Fellowship of Believers

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore!" Our Spaghetti Lunch is this Sunday and I'm so excited about those meatballs! If you want to help make them, there's a group gathering at the church at 5 pm Saturday, and the word in the pew is that they do more fun than work at those gatherings. Bring a dessert Sunday and enjoy a little pasta!

This Wednesday begins the "Better Living for Texans" classes at the Neta Lea Building. The same class will be offered at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., so choose one or the other to attend. Several of us will be at each to offer support to the participants. I think these are going to be really wonderful classes, and we're so grateful to Dawn Watson for working with us to offer them. I hope you've seen the articles in The Hereford Brand about them, and the good mention that was given to our church.

Book Group Assignment! Read through page 132 for next week's discussion (3/31). The book is Same Kind of Different as Me and there are still copies available and still time to join the discussion! We meet Tuesdays at 7 pm.

This week in Forum and Worship we conclude our study of the lesser known Epistles with a look at Jude. This is a really unusual letter, but one that has a message for us to hear. I encourage you to read the letter (it'll take you just a few minutes), and be ready to discuss it in Forum this Sunday at 9:30.


With the conclusion of this series we'll find ourselves in the middle of Holy Week. Palm Sunday worship will be Sunday, April 5, and Easter will be Sunday, April 12. We have two traditions on Easter Sunday that you need to know about. We have an Easter Egg Hunt for the children during Forum at 9:30; and all of us bring fresh flowers to decorate a cross in the foyer (or on the lawn, weather permitting). If you want to contribute candy for the Easter Eggs, please see Lajean.


I hope you have a great week. As we work our way toward Sunday, may the Jude Benediction strengthen you:

Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling,
And to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing,
To the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Be glory, majesty, power and authority
Before all time, now, and forever. Amen.

Tracy

Hope you're anchored down on this windy day!



Book group took the week off for Spring Break, but will begin discussing its newest book next Tuesday at 7 pm. Copies of Same Kind of Different as Me are available at the church for $9. Please read the first 64 pages (through chapter 13) for next Tuesday.




Wednesday begins the "Better Living for Texans" classes that we are co-sponsoring with Texas AgriLife. Here's an excerpt of the letter we sent to all the area pastors:

We've all known the frustration of seeing the same people come to our church again and again seeking assistance with groceries or utilities. Too often these people seem ill-equipped to improve their circumstances. We know that, unless something changes in their lives, they will be back asking for more help in the near future.

I wanted to inform you about an upcoming opportunity that addresses this very issue. Our congregation has partnered with Dawn Watson of the Deaf Smith County AGRILIFE Extension Agency to offer three classes addressing practical living issues. "Better Living for Texans" is designed to give lower income persons the skills to better live within their means.

The classes will meet 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on three consecutive Wednesdays, beginning March 25th. The same class is offered in the morning and in the evening. I encourage you to attend to support these folks as they try to do better with their limited means. Who knows, you might just pick up a few tips yourself!

This week in Forum and worship we will discuss the letter 2 Peter. Some authors consider 2 Peter a farewell address, even calling it a "valedictory" speech. Consider these words from 2 Peter 3:8-15, the text for this Sunday's sermon:

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you.

I'll see you Sunday,
Tracy

If you're out and about this morning, come join me at McDonald's! The internet at home is down, so I'm parked in a booth this morning using the free internet and drinking all the free refills I can.

Clint continues to be at BSA and is receiving daily radiation treatments. He is hopeful that he'll get to come home soon, but the treatments will continue for several days.

Bobbye has moved to Plum Creek Rehab Hospital and is doing well. She, too, is eager to come home. She'd love a visit or a phone call - it's awfully lonely up there.

I continue to be overjoyed to hear about the Team Meetings that are happening. The Administrator's Team met on Monday evening and have begun some really great work. Thanks to Connie Banks and Jackie Francis for leading that team.

Our study of the lesser known epistles continues to go well. This Sunday we will learn about 1 Peter.

Copies of Same Kind of Different as Me are in and will be at the church this Sunday. We'll begin discussing this book on Tuesday, March 24th.

The Alzheimer's Support Group will meet next Thursday, March 19th, at 10 a.m. If you've never attended a meeting, I encourage you to do so. This is one of the quieter, but more powerful ministries of our church. Lajean and Trudy do a wonderful job nurturing this experience.

I hope you're catching up on your lost hour. It's hard to believe it's already the middle of March! Continue to pray for rain.

I'll see you Sunday,
Tracy

I'm excited to announce that our Congregational Care Team had it's first meeting Monday night. They made great plans for organizing the care of our congregation this year, and I'm eager to hear about the work they have planned. They issued me my own "marching orders" with a request to update the blog more frequently. Starting this week I'll update it at least weekly, likely on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The book group had a great discussion about Jeanie Miley's book Sitting Strong last night. There are still two copies of the book available. Though our group discussion is almost over, I continue to highly recommend this book to you. It has been an enormously helpful book for our group, stirring up some really interesting discussions. Feel free to borrow a copy for your own reading.

Speaking of the Book Group, we made our selection for last night for what we will read next. Same Kind of Different As Me is a true story about the encounter between a homeless man and a successful art dealer, and how the two men change each other's lives. Copies of the book will be available for $9 in a week or so, and we will begin our discussion on Tuesday the 24th of March (we'll take Spring Break off.)

Have you heard about the Better Living for Texans classes that we are co-sponsoring with the Cooperative Extension? On three consecutive Wednesdays, beginnin March 25th, in the mornings and evenings, Dawn Watson will teach practical skills for lower-income folks. The classes will be about Budgeting, Stretching the Food Dollar, and Cutting Utility Costs at Home. The classes will meet at the Neta Lea Building at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. We've distributed flyers to all the area churches and to the clients at the Food Pantry encouraging them to attend. You're welcome to attend, too! Ask Merle or Lajean for more information.

Our discussion of the lesser known epistles continues to go well in Forum. Note! This week we're actually going to finish 1 John, AND discuss 2 and 3 John as well! That's somewhat different from what was previously announced, so please adjust your reading accordingly.

Last, but not least, don't forget to adjust those clocks this Saturday night. We lose an hour of sleep, so be sure to go to bed early! I'll see you BRIGHT and EARLY Sunday Morning!
Tracy