Christian Notes

Christian Notes Volume 1 Number 2

November 2009

Weogufka Second Baptist Church

Brother Brandon Baird Pastor

Bain Culver, Chairman Deacon’s Ministry

God Bless Brandon Baird

Thanksgiving! What exactly is that? Look to the Deacon’s Ministry for the answer! One of the very first Thanksgiving celebrations was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops by the Native American groups throughout the Americas. Some of these groups were Pueblo, Cherokee, and Creek. When the colonists landed at Plymouth rock around 1621 the Indians shared an autumn harvest feast and this became a symbol of Thanksgiving we celebrate today. Let us all gather this Thanksgiving and give God the glory for our harvest.

Special Events

Paul Dunsieth, Director Sunday School

What are you Thankful for? Have you ever just sat and thought of this question? We have so much to be thankful for. God is always working in our lives, even when things don’t go our way. Nothing happens because of chance. There is always a reason God allows situations to take place. Because of this, we should always be thankful. We may not understand where God has us, but he does. When we learn to praise God in our storm, we will learn to praise Him all the time.

November 11th November 29th December 12th December 13th

Veterans Day Hanging of the Green Weogufka Christmas Parade Christmas Program

“Boy”, you have been missing out on some great discussions in the Adult Sunday School Class. Great attendance, but we are missing you! Come and enjoy this great time studying the Bible. See you Sunday at Sunday School.

2 Volume 1 Number 2 Kelley Wright, Secretary Women on Mission The Women on Mission group met October 27th at the church. We were few in number, but the Spirit was great. As you may know, the Week of Prayer for International Missions begins at the end of this month. It will be November 29 December 6th. We set our Lottie Moon goal at $1,000.00. We came so close to this goal last year and we want to try again. We have several ideas of some creative ways to raise money that we will be sharing throughout the month. But we want everyone to put your thinking caps on, too. If you have an idea please let us know. We also discussed helping families during the holidays. If you know of a family in our area who could use some help with Thanksgiving or Christmas, let us know. The highlight of our meeting came when Lynn Varner led us on a prayer walk through the church. We stopped in each room and prayed. For example, we stood in the choir loft and prayed for the choir, we went to each classroom and prayed for the teacher and students, we stood in Brother Brandon’s office and prayed for him and his family. This was such a moving experience for each of us. The presence of the Holy Spirit was so strong it was as though you could reach out and touch Him. I would encourage everyone to do this at some point. You don’t have to wait for a special meeting. Do it on your own time or get a couple of people

November 2009 to go with you. You will truly be blessed! Kelley Wright, Director Special Services This month begins a very busy time of year. I hope we will all make a point to keep Christ in the forefront of all we do. Let’s not wait until the 26th to give thanks. Let’s give thanks to God every day for all that He does and for who He is. On November 29th at 5:00 p.m. we will have a very special service that has become a tradition at our church. It is the “Hanging of the Greens” Ceremony. We do this to prepare not only our church for Christmas but for our hearts as well. We honor our church family, our personal families, and we remember those who have gone to be with the Lord. It truly is a very moving service. To our new members, I hope that you will make a point of being here and becoming a part of this wonderful tradition. God Bless Kelley Wright Of Special Interest Today, lets give thanks and pin flowers on some people who give from their heart for the Glory of God. Billy Connelley teaches the Adult Sunday School Class. “His” class is growing in number. We are grateful for a dedicated and spiritual leader, thank you, Billy Connelley! Also, we must thank Brenda Dunsieth for her vision and leadership in creating a

3 Volume 1 Number 2 new program of Puppeteers! We especially thank those children and adults who have stepped forward to work and support this wonderful idea! We also welcome and pin flowers on Denise Adams for her leadership in the music ministry and for taking back the church bulletin again.....whewww. Lets thank these members and others, too, for giving of their time and talents as we work to honor Him. Musical Notes Denise Adams The Holidays are upon us so get geared up for activities one right after another from now on up into 2010. The choir has started a Christmas Program that will be scheduled for December 13th at 6:00 pm. Anyone that would like to participate is greatly encouraged to do so. It is never to late to join in. We welcome anyone that wants to join choir. Come join us and praise the Lord through music. Have a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday Denise Adams

Children’s Corner Brenda Dunsieth The Puppet Place First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for welcoming the Puppet Ministry with such open arms. It’s very exciting to see the

November 2009 children working with their puppets. We’re working with 3 “big girl” puppets, one “big boy” puppet, a little sister and a little brother and a Biblical character that can be used as Moses, Abraham, Noah, or a Grandfather. Currently we’re working on a song and skit about choosing our friends carefully because “It’s a Jungle Out There.” I was honored when the choir asked us to open the Christmas Program on December 13th. I have a skit ready and I’m looking for a song. Our puppeteers are, LeAnn Kelley, Zeb Baird, Austin Bryant, Courtney Bryant, Jessica Hallman, Brandon Adams, Kaddy Kemp, Morgan Varner, and Karen Varner. Myles Varner offered to be our Sound Man and I am SOOOOO grateful to him for that. Zeb has chosen Luke, the little brother and LeAnn chose Tina, the little sister. Austin has chosen Matt while Brandon chose the old man (Don’t ask me why???). I don’t think Jessica, Courtney, Kaddy and Morgan have chosen any particular puppet yet, but I’m sure they’ll decide on one shortly. There may be times we have to swap out and share. Also, some of our skits may need one of the puppeteers to become an actor. We’ve got the puppets, we’ve got the puppeteers, we’ve got the Sound Man, now all we need is the puppet stage and Paul is working on that. We are so blessed. I’m looking forward to the new year with our new puppet family and “thank you” so very much for your support. Puppets For Christ Brenda Dunsieth

4 Volume 1 Number 2

November 2009

Church Fund Raiser

Yoder’s Family Traditions

Please help us raise the funds necessary to build a “Playground” at our church. Having a playground would encourage young couples and children to become a part of our family. The Deacon’s have set a goal of raising $3,000.00 between now and Spring. The church will be accepting “tax” deductible donations. Just see any Deacon, the Pastor, or Ms. Linda Palmer to make your donations. Other fund-raisers will include having spaghetti suppers, and cake sales. And we still have those traditional Cook Books to sell as well. We are encouraging our members to “sign out” and sell a number of Cook Books to help with the fund raising. Remember these Cook Books are filled with the good recipes, helpful hints and much more. These recipes and traditions have been passed down from generations of our families. Please call Brooke Baird, who has been elected the Director of the Play Ground Project, at 249-3910, to help with this much needed fund raiser.

Debe Hooley from Yoder’s Family Traditions and Gifts is offering various craft classes at her shop. We encourage you to stop by and visit Debe. See her collection of unique jams and jellies and much more. Call Debe at 245-7345

Business Meetings Business meetings are held the second Monday of every month at 6:00 pm. Please bring a covered dish for supper and fellowship before the meeting. The next meeting is Monday, December 14th.

Neighborhood Watch The monthly meeting for the Community Neighborhood Watch is held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm in the Weogufka School Lunchroom. All area residents are invited to attend. Just bring a covered dish for supper. Did you Know *Bain and Joyce Culver have been married for 59 years. Congratulations and Happy Anniversary . *Gene and Felicia Kelley celebrated an anniversary on the 6th. Congratulations Birthday Wishes to Brandon Adams, Justin Gardner, Jennifer Connelley, Billy Connelley and Jonathan McGalliard. **If you have an anniversary or a birthday coming up, please call me at 245-2000 and I’ll update our records. Name the Newsletter Contest We have a Winner! Did you notice the name? “Christian Notes” was selected by a majority vote at the monthly business meeting on Monday night. The winner is: Mrs. Linda Palmer

5 Volume 1 Number 2 We appreciate all those wonderful suggestions put in the treasure box. They were really good names, but only one could be selected. Congratulations Linda Legacy of Faith Display Mrs. Linda Green During the month of November, we would like to honor our church members that have gone to be with the Lord. We are thankful for their example of faith and commitment to God. Please bring a picture of someone you wish to honor, and these will be placed in the bookshelf in the History Room at the front of the church. If the picture is framed, you may place it on the bookshelf, but if it is not in a frame, just bring it to me and I will find a frame. We will return them to you at the end of the month. God Bless, Linda Green

November 2009 Story Time “When Your World Falls Apart” I would like to share a poem with all of you that is in a book that I am reading. Some of you may be familiar with David Jeremiah. I am reading his book “When Your World Falls Apart.” I gave this book to Mrs. Linda Green in June after she took a terrible fall and had to do a lot of resting. Little did I know that the book would find its way back to me at such a perfect time. In the very first chapter titled, “A Bend In The Road” starts with a poem entitled the same. Sometimes we come to life’s crossroads And we view what we think is the end But God has a much wider vision And He knows that it’s only a bend The road will go on and get smoother And after we’ve stopped for a rest The path that lies hidden beyond us Is often the path that is best So rest and relax and grow stronger Let go and let God share you load And have faith in a brighter tomorrow You’ve just come to a bend in the road. This poem touches my heart for such a difficult time in my life, and I hope that it can do the same for you with storms that you have been through or will encounter. Thanks to everyone for everything. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. Denise Adams