First Baptist
Church
224 Main St. Penn
Yan, NY 14527
(315) 536-9821 e-mail: pyfbc@peoplepc.com
Oct. 5 “Words, Words, Words”
II Timothy 2:14-19
Special Guest Rev. Don Lawrence
Oct. 12 Worship Team Sunday
Oct. 19 “Every Baptist A Missionary”
John 20:19-23
Special Guest Denton Lotz
Oct. 26 ”On Good Terms With God”
Romans 3:19-28
Special Guest Rev. Don Lawrence
Serving the Church in
October:
Date Lay
Readers Greeters
Oct. 5 Sheryl Robbins Charlie
Miller & Matt Scutt
Oct. 12 Erma Mullins Joyce & George Slocum
Oct. 19 Brittany Griffin Mary &
Bob Fullagar
Oct. 26 Jennifer Slocum Marge Moulton
& Pat Ames
1 ~ Margaret Mills 16 ~ Doug Passage
5 ~ Sabrina Carey-Cooke 19 ~ Marlene Guild
7 ~ Polly Logan 25 ~ Pam
Scutt
8 ~ Jean Brewer 25 ~ Bob
Fullagar
16 ~ Greg Marion 25 ~ Scott
Robbins
A message from Pastor John:
Here we are already a month into the football season.
People have donned their team colors and nervously await the outcome of each
game. In a tight contest, we have often seen two teams which are teetering on
the edge of victory or defeat, making desperate choices. The ball on the
fitly-yard line. The clock is down to the two-minute warning. It’s fourth and
one. Punt? Or go for it?
IF they punt, the outcome of the game lies in the
hands of the defense. If they go for it, there is a risk that they will come up
short giving the other team a chance to score. If the go for it and get the
yard, they have a fresh set of downs and a chance to sew up the game with a TD
or field goal. Either way there is significant risk.
David Romer, University of California, has studied
this choice and determined that teams that “go for it” on the 4th and one are
more likely to win the game. Why is this? Romer sees it as an “attitude thing”
for two reasons. (1) Almost always the fans want to go for it, and the yelling
of the fans can be a powerful plus, especially for the home team. (2) There is
a big difference between “playing to win” and “playing not to lose”. Romer and
others have discovered that fear of failure is often the primary cause of
failure. Writers in areas of sports, finance, and faith have determined that
risk is the path to victory.
They are not
talking about the blind foolishness that Yogi Berra suggested: “When you come
to a fork in the road, take it.” Rather they were talking about the studied and
wise decision based on both logic and faith. This is the kind of choice that
Robert Frost implied:
“Two
roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I
took the one less traveled by,
And
that has made all the difference.”
The cross was 4th and one for Jesus. He
knew that His Father would not fail him, even when the outcome seemed
uncertain. Likewise, as people, as a church, as a nation, we face uncertain
times. In many ways we are down to 4th and one. Yet, like Jesus, we
are called on to remember the times God has been faithful, trust the power of
the Holy Spirit, and follow the example of Christ in taking the next step. We
need to survey the situation and lay it in the hands of God. With the crowd
cheering, in the tension of the moment, and trusting in God, we need to go for
it on 4th and one.
A program by our Board
of Mission about the many wonderful programs and projects that are being
supported through our Mission Budget. Come with us for a trip from Penn Yan to
the most distant parts of the world where God’s word is being shared and God’s
love is being felt by people of every age and circumstance - through Mission
Support. You will be amazed!
Festival of Faith Weekend October 17-19
We have a weekend full
of activities for the 2008 Festival of Faith. Our special guest will be Dr.
Denton Lotz, President of the International Religious Liberty Association.
The weekend will kick off on Friday evening with a
church supper at 6 p.m. Dr. Lotz will talk with us on; “The Clash of Civilizations
and the Mission of the Church Today.”
On Saturday our own Anne
Scheel will prepare a Mexican Supper for your enjoyment. Dr. Lotz will again
lead the group in discussing; “Reconciliation and Mission.”
Sunday we will wrap up
our Festival of Faith celebration during our worship service. “Every Baptist a
Missionary” will be the sermon delivered by our special guest Denton Lotz.
We hope you will plan on
joining us. Mark your calendars now. This is a weekend you won’t want to miss!
______________________________________________________________
The ladies of the Circle will hold their next meeting
on Tuesday, October 14. Remember to bring a sandwich. At the last meeting they were able to get 10 bandages cut. In
October they will continue to cut and begin to roll bandages.
Dessert will be provided by a group member.
On the fourth Wednesday of each month the
ladies
Fellowship Class meets at noon in the library. In
October, Marge Moulton will bring dessert for the group and will lead
devotions. Remember to bring your sandwich.
______________________________________________________________
Trustees meeting notes - September:
·
Bake sale brought in
$150
·
Dinners before the
Summer Concerts brought in $1,020
·
Plans for promoting
Mark Lawrence ‘s concert were finalized. Don Lawrence brought a tentative
program to share. There will be refreshments following the concert.
·
We are getting
estimates for a fence to enclose the air conditioner unit to deter vandalism.
·
Plans for the
Stewardship Drive were gone over. We will have a kick off pot luck dinner on
Nov. 9
·
The Quilters have
offered to buy two more white tables for the Great Room.
·
People are needed for
Hospitality and Greeting at the State Convention to be held at Keuka College
Oct. 12-14. Please let Peggy know if you would like to help.
·
There will be hot
dogs and hamburgers for sale on Sept. 20 at 6pm. This is before the
presentation by Len Ortnezi, the Science Man. His program sounds like lots of
fun for the whole family. Come, have dinner and enjoy a great program.
·
Flies have become a
problem in the building. Please remember to close the outside door during
church and non-church programs.
·
The following is an excerpt from a letter sent from Jim Davison to Jim Hogan, owner of Geneva Bicycle Center in Geneva.
I wish you could have
been there in the basement of our church that Sunday in late August when we
made available to our refugees from Burma the bicycles which you made available
to them and which Pastor John delivered.
You could cut the
excitement with a knife! One man, who lives in an apartment about two miles
from the church and the Refugee Center, said in broken English, “Now easy to go
to ELS classes! Saves much time!” (It took him 45 minutes to walk each way)
There was a smile on his face from ear to ear and I heard a heartfelt “Thank
you” voiced in English.
A young woman and her
daughter (he husband still in the refugee camp in Thailand) both picked out
bikes so they could ride together to the grocery store, to Karen friends homes
and to church. Again smiles and a heartfelt, “Thank you” which I wish you could
have heard.
Unfortunately,
the bicycles - all 18 of them - and the locks we had bought, were gone too soon
while some still waited in line. The names of those who did not receive a bike
we keep on the waiting list. Almost every Sunday, the long, metal railing
beside the church is crowded with the securely locked bikes of those for whom
their bike is their only means of transportation.
So,
again, we thank you and the crew of your Bicycle Center for putting these used
bikes into good condition and donating them to these refugees from Burma who
continue to arrive in Utica through our Refugee Center (87 new families since
January). And we thank Pastor John for arranging to have them transported to
Utica. You are all most generous in helping these refugees as they begin their
new life in America!
Sincerely
Yours,
Jim
Davison
For the Refugee
Ministry Team
Thank You!
Thanks to all for your
prayers, your food, calls, cards and caring
during my recent
illness. It all helped and I am on the mend.
With Appreciation,
Judi Gibbs
Dear Members of the Penn Yan
First Baptist Church,
On behalf of the board members of Yates Concert
Series, Inc. , and the many people who enjoyed our concerts this year, thank
you for your generous hospitality. You made us welcome in your beautiful
sanctuary each rainy Wednesday and allowed our audiences to use your restrooms.
We are extremely grateful to you. The enclosed check for $400 is an expression
of our gratitude. Please know that we deeply appreciate all you did in making
these concerts possible.
Thanks again,
Englelke Heggie
After Sunday
school, a little boy said to his Mother, “You told me we were created by God,
but Dad said we are descended from monkeys. Who is right?”
“Well,” the boy’s
Mom replied, “your father is just talking about his side of the family.”
~Joyful Noiseletter
Signs and Wonders
“God
wants full custody, not just visiting rights on Sundays.”
·
South Seminole
Church of Christ
Joyful Noiseletter
Jokes
pastors can tell…
A nun who worked for a
home health agency was making her rounds visiting homebound patients when her
car ran out of gas. She walked to a nearby service station to borrow a gas can
and buy some gas.
But the attendant said
he had loaned out his last gas can. So
the resourceful nun walked back to her car, picked up a bedpan she was taking
to a patient, carried the bedpan to the station, filled it with gas, and
carried it back to her car.
As
she was pouring the gas into her tank, two passing Jehovah’s Witnesses watched
from home across the street.
One Jehovah’s Witness
said to the other, “If it starts, I’m turning Catholic.”
Joyful Noiseletter
via Winslow Fox, MD
Chelsea, MI