Welcome to the October Issue of the Regional Newsletter |
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Psalm 55:6: "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest."
If Southwest Airlines was owned by a believer the above verse might be a theme for them. It makes me think of their commercial where something embarrassing happens to someone and the tagline is: "Wanna Get Away?" I tend to think we identify with these commercials and the thought in the above verse. We have probably all had our share of embarrassing moments like when I was on staff at another church and was giving the announcements one Sunday morning. There were some beautiful flowers on the altar and I said they were in memory of someone when they were actually in honor of someone's birthday who was in church that morning. Also, I think many of us have experienced busy times in life when we did want to fly away like a bird to rest. Imagine being stuck in some meeting that came at the worst possible time and having the ability to spread your arms, or wings, and simply fly away. We might never be in another meeting again.
Recently, I drove by one of our elementary schools while recess was going on. I was reminded of how much I loved recess. Yes I loved the chance to run around and play with my friends. But I think what I really needed was a break; a rest from school. My friends, there are times when we all need a rest. Life gets busy for all of us - sometimes way too busy. Sometimes we go on a vacation and we get back and think "I need a vacation from my vacation" because there wasn't a lot of resting going on. I believe we serve a God who wants to give us rest. He made us and knows how much we need rest. Two verses immediately come to mind. One is in Exodus 33:14: "The Lord replied, 'My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." The other is words of Jesus when He said in Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Notice that both of these passages has the Lord saying, "I will give you rest." Again, this is something He wants to do. But I think the key may be the beginning of this passage in Matthew 11 from Jesus: "Come to me." We need to come to Him to get the rest we need. So many times we think we need to take a break from everything, including God, to get the rest we need. I think we are missing out what He wants to give us when we do that. Now I am not saying you can never miss church; there are times it is difficult to avoid. But we must be careful not to take a break from God. When we are able to quiet ourselves and just spend some time with the Lord in quiet worship or prayer we might even be surprised about the rest you will receive. I find it is times like those that are like recharging our batteries. Are times away good for us once in awhile? Absolutely, but let me once again caution you not to take a time out from God. God wants to be a big part of our lives. He wants to hear about what is going on in our lives and about the things that we need. One of those things we need is rest. Sometimes it is a good idea to not be going full speed all the time. Sometimes it is helpful to take a nap. But remember the words of Jesus to "Come to me when you are weary and I will give you rest."
Rev. Allen Latimore
Torrington AC Church
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Westfield Welcomes New Members |
Pastor Merle Beal welcomes 2 new members to Community AC Church in Westfield, MA. |
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The Sunshine AC church exceeded their $9,000.00 Penny Crusade goal by more than one thousand dollars. |
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What's happening at your church? Send info and pictures to secretary@aceasternregion.org. |
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Scholarship Opportunities
Dubois Scholarship - Sponsored by the Maine State Conference, amount awarded depends on number of applicants and funds available; This scholarship is given in loving memory of Rev. Wendell DuBois, Tammy DuBois and Virgene Hughes. It is designed to assist those seeking a call to vocational ministry in achieving their academic goals. The application needs to be postmarked by August 31 to be considered. The scholarship monies will be disbursed during the 2nd semester of the academic year.
Berkshire Christian College Scholarship Fund - Scholarship amount varies depending on the program of study. The purpose and description of the scholarship is:
- Seminary education in partnership with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary at four campuses - two in Mass., one in Fla., one in NC. (www.gordonconwell.edu) Advent Christian students receive up to a 50% tuition reduction. (Additional scholarship assistance may also be available.)
- Theological formation through the Ministry Training Institute (MTI). Students enrolled in MTI are eligible for scholarships through Berkshire Christian.
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Advent Christian ministry partnerships now exist in more than 20 countries. Indian pastors, Filipino missionaries, African pastors, children’s homes, a Bible college, discipleship groups, feeding ministries, training events and new church plants are all strengthened by money raised through Penny Crusade. |
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Can you guess which church this is? The first person to email the office (secretary@aceasternregion.org) with the correct answer will receive a small prize. If this is your home church, we ask that you refrain from answering.
The September Church was CrossRoads Church in Ossipee, NH, Rosanna Dale had the first correct guess.
Send an outside picture of your church, without the sign/name, to secretary@aceasternregion.org
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Zoom Available for Main Sessions
Many of our ERA members will be unable to attend our Annual Convention. In light of this, we will be making the general sessions available through zoom. These sessions will include the Friday morning session from 10-12, the Friday afternoon session from 1-2, the Friday evening session from 7-9, and the Saturday morning business session from 9-12. The zoom link is available at no cost. There will be no registration for zoom, thus zoom participants will not be delegates. These video sessions will be for viewing and information only. The chat feature will not be available. There will be a zoom link sent out from the ERA office next week.
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Meetinghouse Village reminds active and retired AC pastors that they may stay free of charge on Sunday and Monday overnights at our Tower Memorial Suite. Other nights are available at the reduced rate of $25 per night. Availability is dependent on prior bookings and certain Covid-19 protocols. To inquire about a reservation, email info@meetinghousevillage.org.
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Click on Willie's picture to visit his website for upcoming events. |
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Join the 2023 BICS Israel Trip! |
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The Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies invites you to join them for the trip of a lifetime to Israel from March 15-29, 2023. Come walk where Jesus, King David, Paul and the other great men and women of Scripture lived out the stories of the faith. See firsthand the Temple Mount, the fields of Bethlehem, the beautiful Sea of Galilee, and much, much more.
Space is limited, so for more information or to register, click the link below, or for questions, contact Mike Tuttle at mtuttle@berkshireinstitute.org.
We hope that you can join us - we promise you will never read the Bible the same again!
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ACGC Triennial Convention 2023 |
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Previous copies of the monthly newsletter are on our website. |
Have a mobile phone? You can now give to the Region through Venmo!
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Online Prayer Meeting Tuesdays from 9-10 AM |
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ERA Board of Directors
Rev. George Karl, President - sumkarl@yahoo.com
Rev. Dwight Dean, Vice President - fsufandsd@gmail.com
Rev. Allen Latimore, Clerk - aclatimore@netzero.net
Mr. John Jones, Treasurer - pastorjoj@gmail.com
Rev. Doug Tourgee, Heritage Conf. President - dougin401@aol.com
Rev. Alan Chamberlin, Maine Conf. Vice President - polarpastor@roadrunner.com
Rev. Josh Rice, Maranatha Conf. President - jrice@emmanuelacc.net
Rev. Derek Irvine, New Life Conf. President - drick1221@gmail.com
Mr. Adam Facteau, New York Conf. President - afacteau@twcny.rr.com
Rev. Ken Perkins, Nova Scotia Conf. President - Ken.perkins@EastLink.ca
Mrs. Deb Reed, ERA Representative to ACGC - deborahjoreed@yahoo.com
Rev. Steve Lawson, ACGC Executive Director - slawson@acgc.us
The Eastern Regional Association Newsletter is published as a ministry of the Eastern Regional Association of the Advent Christian General Conference.
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Don McDaniels Prayer Ministry |
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Russell Giasson Property & Deeds |
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Ethan Twitchell
Summer Ministry
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Randy Mills Regional Missions |
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Lisa Godard Regional Bookkeeper |
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Eastern Regional Association
32 Four Rod Road, Rochester, NH 03867
Phone: 603-332-1412 / Fax: 603-332-1648
www.aceasternregion.org
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