Koinonia Times
Volume 26 Issue 1
“I once was lost, but now am found…”
Found under a
seat in the Narthex after the Candlelight Service: A very nice, boy’s quilted down jacket, blue
and black, size Medium. Please call the church office and arrange to pick it up
if you’re the owner (or owner’s parent). If no one claims the jacket within the
next two weeks, we’ll donate it to a charity.
Page 1:
What We Value
The
latest issue of Odyssey says that in 1896, the world's largest
cache of classical documents was discovered in ancient rubbish mounds in the
central Egyptian town of
Last spring specialists at the
continued from page 1…..
It is fantastic that what people in the ancient
world felt was garbage historians today see as extremely valuable.
What do
we value? What do we throw away? What
will people many years from now make of what they find in our landfills? More
importantly, what does God think about what we value and what we throw away?
All too often the things we think are important are not, and the things we
think are not important really are. The Bible calls us to value the things God
values and to not consider some things more important than they are. In the end the things most important are not
found in a garbage dump but can only be felt in our hearts.
Pastor
Larry Emery
Page 2:
The following is the philosophy of Charles
Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or
Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award
winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series
winners.
How did you do?
The point is that none of us remember the
headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best
in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are
forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey
through
school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you
through
a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you
something
worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel
appreciated
and special.
5. Think of
five people you enjoy spending time
with.
Easier?
The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones
with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the
ones that care.
Joan Hansen
takes the reins as our New
Church
Coordinator
Next time you
stop by the office, please welcome Joan Hansen! She comes to us both as a new
Office Coordinator and new Deacon. Joan and her husband, Jens, moved into the
Walnut Grove community in December of 2004, after buying a lot and building
their new home here. Joan was an administrator for Pacific A
& M, and also for Benefit Consultants over a period of 20 years. While she
and Jens looked forward to retirement, Joan found she still enjoys using her
many skills to help out in our office. We are blessed that she has stepped in
to share her talents and keep the office running at top speed. You can catch Joan
in the office in the hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays, so be sure to stop by, introduce yourself and give her a hearty
welcome if you haven’t already.
Page 3:
Sunday School News
Our Sunday school
program is very active and thriving, serving many families in the church. We’re
using a curriculum from Faith Alive Publishers entitled, “Walk With Me.” The lessons start at pre-school age and continue
through sixth grade. Our five volunteer teachers share the responsibility of teaching
by serving one month at a time. Attendance varies with numbers ranging from
five to fifteen on any given week. A well-received Christmas musical was
performed by the children at Jesus’ Birthday Party on December 12. We’re always
looking for volunteers to help with the program, so if this sounds like
something you’d like to do, please see Lucy Van Andel or call the church
office. We’d love to have your help!
WOW to go to “Safe at Home–
The Jackie
Robinson Story”
Presented by the
Children’s Theatre
of
B. Street Theatre
The WOW group plans to travel to
Youth News!
The church welcomes a new Youth Assistant, Katie
Wiseman. She will be working one day a week to help out with Way Out
Wednesday (WOW), youth program for
children from grades 5 – 8, and Tuesday Nights Together (TNT), the program for
children from grades K – 4. Katie is currently studying anthropology at
Hey
Kids!
Summer Camp at
It’s time to start thinking about filling up those
long summer days with fun activities! What better way than planning an
unforgettable time at Westminster Woods, a summer camp in the beautiful redwood
forest near Occidental. Summer wouldn’t be complete without meeting new friends
and experiencing God’s love through the many activities that the Woods offers.
Youth from the church will attend camp either the
week of July 23 – 29, or July 30 – August 5. Camp counselors are coming to the
church to talk to youth members about summer camp programs on Tuesday, February
21 during the TNT meeting and on Wednesday, February 22 during the WOW meeting.
Registrations received by April 1st
will receive a $25 discount per camper, so be sure to get
yours in early! The cost is $75 for those registering early, and $100 for those
who wait until after April 1st.
The balance is due 30 days before opening day of camp session. Youth
groups are planning fundraisers to help with camp costs, so be sure to watch
for opportunities to earn money for camp.
For registration forms and more information, contact the church office.
See YOU at summer camp!
Page
4:
Katrina Relief Presentation
And Potluck
Ten people from Walnut Grove who recently traveled to
Members of the group assisted other churches putting shingled roofs on
houses, and cooking and serving meals to the workers. They met and talked with
displaced victims still waiting to reclaim their damaged homes. The devastation
was more than they could imagine, but they were happy to be a part of the
rebuilding effort.
Members of the group who traveled from Walnut Grove are: Ashley Johnson,
Rev. Larry Emery, Bill Rutherford, Jon Ishizuka, Alexis Johnson, Kelly Lyman,
Peter Mondeel, Sutton Morris, Justin Emery and Lois Daniels. Edna Williams –who
now resides in
Everyone is invited to attend the potluck and a time to talk with those who
helped in the relief effort. Bring your
favorite dish to share.
In the Life of the Church
On January 29, we had our annual congregational meeting and celebrated another year in the life of the body of Christ. Below are a few summaries of these reports, and copies of the full annual report is now available at the church office for those who missed the meeting. Many thanks to all the faithful members and chairpersons who continue to serve God by giving of their talents on these committees. May you be richly blessed!Fellowship Committee:
Facing increasing costs, Session has concluded that fundraisers are a
necessary component in the development of the church’s budget. These events
fell to this committee during 2004 and we’ve hosted the Harvest Dinner in
November, Red and White Dinner in February, Ice Cream Social in April and are
expecting more such ventures in the coming year starting with a wine tasting
event at the Ryde Hotel in May. Fellowship continued its traditional role of
hosting receptions for new members, Easter Brunch, Kick-Off Picnic and helped
with the annual Fourth of July Pancake breakfast. A big round of applause for
all who helped with these efforts and our committee members!
Memorial Committee:
Memorial Sunday was held on November 6, 2005 when
we honored twelve deceased members of our church and community. We received
$6,690 through memorial donations which brought us to a balance of $8,354. It
is planned to put this money toward the installation of large paned patio doors
in Koinonia Hall to replace the large windows that face the patio. In addition,
the committee has approved installation of a cement walkway through the ivy
that will connect the Koinonia walkway with the side doors of the Narthex.
Benches will be added along with lighting.
Personnel
Committee:
In November, the committee accepted with regret
the resignation of Lynn Ortega as Office Coordinator, effective December 22.
She has chosen to pursue career interests more closely aligned with her
interests in writing, but will continue to edit the church’s newsletter. Joan
Hansen has been volunteering in the office since Jan. 1st, and we appreciate
her service. Members and guests of the congregation are invited to address the
committee at any time with your comments and concerns.
Music and Worship
Committee:
It might be said that a worship service should be
like a beautiful tapestry consisting of threads of many colors ant textures
that represent the different elements of the service, including scripture
readings, music, message and the beautiful surroundings. We are blessed with
all these, and more! The Leadership of our pastor, and
musical leadership of Robert James and Debbie Phulps give us inspiration and
challenge to rise to the calling of God. We appreciate all our talented people
who give of their musical gifts, as well as those who provide arrangements for
the communion and chancel. All threads are important! So if you have talent or
would like to serve this committee, please see Audrey Mondeel. You are most
welcome!
Missions
Committee:
Missions has been very
active this year! Our pastor and four young people participated in an Hunger Study tour of
hit the gulf coast. Members mobilized and raised $2,841 used to purchase items
for personal care packets that were distributed to evacuees in
Chancel Choir:
Two of our Christmas
members decided to hit the books full time, making the Choir part of their
routine for 2005. Shout out to Lois Gregg and Joan Wilcox! Our Candlelight
theme invited guests to “Come and see this which the Lord has made known.”
However, we reminded them not leave the Good News at the manger; and challenged
them to “Go forth praising God for all they had seen and heard.” The Choir family had difficult studies as we
grieved with Kirby and Ron in the loss of Mary and Diane. Our thoughts and
prayers continue to be with their families. We also experienced joyous lessons
as we celebrated with new grandparents Lori, Mary Lou, Paul and Dawn, and
Audrey and Pete. Many thanks to all the members of the Choir
and to the congregation for its continued support of the Adult Choir Program.
We hope our efforts enrich your worship experience; and we welcome your
feedback or suggestions.
Clerk’s Report:
Budget for 2005 showed a
substantial increase in both projected income and expense, but realistically
reflected our actual costs of operating. Thanks to a generous anonymous
donation, the church now owns the land under the Locke building that we already
owned. This building is fully rented out, but many repairs are needed.
Attendance at the regular Sunday morning services has consistently increased to
an average of 55. Communion was served the first Sunday of each month and on
Maundy Thursday. The total number on the active list now stands at 146. New
members in 2005: Betsy Jenkins, Lucy and Jim Van Andel and their children, Cory
and Renee, Helen Crutchfield, Joan Hansen, Ashley Johnson, Nancy McCormack,
Sutton Morris, Bill and Nancy Rutherford, Diane Peek and Sandy Waterhouse. God
has been very good to us in the past year!
Christian Nurture
Report:
The youth programs are
going strong, and both have been a wonderful outreach to the children in our
community. Our Tuesday Nights Together (TNT) program is blessed with several
regular volunteers and there are about 35 children spending Tuesday evenings singing, discussing Bible stories and having fun.
Our Way Out Wednesday (WOW) group has discussed issues important to young
people, and members have participated in a variety of special events. The group
sponsored a canned food drive and helped with the “Peanut Butter and Jelly
Sandwich Night” during which more than 30 people made 500 sandwiches for the
homeless in
Page 7:
Looking at Stewardship for 2006
We are called to be stewards of God’s kingdom from
the first chapter in the book of Genesis when man was given dominion over all
creation. Interpretations of the word
“steward” and ideas on what we must do to be a good one vary as widely
as do the features and attitudes that make us individuals. Tithing used to be
the benchmark for church stewardship, but the present economy makes this
regressive –more burdensome on lower income groups than on those at the
top. So how do we measure our
support of God’s work?
I would like to propose a way of thinking about
this; it’s certainly not original, but I think it’s
right. All of our assets (our time on
earth, our talents, and our fortune) come from the Lord who gave us life, and
it is our duty to care for those gifts and show our thanks by giving back a
full portion to Him. This includes not
just giving money but time and talent as well; healthy stewardship involves
both service and funds. When it comes to
service, we have an abundance of givers in our church community for whom we are
truly grateful; if hours of volunteer assistance were convertible to cash, we
would be wealthy indeed. But stewardship
also involves sacrifice: in giving, we are “giving up.”
How do we know what we need to give as a
body? The Session of this congregation
produces a budget each year that is not, and never can be, based on a concrete
forecast of income. There are many
reasons for this, the main one being that we are a farm community and the
income of farmers is dependent on weather, markets, and the grace of God. So in drawing up the
budget, the committee decides what will have to be spent based on history and
forecast) and then budgets income to balance expenditures. It’s a real exercise in faith, and as the
year progresses we often see underperformance in certain areas –more spent than
anticipated.
“Pledge and Plate,” the offering collected each
Sunday morning, is our primary source of income and barometer of financial
health. It was under budget by 8% at the end of 2005. Because of special
fundraisers, we managed to pay most of the bills while raising special offering
for mission giving and the Katrina disaster, true stewardship efforts. However,
regular giving was below expectations for the year.
It’s been proposed that the “Pledge and Plate”
category of income be tracked in this newsletter from now on. That way,
everyone will be informed as to how we’re doing. Think of it as our stewardship report
card. So for 2005, Pledge and Plate was
budgeted at $65,000
and we actually received $59,369, making our grade around 92% --passing, but
not an A. And without other income sources, we would have had lots more red
ink.
A new budget for 2006 was presented for your
consideration at the Annual Meeting on January 29th. If you have
ideas you would like to share on the subject please write to the Clerk of
Session, who will share them with the Elders currently serving. With your
permission, we will print correspondence we receive in a future issue of the
newsletter.
Thanks, and God bless!
--Concerned Elder.
“Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the
first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.” Proverbs 3: 9, 10
Mark your calendars:
Communion Sunday,
Feb. 5 and Mar. 5 at the 9:30 Service
WOW Event Sunday,
Feb. 5 Meet at
the Church at 11:30
Katrina Mission
Presentation/Potluck Thursday, Feb. 9 at 6:00 p.m.
Bible Study Series Begins Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:00 p.m.
Personnel Meeting: Monday,
Feb. 13 at 5 p.m.
Session Meeting Monday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
Presentations Wednesday,
Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. (WOW)
World Day of Prayer Friday, Mar. 3
First Sunday
in Lent Sunday, Mar. 5