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AMAZING GRACE
News by, for and about Grace Fellowship; El Paso, Illinois
July 2008
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Features this month
From Dan’s Desk
Marina from Russia
Vacation Bible School!
Aaron at Great Oaks Camp
Grace Website has a New Look
Knitters and Knitter Wannabes
Adult Choir starting in September
Childrens Musical for Corn Festival
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HELP Needed!
Grace is in need of a Children's Ministry Lead!!
If you are interested in the job or can help with the
children in any way,
please contact Kipp.
Fellowship Events for 2008
August 23rd Square Dance and cookout
October 11 Wiener roast
December 13 Progressive dinner
M & M Singers
M & M’s will meet on Mondays for a short time. Same
with Power Surge Puppets and S.P.L.A.T. at this point. Each
will have a 2 month season, taking off in December.
Please Contact Renee for questions.
Kiwanis Blood Drive
July 16 from 12:00-6:00 pm at South Pointe Park
Vacation Bible School - 2008
It is time to get powered up! VBS is just around the
corner!
Dates: August 4th-8th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Needs: Crew Leaders, Assistants, Story Tellers, and Prayer
Warriors
How: See Donna Haas ASAP!
Registration for the kids will begin very soon! Watch for
more details or see Kim Duncan!
VBS Leader Meeting!
It is very important that all of the leaders attend the
July 10th meeting at 6:30! The big event is less than four
weeks away and we need to finalize all of the details.
Please be prepared to update the group on what your team is
planning and what your needs are. Bring all of your
questions with you… this will probably be our last formal
meeting!
VBS Crew Leader Training
If you have volunteered to be a crew leader for Vacation
Bible School, please mark July 24th from 6:30 - 7:30 on
your calendar! This is a mandatory meeting and will be
worth the sixty minutes of preparation before the big day
comes. I know some of you are very experienced, but there
are some exciting changes that I think you will want to
know about. Warning: Life Change in Progress! If you can
not make it, please let me know asap so we can set another
time to meet. Thanks! Donna
Junior Lab Assistant Training
If you are planning on being a junior lab assistant at
Power Labs VBS, it is really important that you come to the
Lab Assistant Training on August 2nd from 2-4. It is a pool
party/ training at the Haas house at 475 S. Elm St. Wear
your swimsuits! We will swim for an hour, have a snack and
go over your important responsibilities! RSVP please.
Grace’s Childrens Musical at Corn Festival
The children of Grace are preparing a musical for Corn
Festival. We are performing Thursday afternoon. Please
invite someone to watch it with you. The musical is called
"I Am a Promise" and tells how we all need to be obedient
to God. It is a message for all ages brought to us by the
youngest of us. The performance will include puppets and
some costuming. It will be great. Be sure to bring someone
God puts on your heart to this performance.
Adult choir
As you know from the bulletin, Grace’s adult choir will
begin September 10th - the Wednesday after Corn Festival.
We have some very exciting things planned for the choir
this year! We will be performing a musical drama for our
Christmas Eve service. It will have traditional hymns as
well as new songs put together in a unique drama. This is
the perfect time to invite your neighbors and relatives who
haven't yet decided 'what to do' with Jesus. You won't want
to miss this great performance! ..... Or maybe God wants
you to be a part of it. We will begin practicing the 1st
Wednesday in November for this musical. You can join us
then, or you could join us in September to be a part of the
choir for the entire season!
The choir will also be working with Pam and Kipp to put on
a dramatic musical for the dinner theater in the spring. We
will need singers AND dramatic people. Are you a bit
dramatic? Put it to use for the Lord. The choir will be
singing as several actors tell a story that weaves the
songs together and invites the audience to let Christ make
a difference in their lives. Join in!
Updated website with New Look
Grace's website is up and running for real now! Thanks for
your help, Doug! Please check out the new version at
www.grace99.org. Right now it mostly is a copy of info from
previous website - with a NEW, FRESH look. Please email me
updates and additions at gracerose@fairpoint.net. If you
don't have email, just hand me a paper with your request or
put it on my desk and I'll do the update soon. Thank you
for your patience! Rose
Calling All Knitters, or Knitter Wannabes
God has given me an idea, but I need help! Since our church
is sending money regularly to Kovrov, Russia, why don't we
make gifts for them that Bill can distribute when he goes?
Obviously, we won't make it by this year, but if we start
now, we can be ready for next year! My idea is to knit neck
scarves for all the ladies. I don't know if that is
something men would appreciate or not. It is not hard to
do, and I am willing to teach anyone who is interested, no
age or gender restricted! (I've already had a couple apt
pupils!) If you are interested, see Gladys to get started!
Gladys
From Pastor Dan’s Desk
Christ is the Center
Christians bring multiple expectations to church life. It’s
not uncommon to hear many of the following comments:
“We need to know each other and have real fellowship and
body life.”
“We ought to be lifting each other up in prayer and
ministry.”
“Discipleship is the most important thing we do together.”
“We should be studying God’s Word together in depth.”
“The operation of spiritual gifts is what body life is all
about.”
“The church exists to reach out to the lost and hurting in
the world.”
“Praise & worship is the highlight of the church
meeting.”
“We must be accountable to each other in living the
Christian life.”
While all of the things above are good things, all of the
expectations cannot be met every week on a Sunday morning.
As a matter of fact, all of the above result in a lop-sided
church and a lop-sided Christian life! While these might
point to symptoms of a problem, they are not the solution!
*
While none of the above focuses are bad, focusing too
heavily on any one item will result in a church that is out
of balance and defective. If anything other than Christ is
at the center of the church then it will be defective! The
unifying factor is Christ in our midst!
I don’t know how many of you have experienced a group or
Sunday School class, or worship service, or retreat where
you sensed God’s presence in your midst, but it is a
life-changing event! I’ve seen God take over a prayer time
on a retreat and begin to work in lives so that we canceled
everything else we had planned that night because it was
obvious God was at work. And we prayed for several hours!
I’ve seen people come to the Lord at the drop of a hat
because God was at work in their lives! And I’ve been in
worship services that I thought would never end because we
were crying out to God in love and adoration and no one
wanted to stop!
And I have been in way too many groups, classes, worship
services and retreats where it wouldn’t have mattered if
Christ was there or not. Someone had an agenda planned and
we were going to follow that no matter what—regardless of
what God wanted to do. We didn’t even consult Him except to
ask His blessing on our plans! This is ministry in the
flesh, not in the Spirit!
God wants our church to experience His presence, power and
purposes! That is the most important thing! And it is only
possible through the cross—through Christ’s death and our
own death! It is time to die to our own ambitions and
desires, to our own inhibitions and fears and
whole-heartedly and unreservedly give ourselves totally to
Jesus! We need to say with Jesus, “Not my will but Yours be
done.” and pray that “His will is done on earth like it is
in heaven”—especially in my life and my church!
Verbally invite Christ into your midst! And tell Him that
He can do anything He wants and you will submit to it! With
Christ at the center we will experience all the dimensions
of His life through His body. It’s so easy to focus on one
of the good things and miss Jesus! “Lord, what will you
have me do today?” “What is your agenda for our group
tonight?” “How can I let you minister through me right
now?” These need to be the questions on our heart if God is
to ever use us for His glory!
Have a great day!
Dear Grace Family,
The girls and I stopped by Great Oaks Camp near Lacon last
Saturday to visit with our friend Aaron Albrecht. It had to
be one of the most gorgeous days of the season. The sky was
a stunning blue, and the temperature was perfect. We got
out of the car near the camp office into sunlight streaming
through a thick canopy of trees. A woman looked over an
upper porch railing and told us she had seen Aaron heading
toward the dining hall. That sounded logical. We headed
that way.
When we caught up with him, Aaron was on his way to the
showers. He didn't look dirty, but he said he was. It
didn't matter, there were hugs all around, then the girls
and I waited at a picnic area near a playground while Aaron
went on to get cleaned up. As we waited we noticed a group
of boys playing basketball nearby. They were fully engaged
in the game they obviously knew well. Across the lawn some
younger boys were fishing in a well-kept pond. Counselors
were watching them from a long, wooden foot bridge that
spans the pond. Happy cheers of encouragement and shouts of
"reel him in" arose as each child hooked a fish in short
succession.
When Aaron came back from the showers, we chose a picnic
table near a climbing wall complete with a pirate's net to
eat our lunch. It was lovely sitting there in the shade
catching up with all the things Aaron had been doing for
the past three weeks. I could tell he was tired, but the
knowledge that he was doing something important here was
evident. Great Oaks Camp serves troubled inner-city youth,
and Aaron is a counselor.
There is a letter from Aaron Albrecht on "the table" in
Grace Fellowship's foyer. In it, Aaron expresses his
gratitude for the support you have already given him. You
see, Aaron has to earn his wages through your donations
since camp counselors are paid, but children are allowed to
attend Great Oaks Camp at no charge. Aaron still needs
approximately $1000. If you would like to support Aaron,
there are some donation cards on the same table with
instructions on how to donate.
Thank you for considering this very worthy cause.
Pam Finck
Marina from Kovrov, Russia
Sunday morning, July 6, Marina told the adult and teen
Sunday School class about life and Christianity in Russia.
Thank you, Bill for bring her speak at Grace.
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Good morning!
It is a real
privilege to be here and bring you greetings from Russia. I
give all praise to the Lord who made it possible. I want to
say a special “thank you” to my friend Bill Walden who has
generously provided for this trip to America.
Even though I am seeing you all for the first time, I
already feel a strong connection. Back home I visited your
church’s web-site and learned about different ministries
you have here. Bill also has been sharing some interesting
things about your Sunday school classes and other church
activities, and I am truly honored to finally meet you face
to face.
I would also like to thank you for praying over my air
travel to the States. It was my first flying experience and
I was very nervous about it. But prayers of the saints both
in America and in Russia made a difference and everything
went smoothly. The Lord has been watching over me and here
I am!
I understand you want to hear about the traditions of the
Orthodox Church in Russia. I am happy to share with you
some historic facts and modern day truths about it. But,
please, keep in mind that this subject matter is very broad
and complicated. So with the Lord’s help I will try to
focus on a few points that, I believe, will be of some
interest to you. First off let me tell you that my walk
with the Lord began in a Russian orthodox church. So I
won’t be critical of this religion. In spite of its strange
traditions and unique ways of worship, many people still
find God there. In centuries past the Russian people did
not have any churches or temples. So when they were
introduced to the orthodox faith it kept a lot of them from
moral decline and helped to walk in the fear of God.
There are many Orthodox believers whose pure Christian
living earned them a special place in the Russian history
and culture. Most of them went through great hardships and
persecution for following Christ, but would not renounce
their faith. Because of those sacrifices the Orthodox
Church has officially included them into the “saints’ hall
of fame”. I believe that those people faced death with such
humility because they were fully dedicated to serving God
and willing to pay the ultimate price for their
convictions.The Orthodox faith dominated the Russian Church
from its foundation in the 10th century until the
Revolution of 1917. When the communists took over the
country, they destroyed almost all the Orthodox temples and
murdered many priests. Practicing religion became a serious
crime, and the communist doctrines took over the minds of
the Russian people. That lasted for about 70 years. But
today the Orthodox faith is alive and well, with thousands
of followers. The church has made a lot of traditions and
regulations easier to observe, more relatable to people
than in the past.
Allow me now to take you back to the very beginning. In
Russia the Orthodox faith first took its root in the 10th
century. Back then Russia covered a vast territory which
was occupied by multiple, self-contained tribes. They were
heathen tribes that practiced idolatry. They fought against
each other a lot and were often attacked from the outside
by the Polish, the Mongolians, the Tatars, the Germans and
other invaders. The country officials tried to unite the
tribes, which was very challenging due to the lack of
common religious practices among the tribes. At the time
the most powerful provinces were Kiev and Novgorod. Prince
Vladimir ruled the country and worked hard to bring unity
to the divided provinces to withstand the enemies more
affectively.
Many foreign countries used to send their representatives
to Prince Vladimir with the intention of sharing their
religion and converting Russia to it.
The Muslim delegates tried to convince Vladimir that their
faith was simple and easy to follow. The main rules they
proposed were to pray 7 times a day and to lay down meat
and wine. But meat and wine were (and still are) a big part
of the Russian life style, so the Muslim religion was
rejected.
The Jews who came attempted to convert Vladimir to Judaism.
However, when he learned that they did not have a country
of their own and were scattered all over the world as a
result of God’s punishment, he got angry. Vladimir did not
want the same curse to come upon his country.
The German Catholics also gave it a try, but they failed to
explain the essence of their faith and were sent off.
Then a delegation from Byzantine showed up and managed to
present the Christian doctrine in a very simple way that
sounded appealing to Prince Vladimir. Still he hesitated
and would not embrace Christianity right away.
Back then it was important to Vladimir to have a good
relationship with Poland. So he proposed to the Polish
Princess Anna to have a strong military ally. Anna had
converted to Christianity earlier and did not want to marry
a heathen. On his voyage to Poland to meet Anna Prince
Vladimir went blind. When Anna heard about that she sent to
tell him about the revelation she received. According to
it, Vladimir needed to get water baptized in the river. He
followed the instructions and received his sight back. That
miracle made a believer out of him. After marrying Princess
Anna and bringing her to Russia Vladimir started a
nation-wide conversion campaign. He ordered to destroy all
the idols and places of heathen worship.
In those days the Orthodox religion was not about studying
the Bible, but the lives of saints and martyrs. Because
those stories were shared in writing, it promoted the
increase of education all over Russia. Mary, the mother of
Jesus, was in the center of the Orthodox worship and became
the official protector of the Russian land. As the tale
goes, Mary’s portrait was first done by Luke himself and
was brought to Russia with great ceremonial celebrations.
Mary’s painting found its resting place in one of the main
temples of central Russian and became very popular. It was
reproduced many times and the copies were put up in almost
every temple across the country.
The majority of Russians heard about the sacrifice of Jesus
and received it with thanksgiving. But their idea of
pleasing God was to follow Jesus example of self-denial.
They thought the only way God could be happy with them if
they rejected the pleasures of life and committed
themselves to the life of deprivation. This was the biggest
mistake of the Orthodox Church: to earn your salvation with
good works instead of receiving it by faith.
As a result of this teaching the following ways of worship
have emerged: self-isolation, self-mutilation,
self-deprivation, laying down the wisdom of this world and
becoming foolish for God.
Monks were the people who believed in sentencing themselves
to the lives of solitude, away from worldly temptations. As
a rule they came from wealthy families, but chose to
forsake their earthly possessions to become poor for
Christ. They lived in the woods, deserts, wild and isolated
places. Lonely and dirt poor they prayed all the time.
But somehow the Lord gave them special gifts of wisdom,
healing, prophecy and even miracle-working. So people used
to seek them out for healing and guidance. Later on some of
the monks started to build their dwellings next to each
other and soon the communities would develop. They were
called monasteries, where monks stayed together, planted
gardens and took care of each other.
The next group of people, who went to the extreme serving
God, were self-deprivers. I find them most strange and hard
to understand. Coming from wealthy backgrounds, they chose
to forsake the comforts of this world and embraced the life
of self-denial. They walked around dirty, hungry and half
naked, even in the cold Russian winters. Some had clothes
on, but underneath would wrap tight ropes around their
bodies to inflict pain on themselves. By doing so they were
serving punishment for their sins. They dedicated
themselves to praying both for their own salvation and for
the people they met along the way. Usually they were easily
recognized in public and were often offered food and
shelter by those who considered them holy. Common people
believed that to offend self-deprivers meant to bring a
curse upon themselves, and to show them kindness meant to
invite a blessing. Some of them operated in the
supernatural gifts. One of the most extreme characters was
Saint Timothy. For 40 years he lived on top of a high pole
in a sitting position. People would bring him food baskets
and Timothy pulled them up and down with a rope. This man
prayed and prophesied all the time, unveiling the true
nature of people gathered around him.
Another example of self-denial were the two brothers Gleb
and Boris. They were Prince Vladimir’s grandsons. After
Vladimir died there was a struggle for power among his
children. Gleb & Boris became successors to rule over
Russian. They were both Christians and loved each another
very much. They were fascinated with the Bible stories
about the Apostles of Jesus and wanted to glorify God with
their lives. Their oldest brother was cruel and
power-thirsty. He did not want to recognize his brothers as
heirs to the Russian throne and plotted to kill them. When
Gleb & Boris were returning home from one of the
battles, they got the news about their brother’s plot. At
first they didn’t want to believe it, but after a night
long prayer decided not to raise a hand against their
brother in battle. Even though the two brothers had
military capability to overpower him, they chose to
surrender to their fate. When the assassins came, Gleb
& Boris forgave them before being murdered. Because the
brothers faced their death with such dignity and humility
they were highly esteemed by the people and considered
heroes.
I could offer you many more examples, but just want you to
understand that the Russian Orthodox Church honors those
whose lives were an illustration of self-denial and
martyrdom in the name of Christ. In fact they take a
special place among the host of saints that are worshipped
by the Russian people. Some of those saints are believed to
possess miracle working powers even after their death. The
Orthodox Church is known for special ceremonies to
recognize the birth or the death of those saints. Among the
most celebrated events are the Birth, the water baptism of
Jesus, His transfiguration, entering Jerusalem, Passover,
Resurrection and the Pentecost. Before Easter many Orthodox
believers observe 40 days of fasting; they abstain from
eating meat, fish and diary products. Vegetarian food is
allowed. The last day of fasting, marking Jesus’
crucifixion, is very strict. On that day you are supposed
to eat nothing at all. Easter is celebrated with dyed eggs
that people exchange with throughout the day. They also
prepare a large meal with some special bread and a cheese
cake.
It is also customary to go a cemetery on Easter Sunday to
remember the deceased loved ones. Visitors leave some dyed
eggs and candy at the grave sight. Just as after Jesus rose
from the dead He shared a meal with His disciples, it is
believed that after the resurrection of the dead they first
have to eat something.
The most genuine Orthodox Christians are pilgrims who
travel from one holy place to the next to worship at the
tombs of the saints, to light candles before certain icons,
to dip into the springs across the country, that are known
for their healing properties.
I have to mention that icon worshiping is another tradition
of the Orthodox Church that goes way back. Only the saints
known for their most distinguished or unique acts of
serving God can be portrayed on an icon. Icon painting is a
form of art originated in Byzantine centuries ago. It
required a certain technique with strict rules to follow.
It was considered a great honor to be an icon painter; a
lot of them had to learn from the masters in Byzantine.
Generally speaking, the Orthodox Church in Russia was never
much about instructing people in the word of God. It is all
about the rules and regulations, ceremonies and legalism.
Many of those are based on the Old Testament teachings and
promote the fear of God rather than building a personal
relationship with Him.
The host of saints is worshipped on a daily basis, pushing
Jesus in the background. Because so much attention is given
to the dead followers of Christ, people loose sight of the
fact that our Savior is a living God. Even though Jesus is
represented in the Orthodox Church through a few icons and
even figurines, He has never been the focus of worship.
People seem to know more about Him dying on the Cross than
being raised from the dead. That’s why they prefer to lift
up their prayers to other saints, not understanding that
Jesus is the only mediator between God and men.
However, in the 90s when the doors of religious freedom
opened in Russia and many American missionaries came in,
things changed a lot. For the first time in centuries the
Gospel was presented to the Russians in a very simple way.
In the past they could only hear the readings of the Bible
by the Orthodox priests in the old Russian language very
hard to understand. The Bibles could be purchased inside
the temples for a very high price and they were written in
that old language. So people preferred smaller books about
the lives of saints written in modern language. So when the
missionaries started giving out free Bibles in modern
translation the people were happy to read the Word for
themselves. Many came to understand that with the living
Jesus they did not need to turn to the dead saints for
answers, since He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Another breakthrough came in understanding of prayer. In
the past the Orthodox Church offered special prayer books
to help people communicate with the saints, Mother Mary and
God himself. The words were very carefully selected and did
not provide any sense of intimacy with God. With the help
of missionaries people were able to have fellowship with
God through simple prayers, lifted in faith.
During my early walk with the Lord I turned to the Orthodox
Church for comfort and guidance. But I only encountered
condemnation for not observing all the regulations. It made
me feel that God was very far away and I was unworthy of
His acceptance. At the time I had no idea about God loving
me and longing to have a personal relationship with me.
Since then I came to know the truth and Jesus has become my
Lord and Savior. He is my best Friend, my Counselor,
Comforter, Provider and Protector. It is by His grace I am
standing today in front of you. I believe He has good
things in store for me and for all of you.
As far as the Orthodox Church is concerned, it has
introduced some major changes, as well. Because many
non-denominational churches across the country present a
real competition, the Orthodox priests eased up on some
rules and read the Bible in their temples in modern Russian
language. They also started many jail and hospital
ministries, go out into the communities and try to help
people in practical ways.
I hope this message gave you some idea about the Orthodox
religion. I apologize for my English. This is my first
experience of standing in front of this large group of
people and sharing in English. May be next time I will do a
better job. Thank you for your time and may the Lord richly
bless everyone of you!
Just 4 Kids Foundation
We are taking part in a program to provide book bags and
school supplies for students in El Paso/Gridley schools
whose families cannot afford necessary supplies to start
the school year. This Fall, the Foundation’s goal is to
provide school supplies for at least 125 students - Bright
Beginnings thru High School.
The list of needed supplies follows.
Bring donations to the church by Sunday, July 20th, at the
latest.
Thank you for your generousity.
Christian One Liners
A lot of church members who are singing "Standing on the
Promises" are just sitting on the premises.
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We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.
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Be ye fishers of men. You catch them - He'll clean them.
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Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.
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Don't put a question mark where God put a period.
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Forbidden fruits create many jams.
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