| February 2010
For those of you who are new to our church, allow me to tell you a little about how February became "Family Month" here at Berlin Center Church. With the "let down" after Christmas and the cold and snow of January, it became obvious to me and others that we needed "a special something" to help lift our spirits and move us in a positive direction.
Wanting to be a family-friendly church, we set about making plans that not only give us an opportunity to celebrate being part of God's family, but to also get to know each other in fun and relaxed ways. Corporate worship is great, but it seldom gives us chances to really get to bond and become friends and "family".
Diane Libb, our Family Life Coordinator, seeks to plan events with the whole family in mind. February is a busy month here at church, but what a wonderful way to worship, enjoy, have fun and get to know your church family here. So mark your calendars now and plan to get involved. Remember, you need no invitation to attend any of these services or events... because you're family!
January 2010
"Happy New Year" the man said as I walked out of the shop. I knew what he meant even if he didn't know me. He wished that I would be happy in this new year. I like the idea of being happy, however you define it. It's the "new" that often troubles me.
Like many of my kind, I like the old, the familiar, the tried and true. I like my old boot, my old but comfortable pillow and yet there is nothing like an "old friend." Perhaps that's why I like West Virginia so much. The mountains there are a constant. People come and go but the mountains remain watching as spectators.
December 2009
As a young boy, it was about this time of year that I began to make my Christmas wish list. I would search the pages of the Sears catalog for all the latest toys and complete a list of the things that I wanted most (or at least I thought I wanted). And then I would present the list to mom who, I believed in those tender years, had an "in" with Santa. Then I grew up.
In fact, the older I have become, the shorter my list has become. Time and experience has taught me that my most wanted are not "things" at all. But two that I do want, is to be more like Christ, and more like you. I want and need you both. I believe that along with Christ, some of my most prized gifts have come in the form of people. People like my family and you who read these pages. You are God's gifts to me.
That first Christmas, our God gave to us the most wonderful gift that could ever be given. He gave us His Son: Emmanuel, "God with us" and He is. Accept Him, journey through life with Him. Enjoy His presence, His companionship. Put Him at the top of your "wish list".
Thankful for Him and you,
Merry Christmas, from the Libbs
August 2009
I never met Dr. J. Ellsworth Kalas personally, but I did get to know him as I read his book "Longing to Pray". In fact, I was so impressed with his writing that I used it in our Adult Sunday School class last quarter.
Dr. Kalas just retired from Asbury Theological Seminary as the 7th president. I recently received an Asbury publication honoring Dr. Kalas and his outstanding work at the seminary. As I read the articles that honored him, I thought "what a wonderful way to be remembered." He deserved every one. His life, his work, his memory are the result of a man who loved God, His word and dedicated his life to making a difference for God in others.
He gives us this advice. "Begin and end your days with God. There is no better way to set a day on course than by meeting God in the morning. Do so intentionally, or other things will crowd God out. And end the day in the strength of God's caring, the way you did when you used to pray, "Now I lay me down to sleep." This is still the best mood in which to get a good night's rest." Good advice Dr. Kalas.
In Him,
Rev. Russ
But "new" is good too. Tomorrow is a "new day", a second chance so to speak, to get it right this time. To love God and others more today than we did yesterday. To experience life in a "new" way, to perhaps see things in a different light. New is a good thing.
The challenge of the new year is that it is filled with uncertainties, the unknown, the unfamiliar, yet there is, for we who believe, a constant. His name is Jesus Christ. His presence is assured, His love all encompassing and His grace all sufficient. 2010 will be filled with "new things", yet we enter it not alone. We have Christ and each other. And both will see us through.
Have a blessed "new" year,
Rev. Russ |
