This week at Elkhart Valley (April 23-29)

Saturday, April 28
Garage sale to raise funds for outreach -- Frank and Carole Walker’s home, Green Valley subdivision

Sunday, April 29
9:30 a.m. -- Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m. -- Worship

Today noon through Wednesday late afternoon Pastor Beth will be at Camp Mack for the pastor's sabbath and a meeting with the clergy couples she and Tim traveled with to South Africa.

Garage sale items should be delivered to Marv and Judy Roush’s home by Wednesday, April 25. Volunteers are needed to transport items to Frank and Carole Walker’s home and/or work the sale on Friday, as well as to work on Saturday.

Tuesday. May 1, 11:30 a.m. Classes 15 and 16 will meet for lunch at Pastor Beth's home. If you need transportation or directions, please ask Beth!

Signs of God's promise and love

The sun was warm but the wind was chill,
You know how it is with an April day,
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March.
~Robert Frost

These words of poetry certainly describe the fickle weather we have "enjoyed" this month. For me they also have a bit to say about life in the church. As a congregation we have been working diligently to discover ways to bring the love of God and the joy of resurrection alive in ways that communicate with our neighbors. Sometimes it feels like we take one step forward and then a few back! My hope is that the bigger picture finds us moving, like the seasons, relentlessly forward. When April snow covered our lilac bush and froze our bleeding heart, I worried. This morning I had to look but there are again signs of life and color in our backyard. Can you see signs of God's promise and love, as well?

Blessings,
Pastor Beth

This week at Elkhart Valley (April 16-22)

Tuesday, April 17
6:30 p.m. -- Ministerial Commission

Thursday, April 19
7:00 p.m. -- Deacon Commission

Sunday, April 22
9:30 a.m. -- Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m. -- Worship


Looking Ahead
April 27 – Elkhart Valley Garage Sale: Garage sale items should be delivered to Marv and Judy Roush’s home between now and April 25. Volunteers are needed to transport items to Frank and Carole Walker’s home and/or work the sale on April 27, as well as to work on April 28. See Judy or Marv for more information.

Pray for those suffering through tragedy

Good Morning,

It is difficult to focus on Easter thoughts this morning as we try to process the horrifying events of Monday at Virginia Tech. It seems most right to invite one another to pray for those who are suffering through this tragedy. And as we ponder the awfulness of the event, I would also remind us to pray for those affected by the daily death and destruction in Iraq. One report would add to the 3305 United States Service personnel killed the death of 65000 Iraqi people. In the face of so much loss of life it is good to remember the Psalmist's words, "God is our refuge."

Blessings,
Pastor Beth

Yesterday we received this press release from the Church of the Brethren Newsline:

April 16, 2007

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

Prayer is requested for Virginia Tech University and Surrounding Communities Prayer is requested for the community of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va., and surrounding communities, following a shooting in which as many as 33 people have been killed and many more wounded.

Prayer has been requested by Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren in Blacksburg, where Marilyn Lerch serves as pastor; by Virlina District and by Shenandoah District; and by the Church of the Brethren General Board. The districts of Virlina, Shenandoah, and perhaps other districts, include several congregations with Brethren students at Virginia Tech.

News reports say this is the deadliest mass shooting in US history. As of late afternoon, the Roanoke Times of Roanoke, Va., reported that at least 33 people had been killed. According to news reports, shootings began around 7 a.m. and took place at two sites on campus, in a dormitory and a classroom. The unidentified shooter is reported to be among the dead.

"Pour prayers in this direction," requested pastor Lerch. "Surround us with prayer."

"The prayers of the Virlina District are with the students, parents, faculty, staff, and all concerned," said an e-mail from district executive minister David Shumate.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those of the Virginia Tech campus community in the aftermath of today's shootings," said an e-mail from Shenandoah District. "We know that many of our churches have students on the campus and pray for their safety and comfort in light of this tragedy."

General secretary Stan Noffsinger and staff of the Congregational Life Teams, Area 3, requested prayer for all affected by the shootings. Noffsinger called for prayer for families and friends of victims, the university and its staff and student body, for Brethren congregations that include university students or staff, for first responders among police and medical staff, for the faith community in Blacksburg, and for the family of the perpetrator. "They all need our prayers," he said. "There are the innocent and their families, there's also the family of the perpetrator with so much hostility focused toward them, and the law enforcement officers and others who are called. They all need to be embraced by an understanding that they do not walk alone."

Good Shepherd pastor Lerch, who also serves as one of the campus ministers, was on her way to the university when she was reached by telephone in mid-afternoon. She requested prayers for the university community, and prayers for the town of Blacksburg because of its close relationship with the university. "The town is stunned," she said. This is the second time that the campus has suffered from shootings this school year, she added. The fact that on the first day of classes a gunman was loose on campus, she said makes the situation today "especially difficult."

At this time, Lerch said that very few details are known. She reported that the Good Shepherd congregation includes employees and faculty of the university, and so far no one in the congregation has been directly affected by the shootings at this time. She said she has been able to be in touch with most of the university employees in the congregation.

Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren will hold a silent prayer vigil this evening from 5-7 p.m., when the church will be open as a sanctuary, Lerch said. The congregation will be waiting to see what is needed, beyond this time of prayer, she said.

Virlina District shared the address for a website created by the Virginia Interfaith Center for those wishing to share comments, prayers, and condolences: www.compassion24x7.org. The center will be sending a copy of all appropriate messages to the president of Virginia Tech.

This week at Elkhart Valley (April 9-15)

Tuesday, April 10
3:00 p.m. -- Christian Ed. Commission
6:30 p.m. -- Ministerial Commission

7:00 p.m. -- Brethren Service Commission, Trustee Commission

Wednesday, April 11

7:30 p.m. -- Choir Practice

Thursday, April 12

7:00 p.m. -- Church Board Meeting

Sunday, April 15
9:30 a.m. -- Sunday School for all ages

10:30 a.m. -- Worship

Looking Ahead

April 27 – Elkhart Valley Garage Sale: Garage sale items should be delivered to Marv and Judy Roush’s home between now and April 25. Volunteers are also needed to transport items to Frank and Carole Walker’s home and/or work the sale on April 27, as well as to work on April 28. See Judy or Marv for more information.

Easter is everywhere

Dear friends,

Sometimes we think of Easter as an isolated incident, a day to rise early and celebrate well the news that the tomb is empty and eternal life is a reality. The truth is that Easter is just an obvious step in a progression made obvious in the events of Jesus' earthly life.

Nathan Nettleton preached an Easter sermon that included these lines: "Look at the stories of Jesus’ life. All the way through you can see that death is losing its grip. Every time somebody once crippled stands and walks, or blind eyes begin to see, or prisoners of fear break free, or the outcast dance in the temple, death is being pushed onto the back foot, and fullness of life is having its way over deathliness and despair. Every time Jesus is confronted with the finger prints of death, life breaks through. By the time we get to Easter, how could the tomb be anything but empty?...

"Easter Sunday is not an isolated event. It is unique in its climactic nature, but we had glimpses of it over and over again as God repeatedly responded to people faced with the power of death and led them forward to freedom and fullness of life. Easter is everywhere, wherever the Spirit of God comes back in the hearts of downtrodden people and they begin the dance of life, with futures resurrected as they follow the resurrected Lord of life and become part of God’s great movement of raising life from the midst of death when all hope seems gone."

May your week include many reminders that Christ is risen, the tomb is empty and He lives!

Blessings for your week,

Pastor Beth

This week at Elkhart Valley (April 2-8)

Wednesday, April 4
11:30 a.m. -- Class 15 Lunch
7:30 p.m. -- Choir Practice

Thursday, April 5
Maundy Thursday
7:00 p.m. -- Love Feast & Communion

Friday, April 6
Good Friday

Sunday, April 8
Easter!
7:30 a.m. -- Easter Sunrise Service
8:30 a.m. -- Breakfast
9:00 a.m. -- Easter Egg Hunt
9:30 a.m. -- Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m. -- Easter Sunday Worship

Looking ahead
April 12 -- Church Board meeting
April 27 -- Elkhart Valley Garage Sale. Garage sale items should be delivered to Marv and Judy Roush's home by April 25. Volunteers are needed to transport items to Frank and Carole Walker's home and/or work the sale on April 27, as well as to work on April 28.

A special week

Dear friends,

Jesus approached Jerusalem knowing it would be the end of his earthly ministry. He entered the city with humility and hope. It made me think of this story:

Albert Einstein once arrived in London carrying his violin. After greeting him, an old friend asked, "You still play the violin, Albert?"

The mathematical genius nodded and said, "Yes, but not very well. My teacher says, 'The trouble with you, Mr. Einstein, is that you can't count.'"

He knew that he had much to learn if he were to play the violin well. So he approached his endeavor with a sense of humility, even to the point of laughing at his poor rhythm.

This is a special week. From the excitement of Palm Sunday we move on to the gift of Maundy Thuirsday and the horror of Good Friday. And then, after the waiting, the wondrous celebration of aster morning. Those responsible for the services this weekend are working hard to make them meaning-filled and worshipful. I hope you are planning to attend and mark the events that have changed our lives.

Blessings,
Pastor Beth