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Northern Lights June 2011 – August 2011
A Message from Chaplain Philio
Contemporary Christian singer Michael W. Smith, in his song, "Friends are Friends Forever," sings "Friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them, and a friend will not say never 'cause the welcome will not end, though it's hard to let you go in the Father's hands we know, that a lifetime's not too long to live as friends." Saying goodbye. It's never easy. Who could forget Corporal Radar O'Reilly's final salute to CPT Hawkeye Pierce through the O.R. window on the television show M*A*S*H? Or Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca, "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but we'll always have the North Country." I mean, let's face it. From the first breath of our lives to the last, we're in the constant process of transition, of letting go, of saying goodbye. Whether it is David tearfully saying goodbye to his best friend Jonathan in 1Samuel 20:41 or Paul and the Ephesians embracing and weeping in Acts 20:37, goodbyes are never easy. I want to say thank you for the opportunity, privilege, and honor to open God's Word to you over these last few months. We have been mutually edified in our spiritual faith journey. The apostle John wrote his last goodbye to the Church in the book of Revelation. His message? God wins! In times of difficulty and hardship, keep your eyes focused on King Jesus. In Revelation 1:12-16, John gives a vision of the glorious Christ. He walks amongst the seven golden lampstands (churches) as Lord and Shepherd. The long robe and golden sash testify to Jesus' high priesthood. The white hair suggests wisdom and dignity; the blazing eyes indicate penetrating insight. The bronze feet symbolize triumphal judgment. The rushing waters symbolize loudness, power, and universal scope. The right hand is the place of power and safety. The seven stars in His right hand are the seven spirits or angels of the seven lampstands or churches. In other words, the churches have angels. God mightily protects His people. The sword represents divine judgment against evil, and the brilliance of the face represents glory, unspeakable glory. When Hebrews 12:2 commands us to fix our eyes on Jesus, Revelation 1:12-16 provides that vision. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." In the great Irish hymn, "Be Thou My Vision," we sing, "Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me save that Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. High King of Heaven, my victory won, may I reach Heaven's joy, O bright heaven's Sun! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my Vision, O Ruler of all." I love that hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" which says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." If I could leave the North Country with one wish, it would be that this vision of the victorious Christ be imprinted upon your minds and eyes always like an old television set that has a certain channel burned into its picture tube because the channel has never been changed. Keep this vision of the victorious Christ before you always in your hearts and minds as you journey towards the celestial gates of Heaven. Pastor John Fawcett wrote the hymn, "Blest Be the Tie that Binds" in which he proclaims, "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love! The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain, but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again." Love Christ as Lord and Savior with all your heart and strength. And love each other as well. These are the two greatest commandments (Luke 10:27). Lord willing, we'll walk along the narrow Way's path again this side of Heaven, but if not, I'll see you on Heaven's streets of gold. In the words of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, "Happy trails to you, until we meet again!" May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand. Lord's continued blessings upon you and yours. Love and peace! ~ Pastor Philio, shannon.philio@juno.comSUMMER SERVICE SCHEDULE Date St. Paul’s Evangelical June 5 Beth Brassard Norma Gee (Communion) June 12 Rev. Wichelns (Communion) Rev. Wichelns June 19 Rev. Edgar Hunter Rev. Edgar Hunter (Communion) June 26 Rev. Wichelns (Communion) Rev. Wichelns July 3 Beth Brassard Norma Gee (Communion) July 10 Rev. Wichelns (Communion) Rev. Wichelns July 17 Rev. Edgar Hunter Rev. Edgar Hunter (Communion) July 24 Rev. Wichelns (Communion) Rev. Wichelns July 31 CHURCH PICNIC Norma Gee August 7 Beth Brassard CHURCH BBQ August 14 Rev. Wichelns (Communion) Rev. Wichelns August 21 Rev. Edgar Hunter Rev. Edgar Hunter (Communion) August 28 Rev. Wichelns (Communion) Rev. Wichelns
Redwood Food Pantry Thank you all for your donations to our food pantry. Donations of time are greatly appreciated too. Thank you to St Paul’s Sunday School for stocking shelves every Sunday and for holding a can and bottle drive to raise money for the food pantry. They saw the need and responded at once. Memorial gifts were given at Easter, in memory of Junio Bertram and Laura Cole, to help purchase the hams. Junio and Laura would have been delighted to help so many people. Our food supply and our bank account have been getting dangerously low. On Friday, May 13th, we have a Food Bank of CNY order coming in. This will lower our bank account by about $950.00. We thought you would like to know what that money will buy.
4 cases applesauce 4 cereal 2 cases peaches 2 wheat crackers 2 saltines 2 jam 4 potatoes 2 spaghetti sauce 4 baking mix 6 macaroni 1 dry milk 4 vegetable soup 2 cases peas’ 4 green beans 2 boxes ground turkey 3 boxes hamburg 2 hotdogs 4 cases carrots 6 mac and cheese 1 case oleo 1 pork and beans.
We need tomatoes, brownie mix, ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard. We always need toilet paper, dish soap and personal hygiene supplies. We welcome anyone who would like to be on our volunteer list, to serve, unload supplies or stock shelves. Thank you all for helping us meet our goal.....to feed the hungry. Jan Atkinson
News From the Pews REDWOOD & ORLEANS Vacation Bible School will be held August 1-5 at Fellowship Hall during the early evening hours. More information will be forthcoming. Louise Faubert is the coordinator. Vacation Bible School for Orleans Council of Churches will be at Evangelical Lutheran on June 27-30, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Families and friends are invited for lunch and ending program on June 30! The Sunday School at St. Paul’s did a presentation on May 15. They did a wonderful job reporting on their stewardship activities over the year that benefitted many in the community. St. Paul’s outdoor service and potluck picnic will be held on July 31 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Dress casually, bring a lawn chair if you like, and bring a food item to share. Table service, water and lemonade will be provided. David Brandt and Beth Brassard will be representing St. Paul’s at the Synod Assembly in Rochester from June 5-7. Jessica Davis will be attending Vanderkamp July 3-9. The theme for that week is “Retro” week when they get to experience games and acitivities that existed before the world of cell phones, ipods, video games, etc. Jessica will report on her week when she returns. ELLA Fundraiser – Noreen McIntosh has made a queen size quilt to auction off at the Annual Chicken BBQ at Orleans on August 7. Don’t forget to wear RED on Pentecost Sunday, June 12, and bring a red geranium for the altar and to plant at church. Orleans Council of Churches Food Pantry Evangelical provides help in May and September, the two months that have five weekends. The food pantry has been very busy serving about 63 families monthly. We are hoping for a grant to help buy food and pay electricity. The post office food drive was very successful in LaFargeville. Donations are always appreciated and helpful. Thank you to John and Linda Marriam and Marion Vaadi for helping in May. Janice Davis, Evangelical Coordinator It is hard to believe that the end of the school year is approaching. The months of May and June are going to be very busy for the preschool. There are a number of events taking place or have already taken place. The events range from Mother’s/Grandmothers Day Brunch to the June graduation ceremony. The time is going to fly by. The students started out May by having a special Mother’s/ Grandmothers Day Brunch. Everyone had a wonderful time and the children were so happy to have their Mothers and Grandmothers at the preschool with them sharing a special moment. The best part is to see how excited the students get when they give out their gifts and cards they have worked so hard on. The children also participated in a Trike-A-Thon and a class trip to the Minna Anthony Center. The Trike-A-Thon is when the children bring in their tricycles or bicycles and ride them for a good cause. The Trike-A-Thon is a program created by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help raise money for patients battling cancer and other diseases and as well as teach bicycle safety rules to the children participating in the event. It is a great way to teach the children the importance of helping others in need. Another event in the month of May was the fundraising night at McDonalds in Calcium. McDonalds donated 15% of the total sales that night to the preschool. Thank you to all who came out “to help the kids!” On the 1st of June the preschool will be having a registration night for the 2011-2012 school year. It will be from 6:30-7:30PM. If you know a child that is three or will be three by Dec. 1st, please keep us in mind. If you would like more information please contact us on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday from 8:30am to 12:30pm. Also there will be a summer program, however what day the program will fall on has not been chosen yet. Lastly the preschool will be having its annual graduation celebration on June 17th. We at the Noah’s Ark Preschool hope that everyone enjoys the Spring. Cory Phalen
I officiated at the funeral for Dolores Katherine Gertrude Furman on January 1 at St. Paul’s. The committal service is scheduled for this summer. I visit with the shut-ins. I stay active with the Orleans Council of Churches and read for the Easter joint service at St. John’s Catholic Church in LaFargeville on April 11. The confirmation class has two youth from Redwood and two from Evangelical. We will be planning a confirmation week at my camp July 10-14 at 4 PM, so the youth will have a time of prayer, worship, study, sharing work and play. I preached at Evangelical on April 10 and May 1 so Chaplain Shannon Philio could preach for the congregation he served in Evans Mills before he leaves the area. I will be teaching a First Communion class sometime in May so we can offer First Communion on the first Sunday of June. If anyone is interested please Youth Group: Josh & Justin Peterson, Carol Ives and Elexa Hanson collected $214 for the Volleyball Marathon for Lutheran Charities and played volleyball all night March 11 with their assigned teams. I’ve tried to have youth meetings since and only had Carol Ives show up for the meeting. Hopefully this summer the youth might find more time to share. God’s peace, Norma |
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