As most of you know,
Rodger and I have been going through a long time of
struggle as he has been standing trial to save his job. This legal whole process has been ongoing
since May of 2006 and we have been in and out of the courtroom with at least
two delays and many problems, all caused by the other side, by the way! Still justice has not prevailed and we are faced with yet another delay putting an end to the trial
still a ways off. But with the grace of God and all of
your prayers and good wishes we carry on.
Well, one day
recently when I was feeling particularly down about
the whole mess I received an e-mail message from my mom that touched me and
reminded me that God has bigger plans for us than any of us realize. So, as we come to
Holy Week and Jesus’ time of trial, I wanted to share this message with
you. It begins with a scripture verse
from the Old Testament.
Malachi 3:3 says: “God will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
This verse puzzled
some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about
the character and nature of God. One of
the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to
the group at their next meeting.
That week, the woman
phoned a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention
anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the
process of refining silver.
As she watched the
silversmith, she noticed that he held a piece of silver over the fire and let
it heat up. He explained that in
refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where
the flames were hottest in order to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought
about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse
that says: “God sits as a refiner and purifier of
silver.” She asked the silversmith if it
was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the
silver was being refined. The man answered
that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep
his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in
the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent
for a moment. Then she asked the
silversmith, “How do you know when the silver if fully refined?”
He smiled at her and
answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when it see my image in it, then it is fully
refined.”
So, if you, like
Rodger and I, are feeling the heat of the fire,
remember that God has an eye on you, and God will keep watching you until God
sees His image in you! And finally, take heart because whatever you are going
through, you will be a better person in the end! That is the promise of God, our eternal Silversmith!
Blessings to you in March,
Wanda
Teaching the
Word...
MARCH LECTIONARY TEXTS
Here are the
Lectionary texts for the month of March.
Rev. Mello’s preaching texts are in Bold print. You are invited to
read the texts ahead of each Sunday service as you prepare to hear God’s
word. These texts are also the texts
that are studied in our Wednesday morning Bible Study
to which everyone is invited.
March 2, 2008
Psalm 23
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Ephesians 5:8-14
John
9:1-41
WORSHIP
READERS NEEDED…
We are in need of our worship readers for the month of March and April. If you are interested in serving as a worship reader please sign up on the sheets in the Social Hall or speak to Rev. Mello. May you be blessed as you read God’s word in worship.
WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY
Everyone is invited to join us at 9:30 AM each Wednesday in the
library as we study the scripture texts for Sunday’s service. We will resume our regular Wednesday morning Bible study after Easter.
LENTEN SOUP AND PRAYER
Our annual Lenten Soup Suppers continue each Tuesday until March 11. You are invited to sign up to bring a kettle of soup on one or more of the weeks to share with the group. If you don’t want to be a soup maker, please bring something to add to the meal such as bread, muffins, veggies, cookies, brownies, etc. Drinks will be provided by the Diaconate. Our meal will begin at 6:00 PM
This year, instead of a formal study, we are gathering in the lounge after the meal at 7:00 PM for a time of reflection, hymn singing, and formal prayer. Each week we will spend time in prayer with a specific purpose. The first week we will pray for the world and all of creation. The second week we will focus our prayers on the nations of the world. The third week we will pray for our nation, its leaders, and people. The fourth week we will spend time in prayer for Arvin and our surrounding community. And the fifth week we will pray for our own congregation.
We hope that many of you will consider attending this special time of prayer and fellowship during our Lenten Season.
MAUNDAY THURSDAY WORSHIP SERVICE
We will gather for the celebration of Maundy Thursday on March 20, 2008 at 7:00 PM in our church sanctuary where we will remember the first celebration of the Last Supper as we participate in the serving of Holy Communion and the service of Tenebrae. Everyone is invited to attend this special Holy Week celebration.
COMMUNITY GOOD FRIDAY WORSHIP
The churches of
the Bear Mountain Ministerial Association will gather to celebrate Good Friday
on March 21, 2008 at 7:00 PM. The host
church for this year’s service will be
EASTER
You are invited to attend the Community Easter Sunrise worship service at the foot of the cross on Tejon Ranch on Sunday, March 23, 2008 beginning at 6:30 AM. Please bring something to sit on and dress to stay warm out on the windy mountain. Everyone is invited to greet the dawn of Easter day with us at the cross.
EASTER EGG HUNT
The Board of Christian Education invites all children to the annual Easter Egg Hunt that will be held on Easter Sunday, March 23, immediately after worship. Bring a basket and join the fun. If you don’t have a basket, we will find one for you.
Touching
the World...
Any or all of the items on the list that
follows will be welcome additions to our food pantry. Your gifts to replenish the food pantry are greatly appreciated.
Please remember, if you can’t get out to
purchase any of the things on the list, cash donations are also accepted so
that the necessary items may be purchased.
Please DO NOT bring PREVIOUSLY OPENED SPICES OR
FOOD ITEMS! We cannot give those out to people as we don’t know their safety.
Our pantry is well stocked at
the moment so we are not in need of food donations at this time. We will let you know when your food gifts are needed. Thanks!
You are invited to give a gift for mission to our Assistance
Fund. Thanks so much for your continued
support of this fund! Your gifts to this
fund do indeed help those in our community who are in need!
Our next monthly Church Cabinet meeting will be on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the lounge. All Cabinet members are urged to attend.
ALL CHURCH CLEAN-UP DAY
The Trustees
invite everyone who is able to lend a hand to our
WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP NEWS
The Women’s Fellowship would like to remind
you to continue to save
REMEMBER YOU CAN FIND ALL OF
OUR NEWS ON OUR WEBSITE: www.arvinucc.org
Check it out!
Church
Family News…
As our world remains
in a time of war, we ask that you continue to remember in your prayers all of
our young people serving our country all over the world. Especially pray for Jason Brand, John &
David Phillips, Isaac Philips, and Josh Francis.
Please keep our homebound, and nursing home members in your thoughts and
prayers. They are Mildred Holbert in the nursing home; and
Lucille Barkley at home.
Also, please remember Ardella Wernli who is staying with her son and daughter-in-law,
Robert and Dana Wernli, in
Please keep the Mellos
in your prayers as they return to court in June and then await the decision
regarding Rodger’s court case to keep his job.
OUR SYMPATHY
We extend our Christian sympathy to the Carlile and Morrison families at the death of baby Luke
Morrison. Luke was born prematurely on
February 1 and died on February 9.
Please keep his mom and dad, Dusti and Mike,
and the rest of his family in your prayers.
We extend our sympathy to the family of
Sylvia Cordova who was our community liaison for the Gleaners. Sylvia’s memorial service was
held on February 15 in Lamont.
Her faithful service to the needy in our community will
be greatly missed!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Our best wishes go to Sierra and Wil Coupland as they were married
on February 16, 2008 in