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Welcome one and all to the Children's Sabbath Celebration this Sunday, October 16th, at both the 9:30 Traditional and 11:00 am Contemporary Services!
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MESSAGE FROM PASTOR TIM
Dear Friends and Members of Ark and Dove,
This autumn we are taking stock of
Joy at Ark and Dove. I noticed a lot of joy last week during our hosting of the
Winter Relief Homeless Shelter. Thank you Ark and Dove for a week of very committed service after months of preparation. Your hospitality was wonderful and there were many many expressions of thanksgiving and gratitude from the men who stayed in our church.
At least 125 people signed in to log hours on this mission project. I suspect that there were more than a few who didn't sign in and many people who donated goods and did work behind the scenes. Thank you to our Team Leaders -- Brooke and David Hisle, Sue Hanburger and Mission Elder, Christine Caufield-Noll -- for many hours of hard work and for organizing us so very well. And a special thanks to the folks who extended hospitality and stayed overnight at the church!
On Sunday October 30 we will celebrate All Saints Sunday and Communion will be served. All Saints Sunday, since the third century, has been an important celebration in the Church. Originally, it was set aside to remember the sacrifice of Christian martyrs. They were put to death by Roman authorities looking to pin the problems of their crumbling empire on anyone but themselves. As Christianity spread and became the dominant religion of Rome, all Saints Sunday evolved to emphasize not just martyrs but more broadly all Christian superstars. The hope of the church was and has been that if we tell the story of these men and women who managed to live closer to Christ than most others, all of us will grow and trust Christ even more in our own life.
The Protestant reformation added an emphasis on grace and forgiveness,
reformers like Luther and Calvin declared that we are all saints, made righteous by the declaration of God. This is a title not earned by works, but conferred by baptism. We are all saints, righteous and able to cast an image of God because we are made in the very image of God.
In this worship service we give thanks for members of the community of faith who have died in the past year.
We will offer their names in the communion prayer. There will also be a time in worship to light a candle for someone who was important to you. If there is a member of your family who has died this year, and you think we don't know their name, please send an e-mail to the church office (admin@arkanddove.org), so we can be sure to include them.
So as All Saints approaches take the time to ponder the joy that your Saints brought to you.
As we come close to November, I also invite you to be in prayer about the joy we find in our ministries together at Ark and Dove.
Perhaps you would catch joy in exploring the possibility of our church hosting a refugee family? You can find out more about refugee resettlement at our November 9th meeting of our Mission Ministry at 7:00 pm. Leaders from World Relief will make a presentation and take questions.
Peace of Christ,
Tim
Pastor Tim
TimSStern@gmail.com
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VERSE AND PRAYERS
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. --
II Corinthians 9:6-7
Two Scottish prayers from the Carmina Gadelica, gathered by Alexander Carmichael between 1860 and 1909.
The Three
In name of Father
In name of Son
In name of Spirit
Three in One
Father cherish me
Son cherish me
Spirit Cherish me
Three all-kindly
God make me holy
Christ make me holy
Spirit make me holy
Three all-holy
 Three aid my hopes
Three aid my love
Three aid mine eye
And my knee from stumbling
My knee from stumbling
The Journey Blessing
Bless to me, O God,
The earth beneath my foot,
Bless to me, O God
The path whereon I go;
Bless to me, O God,
The thing of my desire;
Thou Evermore of evermore,
Bless thou to me my rest.
Bless to me the thing
Whereon is set my mind,
Bless to me the thing
Whereon is set my love;
Bless to me the thing
Whereon is set my hope;
O Thou King of kings,
Bless Thou to me mine eye.
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N
TES FOR YOU
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This week, both of our children's choirs will be singing -- The Dove Choir will sing at both the 9:30 and 11:00 services, and Joyful Noise (our youth choir), will sing at the 9:30 service this week. I hope you will be there to hear them!
Love,
Rebecca
rebeccaebell@gmail.com
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 CATCH THE JOY!
Catch a little joy... right in your mailbox! Next week, the Stewardship team will be mailing out packets to every household in the church, and you should find a few items, which we hope will bring you joy! The first is an inspirational insert that you can hang on your fridge, tape to your mirror, or use as a bookmark... a reminder to give thanks every day for the ways in which God is at work all around us! The second is a pledge card, so that you can begin to prayerfully consider how you can financially support the work of the church in the coming year. Over the next several weeks, we will be collecting pledges in worship, so this is a chance to pray about whether there's more that you can do to extend the ministry of this church to serve even more people in our community and around the world!
However, this year the pledge card will be a little different... instead of asking you to split your pledge into separate amounts for the Mission and Ministry fund and the Building fund, we will simply be asking you for your single, combined pledge to a single, combined fund. No math, no worrying about how to divide the money... just a simple statement of your financial commitment, and we'll do the rest. If you want us to adjust your EFT to account for an increase or other change in giving, we can do that too. Here is an explanation of how we will pay for building expansions in the future (
please see Pastor Tim's letter in the September 2nd e-Arkive), which we will start after Easter 2017. We hope this change makes it easier for you to focus on what really matters... helping to build a strong and caring community of faith and sharing the joy of the Bible's message of love and redemption with the world! Questions? Contact Discipleship Elder Amy Carskadon (amy.carskadon@gmail.com)
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ALL SAINTS DAY Sunday, October 30th, is a day of remembrance. If you have lost a beloved family member and would like their name to be included in the
All Saints Day Worship Service, please contact Brian Boudreau, boudreaubrian@hotmail.com.
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WINTER RELIEF - THANK YOU!
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WINTER RELIEF
Thank You! Another successful year of Winter Relief has come to a close. I am so grateful for your many hours of service that made this event go so smoothly. I know that our guests noticed your warm hospitality and generosity of time and resources. I especially want to thank our fantastic, tireless co-coordinators Sue Hanburger and Brooke and Dave Hisle; they are so dedicated to this ministry and I appreciate their energy, big hearts, and humor immensely. Special thanks also to all of the team leaders, team members, and Pastors Tim and Jon.
If you'd like to debrief and help to begin planning for Winter Relief 2017, we will be having a meeting on November 3 at 7:00 pm in the Calvin room. Christine Caufield-Noll, Mission Elder, ccnmission@outlook.com.
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WINTER RELIEF - THANK YOU!
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WINTER RELIEF
Winter Relief has come and gone and what a wonderful week it was. Our guests were awesome and so were all of our volunteers. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. We could not do this without all of your generous giving of time and goods. Thank you for baking, driving, cooking a meal, serving a meal, working at the intake desk, spending the night and especially spending time with the men talking, playing cards or watching football. God bless all of you. Sue Hanburger, Deacon and Winter Relief Coordinator, avongypsygal@gmail.com.
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CAP WEST COUNTY'S FOOD PANTRY Featured item for October is CANNED VEGETABLES (sweet potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes, etc.). Please drop off food items in the Mission Zone bin. Thank you for your donations!
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Christian Education Fellowship
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TRUNK OR TREAT All are invited to Trunk or Treat on November 1st. Put on your costume, decorate your trunk! You are invited to do another round of gathering treats at 6:50 in the church parking lot. If you would like to decorate your car, please arrive at 6:30. Please contact Amy Tardiff for any questions itsmemeim@gmail.com.
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Anti Racism and Social Equity
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GRACISM: DISMANTLE RACISM
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GRACISM: GOD'S SOLUTION This past Sunday Linnie Girdneer, David Sparks and I attended an enlightening discussion led by Dr. David Anderson, Senior Pastor of Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, MD and author of Gracism: The Art of Inclusion.
Simply put, Racism is negative speech, thought, words and actions against people for no other reason than their color, class, or culture. Grace is unmerited favor granted to all of us by God. By combining racism and grace, Dr. Anderson defines Gracism as an extension of positive favor to other people regardless of, and sometimes because of, color, class, or culture. He sees Gracism as God's solution to racism because it "focuses on race for the purpose of positive ministry and service" instead of negative purposes such as discrimination. As we move forward together in our work toward dismantling racism and creating social equity, perhaps we can learn to be Gracists, moving beyond racism to extend God's grace. Paula Sparks, trebleclef48@gmail.com, Co-Facilitator, Anti-racism and Social Equity.
7 SAYINGS OF A GRACIST
I WILL LIFT YOU UP Lifting up the humble by assisting and elevating them toward success.
I WILL COVER YOU Protecting the most vulnerable among us from embarrassment and harm.
I WILL SHARE WITH YOU Opening up networks and resources to others who are systematically downtrodden, and refusing special treatment that may hurt them.
I WILL HONOR YOU Recognizing those who are the most humble heroes among us regardless of color, class and culture.
I WILL STAND WITH YOU Committing to stand with the weak... the majority committing to stand up for, and with, the minority.
I WILL CONSIDER YOU Having equal concern for our neighbors regardless of color, class or culture by considering their perspectives and needs.
I WILL CELEBRATE WITH YOU Rejoicing when the humble and less fortunate among us are helped.
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 PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for Dot Bruno; Tim Stern's sister, Jean Stern Wollenberg; Barbara Reynolds mother, Ruth Campbell; Kelly Burnett; Chip Burnett; Abbey Boudreau; Joe and Ann Devers; Janet Dabbs; Laura Talbert; Laurie Barrow and her father and mother; Nora Chidlow; Florence Myers; Ann Hirschy; Mary Benson; Dot Forloines; Henry Duncan; friends of the Stantons, Pat Smith and Gary Finzel; Helene Marchand-Stancil's parents, Paul and Mimi Marchand; Ray Mosella; Judy Cooper's brother-in-law Bill Eardley; Linnie Girdner's friend, Rose Dorrell; Scott Howe's friend, Eric Diana; Mary Stum's sister, Barbara Kendig; Pierrette Kimble; Breinny Mosella's friend, Emma; Kim; and our Winter Relief guests.
THE LOVE AND PRAYERS OF THE CONGREGATION go out to the Dabbs family -- Janet, Tim and his wife Erin, Matt, Kim and her husband John Schroen, Garry and Joy -- on the death of Lester Dabbs.
THE LOVE AND PRAYERS OF THE CONGREGATION go out to the Dabbs and Stegmann families on the death of Janet's niece, Cheryl Stegmann.
PRAYERS OF GRATITUDE for all of the work and help during Winter Relief and to Kevin, John and Kenny, our Winter Relief Guests, who helped clean the church.
If you have prayer concerns or blessings that you would like to share, please contact Deacon Sue Hanburger at avongypsygal@gmail.com, and she will add your concern to the prayer partners email chain.
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