A warm welcome to all visitors. If the Pastor or any member of the
congregation may be of service to you, please contact the church office at 802-228-4211 or Rev. Harpster at 802-875-8895. His email is [email protected]. Please be sure to sign the guestbook located at the entrance to the church. Upcoming Meetings Women’s Group - Every Wednesday at 10:00 A.M. Deacon’s Meeting – Sunday, October 27 after service. Weekly Offerings Offerings and other cash receipts for the week of October 13 will be in next week’s bulletin. Altar Guild Judi Krieger is serving as the Altar Guild person during the month of September. Coffee Hour A time of fellowship following the service of worship is held in the social hall. Coffee, juice and refreshments will be served. Estimate of Giving Forms Kindly submit your Estimate of Giving form. This will help your Executive Board in planning for next year. Christian Education Program Christian Education Classes Starting Tuesday, October 8, 7:00 to 8:30 P.M. Rev. Harpster will lead us in discussions of “Our Faith Traditions in America from the Post-Civil War Era to the Present”. This series of classes will run for six weeks on Tuesday evenings in the Ladies Parlor at the church. All are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Rev. Harpster at 802-875-8895 Reformation Sunday – October 27 On Reformation Sunday, Rev. Harpster will dedicate gifts to the church that have been made in the past year. Members and friends of the church also have the opportunity to present monetary gifts in memory or in honor of individuals. To be included in the bulletin for Reformation Sunday, all gifts should be in the church office by Wednesday, October 23. For more information, you can speak with Anne Oakes, Receiver of Offerings. A Stewardship Message God loves it when the giver delights in the giving - Looking Upward Once in the Gospels, Jesus healed a woman who had been bent over for years with an affliction. Her illness not only caused her pain, it also prevented her from knowing anything more about the world than the small circle of earth she could see. Imagine how small her world was—looking at feet all those years. And imagine how wondrously healing it was when Jesus not only gave her a gift of a straight spine, but also engaged in her world, her relationships, even perhaps her wonder. We hear so often that times are hard—and for many they are—that we may experience life very similar to the bent-over woman with her acute pain and limited ability to see the world around her. We may even willingly withdraw from living life fully because it is too painful, overwhelming, or difficult. Whether self-inflicted or not, the effect is same. We miss out on wonder and gratitude if we spend our lives looking downward instead of upward, inward instead of outward, hemmed in by our limited vision. Being generous requires our ability to connect with our world. We many not feel there is enough as long as we are staring at the ground, beset by thoughts of how little we have, and how little we have to give. But God made us so that we are at our most whole when we can delight and wonder at life—even in difficult times. This stewardship season, why not ask for the grace of a wider vision so that you may delight in all God has provided? Then wonder at the awesome thing that is your life, your relationships, and your world! Comments are closed.
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