October Newsletter

House-to-House 
Family of Hope House Church                          October 2012

Paying Heed to Plural Pronouns
An important point to keep in mind when reading Bible is that it is mostly addressed to whole communities of people, and not intended primarily as a book to be used just for one’s personal meditation, as helpful and important as that is.

     One of the ways the Authorized (King James) version of the Bible is helpful here is that it distinguishes between what is addressed to a personal “you” from what is a plural “you” (as in the Southern “You all”).  According to the English language of the time, when “you” refers to an individual, the pronouns “thee,” “thou” and “thine” are used. When the “you” is plural we find the words “ye,” “you” and “yours”. Unfortunately, our modern English no longer makes those distinctions.

     As an example from the KJV, when Jesus offers his teaching on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, we can see that his so-called “Lord’s Prayer” is meant to be a communal prayer, introduced with “When ye pray...” Note the plural pronouns "we," “our” and “us” used here rather than our praying “My Father who art in heaven,” and “give me my daily bread.” Rather, we are praying to our one God (note the use of the singular “Thy” and “Thine”) that all of the hungry everywhere be fed. Even the prayer for forgiveness of our debts (or trespasses), while certainly including each us as individuals, is for all of God’s people to be forgiven--as we in turn forgive others.

It was something of a light bulb moment for me when I began reading the Bible through this lens. It is certainly personal, of course, but is not just for our private interpretation or edification.

In short, the Good Book is about one God, singular, for all of the people of God, plural.                                                                                - Harvey Yoder

Notes, prayers and praises
THE 46TH ANNUAL VIRGINIA MENNONITE RELIEF SALE will    
   be held at the Rockingham Fairgrounds October 5-6.
PRAY FOR KARLA MAY as she recovers from her knee surgery.
OCTOBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Elly Nelson 10/28!
SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARY BLESSINGS to Billy and Karla May 9/3!
LOIS WENGER is spending time with a sister recovering from surgery during the month of October.
RANDY MAY will be taking classes at the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, Randy May, P.O. Box 1500 Fishersville VA 22939. He will appreciate our prayers and letters.
HARVEY & ALMA JEAN YODER will be in Rochester Oct. 23-28.
GET FOH UPDATES at http:/familyofhopehousechurch.blogpost.com.

October lectionary readings

7   Job 1:1; 2:1-10  Psalm 25 Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12  Mark 10:2-16
14 Job 23:1-9, 16-17  Psalm 22:1-15 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31
21 Job 38:1-7, 34-41 Ps 104:1-9, 24, 35c Heb 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45
28 Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Ps 34:1-8, 19-22 Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 10:46-52

October services  worship at 4 pm, meal at 6

7 Location: Harvey & Alma Jean Yoder 1135 Hamlet Drive      432-0531
Worship and Sharing: Everyone
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                   Carry-in Meal

14 Location: Rachel Stoltzfus 1359 TwoPenny Drive                 908-0391
Worship and Sharing: Guy & Margie Vlasits
Bible Study: Roy Hange                                                     Carry-in Meal     
                                         
21 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr 22802       564-1524
Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                 Carry-in Meal

28 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802   574-6141
Worship and Sharing: James Stauffer
Bible Study: Paul Swarr                           Carry-in Meal