June 2018
If We Don’t Use Our Gifts, Who Will?
We talk about it, but do we do it? Sometimes I’ve felt that to be a good pastor is to restrict myself to “spiritual” activities – to be less real and less expressive of the full personhood in which God made me. The most well-intentioned Christian can slip into the promotion of conventionality at the expense of creativity.
I remember once how a minister, who was making an effective appeal for greater emphasis on soul-winning, reacted when I told him at lunch how God had blessed me with the opportunity to raise some horses and goats in my spare time. He acted as if I had just told him I had purchased a gambling casino. He seemed to think a pastor should have no life other than preaching and praying.
Had he not immediately turned away, as if from blasphemy, he would have heard how raising these animals has been a valuable source of down-to-earth spiritual object lessons which have blessed others and how raising animals had become a source of common ground and shared experiences that helped me to connect to the people in my rural area. We need to resist the temptation to conform to the mediocre and the conventional when it comes to things of the Spirit and we need to live more boldly!
All too often I think we try to share too much about what we believe about God to those who are not ready, and by doing so, we build up resistance to the truth, and even become discouraged ourselves. If we take the time to share the day to day lives of the people around us, joining in with them in their interests and pursuits, if we love people enough to discern what they are ready for, if we give them truth, measured according to how God has led their interests thus far, then we are more likely to be able to effectively nurture their spiritual growth.
You may not be interested in raising horses or goats, but is it possible that God has placed you in an environment through which you might bless others in unconventional ways? Might He have given you interests in the course of your everyday living through which you can connect with people and become a more effective conduit of God’s truth if you step out boldly?
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1
Calendar
Sabbath/Jul 14
- 9:20 am Sabbath School
- 10:00 am Sound/Video Material Due to A/V Team
- 10:40 am Guest Speaker: Pastor Gerald Babanezhad
- 12:30 pm Potluck (Nancy’s Group)
- 12:30pm Deacon & Deaconess Meeting (Gym)
- 1:30pm Piano Mini-Concert (Sanctuary)
- 2:00pm Muslim Outreach Seminar (Sanctuary)
- 8:34pm Sunset
Tue/Jul 17
- 6:30 pm School Board Meeting
Wed/Jul 18 6:00 pm
- Weekly Bulletin Information Due to church office
Announcements:
Jul 8-22: 2018 Fit 4 You Retreat
“The Pathways to Wholeness”The mission of FIT 4 YOU Retreat™ is to make visible, the life-changing rewards of good health by combining this natural setting with a menu of fitness activities, health education and inspiration taught by our team of expert physicians, licensed dieticians, exercise physiologist, fitness trainers, massage therapists and healthy living chefs. Please contact Penny Rodgers at 610-326-4310 for more info/registration. Let's Get Fit!
Jul 14: Deacons & Deaconesses Meeting
Meeting will be in the gym immediately following the service. It's going to be a potluck type of meeting. Please bring all the food to the gym instead of the kitchen.
JUl 15: Church Work Bee at 2:00Pm
All members are encouraged to come and help out!
Sep 15: International Sabbath: Save the Date!!
Sign up for flag bearers has started! There is a list of countries in the lobby, on a large whiteboard. Please add your name by the country that best represents your heritage. Start planning now for the traditional outfit you can wear in the parade of nations! Volunteers Needed – Carpenter needed to fabricate more flag holders and flag poles for International Sabbath. We also need help financing the materials for both the flag holders and the flag poles. Please contact Davona Rosa at (703)571-7631 or email below.
Baby Cousins is here!
Pastor CJ , his wife Deedrè and son Tommy welcomed the birth of their baby girl/sister, Eden Taylor Cousins on Sunday, July 1 at 6:23pm. Eden weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 19 inches long. Mother and child are doing well and resting at home. We thank the Lord for all His blessings as the congregation warmly congratulates them on their newest addition!
“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3 New Living Translation (NLT)
Women's Ministries Emphasis Day
To highlight Women’s Ministries Emphasis Day on June 9, Karen LaFave, Women’s Ministry Leader, hosted an afternoon of fellowship at her home in Springfield. About a dozen women attended and made four “tie quilts” and homemade note cards. The quilts and cards will be used to bless women in need of encouragement due to illness or being homebound.
Team Creation VBS
VBS attendees and youth coaches gather in the locker room to participate in Team CREATION.
Diana enjoys snack time prepared by Jan Hensley
Mike Onoffrey teaches the theme song.
“I liked the crafts the best. My favorite activity was painting the flower pot,” said Caleb Alvarez, age 8.
Pastor CJ gives a Bible Class to the Blueberry Team.
Here are just a few of the volunteers: (top row, left to right) Heather Pederson, Pastor CJ Cousins, Beno Rosa, Lesley Beckett and Janet Hensley (bottom row, left to right) Carson Beckett, Shelley Zimmerman, Davona Rosa, and John Beckett
Over 20 kids ages 3-12 attended “Team CREATION” Vacation Bible School sponsored by the Vienna SDA Church, June 18-22. All week long, the children learned about God’s plan for us to live healthy and amazing lives. Developed by Adventist Health Systems, the CREATION acronym focused on eight universal principles for living a whole person health that God gave at creation.
- C: Choice – making wise decisions,
- R: Rest – taking breaks,
- E: Environment – creating good spaces inside and out,
- A: Activity – running and playing,
- T: Trust in God,
- I: Interpersonal Relationships – being therefor your family and friends
- O: Outlook – thinking positive thoughts, and
- N: Nutrition – filling up with good food.
Led by Davona Rosa, the volunteers organized different stations where kids participated in skits, crafts, snacks, and games. Mike Onoffrey opened each evening with theme songs and Pastor C.J. held Bible classes too.
VBS has helped Vienna SDA Church serve its community by attracting kids from the neighborhood via a Facebook advertisement. Seven children from the area attended who are not members of the church or school.
A big thanks to all the volunteers who put in long hours preparing and dedicated their evenings all week to serve the children.
The Prayer Garden
Students of Vienna Adventist Academy (VAA) volunteered to beautify the church’s garden by weeding and trimming existing trees and bushes as part of the school’s Community Service Day on May 24. Led by Principal Dwight Morgan, the 7th and 8th graders also installed outdoor lights and placed a bench, donated by VAA, in the midst of the garden to create a haven for those who want to commune with God in prayer. Additional help came from Tom Laffy and his son Quinn who planted flowers adding a pop of color to the garden. Some of the flowers came from seeds VAA students planted while observing a green earth awareness program.
“VAA is committed to continuing its care of the garden,” said Principal Morgan, “and we have some more ideas to make it special.”
As the English poet Dorothy Frances Gurney wrote in the early 1900s:
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's Heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on Earth.
Membership Updates
17 New Members Transferred in Since January 1 (six months):
- Antoinette Brown
- C. Steeve and Sameena David
- Kevin, Felicia and Kevardo Flynch
- Rosa Marques
- Glendia Mondesir
- Carlos Orellana
- Marvin Peruza
- Zumela Peraza
- Damian Sanchez
- Rodwell Spencer
- Jacob, Tami, and Craig Wilson
- Shelley Zimmerman
Three Baptisms since January 1:
- Nia-Olivia Fowler
- Carol Tunes dos Santos
- Samuel & Sarah Maradiaga
Only Got a Minute?!!
Sign-up to receive It Is Written’s 60-second “Every Word” daily devotional. Sent directly to your email on your smartphone or laptop, John Bradshaw shares a Bible verse and story which can start, end or provide a mid-day break with God.
Online Giving
Don’t forget, you can submit your tithes and offerings on the church’s secure website, Togethernet.
911 – Is God Listening?
“Call to me and I will answer you” Jer. 33:3
If you would like to request special prayer, please send a request and Vienna’s Prayer Team will pray for your needs. Each request will be treated with confidentiality.
Featured Link: WGTS
WGTS is a Christ-centered, non-profit, listener-supported media ministry serving the Washington, DC region. At WGTS, they are there to encourage each person they encounter to take one step closer to Christ. For 60 years, WGTS has been "Washington's Gateway To Service" and they are continually committed to serving their listeners and community with quality, uplifting music, shows, and events that are always encouraging. The culture at WGTS is founded on the following value system and carried through all elements of their commitment to this ministry: Integrity, Service, and Excellence.
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