Board of Directors News |
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Chrysalis, Kairos, OtherFriends E152, E153, E154, E155, E143 (rescheduled), PriorYears |
The fruit of the Spirit is … goodness. What do you think of when you hear the word goodness or good? “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown!” “Boy, that was a good movie.” “It was from the goodness of her heart.” “That hamburger sure tasted good!” “Good luck!” “Goodness gracious!” “He saw that it was good.” “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” The dictionary tells us that GOODNESS is a noun… 1. the state or quality of being good. 2. moral excellence; virtue. 3. kindly feeling; kindness; generosity. 4. excellence of quality: goodness of workmanship. 5. the best part of anything; essence; strength. Goodness is the simple word for the general quality recognized in character or conduct. It is the idea of being good. It’s antonyms are badness and evil. What all this boils down to is…we want to be good and we want to show goodness to others. Goodness encompasses all we want to be and do. It is living the way a Christian should live. Goodness is holiness put into practice and results from knowing God. Once you have this knowledge, goodness is produced in you. In Romans 15:14 Paul tells us “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” We want goodness as a part of our lives and we received that goodness from the Holy Spirit. I see so much goodness in our community! We pray for one another. We minister to one another. We help one another. We smile at one another. We laugh with one another. We cry with one another. The goodness of fellow Christians is a force to be reckoned with! We are powerful when we are full of the goodness of God! Goodness is a quality of God associated so closely with Him that people use it as a euphemism for Him, such as “Oh, goodness!” He works through us to show His goodness. You cannot have goodness without God, just as you cannot have God without goodness. God alone is good. I know God causes all things to work together for good, for all whom He has chosen and who have placed their trust in Him (Romans 8:28). As we continue to trust Him and His goodness let us grow in His word and His strength daily as we follow Him! “God is good all the time! All the time, God is good!” Some business: Keep those pilgrim/bug and team apps coming in! Check the website for names of team and pilgrims attending E 156 and get that palanca written! September 17th Ultreya is down south at Good Shepherd UMC, Dale City. Host churches are still needed for January 2011 and December 2011 Ultreyas. Linda Girten, CLD |
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.… All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11 Paul writes to the church at Corinth. He wants them to understand that the Holy Spirit provides the people of the church varieties of gifts and services. Paul gives some examples, such things as wisdom, discernment, and prophecy (other gifts are listed elsewhere in scriptures). The variety of gifts and services all come from the same source. All come from God through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. They are given to people individually through God’s own choosing. Paul also makes another important point. While the Holy Spirit activates these gifts and services in each individual – one gift to one person and another gift to another person, each gift is meant for the common good of all. A person is not given a gift for their own benefit or prestige, but rather, each person is to use their gift to edify, encourage, and help others, and all gifts are to be used to further the kingdom of God. Everyone is not meant to do everything. (A ministry may need a lot of people involved in the same service, but even then they may need to use a variety of different gifts.) No one is more valuable than the other; each may have a unique or critical component to completing the whole. I once heard it said that in a group of people numbering 40 or more, every spiritual gift would be present. In other words, if everyone used their God-given gift in being the body of Christ for the world, everything needed to fulfill God’s plan of ministry for those people is present. Now whether the number 40 is accurate or not, does not really matter; think about a church the size of yours. It probably numbers much more than 40 members. Can you imagine the possibilities for a church of that size? What might your church be able to accomplish for the kingdom of God if all made his or her gift and service available to God? None of us would have to do anything overwhelming or impossible. We would simply use what God has given us. Planners and visionaries, organizers and coordinators, teachers and leaders, doers and helpers – each providing our piece of the whole in the measure that it has been given to us. The purpose of Emmaus has always been to energize and empower local church leaders for service in their church for the kingdom of God. Respond to God’s Spirit working within you; use your gifts and service to further the ministries of your church. Pastor Doug
from the Chrysalis Lay Director Caterpillar Pillar As I enter my last month on the Chrysalis board, let me say that it has been a blessing to me being able to serve. I would like to welcome the new board members Sam Parris, Jen Girten, Jesse Kearns, Josh Risinger, and Karen Kimberlin. We are coming close to C-76 going up on the mountain top. WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING CATERPILLAR APPLICA-TIONS UNTIL AUGUST 8, 2010. Continue to lift C-76 up in prayer. They look forward to seeing you at Candlelight on Saturday, August 21. Remember they are at the new facility, Camp Manidokan (1600 Harpers Ferry Rd, Knoxville, MD 21758). If you haven’t checked out the update website you should. It’s looking good. Still working on so bear with us. New website: www.chrysalisnca.org As always we thank you for your continued support of our weekends and community. Fly with Christ! Melissa Detwiler, NCAC Community Lay Director
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I am the Community Palanca Cha. I need volunteers to make placemats for me. We need 270 decorated placemats for each team that goes to the Mountain. I will have blank placemats at the Ultreyas each month. You can create your own design, either free hand, trace from a coloring book, use markers, glitter and glue to create your designs. You can either do them yourselves or get your Sunday School classes to do them. The pilgrims really like them when they come from the children. There are two kinds needed: the ones that are decorated with cute pictures and words, and ones that specifically say “DeColores”. It does not matter what the picture is, it only needs to say “DeColores” somewhere on the placemat. If you wish to make a set for a specific weekend that is great but you need to mark the envelope this is for E-# and I will make sure it goes on that weekend. You can do placemats for Chrysalis they need the same decorated and instead of saying DeColores they say FLY WITH CHRIST. If you want to do them for Chrysalis you can get them from Terry Downer and return them to her or you can give them to me and I will make sure she gets them. Or what about your cloth Palanca bags that you received on Friday. How many of you sew? You can go to your fabric store and pick up some material. Rainbow material works well, I guess because most people don’t want to use it as a dress. I will have the dimensions available for you if you’re interested at the Ultreya. Do you remember your Joy Flag Parade? Joy flags are always needed. These can be made from paper or fabric, and can be as simple or intricate as you desire, as long as they say “Joy” somewhere on the flag. These should always be the pennant shape, too. You may also specify the joy flags for specific weekend also. First stones are simple. Go outside, pick up a rock, and write “First” on it. Please write “F-I-R-S-T” and not “I-S-T on it. We have felt for the “I’m Lovable” flower pin that you received on Friday. Men get a pennant-shaped ribbon, and felt is available for both. Do you remember being showered with Warm Fuzzies on Sunday? If you love yarn, then this is the project for you. At the Ultreyas there will be the prayer wheel for you to sign up to pray and also, there will be a sheet passed that will have snacks for the weekend. You can sign at the Ultreyas. Food for the weekends needs to get to the Head Cha before Tuesday of the week that the team is going unless you are sponsoring someone and will be going to the mountain on Thursday. Where do I get all of the material or instructions, you may ask. Well, you can pick up placemats, felt for flowers and banners, and yarn for warm fuzzes at the Ultreya each month. You can also pick up or return items at the Ultreya. There is usually a table near the church’s entrance where items are placed. Or you can find me and hand items to me. If you’re not available to attend the Ultreya, you can contact me. My email address is LindaLSmith999@verizon.net and phone number is 703- 216-2469. And if you’re concerned about getting an item to me quickly, we can always keep in touch by phone and work out something. If you are willing to serve as Palanca Chairman for your church please fill out the information on the clipboard that I will have at each Ultreya in the front. Please list which items your group is interested in doing, so when I am running low on items I can contact the chairman. If you are in a reunion group this is a good project that you could do. So, check with your group and see what items you all would love to do. If someone from your church has already signed up then you don’t need to. I am looking forward to working with you! Thank you and DeColores! Linda L Smith |
Revised Procedures for Ultreya Prayer Concerns The Board of Directors recently addressed the topic of prayer concern procedures during Ultreyas. The Board was advised that prayer concerns at Ultreya, written out for the presiding Spiritual Director to read, in many cases contained sensitive and private information. As a result, the Board decided to revise the procedures and implemented their decision at the December Ultreya. The revised procedures ask that prayer concerns be written on a piece of paper (provided) and dropped into a box. At the appropriate time during the Ultreya, the box containing the prayer concerns will be brought to the presiding Spiritual Director who will lead the community in prayer. If individuals feel that more information should be shared regarding a specific prayer concern, please submit that concern to the community through the Holynet after checking with the parties involved to obtain their consent. Prayer concerns for publication on the HolyNet should be sent via email to holynet@emmausnca.org.
Weekend Fees and Community Support In 2007, the Board of Directors initiated a financial support program designed to reduce the weekend fees for 2008 and later weekends. This program was initiated because the Board felt that the cost of the weekend was restricting sponsorship as well as the ability to team. The program was based on the belief that the Emmaus Community would be willing to act as co-sponsors for the weekends by providing financial support to offset actual weekend fees. Community members were asked to contribute an amount equal to a sponsorship, if feasible, or whatever financial support was possible.
As a result of this initiative, 2008 weekend fees were reduced from $250.00 for each pilgrim and team member to $125.00 for each. The Board would like to continue this initiative and asks for continued community support.
Our weekend bill from New Windsor is based on the following fees:
Pilgrim - $253.00
Team - $264.00 (an extra meal)
SD - $299.00 (an extra meal and a private room in Old Main)
At $125.00 per person, the fees we expect to collect for pilgrims and team members are actually less than half the bill we expect from New Windsor. If you agree that it is beneficial to our community to keep weekend fees low, please contribute as you can. If you team or sponsor and have the ability to pay more, please feel free to do so.
In order to keep contributions designated for weekend support separate from ordinary contributions, please designate “2010 Weekend Support” in the memo area on your checks.
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Board Officers From the returning second-year class of Directors, one lay member is elected by the Board to serve as the Community Lay Director for a one year term.. This person then selects an Assistant Lay Director from the second-year class. The second-year Spiritual Director serves as the Community Spiritual Director, with the first-year SD serving as the Assistant to the Spiritual Director |
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