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Officiating for July
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Marcella Phillips |
Sue Buehler |
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July
5..................................Sue Buehler |
Coffee Hour Hosts July 5.............................................Choir |
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I recently came across this story in a book written by J. John and Mark Stibbe. Linda Burnett, twenty‑three, was visiting her in‑laws, and while there went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries. Several people noticed her sitting in her car with the windows rolled up and with her eyes closed, with both hands behind the back of her head. One customer who had been at the store for a while became concerned and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda's eyes were now open, and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was OK, and Linda replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for over an hour. The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head. When they finally got in, they found that Linda had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head. A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but quickly recovered and tried to hold her brains in for over an hour until someone noticed and came to her aid. There is a moral to this story: our interpretation of the “facts” is not always true. It raises the question, “How often do we go around holding our brains in?” I think there might be a sermon there and I would love to hear your examples of holding our brains in. One example that comes to my mind is gossip. People often believe gossip because “where there's smoke, there's fire.” Although that’s an old, old saying, it simply is not true.
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Just because it may be true in the physical world, the saying’s fallacy is clearly evident in this story: the smoke did not turn out to be fire at all. We should all remember how damaging and hurtful gossip is, especially in light of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” A false witness is still false, even if you think it’s true. And speaking of gossip, the story itself is not true, even though it had been reported as true by two respected newspapers, the Orlando Sentinel and the Fresno Bee, among others. The story showed up on TV in 1997 in an episode of High Incident. The beginnings of the story may have come from Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn where Aunt Sally says about Huck, as the purloined butter under his hat begins to drip down, “He’s got the brain fever as shore as you’re born, and they’re oozing out.”
Where do I go to check out stories like
this, and especially some of the stuff that gets passed around the internet
posing as fact? I have found a wonderful website,
http://www.snopes.com, which has as
it’s purpose chasing down the veracity of stories. The Biscuit Bullet story
can be found at: Dave |
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It is hard to believe that this will be the 17th Annual CROSS Ministries Back-to-School Giveaway for the children of low and no income households. Even though we have offered this program for many years now, it is as vital today as it was when we first began. I remember that first year and how stunned we were when hundreds of families lined up outside the door and down the alleyway just waiting to receive the children’s school supplies. Little ones hopped about talking in loud, excited voices as they waited to see what supplies they would be given. The mothers and fathers attempted to maintain some semblance of control in the midst of such excitement. Even though that was 16 years ago, it was true of every single year that followed. It is interesting that such a simple program consisting of providing a backpack filled with the supplies needed to begin school could make such a difference in the lives of so many. But imagine for a moment what would happen if the children did not have the supplies to begin school. Imagine arriving at school with the other children who were carrying backpacks, pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, and paper but you did not have anything to bring. Perhaps Mom or Dad had lost a job or someone in the family became ill and missed work resulting in less money for “non essentials.” Imagine how you might feel if that were you or your child. CROSS Ministries does not want any child to have a poor start to school. We know that education is the way out of poverty. When you help a child with school supplies, you are making an investment into the future of us all.
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As in previous years, we will be needing volunteers for packaging and distribution. We are also critically in need of both money and donations of supplies. If we have cash then we can purchase the items in quantity over the Internet at a greatly reduced cost, just as we did last year. For every $12.50 that is donated, a child living in poverty can have a backpack filled with the grade appropriate school supplies needed to begin their year. We also value the donations of items that you take the time to shop for and bring to the church. With summer barely off and running, it is hard to wrap our minds around this project. Yet this year’s giveaway, on Thursday, August 6, and Friday, August 7, is just around the corner with lots of preparation to do in advance. If you would like to arrange a time to volunteer or drop off donations, call Ann or Roberta in the CROSS Ministries office, 279-8877. Please look in your heart and help us by donating to this vital ministry for the children. Thank you. Roberta
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North
America.
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math
multiplication on the floor?
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical
formula for water?
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Seventeen students participated in Vacation Bible School on June 8 - 12. The theme was “Camp E.D.G.E.: Explore and Discover God Everywhere.” Each day we had a “trek” to a distant time and place, an E.D.G.E. pledge, a Bible verse, and a craft. Of course, we found time for play time and snacks each day.
· Monday—Trek
to the Promised Land
· Tuesday—Trek
to Bethlehem
· Wednesday—Trek
to the Pharisee’s house
· Thursday:
Trek to the Upper Room
· Friday—Trek
to Galilee David Moore assisted Ann McGowan for most of the week. The children presented their VBS program at church on Sunday, June 14. We
are grateful to
Virginia Beach and
Pam Rees
for donations to help pay for VBS expenses.
Carillon Concert at You are invited to a free carillon concert in the parking lot of First Christian Church, 2500 University, on Sunday, July 5, beginning at 5:00 p.m.
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Sunday School Sleepover Our sleepover to celebrate the end of the school year was held in the church lounge on Friday, June 5. Fifteen children were in attendance. After playing in the park, we enjoyed a dinner of pizza, chips, and drinks. Back at the park after eating, we were entertained by a pantomime group from a church in Ankeny. Our movie for the evening was “Hotel for Dogs.” Not tired yet after the movie, the children begged to hear a bedtime story. Ann got one of the books from our Sunday school library, and by the time she was done reading the 67-page book, all were sleeping, some even snoring! In the morning we had strata and milk for breakfast.
We would like to thank
David Madsen
and
Terry McGowan
for helping on Friday night, and
Pam Rees
and
Ann McGowan
for spending the night. The children always
have such a good time at this event. Summer Reading Time Summer Reading Time has started again at CG Church. We meet from 1:30 - 4:00 every Thursday afternoon until school starts again in August. Besides reading and being read to, the children have time for playing at the park and having refreshments back at the church. (These are the two favorite activities of the day!) Donations to purchase snacks for the group are welcomed. Kate Nelson, David Moore, and Terry McGowan will be assisting Ann in this activity from time to time.
Band
Concert at
You are invited to a band concert at Calvin
Community on Tuesday, July 14. The Greater Des Moines Community Band will
begin playing at 7:00 p.m. on the south lawn.
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