From the Pastor’s Pen

I am writing this article on August 21. I recently

spoke to several grain farmers about the condition of

the corn crop. I learned something new. I asked if the

recent rain would have any effect on the corn and they

all said, “No.” The corn has matured and is now in

the drying state soon to be harvested.

The first church I served in Wellsville, Ohio was

surrounded by small family dairy farms. One of the

farm families who were church members harvested

their corn with a two row picker. Of course, they

were not harvesting thousands of acres. It was

probably eighty to a hundred acres.

In a few weeks the harvest will commence. Dust will

be seen flying in the fields following the combines

that are directed by satellites through the rows of corn

and beans. Trucks loaded with grain will travel to the

grain bins to be unloaded and then return to the fields

to be loaded again. Within weeks the fields will be

barren and we will be able to see the horizon again.

In the tenth chapter of Luke’s Gospel Jesus talks about

a different type of harvest. He selected 70 individuals

and sent them out two by two into every town and

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Faithnews

Newsletter of

A Community of Faith

SEPTEMBER 2015

9.1

Finance Budget Mtg. 7pm

9.14

Bible Study 7pm

9.21

Bible Study 7pm

9.25

Spaghetti Supper

9.28

Bible Study 7pm

Mark Your Calendar

place where Jesus was about to come.

And he said to them, “The harvest is

plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray

therefore the Lord of the harvest to

send out laborers into his harvest.” The

harvest Jesus was talking about were

the people who had not heard about or

received Jesus as their savior.

There are many people around the

world and in Raymond and the sur-

rounding area that have not heard the

Good News of our savior, Jesus. Our

mission as Jesus’ disciples is to go out

where the people are and invite them to

become part of the body of Christ

which we know as the Church. Once

the harvest is complete those who come

to know the Lord will see a new hori-

zon, a life full of hope and promise.

Blessings from Your Pastor,

Larry

Monday Night Bible Study The Monday Night Bible study will re-sume on September 14 beginning at 7:00 p.m. We will meet in the confer-ence room. We will be studying the Old Testament book Song of Solomon. We will be using RightNow Media and Tommy Nelson will be leading us through this study. Spaghetti Supper will be on Friday, September 25th. Volunteers are needed to make this a successful event. Sign-up sheets are on the back table for workers, pies, and cakes. Serving will be from 4:30 - 7:00pm.

A Community of Faith Church is resuming its weekly af-ter-school program for elementary age students in grades 2-5. The program entitled A Community of Faith’s Kids for the Kingdom Club will resume on Thursday, Septem-ber 3 and will run from 3:15p.m. – 5:30 p.m. each Thurs-day when school is in session. The program will include video Bible stories, Christian music, Bible verse memory time, crafts, and snacks. Time will be provided for homework assistance. Children will be escorted by adults from the Raymond Elementary School to the A Community of Faith Church which is 2 blocks from the school. Students can also be dropped off by their parent(s). Children will need to be picked up at the church by 5:30 p.m. Cover letters describing the program and registration forms are on the table in the church lobby. During the last school year we had a handful of faithful volunteers working with the young people. We are seek-ing more volunteers to help. With a sufficient number of volunteers we will not have to schedule everyone to help every Thursday. Contact Pastor Larry if you would like to volunteer. Please contact the church if you have any questions. A Community of Faith P.O. Box 537 Raymond, IL 62560 Telephone 217-229-4535

Reaching New People Workshop (SECOND CALL!!) Too often churches take a "wait for people to come" approach or they think 'invitation' means standing on street corners or initiating painfully difficult conversations. Not so! This workshop, offered by the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church Office of Congregational Development, will teach principles which are effective in churches of all sizes that are making new disciples of Jesus Christ. The key to reaching new people is to move beyond the walls of the building and develop relationships with people in the community. This workshop will equip the church to reach out in non-threatening ways. If more people of the church intentionally engage in this invitational model the church will be more effective in reaching new people. This one-day workshop invites a team (a pastor and at least 3 lay people) to take next steps in reaching new people. The larger the number of people who attend, the greater the likelihood the principles will have a positive impact on a church's ability to reach new people. Bring a large team!! The workshop will be held on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015 at Troy United Methodist Church.

I will be attending this conference and I encourage as many members and friends of A Community of Faith to join me. If you are interested in church growth this workshop can help us.

Let me know if you want to be a part of this important workshop. If you are not interested please pray for others to attend. Pastor Larry

Preaching Passages & Topics

Listed below are the passages and topics I will be preaching on during September. You can

read the passages and come prepared for worship.

Pastor Larry

Date The Passages The Message

September 6 Psalm 125:1-5 Practical Aspects of the Christian

James 2:1-17 Faith: Impartiality and Works

September 13 Proverbs1:20-33 Practical Aspects of the Christian

James 3:1-12 Faith: Taming the Tongue

September 20 Psalm 1:1-6 Practical Aspects of the Christian

James 3:13-4:10 Faith: Wisdom and Worldly Friendship

September 27 Psalm 124:1-8 A Prayer of Faith

James 5:13-20

Communion for September Flowers for September

Joan Graham Jane Ethan

Communion for October Flowers for October

Cathy Rockwell Joan Graham

Joyce Massa

Thank you notes received… From the Panhandle Food Pantry for the money donated at the Independence Day Celebration ice cream stand. From the University Extension office for the use of the Living Center for the Kids in the Kitchen program held during a week in the summer. Twenty eight youth participated. From the Shriners Hospitals for Children, St. Louis for an annual donation.

July Church Offerings & Attendance

07/05 $1,663.00 58

07/12 1,519.81 64

07/19 1,084.00 56

07/26 Church service at Baptist Church

Total $4,338.81

July Sunday School Offering & Attendance

07/05 $10.35 15

07/12 12.23 17

07/19 14.00 16

07/26 12.63 13

Total $49.21

In Our Prayers:, Mary Lee Reineke, Betty

Goby, Wanda Land, Pat Moslener (sister-in-

law of Larry & Pat’s), Bill & Donna Fosten

(friends of Larry & Pat Moslener), Millie

Comley, Norma Graham, Ginny Pearson

(friend of Larry and Pat Moslener), Rev. Ken

Bryant (pastor of the Greenville Presbyterian

Church), Paula Williams (friend of Larry &

Pat Moslener), Brian Satterlee (Pat Johnson’s

nephew), Jean Wood, Janet Held, Craig

Dickey, Victoria Glover Cline, Virginia

Elmore, Jim Germann, Nancy Scroggins, Sue

Rossi, Melva Smith, Pat Johnson, Anna

Watkins Glenn Painter’s sister), Ken

Caraway, Robert Gottshall (Barbara

Cannedy’s brother), Greta Bredehoft (Becky

Cloney’s daughter’s sister-in-law), Pat

Johnson.

September Birthdays

09/01 Norma Hampton

09/05 Fred Rossi

09/07 Adam Rockwell

09/09 Bruce Poggenpohl

09/12 Jason McCallum

09/15 Floyd Johnson

09/16 Gerald Wedekind

Debbie Mulch

09/19 Joyce Massa

Melva Smith

09/20 Cathy Rockwell

09/25 John Arter

09/28 Marcia Rossi

09/30 Lester Walch

September Anniversaries

09/09 Darrell & Barb Cannedy

Gerald & Norma Wedekind

09/29 Danny & Debbie McCallum

Pastor Larry on Vacation Pastor Larry will be on vacation from September 28 - October 1. If there is an emergency and pastoral care is needed please contact Debbie McCallum.