Great Success for A Night Out!

On Saturday, March 24, Geneva’s sanctuary was once again transformed into an elegant eatery hosting 95 people who purchased tickets for our youth mission trips fundraising dinner and auction.

The evening started with valet and coat check service (even though it was unseasonably warm and not many coats were worn.)  Dinner was served by the youth, which included spicy squash/bean chili, beef wellington or baked salmon, mashed potatoes and peas. Along with serving and busing tables, many youth also participated in the entertainment for the evening.  Steven Daubenmeyer, Billy Stark, Louie Stark, Josh Doering, Jessica Krone, Caitlin Marchand and TJ Lowmaster started us off with a skit called “Out of Focus” that depicted a little bit of what our your group meetings are like. Lauren Arquette shared her talent on the piano with a song called “When September Ends.” Amanda Glass and Nathan Pohl told us a little bit about Washington DC and Cincinnati, the cities where our youth will be serving this summer. Nathan Pohl, TJ Lowmaster, Marilyn McBain, Caitlin Marchand, Amanda Glass, Beth Stark, Madelyn Degener, Steven Daubenmeyer, Lauren Arquette and Drew Degener performed a skit called “Disciple Auditions.” We showed a filmed skit called “Are we HIS Neighbors?” with Louie Stark, Drew Degener, Jessica Krone and Travis Wiggins. Beth Stark, Jessica Krone, Amanda Glass, TJ Lowmaster and Marilyn McBain participated in a skit called “Amazing Grace.” Marilyn McBain shared her talent as well, singing “Blessed Be Your Name.” Beth Stark, Drew Degener and Madeyln Degener performed a reader’s theater titled “A Love Letter From His Love Letter.”. Several Almuni shared their thoughts on youth mission trips via a video, edited by Ian Glodich. One of our youth alumni, Hannah Glodich, came back to perform a song. “Awake My Soul,” with Marilyn McBain and Beth Stark. And finally, Beth Stark closed the show with “A Sailor’s Prayer.”

None of this could have been accomplished without help the help of numerous volunteers. Yummy hors d’oeuvres, a fabulous dinner and a scrumptious dessert were created by Carol Bunch with the help of Barb Berbert, Ella Bastine, Kay Sousa, Dwight Gibson, Sarah Wiggins, and Christy Marchand. Valet service was headed up by Mark Arquette and his expert parking team of Chuck TenBroeck, John Glodich and Jeff (and Zachary) Doering. The volunteers of the Youth Ministry Team (Brian Anderson,  Dan Degener, Mike Graunstdat and Bryan Smith) were essential in pulling off this event. Diana Noble was indispensable in helping to create amazing baskets for the auction. The decorating team, led by Angie Stark, and aided by Anne Degener and Julie Graunstadt created a beautiful atmosphere in our sanctuary. Debbie Krone and Christy Marchand facilitated the silent auction check out process. Stu Delaney and Jeff Doering stepped in to run our sound board and video projections. The parents of all our youth stayed after to help transform the space into our worship area for Sunday.

A big thanks to all of those people mentioned above who took their time, talent and energy to make this night so successful. (Please forgive us if we’ve left anyone off the list.) A special thanks goes to everyone who attended, helped set up, ironed table clothes and napkins, stayed to help clean up, donated auction items and bid on auction items this year. Our silent auction had 42 items or packages to bid on. Along with items in our auction, each youth attending the mission trips this summer donated a service to be auctioned off. Services included babysitting, gardening, cooking, pet sitting, yard work and odd jobs.  Several bids were over the donation value! A generous $3200 was raised from the silent auction alone. The total fundraising from this night netted approximately $4300. Adding our bake sale and Super Bowl sub fundraisers, the youth have raised over $500 toward the cost of their mission trips. Through your generous support many lives will be touched by the love of Christ this summer. 

It's almost time!

I'm getting very excited about our event on Saturday. Tickets are all sold, auction items have been logged in and the bidding has started. We already have over $1200 in bids! Whoo hoo!

I want to thank you all for being supportive of this event. I especially want to thank those who’ve helped who aren’t even going on the mission trip.

Although a lot has been done so far, we still have a lot to do! 

THIS WEEK Ironing! Anytime the church is open or after, PLEASE let me know if you can iron tablecloths!! The ironing board is set up in the far right room of the lighthouse area. This is an especially good opportunity for your support if you have not brought in donations. We have LOTS of tablecloths to iron. (I can't stress this enough) Bring your own iron and ironing board if you can. Let me know when you can help. 

Saturday Morning: Arrive at 9:00 to help set up. And rehearse the entertainment. Hopefully we'll be done by noon, if not before. I will expect you to be able to stay the entire time. Other than setting up the sanctuary, auction tables, and coat check areas, we will be talking about how we will be serving dinner. 

Saturday Afternoon: Come on back to church at 4:30 dressed in black bottoms – skirt or pants and a nice white top (with sleeves). Also, closed-toed shoes are required for when we are serving. (You will be in the kitchen at some point.)

I will also expect EVERYONE (Parents and Youth) to help clean up and set up for worship on Sunday. If we all work together it won't take very long. 

You have all worked so hard already, thank you! If you have any questions or concerns PLEASE let me know!

Your sister in Christ,

Nancy

Lenten Devotion

Since Ash Wednesday, I've been going to a website called Journey to the Cross. On this site, they provide a daily devotion for Lent. I find that some days, these devotions are just what I need to keep me focused on God that day, and help me to prepare for the joy that is Easter. Here is an excerpt from Saturday's devotion:

"How can you tell?"

That's a fair quesition whenever someone makes a prediction of what is going to happen, or even when they give an explanation for what is happening now. 

There are signs for those who will see them.  Take time now to watch for the signs God has for you.

Psalm 25:6-10

Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
   for they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth
   and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
   for you, LORD, are good.

  Good and upright is the LORD;
   therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
   and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
   toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

from Bruce Reyes-Chow

I still remember once getting caught in a lie by my mother. I told her i was in one place when i was in another, and i got busted... big time.  As a parent now, I can imagine how she felt - worry, mixed with anger, topped with disappointment.. I'm not sure how she ever forgave me, let alone let me out of the house again. But she did and, while i had to serve my time being grounded, in the end I was forgiven.  Once she felt that I was trly sorry and some time had passed, it was as it it never happened.  

Now I am sure that she never truly forgot, and was always keeping a little closer eye on me as I grew up, but she never held it against me. Go too is like that, when we mess up, God may get worried, angry, or disappointed, but God's love overrides it all; our faltering is not held against us. Wen you mess up or when you make choices that are not the best, God forgives and allows you to keep trying. So when you do find yourself in those kinds of struggles, be humble in seeking forgiveness, and be bold in living as God intends. 

If you'd like to participate in these daily devotions as well, I encourage you to visit www.d365.org/journeytothecross

What is Lent?

This is taken directly from BibleGateway.com:

Lent is the span of time in the church calendar that starts with Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter Sunday. Ash Wednesday commemorates the beginning ofJesus’ 40-day fasting and temptation in the desert, and Easter Sunday commemorates Jesus’ resurrection from the grave after his crucifixion.

Lent, then, is generally observed as a time for Christians to reflect, repent, and pray as a way of preparing their hearts for Easter. It is commonly observed by many Christian denominations—Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and others—although not every Christian church or denomination does so. Because Lent is not officially instituted in Scripture, observing it isn’t in any way a “requirement” of Christianity. However, Christians from many different theological persuasions choose to observe it as a way of focusing their thoughts on Jesus Christ during the Easter season.

How does one observe Lent? It differs from person to person and church to church, but some of the things Christians opt to do to observe Lent include:

• On the first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday), some Christians mark their foreheads with ash as a symbol of sorrow and mourning over their sin. (See Job 42 for an example of ash used as a symbol of repentance.)
• Special worship services, or additions to regular worship services, that focus in various ways on man’s need for repentance. This often takes the form of extra Scripture readings and prayer.
• Some Christians choose to give up a habit or behavior during Lent as an exercise in prayerful self-denial. This might range from something as simple as not drinking soda during Lent to a full-blown program of fasting.
• Some Christians commit to a special devotional activity during Lent—for example, daily Scripture reading, regular prayer for a specific person or topic throughout Lent, or volunteer work in their community.

The choice to observe Lent is a personal one—the whole point is to focus your heart and mind on Jesus during the journey to Easter. There’s no requirement to observe it, nor should you feel guilted into participating. However, millions of Christians around the world do observe Lent each year; if you’ve never done so, why not give it a try? Whether you observe Lent in a small or major way, you’ll be amazed at what happens when you devote a part of each day to reflecting on Jesus Christ and God’s Word.

I invite you to consider other ways that you can deepen your relationship with Jesus over the coming weeks. Whether you call it “Lent observance” or “daily devotions” or anything else, time spent reflecting on Jesus Christ is time well spent!

A Night Out is coming soon!

Even if you aren’t planning on joining us in Cincinnati or Washington DC this summer, we’d appreciate your help and support!

Here are some details:

Auction:

All of the youth who are attending the mission trip are expected to offer some sort of service that will take at least 2 hours of your time that we can auction off. (Those of you who are going on BOT trips might consider 2 services, or a longer service….) We’ve talked about this, so it should be nothing new. This service should be something useful for people to bid on. I need to know by Wednesday, March 7^th  what you will be offering as your service. Please fill out a donation form (available on the church bulletin board.) You will also need to make up some sort of certificate that the winner can take home, with your information on it and the specifics of your service. See me if you have any questions.

Families are strongly encouraged to donate or bring in a donation (restaurant certificates, sports tickets, sports paraphernalia, themed baskets, etc). These donations should be brought to Geneva by Wednesday, March 7^th. Please make sure that you fill out a donation form (found on the bulletin board.) If you have any questions or can’t bring in your donation by March 7^th, please let me know.

Entertainment:

All youth are encouraged to help with the entertainment that night – jokes, poetry reading, musical selections, skits, dances, songs (or other ways to entertain that you can think of.) I’d like all the selections we do that evening to be for the glory of God. Please choose your song, etc. wisely! Let me know if you want to be a part of the entertainment that evening, and we will set an audition time when it’s convenient for you. You can audition up until Wednesday, March 14.

I have 1 skit planned and 1 reader’s theater planned. Scripts will be available starting Sunday, February 19. Let me know by February 26 if you’d like to participate in either the skit or the reader’s theater (or both!) (or if you have your own skit in mind.) We’ll start rehearsals on Sunday, March 4.

Setting up/Serving/Cleaning up:

We will need some people to start ironing anytime the week before the dinner. (This might be a good job for those of you going on both trips!) We begin set up on Saturday, March 24 at 9:00.

When we come back in the afternoon (4:30?) to begin serving, we’ll wear a white shirt and black pants or skirt. Please consider what kind of footwear you will be wearing. (Close-toed shoes are required for being in the kitchen, and everone who is serving will be in the kitchen at some point) Extra high heels will be hurting your feet by the end of the night!

Everyone who is attending the mission trip is expected to stay and clean up afterwards. If we all work together, it gets done faster!

As we get closer to this event, you’ll be getting a lot more information. It’s going to happen sooner than you think!

Attitude is Everything

I am a firm believer in that much-used saying. We don’t always have the power to change our circumstances, but we do have the power to change our attitudes. When we change our attitude to reflect love, hope and faith, it can make all the difference in the world!

I came across this quote by Charles Swindoll, Christian author, and I wanted to share it with you.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. 



Attitude, to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.



It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company ...a church ...a home.



The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past ...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.



We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ...I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.

Are you experiencing winter?

As I write this there isn't any snow on the ground, even though it is almost the end of January. It's not even going to get below freezing today. As a matter of fact, it might even rain.  However, there are no leaves on the trees, the grass isn't growing, sun hasn't been shining much and it's still fairly cold. It sure doesn't feel like winter, weather-wise, but the calendar says it is.

Sometimes around this time of year, though I start to feel like mentally I'm in 'winter.' Do you? While the earth starts to get cold in November, and the days grow shorter and darkness sets in in December, I'm usually gearing up for Christmas and that keeps me alert, and excited and looking ahead. Once the holidays are over, though I start to settle in and start 'hibernating' a bit. I tend to sleep more, don't feel like going out as much and I probably eat more, too.

This is when I need to motivate myself more to do things. Have you been feeling this way too? Do you need an extra push this time of year? Let's help each other stay active, stay alert and stay reaching for Christ! How can I help you?

Let's make it an early spring, shall we?