Friday, May 1, 2020

Dear Church Family,

In this time of social distancing, it’s a good reminder that there is a sacred circle around every family. This time of sheltering in place has reminded us of the blessings inherent in family, of the joy that is found in the family circle. It is unfortunate that social customs and traditions in our culture often discourage family time while at the same time heralding its importance. May this time prove to renew our sense of need for maintaining balance and boundaries with regards to the family circle. photo-of-woman-baking-near-her-family-3807219 May our families move forward from this experience as missionary teams fitted for service for Christ. For a well-ordered family is one of the greatest missionary units the church can have. With big and little hands clasped in prayer at family worship, with Christ in the center of the sacred family circle, there’s no telling what great things God can and will do.

There is a sacred circle around every family which should be preserved. No other one has any right in that sacred circle. The husband and wife should be all to each other. The wife should have no secrets to keep from her husband and let others know, and the husband should have no secrets to keep from his wife to relate to others. The heart of his wife should be the grave for the faults of the husband, and the heart of the husband the grave for his wife’s faults. Never should either party indulge in a joke at the expense of the other’s feelings. Never should either the husband or wife in sport or in any other manner complain of each other to others, for frequently indulging in this foolish and what may seem perfectly harmless joking will end in trial with each other and perhaps estrangement. I have been shown that there should be a sacred shield around every family.

The home circle should be regarded as a sacred place, a symbol of heaven, a mirror in which to reflect ourselves. Friends and acquaintances we may have, but in the home life they are not to meddle. A strong sense of proprietorship should be felt, giving a sense of ease, restfulness, trust. AH 177

In the news:

Tonight we continue with our Hope Awakens series with John Bradshaw. Here are some stats regarding the series thus far from IIW: On opening night, we had about 16,000 viewers in spite of the platform crash (that’s because we redirected people to other viewing platforms). This past weekend we had over 14,000 and 11,000 viewers on Friday and Saturday night respectively. On Friday night, over 1,600 people filled out a decision card via texting.
This Sabbath our schedule will be bumped up by 15 minutes. So here is the schedule as follows:
- 9:15 a.m. Prayer Line
- 9:45 a.m. Sabbath School begins. (Fred Myers will be teaching.) Remember to check the church web site for other SS resources for the lower divisions.
- 10:45 a.m. Announcements & Prayer Time.
- 11:00 a.m. Our worship service will feature the Hope Awakens Program which will be live-streamed at Hopeawakens.org. You will be able to easily transition from our ZOOM time to the program by clicking the link provided in the chat window.
Remember that Hope Awakens is each Tuesday & Wednesday evening as well as Friday & Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. It Is Written has suggested that one way that would be helpful in reaching out to your friends on Facebook is to consider holding a watch party on Facebook. Here is how to set up a watch party via Facebook.
Just a reminder to keep up with your Testimonies for the Church reading plan. Even if you are behind like our family is, the key is to not give up. There are so many blessings to be had in these volumes. Keep reading as God seeks to refine and prepare His remnant people!
We are excited to report that we not only met our goal for the month of April with regards to church budget but it was exceeded by $6,590 dollars which means our year to date budget deficit is only $414 dollars. May God’s blessings continue to pour forth. All we can say is praise God!
We have a couple of readings for this Sabbath, one of which we will vote on tomorrow via ZOOM at 10:45 a.m.
- 1^st Reading – Jeremy Wetmore to be Associate Superintendent
- 2nd Reading Transfer Out – Samantha Spillman to Riverview Community Church, Greeneville, TN
Our church board meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 11, so if you have an item for the board, please contact me or the church office this Monday or Tuesday. The church board will meet via ZOOM.
Did you see the story in the paper that included a segment featuring our Community Services Center? If you missed it, click on the images below to read more. Thank you to the awesome team of volunteers that make our CSC such a wonderful light to the community.
Yesterday I joined the Smith family as we laid to rest Brent Smith, Keith Smith’s brother. While an indoor funeral wasn’t allowed due to COVID-19, we were able to have a service at the graveside with family scattered around the grave. Please remember the family in your prayers.
Our landscaping in front of the house was dying and overgrown so it was time for a refresh. The boys planted new bushes in front of the house and mulched it this week.