Dear Church Family & Friends,
As I write this letter, March is almost here! If you’re like me, you are ready for warmer weather. I always look forward to March, its warmer weather, and as in many years’ past, Bonne and I take a few weeks’ vacation and head south to spend some time with family and friends. Which we will be doing again this year, the last two weeks of the month, and I can’t wait!
You see, I’m not a very patient person. Some days I feel like I don’t even understand the concept of time. Some weeks are over before I know it, and other ones seem to contain three Mondays. Sometimes I can’t believe my kids are grown and in years past I remember thinking why it took so long for them to grow up. I have the same problem with impatience when it comes to the church and it’s growth and even in my preparations for each weeks message. It seems I’m always in a hurry and a lot of the time it feels like I do nothing but wait on God’s timing, to accomplish what he has called me to do.
In my devotions today I was reading Psalm 90 and as I meditated on it, God continued to teach me patience. Reminding me that standing strong in my faith means traveling not at my preferred speed but at his perfect speed. A problem all too many of us have.
Let me share with you a verse that many of us need to remember. Psalm 90:4. “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.”
God sees all of time at once. I believe he knows every moment as “right now.” There is no such thing as being late in God’s timeline. Everything is happening exactly when it should, at the perfect time. He sees the “big picture”, past, present, and future all at once.
While you and I may never understand this (and may not even like it), God gives us opportunities to trust him every day, to believe that he has everything under control and that nothing happens by accident. He uses everything in our lives, even time, to let us know that he has a plan for us. He gives us everything in his time.
Today when others are late to your meeting or when you get stuck in traffic or have to wait on others to do their part, trust God enough to relax and say, “All in good time.”
If you struggle with impatience as I do, perhaps you should also pray the same prayer I prayed, as I finished my devotions today.
“God, I know everything that happens in my life is for a reason. Help me to trust your perfect timing. Give me patience—with myself, with others, and with you—as I go through my day remembering, “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” Amen.
In His Service, Pastor Joe
Refocus On Lent
Give up complaining — focus on gratitude. Give up harsh judgments — think kind thoughts.
Give up worry — trust God to provide. Give up discouragement — be full of hope.
Give up bitterness — turn to forgiveness. Give up hatred — return good for evil.
Give up anger — be more patient. Give up pettiness — become mature.
Give up jealousy — pray for trust. Give up gossiping — control your tongue.
Give up sin — turn to virtue. Give up giving up — persevere.
—Author unknown
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Spring Renewal…..By reading the Scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet.
—Thomas Merton
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Unconditional Love…..No matter what sin we have committed, no matter how terrible it may be, God loves us.
—Billy Graham
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“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” —Mother Teresa
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“God proved his love on the cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’”
—Billy Graham
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Sunday School – 8:15 AM in the Community Building
Choir Practice Every Thursday at 1:00pm
You may reach Pastor Joe at 570-465-7303 or his cell #570-267-4570 Every Thursday Pastor Joe will be at the church from 2-4pm if you need him
Wednesday, March 2nd – Ash Wednesday
Friday, March 4th – World Day of Prayer
Sunday, March 6th – First Sunday in Lent
Thursday, March 10th – Presbyterian Women meeting – 10am for cleaning, 11am meeting
Sunday, March 13th – Second Sunday in Lent
Sunday, March 13th – Daylight Savings time begins
Wednesday, March 16th – Men’s Action Group Meeting and Breakfast – 8am
Thursday, March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day!
Sunday, March 20th– Third Sunday in Lent
Sunday, March 20th – First Day of Spring!
Sunday, March 27th – Fourth Sunday in Lent
Tuesday, March 29th – Newsletter Deadline
Sunday, April 3rd – Fifth Sunday in Lent
Thank you all for the donations to our Souper Bowl Mission! We collected $1280.00!
Listen to WPEL 96.5 for church cancellation if your internet is down during a storm this winter.
Please sign up to host one of the social hours on the Sunday after Communion Service on the first Sunday of the month.Hosting only means setting out what is brought and cleaning up afterward. It does not mean bringing everything to share.
Don’t Forget to check your mailbox – as you enter the vestibule on the wall to the left.
Don’t forget to check out our Website – we now have a Donate Button through PayPal – just click on the button on the home page and make your donation!
One Great Hour of Sharing – Immediately following World War II, Protestant Churches in the United States made appeals for the relief and reconstruction of areas devastated by the war, primarily Europe and Asia. In 1949 the leaders of several denominations formed a committee to organize an appeal to support their churches’ separate campaigns. A program called “One Great Hour” was broadcast on March 26, 1949, over major networks and many independent stations. The broadcast closed with a request that listeners attend their local church the following morning and make a sacrificial contribution. No exact measure of receipts was possible, but it was estimated that more than 75,000 church participated. The next year, the offering was repeated using the name “One Great Hour of Sharing”. For over 70 years, One Great Hour of Sharing has provided Presbyterians a way to share God’s love with our neighbors in need around the world. The three programs supported by One Great Hour of Sharing are the Disaster Assistance, The Hunger Program and Self Development of People. All work in different ways to serve individuals and communities in need. From initial disaster response to ongoing community development, their work fits together to provide people with safety, sustenance and hope. Typically received during Lent, each gift helps each of the three programs supported by One Great Hour Of Sharing. All funds are used for ministries of disaster relief, refugee assistance and developmental aid. We have seen some of these funds in our own area during the flood. You may give in one of the envelopes provided, or in your own envelope marked One Great Hour of Sharing. Sharing Resources……… Changing Lives.
Don’t forget our card ministry - If you would like a card sent to a particular person to give them a lift or let them know they are missed or offer encouragement, etc. etc., just give the name and address to Cathe. Cards, envelopes and postage will be provided and placed on a table in the Community Building the first Sunday of each month. As we file past the table on our way to the coffee pot, we will be able to sign each of the cards and Cathe will address the envelopes and mail them.
Plastic Grocery Bags – Please give bags to Bonne Travis – these are used to crochet sleep mats for the homeless.
Men’s Action Group ***For help with small projects for church family and neighborhood, please call Pastor Joe Travis at #570-465-7303 or email him at joe.s.travis@gmail.com
Loose Change Offerings ( coins and bills)
1st Sunday – Local Missions
2nd Sunday – General Fund
3rd Sunday – Kenya/Rev. Malabo
4th Sunday – General Fund
5th Sunday – Trehab Local Food Bank (whenever there is a 5th Sunday)
