September 16, 2008

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

Last evening, around 8:30 p.m., Alleta Britton went to be with her Lord, whom she loved and served faithfully. 87 years young Alleta was the picture of faithfulness to her Lord. She preferred being in the background and never craved the limelight, but she made such a great impact for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. She went about doing what she could for the church and didn't even begin to realize her influence. When she went into the hospital about three weeks ago, there was a steady stream of her church family visiting her. She told me she didn't know that many people even knew who she was.

But every Sunday she stood at her post greeting people and handing out bulletins. Every time communion was served she arrived very early on Sunday mornings to prepare the elements for communion. It had to be done right, and Alleta knew what "right was, and so out of a great sense of honor she would prepare those elements that represented the body and blood of her Savior. When health problems kept people from attending church, Alleta would take a Sunday school paper and a bulletin over to their home, so her friends wouldn't miss out on knowing they were still a part of the church, even if they could no longer attend. When funeral dinners were prepared you'd always find Alleta in the kitchen helping out. Every month she would send out birthday cards and anniversary cards, so her church family knew they were loved.

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

She was faithful in attending her church, every time the doors were open. She was always one of the first ones here. It didn't matter if it was a worship gathering, a Wednesday Connection class, Sunday School, a prayer meeting, a Prime Time dinner, or a Coffeehouse Comedy  Alleta was here. I don't know if she realized it, but we were a better church because of her faithful attendance. I will never forget last winter when we went through a terrible ice storm and we had to cancel our Sunday worship gathering. I called Alleta personally to let her know we wouldn't be having church that morning, and she was so disappointed. At 86 she sure wasn't going to let a little ice stop her from coming to church, only a call from her pastor stopped her from venturing out.

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

She faithfully supported her church financially. Her willingness to sacrifice for her church should be a model for every believer. She loved her many pastors over the years. And she was known to make a mean rhubarb pie for us once in a while, simply because she knew it was my favorite.

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

She loved God's Word and every day would spend time with the Lord in prayer and reading her devotional, "Come Ye Apart"; it hasn't been called that for a number of years, but that's what Alleta still called her devotional book put out by the Church of the Nazarene. She came to every class she was a part of prepared. She had studied God's Word, she had read the lesson, she had filled in the work sheets, she had prayed for her teacher.

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

And when she could no longer stay, after a short stay in the hospital, she heard those words about 8:30 last night she had longed to hear. "Enter in my good and faithful servant...Come and share in your Master's happiness." And today she is experiencing what she had sung about so often:

"What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. And I look upon His face  the One who saved me by His grace. When He takes me by the hand and leads me thro' the promised land, What a day, glorious day that will be."

We will miss Alleta standing at her post. We celebrate that she has received the "crown of righteousness," and is rejoicing in heaven. But let us be even more committed to fall into the footsteps of a faithful woman. May it be said of us also, "We stood at our post until we could no longer stand."

When the arrangements are made for the Home Going Celebration service we will let you know the details. Right now it looks like visitation will be Thursday from 5:00  7:00 p.m. at the church, with the service immediately following. There will be a graveside service in southern Illinois on Friday morning. Please remember Alleta's family as you pray. And thank you for being the church and visiting Alleta in the hospital these last few weeks.

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

Jeff Gemar's (our new keyboardist) mother passed away Sunday. She was from South Dakota and Jeff and Mary were able to be there with her. Remember this family, also, as you pray.

Did you see today's paper, Tuesday? Jim and Kathi Krell's picture was in the paper. They are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. They were here Sunday back from an Alaskan cruise. Now that sounds cool!

A very special thank you to every one who came out to the church on work day. Much was accomplished. Even Ivan Fink, broken leg and all, was here. In fact, Ivan volunteered to go up on the roof. He said there's no point in risking someone else breaking a leg. We didn't let him go up there, but we appreciated his sense of humor and him being here and helping others with tasks.

If you did not have the opportunity to stay for the fellowship time after Worship last Sunday and you would like to join a small group contact Pastor Gregg. There are openings in existing groups and new groups will be forming.

Diana McGregor is in Texas volunteering with the Red Cross to help those are dealing with the devastation from hurricane Ike. I don't like Ike!

There will be a Christian Education Board meeting, Wednesday, September 24th at 5:30 p.m. for all ministry leaders. Meet in room #106 and have dinner together as you meet.

Momentum starts Friday, October 10th for all 6th through 12th grade teens. Momentum Version III will have new upgrades that our teens will love. See Pastor Jay for some flyers to give to the teens you know.

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.

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: Baked Ham, au gratin Potatoes, Coleslaw, Green Beans, and Apple Pie.

The Answers for Life class led by Andy Peterson is a great way to prepare to meet Pastor Jay's challenge of witnessing and leading people to the Lord. If you're not already obligated elsewhere on Wednesday night, invite a non-churched or non-Christian friend and attend this class with them as we seek to "worship Christ as Lord of [our] lives. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it." 1 Peter 3:15 NLT

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.

This coming Sunday, September 21, our wonderful nursery volunteers are: Tracey Burger with the infants; and Chris Bott and Cassie Bott with the toddlers, and Breanna Cambre as the floater. This Wednesday, September 17th, the nursery will be staffed by Lisa Willoughby and Patric Crawford. Thank you!

Upcoming Events: Coffeehouse Comedy, Nov. 8 & 9, 6:30 p.m. Centennial Service  October 5th we will celebrate the Church of the Nazarene's 100th Anniversary

A bulletin board is being 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 going towards the Family Life Center.

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $26.01 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 Dinner is next Tuesday, October 14th, at 6:00 p.m. in room #106.

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

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

Caravan, a Christian based scouting program, is still going on. Cost is $10 per child. Caravan meets every Wednesday from 6:15-7:15 p.m. See Director Janice Young for more information.

Kidz Expressway has begun collecting Culver Restaurant "Team Scoopie Points" from children's meals (on the side of the bag). The children would like to earn enough points to acquire several pieces of equipment. You can give your points to Gloria Sanguedolce, drop them at the office, or leave them at the Kidz Check-In area. The children appreciate your efforts to help with their projects. You can also continue to bring in those "Cans for Kids."

PRAYER REQUESTS...

Those listed in Sunday's bulletin

Alleta Britton's family

Lynette Heppe

Jeff and Mary Gemar and family

Renee Gallaher's mother  recently diagnosed with colon cancer

Tim Gallaher's mother  health concerns

Tripp Robson, Janet Glisson's baby grandson