"My Summer Vacation"

It all started with two toilets needing to be replaced. They were old toilets and it was probably past time to replace them.   But two at once!  It felt like flushing money down the drain... literally!  So, instead of a week on a river, we are the proud new owners of two environmentally sound toilets.  And with those home repairs, a tsunami of house of "clean up" projects began.

With the help of Donnie, I cleaned the whole house from attic to basement.  Nothing was left untouched.  Fans were wiped down.  Windows were washed.  Everything was scoured.    Outside the back deck was finally painted, the garden beds weeded, and the garage fully swept.    I even put Dick and me on South Beach, Phase I to cleanse the palate and reboot the metabolism.  Donnie couldn't wait for me to get back to work so that she could relax and eat some "junk food."

While not a summer vacation that I would ever intentionally plan, I must admit that it felt good to tackle deferred chores.  And I was glad to get back on a South Beach regime.  Sometimes we need a "spring cleaning" of both home and person before we can go out and play.  Maria Harris in Jubilee Time asks the question: "What do you wish to give away... to remove... to plant... to sing... to create?"

Is God inviting you to engage in a "spring cleaning" (or better yet, a "back to school" ordering) of the soul?  Is there anything in your life that you need to give away or remove in order to have the space to plant and sing and create?

My message this week focuses on what we already know: too many of our world's   adults and children go to bed hungry.  Daily hunger is such a fact of life for so many millions of people that I often find myself struggling to find a way to make any kind of difference.  But I believe that if I am not part of the solution then I remain part of the problem.   What can one person do?

Each of us can contribute to the 2 Cents A Meal program at our presbytery meetings.  The money collected in the table collection cups at our meetings is combined with direct gifts from many of our congregations and is distributed in grants to food programs and neighborhood meals throughout our presbytery in which our churches participate.

Each of us can bring non-perishable food items and paper products to our presbytery meetings to be shared with food programs supported by the congregation hosting our meetings.   

Each of us can support hunger prevention programs in the communities in which we live.  In Minerva, the Salvation Army sponsors a monthly food distribution that serves several hundred families.  Although it helps when I donate canned food and paper products, my monetary gifts go even further because they allow the staff to purchase basic food items for pennies on the dollar through the Akron-Canton Food Bank. 

I believe that each one of us has a part to play in the creation of a hunger-free Muskingum Valley Presbytery.  How can you help?

From the Transitional Stated Clerk, Paula Lane:

Back to school sales are in full swing at local stores.  They remind us that before we know it, summer 2012 will be over.  In our churches this means that folks away for the summer will be returning home and our fall programs will be revving up.  Throughout Muskingum Valley Presbytery volunteers are already preparing for their annual CROP Hunger Walks to raise funds to end hunger in their communities and around the world.  CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by local volunteers.

The Church World Service web site lists the following CROP Walks that will take place in our presbytery in October 2012:

         Sunday, October 7^th - Ashland  (gather at Christ United Methodist Church)

                                           Registration at 2PM, walk begins at 2:30PM

                                                   Contact person: Jim Pifer (419-651-5104)

                                Mansfield (gather at Central Park, downtown, and walk

                                                    to Carousel Park for a free carousel ride)

                                                   Registration at 1:45PM, walk begins at 2PM

                                                   Contact person: Sharon Cardwell (419-774-0123 or

                                                                                      sharoncardwell@gmail.com)

 Sunday, October 14^th - Cambridge            

                                            Contact CWS regional office for more information

                                                 Seville (gather at the Gazebo on Town Square)

                                                   Registration 1:30PM, walk begins at 2PM

                                                   Contact person: Kelly Korb (330-769-4198)

                                                 Sugarcreek (gather at Shanesville Lutheran Church)

                                                   Registration at 1:30PM; walk begins at 2PM

                                                   Contact person: Rev. Ellen Mils (330-987-6737)

As additional CROP Hunger Walks are scheduled for Fall 2012 and Spring 2013, information will be posted on the Church World Service website: www.churchworldservice.org.  These Hunger Walks are family-friendly and walkers are encouraged to sign up sponsors who can pledge a donation per mile or a fixed amount.  This is a great way to bring church and community folks together to raise money to combat hunger in their home communities and around the world.  CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty and these interfaith walks are a wonderful response to Church World Service's goal "to do in partnership what none of us could hope to do alone-feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, comfort the aged, shelter the homeless."

If there is no CROP Hunger Walk scheduled in your community this fall, please think about rounding up a group of volunteers and, with help from Church World Service, start a community tradition this fall or next spring.  Contact the CWS/CROP U.S. Regional Offices at 888-CWS-CROP (888-297-2767) for more information.

We have experienced once again how gun violence can painfully affect a community and our nation. The July 20th shooting that occurred in Aurora, Colorado adds to the list including Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Tucson.  Once again there is a renewed outcry for gun control and communities speaking out against gun violence.  The Presbyterian Church (USA) is no newcomer to the movement against gun violence as it spoke out loud and clear against gun violence at the 219th General Assembly in 2010 when they approved the resolution "Gun Violence, Gospel Values:  Mobilizing in Response to God's Call".   

As a church that sees itself as a place where the hurts of the world are felt and addressed, we need to educate ourselves to the faith dimensions of this on-going tragedy, and also support initiatives to more effectively address the problem of gun violence. 

Americans Remember the Loved Ones They've Lost to Gun Violence

"Every day, 34 American families say goodbye to a parent, child, or sibling murdered with guns.  In this moving video, family members from across the country remember the loved ones they've lost and speak out about the real cost of gun violence.  Unfortunately, the political debate about guns has gotten so loud that the voices of those closest to the issue can't always be heard.   As we start building momentum for the newly announced Fix Gun Checks legislation, make sure you listen to their stories and see how gun violence affects us all."  (From: http://www.fixgunchecks.org/detail/34americans%20)

This past Sunday in worship we continued to use non-violent liturgy in our prayers and hymns as we meditate on Christian peacemaking in the midst of a gun violent culture.  Let's take to heart the words of Thich Nhat Hanh, "All violence is injustice. Responding to violence with violence is injustice, not only to the other person but also to oneself. Responding to violence with violence resolves nothing; it only escalates violence, anger, and hatred. It is only with compassion that we can embrace and disintegrate violence. This is true in relationships between individuals as well as in relationships between nations."

See you in worship on Sunday!

Blessings, 

Dries

Pastor of Westminster Presbytery, Wooster 

Dear friends,

Hope you will consider hosting CCI on our tour next March and April. Every church that has hosted us in the past has been amazed at how wonderful the program is. We bring 7 performers for an evening of Thai dance and drama that will be beautiful, entertaining, and express God's love wonderfully. We ask churches to provide host families for the night we perform, and provide meals, and a gift of $500-1500 to cover our expenses. We can perform on almost any stage, but need some help so we can hang a cloth backdrop.

Hope you are well. God is moving at Payap University.

Esther
  

--
Rev. Esther Wakeman, Ph.D.
Vice-President, Spiritual & Community Life
Director, Mae Khao Dormitories
Payap University
Chiang Mai 50000 Thailand
office 665-385-1475
home 665-324-3645
cell 6689-835-0786

2012 August Wakeman letter w photos (.PDF)

Friends,

The Synod, along with the Presbytery of Detroit, will be offering Disaster Training on September 13 & 14, 2012. Below is information regarding this training and a registration form.  It is suggested that presbyteries send 3 to 5 representatives.

Presbyteries would pay for travel and overnight accommodations. However, if this becomes a burden, the synod has some extra funds to help with the accommodations. The synod will pay for catered meals.

If you have any questions please contact me.

Janet C. Fehlen

Executive Assistant

Synod of the Covenant

419-754-4050

Flyer Synod Disaster Training 9/13

PDA Registration

*If you would like to attend this training event, please RSVP to Shauna at 330.339.5515 or shauna@mvpjourney.org

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Since 2003 I have been involved in mission work in Belize, Central America. Over the years the mission groups I have been working with have built new homes, refurbished old homes, built bathroom facilities and playground equipment for schools as well as preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Most recently, in the past five years, Warsaw 1st Presbyterian Church has funded building projects in the San Narcisso RC School and has rewired one school building and built partitions to separate classrooms.

Each and every project has blessed the community of San Victor and San Narcisso in a powerful way. I have developed a relationship with Maestro Gregorio Moralez, principal of the San Narcisso Roman Catholic School. Each year, he and his staff help me to see where the needs of the school are most beneficial. In April of 2012, I went on a fact finding mission trip to the community of San Narcisso and met with Maestro Moralez to discuss the future of the school. Several needs have emerged as a result of that meeting: one need is that the new kindergarten class which began just two years ago is in need of a kitchen. The children have to go home to eat lunch, and for some families the work in their cane fields is more important, so some of the children will not make it back to school. Adjacent to the kindergarten building is a small building that needs refurbished that would provide a great kitchen area. The kitchen will provide cold storage of homemade lunches, tables and chairs for the students, and a clean up sink with lighting. The proposed goal of the Belize Mission 2013 document shows what it will take to provide for this need. The work will be done by parents of the children in the community.

The second need concerns the school library. We discovered that the library of the school is mostly in storage because the need for classroom space is at a premium. Only about 50% of the books are displayed in one portion of a classroom. It is difficult to send students to the library area because it interrupts the class that is using the room. Adjacent to the main school building is an area in which a library building could be placed. This will be the main focus of the 2013 mission trip. The building will have to be purchased ahead of time and placed on its foundation in time for the 2013 mission group to build shelving and catalog books. The proposed building will be constructed in the Ship Yard district of Belize by the Mennonite Community and traveled to San Narcisso RC School.

Also in the proposed goal document is a cost estimate for the library. Finally technology is a must for a community trying to raise the standard for the emerging workforce of the future. Many of you know that our children are born with a keyboard in their hands and a person that is proficient with a computer is more valuable in the workforce. The school has internet and a computer lab but much of the equipment is antiquated and needs replaced. Many of the computers are running Windows NT (2000) operating system. In late May, I received a donation to the Belize Mission project: 56 used computers and flat screen monitors. My son-in-law, Phil Wentworth is wading through the massive amount of equipment to build/refurbish at least 40 usable computers that are internet ready for the San Narcisso RC School. In order to get them to Belize, they will have to be shipped individually and I will be asking for donations for the shipping cost. This is exciting work for the Lord. This school of 300+ children will impact a community in a powerful way with these new innovations. In addition to the 2013 Mission trip we have several professional teachers who will be teaching seminars in various teaching techniques that are needed for the school. Seminars on Reading Comprehension, Special Education, Special Needs (ADHD) and Library Operations to name a few will help to make this school a powerful place of learning.  

For the 2013 Mission trip to be successful we need several commitments from you. We ask for your prayers, we are seeking a substantial amount of money and we need to ask God to provide. We need your financial support. The kitchen and library will not be built without many dollars, so I ask you to please prayerfully consider what you or your church could give. Finally, this mission trip may be what God is calling you to do in 2013. There is room for you on this trip and what you bring to the table. God has gifted you with many talents and they can be used to bless the people of Belize. Whatever God is calling you to do, please do it!

In Christ,

Pastor Tim Thomas

P.S. Gifts can be sent to: Warsaw 1st Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 193 Warsaw, Ohio 43844

Proposed Goals of Belize Mission Trip 2013 (.PDF)

Belize Mission Letter 2013 (.PDF)

Thank you for the financial gifts from your presbytery and its congregations during the second quarter of 2012. Your gifts to the Presbyterian Mission Agency (formerly the General AssemblyMission Council) continue to make a difference regionally and around the world.