December 2015 newsletter

House-to-House

 Family of Hope House Church                      December 2015

We Each Carry Two Buckets          - Harvey Yoder                       

In the season from Thanksgiving through New Year we are reminded of the many gracious and unmerited gifts we’ve received, all to be treasured, celebrated and shared. 

Metaphorically speaking, each of us recipients carries not one, but two containers, one a gratitude bucket and the other a garbage bucket.

The gratitude bucket is one we need to keep filled to overflowing with abundant and amazing grace, representing all of the unearned blessings that make us truly rich. It represents the part of our life where we find our yoke easy and our burden light, and from which we have a surplus of God-given, grace-based assets to share.

In our garbage bucket we carry our grievances, griefs, grudges and losses. These are not inconsequential, and are not to be ignored, but we want to carry them only as long as necessary to deposit them to a safe place for disposal, for closure and healing. Our “garbage” is something that needs to be taken out regularly for composting, while we practice the hygiene of regularly keeping its container as clean and flushed out as possible.

When it comes to our relationships, we support each other in dealing with our distresses as well as blessing each other with our abundance.

"This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.”

II Corinthians 9:10 (the Message)

Notes, prayers and praises 

- DECEMBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Karen Campbell 12/26!.

- WE WILL NOT BE HOSTING OUR USUAL CHRISTMAS gathering with neighboring house churches this year.

- PRAY FOR LOIS RIVERA-WENGER who plans to spend most of  December and January with her daughter Lorna and family in Kentucky. 

- WE ARE STILL SHORT OF OUR TOTAL FOH GIVING GOAL OF $18,000 for 2015, but our treasurer reports being able to meet all of our budgeted disbursement amounts so far.  any updates on the church schedule. http://familyofhopehousechurch.blogspot.com.

December Lectionary readings

6    Malachi 3:1-4  Luke 1:68-79  Philippians 1:3-11  Luke 3:1-6

13  Zephaniah 3:14-20  Isaiah 12:2-6 Philippians 4:4-7  Luke 3:7-18

20 Micah 5:2-5a  Psalm 80:1-7  Hebrews 10:5-10  Luke 1:39-55 

27 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26  Psalm 148 Colossians 3:12-17  Luke 2:41-52

December services worship at 4, meal at 6 

6 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802   574-6141

Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder

Bible Study: Paul Swarr                                                      Carry-in Meal   

13 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Dr. K’town 908-0391

Advent and Christmas readings and candle lighting
Singing of Advent and Christmas carols                             Carry-in Meal

20 Location: Family Life Resource Center, 273 Newman Ave  432-0531

Worship and Sharing: James Stauffer

Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                             Finger foods meal          

27 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr, 22802    564-1524 

Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell

Bible Study: Elly Nelson                                                     Carry-in Meal  

November 2015 newsletter

House-to-House

Family of Hope House Church                    November 2015

My First Official Sermon—Fifty Years Ago    

On September 12, 1965, I delivered my first sermon as a newly licensed minister at Zion Mennonite near Broadway, where I served for over twenty years. 

     I’m not always comfortable with the messages I gave back in those days, but this one I would gladly repeat, on the theme “Every Believer is Called to Ministry”, based on Mark 10:35-45, one of our lectionary texts just a few Sundays ago. In this passage Jesus is reproving his disciples for arguing over who should be considered the greatest in the God-movement Jesus was establishing. Jesus' answer is that in his upside-down kingdom we become great only by becoming servants of all. 

     Fifty years ago I stressed that the God's "calling" is not just for a select few, but is essentially that all believers follow Jesus together and continue the work he began while here on earth. The location and manner in which we carry out that calling--that of bringing healing and blessing to a broken world--are unique to each of us, based on our gifts and opportunities, but the calling is the same, that of each person becoming an active part of a community of faith that lives, loves and serves others together.

     This means one never stops being a part of the "laity" (from "laos", the people) when one is appointed a pastoral leader or a teaching elder in the congregation. In other words, there should be no lay-clergy distinctions, no individuals with special titles or status in this community, but all are fellow-servants under one master, the servant Jesus.

     But through the ordinance of ordination we have created an elevated and specialized system of leadership. And I became a part of that paradigm, in spite of my initial sermon. Even our church architecture promoted this kind of elevation, with pews arranged to focus everyone's attention on the pulpit set in the center of a platform above the level of ordinary lay people, rather than our gathering together in some form of circle, such as in our Family of Hope gatherings.            - Harvey Yoder

Notes, prayers and praises 

• NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS Neal Nelson 11/2, Rachel Stoltzfus 11/5, Paul Swarr 11/10, Emily Zhou 11/11, and Guy Vlasits 11/21. Neal and Elly Nelson’s 25th anniversary is November 26!
• WE ARE INVITED to worship with The Table Fellowship at 4 pm on Sunday, November 8, at the corner of Water Street and Old South High Street, across from the Community Mennonite Church. Bring food! 
• OUR MY COINS COUNT total for this year’s Relief Sale was $267!

November Lectionary readings

1  Isaiah 25:6-9  Psalm 24  Revelation 21:1-6  John 11:32-44

8  Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17  Psalm 127  1 Kings 17:8-16  Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44

15 1 Samuel 1:4-20  1 Samuel 2:1-10  Daniel 12:1-3  Psalm 16 Hebrews 10:11-25  Mark 13:1-8

22 2 Samuel 23:1-7  Daniel 7:9-14  Psalm 93  Revelation 1:4b-8  John 18:33-37

29 Jeremiah 33:14-16   Psalm 25:1-10  1 Thessalonians 3:9-13  Luke 21:25-36

November services worship at 4, meal at 6 

1 Location: Annual Festival of Praise at EMHS at 4 pm, followed by a meal and sharing at James & Ruth Stauffers, 1250 Parkway Dr at 6 pm.

8 Location: We will be meeting with the Table congregation at 4 (see above announcement) in the house across Water Street from the Community Mennonite Church.                             Carry-in Meal

15 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Dr. K’town 908-0391

Worship and Sharing: Guy and Margie Vlasits

Bible Study: David Gullman, Pleasant View Home chaplain and author of a new book, Teachers of the Soul.                                     Carry-in Meal 

22 Location: Family Life Resource Center, 273 Newman Ave  432-0531

Worship and Sharing: Elly Nelson

Bible Study: James Stauffer                                           Finger foods meal

29 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Drive 22801   564-1524

Worship and Sharing:

Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                             Thanksgiving Meal  

October 2015 newsletter

House-to-House

Family of Hope House Church                                      October 2015

A Description Of Early Christians           

     …Christians cannot be distinguished from the rest of the human race by country or language or customs. They do not live in cities of their own; they do not use a peculiar form of speech; they do not follow an eccentric manner of life. This doctrine of theirs has not been discovered by the ingenuity or deep thought of inquisitive men, nor do they put forward a merely human teaching, as some people do. Yet, although they live in Greek and barbarian cities alike, as each man's lot has been cast, and follow the customs of the country in clothing and food and other matters of daily living, at the same time they give proof of the remarkable and admittedly extraordinary constitution of their own commonwealth.  

     They live in their own countries, but only as aliens. They have a share in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign land is their fatherland, and yet for them every fatherland is a foreign land. They marry, like everyone else, and they beget children, but they do not cast out their offspring. They share their board with each other, but not their marriage bed. It is true that they are "in the flesh," but they do not live "according to the flesh." They busy themselves on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, but in their own lives they go far beyond what the laws require. They love all men, and by all men are persecuted. 

     They are unknown, and still they are condemned; they are put to death, and yet they are brought to life. They are poor, and yet they make many rich; they are completely destitute, and yet they enjoy complete abundance. They are dishonored, and in their very dishonor are glorified; they are defamed, and are vindicated. They are reviled, and yet they bless; when they are affronted, they still pay due respect. When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; undergoing punishment, they rejoice because they are brought to life.”

                                   -  from the second century “Letter to Diognetus”

Notes, prayers and praises 

 OCTOBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Joyce Ulrich 10/14, and Elly Nelson 10/28!

WE ARE INVITED to hear former attorney general Mark Earley speak at EMU’s Martin Chapel at 7 pm Tuesday, October 20, on the theme “Why America Incarcerates So Many People, And What We Can Do About It”.

THE ANNUAL MCC RELIEF SALE is being held at the Rockingham Fairgrounds October 3 and 4.

CHECK THE FAMILY OF HOPE BLOG for any updates on the church schedule. http://familyofhope.blogspot.com

October Lectionary readings

4  Job 1:1, 2:1-10  Genesis 2:18-24  Psalm 8 Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12  Mark 10:2-16

11  Job 23:1-9, 16-17  Amos 5:6-7, 10-15  Psalm 90:12-17  Hebrews 4:12-16  Mark 10:17-31 

18 Job 38:1-7, (34-41)  Isaiah 53:4-12  Psalm 91:9-16  Hebrews 5:1-10  Mark 10:35-45

25 Job 42:1-6, 10-17  Jeremiah 31:7-9  Psalm 126  Hebrews 7:23-28  Mark 10:46-52

October services worship at 4, meal at 6 

4 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802   574-6141

Worship and Sharing:

Bible Study: Elly Nelson                                                  Carry-in Meal    

11 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802   574-6141

Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder

Bible Study: Paul Swarr                                                     Carry-in Meal  
18 Location: Joyce Ulrich 1029 Shenandoah St Apt 1              246-1013

Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder

Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                   Carry-in Meal 
25 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr, 22802     564-1524

Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell 

Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                  Carry-in Meal

September 2015 newsletter

House-to-House

Family of Hope House Church                September 2015

How Our “Needs” May Destroy Us  - Harvey Yoder                       

I recently accompanied some of my grandchildren to the Frontier Culture Museum at Staunton for a first hand look at what average families lived like long ago. We were impressed with how hard life was for most people then, how small and cramped their homes, and how limited their food and clothing choices. 

     The contrast to our current lifestyle was stark. We came from expansive (and “expensive”?) homes with year-round climate controlled comfort and wardrobes full of clothes produced by underpaid workers around the world. We arrived in a fully equipped Toyota van and enjoyed a tasty lunch at a McDonalds afterwards, all covered with the swipe of a Visa card. Ours was lifestyle with far more ease, comfort and entertainment than would have been available even to the most privileged royalty in centuries past. 

     In short, we have come to identify as needs things that our ancestors would have never dreamed of having access to, such as air conditioning, smart phones, flat screen TV's with multiple channels, clothes dryers, motor powered transportation--the list could go on and on. We have become spoiled and lazy by our wealth, and have come to demand ever more of the fruits of it, mindless of the consequences of our choices.             

     In Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical on the care of the earth, he says it “now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters. Nothing in this world is indifferent to us.” 

   

Notes, prayers and praises 

SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to David Weaver (9/23), and to Billy and Karla May on their anniversary (9/3).

OUR SYMPATHIES TO JOYCE ULRICH, whose 87-year-old mother, Mary Ida Wenger, died August 19 at her home in Versailles, Missouri.

WE ARE INVITED to worship with The Table Fellowship at 4 pm on Sunday, September 27, in the Dean House at the corner of Water Street and Old South High Street, across from the Community Mennonite Church. Bring food! 

THE ANNUAL MCC RELIEF SALE is being held at the Rockingham Fairgrounds October 3 and 4.

September Lectionary readings

6  Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 Isaiah 35:4-7a Psalm 146  James 2:1-17 Mark 7:24-37

13  Proverbs 1:20-33  Isaiah 50:4-9a  Psalm 116:1-9  James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38

20 Proverbs 31:10-31 Psalm 1 James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a  Mark 9:30-37

27 Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22  Psalm 124  Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

Psalm 19:7-14 James 5:13-20  Mark 9:38-50

September services worship at 4, meal at 6 

6 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802   574-6141

Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder

Bible Study: Paul Swarr                                                      Carry-in Meal   

13 Location: Family Life Resource Center, 273 Newman Ave  432-0531

Worship and Sharing: Elly Nelson

Bible Study: Lois Wenger                                              Finger foods meal

20 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Dr. K’town 908-0391

Worship and Sharing: Guy and Margie Vlasits

Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                   Carry-in Meal 

27 Location: We will be meeting with the Table congregation this Sunday (see above announcement) in the house across Water Street from the Community Mennonite Church.        

August 2015 newsletter

House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church                            August 2015

Gaining Altitude                               - Harvey Yoder

 For even young people tire and drop out,
    young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
    they walk and don’t lag behind.
                                                                         Isaiah 40:31 (the Message)
I still remember this as the text used by a local pastor at my "graduation" from the Weekday Religious Education program at Stuarts Draft Elementary back in 1951. As a seventh grader it made an indelible impression, not because I often felt emotionally exhausted or drained, but because of the beauty and power of the words. It has been one of my favorite Bible passages ever since.
     As an adult I know very well what its like to experience stress to the point of feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes all we can see or think about is the elephant problem in the room.
     One of the benefits of "waiting upon God" is getting outside the room, gaining a new perspective, seeing the bigger picture. This kind of prayer is not meant to give us a means of escape as much as to help us gain the elevation we need to get a God's eye view of whatever is bothering us.
     When we see problems as a part of our larger and ongoing life picture, they don't magically disappear, but more of the rest of our God-blessed life appears and we are able to see things in a different light. Through the eyes of faith we can better see what an experience may look like and feel like in the overall scheme of things, in the context of a month, a year or even a lifetime from now.
     To me, that is a vital means of gaining strength, of being able to run without becoming weary, to walk without lagging behind or dropping out.
     Sometimes it's all about gaining some altitude.

Notes, prayers and praises

AUGUST BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Gail Blackburn 8/30! And Alma Jean and Harvey’s anniversary is 8/8 and James and Ruth Stauffer’s is 8/30.  
ROBERTA  McCROWELL’s address is 1491 Virginia Ave  #502 Harrisonburg, VA 22802. Her phone number is 540-564-6536.
CHECK THE FAMILY OF HOPE BLOG for any updates on the church schedule. http://familyofhope.blogspot.com

August Lectionary readings

2  2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a  Psalm 51:1-12  Ephesians 4:1-16 John 6:24-35
9  2 Samuel 18:5-33  Psalm 130  Psalm 34:1-8  Ephesians 4:25-5:2 
John 6:35, 41-51
16 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14  Psalm 111  Proverbs 9:1-6  Ephesians 5:15-20  John 6:51-58
23 1 Kings 8:22-30, 41-43  Psalm 84  Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 Ephesians 6:10-20   John 6:56-69
30 Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9  Psalm 15  James 1:17-27  Mark 7:1-8, 14-23

August services worship at 4, meal at 6

2 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802   574-6141
Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Paul Swarr                                                     Carry-in Meal  
9 Location: Family Life Resource Center 273 Newman Ave.  432-0531
Worship and Sharing: James Stauffer
Bible Study: Elly Nelson                                                 Finger Food Meal
16 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Dr., K’town 908-0391
Worship and Sharing: Guy and Margie Vlasits
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                      Carry-in Meal
23 Location: Joyce Ulrich
Worship and Sharing: Lois Wenger
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                           Carry-in Meal
30 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr, 22802             564-1524
Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell
Bible Study: James Stauffer                                                     Carry-in Meal

July 2015 newsletter

House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church                             July 2015

Choosing and Cherishing                 - Harvey Yoder

I remember talking with someone once who was debating whether to include a grown step child in his will. He wanted to make sure everything associated with the “home place” would “stay in the family”, and didn’t feel good about the idea of having an unrelated person get part of the family inheritance.

I couldn't resist pointing out that every family starts as a union of two biologically unrelated people who have bonded together by choice. They do this in fulfillment of  the Biblical text, “For this reason shall a person leave father and mother (with whom they are biologically related), and shall cleave to their spouse (with whom they are not biologically related), and the two shall become united, as one.”

Then, of course, this union of two people can produce offspring who in turn will later leave them to form other unions. And so life gets passed on, from generation to generation.

Paul Peachy writes that typically our strongest ties are not our biological ones (those that are unwilled) but the covenanted ones that are willed, or chosen.

Two kinds of “blessed ties that bind our hearts ” are our marriages and baptisms. In each case we form covenant bonds that have the potential of blessing us forever.

“Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.”

                                                                     Ephesians 2:9 (Living Bible)

Notes, prayers and praises

JULY BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Lois Rivera-Wenger 7/30 and a Happy Anniversary to Guy and Margie Vlasits 7/27!
JOSIAH DUMAS’s current address is 40990 Waxwing Drive, Leesburg, VA 20175.
MENNONITE WORLD CONFERENCE convenes in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, July 21-26.
WE WELCOME LOIS RIVERA-WENGER home at 1135 Hamlet Drive.

July Lectionary readings

5   2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10  Psalm 123     2 Corinthians 12:2-10  Mark 6:1-13
12  2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19  Amos 7:7-15  Psalm 85:8-13 Ephesians 1:3-14  Mark 6:14-29
19  2 Samuel 7:1-14a  Psalm 89:20-37  Jeremiah 23:1-6  Ephesians 2:11-22  Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
26  2 Samuel 11:1-15  Psalm 14  Ephesians 3:14-21     John 6:1-21

July services worship at 4, meal at 6

5 Location: Family Life Resource Center 273 Newman Ave.  432-0531
Ken and Laura Litwiller, MCC East Africa Area Representatives, will speak to us about MCC’s work in that region, and Rachel Sommer, MCC East Coast Communication Director, will lead our Bible study.      
12 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802   574-6141
Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Paul Swarr                 Carry-in Meal                                       
19 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Dr., K’town 908-0391
Worship and Sharing: Guy and Margie Vlasits
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                           Finger Foods Meal
26 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr, 22802             564-1524
Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                     Carry-in Meal

June 2015 Newsletter

House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church                   June 2015

Should We Join ‘Faith In Action’? - Harvey Yoder

Faith in Action is a newly forming coalition of local congregations I have been working with over the past number of months. Based on similar groups around the country like IMPACT Charlottesville (of which our overseer Roy Hange has been a part for the past decade), it is to be a way of working together not just for ministries of mercy, but to build a more just community where some of the root causes of poverty, homelessness, and crime are addressed.     

After listening to members of all covenant congregations, the group would select one issue each year on which to focus. Then for the next year the group would meet with members of both public, private and provider agencies that relate to the concern in question.  For example, how can we better invest in the needs of our neighbors with mental health and substance abuse issues and to have fewer of them become homeless or incarcerated?

Covenant Congregations participate in these joint efforts and agree to participate with an annual contribution of $500-$1000 ($200 in our case). The group is to officially launch in September of this year.

Our involvement could vary from year to year depending on our interest in the theme chosen. Every effort would be made to address local public servants with respect, using only the power of prayer and persuasion, keeping in mind the mandate to “love God with passion and love our neighbors with compassion”.

A key scripture for the group is from Micah 6:8,
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the            LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Notes, prayers and praises
SPECIAL JUNE BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Sophie May, 6/2, Josiah Dumas 6/9, Karla May 6/16, Isaiah May, 6/27 and Harvey Yoder 6/30!
JOSIAH DUMAS’s current address is 40990 Waxwing Drive, Leesburg, VA 20175.
VIRGINIA MENNONITE CONFERENCE ASSEMBLY will held at the Harrisonburg Mennonite Church this June 11-13, starting with a 7 pm Thursday evening service. That and the Friday evening meeting will be of special interest to delegates and non-delegates alike.
HARVEY AND ALMA JEAN will be away over the 6/21 weekend.
LOIS RIVERA-WENGER current address is 1317 Lake Access Road, Smithfield, KY 40068 (502-663-3195).

June lectionary readings
7   1 Samuel 8:4-20, 11:14-15  Psalm 138  2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1  Mark 3:20-35
14  1 Samuel 15:34-16:13  Psalm 20  2 Corinthians 5:6-17  Mark 4:26-34
21  1 Samuel 17:1-49  Psalm 9:9-20  2 Corinthians 6:1-13  Mark 4:35-41
28  2 Samuel 1:1-27  Psalm 30  Lamentations 3:22-33  2 Corinthians 8:7-15     Mark 5:21-43

June services worship at 4, meal at 6
7 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802     574-6141
Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Paul Swarr                                                      Carry-in Meal
14 Location: Family Life Resource Center 273 Newman Ave.  432-0531
Worship and Sharing: James Stauffer
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder    Finger Foods Meal                                        
21 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Dr., K’town
Worship and Sharing: Margie and Guy Vlasits
Bible Study: Ellie Nelson                                                    Carry In Meal
28 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr, 22802           564-1524
Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                    Carry-in Meal