Emmanuel Community Church

Dear Friends,

Yitzhak Perlman, one of the greatest violinist of all time, had polio as a child; but overcame that hurdle in his life with grace and courage.  A few years ago, he gave a concert in New York City.  But something went wrong as he played the first few bars.  One of the strings on his violin broke!

Everyone in the room realized what had happened, and they all wondered, “What on earth is he going to do?”  Most, in the audience, probably thought he would demand a new string or another violin.  But he didn’t.  Instead, Perlman  sat there for a moment and then amazingly, he signaled the conductor to begin  again.

Yitzhak Perlman re-composed the music in his head and played the entire piece with passion and purity on just three strings?

Now, we might think that’s impossible, but Perlman refused to think that.  You could see him modulating and changing the piece to play it perfectly on the three strings he had left.  When he finished, there was an awesome silence.

Then people rose and cheered wildly.  They wanted to show how much they appreciated what he had just done. Yitzhak Perlman smiled and then, in a quiet tone said, “Sometimes it is our task to find out how much music we can still make with what we have left.”

That’s great advise.   Especially for those of us with a bit less energy than we once possessed, or scarcer resources, or faltering health.  That’s also good advise for the church — for our church.  Even as we face a smaller membership and the loss of some of our more faithful members, there is still a great task before us al, the challenge that is before us — to be God’s children, in this place and to bear witness to God’s great love, as demonstrated by Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For those away for the summer, may it be a restful and renewing time.  For those of us who brave the heat of the Florida summer, let us do all we can , “with what we have left.”

LET’S CELEBRATE!!!

JUNE BIRTHDAYS
2    Eleanor Andrews
4    Joe Knowles, Pat Foor
8    Christopher Thornton
10    Betsy Starkman
11    Jim Frick
13    Helen Taylor
18    Chuck DeMola, Marjorie Bean
22    Lenora Puthoff
28    Mia Dyman
29    Steve Croft
30    Mae Weaver

JUNE  ANNIVERSARIES
10  Glenn & Carolyn Muncy
14    Hugh & Pat Palmer

PRAYER CHAIN

The following is an updated list of the Prayer
Chain members at this time, with phone numbers:
Robbie McIntosh           734-1237
Vickie Churchill             488-4812
Barb and Bill Reeder       738-0084
Betty Russell             791-3390
Glenna Teets                781-0595
Vicky Cyphers             734-3999
Jean Carrier             736-0491
Irene Norcross            785-2674
Jane Coatney             942-1847
Barbara Powers              736-9484

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

For May
For Coffee Hour:
Jo & Don Truchan; Larry & Gene Longenecker, Bob Wilson, Clay Maxwell & Paul Norcross; Irene Norcross & Betsy Starkman; Helen Taylor & Dottie Willis.

For Greeters:
Rose Marie Shea and Barbara Norcross; Helen Taylor and Barbara Powers; Evelyn Ahn and Virginia Parrish; Jane Coatney and Betty Russell; and Chuck and Linda DeMola.

For Worship Leader:
Clay Maxwell, Mary Smith, Bob Wilson & Chuck DeMola.

For Flowers:
Jon & Sheila Cann-Poling, Jane Coatney, Gloria Holland, Vicky Cyphers, Don & JoEllen Truchan, Bob & Nola Wilson

STUFF WE CAN USE

Toilet Tissue
Paper Towels – Rolls
Copy Paper–any quantity, any color
Bleach
Hand Soap
Hand Sanitizer
A/C Filters – 24×24 & 20×20
9 oz. Cold Drink Cups

If you can help with any of these items, please bring them to church with you on Sunday morning and place them in the foyer.  Any donation, large or small will help the church to stay within the budget.

YOUR SPARE “CHANGE”
… Can Change the Way We See Things!

The blue piggy banks (courtesy of the Christian Community Credit Union) are for you to use as we raise the funds necessary to have a video system installed in the sanctuary.  The system will allow us to view the promotional materials sent to us from ABC-USA, missionary communications, movies and slide shows, view photos and a host of other uses.

“GOT” or “NEED”?

What is a “got” ad?  It is an item that you no longer have any need of that you ware willing to freely give to a fellow church member.  And what about a “need” ad?  Well, it is an item or service that you need that one of us here at Emmanuel might be able to help you with.  So, if you have an ad, either “got” or “need” — pass it along to the pastor.  It will be included in future bulletins and newsletters as space permits.

WE NEED

We need a couple of tall bookcases.  Plans are to begin collecting books and DVDs for a Book & Movie Swap table, but we need someplace to store the donations.  There is plenty of space in the sanctuary in the corridor by the restrooms but we need some bookcases to store the donated books and DVDs in an orderly fashion.  Call the church if you have an ideas on this topic.

MISSION/OUTREACH NEWS

(From a recent e-mail sent to the church from the Board of International Ministries.)

American Baptist International Ministries (IM) missionaries and their Missionary Partnership Teams (MPTs) are working to achieve targeted missionary support goals by September 30, 2009. This activity has been accelerated by the current economic recession and the resulting sharp decline in general giving for missionary support.

What is “targeted” missionary support? “Targeted” gifts are contributions that support a particular missionary. A targeted missionary support goal consists of three items in that missionary’s budget — living allowance, retirement and medical benefits. While the targeted support goal differs for each missionary, the average is 68% of their total support needs. Missionaries and their MPTs are seeking individuals who will help them stay on the field by contributing to their support. Such donors become part of that missionary’s Partnership Network.

Emmanuel Community Church will be joining the Network for Wayne and Catherine Niles, missionaries in the Congo.  You may remember the Niles were with us in Decem ber and shares with us the work they were doing.  The Mission/Outreach Team will be developing some ideas for ways that we can actively be engaged with the Mile’s ministry.

A NOTE RECEIVED

Dear Friends;
Spring is always beautiful here with the lilacs and spring flowers in bloom.  The birds are back and the weather is improving every day.

Many thanks for the cards and notes for my 80th birthday.  They are all in the Memory Book my daughter Barbara made for me.  It was a wonderful celebration with my family.

I look forward to seeing you all in the fall.
Margaret Herndon

MISSION OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BAHAMAS

All right, I know these are tough “assignments,” but someone has to do it, right?  The truth is that CBF Florida has rekindled its relationship with Baptist congregations in the little Abacos chain of the Bahamas.  We just had John Fairless, pastor of First Baptist Gainesville, return from a week’s teaching at the Bible Institute where he taught Systematic Theology.

In addition, we have two churches — North Stuart Baptist Church and the Church of the Beatitudes (St. Petersburg) — that have committed to send mission teams to help lead Vacation Bible Schools this June and July.  The teams will be working with John McIntosh and the people of Mt. Hope Baptist Church (pictured above).  Personally, I am encouraged and excited for both of these churches.  They will have a great experience.

This brings me to the point of this brief column.  The Church of the Beatitudes, pastored by Phil Miller-Evans, has four slots open for anyone else who would like to join them for this week of mission work in the Bahamas.  They are scheduled to be in the Bahamas during the week of July 26th.  If you would be interested in joining the team, feel free to contact me (rjohnson01@floridacbf.org), or Rev. Miller-Evans at rev.phil@churchofbeatitudes.org.

Blessings,
Ray Johnson,  CBF Coordinator