reflections are listed in the content that follows. In response to the question, “What was your overall impression after reading the assessment,” most felt confused, frustrated, annoyed, of- fended, angry and overwhelmed, while some felt relief, as though the report had given freedom to explore and discuss issues that had gone un- addressed for too long. Interestingly, upon second and third readings, the anger, frustration and offense people initially felt melted into appreciation, gratitude and openness to the re- port’s content. In response to the question, “What is your understanding of the ‘Spirit of Religion,’ and where do you see this at work in the life of our congrega- tion,” most related a “Spirit of Relig- ion” to a lack of freedom, or a ritualis- tic “going through the motions.” Many felt they were not able to gauge a “religious spirit” among the congre- gation since only individuals them- selves know the reasons for which they fellowship, worship, and serve. Others spoke of Love Feast and other traditions and emphasized the need to continue communicating the rea- sons why we do such things. Some wondered if we are feeling a genuine sense of freedom to be expressive in our worship, regardless of which Sun- day morning service we attend. Oth- ers referred to Congregational Busi- ness Meeting and questioned how much the valuing of relationships play in our decision-making process. In all, most affirmed the notion that we are a loving people who have demon- strated maturity and progress through the years. February 2012 Netzer Forum Summary On January 14, we hosted a forum for the congregation to gather, re- flect and respond to the Netzer re- port. For those of you who feel “out of the loop,” I will provide a brief history. At the Spring Congrega- tional Business Meeting, we agreed to subject ourselves to a time of as- sessment to gain a truer picture of our overall health, as well as identify our strengths and weaknesses. This was done not because we perceived there was anything “wrong,” but to stop and take a good look at our- selves, much like undergoing an an- nual physical at the doctor. We invited a group called “Netzer,” four pastors from Southeastern Pennsylvania, to guide us through the assessment process. Netzer came and prayed throughout the facility, met with leadership, and also met with a group of nine con- gregational participants of varying ages and backgrounds to serve as a congregational sampling. Together we worshiped, prayed, discussed and shared our perspectives regard- ing West Green Tree. Then, Netzer wrote a collaborative and compre- hensive report that was published and made available to everyone at our Fall Congregational Business Meeting. Board members read the report and shared their reactions, which varied to a certain degree. The report is dense and required multiple read- ings for most (myself included). It was decided to hold a congrega- tional hearing to provide the oppor- tunity for everyone to discuss the assessment and further discern what the Spirit of God is saying to His church. A brief summary of your Witness Commission 2 Scriptures, Servants & Stats 3 WGT Calendar 4 Anniversaries & Birthdays 5 Tiny Timbers Tidbits 6 Licensed Ministers 7 Brethren News 8 & 9 YWAM Mexico 10 Inside this issue: God’s Valentine Gift God’s Valentine gift of love to us Was not a bunch of flowers; It wasn’t candy, or a book To while away the hours. His gift was to become a man, So He could freely give His sacrificial love for us, So you and I could live. He gave us sweet salvation, and Instruction, good and true-- To love our friends and enemies And love our Savior, too. So as we give our Valentines, Let’s thank our Lord and King; The reason we have love to give Is that He gave everything. By Joanna Fuchs
Transcript
reflections are listed in the content that follows. In response to the question, “What was your overall impression after reading the assessment,” most felt confused, frustrated, annoyed, of-fended, angry and overwhelmed, while some felt relief, as though the report had given freedom to explore and discuss issues that had gone un-addressed for too long. Interestingly, upon second and third readings, the anger, frustration and offense people initially felt melted into appreciation, gratitude and openness to the re-port’s content. In response to the question, “What is your understanding of the ‘Spirit of Religion,’ and where do you see this at work in the life of our congrega-tion,” most related a “Spirit of Relig-ion” to a lack of freedom, or a ritualis-tic “going through the motions.” Many felt they were not able to gauge a “religious spirit” among the congre-gation since only individuals them-selves know the reasons for which they fellowship, worship, and serve. Others spoke of Love Feast and other traditions and emphasized the need to continue communicating the rea-sons why we do such things. Some wondered if we are feeling a genuine sense of freedom to be expressive in our worship, regardless of which Sun-day morning service we attend. Oth-ers referred to Congregational Busi-ness Meeting and questioned how much the valuing of relationships play in our decision-making process. In all, most affirmed the notion that we are a loving people who have demon-strated maturity and progress through the years.
February 2012
Netzer Forum Summary On January 14, we hosted a forum for the congregation to gather, re-flect and respond to the Netzer re-port. For those of you who feel “out of the loop,” I will provide a brief history. At the Spring Congrega-tional Business Meeting, we agreed to subject ourselves to a time of as-sessment to gain a truer picture of our overall health, as well as identify our strengths and weaknesses. This was done not because we perceived there was anything “wrong,” but to stop and take a good look at our-selves, much like undergoing an an-nual physical at the doctor. We invited a group called “Netzer,” four pastors from Southeastern Pennsylvania, to guide us through the assessment process. Netzer came and prayed throughout the facility, met with leadership, and also met with a group of nine con-gregational participants of varying ages and backgrounds to serve as a congregational sampling. Together we worshiped, prayed, discussed and shared our perspectives regard-ing West Green Tree. Then, Netzer wrote a collaborative and compre-hensive report that was published and made available to everyone at our Fall Congregational Business Meeting. Board members read the report and shared their reactions, which varied to a certain degree. The report is dense and required multiple read-ings for most (myself included). It was decided to hold a congrega-tional hearing to provide the oppor-tunity for everyone to discuss the assessment and further discern what the Spirit of God is saying to His church. A brief summary of your
Witness Commission 2
Scriptures, Servants & Stats 3
WGT Calendar 4
Anniversaries & Birthdays 5
Tiny Timbers Tidbits 6
Licensed Ministers 7
Brethren News 8 & 9
YWAM Mexico 10
Inside this issue:
God’s Valentine Gift God’s Valentine gift of love to us
Was not a bunch of flowers; It wasn’t candy, or a book To while away the hours.
His gift was to become a man, So He could freely give
His sacrificial love for us, So you and I could live.
He gave us sweet salvation, and Instruction, good and true--
To love our friends and enemies And love our Savior, too.
So as we give our Valentines, Let’s thank our Lord and King;
The reason we have love to give Is that He gave everything.
By Joanna Fuchs
Page 2
In response to the question, “What is your understanding of the ‘Posture of Worship?’ Do you believe we, as a whole, are authentically worshiping Jesus or merely gesturing (i.e. ‘going through the mo-tions’?)”, respondents emphasized the need for each person to prepare his/her own heart and mind before gathering for a Sunday morning worship service. Some come to consume something while oth-ers gather to give worship. Some thought our worship services were too structured and needed more flexibility. Others shared a desire for more congregational involvement in the services, whether through sharing testimonies or prayer requests. The need to continue teaching and inviting people into a purer posture of worship is critical. Finally, in response to, “What should we do with this information? What practical next steps should be taken,” participants gave a variety of responses: the need for continued analysis; immersing our-selves in prayer, especially corporate prayer; providing greater freedom for people to ask questions; reevaluate congregational policy and structure; encourage participants to use their gifts; more consis-tent discipleship; greater emphasis on mentoring each other; small-group interaction; more fellowship events; more celebration at watershed faith moments such as baptism; more hospitality; a greater transparency of personal needs; redefining Love Feast. The consensus was no additional staff members are needed at this time to help facilitate increased health and vitality; that the membership of the con-gregation is gifted enough to continue the discussion, & in so doing, further develop friends of Jesus. The discussion is not over. Copies of the questionnaire we used at the Forum have been placed in your church mailbox (if you do not have a church mailbox, questionnaires are available on the table beneath the church mailboxes). We need to hear from the rest of you. If you weren’t able to participate in our forum, complete the questionnaire and return it to the mailbox titled “Bulletin/Newsletter,” and the Board will collect your responses. Thank you for lending your time, talent and voice to this process. Together, we are the Church. To-gether, we discern the mind of Christ. Together, we are His Body and Bride. May the Light of the world be our guide as we forge into 2012…together.
For Christ, Kenneth A. Stewart, Senior Pastor
Witness Commission News As the new year begins, we are planning a host of events to enjoy throughout the year. We are looking forward to some of the same activities that were a big hit in the past, and also adding some new things. We are hoping to involve many of you as members & reach out to those in our local com-munity. Mark your calendars to take part in these upcoming events:
Movie Night- February 24th @ 7pm "Courageous" Easter Egg Hunt- March 31st- April 7th rain date Drive your tractor to church Day- May 6th Clothing Bank- June 9th VBS- July 16th - 20th
The tentative schedule for the rest 2012 includes the Elizabethtown Fair in August, Fall Fest in October, and Operation Christmas Child (Shoeboxes) in November. December will include the Elizabethtown Parade, Angel Tree, Christmas Caroling, and the Christmas Dinner. We are very excited about all the upcoming events and hope that you share in that excitement. Please be in prayer about how we can reach out to others through these events. If anyone is interested in helping with any of the activi-ties please contact one of the Witness Commission members. Thank you!
Doug Breneman, Jason Leonard, Angie Harnish, Jennifer Miller, and Julie Ruhl
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February Sermon Texts & Servants Focus for 2012: Year of Health
February 5 February 12 February 19 February 26
Messenger John 4:12-25 Pastor Kenneth
Janet Myers John 14:1-14 Pastor Kenneth
John 2:1-11 (Lent 1) Pastor Kenneth
Organist Janet Myers
Mary Jane Smith Mary Jane Smith
Pianist Sylvia Weaver Brenda Geib
Special Music
Choir Choir Children Sing!
Offertory Glenn Weaver
Chorister Sylvia Weaver Regena Tripp June Kolp Regena Tripp
Jr. High Clubs, Sr. High Clubs, Young Adult Bible Study,
& Choir 7 pm
2
3
4 3 M 7 am
Night Hike
7 pm
5 Worship 8:00 am
Sunday School 9:15 am Worship 10:30 am
New Member Fellowship Meal @
Noon
6
7
8 Jr. High Clubs, Sr. High Clubs, Young Adult Bible Study,
& Choir 7 pm
9 Hospitality
Committee Mtg. 7 pm
10
11 3M
7 am
Crochet Time 8:30 am
Sweetheart
Banquet 6:30 pm
Juarez Mission Trip Leaves
12 Worship 8:00 am
Sunday School 9:15 am Worship 10:30 am
13
14
Valentine’s Day
15
Jr. High Clubs, Sr. High Clubs, Young Adult Bible Study,
& Choir 7 pm
16
17
Sr. High Si Trip
18 3M
7 am
Sr. High Ski Trip
Juarez Mission
Trip Returns
19 Worship 8:00 am
Sunday School 9:15 am Worship 10:30 am
Sr. High Ski Trip
20 President’s Day
Prayer Meeting 7 pm
March
EVERGREE NEWS Submissions due
21
Tiny Timbers Conferences
22 Jr. High Clubs, Sr. High Clubs, Young Adult Bible Study,
& Choir 7 pm
Tiny Timbers Conferences
23 Deacon Mtg.
7 pm
24
Movie Night 7 pm
25 3M
7 am
Paul Bunyan Day @ Camp
Swatara 8 am
26 Anointing Sunday
Worship 8:00 am
Sunday School 9:15 am Worship 10:30 am
27
28 29 Jr. High Clubs, Sr. High Clubs, Young Adult Bible Study,
& Choir 7 pm
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Anniversaries
2/3 - Randy & Audrey Estep 2/16 - Don & Ruthie Hollinger 2/25 - Melvin & Brenda Geib 2/26 - Greg & Cindy Seitz
Birthdays 2/1 - Matt Ramsey, Cyrus Williams 2/2 - Nel Bender, Sarah Clugston, Diane Kulas 2/4 - Charles Drescher, James Spickler 2/5 - Darlene Breneman, Mason Garber 2/6 - Lisa Kreider 2/7 - Matthew Martin 2/9 - Brad Drawbaugh, Laken Hoffer, Lee McClenaghan 2/10 - Curtis Gruber 2/11 - Janessa Daniels 2/12 - Matthew Haverkamp 2/14 - Donna Hollinger, Don Hollinger 2/15 - Barrett Youtz, 2/16 - Karen Ginder, Kendra hollinger, Steve Hiller 2/17 - Phyllis Hamme, Craig Smith, John Townsend 2/19 - Autumn Kauffman 2/20 - Trent Groff, Jean Landvater 2/22 - Brendan Haverkamp 2/23 - Krista Hollinger 2/24 - Jessica Tripp 2/25 - Doug Breneman 2/26 - Janie Kreider 2/29 - Gerald Hamme
Hospitality Committee mem-bers...please mark February 9th, at 7 pm on your calendar as our first
meeting in the new year!
Attention Ladies There are two upcoming events for women. Check out the follow-ing!
District Women’s Spring Fellowship to be held Saturday, March 10th beginning at 8:45 am at the Coventry Church in Potts-town. Patricia Ann Moyer will be the fea-tured speaker & will be sharing on “Biblical Garden: Rooted in Faith” and “Fringe Benefits”. A buffet lunch will be provided for $6 per person & child care will be available for children under five. Please see Jess Groff for more details or to register to attend.
Annual Women’s Spiritual Retreat will be held Wednesday, March 21st from 9:30 am till 2 pm at Midway Church of the Brethren. “Hope & Help for Those Who Hurt” will be the theme for the day. Nancy Guthrie will be the featured speaker. Lunch & child care will be pro-vided for those who pre-register with a freewill offering collected to help offset the cost of lunch. Please see Jan Haw-thorne if you would like to attend.
Free Tax Assistance Free tax assistance is available through VITA, the Volun-teer Income Tax Assistance program through Elizabeth-town College. This program is for individuals who need assistance with basic income tax return preparation. VITA is aimed at those for whom paid assistance may be out of reach (non-English speaking individuals, low to fixed in-come, people with disabilities or special needs, & the eld-erly). Appointment times are available Monday through Friday until March 30th.
VITA volunteers are trained to assist taxpayers with Form 1040A, 1040EZ, and the basic 1040. PA state & local re-turns may be done as well. Please call 361-1270 to make an appointment.
Page 6
We’ve already completed four months of school and have now begun the month of January in the new year. Our month of December was a fun-filled and busy month. The children performed the Nativity for the families. What a blessing and joy for the families as they watched and heard the Story of the Birth of our Christ Child as told and done by their children. The children and families also participated by bringing 146 food items for the Elizabeth-town food bank. We had the children bring in items for the Operation Christmas Child and we were able to fill ten shoe boxes for this project.
The month of January we were busy dreaming of a “snowy” month. We had shaving cream in our sensory table and the children pretended to be playing
in the snow. We had pretend snow balls made out of white socks and pretended to be throwing snow-balls and the boys pretended to be hauling them in the trucks. The children made other snowmen out of paper which now decorate our bulletin board in our classroom. We sang lots of wintery songs and pretended to be melting snowmen. Hope you had a chance to check out our classroom and hallway with our pretend snowy wintery wonderland.
We already had our Open House Registration on January 18th for our school year 2012 – 2013. As al-ways God sent just those families needed to fill His school.
God has blessed His school with a wonderful staff of Miss Sherry, our Tuesday/Thursday teacher; Miss Susan, our Monday/Wednesday/Friday teacher; Miss Cindy, Director and teacher/assistant; Miss Maria and myself as teacher/assistants. We all feel honored to be able to serve in His school and thank you, the West Green Tree Church family, for all your many prayers and faithful support . We consider it a privilege that we can be a small part of the outreach in the community for the church.
Many Blessings to you always, Miss Ruthie T/TT teacher/assistant and Registrar
Tuesday/Thursday Class Openings
If you have a family member or friend who has a child that will be turning 3 years old by March 10th & they would like to enroll in the Tiny Timbers program, please contact Ruthie Hollinger at
367-5580 or the church office at 653-5367.
Youth Sweetheart Banquet All are invited to attend the Youth Sweetheart Banquet on Saturday,
February 11th beginning at 6:30 pm. Dinner choices will be hamloaf, cheesy potatoes & baked corn or stuffed chicken. breast & baked corn. The evening will feature good food, great fellowship, &
entertainment for you & your sweetheart. RSVP slips are located in your church mailbox or on
the table in the foyer & should be returned by February 5th. Cost for the dinner will be donation.
Thank you for supporting the youth of WGT!
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Licensed Ministry Notes These last few weeks have been full, but good! As I work at piecing together several jobs, I am privileged to see a portion of God’s quilt of my life. My role as a licensed min-ister at West Green Tree has become more task-specific as I join Pastor Kenneth in car-ing for this amazing flock. Each week begins with a staff meeting during which we pray, plan visitation, and review administrative and pastoral needs. Currently, I am attending Nurture Commission, Board, and Executive Committee meetings. I am leading Connections Sunday school class, weekly; and, preaching monthly. Additionally, I am available to teach youth on Wednesday evenings, as needed.
Earlier in January, I met with my TRIM (Training in Ministry) formations group near Ephrata. This is a group of about six people, including the District coordinator, who meet quarterly as a peer group. Dur-ing this meeting, we share about our journeys—joys and challenges—in ministry training. We provide one another encouragement and perspective, as well as, accountability. It is a chance to stretch and grow. It is also a way to connect with others in the Atlantic Northeast District
In addition to ministering at West Green Tree, I am now working in Lancaster several days a week with our sister, Jan Chavez. I am also looking at what classes to begin next. (That may happen over the sum-mer months.) God has been faithful to grant me flexible scheduling, ability to manage my pain and fa-tigue (from fibromyalgia), and wonderful traveling companions. I am blessed to have you all along for the ride!
For Him, Janet Myers
Shalom to my West Green Tree family! I can hardly believe that I am almost finished with my first class at Evangelical Seminary. My current class is Culture, Context and Mission and it has been fascinating to learn how the Gospel has been spread from one culture to another. As disciples and followers of Jesus, we are commissioned in Matthew 28:19 to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NIV). In a book written by Andrew Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History, he states: “According to the words of the Great Commission which we have, the task of the disciples of Christ is to disciple the nations, to make nations disciples.”
After reading this, I thought, “What am I doing to help those who are still unreached?” And what I mean by “unreached” are people, tribes and clans that have never heard about Jesus. Our church mis-sion statement is "We intentionally develop friends of Jesus Christ by sharing God's love through words and deeds." How “intentional” have I been on a global level? Well, I haven’t been. However, I have de-cided to challenge myself to become more intentional and pray on a daily basis for an unreached na-tion. If you would like to join me in this challenge and pray that the glory of God and the love of Jesus are revealed, let me know! I hope to present a prayer plan in the next few weeks.
Blessings to you. Your sister,
Audrey J
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News from Mexico: Pily Felix and Joshua Newsletter
*
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Listed below are food items sent from the folks at YWAM Mexico. Please see opposite page top (*) for
information on how to send help. Normally with about $350.00 they can cover most of the monthly expenses. Beans 50 kg $70.00 Sugar 50 kg $75.00 Flour 50 kg $50.00 Baking Powder 15 kg $25.00 Rice 50 kg $40.00 Salt 20 kg $10.00 Oil 17 Lts $40.00 Mayonnaises 1 Gallon $ 4.00 Mustard 1 Gallon $ 4.00 Cheese, onion, garlic, potatoes, tomato, Jala-peño chile, Red chile, tomato sauce, juices, pastas (variety), tea, coffee, cream, oat-meal, chicken, ground beef, tortillas, sau-sage, frozen hamburgers
Supplies Needed:
200 Bowls , 1 microwave, 1 blender, 1 Wa-ter container , 1 Big pan, 5 big pans, 10 large metal spoons, 10 Plastic table cloths (1.50mts x 1.50 mts), 5 brooms, 3 metal dust pans, 5 large mops, towels to dry dishes, sponges for dishes, Ajax, bleach, Pine sol, Muriatic acid, & toilet paper
Community Christmas Dinner Wrap-Up This Christmas Holiday was special to many in our community as well to those here in our congregation as we opened our doors to our first Community Christmas Dinner. We served approximately 220 meals this year with about 135 of those meals being delivered and take-outs. The church was filled with people enjoying the delicious meal and it was nice to see members of our congregation joining in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the community. The outpouring of apprecia-tion was amazing and there were so many won-derful stories of how this gesture touched not only those who attended the meal but also those who helped make this dinner such a success. It is my desire to encourage people to share their tes-timony with the congregation during our worship time so all of you can hear how God touched their heart.
Many of you asked if I was feeling stressed out as this day grew near and I can honestly say that I never did. God gave me the strength and a sense of peace that I needed. He also gave me a wonderful group of people without who this could have never been successful. I can't thank all of you enough for the time, the multiple prayers, the delicious food ranging from turkey & desserts to cranberry relish, etc., the words of encourage-ment, financial support, and all your intuitive ideas. Thank you for helping me fulfill the vision that God placed on my heart. It turned out better than I could have ever imagined!
Stay tuned for a wrap up meeting to discuss what worked well, what we may need to change,
etc. to be scheduled in February or March. Christmas 2012 will be here before we know it!!!
Tracy Drescher
740 Greentree Road Elizabethtown, PA 17022 Kenneth A. Stewart, Pastor
