February 9, 2012
Focus on Faith
Faith United Presbyterian Church
Bill
What Do You Think? "Is Life More Simple Than We Make It?"  
 
When I was growing up, situational ethics were all the rage.  I can't tell you how many times in a class or small group, I had to answer a story problem that began:  "If you were in a boat..." or "If you were on an island..."  The rest of the story usually involved deciding, who in the boat, or who on the island, would need to be dispatched in order for the others to be saved.  I am convinced the Survivor reality series was dreamed up by someone, who grew up with these inane situational stories in the Seventies.
 
Let me say, I understand the reality of relativity.  Sacrificing one, to save a thousand, makes sense to me ethically.  But what was often lost in these discussions, in part, because most of them occurred in schools, where the voice of faith was not allowed to enter the conversation, is it is still morally wrong to take the life of the one.  God's commandment does not say:  "Thou shall not kill, unless it is expedient to do so."  God's commandment is:  "Thou shall not kill."  I often wonder, if rather than trying to justify the actions of those who are forced, by circumstances, to take the life of another, they would be better served, emotionally and spiritually, if we gave them the opportunity to confess their sin and receive forgiveness.  For even when the act is justified, there is still the burden that, justified or not, they have transgressed God's command not to kill.
 
In our culture of relativity, we have learned to be expedient rather than virtuous.  Seeking to justify ourselves, we live by the exception rather than the rule.  Consider our culture.  Which of the Ten Commandments is not mocked by pop culture?  We worship athletes and celebrities.  We idolize wealth, prosperity, status.  The Lord's name is regularly taken in vain - 'OMg'.  (I use the small "g" intentionally here.)  Remember the Sabbath?  Even good church folk find it hard to worship the Lord on the Lord's Day.  Honor thy father and mother?  Some do a better job here than others.  But the prevalence of underage drinking, premarital sex, and other illicit behavior suggests a good number of our young people have forgotten this commandment.  As for the rest, we may not participate in them personally, but as a culture, we glorify killing, adultery, stealing, gossip, and coveting.
 
Here is where we have learned to use the theory of relativity, or our command of situational ethics, so well.  "Well, nobody is perfect.  At least I am not like..."  But what we overlook is the existential pain caused by our behavior.  We may well, not, be as bad as so and so.  However, when we transgress God's commandments, our actions remain morally wrong and become a spiritual burden.  But, too often, instead of turning to God for forgiveness, we rationalize, or try to justify, what we did.  When that doesn't work, we often try to self-medicate.  For some, this downward spiral continues until their lives are consumed.  The greater tragedy is, too often, they take others down with them.  There is another way.
 
Commenting on Psalm 119, where the Psalmist proclaims the happiness of those who walk in God's ways, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes,
 
"Things are much simpler here than we like.  Not that we do not know God's commandments, but that we do not do them - and then gradually, as a consequence of such disobedience, we no longer know what is right - that is our predicament."
 
My friends, as we consider how, in our own lives and in our life together, we might return to the ways of God, I leave you with a story, which contrasts, well, the choice we have to make between the path of expedience and the path of faith.  In Preaching from Memory to Hope, Tom Long retells the story told of the esteemed rabbi, Rabbi Hugo Gryn, of Great Britain.
 
"When he was a boy, he and his family were imprisoned at Auschwitz.  They were Orthodox, and even though it meant even greater danger to them, Hugo's father insisted they observe the Sabbath and the festivals.  Hugo remembered until the day he died a time when, to observe the Sabbath, his father took a piece of string and put it in a bit of butter and lit it to make a 'shabat' candle.  Hugo was furious and protested, 'Father, that is all the butter we have!'  His father said, 'Without food we can live for weeks.  But we cannot live for a minute without hope.'"
 
People of faith, may we choose the ways of God.  May we choose hope.

See you in church!
 
Pastor Myers

 
Upcoming Birthdays 

 
February

 

2         Dee Long

5         Korey Fisher

           Betty McBride

7         Denise Turnbull
           Dick Griffiths

6         Emily Yard  

           John Marshall

9         Megan Lyle

11       Helen Redmond

12       Ralph Whiteman

13       Sandra Spainhour

           Buster Kellogg, Jr.

18       Jennifer Hedges

19        Will Myers

           Sharon Simpson

21       Gary Heaton

22       Ryan Cheek

           Bill Smallwood

23       Catrina Pullen

24       Jackie Andrews

           Ted Briscoe

25       Martha Whiteman

26       Carl Shaub

           Kathleen Fannin

           Helen Owens

27       Susan Trevor

28       Joyce Patterson

 

 

 
This Sunday...
 
"The Blessing is not God"                                                                                               

2 Kings 5:1-14                                                                 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Psalm 30                                                                                          Mark 1:40-45

 

Lay Assistant: Betsy Akey 

Beedle/Crucifer: Megan & Abby Brown
Ushers: Carol & Bonnie Heflin, Ralph & Martha Whiteman, Norma Mettler
Greeters:  Tom & Crystal Sargent and Steve & Judy Andrews          

Children's Church: Margie Myers  

Nursery: Lolla Ballard & Maggie McVey           

 

 

View our  calendar.   

 

 

 
Sunday School - 9:15 a.m.

 

Sunday School for children ages 3-18 will begin meeting again this Sunday, January 8.  Pre-K - 6th grades meet upstairs above the Social Hall.  7th-12th grades meet in the red room of the Youth Wing. 

Faith & Life - This group will meet in the Social Hall.

Immigration to Monmouth

February 12 - Michelle Rayburn, HR manager at Farmland Foods, will speak about how immigration has affected this local business.

 

Sunday Bible Study
Joyce Hagemann's class will not meet in February.  This class will resume on March 4 in the Bride's Room across from the chapel.  All adults are welcome to attend. First week lessons can be found in the cabinet of the classroom on February 26, 2012.
 

 

Jamieson Center
Help us stock the food pantry at Jamieson!  You may bring anything non-perishable and place it under the sign outside the office.  To make it easier, you could go with a schedule such as this:

February 12 - pancake mix and syrup
February 19 - canned vegetables and canned meat
February 26 - noodles, sauce, and soups

 

Let's fill the boxes each week!  Thank you!



An Invitation to Read the Bible
Sunday - Judges 2:23-5:30, Monday - Judges 5:31-8:12, Tuesday - Judges 8:13-9:57, Wednesday - Judges 10:1-13:24, Thursday - Judges 13:25-17:7, Friday - Judges 17:8-20:18, Saturday - Judges 20:19-Ruth 1:22, Sunday (2/19/12) - Ruth 2:1-1 Samuel 1:28.      



Wedding Photos
It's not too late to add your wedding photo to our gallery in the social hall.  You did not have to be married here.  We've all enjoyed guessing who is who.  Bring them with you on Sunday morning or before.


Valentine Luncheon

Isabel Circle will have their Annual Valentine's Luncheon on February 12, following worship.  Menu will include your choice of vegetable or broccoli soup, egg or ham salad sandwich, and Jell-o poke cake.  PB&J are available for children.  Special music will be provided by various members of Faith United.  All are welcome!

 


Spaghetti Dinner
Monmouth Roseville Music Boosters ask for your support.  They need people to eat spaghetti on Saturday, February 18, from 5 - 7:00 p.m. at the 1st Street Armoury.  The menu will be:  spaghetti and sauce, coleslaw, bread, drink, and dessert.

Tickets cost $5.00 and can be purchased at the Buchanan Center, from Margie Myers (734-6447), or any Monmouth Roseville music student.  Tickets purchased at the door will be $6.00.

Please support the future of music in the schools by eating with us on February 18th.  Thank you! 

2012 Ecumenical Lenten Lay Breakfast

The 37th Annual Lenten Lay Breakfast series will begin on Friday, February 24, and continue each Friday morning through Good Friday, April 6.  Strom Center will, again, be the host for the series.  Breakfast begins at 6:30 a.m. with the program from 7:15-7:45 a.m. The list of participating churches is as follows:

 

February 24    First Lutheran

March 2            Faith United Presbyterian

March 9            Fairview Center Methodist/Coldbrook Christian

March 16          Immaculate Conception

March 23          First United Methodist

March 30          Heritage Presbyterian

April 6               Immanuel Baptist/River of Life

 

The breakfast series is sponsored by the Warren County Ministerial Association.

 

Homemade Soup Meal

Little Cedar Presbyterian Church in Little York will have a soup meal on Sunday, February 26, from 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.  You will have your choice of soup, salad bar, dessert, and drink. Donation will be taken at the door.  There will also be a silent auction.

 

Thai Circle

Thai Circle will meet on March 1, at 9:30 a.m. in the Social Hall.  Lesson 5 of this year's study guide will be discussed.   

 


World Day of Prayer

The Christian women of Malaysia invite all women to join them Friday, March 2, for World Day of Prayer 2012.  Our local worship service will be held at Cameron Christian Church at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 2.   

 


You Are Invited!

Jon and Sharon Graham of Biggsville, Illinois will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with an open house hosted by their daughter and family at Faith United Presbyterian Church from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 3.  All friends and family are invited.  The couple has requested no gifts, please.

Jon Graham and Sharon Galley were married on March 4, 1962 at University Avenue Methodist Church in Peoria, Illinois.

They are the parents of one daughter, Lorella (Bill) McLaughlin and two granddaughters of Edwardsville, Illinois.   

 


Icebreakers

Mark your calendar! Save the date!

The Icebreakers present

for all members and friends of Faith United Presbyterian Church

The Icebreakers Revue

March 18, 2012, 6:00 p.m.

Dessert followed by songs, silliness, skits (some with a message, some not exactly), riddles, and miscellany for your entertainment by Icebreakers members, Junior Highs, Senior Highs, known  

and unknown talents.

To participate as a cast member, notify Gary or Mary Distin or Gene or Donna Larson.   We will be in (minimal) rehearsal soon.

To participate as an audience member, watch for sign ups to come.

 


2012 Presbytery Night at the Ballpark

The date has been set! Mark your calendars now and join us for the last Presbytery Night at the Ballpark on Friday, June 22, 2012 at 7:00pm. Ticket price is $8.00.  There will be a limited number of tickets this time, it will be first come first served.  If interested, contact Heather at 734-5129.

 

Congratulations
Elissa Armstrong Johnson and Gary Johnson are the parents of Derek James Johnson, born on December 20, 2011.  Grandparents are Mary Ann (Smallwood) and David Armstrong, all of Chicago.  Derek James was named for his great great uncle James Estill Smallwood.  James was awarded the Navy-Marine Corp Medal posthumously for his action for saving additional lives and saving Sargo (SSN-583) from catastrophic damage.  Great grandparents are Bill and Erma Smallwood.

Jared and Vanessa Simmons are the parents of Harper Alexandrea, born on January 28.  Grandparents are John and Terry Smallwood.  Great grandparents are Bill and Erma Smallwood.

The Smallwoods are blessed with 13 other great grandchildren.  
 
Please Keep the Following in Your Prayers:
Darlene Peters (Sharon Graham's aunt), Janet Paris, and Al Kulczewski.