November and December 2015 Volume 7 Issue 6

Transcription

1 APACHE JUNCTION SDA CHURCH For Unto Us a Child is Born Unto Us a SON is Given Isaiah 9:6 COMMUNICATOR November and December 2015 Volume 7 Issue 6

2 Eddie and William Dancy s trip to Kenya, Africa Africa Mission, June, 2015 We want to thank all of you for your financial contributions to the Africa Mission, We want to thank Betty Berg for collecting the funds for 1 year and taking care of it for the mission. We want thank the Bags of Love Ladies for helping cut all the hundreds of felts for the 156 Bible stories for their Sabbath School classes, We appreciate all the time Sharon Lozano spent putting the stories characters into specific bags with all the other elements that explain the stories, and labeled them as such, We want thank Ellen for all the alphabetic, that she donated for the smaller children, making it easy for them to learn their alphabetic. She also donated Ten Commandment-book markers for the adults. Our daughter donated dozens of pencils for the children, and we contributed thousands of spiritual stickers. The children and SS teachers were so happy to receive these gifts. It was amazing to see their reactions. We had excellent flights there and back there problems at all. The first night of the crusade got rained out, but the following night it tapered off and we were able to keep the computers dry, somewhat. The entire crusade was a success, and 100 individuals were baptized. We will share the DVD on December 5, 2015 for vesper.

3 COMMUNICATOR CORRECTION WOMEN S MINISTRY DEPARTMENT Our AJ Women's Ministry department hosted a brunch for our high school and college age young women and their mothers on Sunday, October 11, We had a lovely meal and a wonderful presentation by Rachel De la Torre. She is the legal advocate for CAAFA (Community Alliance Against Family Violence) which is located here in Apache Junction. We are so blessed in our community to have this organization which provides services to families who are suffering from abusive situations. Our desire in hosting the brunch was to educate our young women who are developing relationships and making decisions that have life long consequences and to encourage them to make safe and healthy decisions. Although CAAFA is not a religious organization, Rachel is a committed Christian and we appreciated her perspective in the material she presented. She shared statistics with us about the scope of abuse that effect women and the measures and resources CAAFA provides to assist with education and help to those who are caught in the web of violent relationships. Her presentation was filled with interesting information, examples of the type of problems she deals with and the perspective of abuse on a global scale. Rachel shared that women who are experiencing abusive relationships reach out to friends in their church 50% of the time. More than to any other resources in their community. Yet churches are very unaware of resources to help them and even the advice and help offered could be damaging because the good intentions of the people helping are not aware of how to provide the appropriate support and information. I would encourage each one of us to be aware of the work of CAAFA and use the fliers and cards on the bulletin board in our church lobby to share with those we know who could benefit from the services CAAFA provides. I want to especially thank Janie Ringering, Phylis Bretch, Denise Peloquin, Janice Krein and Valerie Thomas for their help with ideas, decorations and help in preparing, serving and cleaning up after the meal. They are a wonderful team to work with and they made this experience very pleasant. I hope that our Women's Ministry department can provide additional opportunities for the women in our church and in our community to become educated in how to be aware of and help those among us who are suffering in these abusive relationships and feel so discouraged and hopeless. I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR THE MISTAKE OF DELETING PORTIONS OF THE MESSAGE FROM THE WOMEN S MINISTRY DEPARTMENT. HERE IS THE COMEPLET REPORT.

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5 TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING! Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Giving to those less fortunate is important all throughout the year, and your Community Services department is busy each month making this a solid practice here at AJ SDA Church. As we approach Thanksgiving, we are reminded of all the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us, and also reminded of how we can bless others through our giving. We're excited to have partnered with the Apache Junction Food Bank this year, and our church is responsible for collecting 400 cans of GREEN BEANS for Thanksgiving! We only have a few weeks to meet our goal. Collection boxes will be in the Fellowship Hall and one in the main lobby. Standard size cans (15oz) and ONLY PLAIN GREEN BEANS are needed. We can do it! The Community Services department thanks you for your generosity on behalf of the AJ Food Bank. And remember, The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. (Proverbs 22:9) Thank you, have a wonderful Holiday season, and be a blessing! -Pamela Davis AJ SDA Church Community Services Director COME SHOP AT OUR CRAFT STOR There are lots of wonderful handmade items for your gift giving pleasure. Hours: Monday from 9 AM to 3PM If these hours are not convenient please call Betty Baerg to set up time

6 There have been 332 Bags of Love given away so far in When Agape came to pick 52 Bags of Love this month of October, he brought a small car. Those bags were squeezed into that car. Good thing he s a small man. Monday, October 12, 2015, four ladies from a church group in the Desert Ridge area of the Phoenix valley came to get inspired by the Bags of Love working ladies. They loved so many things they saw. They do lots of short projects for DCS and for the homeless. They enjoyed the vegetarian lunch. There were 21 ladies present at lunchtime, and we had a huge buffet. There was an extra abundance because of the leftovers from the Women s Brunch and we enjoyed the decorations, too. Thank you, Nancy Andersen, and your helpers. It was delightful. Anyone is welcome to come help on Mondays to help with the group projects or to do a project alone. We work from 9 AM 3 PM. We sew, sort fabric, rip seams out of sheets for backings, pin quilt tops to the batting and backing, put cords in bags, sew buttons onto the bags, pack bags, etc. We bring food to share for lunch and always have a delicious lunch. Some cannot spend the whole time there, and it is alright. You are always welcome to donate some pens, pencils, mechanical pencils, kid s shampoo, baby wash, small children s toothbrushes, kid s toothpaste, colored pencils, color crayons, post-it notes, toys for toddlers, dolls, size 3 diapers, baby wipes, hair brushes. Thank you very much for thinking of Bags of Love. Betty Baerg

7 Library and Book Review By Janice Krein A special note Janice informed me that there were 81 book checked from the library in the last quarter. Here are four books I would recommend every young lady to read because they deal with friends, dating, career and choosing one's partner in life. The first two books are written by Kay D. Rizzo which are part of a series, "Winter's Silent Song" and "Sweet Sting of Love". Cee Cee, a young lady in her late teens to early twenties, raised in the world of high society, wonders about God. She wishes that she could believe like her Mother, and let God lead. She finally claims Palms 37:4-7. The third book is "Beyond to Veil of Darkness" by Esmire G. Branner. This is a true story of a young women raised in a Adventist family, becomes involved with a Muslin man, has three children by him before marrying him, suffers abuse, but never gives up her faith. The fourth book is "The Doctors Wore Petticoats - Women Physicians of the Old West" by Chris Enss. This is a collection of true stories about women who pushed the envelope in the male dominated profession of medicine in the mid 1800's. The stories of each woman doctor is inspiring and gives insight into how much we as a society have progressed since the 1800's. It was a surprise that the Mormon society encouraged and supported women to become doctors.

8 Seminar Department News We are running our Divorce Recovery program on every Sabbath at 9:30 11:30 am., and the Grief and Loss program from 11:30 12:30 am. We also running a new seminar called "Depression Recovery" by Dr. Neal Nedley. This is presented in the seminar room at 1:30 pm on Sabbath afternoon. Unfortunately we have no more room in this seminar at this time but will be running it again starting in January 9, Dr. Nedley has done amazing research into the factors that contribute to a person being depressed. He has a self-test so you can analyze your genetics, diet, exercise, sleep, addictions, sunlight exposure, breathing etc. and determine what areas you need to make changes that will brighten your life. There is a DVD presentation at each of the eight sessions and a workbook can be purchased to give you the tools you need to have an upgraded extraordinary super quality of life. For more information contact, Duane Andersen at and leave a message, he will get back to you. If you need counseling you can call me at or come to the Seminar on Sabbath and I will help you get the service that you need. Duane Andersen Wedding Officiant Divorce Recovery Grief and Loss Counseling 5231 E. Baltimore St. Mesa, AZ

9 Fellowship Lunch Update Many of our winter members and their guest have returned to their winter homes, and we are glad to have back. But we are now receiving increased numbers of people at our fellowship lunch. We are in need of larger sized portions of food contributions to accommodated this increase. So this is an encouragement to bring a little extra to share. If you do not cook, feel free to bring some canned, frozen or dry food (crackers, pasta, olives, etc.) which can be used with minimal preparation. Thank you to those who make our meals pleasant through their service whether by bringing food, setting up or helping with cleanup afterwards. Visiting Those in Need If you are interested in visiting with residents at the Apache Health Center who are desiring Christian fellowship, please see Tito Garcia or call him at

10 Michael Harris is a gifted recording artist who ministers in churches, convalescent homes, rehabilitation centers, missions, and prisons throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, Canada and the Caribbean Islands. He has been featured on 3ABN, Dare to Dream, Voice of Prophecy, Amazing Facts and the It is Written telecasts, and he has performed at four General Conference Sessions. His music, testimony, and life are dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, and he powerfully shares the secret of his new life through singing and the spoken word. Michael has surely been saved to serve Jesus Christ. We will have the pleasure of hearing Michael Harris on November 14, He will be singing at our 11:00 AM Worship Service, after potluck luncheon, and again at 5:00 PM Vespers.

11 Thanksgiving Dinner Thanksgiving Day, November 26,1:00 P.M. here in our Church Social Hall. A menu will be posted on the bulletin board. Please bring only your dish and utensils to serve your dish. Come and enjoy a family dinner with your Church family. After we have our meal, you can stay and play games, visit or whatever you choose to do. Christmas Dinner Christmas Day, December 25 at 1:30 P.M. here in our Church Social Hall. A menu will be posted on the bulletin board. Only bring your dish and serving utensils. Come and enjoy a family dinner with your Church family. Christmas is on Friday, so we can stay and visit and if there are many that can stay later, we will have a vespers time. Watch for your bulletin for more details

12 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat AM 3 PM 8 ADVENTURERS CLUB 9AM-12PM FALL FE STIVAL BRING LUNCH TO SHARE 9 9 AM 3 PM BRING LUNCH TO SHARE November SCHOOL BOARD MTG 5:00 PM CHURCH BOARD MEET- ING 6:00 P 4 1:00 pm (Study of the Great Controversy) 1:00 pm (Study of the Great Controversy) SUNSET: 5:33 SUNSET: 5:28 7 9:30 AM 10:30 AM Adventure s trip to Boyce Arboretum Vespers 5:30 PM SUNSET: 5: :30 AM 10:30 AM Michael Harris will be singing at the morning service, after lunch, and at Vespers Vespers: 5:00 PM SUNSET: 5:27

13 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Vespers: 5:00 PM Vespers: 5:00 PM Set-up for Rummage Sale 16 9 AM 3 PM BRING LUNCH TO SHARE Set-up for Rummage Sale AM 3 PM BRING LUNCH TO SHARE 9 AM 3 PM BRING LUNCH TO SHARE November Continued 17 Set-up for Rummage Sale 18 1:00 pm RUMMAGE SALE 7:30AM 3:00 PM 1:00 pm 19 RUMMAGE SALE 7:30AM 3:00 PM 26 THANKSGIVING DINNER 20 SUNSET: 5:24 27 SUNSET: 5: :30 AM 10:30 PM Religious Liberty Bible Study 1:30 PM Presented by the Adventurer s. Dinner and fundraiser to fellow service. SUNSET: 5: :30 AM 10:30 AM SUNSET: 5:21

14 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat ADVENTUR- ERS CLUB 9 AM - 12 PM 7 9AM --3 PM BRING LUNCH TO SHARE December SCHOOL BOARD MTG 5:00 PM CHURCH BOARD MEET- ING 6:00 PM 2 1:00 PM (Study of The Great Controversy ) 1:00 PM (Study of The Great Controversy ) SUNSET: 5:20 PM SUNSET: 5:21 PM 5 9:30 AM 10:30 AM Vespers: 5:00 PM SUNSET: 5:20 PM 12 9:30 AM 10:30 AM Vespers: 5:00 PM SUNSET: 5:21PM

15 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat December 2015 Continued 9AM --3 PM BRING LUNCH TO SHARE AM --3 PM BRING LUNCH TO SHARE 9AM --3 PM BRING LUNCH TO SHARE 15 SCHOOL BOARD MTG 5:00 PM CHURCH BOARD MEETING 6:00 PM 16 1:00 PM 1:00 PM 1:00 PM SUNSET: 5: CHRISTMAS DINNER 31 SUNSET: 5: :30 AM 10:30 AM Vespers: 5:00 PM SUNSET: 5:20 PM 26 9:30 AM 10:30 AM Vespers: 5:00 PM SUNSET: 5:21PM