The Pastor’s Blog
February 12, 2017 there will be a Business Meeting to consider the proposed budget. We will meet in the sanctuary after the worship service with Sunday School to follow.
Sweet Treats for Everyone! The Friends Women Missionary Fellowship Group will also hold their Valentine’s Baked Goods Event on Sunday, February 12th, with all donations supporting mission projects. Look for their table set up in the fellowship hall!
FWMF Meeting for February will be held 10 a.m. Thursday, February 16th at MFC instead of Phebe McManama’s. There will be a buffet luncheon following the meeting. All ladies are welcome to attend.
Cadds to Share on February 19th in Worship
We are delighted to have Jon and Cher Cadd with Missionary Aviation Fellowship join us on February 19th, sharing an update on their continued ministry with MAF in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They will share more and will take time for questions and answers at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary. Jon and Cher and their family left Medford Friends in the 1980s to begin their ministry with MAF.
February’s All Church Potluck at 12 noon that same day! Join us in the fellowship hall for good food and fellowship! Please bring a main dish and salad, vegetable or dessert to share.
A Matter of Perspective Movie Premiere
Rich Swingle shared about this upcoming film when he was here at MFC last June! We are invited to Trinity Presbyterian Church 100 Windsor Ave., Medford on Saturday, February 18th at 7 p.m. for the premiere of A Matter of Perspective in which Rich plays a middle-aged Christian who has drifted from his faith. The film has some beautiful footage of Southern Oregon and surrounding area. Other short films will also be shared including a special behind the scenes for A Matter of Perspective.
Sunday, Feb. 26th – Pizza & Bowling
Medford Friends Kids Grades 1st – 6th – Fun Day on Sunday!
We will be going to bowl after having a pizza lunch at church. Arrive at church by 11 a.m. and bring $5 for bowling. To participate, all kids will need permissions slips signed by parents or guardians. If you have turned in one for a previous event, we only need a new one if the information has changed. We will return to MFC at 2 p.m. Contact Drew Krupp or Patsy Burton for more information.
Celebrate all that God is doing through Operation Christmas Child!
Friday, February 10th at 7 p.m. at Medford First Church of the Nazarene,1974 E. McAndrews Road. You are welcome to come and hear the testimony from a shoebox recipient about the impact of a simple gift. Be inspired by the true stories of Operation Christmas Child and learn area and national totals and where our boxes went. RSVP to Rhonda Sloan at 541-891-7431.
Everence® to present informative webinars February 20th & 21st
Budget basics and beyond: Monday, Feb. 20 – 2 or 8 p.m. In this webinar, designed for pastors, church leaders and others interested in church budgets, we’ll discuss what congregations can do to get people excited about giving, what a church budget should do and the four basic church budget models. Presented by Beryl M. Jantzi, Stewardship Education Director.
Women and Money: Tuesday, Feb. 21 – 2 or 8 p.m. Designed for women of all ages, this educational webinar addresses the specific financial hurdles faced by women, preparing financially for the future, plus quick, easy ways to launch an investment plan. Presented by Shari Beck*, Financial Advisor and Rhoda Blough, Stewardship Consultant.
For more information or to register, contact Melissa Short at (800) 222-5054 or melissa.short@everence.com; or visit everence.com/direct. (All times Eastern Daylight Time.)
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Cloudy Days
It is amazing to me that weather can have such a profound impact on our mood. We experience seasonal and weather changes with our emotions as well as our bodies and that is phenomenal in my opinion. Sunny weather and summer are often experienced as a time of wonder and exploration, even lifting our spirits and feeling not just warmth from the sun but warmth in our souls. Contrasted with that is cloudy weather and winter. Dark and gloom sink into us and we are often left colder, physically and emotionally. Even with celebrations at this time people often experience this darkening/chilling effect of the weather. It makes me consider what other events or circumstances affect me.
We often call life events “seasons” and in doing so recognize that our lives change. It is a good practice to recognize that life events and circumstances are variable and can shift or be changed by events often outside our control, like the weather. Unlike the weather we have a choice as to what our response will be to the changing seasons of life. Knowing that spring will come after winter ought to give us peace of mind and encouragement on the cloudy cold days. In a similar way we have a promise of new “seasons” in Christ. Many in our world feel like we are living in cloudy days (and not just because it is winter) they are letting that coldness sink into them and their responses are often negative and as chilly as a winter breeze. That is the response of a person who has forgotten that seasons change. They feel as though we are locked into a perpetual winter and therefore have lost sight of the sun beyond the clouds.
As Christians we need to remember that there is a Son who shines for us even on cloudy days and during wintery seasons of life. The hope we have in Christ is one of a new creation, a new day dawning, a change in the seasons that will come. That fills us with warmth and hope and changes our response to the cloudy weather and storms of this life. On cloudy days we know that the sun will come again, during the stormy nights we know that it will pass one eventually, and in times when we don’t remember what spring feels like we get a glimpse of the beautiful God who makes us grow. I hope that your cloudy days are filled with glimpses of the Son shining through this month!
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Being New
2017. Let that sink in for a bit.
Ok, now that it has sunk in we can talk about what it means. We are living in a new year but these things remain true at any time: Jesus is still king. The Lord of all creation still loves you. The world will always be His. Any problems we have can be brought before Him.
Some of us has been shaken by 2016. Others may feel broken and scarred by it. Coming into 2017 we feel weak and wounded. We need a restoration. We need a redeemer to show us what our lives can be when all we can see is the brokenness. We need Jesus to make us new. Good news is that can happen. Bad news is we have to let Him work on making us new every day.
New Year’s resolutions don’t work so well if we aren’t resolved to them every new day of the year. In the same way, the restoration and redemption found in Christ has to be renewed each day if we want to live fully in it. We get to be new. That happens every day. We can choose to honor Christ with that newness or not.
The year is new and so are you. The day is new and so are you. Christ gives us the chance to see and experience the world in a new way, with Him as our primary interpreter for what is going on around us. In the light of Christ’s activity in the world we see what is going on in a different way. This is part of the newness offered to us. It is one of my favorite things. Getting to see through new eyes helps me to make sense of a world that can be pretty senseless sometimes. I get to be new. Others get to be new. The world gets to be new. Not just once a year. But every single day.
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The Wednesday Night Bible Study that meets at MFC will resume January 11th, at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome, please join us!
Soup and Game Night Social
Invite a Friend!
Meet at MFC at 6:30 p.m. – Friday, January 13th
Everyone is invited out for an evening of fellowship! Soup will be provided. Please bring bread or a salad to accompany the soup! Be sure to bring a favorite game to play following dinner.
All Church Potluck
Please join us Sunday, January 15th, for our all church potluck! We always have a great time of fellowship and good food! We’ll meet in the fellowship hall at noon. Bring a main dish and salad, vegetable or dessert to share.
Friends Women Missionary Fellowship
Our regular monthly meetings resume with the January 19th meeting at 10 a.m. in the fireside room at MFC.
The meeting will conclude with lunch served at noon. In addition to the regular January “catch-up” business, Earlene Schlosser will present a brief power point year-end report received from Malawi sharing the progress of God’s work there.
Note to ladies who are not regular members of Friends Women, you are always welcome to join us for lunch fellowship (no cost). Questions? Contact Nadine Brood 541-585-1722.
It’s time to update our birthday file and directory information.
If you are new to MFC within the last year we would like to have the birth dates of those in your family. Please list the month & day on the back of your Information Sheet in Sunday’s bulletin. (Adults are not required to list the year, however it is helpful for children!)
It’s also time to update our MFC directory…if you have moved or have new phone numbers or a new email address please fill out the top of the Information Sheet in Sunday’s bulletin and place it in the box on the table in the foyer. Thank you.
Thank You from Jesse Davis, the Wilson, Garrett and Taylor families for the cards and gifts and the cash gifts shared with us throughout the Christmas season. We are thankful for God’s generous provision to us and for the ways that everyone contributes to the ministries of Medford Friends. It is a joy to serve Jesus with all of you, our church family.
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