Shiloh Baptist Church
Transcription
Shiloh Baptist Church
The Shiloh December 2012 G lo r if y in g G o d b y … R e a c h in g , B u i ld in g , S e r v in g THE CHRIST OF CHRISTMAS Sometimes it seems as though we spend our lives waiting. Daydreaming about an upcoming vacation, worrying over a medical test, preparing for the birth of a grandchild-our days are filled with anticipation and anxiety over what the future holds. As Christians, we too spend our lives waiting. But we are waiting for something much bigger than a trip, bigger even than retirement or a wedding: We are waiting for the return of Jesus in glory. Advent heightens this sense of waiting, because it marks not only our anticipation of Jesus' final coming, but also our remembrance of his arrival into our world more than 2,000 years ago. I hope as you enjoy all of your Christmas festivities that you will join us in worship as we remember all that God has done for us through the child of Bethlehem and anticipate what our Heavenly Father wants to continue to do in our lives through the living spirit of the Christ child. As we move through this Advent season, let us affirm our faith in Jesus our Lord through this Christmas Covenant: -I believe in Jesus Christ and in the beauty of the gospel begun in Bethlehem. -I believe in the one whose spirit glorified a little town; and whose spirit still brings music to persons all over the world, in towns both large and small. -I believe in the one for whom the crowded inn could find no room, and I confess that my heart still sometimes wants to exclude Christ from my life today. -I believe in the one who the rulers of the earth ignored and the proud could never understand; whose life was among common people, whose welcome came from persons of hungry hearts. -I believe in the one who looked at persons and made them see what God's love saw in them, who by love brought sinners back to purity, and lifted human weakness up to meet the strength of God. -I believe in God who gives us the best of himself. I believe in Jesus, the son of the living God, born in Bethlehem this night, for me and for the world. -I confess my ever-lasting need of God: The need of forgiveness for our selfishness and greed, the need of new life for empty souls, the need of love for hearts grown cold. Merry Christmas, Pastor Mike You’re Invited to A Cookie Exchange!! DATE: Saturday, December 15, 2011 TIME: 2-4 p.m. LOCATION: 12456 Ascot Close Drive King George It is that time again everyone! That’s right it is cookie exchange time. Get out your favorite cookie recipe or buy your favorite store bought cookies and join us on December 15th from 2-4 pm at the home of Sharon Band. Bring a small gift (under $10) for a white elephant gift exchange. We will also be collecting cookies again this year for our homebound members that will be distributed by our men’s ministry members. In addition, this year we will be collecting a donation that will go toward purchasing sewing machines for the ministry of Wendy Ryan in South Africa. Wendy was one of the missionaries that we skyped with during VBS this year. Wendy helps women diagnosed with HIV earn a living to provide for their family by learning to sew. Can’t wait to see you there! Call Sharon Band at 540-775-2456 if you have any questions or need more information. 70TH Anniversary of the sinking of USS JUNEAU (CL 52), our Shiloh connection by Cindy Miller On November 11, we recognized our veterans during worship service, reflected on their service to our country, sang the patriot songs, and went away feeling grateful to them for preserving our freedoms. The day before, a special edition of the USS THE SULLIVANS (DD 537/DDG 68) Association newsletter arrived in my mailbox, and I just wanted to share this story. On Nov. 13, 1942, USS JUNEAU (CL 52) was sunk by a Japanese submarine in the naval Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II. That special edition newsletter paid tribute to the 687 officers and crew of JUNEAU who lost their lives, including the “Five Sullivan brothers-- George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert--from Waterloo, Iowa, and the 10 men who survived. The next Navy ship built was to be named after the Sullivan brothers, as directed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Less than a year after JUNEAU’s sinking, USS THE SULLIVANS (DD 537) was commissioned and saw service in both World War II and the Korean War. It was decommissioned in 1965; my husband, Luke Miller, was the ship’s last weapons officer. The second ship bearing the brothers’ name, USS THE SULLIVANS (DDG 68), was commissioned by Kelly Sullivan Loughren, granddaughter of Albert, the youngest of the Sullivan brothers, in 1997 in Staten Island, New York. The commissioning ceremony included not only the officers and crew of THE SULLIVANS but also personnel who developed the Aegis Weapon System and associated computer programs for this ship and the Dahlgren personnel who to this day install and maintain the programs. Some Navy personnel and civilians in our congregation perform many aspects of these duties every day. Rob Dean was one of the Sailors at the commissioning that day who, with the entire crew, rapidly boarded the ship, following the orders of ship sponsor Kelly Sullivan Loughren: “Man our ship and bring her to life.” Luke participated, too. As last officer of the deck on the first USS THE SULLIVANS, he passed the long glass to the first officer of the deck of the new ship. 2 Lester Zook, a JUNEAU survivor, was among the prominent guests at that commissioning ceremony. His presence showed the spirit of camaraderie that spanned three generations of ships and Sailors. He died in 1998 on the anniversary of the JUNEAU disaster. The motto “We Stick Together” was taken from the Sullivan brothers and handed down from the first ship to the second. As those five Sullivan brothers cherished each other, the men and women of the U.S. Navy treasure the bonds they’ve made with passing shipmates, such as Lester Zook…such as those in our congregation. Eternal Father, Strong to save, Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep Its own appointed limits keep; O hear us when we cry to thee, for those in peril on the sea. Fire Controlman 1st Class Robert Dean (SW), shown here at Shiloh’s 2012 Memorial Day services, served in the U.S. Navy from 1991 to 2001. He commissioned two Aegis Destroyers: USS JOHN S. MCCAIN (DDG 56), with whom he served from 1993-1996, and USS THE SULLIVANS (DDG 68), serving aboard her from 19961999. He was also an Aegis instructor at the Aegis Training and Readiness Center, NSWC Dahlgren Division, from 1999 to 2001. By: Angela Clatterbuck Sparks is for grades kindergarten through 2nd. This is a wonderful age to learn about Christ’s love for us. Sparks are distinguished in their uniform by a red vest. They will use this vest all 3 years and attach patches and jewels as they accomplish their books. This age group will read biographies on people from the Bible, memorize scriptures, learn the books of the Bible and complete some fun activities. If they complete all three books they will have explored the whole Bible. We have several wonderful adults who work with this group each week. Again, it is not too late to join the Awana program. If you or someone you know is interested in checking us out, come by any Sunday from 4 to 5:30 – we’d love to see you! Also this month we are preparing for our Awana Christmas store! As the kids memorize scriptures they earn “Awana bucks”. They can use these Awana bucks at the Christmas store to buy presents for siblings, Dad, or Mom. We are asking the church to donate small items that would make nice gifts for the kids to purchase. Please see Jim Jensen, Angela Clatterbuck, or Cathy Lyon if you have questions or need ideas! Finally, this Month the Trek kids (middle school age) joined the regular youth for Sunday nights. Trek kids that are still interested in continuing to memorize verses should arrive at 3:45 to have those verses signed off by a leader. We praise God for Jim Reger’s calling to the Minister of Youth at Shiloh and look forward to working with him to enhance the middle school youth experience! By: Diana Moore Christmas is coming soon! Books and videos are now on display in the library and on the shelves by the choir room. There is something for every age. Keep your children reading over the holidays. They can then share what they learn about the reason we celebrate the season – Christ’s birth. The lovely Christmas scene miniature by Henrietta and Ed Hastings is lit up in the library. Be sure to drop by to admire their talents. Dana Jensen donated “Junie B. Jones and that Meanie Jim’s Birthday” by Barbara Park. The Reger family donated a big bag of books and toys. Richard and Suzanne Headley brought in three big bags of books. There are also two inspirational books for teens: “Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II” and “Taste Berries for Teens #3”. Thank you to all of these donors. Thank you all so much for donating so many coats! We were able to send about 95 warm winter coats to the people at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation! I was so excited to be a part of this ministry opportunity and I am thankful for the support that you all gave me. My aunt even sent coats from Japan to be donated! When the ladies went to Eagle Eyrie to drop them off to be shipped, they doubled the amount there that day. Again, thank you for helping me to bless others with the donation. Jordan Lyon Upcoming Events Dec. 8 Dec. 9 Dec. 11 Dec. 15 Dec. 18 Dec. 19 Dec. 21 Dec. 24 Dec. 26 Jan. 4 7:00 pm Christmas Concert 7:00 pm Children’s Christmas Prog 10:00 am Bible Study in FLC 2:00 pm Cookie Exchange 1:00 pm Feed the Needy No Services 6:00 pm Christmas Caroling 5:30 pm Christmas Eve Service No Services 4:00 pm Awana resumes Coat collection site at Eagle Eyrie. 5 Women’s Getaway The first weekend in November a group of eight women from Shiloh Baptist attended the annual Women’s Retreat at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Convention Center in Lynchburg, VA. We had a wonderful time of Bible study, fellowship and wonderful food! There were amazing worship services and insightful breakout sessions where we had the opportunity to learn about subjects ranging from children’s ministry and mission opportunities, to making key chains out of handmade Ugandan beads, to the human trafficking trade. Our keynote speaker was Kathi Macias who spoke on how to live “Beyond Me”, or outside your own comfortable boundaries by surrendering to God’s will for our lives. We were able to deliver almost 95 coats to be distributed to the Standing Rock Reservation, collected by our own Jordan Lyon. We are incredibly proud of all of her hard work and the amazing response of our church congregation! Erin and William Brown, missionaries from Israel, were also at the conference. If you were a part of the VBS this summer you may remember that they participated in the skyping sessions. We were able to hear a first- hand account of their experiences and even got a picture with them. They were very impressed with the idea of skyping as part of VBS and plan to spread the word to other VBS groups that they work with! As always we came back exhausted but energized and with strengthened existing friendships and new friendships started. I would encourage anyone who could not go this year to mark your calendars for the first weekend in November for next year! Missionaries from Israel, William & Erin Brown, with our Shiloh ladies. Music News by Barbara Perry Music Minister What a blessing to be a part of such a wonderful church and music program!! We are super busy in the music department gearing up for Christmas. The children and adults are all working hard to prepare for the Christmas concert on December 8 and for the Christmas Services. We are also planning on some special practices for the Children for the last of November and beginning of December. Please check the church calendar for those dates. I plan to start using our new Orff Instruments!!! We hope to see you all there! Operation Christmas Child (OCC) Shoebox Update Thanks so much to everyone who supported this year’s shoebox collection. Shiloh collected a total of 161 shoe boxes to bless children in one or more countries around the world. Along with Shiloh members and visitors, a Girl Scout troop, the Classical Conversations home school group and even some Dahlgren Aegis Training and Readiness Center employees contributed to this year’s collection. Without the donation of filled shoe boxes, items to fill shoe boxes and money for postage, our Operation Christmas Child support would not have been possible. Each shoe box will be delivered with “The Greatest Journey” booklet which introduces a child to Jesus and how He loves them – a simple but effective way to meet needs and reach children for Christ. Thank you again for your tremendous support! Teresa & Rachel Tubbs 3 Children’s Ministry News by Ray Tubbs, Jr. Children’s Minister Birthdays 15 Steve Davis 1 Daniel Williams 18 Jason Norris 3 Jacob Schouweiler 19 John Owens 4 Betsy Altman Lynne Mitchell Mildred Thorne 20 Lorrie Gump 5 Kenneth Lee 26 Elizabeth Lee 6 Robert Burge Weston Rouse Chad Taylor 28 Lee Bulger Jim Jensen Faye Lumpkin 8 Richard Mason 29 Stephen Ballard 9 Travis Chewning 30 Brenda Hastings Tom McGinniss III Joshua Parker . It’s hard to believe that Christmas is almost here. It just seems like yesterday we were in the middle of VBS. I would like to thank all of you that have volunteered for 2nd hour and Wednesday nights and helped out with the various events for the children. I am so very thankful for each of you. We do have a few things coming up. The Children’s Christmas program is set for December 9th. I just looked on the calendar and noticed that Christmas is on the 25th this year, so don’t forget that. On January 19th we are planning on roller skating again from 10 – 12. In February we are planning something a little different. The Children’s Council and myself are having a Bible Adventure. The children will follow the life of Moses, unlocking clues, following maps, interacting with Bible characters. This is something that the Children’s Council and myself are writing from scratch. A lot more info will follow in the next newsletter. Have a wonderful Christmas. 10 Jack Gouldman Richard Minter Hazel Jones Seth Parker Agnes Oakey 11 Sam Jensen 13 Jeremy Jones 14 Rick Wilks 24 Paul McDonald 31 Caleb Parker Anniversaries 10 Frank and Linda Moore 16 Charles and Agnes Oakey 18 Richard and Jane Mason Shiloh Baptist Church 13457 Kings Hwy King George, VA 22485 Rev. Michael Jessee, Pastor Barbara Perry, Music Minister Ray Tubbs, Jr., Children’s Minister James Reger, Youth Minister (540) 469-4646 www.kgshiloh.org The Shiloh Visitor is published monthly as an official communications medium for Shiloh Baptist Church. The deadline for submission is the 15th of each month. Address all comments and submissions to: Sherri Hall, Editor, The Shiloh Visitor Shiloh Baptist Church 13457 Kings Highway King George, VA 22485-3015 telephone (540) 469-4646 fax (540) 469-4500 or email office@kgshiloh.org Forwarding Order Requested