May 2017 Page 1

FAMILY VISITOR

MAY 2017

MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER Thursday, May 4, noon at the Polk County Courthouse.

ALL CHURCH FAMILY BRUNCH Saturday, May 6, 11 am. Bring your favorite brunch food and old family photos so we can guess who’s who. There will be live entertainment, also.

MARCIA WHITEHEAD Will be here Sunday, May 7. She will be sharing songs and testimony during the 10:30 am worship service.

CHRISTIAN WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP (CWF) Tuesday, May 9, 1 pm in the small dining room.

CABINET MEETING Tuesday, May 9, 7 pm in the parlor.

MEN & KIDS BREAKFAST 8 am Saturday, May 13

EVENTS ON SUNDAY, MAY 14 Mother’s Day, Compassion Sunday (see page 6 for more information), and Food Bank collection

FAMILY GAME NIGHT Friday, May 19, 7 pm in the small dining room. Bring your favorite games and snacks.

REGIONAL MINISTER VISIT Doug Wirt will be here Sunday, May 21.

ELDERS MEETING Tuesday, May 23, 7 pm in the parlor.

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FOUND JEWELRY Do any of these items belong to you or someone you know? They are in the office. The reindeer is a recent addition. The other three have been around for a year or more.

FOOD BANK EXPERIMENT We support our local food bank with staples and special items. Our collection basket has been a bit hard to find if you brought food for it. For the next few months, we are going to have

the second Sunday of the month be a food bank emphasis. In

May, that would be the 14th. Please bring canned goods, the specialty items and other donations on that day and they will be collected during worship by the kids. This is an important local

ministry that we are a part of our community.

The Food Bank emphasis for May is canned vegetables.

Items that can always be used: Food items: spices, chocolate,

canned meats and jerky, crackers and tortillas, soup packets, canned fruit other than pineapple, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, canned foods including tomatoes and canned meat, pasta.

Non-food items: Feminine products, toiletries, baby toiletries including diapers and wipes, and socks.

Please make sure donated items haven’t passed their expiration date.

This is what was

collected on April 9

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COMMUNITY EVENTS

POLK COUNTY FREE CLINIC This provides health care on a first-come first-served basis on the first and fourth Saturdays each month from 9 am to noon. People start lining up around 6 am at the Lutheran Church, 320 SE Fir Villa Road. This faith-based free clinic serves the uninsured of Polk County who have either medical or mental health issues.

They can use volunteers to help with various aspects of the clinic. For more information, call 503-990-8772.

COMMUNITY CLOTHING CLOSET At Dallas Evangelical Church, 783 SW Church St. It is open the second Saturday and second Monday of the month from 9 am to noon, and the fourth Thursday from 6 pm to 8 pm. Clothing donations can be dropped off at the church or at Willamette Acupuncture and Wellness, Ellendale Plaza suite 601 (across from Walmart).

JAMES 2 COMMUNITY KITCHEN Provides free meals 4:30 – 6 pm twice a week. Tuesday meals are at the Catholic Church on Mill Street and Thursday meals are at the United Methodist Church on LaCreole Drive. They welcome volunteer helpers.

LOOKING AHEAD

Church directory photos It’s time to take photos for a new church directory. Jody Friend will be helping with this, starting on May 7. When she asks to take your photo, please say “yes”. If you want to get extra people here for a photo, let the office know which Sunday you’ll be here.

Women’s Spiritual Renewal Retreat The Murray Hills Christian Church will be holding “The Melody of Freedom” fall spiritual renewal retreat, October 13-14, 2017. The speaker will be Katy Valentine, Minister of Women’s Ministries Christian Church in Northern CA/NV. The cost will be $45 for Friday night starting with dinner through Saturday afternoon or $25 for Saturday only (includes lunch). First time attendees will get $10 discount. 8th person from a church is free with 7 regular full retreat registrations. Registration materials, schedule and local housing information available at www.oidisciples.org or the Christian Church in Oregon and SW Idaho Facebook page. There is a brochure about this on the events bulletin board.

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Notes for the Journey It has been said that, “April showers bring May flower. (and what do May flowers bring?

Pilgrims!)” If you are like me, you are done with the April shower and ready for the flowers to come. The rain that we get this time of year and throughout the year, helps to keep the flowers growing, the trees green and landscape lush. We need the rain and water for things to grow and for there to be life.

I also love the season of spring. There is so much new growth.

As I have sat inside watching the rain which is causing the grass, flowers and trees to grow, I began to wonder about what causes the growth in the church. I think there are a lot of things that contribute to the growth that we have to be a part of. Just like we have to plant, weed, fertilize and prune the plants in our yard, we have to participate in the life and growth of the church. We do so through things like making sure our lives are right with God, making corporate worship a priority, giving through our time, money and other resources, being a part of the different groups of the church, inviting

others to come and supporting the leadership in a variety of ways.

These are all important in the life of the church but it is the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, which is the crucial element that gives us the life that we need. The presence of God’s Spirit in our lives and the life of the church is what brings us true life. It is the same Spirit that raised Jesus and now lives in us. Jeremy Camp writes in his song Same Power,

The same power that rose Jesus from the grave The same power that commands the dead to wake Lives in us, lives in us The same power that moves mountains when He speaks The same power that can calm a raging sea Lives in us, lives in us; He lives in us, lives in us

As the rain brings new life and growth to the world around us, it is my prayer and hopefully yours as well, that the Spirit of God will continue to bring new life to each of us and the church.

We’ll see you in worship. Peace.

Pastor Darren (Pastor Darren has a blog at

http://pastordarren.wordpress.com)

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CWF TEDDY BEAR DRIVE CWF is collecting teddy bears and other soft cuddly stuffed animals to donate to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) to give to children they work with. The animals are taken from the box on a regular basis and taken to CASA.

ONLINE GIVING Do you ever wish you could give without writing a check? Do you ever wish you could give on a weekday? Or at Midnight? We are now set up for online giving! Go to our web page, https://dallas1stchristianchurch.wordpress.com/, and click on the “Online Giving” page.

We now have an app so you can have this on your smart phone. The app name is “Dallas First Christian Church”. This app is much more than just a giving

site. You can send in prayer requests, read the Bible, listen to Darren’s messages, or connect to our Facebook page. Be sure to check it out. NEIGHBOR LINKUP COMMUNITY CONNECTION The churches of Dallas and other community helping organizations have come together in a new way to help people when there is a need. Called Neighbor Linkup, this website allows needs to be screened and then sent out directly to people who have signed up with an account. When there is a need posted on the site, you will get an email with the need and contact information of the helping organization. If you can help with the need, you contact the helping organization person and go forward from there. It is a simple process and you are encouraged to do that and be involved in the life of the community. The website is www.neighborlinkup.com/dallas if you would like to check it out. If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Darren.

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May Birthdays: 1 Jayce Thompson 4 Jameson Tormey 5 Tami Harustak 6 Virginia Gilbreath 8 Delores LaFountaine 9 Cathy Dunlap 9 Dane Jones 9 Brooklynn Thompson 9 Sarah Tormey 18 Rachael Anderson 18 Eliana Cameron 20 Erinn Berberick 20 Amber Dunmire 20 Andrea Thorpe 23 Glendoris Dyer 29 Connor Ballard 30 Brenda Taylor

May Anniversaries:

Larry & Diana Blair 5/14/05 If we’ve left out your birthday or anniversary, please call the office (503-623-2569) and give us the information.

MISSION TRIP FUNDRAISING Jennifer Soukup’s daughter, Terre, is collecting cans & bottles to raise funds to go on a mission trip this summer. The address to drop off cans and bottles is 265 SW Oak St. #3, in Dallas.

COMPASSION MINISTRY On May 14th, we will be having a time of focusing on the Compassion Ministry that reaches out to children in poverty. Heather Ivey will be sharing with us about the ministry and why it is a powerful way to reach out and change the lives of children around the world. Compassion not only reaches out by meeting the physical needs of the children it also shares the Gospel of Jesus with them and their families. By doing this ministry, not only are individual lives changed, but communities as a whole are changed too! We can sponsor a child in another part of the world. Plan now to be a part of worship on this day to be a part of this exciting ministry.

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TO GET THE FAMILY VISITOR:

• Pick up a copy at church

• Email your mailing address to the church or call the office at 503-623-2569.

• Read it on our web site: http//dallas1stchristianchurch.wordpress.com

• Send your email address to: Dallas1stchristianchurch@yahoo.com

AMAZON SMILE DONATIONS

Do you shop at Amazon.com? They have a program called AmazonSmile where they donate 0.5% of sales to charity. Amazon pays this – they do not charge the buyer. Buyers can choose a charity from a list of 1 million charities – and you can change your charity each time you shop. Dallas First Christian Church is one of the charities on the list. So next time you shop on Amazon, sign in on http://smile.amazon.com/ch/93-0395573. You will be asked to confirm that you want to donate to Dallas First Christian Church and then you can place your order. If

you’d like more information, after you sign on to Amazon.com, search for Amazon Smile and click on the link it gives you. In February, we received $6.81 from Amazon Smile. RIGHT NOW MEDIA ONLINE LEARNING PROGRAM This program allows users immediate access via the Internet to an online church video library which includes over 2,000 discipleship videos for children, youth and adults. The children’s programs now include Veggie tales, 3-2-1 Penguin, Adventures in Odyssey from Focus on the Family and more. We can upload our own training or customize theirs. View the introductory video at www.rightnowmedia.org/biblestudylibrary/

If you did not receive an email invitation, please send an email to the church at Dallas1stchristianchurch@yahoo.com and we will see that you get one.

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MODERATOR’S MUSINGS

When it comes to communications with Jesus I found a one - two punch. Bible reading and prayer. Romans 8:28 reads; And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him who has been called according to His purpose. When reading this I know people who could use the encouragement from this scripture. Knowing I'm not going to see these people, I pray.

First I pray for myself and ask for forgiveness. I can pray this prayer for my family, my church, all the people I know who are ailing, my neighbors and all the people I work with. I pray to let them know that good comes to all who love Jesus.

To all, find your scripture, find your people and find your prayer. and keep communicating with the Lord who we all love

John Dodge, Moderator

IMPORTANT! NEW BUS DRIVERS NEEDED!

We have had one new person volunteer to be a bus driver; however, we could use several more

to ensure we have someone to drive the bus each Sunday. Ideally, we should have 2 people on the bus each week. Talk to Royce Thorpe or John Dodge if you would like more information. SUNDAY SCHOOL Please feel free to join the Adult Sunday School class in the Parlor at 9:30 am. A new class has started for Middle School and High School students.

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PRAYER REQUESTS Health, continuing: Diana & Neil

Anderson; Rachael Anderson; Meaghan Bennet; Lee Bird; Diana Blair; Geneva Brisco; Maggie Brown; Linda Bullock; Daniel Coryell; Agnes Fredrick; Russ Hillsinger; Jim Holeman; Addilyn Kelley; Mark Lane; Katherine Marsden; Cleo Mulford; Edith Perry; Linda Phipps; Debbie & Steve Pickering; Larry Rosen; Nettie Shuler; Gracie Strauss; Brenda Taylor; Vonnie Taylor; Royce Thorpe; Jessica & Ryan Vincent; Lucille Walker; Leilas Watson; Kathy Ivey’s Uncle Claude; Holly Blackman’s friend, Corinza Fisher’s dad & stepmom; Dawn, neighbor of Royce & MaryAlice Thorpe; Keely (friend of Melissa Golly); people dealing with cancer.

Health, New: Jessica Vincent’s aunt Judy (back in hospital), Ken Braun’s father (health issues); Theresa Pence (neurologist appt. May 3);

Vonnie Taylor’s friend Malea Withrow-Patterson (multiple fractures from car accident)

Praise: Brenda Taylor is home from the hospital; Darren’s father is doing well.

Military: Aaron & Rachel (Ross & Linda Phipps grandchildren), Kasey Loflin, James Brisco, Shawna Sloan, Jake McDonald.

Other: Debbie Eisenhut, medical missionary with SIM. Theresa Pence & her daughter Kayla. Families struggling with relationships. Joel & others who want to get clean and sober. Tina Stuck and daughter Jordan. Parents dealing with custody issues. People looking for work. Jessica Vincent’s sister, Nikkie (relationship issues). Vicki Massey (for patience, faith & peace). Cody Ivey & Amber Dunmire (housing situation); Sere Redwine (new job and childcare).

To start the prayer chain, call the office (503-623-2569) or e-mail the church at Dallas1stchristianchurch@yahoo.com

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May 7 May 14 May 21 May 28

Elder Gary Ivey Diana Blair John Dodge Marsha Heeter

Serving Shut-ins

Gary Ivey

Deaconess: Shirley Hill Nursery: Mabel Fisher Pianist: Vicki Massey Organist: Edith Perry Hymn Leader: Mary Alice Thorpe Sound & video Technicians: Susan Jones, Austin Friend, Diana Ramos, Christina Taylor, Vonnie Taylor Praise Teams: Tim Ivey, Heather Ivey, Amanda Read, Carolyn Cameron Deacons: There are five stones in a container in the narthex. The first five deacons who take a stone are the ones who will serve that Sunday. Bus Drivers’ Phone numbers; Jim Holeman 503-831-3282 (Won’t be driving in April) John Dodge 503-623-9603 EYE GLASSSES FOR LIONS CLUB INTERNATIONAL SIGHT AND VISION Royce Thorpe is collecting glasses for the Lions Club. They take prescription, readers, magnifiers, sun glasses and loose lenses (no frames). Your donations are greatly appreciated

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S M T W T F S Worship Schedule: 8:30 am Live Wire Contemporary Svc 9:30 am Sunday School 10:30 am Traditional Worship Svc

1 2 3 4 5 6 8:30 am Men’s

Bible Study Noon Nat’l Day of Prayer

11 am All Church Family Brunch

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Worship 1 pm CWF

7 pm Cabinet Meeting

8:30 am Men’s Bible Study

8 am Men & Kids breakfast

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Mother’s Day Worship

8:30 am Men’s Bible Study

7 pm Family Game Night

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Worship 7 pm

Elders Meeting

8:30 am Men’s Bible Study

30 31 Worship

Memorial Day

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Church Email: Dallas1stchristianchurch@yahoo.com

Darren’s Email pastormdarren@yahoo.com

Church Web site: Dallas1stchristianchurch.wordpress.com

Sunday Schedule

8:30 am Live Wire Contemporary Svc 9:30 am Church School

10:30 am Traditional Worship Childcare available for all services

Church Office Hours:

Tues. – Fri. 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Staff: Darren Anderson, Senior Pastor

Marsha Heeter, Secretary Susan Jones, Custodian

Amanda Read, Office Assistant

Officers: John Dodge, Moderator

Mary Alice Thorpe, Vice-Moderator Rachael Anderson, Treasurer

Dee White, Financial Secretary