September 30, 2008

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

Think back 100 years ago.

Well, unless you're Wilbur Hunt, you can't remember that long ago. Not our Wilbur Hunt mind you, but another Wilbur Hunt who lives in Springfield. A few months ago when our Wilbur was in the hospital I went up to visit him, stopped at the desk to get his room number, and when I asked for Wilbur Hunt's room number, the person manning the station said, "Which one?" I said, "You mean there's more than one Wilbur Hunt?" There was, and the other one, not ours, was 106 years old. Just the thought of two Wilbur Hunts have given me nightmares ever since. (Only kidding Wilbur, even though I know you're praying that your "Fighting Illini" whips the mighty Maize and Blue this Saturday. But I digress.)

Think back 100 years ago.

Here are some of the people who were born in that year: Alistair Cooke, Amy Vanderbilt, Bette Davis, Claude Levi-Strauss, Edward R. Murrow, Estee Lauder, Henry Blackmun (the Supreme Court Justice who wrote the majority opinion in the Roe vs. Wade case, allowing for abortions), Jimmy Stewart, Lawrence Welk, Louis L'Amour, Lyndon B. Johnson, Milton Berle, Thurgood Marshall.

Think of how different our world would have been without these men and women. We would have laughed less, not smelled quite as good, wouldn't have worn our Levis, had seen less good movies, wouldn't know what good manners really are, would have had less bubbles, and would have been less informed.

Here are a few events that took place that year:

• Henry Ford introduced the Model T at the cost of $850.
• William Durant founded General Motors.
• The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox to win the American League pennant, but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. Only 6,120 fans showed up for the last game. And the Cubbies haven't won the World Series since then.
• William Howard Taft was elected president of the United States.
• The first Gideon Bible was placed in a hotel room. Since that day they have distributed 1.4 billions Bibles.
• The first electric toaster was introduced, as well as the first electric typewriter. (Today our kids have no clue what a typewriter even is.)
• The F.B.I was formed.
• J.C. Penney began. (The store, not the man.)
• The Ex-Lax Company was started. (I'm told it was a very moving experience.)

Here's a few other interesting facts from 1908:

• There was a race riot in our fair city, from which we're still healing.
• Petroleum production started in the Middle East.
• The cost of a stamp was 2 cents.
• Federal spending was .66 billion dollars. (100 years later they want to spend 700 billions of a bail out program? Wow!)
• 90% of farmers' horse power was provided by horses.
• Half of the U.S. population lived on farms or in towns smaller than 2500.
• A chemist, Jacque Bradenberger, received a patent on cellophane.
• An earthquake in Messina, Italy killed over 80,000 people.
• The first credit union in the U.S. was formed.

A few more interesting events took place in the year 1908.

• The first time the ball signifying the New Year was dropped in Times Square.
• General Baden-Powell started the Boy Scouts.
• Star #46 was added to the flag for Oklahoma. (And no, they didn't have the nation's best football team that year, too.)
• Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Murdock were the first to travel cross country in a car. It took them 32 days, 5 hours, and 25 minutes to complete their journey.
• The very first Mother's Day was observed.
• You'll love this one: Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stood before the city council and announced that, "Women are not physically fit to operate automobiles."

In all of my research and in the discovery of these interesting facts, none of the web sites I traveled to even mentioned that in 1908 in the small town of Pilot Point, Texas, a small group of people from all over the United States came together and began the Church of the Nazarene. And now, today, there are 1.5 million Nazarenes, in over 150 world areas who are trying to impact our communities and our world for Jesus Christ. But that's exactly what happened.

God raised up a people, who were still living in the wake of the Civil War, to come together from the East, South, North, and West to form another branch of His church. He gave us a passion for preaching holiness, for missions, for reaching the underprivileged, and for Christian higher education.

This Sunday we will celebrate our 100th Anniversary by receiving communion together, along with Nazarenes from all around the globe, by glancing back, and by looking toward the future and what God wants to do with these people called "Nazarenes."

Let's have a great celebration!

Did You Know?????????????????

Ivan Fink has been released from the hospital today! He sure appreciates all the attention he's been receiving from his church family and small group. It's almost like we like Ivan, or something.

Craft Connection  is a great night for all the ladies to get a sitter, bring a craft, a snack to share, a friend and coming ready to laugh and enjoy a night out with "the girls." Saturday, October 4th is the day, the gym is the place, and the time is 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Come and stay as long as you can. And enjoy the fun.

The next Blood Drive is October 22nd. Call Pat Fowler at 529-9597 for an appointment, and avoid having to wait in line. They are so appreciative of you being willing to give what's in your heart.

Did you see the Pumpkin Fest commercial Sunday, starring "Pumpkin Man"? If not you can go to Youtube and see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdK_q0kilBw Mark your calendars for the Annual Pumpkin Fest October 11th, from 4:00  7:30 p.m. at the church. This is a great time to pick up your pumpkins and baked goods. There will be games and rides for the kids and more fun than they can imagine.

Springfield Zone Mission Rally will take place Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m at the Taylorville Church of the Nazarene. Brian and Lynne Utter, missionaries to South America, will be speaking. They are originally from our District, so it will be a great opportunity to support them in their important ministry. All are invited.

Saturday, October 4th, all ushers and Momentum security personnel are asked to attend a training session. Saturday's class will be from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Training is be facilitated by Tom Hiatt and Kim Barrington. It is suggested that you wear comfortable clothing for this training.

Momentum Volunteer Training, Saturday October 4th. Pastor Jay is conducting a Momentum Volunteer Training session for all who volunteer at Momentum, from 11:00-2:00 p.m. on Saturday. If you'd like to become a volunteer for Friday evenings, once a month or more, contact Pastor Jay. There is a need for more volunteers. Kick off is Friday, October 10th and is for all 6th through 12th graders.

Sunday, October 5th, we will be joining with 1.5 million Nazarenes (not the 1.5 Nazarenes reported last week) around the world celebrating our 100th Anniversary!

If you did not have the opportunity to sign up to be a part of a Small Group contact Pastor Gregg. There are openings in existing groups and new groups will be forming.

You can still join the Wednesday Night Connection classes which meet at 6:15 p.m. right after our family dinner. This week's dinner menu is: Chicken Enchiladas, Tossed Salad, Corn Chips, and Ice Cream.

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

Upcoming Events:

• Coffeehouse Comedy, Nov. 8 & 9
• Centennial Service  October 5th - Church of the Nazarene's 100th Anniversary

A bulletin board has been put together to help us remember those from the church or family members who are serving in the military. If you'd like to include someone on this board contact Debi Adams for the info you will need to supply. You can see the bulletin board above the drinking fountain in the hallway by the pastoral offices.

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $26.96 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com and then you are able to use it as you would Google or other search engines.

ADULT MINISTRIES

The next Prime Time Fellowship (Weiner Roast) is next Tuesday, October 14th, at 6:00 p.m. in the large pavilion at the Rochester Community Park. Hot dogs, buns, drinks, marshmallows and table service provided. Bring a covered dish or dessert, hot dog sticks, and a lawn chair to enjoy a fall weiner roast. Bring a friend! For directions to the park, call JoAnn Randle at 523-9356.

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

Upward Basketball sign-up will be on Saturday, October 25.

TEEN MINISTRY

October 10th Momentum kicks off!

Teen Girls' Bible Study  will meet on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m., at Sue Bagley's home (327 Osteen, Chatham). All teen girls are invited for the fellowship and Bible study.

PRAYER REQUESTS..

• Those listed in Sunday's bulletin
• Jim Fleming  Trudy Tucker's father has had a heart attack and is hospitalized
• Lynette Heppe
• Renee Gallaher's mother  recently diagnosed with colon cancer
• Tim Gallaher's mother  health concerns