January 2012 newsletter

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


Making Resolutions Work    - Harvey Yoder

One of the key factors in experiencing personal growth and change is to “begin with the end in mind,” to first be able to picture the outcome we want, i.e., the new and improved self that, with God’s help, we see ourselves becoming.   

One way to start is with a written description of that self, one done in the present tense, as though it were already true. As in, “By faith I am someone who.... I am able to...” etc. This is not to envision being some super man or woman, but simply a healthy, whole person, the kind of person we would want our own son or daughter to be. This is a bit like when we are putting a jigsaw puzzle together, with this kind description being like the picture on the puzzle box we keep in front of us as we work at fitting all the pieces together.

The second part of achieving change has to do with repeated practice, where we keep engaging in the kinds of  behaviors that are congruent with that picture, that description of our improved self.     

Practice can be of two kinds, one involving a lot of mental rehearsals in which we engage our minds in new responses to challenging situations in our lives. In doing so, we help retrain our brains to successfully live out the new behaviors we want to have become new habits and new patterns in our lives.

The other kind of practice, of course, is to actually engage in these behaviors in the real life situations we confront every day.

So first of all, we need to picture a new and more healthy, whole self, then engage in the hard work it takes to practice that self’s Christ-like behaviors over and over again until they become more natural to us. 

Notes, prayers and praises

 * OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS OFFERING for Heifer International totaled $541.29, more than enough to buy a heifer (or two water buffaloes), plus a rabbit and a small flock of chickens for a needy family abroad. 

 * BERTHA SWARR has returned home after a stay at Oak Lea.  BILLY MAY is scheduled for hip surgery January 23. MICHAEL RIVIERA-WENGER remains at home in a stable but weakened condition.

 * JANUARY BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to James Stauffer 1/8, Susan Campbell 1/17,  Becky Morlan 1/28, Dick Dumas 1/30!
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January lectionary readings

1  Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 Psalm 8 Revelation 21:1-6a Matthew 25:31-46
8  Genesis 1:1-5 Psalm 29  Acts 19:1-7 Mark 1:4-11
15 1 Samuel 3:1-20 Psalm 139:1-18 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 John 1:43-51
22 Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 62:5-12 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20
29 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalm 111 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 Mark 1:21-28

January services    worship at 4 pm, meal at 6               

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

8 Location:   Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Drive, K’town   908-0391
Worship and Sharing: Guy and Margie Vlasits
Annual FOH “business meeting” c/o Harvey Yoder                  Carry-in Meal     

15 Location: Family Life Resource Center 273 Newman Avenue    432-0531
Worship and Sharing
Bible Study, church goal-setting: Skip and Carol Tobin      Finger foods meal

22 Location: Rachel Stoltzfus 1359 Two Penny Drive                     433-3983
Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                          Carry-in Meal

29 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr 22802             564-1524
Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                          Carry-in Meal

December 2011 newsletter

House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church                                   December 2011
A Subversive Christmas?      - Harvey Yoder

Ever notice how much attention is given to first century political leaders in  the first Christmas story?

In Luke’s gospel the story begins with the familiar words, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that all the world should be taxed,” followed by his noting that “this census was first taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.”

Then in the gospel of Matthew King Herod, puppet governor of Roman-occupied Judea, becomes a prominent player in the story as well.

These kings and emperors were ruthless despots under whose rule any rebellion was met with brutal force. Like other tyrants of their time they freely ordered people crucified, tortured, beheaded or otherwise eliminated as ways of intimidating their subjects into submission.

Emperor Caesar Augustus, undisputed sovereign over most of the so-called civilized world in the first century, claimed to be a divine son of God, and a god himself, with titles like "god from god," "Lord," "Liberator," and "Savior of the world."

Thus the early gospel writers were taking their lives into their own hands by claiming the divine birth of a king born of a peasant girl in an occupied country, and by announcing the coming of another kingdom ruled by another Sovereign, Yahweh, whose son was Jesus--sovereign Lord, long awaited Messiah and Prince of Peace.

This would certainly have sounded like a form of seditious heresy to the powers of that time, and could have resulted in the Roman military dealing harshly with it, just as Herod did in ordering all the male children in the Bethlehem area to be killed to eliminate any future rival.

All of which makes Christmas more than just about festivity and merry making, but a bold announcement about who--and in the end, what power--is really sovereign, a declaration that still divides the world in two.  

Notes, prayers and praises

 * PRAY FOR MICHAEL RIVERIERA-WENGER, who has been receiving hospice care at his home at 204 Homes  Lane, Staunton, VA 24401.

 * CONGRATULATIONS TO JOSIAH DUMAS who scored in the 94th percentile range in the GED test he recently passed with flying colors.  

 * GUY VLASITS unexpectedly spent most of his 65th birthday (11/21) and the next day undergoing tests at RMH. Thankfully, he was pronounced well and was able to attend a belated birthday party the next evening.

 * BERTHA SWARR has been recovering well at Oak Lea Nursing Home and looks forward to being home soon.

 * DECEMBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Karen Campbell 12/26!

 * INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to our 12/11 Christmas gathering (below)!

December lectionary readings

4   Isaiah 40:1–11  Psalm 85:1–2, 8–13  2 Peter 3:8–15a   Mark 1:1–8
11 Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11  Psalm 126  1 Thessalonians 5:16–24 John 1:6–8, 19–28
18 2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16  Luke 1:47–55  Romans 16:25–27  Luke 1:26–38
25 Isaiah 52:7–10  Psalm 98  Hebrews 1:1–4, 5–12  John 1:1–14

December services    worship at 4 pm, meal at 6 (except 12/11)              

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

            
Carry-in Meal

11 Annual Christmas Celebration with other house churches at 12:30 pm
Location:  Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Drive, K’town       908-0391
Meditation: Bill Stultz
Plus carol singing, a children’s story, food offerings for the Food Pantry, and a money offering for Heifer International
12:30 pm Carry-in Meal
     
18 Location: Rachel Stoltzfus 1359 Two Penny Drive                    433-3983
Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                      
Carry-in Meal     

25 To be announced

November 2011 newsletter

House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church                                            November 2011 

Selling a Fake Gospel         - Harvey Yoder

One of our problems in America is that we have an enormous capacity for producing goods, but a limited number of people to buy them. So we’ve developed a huge advertising industry aimed at persuading people to buy more and more of what they don’t need and can’t afford.

Christopher Decker, in an article in the Wall Street Journal called “Selling Desire, Why Chastity is Bad for Business," notes that there was a time when advertising emphasized thrift, durability, and economy. Choices were usually made around how good a product was and how long it would last.  But a consumer society has to reverse these values, he notes, because if advertising is to succeed, and business thrive, people have to be convinced that desires alone are sufficient reasons to buy something and that all of our passions are to be indulged now, rather than denied or postponed. So the very notion of chastity has to go, he says, because that represents a mindset that is opposite from a throw away, consumer culture that urges us to get our our Visa cards to buy and use stuff with abandonment, and then simply discard it for whatever you like even better.

According to Dr. Sut Jhally of the University of Massachusetts, the right question to ask about how a given commercial affects us is not how much it influences whether we buy that particular product, but how advertising as a whole affects our buying into a whole different set of values that are counter to the ones we profess to believe. Modern advertising promotes a magical way of thinking, he says, making fantastic promises about what certain products will do for us, like offer us incredible happiness, gain the gloating admiration of all kinds of desirable people, and transform us into an instant, spectacular success. Consumerism promises all, and as such becomes a kind of religion that replaces the faith we actually claim to live by.
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We need to teach ourselves and our children to talk back to the blatantly false messages we’re all hearing on television and other media every day. Or better yet, just unplug ourselves from the barrage of untruths we're being bombarded with and read or tell them some good messages of our own.  

Notes, prayers and praises

 * OUR PENNY POWER OFFERING totaled $229.29. This year’s Relief Sale sale brought in $301,477 for the worldwide relief and service program of Mennonite Central Committee, up from last year's total of $284,914. Over $7.3 million is raised each year from such sales.

 * PRAY FOR BERTHA SWARR, .who was admitted to RMH October12 with cellulitus, then transferred to Oak Lea (Room 135) October 18. Husband Paul had cataract surgeries October 12 and 26.

 * NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Neal Nelson 11/2, Rachel Stoltzfus 11/5, Paul Swarr 11/10, Emily Zhou 11/11, Michael Riviera-Wenger 11/17 and Guy Vlasits 11/21! And Elly Nelson’s birthday was 10/28.

 * ALMA JEAN AND HARVEY YODER attended the funeral service of brother-in-law Vernon Zehr in Greewood, Delaware, October 20.

November lectionary readings
6 Psalm 78:1-7 Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 1 Thess 4:13-18 Matthew  25:1-13
13 Psalm 123 Judges 4:1-7 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Matthew  25:14-30
20 Psalm 100 Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 Ephesians 1:15-23 Matt 25:31-46
27 Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Isaiah 64:1-9  1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:24-37

November services    worship at 4 pm, meal at 6 (except 11/6)              
6 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802         574-6141
We invite everyone to take in the Virginia Missions sponsored men’s  music service at EMHS at four, then meet for prayer and sharing afterwards.                                                      
Carry-in Meal

13 Location:   Rachel Stoltzfus 1359 TwoPenny Drive                   433-3983
Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: James Stauffer                                                     
Carry-in Meal     

20 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Drive, K’town   908-0391
Worship and Sharing: Guy and Margie Vlasits
Bible Study: Roy Hange                                                       
Carry-in Meal     

27 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr 22802           564-1524
Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                 
Carry-in Meal

Slide Show of FOH reunion!

Elly Nelson, a local friend of Family of Hope, has produced a beautiful slide show of our recent reunion, using pictures provided by Margie Vlasits. We thank them both!

October 2011 newsletter

House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church                                     October 2011

Notes, prayers and praises

 * VIRGINIA MENNONITE RELIEF SALE is set for September 30-October 1 at the Rockingham Fair grounds.

 * PRAY FOR MICHAEL RIVIERA-WENGER, whose health condition has worsened, and for Lois as she seeks help for the care he needs.

 * OCTOBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Joyce Ulrich 10/14!

 * THE MT. CLINTON CHURCH OF GOD invites us to join them for their homecoming Sunday, October 9, with a worship service at 11, a covered dish meal at noon, and the Doyle Moats family singers at 2.

October lectionary readings

2   Ex 20:1–4, 7–9, 12–20 Psalm 19 Phil 3:4b-14 Matt 21:33–46
9   Ex 32:1–14 Psalm 106:1–6, 19–23 Phil. 4:1–9 Matt. 22:1–14
16 Ex. 33:12–23 Psm 99 1 Thess 1:1–10 Matt 22:15–22 Luke 16:19-31
23 Deut 34:1–12 Psalm 90:1–6, 13–17 1 Thess 2:1–8 Matt 22:34–46
30 Josh 3:7–17 Psalm 107:1–7, 33–37 1 Thess 2:9–13 Matt 23:1–12

October services    worship at 4 pm, meal at 6         
     
2 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802         574-6141
Worship and Sharing: James Stauffer
Bible Study: Paul Swarr                                                            Carry-in Meal

9 Location:   Rachel Stoltzfus 1359 TwoPenny Drive                     433-3983
Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                       Carry-in Meal     

16 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Drive, K’town   908-0391
Worship and Sharing: Guy and Margie Vlasits
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                         Carry-in Meal     

23 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr 22802           564-1524
Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell
Bible Study: Ellie Nelson                                  Carry-in Meal

30 Location: Family Life Resource Center 273 Newman Ave.        432-0531
Worship and Sharing: Karla May
Bible Study: James Stauffer                               Carry-in Finger Foods Meal           

Family of Hope Directory

Atwell, Cathy
Blackburn, Gail
Campbell, Susan  
Campbell, Karen
Dumas, Dick
Levesque, Trish 
May, Karla
Morlan, Becky
Nelson, Neil & Elly
Riviera-Wenger, Michael & Lois
Stauffer, James & Ruth
Stoltzfus, Rachel
Swarr, Paul & Bertha
Ulrich, Joyce
Vlasits, Guy & Margie
Yoder, Alma Jean & Harvey

A Word from the Pastor

Like many of you, I'm concerned about the nature and focus of an event planned for the Court Square Theater at 3 pm on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 as described below. Having heard Del Rosso's presentation at Dean Welty's home a number of months ago, I debated whether to accept my friend Dean's strong invitation to have folks like me attend the event this Sunday, and expressed my wish that he had chosen a more moderate and less incendiary speaker for the occasion. But it's their program.

After some reflection, I've decided to attend to simply be a part of a respectful, alternative presence, and to use much of the time to silently pray for a spirit of "peace and goodwill toward all" to fill the room. So I invite you to join me and others in this kind of quiet demonstration of shalom/salem. There is to be an open mic time for comments and questions in which those of us who wish can respectfully express our convictions and concerns.

I'm also suggesting we all wear something black as a sign of mourning for the terrible devastation and loss of life that happened ten years ago, as well as our mourning the hatred, animosity and violence that has followed on the part of so many on all sides. All of this is entirely up to you, of course, as I am not speaking officially as a member of any group in urging this "pray-in." I do however feel the support of many in my church, in the local FOR chapter of which I am a part, and from many other good friends and colleagues like you.

My personal appeal, for whatever its worth, is to leave all placards, literature or any other demonstrations of protest (or heated arguments) outside the door--or for another venue.

For some background reading, here's a link to my op-ed on the editorial page of the DNR Monday. I also strongly recommend your reading Jewish writer Eliyahu Stern's 9/2/11 piece on sharia law in the New York Times entitled, "Don't Fear Islam's Law in America."

And please don't miss the "Turning Toward Peace" event at Harrisonburg's Court Square this Saturday evening at 7 pm, and check out the events set for EMU at http://www.emu.edu/l/september11/

Harvey Yoder

http://harvyoder.blogspot.com

Invitation  ---  In Remembrance of 9-11  ---  Free Admission

“Target America:  Why Did It Happen & Can It Happen Again?”

3:00 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 11, at Court Square Theater

“Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant.  … The Quran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth.”

Omar Ahmad, Founder and former Chair of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations)

 *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *

Please join us for a special 10th anniversary commemoration of the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. The event is free and open to the public.      

The Program:  “Shariah – The Threat to America”

We will remember the victims and their families, and we will also honor representatives of the heroic first responders.  Most importantly, however, we will look at lessons learned since that time.  Specifically, is there something in Islam that has declared war on America and on our freedoms?  If so, what is it, who is leading this “jihad” – including efforts to impose Shariah law on America and into our courts, and what can we do to protect ourselves?  In that regard, what is our government doing – or not doing -- to block these efforts?

Finally, how can we help authentic Muslim moderates and reformers face the difficult task of standing up to and opposing Shariah-adherent Muslims who exert overwhelming pressure, financial resources, threats, and violence to gain and maintain support for their jihadist campaign for global domination – including in America?  

Keynote Speaker:  Michael Del Rosso

Mr. Del Rosso is a Research Fellow in National Security Policy at the Claremont Institute as well as a Senior Fellow for Homeland and National Security at the Center for Security Policy in Washington, DC.  He is also co-author of a recent book entitled Shariah: The Threat to America.  Other contributors include former CIA Director James Woolsey and Frank Gaffney, founder and president of CSP.  Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the theater.

The event is co-sponsored by the Valley Family Forum, the Shenandoah Valley TEA Party Patriots, and ACT for America.

 *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *

P. S. The entire report, Sharia: The Threat to America, can be read as a PDF file on line. Also, ironically, I find the Omar Ahmad quote above to be strikingly similar to statements expressed by members of the Dominion Theology movement endorsed by many on the conservative right today (including some presidential candidates). Just substitute the word "Christianity" for "Islam" and the "Bible" for "Quran," and you'll see my point. Harvey

September 2011 newsletter

House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church                   

Celebrating a 24-year journey

They came from Richmond, Akron, Arlington, Ashville and from up and down the Valley. Over forty past and present members of the FOH family gathered at the Old Massnutten Lodge in Keezletown for its first reunion and homecoming held on the weekend of August 13-14.. Many others who were not able to come, from places as far away as California, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Oregon, sent their regrets and conveyed their best wishes to the group.

A Saturday afternoon outdoor picnic was followed by guests gathering in a circle in order of the approximate year they became a part of the congregation and sharing their stories. A common theme was that of a small congregation reaching out to people who felt alienated and  marginalized by their churches and needing a spiritual family to call their home. There was also recognition of people who served elsewhere at some time during their sojourn with FOH, in Ethiopia, Germany, Guatemala and El Salvador and elsewhere, adding to the church’s sense of being a part of a larger world community.

A table in the Great Room of the Lodge held pictures of past events of the church, copies of old newsletters and other items of interest.

On the next day a Sunday noon fellowship meal was followed by a worship service that included the singing of favorite hymns associated with past memories of house church worship services and by a Bible study and sharing time based on Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians and the theme, “We have this treasure in jars of clay.” A display of ceramic ware in various stages of completion covered a coffee table in the middle of the group and became the basis for reflection on Jesus as God’s treasure and the source of all life and hope.

Family of Hope thanks all who came and especially Margie and Guy Vlasits for being gracious hosts for the event, as well as all others who contributed to the weekend’s success.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”                                      - II Corinthians 4:7-9

Check out a neat slide show highlighting the event done by a local friend of the church, Elly Nelson, using photos provided by Margie Vlasits.

Notes, prayers and praises
 * VIRGINIA MENNONITE RELIEF SALE is set for September 30-October 1 at the Rockingham Fair grounds.

 * GET FOH UPDATES at http://familyofhopehousechurch.blogpost.com.

 * SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARY BLESSINGS to Billy and Karla May 9/3!

 * WE WELCOME JOSIAH DUMAS back to our community. He is living with his father at 816 Virginia Avenue and is looking for carpenter or other work in the area.

.* CONTRIBUTE TO PENNY POWER this month to help fund water projects in needy areas of the world.

 * WE ENCOURAGE SPECIAL GIFTS TO MCC and other food relief organizations to help those enduring incredible suffering in Somalia, Kenya and other drought-stricken parts of Africa.

September lectionary readings
4   Psalm 149, Exodus 12:1-14, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20
11 Psalm 114, Exodus 14:19-31, Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 18:21-35
16 Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45, Ex. 16:2-15, Philippians 1:21-30, Matt. 20:1-16
25 Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16, Ex. 17:1-7, Philippians 2:1-13, Matthew 21:23-32

September services    worship at 4 pm, meal at 6            
                       
4 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802        574-6141
Worship and Sharing: James Stauffer
Bible Study: Skip and Carol Tobin, Virginia Mennonite Missions                                                            
Carry-in Meal

11 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Drive, K’town 908-0391
Worship and Sharing: Guy and Margie Vlasits
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                              Carry-in Meal

18 Location: Rachel Stoltzfus 1359 TwoPenny Drive                     433-3983
Worship and Sharing: Karla May
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                              Carry-in Meal

25 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr 22802          564-1524
Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell
Bible Study: James Stauffer                     
Carry-in Meal