,
“What Would Jesus Eat?” Similarly someone asked, “What Would Jesus Wear?”
Most recently, with budget cuts in the news, I read an email that asked, “What Would Jesus Cut?”
Again, I think it’s a good question. I hope members of congress give it serious consideration. Perhaps
people of faith should urge our legislators, especially those who emphasize their church membership,
to give the question due process. Would Jesus cut federal funding for food
stamps? For heating oil assistance? For the war in Afghanistan?
Closer to home, we could ask the same question about our personal budgets. If
you are cutting back, how do you base your decisions? What are your priorities?
How does a change in your personal budget affect you? Your church? Your
community?
I don’t know how the question will morph in the future because I’m too busy
trying to answer its current configuration today.
Pastor Edward
A Consistory meeting will be held on
Saturday, March 12, at 8:30 a.m. will be held
in the lounge.
Several Committee Meetings will be held on
Sunday, March 27, at 11:15. Everyone is invited
to attend a meeting, even for only one session in
order to participate in the organizational life of
the church. The meetings will be held in Hessler
Hall.
The Book Club will meet
on Tuesday, March 8, at
7:30 p.m., and talk about
Fences by August Wilson.
Everyone is invited to join
in the conversation and stay
for delicious refreshments!
If interested call Joanne at
914-668-4489.
Plan to attend the Shenton, Shields, Bisda
concert on Sunday, March 13, at 4:30 p.m.
at Greenville Church. The afternoon's
performers are David Shenton on violin and
piano; Eris Shields, soprano; and Corazon
Bisda on piano.
The Progressive Dinner is coming up
on May 7. The Saturday night dinner
will take place in three steps. First there
will be a social hour held at prearranged homes. Participants next shift
to another home for dinner. Finally
everyone gathers in Hessler Hall for an
extravagant selection of desserts. Save
the date and look forward to a good
time!
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A Lenten Supper and Spirituality Series will
be held during five Wednesdays in Lent
beginning March 16. The series will feature a
7:00 p.m. potluck supper in Hessler Hall,
which will be followed by singing and a
program. It will be an opportunity to embrace
the task of Lent as we pray and contemplate
vital matters of faith together.
The Lenten Wednesday Series will feature the
program “Lord, Save Us from Your
Followers,” which is an energetic
documentary that explores the collision of
faith and culture in the United States. Fed up
with the angry, strident language filling the
airwaves that has come to represent the
Christian faith, director Dan Merchant set out
to discover why the gospel of love is dividing
people. Using a broad array of expert
interviews, person-on-the-street bits, hilarious
animations and "I've never seen that before"
stunts, “Lord, Save Us from Your Followers”
brings everyone into the conversation. We
will watch segments of the documentary on a
projection screen and then talk about it.
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Ash Wednesday is March 9. Our worship
service will begin at 8:00 p.m. and include
communion and the imposition of ashes.
Ashes are placed on our foreheads to remind
us that death awaits everyone, and of the
necessity to make the most of our lives. The
practice dates from the Middle Ages, prior
to the division between Roman Catholic and
Protestant Churches, and thus is a practice
embraced by Christians of many different
traditions, including Greenville Community
Church.
What’s Up With the Neighbors?
• Piermont Reformed Church has an acoustic
music series usually held on the third Friday of
the month at 8:00 p.m. Admission is free. For
more information, check their website at
www.piermontchurch.org
• The United Church of Spring Valley will have a
Youth Group Mardi Gras Dance on March 5
from 7:00 – 11:00 pm. See
www.unitedchurchofspringvalley.org
• The Reformed Church of Bronxville will have a
Teacher Workshop on Saturday, March 19 from
8:30 – 10:00 a.m. The workshop will emphasize
Bible basics, essentials of Reformed Christianity,
and how to respond to children’s questions that
“can stump you!” See www.reformedchurch.org
• Woodlands Community Temple will host a
blood drive on Sunday, March 13 from 9:00 a.m.
– 2:00 p.m. In order to schedule an appointment,
sign up online at www.wtc.org/blooddrive or call
Chuch Bauer at 231-5157.
• Lord, Teach Us to Pray is the name of a
workshop to be held at the Reformed Church in
New Paltz, NY, on Saturday, March 19 from
9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This workshop will
provide experiences of intercessory prayer and
share what it means to be in the presence of
Christ. For more information, contact Desiree
Albizu at albizu@valstar.net or 518-537-4221.
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Greenville Community Church offers weekly classes for children to help them learn
about God’s love. Classes are held after the children’s message during the 10AM
worship service each Sunday. All children are welcome!
There are many Bible verses that tell of God’s special care and love for children. In
Matthew 18 we read that Jesus called the children to him and wanted them near.
Last June on Children’s Sunday all our Sunday School children received Bibles from the
Church. We heard recently the story of three year old Connel Torres who received one
of these Bibles, who regularly finds this Bible at bedtime, seeking it out from other books
in the bedroom after he is tucked in by his parents (Paul and Mary). He opens the Bible
to one of the stories of faith, and falls asleep in the blissful way pictured below. He tells
his parents he does this because the Bible brings him light. Thank you, Connel, for
helping teach us about God and God’s Word.
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:10
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Dan DelVecchio – 2nd
Cora Bisda – 6th