Vancouver Today - e.Update, May 31, 2011

May 31, 2011

Congratulations, graduates! Your church family is proud of all you have achieved. We rejoice with you and your families and look forward to the wonderful things you will accomplish in the years ahead.

From Pastor Roger ...

The average American watches TV for nearly 30 hours per week. That's 65 days of nonstop TV watching every year. By the time they graduate from high school, students will have viewed 360,000 commercials. The average 65-year-old will have watched two million commercials. Each of these commercials has been created by smart people who pack their ads with powerful images, catchy music and humor, and memorable slogans. Most of the commercials have a primary theme: this product will give you true happiness and deep satisfaction.

Based on the worldview presented by TV commercials, here's how I would rewrite the Beatitudes spoken by Jesus:

• Blessed are those who fly to luxury vacation spots on tropical islands, where they lie in chaise lounge chairs, the only two people on an enormous white beach; for they shall be satisfied.
   
  
• Blessed are those who drink much beer, for they shall be surrounded by carefree, football-watching buddies and highly attractive, socially-gifted women in the first half of life; and they shall be satisfied.
   
  
• Blessed are those who have the latest smartphone, for they shall gaze on a screen swirling with color and shall get all the information they need just when they need it; and they shall be satisfied.
   
  
• Blessed are those who have outstanding kids. Verily I say to you, highly blessed are those who have a golden Labrador retriever bounding along on that slow-motion-videoed day of playing with the kids in the park, for they shall be the envy of real families everywhere; and they shall be satisfied.

Catholic Education Resource Center, "Television Statistics and Sources"; submitted by Kevin Miller, Wheaton, Illinois

Which set of beautitudes is guiding your life? Jesus gave the real life-changing metaphors called, The Beattitudes in Matthew 5. Why not take a moment to read them and see how your life lines up. More like TV Commercials, or more like Jesus?

* * * * * * *

What's happening: June 5, 2011, 4:30 pm. Summer Classical Concert benefitting the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington. The concert will be held at our church.

• The Free Clinic of SW Washington provides provides free, basic, walk-in health care, together with dental, vision and specialty care to those in our community who are uninsured and cannot afford basic care. Their services prevent unnecessary emergency room visits, keep people from missing work, and keep children healthy and able to stay in school. They are 98% community-funded and receive very little government funding.
• The concert features performances by world-renowned musicians: Pianists Cinda Redman and Lena Vozheiko-Wheaton; Vocalist Linda Appert, and violinist Tatiana Kolchanova-Parente, assistant concertmaster at the Vancouver Symphony. Tickets $15 per person or $25 per family.
• RSVP online at www.freeclinics.org  or contact Haley Overton, 360.313.1388 or haley@freeclinics.org
  

THIS WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TODAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
		6:45 Walking Among the Lampstands			6:45 Walking Among the Lampstands	9 and 11 am, Pastor Roger Walter
NEXT WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
4:30pm Piano Benefit Concert for Free Clinic	7pm Pathfinders	6:45 Walking Among the Lampstands			6:45 Walking Among the Lampstands	9 and 11 am, Pastor Roger Walter

Housing Needed

This came in during the week and after some discussion with the sender, I'm passing it on. If you have any information to help, please feel free to pass it along my direction.

Make a Difference!

roger walter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Senior Pastor   http://bit.ly/qO3Vg

Seventh-day Adventist Community Church of Vancouver

I am a "niece" of Charlotte Roberts and my daughter and I attended her memorial service at the Vancouver church. What a beautiful church!  

Brittanea (my daughter) was so impressed with the church and the whole town of Vancouver that she would really like to move there--the problem is a place to live.  I was hoping that you might know of an elderly woman that would be glad to rent a bedroom or someone who has a space to rent that isn't too expensive.

Brittanea is 20 years old and has been working in Dr. Sharman's office here in Bremerton, WA. She still lives at home, because she doesn't make enough to pay her car payment and pay rent on an apartment.

She would love to get out on her own a little bit.  She has her own car.  She is a quiet girl--she doesn't smoke, drink, or party. I think she was impressed with how big the church is--maybe hoping for a little more socializing than is available in our church.

She would of course give references from our Pastor, and her work or whatever kind of references you would like.

Thank you for giving this some consideration.

Farris: San Francisco's Circumcision Ban and Parental Rights

I don't pass on many of these things to you, but this is an interesting issue and an interesting discussion.... Check it out at your convenience.

Make a Difference!

roger walter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Senior Pastor   http://bit.ly/qO3Vg

Seventh-day Adventist Community Church of Vancouver

Begin forwarded message:

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San Francisco's Circumcision Ban and Parental Rights The City of San Francisco is contemplating a law that will ban male circumcision for infants and children. There are no religious exemptions in the proposed law and it is an obvious attempt to override the parents' ability to make decisions for their own children on this medical issue. I want to encourage you to look at this article by Eugene Volokh. Professor Volokh is a highly respected professor of Constitutional Law at UCLA Law School. He is a well-known conservative and a former Supreme Court law clerk. His analysis of this particular issue is interesting and important. But the real reason I want to encourage you to read it is because he undertakes a serious analysis of the current state of the law regarding the constitutional rights of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Some who criticize the PRA claim that the current law for parental rights is well-settled and places our rights at a very high and protected level. This article by Professor Volokh clearly demonstrates that the current state of the law is muddled and unsettled—and he also shows that the reason for the lack of clarity is that there is no constitutional text protecting parental rights. If we want the government taking over more and more of our ability as parents to make decisions for our children, then doing nothing under the delusion that everything is hunky-dory is the right path to take. But if we want parents and not government raising children, then the time to act is now. Sincerely, Michael Farris President

P.O. Box 1090 Purcellville, VA 20134 * (540)-751-1200 * info@parentalrights.org

Vancouver Today - e.Update, May 24, 2011

May 24, 2011

From Pastor Roger ...

In his book What Good Is God?, author Philip Yancey illustrates what it is like to build upon the rock by hearing and keeping the words of Jesus.

Yancey wrote about the 2004 Ukraine election in which the reformer Victor Yushchenko challenged the entrenched party and nearly died for it. On election-day the exit polls showed Yushchenko with a comfortable lead, but through outright fraud, the government had reversed those results.

Yancey writes:

    That evening the state-run television reported, "Ladies and gentlemen, we announce that the challenger Victor Yushchenko has been decisively defeated." However, government authorities had not taken into account one feature of Ukrainian television, the translation it provides for the hearing-impaired. On the small screen insert in the lower right-hand corner of the television screen a brave woman raised by deaf-mute parents gave a different message in sign language. "I am addressing all the deaf citizens of Ukraine. Don't believe what they say. They are lying, and I am ashamed to translate these lies. Yushchnko is our President!" No one in the studio understood her radical sign-language message.

Inspired by that courageous translator, deaf people led what became known as the Orange Revolution.

Yancey continues:

    They text-messaged their friends on mobile phones about the fraudulent elections, and soon other journalists took courage … and likewise refused to broadcast the party line. Over the next few weeks as many as a million people wearing orange flooded the capital city of Kiev to demand new elections. The government finally buckled under the pressure, consenting to new elections, and this time Yushchenko emerged as the undisputed winner.

Yancey makes the following point:

    Our society is hardly unique … like the sign language translator in the lower right-hand corner of the screen, along comes a person named Jesus who says in effect, "Don't believe the big screen—they're lying. It's the poor who are blessed, not the rich. Mourners are blessed too, as well as those who hunger and thirst, and the persecuted. Those who go through life thinking they're on top will end up on the bottom. And those who go through life feeling they're at the very bottom will end up on top. After all, what does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose his soul?"

Philip Yancey, What Good Is God?: In Search of a Faith That Matters (Faith Words, 2010), pp. 184-186; submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky

* * * * * * *

What's happening:

THIS WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TODAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
		6:45pm Walking Among the Lampstands	7pm Church Board		6pm Jewish Ministries	9, 11am, Alexander Bolotnikov
					6:45pm Walking Among the Lampstands	4pm Torah Service
NEXT WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
	MEMORIAL DAY	6:45pm Walking Among the Lampstands			6:45pm Walking Among the Lampstands

Vancouver Today - e.Update, May 17, 2011

May 17, 2011

Canadian University College quartet in concert May 21, 6:30 pm Adventist Community Church of Vancouver

From Pastor Roger ...

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." – Thomas A. Edison

The same thing could be said about personal spirituality – it's not rocket science in how to get c loser to God, but it does take the time and discipline (dare we say, "Hard work"?) to make it happen.

If you aren't involved in the LIFE Journal personal devotional plan – where you can learn to feed yourself – click here: www.VancouverAdventist.com/LifeJournal for more information to help you get started on a journey that will change your life! Listen to Pastor Roger's messages, download the reading plan, and begin to worship your way through scripture with many others in the church as well.

* * * * * * *

What's happening:

THIS WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
		6:45 Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands	7pm Finance Committee		6:45 Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands	Pastor Roger, Second Coming
						6:30pm Proclaim Concert - Canadian Union College Men's Quartet
NEXT WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
		6:45 Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands	7pm Church Board		6:45 Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands

LaMunyon Update

Just got off the phone with Chris LaMunyon. An update for the services

Thursday - 3;00-4:30pm - Viewing and Northwood Park Funeral Home in Ridgefield

Friday - 1:00-2:00pm - Viewing at the Adventist Community Church of Vancouver

Friday - 2:00pm - Funeral

Friday 3:30pm - Graveside Services - Not sure if this is limited in scope for family and close friends - please see the funeral brochure at the service...

Please pray for this family and the tragic events that have unfolded for this newborn baby Joshua.

roger walter
------------
Senior Pastor - http://bit.ly/qO3Vg
Adventist Community Church
www.VancouverAdventist.com

Fwd: LaMunyon Funeral

Sorry for the second email. The LaMunyon Funeral will be Friday, May 13 at 2pm and the viewing at 1pm. The first email did not have the date. 

roger walter
------------
Senior Pastor - http://bit.ly/qO3Vg
Adventist Community Church
www.VancouverAdventist.com

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jeff Richards 

Date: May 10, 2011 7:06:25 PM PDT

Subject: email announcement about Joshua LaMunyon's Funeral

Hello all,

Chris and Linda LaMunyon's baby boy Joshua passed away this past Monday morning, May 9.  

They have greatly appreciated the expressions of love and support from everyone.

The funeral will be held at 2 pm, at the Seventh-day Adventist Community Church of Vancouver

There is a viewing from 1- 2 pm, in the Fireside Chapel.

LaMunyon Funeral

From: Jeff Richards 

Date: May 10, 2011 7:06:25 PM PDT

Subject: email announcement about Joshua LaMunyon's Funeral

Hello all,

Chris and Linda LaMunyon's baby boy Joshua passed away this past Monday morning, May 9.  

They have greatly appreciated the expressions of love and support from everyone.

The funeral will be held at 2 pm, at the Seventh-day Adventist Community Church of Vancouver

There is a viewing from 1- 2 pm, in the Fireside Chapel.

Vancouver Today - e.Update, May 10, 2011

May 10, 2011

From Pastor Roger ...

I recently read this segment in an RSS feed:

David Foster Wallace on experience — Whenever you find yourself deeply disagreeing with someone, keep this in mind:

"The exact same experience can mean two totally different things to two different people, given those people's two different belief templates and two different ways of constructing meaning from experience." – David Foster Wallace

The same exact event can reinforce the existence of God for one person and reinforce the atheism of another. A single occurrence can make one person feel more politically liberal and make another person feel more conservative.

Reflections like this make me reconsider how I feel about people I disagree with. Often, they're just processing the world a little differently than I do. That doesn't make them bad or evil. In fact, it's an opportunity to understand the world a bit better.

Remember that in the church, emotions sometimes run high, but people are being true to their experience. Give room for others' opinions and thoughts on matters and don't condemn. That's not the way to live anyway.

Let God lead us — as we gather week-by-week — to listen, to understand, to make room for Him to lead us together, even though we are different.

* * * * * * *

What's happening:

THIS WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TODAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
		6:45pm Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands	6pm Committee to Nominate ...		6:45pm Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands	Pastor Roger Walter: Signs Watch Lunch: ALL Church Potluck
		6:45 Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands			7 pm Pathfinder Investiture	3:00pm Charlotte Roberts Memorial
NEXT WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
		6:45pm Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands	7pm Finance Committee		6:45pm Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands	Pastor Roger Walter: Second Coming
		6:45 Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands			6:45 Jesus Walks Among the Lampstands	6:30pm Proclaim Concert - Canadian Union College Men's Quartet

Prayers needed for Chris and Linda LaMunyon

Dear Church Family,

This morning Linda and Chris LaMunyon's beautiful baby boy, Joshua passed away. His delivery was normal and textbook, until when he came out. His lungs tried but did not breathe, and his heart could not sustain beating with oxygen. The medical professionals do not know why his lungs did that.

Chris and Linda's faith is strong, and they are trusting the Lord. Yet as all of us know, this is very hard on them.

They've been up all night long, and are very tired today.  Please keep them in your prayers today and in the upcoming weeks. 

People often wonder what they can do. Please send a card, an email. Being tired and grieving, they may not respond for a while, especially in the next while.  If you'd like to bring them a meal, email  Marella Rudebaugh at Marella.Rudebaugh@nw.npuc.org. She's coordinating meals. 

There will be a funeral, but details are still being worked out. 

Thank you church for your love and care.

If you need an update or wondering how else to help, you can call me. For right now, we're giving Chris and Linda some time to process it all. 

Pastor Jeff

(360)901-2365

jsjjrichards@gmail.com

Vancouver Today - e.Update, May 3, 2011

May 3, 2011 

Happy Mother's Day to all of the women of the church. You may not have children of your own, but you are a Mother in our church family.

From Pastor Roger: 10 Ways to Run Your Budget Like the Government:

1. Spend more than you earn
2. Publically put down your spouse's opinion
3. Don't compromise on anything
4. Don't have an emergency fund
5. Live paycheck to paycheck
6. Keep pushing back decisions
7. Spend more time talking than doing
8. Make lenders dependent upon you
9. Fund luxuries over necessities
10. Rob Peter to pay Paul

You should be thankful that the church finance team doesn't follow these recommendations. Your offerings are funding a team that treats the church's money as a sacred trust to help the church accomplish it's vision of reaching people with the message of Jesus.

When you give to the church, you can be assured that your money is not wasted, it is not frivolously spent away, and it is used to further the mission of the church. Remember your tithe goes to support the world-wide mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and your offerings go to support our local work here.

* * * * * * *

What's happening: Sabbath, May 7, 7:30 pm - The King's Heralds Quartet. Invite your friends!

THIS WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TODAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
			7pm: Church Board			7:30 pm King's Heralds Quartet
NEXT WEEK
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SABBATH
Happy Mother's Day!	7 pm MGAES Constituency eeting		6 pm Committee to nominate ...   7 pm Elder's Meeting			ALL Church Potluck   3 pm Charlotte Roberts Memorial

New Nominating Committee Structure

Last night, at the All Church Business Meeting, We changed the Nominating Committee structure. Thank you to all who came out to serve and join us for a wonderful evening of eating, working on the mission of the church and moving the church forward for what it was called to do. What does that meeting mean for us? 

The Nominating Committee will now only deal with a certain select group of offices. These are essential to our vision of Reaching Up, Reaching Deep, Reaching Out and Administrative positions. The rest of the ministry positions in the church will be filled by a new team called the "Ministry Search Team." This new team will work closely with the department heads to help find people to serve, to help open the doors to ministry opportunities to more people, and to develop a system whereby we gather members' spiritual gift information and help people serve accordingly. The nominating committee will still meet once a year to elect these offices and those names will always be brought to the church for approval. The Ministry Search Team will work on an "as-needed" basis and will be a sub-committee of the board as well as they will report their work to the whole church.

This will allow us to begin to move into the "Large Church" mentality a little more. The Nominating Committee tends to work well for those that are in churches of 100 or so, but our church is much larger and we're hoping and planning that this will help more people get involved as well as really serve within their area of giftedness. This process will help us adapt as necessary and will allow us to implement things in a more timely fashion.

Here's the list of offices the Nominating Committee will now deal with (below).

Elders

Reach Deep

Prayer Ministry Coordinator

Community Group Coordinator

Adult Sabbath School Leader

Children's Ministry Leader

Pathfinder Director

Reach Up

Deacons

Deaconnesses

Welcoming Team Leader

Worship Team Leader

Reach Out

Evangelism Team Leader

Outreach Team Leader

Community Services Director

Administration

Clerk

Treasurer and Associate/Assistants

1/3 Ministry Search Team

Here's how the elected positions above might choose to work with the Ministry Search Team to build their team of people. A few examples:

1. The Children's Ministry Leader has a key leader moving away and she needs to find a replacement. She has racked her brain and cannot find someone for this key position. She fills out a Ministry Description and gives it to the Ministry Search Team, they look in the database and find someone who likes working with kids and has the administrative skills the leader is looking for. They then run the name by the leader and together they figure out a plan to ask that person to serve, etc.

2. The Worship Team Leader needs to develop a team of musicians, singers, organists, up-front people, etc. and deal with scheduling issues. This leader can go to the Ministry Search Team and have them work on people who will serve in the Reach Up ministry under the guidance of the Worship Team Leader.

3. The Adult Sabbath School Leader needs a new teacher for one of the classes. She knows just the person she would like to see do it. She talks it over with one of the pastors and they decide together that this person would be a great teacher. The Adult Sabbath School Leader asks that person to teach and sets a date for them to begin. The Ministry Search Team gets informed but doesn't have to be involved in what's happening because we have given the authority and responsibility to the leader to staff and train their ministry in the way that works best for the mission of the church. 

The Ministry Search Team will always report what happens to the church as well as the Church Board. The Board will have oversight of the team and ministries to keep them on track, to keep them focusing on the mission and to help them when necessary. Please pray for this team and begin evaluating your life to see when you are called upon to serve, that your answer could be yes.

Make a Difference!

roger walter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Senior Pastor   http://bit.ly/qO3Vg

Seventh-day Adventist Community Church of Vancouver