May 10, 2009 – Opportunities of the Week

“I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints – but let them not return to folly.” (Psalm 85:8)

Instructions for the Christian life from the Book of Hebrews
The book of Hebrews is full of instructions to guide us in our walk with Jesus. Two weeks ago we considered Hebrews 4:1-11. We talked about God’s rest, which is eternal, but also every day. We learned that we should, be careful not to fall short of the promise of entering God’s rest (4:1), and also, to make every effort to enter God’s rest (4:11).
This week we consider Hebrews 2:1-4. We are instructed to pay careful attention to the message that God has for us (2:1). This message is the gospel, which means “good news.” We pay attention to many things in this world, these things can cause us to drift away from the good news that God has for us.

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING – MAY 17, 6:30 PM
Our quarterly congregational meeting will include an up-date from the Finance, Personnel and Property Commission; an affirmation ballot to fill a vacancy on the Worship & Service Commission; and a discussions and affirmation of the associate pastor position. A ministry job description for the associate pastor was placed in mailboxes last week. All members are encouraged to participate.

WORSHIP AND MUSIC OPPORTUNITIES

X-TREME WORSHIP is Tuesday, June 2. Audible Truth will lead worship and Bill Blank will bring the message.

“MUSIC IN THE MEADOW” will be held July 12. Your help is needed for this fun and inspirational event. The next organizational meeting is May 31 at 12:00 pm. Contact Ken Umble for more information. Large potted plants are needed to decorate the stage. Contact Sue R if you are able to loan your plants.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

SUNDAY SCHOOL ELECTIVE
Is there a teenager in your life? A six-week Sunday School elective class will start on May 10 for you. “Parenting Your Teenager: A Biblical Look At Parenting” will be offered in Bill Umble’s class during the Sunday School time for anyone interested. Topics include controlling your teen’s anger, teaching your personal faith, and dealing with drug and alcohol problems. Pastor Steve & Francesca, Eric & Sue Nafziger will lead the class.

TEACHER NEEDS: the 3&4 year old class needs a part time teacher starting in the fall. Contact Denyce if you can help.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL IS COMING SOON
VBS is June 14- 18 this year. Get all the information and register at www.groupvbs.com/webtoybox.myvbs/MapleGroveVBS2009.

VBS will have a work night on June 3. The VBS Committee will provide dinner at 6:00 pm and VBS preparation activities will follow.

FAMILY LIFE OPPORTUNITIES

Did you miss the Family Life Conference last week? A 3 CD set that includes all three sessions is available from the church office.

YOUTH MININSTRY OPPORTUNITIES

MYF (Mennonite Youth Fellowship) meets on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm. This is a time of fun and spiritual growth for youth in grades 9 to 12.

EVANGELISM AND SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

MCC WORK DAY is Thursday, May 14. Everyone is invited to help at the MCC Material Resource Center. A van will leave Maple Grove at 8:00 am. See Henry Umble if you are interested. See http://mcc.org/eastcoast/programs/material_res.html.

RELAY FOR LIFE is June 19-20. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board. Walkers and sponsors are needed. See Tammie Bromley, Rana Watterson, or Amy Umble for more information.

A PRAYER TEAM IS BEING FORMED in preparation for the fall renewal meetings. Contact Tim Fritz if you can commit to being part of a prayer team.

RENEWAL SERVICES will be held September 20 - 23. Pray for renewal at Maple Grove. Dwayne Walton, director of the Parkesburg Point, is our evangelist.

WOMEN’S MINISTRIES OPPORTUNITIES

The Ladies Bible Study meets on the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:00 pm. They meet at the home of Sue Eby.

The SEWING CIRCLE is collecting for MCC Newborn Kits. 6000 of these kits were sent to Iraq for families displaced by the war. More kits are needed. Find more information and a list of items needed at http://www.mcc.org/kits/newborn/.

MAPLE GROVE PRESCHOOL
This is the final week of classes for the Preschool year. Be sure to register for the 2009-2010 school year. See www.maplegrovepreschool.org for more information.

ETCETERA

PHOTOS FOR CHURCH DIRECTORY
Sign up today to have your family's portrait taken on June 8, 9 & 10, from 3 PM to 8:55 PM. Sign up during the next 3 weeks on the sign-up sheet in the foyer or call the office for a time. Contact Missy King or RuthAnn Bruner with questions. Payment will be made upon delivery of the photos.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!
Do you like to doodle? Can you express your Christian faith in a drawing? Starting in June we will create our own covers for the Sunday church news bulletins. We would like to have different pictures each week. Ideally, pictures should be black and white and about 4 ½ x 4 ½ inches. Larger artwork will be scanned and reduced to fit. Computer generated artwork is acceptable. Color drawings will be considered, but because of high costs of printing in color, we will only run them occasionally. Submit your artwork to Pastor Steve.

THE WIDER BODY OF CHRIST
(More information for most of these items is available on the bulletin board in the foyer)

TEL HAI CAMP AND RETREAT is having a benefit spaghetti supper at the camp on Friday, May 15 from 4:00 to 7:30 pm. See http://www.telhaicamp.org/ for more information.

[please contact Pastor Steve Crane, pastorscrane@epix.net, if you see anything that needs to be corrected on this page]