Volume 12, Issue 2 February 2014

FebruaryAt a Glance

Engage the present - Create the future

The Connectiona publication of Blue Mountain Community Church

6 SAMS 10:00 am8 Men’s Breakfast 8:00 am9 Business Information Meeting after services11 Quilter’s Guild 7:00 pm12 Leadership Essentials 6:00 am13 MOPS 9:00 am16 Business Information Meeting after services Next Step after services18 Younglives 5:00 pm Board of Elders Meeting 6:30 pm20 SAMS 10:00 am23 Special Business Meeting 10:00 am27 & 28 Arts Camp 9:00 am

From Pastor Jim ~We have scheduled a Special Business Meeting for Sunday, February 23rd, between the early and late service. The plan is for this meeting to begin at 10:05 am. It will be a short meeting with three items on the agenda. Item 1 is to simply inform the church about a wording change to 5.31 of our Designated Fund Policy in the Church Policy Manual. Item 2 is a vote for permission to re-distribute our “Rejuve-nation Fund.” It is currently designated to a building project that we are no longer planning to proceed with. And item 3 is information about a proposed new entrance off of Bryant Street to provide more visibility and better access to our property.The reason the elders elected to hold this meeting between the two services was to allow people from the early service to attend the meeting before they leave and people from the late service to attend before service begins. Because of the tight schedule at this meeting, questions from the floor will be pretty limited. We will hold informa-tion meetings on Feb 9th and 16th following both morning services to try to answer as many questions as possible up front. Please plan to either stay a little later or come a little earlier on that Sunday.

Hope to see you Sunday Pastor Jim

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February Birthdays and Anniversaries

To have your birthday or anniversary added to the list, contact the church office at 529-1212.

1 Rafe Hayden Jamie Nachtigall Elissa Stites Nick Swisher2 Peter Erb3 Scott Haen Rose Paul Levi Sands Evelyn Wallace5 Amanda Gorze Walter Zier7 Rebecca Mize8 Abby Larreau Jessica Tanner Adam Voss9 Leanne Howard10 Dan Kilmer11 Brian Casey12 Kathy Wood13 Emily Apsley Leslie Snyder14 Phyllis Branscum

7 Gordon & Nancy Jennings Dan & Deborah Minteer14 Mark & Mary Ellen Farr Bill & Mary Luisi20 Bill & Christene Thrasher21 Steve & Rebecca Mize22 Don & Lee Lynch28 Mike & Kriss Pettyjohn

16 Ethan Henline17 Davin Sands Jack Sands Cathy Sesser19 Ed Hendricksen Esmerelda Spence20 Terry Burner Zachery Harris Sarah Wood22 Troi Coram Brenda VanDonge24 Kaeldra Caton Misha Flem25 Paula Hoppen27 Jackie Kuljis Darlene Mings Rich Young28 Gail Johnson Erika Swenson29 Vivienne Hayden

This came across my desk this past week and I really loved what the author wrote about a multigenerational church like ours. His words are true and those “embarrasing moments” to you mean something com-pletely different to those around you. Read and be encouraged.

Julie Caton

To you who bring small children to churchby Steven Hunter

There you are sitting in worship or Bible study. Your child, or tod-dler, is restless. Perhaps they’re even a little boisterous. You try to silence them, and nothing. You try to pacify them with food or toys, and nothing. Eventually, you resort to the last thing you wanted to do: you pick them up, and before a watching audience, you make the march out of the auditorium. All the while, you’re a little embar-rassed. Maybe you’re a little frustrated too. You might even think to yourself, “There’s no point in coming to church. I get nothing out of it because I have to constantly care for my kid.”I want you — you mothers and/or fathers — to know just how encourag-ing you are to so many. The little elderly woman who often feels alone beams with a smile at the sight of you wrestling with your little one. She’s been there before. She knows how hard it can be, but she smiles because to hear that brings back precious memories. To see young parents and their small children brighten her day, and she may have just received bad news this week about her health, but seeing the vitality of young ones removes — if but for a moment — her fears.The older man who always seems to be grouchy notices you too. He’s always talking about how children in this day have no respect or sense of good. But, he sees you — a young family — in church, and you don’t miss any gathering. Like clockwork, he can depend on the sight of you and your young family. You give him hope that maybe the church isn’t doomed after all, because there are still young parents who love God enough to bring their restless children to worship.Then there’s everybody else. Some people will honestly become frustrated by noisy children in church. They have this warped idea that reverence includes absolute silence. It doesn’t. When parents brought their children to Jesus, the disciples rebuked them (Matt. 19.13-15), but Jesus rebuked His disciples. He said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hin-der them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” They would have squirmed, maybe even cried. This was likely why the disciples rebuked the parents; as well as that they might have thought that the children were too young to understand the blessing Christ pronounced over them.Bring your children to church. If you don’t hear crying, the church is dying. As hard as it might be for you as a parent who’s half-asleep, keep on doing what you’re doing. You are an encouragement, and you’re starting off your children’s lives as you should.

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Words of Encouragement by Jeff Goodson1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 “For God decided to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. He died for us so that we can live with him forever, whether we are dead or alive at the time of his return. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” (NLT)God decided to save us, if it were left up to us we would never

have chosen Jesus. God decided not to pour out His anger on us even though we were deserving of it. God decided to send Jesus, His only Son, to die for us. God decided that we who receive Je-sus will live with Him forever. Are you glad God decided? I am. Therefore let us encourage each other and build each other up in Christ so that we can be more like Him every day. Throw away the old nature and continue to put on the new nature that is Christ liv-ing in you so that you become a reflection of Jesus.

Looking forward and backby Kathy Nelson

One month into the New Year and all is well, but I want to pause for just a moment and look back at how Summit Kids participated in the Advent Conspiracy. The elemen-tary children learned the same four concepts that Pas-tor Jim preached about: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and Love All. It was a great opportunity to stop and really think about what those things mean in every-day life. The children also participated in the Giving Tree that was a practical way for them to donate to Helpline, which is the non-profit organization that the church as a whole was committing to give more to in our special Advent Conspiracy offering. The children gave things like shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toilet paper, blankets, and money for bus passes and heating bills. What a joy it was to watch them bring their items up during the wor-

ship service on the 22nd. Helpline was very grateful to receive these items and loved that we had the children of our church participate. Thank you to all the parents who helped their child contribute.Now back to the New Year! Arts Camp is fast approach-ing. It will take place on Thursday, February 27th, and Fri-day, February 28th, from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. Lunch and a snack will be provided. This will be two days of learning about and creating art. There will also be worship time, a Bible story and memory verse as well as some fun games! If you are interested in helping with Arts Camp, please contact Kathy at 529-1212 or Kathy@bluemountain-church.com.

SAMSFebruary 6th and 20th

11:00 am

February 8th 8:00 am

A monthly publication of Blue Mountain Community Church 928 Sturm Ave., Walla Walla, Washington 99362, (509) 529-1212, www.bluemountainchurch.com, Editor: Julie Caton, bmccbulletin@gmail.com. Deadline for submissions: 9:00 AM, the second Tuesday of the month prior to publication. Editor reserves the right to edit for content and space. Unsolicited materials welcome. © 2014 Blue Mountain Community Church

MOPS exists to en-courage and equip moms of preschoolers. All moms are welcome.

MOPS meets February 13th from 9-11 am in Baker Hall. Contact Courtney Kahl at bnck-ahl@gmail.com for more information.

What’s Happening at the Arkby Candy Whittaker

The month of February we will have an Indoor Campout. Some of the activities include: going on an indoor nature hunt, glow in the dark games, pitching tents, making forts, using camp equipment to light our “campground,” and eating s’mores and hobo stew. We will also observe Valentine’s Day. Each class will ex-change valentines and celebrate with games and treats.The Cheetah’s class (3rd—5th graders) will begin a ju-nior leaders program. They will be developing leader-ship skills by helping in other classrooms and leading the younger children in activities.Please contact us if you are interested in more informa-tion about The Ark. We would love the opportunity to tell you more about our program!