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Welcome to EFC-ER's Weekly Encourager. We trust that this will become a bright spot each week in your emails. The purpose of the Weekly Encourager is to provide up-to-date information about region-wide events, prayer requests, and helpful resources from the local churches. We will close each email with a quick quote and/or survey to gather helpful resources from leaders to share with our wider Friends family.
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News from the office:
* Pastors: please update your email addresses so we can be sure to get information to you. You may send your correct contact information to [email protected].
Upcoming Events to keep in your prayers:
* January 23-25 - Youth Awakening at New Life Community
in Ridgeway, VA. Information, and a short video of the 2014 Youth Awakening, are available on the church website at this direct link:
* March 20-22 - Reconnect Youth Leader Training hosted by Orange Friends Church. Reconnect is a weekend event for youth leaders hosted in Columbus, Ohio. The registration brochure and more information may be downloaded from our website: http://www.efcer.org/boards/friends-youth. NOTE: There are new hotel arrangements this year. See brochure for details. Also, the Youth Board will meet beforehand on Thursday at the church.
* March 21 - Taking Your Church to the Next Level: One-day seminar with Dr. Gary McIntosh from 8:30am-2:15pm at North Olmsted Friends Church. Details to the right.
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Keeping Prayer a High Priority
We trust that every church is sharing these prayer requests within their local prayer community. Here are this week's requests:
1 - Keep the family of former Friends pastor Harold Snyder in your prayers as he passed away January 14, 2015. Harold was a graduate of Malone University and pastor at Portsmouth Friends in Rhode Island. His obituary may be found here:
2 - John and Sangi Vanlal have gone to India to be with their family while one of their sons, Josef, is battling pneumonia. He is in the hospital with a swollen heart and lung, and is receiving oxygen. Please pray for Josef's quick recovery.
3 - Remember Samson Retnaraj and his family in your prayers. His mother has recently passed away.
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WMF Sisters in the Harvest - Jamaica
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A few men, including a couple of our pastors and superintendents, joined the WMF Sisters in the Harvest group in Jamaica, January 10-17, 2015. They reported a Spirit-filled time of fellowship, worship, and learning together. Look for more information in the March bulletin insert!
A puppet show for the kids at New Life Church.
Superintendents Frank Carter and Wayne Evans at Zion Evangelical Friends Church.
Pastor Karl Luff (Martinsville Trinity) led a training seminar for pastors from the Eastern Region and Jamaica.
Clinic at Falmouth Hospital.
Pastor David Tebbs (Jackson Friends) made a new friend at Zion Evangelical Friends Church.
Pastor Stan Hinshaw (Canton First Friends) led worship at Falmouth Evangelical Friends Church.
A dance troupe performed for the group at the "No Problem Villa."
[Photos by Pastor Kevin Young (Willoughby Hills Friends)]
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Weekly Encourager for January 21, 2015
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We have received several questions about the dates for the Grand Board Meeting. All boards who have chosen to participate will meet on (Wednesday) February 11th at Canton First Friends at 9am. There will be group chapel at 9:30am. The Executive Board will meet at the World Outreach Center on (Thursday) February 12th. We have included both dates because all board members were invited to come to the Executive Board meeting if interested. We need to know who will be attending the meetings so we are able to plan accordingly. Please continue to RSVP to Julia McDonald [email protected] or (330) 493-1660.
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Treasurers:
We need the remaining 2014 apportionment payments and GCB giving as soon as possible to close out 2014. Thank you!
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Pastors, you should have received in your email the new Statistical Report Forms for 2014. If someone else from your church is responsible for submitting those forms, please pass them on.
You may download the end-of-year stats forms here and the CE stats forms here.
by January 30th.
The church Yearbook page and list of congregational addresses have been sent to each church. Please have the Yearbook page corrected and returned to Regina Evans at the World Outreach Center or [email protected] by February 1st, 2015.
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Looking to unleash your church's ministry potential in 2015?
The brochure can be downloaded here.
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Ickes Discipleship Scholarship
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The intention of the Ickes Discipleship & Evangelism Scholarship is to provide EFC-ER Churches with financial resources to do evangelism and discipleship training and to purchase training materials. This scholarship is to be used to assist churches to become better trained to carry out the Great Commission. You may fill out an application on the EFC-ER website here or send the completed forms to the World Outreach Center.
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In Defence of the Letter Double-U
W. Whoolery White (former Pastor Wally White of Valleyview Friends) never suspected that the letter Double-U - also known as "W" and "dubya"-would be the most interesting letter in the English language. But by virtue of his name, he always felt a connection to the letter, and his experiences as an English teacher, library administrator, and newspaper reporter instilled in him a deep appreciation for the misunderstood letter. He takes a humorous but informative approach in defending the letter, exploring questions such as:
* Why do we have the same pronunciations for "to," "two," and "too?"
* What words should include a W but don't?
* Would using more W's save letter space in our writings?
* What would an English alphabet for the twenty-first century look like?
Take a hilarious journey that will teach you things about the English language you had no idea you didn't know, including why we should all stand up "In Defence of the Letter Double-U." You can order a copy on Amazon or by clicking here.
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Like surveys?
Every so often, we receive requests from organizations and universities asking for volunteers to take various surveys and questionnaires. If you would like to be placed on a list to receive the links to the surveys, please email [email protected].
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CONTACT US
World Outreach Center
5350 Broadmoor Cir., NW
Canton, OH 44709
1-800-334-8863
Julia McDonald, Editor
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A Little Extra.... QUOTE FOR THE WEEK:
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion -
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." - Isaiah 61:1-3
We hope you've enjoyed catching up with news from the EFC-ER office.
More information and news will be coming each week.
and/or ideas for weekly encouragement.
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