Dear Friends and Members of the Ark and Dove Community,

 

“Many hands make work light.”  A little research on this phrase indicates that this proverb has been in circulation in the English language since the 1300’s. Many hands make work light is a great motto to share as we are entering that time of church year when we dream about the ministries we would like to undertake in 2022 and when we assemble a financial plan to get than done. This year our Stewardship theme is Harvesting Generosity. Our Stewardship Team put a great letter in last week’s Arkive. If you have not read it, I hope you will search out last week’s Arkive in your e-mail.

 

“Many hands make work light.”  Our Facilities Ministry is in charge of cleaning and maintaining over 13,000 square feet of building and over 6.5 acres of property. Yes we have professional cleaners and a professional lawn cutting/snow removal company and we have several vendors that keep our building systems, like: fire suppression, fire alarms, plumbing, HVAC, and lighting running; but not every area of facilities has a member on the Facilities Ministry who is knowledgeable about the current state of each area of maintenance. "Many hands make work light." We have two facilities experts ready to train you in one area of the facilities ministry and even give you a history of that area.  Sometimes that means meeting a contractor or professional at the building. Sometimes that means organizing a semi annual or quarterly event like a church clean up, or a mulching and raking party, or a flower planting event. Autumn Vernon our Facilities elder, Facilities@arkanddove.org, indicates that we could use 10 or 12 more people on the facilities Ministry. We need to Harvest some generosity of time.

 

In the same vein, Elder Sara Fox, at christianed@arkanddove.org, could use more assistance with Sunday School and Godly Play. What could be better than investing time with our children?  We are back to in-person, masked Sunday School during the 10:30 AM service.  It is theoretically possible for us to have over 50 children, Pre-K to Grade 5, on a Sunday.  Statistically unlikely - but wouldn’t it be great? There are a variety of education ministry opportunities for adults who love children. "Many hands make work light."

Peace of Christ,

In her newsletter this week, Diana Butler Bass argued that while Americans need to have space to grieve the losses of this pandemic there also needs to be spaces to celebrate. "The problem in America right now isn’t that we need more grief," she writes. "The problem is we’ve so few places to celebrate the gift of life." I am thankful to Linnie Girdner, who sent me this piece, because it helped me understand why baptisms, communion celebrations, new member receptions, and other celebrations at Ark and Dove have been so meaningful to me during this pandemic. Yes, we need places to celebrate the precious gift of life.

On Tuesday at Logos, I led a group prayer for 3rd-5th graders. They were asked to pick a color they were feeling and say a "color prayer" to God. Several children identified green, the happy color, and said how they were filled with joy in being able to be with their friends at church. Indeed, children need places to celebrate the gifts of life. I hope many children are able to celebrate life at Logos this year. I believe Ark and Dove is a place of celebration.

It really is. This Sunday we will celebrate our community in a church picnic. We will revel in the joy of having one another through this pandemic. I hope you will come with an appetite (and a blanket/chairs). We will also recognize all that our mission ministry has done and continues to do in this pandemic. I hope that you will come with a hunger for justice and an openness to do it through a mission team.

Let us make space to celebrate the gift of life with the community of faith.

PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for Charlotte Davie; Hiley Green; Carol Saylor; Ray Bussey's mother, Doris; Liz Olson; Margaret Floyd; Russ Hester; Vaughn Brown; Patty and Steve Plander; Arlyce Lohr; Krista Klohr; Dotty Kaufman; Michelle Schoonmaker; Dick Paronto; Richard and Edie Budd; Cindy Schafer; Cheryl Walcutt’s sister Judy and mother; Christy Hipchen’s Uncle Frank and grandmother, Ann Chubon; Amy Stavely’s aunt, Sharon Boyd; Ryan Stavely’s father, Brian; Amy Hagemann’s sister, Susan Pratt; Mary Benson’s sister; Amy Carskadon Lifsey’s father-in-law, Bill Lifsey Sr.; Karen Dodson’s cousin, Miles, and Miles’ entire family; Tricia Gray’s grandfather, Paul; Helen Wilkens' mother, Jane Reinert; Christina Nelson’s grandmother, Pat Dole; Judy Cooper’s daughter, Jessica Quigley; Paul Doughty’s mother, Ruth Doughty; Tina Anthis’ father, Steve Bissel; Camille Dubois’ parents and the Dubois family; Debbie Saylor’s sister, Christine; Todd Stubbs’ stepfather, David Hopsicker; a member of the Tardiff family; Dionne Whitby's daughter, and niece, Jannah; Amanda Crose’s mother, and grandmother, Betty Davis; Dotty Kaufman’s daughter-in-law, Carol, granddaughter, Sarah, and grandson Nathan; Kathy Miller’s sister, Beth Krauth, and brother-in-law, Jeff Miller; Lewis Shorter and Lewis Shorter’s niece, Jennifer Schwandt-Gayle; Bob Fuller’s brother, Joe Fuller; Dot Forloine’s granddaughter Melisa Tucker Saatthoff, and her great-grandson Luke; Debbie Arey’s sister, Denise; Debbie and Bruce Arey’s family in Connecticut, and their daughter, Allison; Linda Taylor’s mother, Izola; Kennon Bauman’s uncle, Dan Johnston; Amy Goldberg’s grandmother, Ruth Cooper; Christy Yeager’s mother, Linda Jordan; Linda Jordan’s niece, Bonnie; Diane Johnson's Uncle Ed, Aunt Janet, and cousin Richard; Shelley Franklin's father; Amanda Wehage’s sister and father, Dave; Laurie Barrow’s nephew, Gunther Kurtz; Sabonna Keeney’s mother; Bernabe and Griselda Solano, and Griselda's sister, Irma; Laura Doughty’s brother-in-law, Carl Hahn; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Ann Hirschy’s aunt, Cindy, and brother; Kelly Burnett’s nephew, Justin; Lou Kareha’s cousin, Thomas Kochis; Cheryl and Doug Walcutt’s grandchild, Gray Adacutt; Erika Sealing's grandmother, Margaret Schade; Lourdes Cordero's granddaughter and friends, Fred and Arelene Jones; Mike and Charlotte Davie’s friend, Dave Page; Linda Lewis’ friend, Carol Fudge; and Maren McGillivray-Stubbs’ best friend’s father, Gentry Sims.

PRAYERS OF GUIDANCE, SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING for those affected by addiction and depression.