Straits Talk

United Methodist and Presbyterian (USA)

The Church of the Straits

P.O. Box 430 * Mackinaw City, MI 49701

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Straits Talk

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDMackinaw CityMichigan 49701

Permit No. 1

October 2015Minister Pastor David WallisHead Usher Cless Hurlburt Organists Wayne Clemens

and Loretta MartinekTreasurer Janet SchaeferFinancial Secretary Jean HuntClerk Diane Robbins

Secretary Judy Churchill

Office Phone: 231 436-8682 * Pastor’s Home Phone: 231 436-5484E-mail – Pastor – norev@juno.com

Church office – office@churchofthestraits.comChurch website – www.thechurchofthestraits.com

OUR WORSHIP SCHEDULETraditional Worship 10:30 a.m.

Adult/Youth Sunday School 9:30 a.m.The Mission of The Church of the Straits

To worship God faithfullyTo grow together spiritually

To serve Jesus Christ andour neighbor joyfully

… in the power of God’s Spirit.

Prayer 5pm

Disciple II 6pm18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Cantata Practice 2pm Wms Bible Study 3pm BOG 7pm

Prayer 5pm

Disciple II 6pm25 26 27 28 29 30 31

BIRTHDAYS:

October 2 Jennifer Cole October 17 Cheryl Newman

October 2 Shannon Cooley October 21 Arlene Shanley

October 2 Sam Strittmatter October 24 Jennifer Smith

October 4 Jonathan Lyons October 24 Amber Wallis

October 6 Janet Schaefer October 24 Marianne Murray

October 10 Anne Vieau October 26 Mary Sklenar ANNIVERSARIES:October 12 Nelson LaPointe October 26 Ben Strittmatter October 1 Randy & Traci Darrow

October 13 Judy Most October 26 Sarah Rogala October 8 Roy & Meredith Cole

October 15 Stella Smith October 28 Noelle Martin October 16 Rob & Jennifer Griffin

October 15 Edie Bennett October 18 Jerry & Jane HauptOctober 15 Rosemary Downing October 29 Joe & Karin Orsini

October 16 Mindy Rogala October 21 Jerry & Marita Archer

23rd Psalm – Lesson 10

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul; He leads me in the path

of righteousness for His name sake.

Yea, though I walk through the

valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil; for You are with me;Your rod and staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;

You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the

days of my life;And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

  When we allow God our Shepherd to guide us, we have contentment.   At dusk, when the shepherd can no longer be easily seen by his sheep, he taps the rocks with his staff to assure them he is near. The sheep are comforted by the sound of his tapping staff.  In the very beginning of my cancer journey, I did feel fear and at the same time I felt ashamed that I felt that fear. Where was my faith? Where was my trust in God? I felt as if He abandoned me. I couldn’t pray. I couldn’t read my Bible. I was frozen in fear. In fear of what; a painful death? Fear of death itself? The word cancer strikes fear in about everyone. I think I was afraid of the unknown; I was traveling on a road I was not familiar with. But I made it through that pit of despair. I had 32 wonderful women, my “Prayer Warriors” praying for me when I could not pray for myself and I can look back now and see how God was there every step of the way in each woman who

rallied me on through my valley. God was with me; God IS with me.  Study the picture above. That is a bird of prey in the air (Satan). Note to self: lamb looking up. Reminds me of the story of Peter. Jesus had just fed 5,000 men (not counting all the women and children) with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. Jesus sent his disciples in a boat to the other side of the sea and he was to follow them later. Matthew 14:24 tells us that a storm was brewing and the boat was being tossed about. The story continues in verse 25: "Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, "Be of good cheer. It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.' So He said, 'Come.' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'" 

I need to keep my focus on Christ; my strength is in Him. My faith is in Him. There have been times, like Peter, I have looked inward to my own inadequacies and not upward to His saving power. Lord, forgive me for not trusting in You more. Help me to grow in my faith. Amen.

Donna Keene

**Donna is a dear friend of mine, a cancer survivor and also the church secretary at St. Paul’s UMC in Cheboygan. ~Judy Churchill

Operation Shoe Box 2015Our collection box is overflowing and I am so very thankful!! In November we

will have a ‘BIG’ packing party. Remember, the monthly item is only a suggestion – if you see something on sale that you think a child would love, that’s fine!

October is hard candy (no chocolate), And suckers month.

Call me if you have any questions. As always, donations of money are welcomed to help cover the cost of shipping for our boxes. Thank you and God bless.

~ Judy ChurchillHello Friends!Greetings from the Walugembe family. We are all doing fine and enjoying the last days of summer. Eliana is now six month old. 

Levi, Aiden and Eliana

We wanted to give you a quick update on what has been going on since our last newsletter. We have been working on paper work all this time; renewing Aiden's passport, getting Eliana a passport, as well as getting Peter's citizenship. 

Peter on his way to receive his certificate of citizenship

We are glad to let you know that we got the passports taken care of and Peter became a US citizen on August 19th. Peter being a US citizen means that our whole family is now American. This is beneficial in case there was an emergency evacuation. He also has all the benefits and responsibilities of being an American and he can vote.  We also wanted to let you know that we flew back to Uganda on September 14th. We are excited and can't wait to be back to our work and mission. Thank you for continuously giving support to our family and mission in Uganda. Your financial and prayer support mean a lot to us. We therefore encourage and humbly ask you to please continue supporting us as we continue serving.

Please would you pray for us as we transition to our mission and home back in Uganda.For those who are wondering about how you can help, we have some specifics:1. Continued monthly financial support, thank you!2. Join us to meet our monthly balance of $600 to get to our full financial support by clicking on  https://give.pioneers.org/p-75-give-to-a- missionary-or-project.aspx to give. Our account number is 1116542. Pray for protection for our family3. Pray for transition for our kids back in Uganda especially the baby, Eliana.

We would love to hear from you.For more information about our ministry, visit our website: www.northernlightsministries.org. Thank you for praying and supporting our family and the ministry in Uganda.Blessings, Peter and Kate. 

Peter, Kate, Levi, Aiden and Eliana posing for a picture after the citizenship ceremonyOlivia & Hannah Flemming

Bake Sale – Olivia is raising $6000 for the Lions of Michigan All State Band trip to Japan in June of 2016. Hannah is raising $1300 for the Western Michigan University School of Music Summer Seminar in July of 2016. Enjoy Worship and

Praise, then lunch and bake goods on Sunday, November 1st.

On Sunday, September 27th, The Church of the Straits welcomed 11 new members: Brenda Bell Laurel Birk Cathy Brey Meredith Cole Roy Cole Jonathan Lyons Deb Miller Tom (Dutch) Miller Marianne Murray Georgia Prillwitz Nancy Sawyer

Men’s Breakfast is back to 2 meetings a month starting in October – the first and third Thursday of the month. Come, bring a friend and join in for food and fellowship!

The Annual Remembrance Service will be held Sunday, November 1st during worship.

We will honor those loved ones who have passed away during the past year. A candle will be lit and a bell run as each name is read. If you have a loved one who has passed away in the last year and would like to light a candle in their memory, please call the church office by October 26th, 436-8682.**As this is the first Sunday of November, Communion will be celebrated the following week, November 8th.

We extend our sympathy to the families of those who have entered the Church Triumphant:Jack Young, who passed away August 25, 2015

“My God” by Susan Homan (Liz Limberg’s daughter)

Open my heart so I can seeMy chains are broken and I’ve been set freeYou have taken away all my sinsLet the healing begin

When I pray I know you are nearI feel your presence and have no fearGod hold me tight so that I may be strongSo I may do no wrong

Your love is so preciousIt leaves me breathlessI am thankful to have you in my lifeTo get me through all the strife

My life would be empty without youI‘ve been given a second chance to start anewI feel the love you have for meI worship thee

Without you in my life I don’t know if I would thriveYour love helps me every day to striveThank you God for all you doFor helping me stay true

Pastor Dave’s Disciple II Class will begin Sunday,

October 11th, 6 p.m. Books have been ordered and are in the church office. If you are taking the class, you can

pick your book up and start week 1 before class begins.

God’s grace: one size fits all!

Disciple IV “Under the Tree of Life” will hold an orientation session on Thursday, November 5th at 2:00 p.m. We will be studying “The Writings” portion of the Hebrew Bible. The daily assignments will be interspersed with relevant

Psalms. Pertinent parts of the Apocrypha will be examined, also. The sixteen lessons will conclude our reading of the Hebrew Scriptures. ~ Jo Ann Rinehart

Cheboygan Senior ExpoPromoting Health & WellnessThursday, October 8th, 9am-1pmKnights of Columbus Hall, 9480 N. Straits Hwy, CheboyganFree Admission & Services, over40 local, regional and communityResources for seniors, their families and caregivers.*Ask the pharmacist*Drug disposal in the Yellow-jug*Flu shots – bring insurance cards*Health education and screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, vision, body composition and more*Information on services*Lunch*Musical entertainment*Prize drawings*Snacks*Transportation – FREE rides provided by Straits Regional Ride. Call 24 hours in advance and ask for “Expo” ride – 231-597-9262. Day of event, call 231-818-5732.

By Your hand, LORD“But who am I, and

who are my people, that we

should be able to give as generously

as this?Everything comes from you, and

we have given you only what comes from your hand.”

1 Chronicles 29:14Some Christians actively avoid church on Stewardship Sunday because giving is a private matter “between me and God.” New pastors are even sometimes advised never to preach about money, lest certain people get riled up. Yet Jesus talks frequently in the Gospels about giving and sharing our material goods – and he wasn’t the fist in Scripture to do so.

A thousand years before Christ’s birth, King David prepared to hand over the kingdom to his son, gathering tons (literally!) of gold, silver and other materials for Solomon to use in building the temple. Revealing his take on stewardship, David prayed: “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”

This year, our Stewardship Campaign “By Your hand, LORD ” will begin on Sunday, October 5th. Celebration Sunday will be October 26th!

Pray for our church, its ministries, and your contribution by way of prayers, presence, gifts, “How beautifully leaves grow old,” wrote 19th-century essayist John Burroughs.

“How full of light and color are their last days.” 

Society doesn’t think highly of old age. Beauty products tout the supposed virtues of

service and witness. Give as a sacrifice of praise, for it is out of His hand we give. God will provide the increase.

I sadly read a letter the other day from missionaries serving in the Middle East that have seen severe persecution in their village. The location was not given in part to protect those who are there. In this particular case ISIS was murdering the children in the presence of the parents. These children were asked to renounce their faith and not one of them did. Praise God that in the midst of the greatest temptation to renounce, they stood firm and are now in the presence of Jesus.

I am so grateful for the freedom of religion we have today but I fear that too may be taken away in the future. I believe that we are sometimes weakened by our so called freedom. Since there is no apparent consequence for standing up or not standing up for our faith we can become weak and complacent. In many of these countries where persecution exists, the Christians base their lives on the bible and moral absolutes. They stand on solid ground and are willing to die for it.

I have talked from time to time with some of our young people and parents as well about how it is so hard being a Christian in school today. There is so much moral cloudiness in our society today that many kids have no real moral barometer to gage their behavior. If it is the television that dictates behavior then we may be in trouble. Where is our barometer? It is the Word of God and a young Christian fights an uphill battle defending the moral fabric of their faith.

Are we grounded in the truth or are we grounded in the culture. It’s a good question to ask and many can’t ascertain the difference. I have heard a gentleman in our church ask, “would there be enough evidence in court to convict us of being a Christian or not?” Interesting question, isn’t it? Paul tells the church in Corinth, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love” (1 Cor. 16:13-14). He knew it was a battle to be a person of Christian integrity. Would we be willing to stand in the face of a terrorist and say, “I refuse to renounce my faith because my God is greater than you or your gun. If I die than I live with Christ forever”.

I know I am setting up a very unlikely scenario but I think it is a healthy exercise to ask ourselves just how committed are we to the one that committed Himself to us on the cross at Calvary. Don’t take our salvation lightly. Serve the Lord with gladness and boldness. I love my Lord and I hope you do as well.In His love,

Pastor Dave

“How beautifully leaves grow old,” wrote 19th-century essayist John Burroughs. “How full of light and color are their last days.” 

Society doesn’t think highly of old age. Beauty products tout the supposed virtues of