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The Messenger February 7, 2018

Permission to Be Sad Someone called me this week with a simple question – “Dan, what is Lent and why do we have an Ash Wednesday service?” I really appreciated her honestly so I carefully considered my answer – well … technically, Lent is a 40 day liturgical season of prayer and fasting. Yeah I know you are saying … what does Liturgical mean? And we only have 4 “seasons” last time I

checked. OK well let’s just say that Lent is a 40 day preparation for Easter just as Advent is a 4 week preparation for Christmas. Now most of us know about Advent because it is the 4 weeks of thinking about the Joy, Hope, Peace and Love that we celebrate during Christmas. But how excited can folks get about spending the next 6 weeks thinking about Jesus suffering on a cross? Well? How exciting is it to honor the hard and difficult times in our lives? Ash Wednesday starts the season of Lent and for the big kick off celebration we gather in the dark sanctuary with candles burning and ask folks to contemplate their darkest days and biggest tragedies. And if all that does not sound exciting enough for you we mark everyone with black soot to make sure everyone knows they contemplated their sins. One brave woman in our church asked to come first thing in the morning so she might bear this mark for the whole day! The desire to contemplate our sadness and look carefully at our disappoint-ments in life is not a theme being developed much in our country or in our churches. Rather we are all being swept into a new happiness movement that includes books like “The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting What You Want”. The movement has some foundation in positive psychology with studies showing that your brain actually works differently when you have positive feelings. But as with many things in our culture, once someone can figure out how to market it to you – you can be sure that they are going to try to convince you that you “need” to be more happy and then to offer you something to help you - Zoloft, dear? Oh course depression is a real problem that requires treatment – but how can we understand and appreciate the difference between depression and our melancholy moods? Is it your duty as a good Christian to strive to be happier? Is normal sadness something for you to shun and deny in light of the gift of salvation in Jesus? Every once in a while we sing “If your happy and you know it” at our Rotary meetings and I laugh to see the guys staring at the floor because usually in the adult world we often sing the song “I might be happy but I don’t know it.”

Sunday Feb 11 @ 12 noon The MENU guys are hosting a Chili Cook-off after worship on Sunday February 11 in the fellowship hall. Come join the fun as the guys compete for votes and the grand prize. All voting is done by placing $1 in the envelope at your favorite crock. Guy with the most dollars wins! All proceeds go to support the guys at-tending the Ignite Conference in Lynchburg Sat Mar 17.

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So during this season of Lent we recognize that we are sometimes sad and broken – or as we stated in our Ash Wednesday service – “we have not loved with our whole hearts, we have not loved our neighbor as our self”. As Andy Snead often sings during our worship, “sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble!". So if you are totally satisfied with your life and happy as can be – where are you finding the motivation to change the world and your life? Looking at your shortcomings provides you with the motivation to question the status quo and to find new ways of living your life in the fullness of God’s love. Have you ever wondered why we tend to remember the mess ups in our lives? Perhaps this is a simple gift from God to help us cling to him and his mercy. Sadness can have purpose in our lives. Motivating us to feel deeply the fullness of what it is to be human. Helping us to pray with honesty and sincerity for folks we know who are suffering in our midst. Our sadness is the key to our desire to know the love of God and live in fellowship with him. So welcome to the season of Lent – a chance to offer your tears and sadness – to remember the dark nights of the soul. See you Sunday! Pastor Dan

Organizational Meeting Monday February 26 Spring Break Mission Trip To Myrtle Beach, SC April 2-7, 2018

Mission trip is a wonderful opportunity for the young people in our congregation to go and serve in the name of Jesus. Last year we went to all 5 boroughs in New York City serving food and helping the homeless. Our mission sites this year will allow us repair trailers and fix porches at Myrtle Beach SC. Anyone interested in being a part of the mission trip must be 14 years old or in 8th grade and must attend our organiza-tional meeting to be held Monday Feb 26 @ 7 in the fellowship hall.

ELDER & DEACON TEAM TRAINING Sunday February 18 at 9 a.m. The new Elders for this year include: Diana Dewease, Mike Beamer, Andy Snead Our existing elders include; Donnie Helton, Cari Preas, David Waid, Anika Armistead, Bugs Lee, Bill Smith. The new chair of the Elders is Cari Preas. All Elders and Deacons are asked to attend a training session on Sunday, Feb 18 in the sanctuary at 9 a.m. Duties and Responsibilities of an Elder: • Model of responsibility and setting godly example • Serve as the spiritual leaders of the church • Ministerial support, feedback, Review • Visiting and taking communion to homebound • Preside at communion table • Greeting members and visitors before and after service • Getting in touch with visitors Duties and Responsibilities of a Deacon: • Model of responsibility and setting godly example • Serve as the spiritual leaders of the church • Serve at communion table • Greeting members and visitors before and after service • Getting in touch with visitors

Ash Wednesday Services Next Wednesday Feb 14 6:30 p.m. Come join us in the sanctuary for a short and meaningful service next Wednesday night. Everyone is invited to receive Ashes on their forehead as a sign of humility and a recognition of the beginning of lent.

Shrove Tuesday This Tuesday Feb 13 @ 6:00 p.m. This night holds significance in that it signals the last evening before the beginning of Lent. In New Orleans this is the night of Mardi Gras. Here in Salem it is a chance to eat pancakes and enjoy fellowship. The Menu guys will be cooking and serving pancakes for a donation (any profits will go to support the men’s ministry). After dinner stick around for a short communion service and worship in the sanctuary.

Lenten Wednesday night Communion Services at 6:30 p.m. During the 6 weeks of Lent we will gather on each Wednesday night at 6:30 for a short com-munion service and devotion. This year we will be learning about real-life Miracles. After our short devotion we will gather around the com-munion table to find the nourishment that only Jesus can offer.

TREC CAMP DATES Please make note that TREC camp is scheduled for June 23-30. TREC camp is our outdoor Church camp for anyone 13 and older. This year we ride horses, canoe, raft, hike, tube, board, zip and love every minute of it. Hope you can get these dates on your calendar and begin to make your plans for the summer.

Picture of the Week

Youth Group Ski Trip to the Homestead. Our trip this year included 30 folks who enjoyed a beautiful day skiing and snowboarding on the slopes. Thanks to Lewis Armistead for driving the church bus and also to our adult sponsors.

Lina Prillaman and McKenna Wells enjoy a day on the slopes at the Homestead this past Saturday.

Craig Springs Camp Schedule is out! If you need a camp form see Elizabeth Vincel! June 25-29 Nature Camp (9th—12th) graders may work as one on one

counselors for these kids from inner city situations. See Elizabeth for the forms. July 8-13 First Triple (finished 3rd—12th) July 16-21 AMPDD (Art, Music, Photography, Dance, Drama for 3rd—

12th) July 22-27 Second Triple July 29-Aug 3 New Covenant (completed 1st—5th) August 3-6 Family Retreat This is a great opportunity for children to

learn about camp while spending the weekend at Craig Springs with their whole family!

Not sure which camp is for you? See Elizabeth for more information! We want all children who want to attend camp to be able to go. We do

have scholarship money available.

Tracey Michonski February 12 Margaret Allen February 14 Mary B. Powell February 16 Marie Smith February 16 David Waid February 19 Wyatt Edward Huffman February 23 Jennie Battaglia February 26 Kenneth Mowles February 26

Wilma Sowers February 27 Cindy Butler February 28 Kyra Morgan Netting March 1 Lilly Grace Cook March 3 Hunter Peterson March 4 Louise Wimmer March 5 Emily Brown March 7 Betty Mowbray March 7

We have a copy of the sermons of Topper Franke “Hugging the World” in the library.

Beezy has additional copies for $20 if you’d like to purchase one.

Join us for a small group study/ fellowship! Sunday morning Bible Study for all ages 9:45 am WOW (Women of Worship) 1 & 3rd Sunday 5:00 pm “Finding Joy” Monday evening Beth Moore Study 6:00 pm Tuesday morning 10:00 am Tuesday evening Men-U (watching Courageous) 6:00 pm Wednesday evening 6:30 pm

Children’s Ministry!

Wednesday: K id fr iendly dinners at 6:00 Children’s Mission Team at 6:30

Children’s Chime Choir also 6:30 The children will continue to collect plastic bags through May The collection container is outside of Elizabeth’s office! Bags are taken to the Food Pantry each week.

Children’s Fellowship Sunday at 5:00 Lee Hi Bowling Lanes. You will need a permission slip!

Bring $5.00 for Bowling. We will not be eating at the bowling alley.

FYI: Wednesday nights the Children’s mission team will be also working on music for Palm Sunday and Easter. We will begin our Lent Activities February 7. Children will be attending the Ash Wednesday Service on February 14th.