Bangor Liberty Friends Church

Fall Kick Off for Sunday School

           Fall brings the start of a new school year and a new year in our Christian Ed. program.  Our Fall Kick-Off will be Sunday, September 23rd at 9:30 AM.  We invite all area children and adults to join us as we learn more about living the Christian life, the Bible and our Savior Jesus Christ.  We have classes for children and youth of all ages, and two adult classes - the Young Adults studying the Sermon on the Mount and the Seekers studying Genesis, using the Adult Friend  Quarterly.  Everyone is welcome to join us at 9:30 each Sunday morning.

Sunday School Teacher

Appreciation Breakfast

Sunday, September 30th

BLFC,  8:30 AM

Lloyd McDonald, Guest Speaker

Bangor Liberty Family Camp

September 14, 15 & 16, 2007

           “Are You Smarter Than a Cowboy?” is the theme for our annual Family Camp at Quaker Heights.  This weekend is set aside for our church family to gather at Quaker Heights to enjoy the beauty and relaxation at camp, and to get to spend time with one another or just to take time alone with God.

           The weekend starts on Friday evening at 6:30 with a side dish potluck supper, meat furnished, and the first round of “Are You Smarter Than a Cowboy?” followed by a campfire, board games or family games.

           After breakfast at 8:00 on Saturday, there is a whole slate of activities for all ages beginning with devotions and continuing on thru the day, ending with a Cowboy Party, final round of “Are You Smarter Than a Cowboy?”, an evening message and a campfire with devotions.

           The weekend concludes on Sunday with breakfast at 8:00, worship at 10:30 and lunch at noon.  Eugene Wolfley will be our guest speaker for the weekend.

           The Family Camp Committee will be taking registrations and fees for Family Camp on Sunday, September 9th when they will be serving a Family Camp meal. Be sure to register then to be a part of this special weekend.

The Search for Me

            Why do we always seem to misplace our keys at the most inconvenient times?  Oh, yeah, as if there were ever a convenient time to lose your keys.  The other day I went to leave the house and wouldn’t you know it, yep, I could not find my keys anywhere!  I searched high and low; I looked upstairs and down, I even looked in the refrigerator and freezer!  No matter how hard I looked, no matter where I looked, I just could not find my keys. 

I started out the day running a little ahead of schedule.  I was going to be able to drop my daughter Hannah off at daycare and still be able to get to the office by 8:45am.  Oh, did I forget to mention I was in the best mood I had been in for quite some time; I was on top of the world!  Well, that had all changed now that I was running an hour behind and still no keys, and my attitude had turned from wonderful to horrible, but I had two things still going for me, God and the cutest three-year-old key hunter, Hannah.  Most of the time those two were working together because God was shining so brightly through her I just had to step back and offer up a word of thanks for her giggle and smile.

As grown-ups, we tend to focus on the things that we think are the important things in life such as money, communication with one another by way of the latest gadgets, and entertainment just to name a couple.  These things in and of themselves are not bad or sinful, but if we become obsessed with them or any other thing for that matter, or the pursuit of them, then they do become sinful because they crowd out the good things of life like family and God.  Children, especially when they are younger, like toddlers through six year-olds, have such an innocence about them because the world hasn’t had enough time to effect them too deeply yet.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  By that He is referring to their simple innocent desire to want nothing more than to be with Jesus and to be nurtured by that relationship into the strong children of God we need to become.

I did eventually find my keys, well I take that back.  Hannah found my keys and I learned how to love my daughter more and see her as a minister of the Lord.  I also learned how important it is to stop and enjoy the company of my daughter and my Lord while giggling about my own absentmindedness.  I will cherish the memories of that day especially the moment when Hannah walked up to me and giggling said, “I think I found ‘em!” You found ‘em, alright Hannah!  Thank You!  God helped you help me find a little bit of myself that had been misplaced a lot longer than those keys. 

Sin has a tendency to push out good parts of you when you invite it in, and when God gets rid of it; He also wants to fill those spots in your life back up with good stuff.  It just takes some time and patience on our part.  See if you can find any little bits of you that you may have misplaced some time ago!  You just might be surprised what you find.  Jesus said He came that we might have life and that life more abundant.   

                                          -Dean

   “It is impossible for a believer to keep right with God if he will not take the trouble to spend time with God.  Spend plenty of time with Him; let other things go, but don’t neglect Him.”    Oswald Chambers

Art & Compassion Soup Lunch

Sunday, October 14, 2007

11:30-1:30

Fisher Community Center Auditorium

Marshalltown, Iowa 50158

Cost:  $10 per person

The House of Compassion and the Marshall County Arts & Culture Alliance

will jointly host a soup lunch featuring ceramic bowls made by residents of

Marshall County.  The proceeds of the lunch will be split between the two groups.

Thank You!

A HUGE thank you to the Family Camp Committee for all their planning, preparation and hard work to serve their delicious meals throughout the year, making Family Camp affordable for all.

Fruit of the Spirit

            In September the Monday Night Bible Study will begin to take a closer look at the fruit of the spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23.  By looking at various Bible characters we will learn how each fruit can be worked out in our own lives.  The fruit of faithfulness will come alive as we study how Jehoshaphat and the outnumbered army of Israel become aware of God’s steady presence.  We’ll be taught gentleness as we read of Paul’s interactions with the Thessalonians.  All adults are welcome to join us at the church starting Monday, September 10th at 7:00 as we allow the Spirit’s fruit to ripen in our lives.

Ladies Bible Study

            Following a summer recess the Bible Study for ladies will resume on Thursday, September 6th, 10 AM at the church.  All ladies are welcome to join this time of study and prayer focusing on the Women of Faith study book, Experiencing Spiritual Intimacy. 

Children’s Church Resumes

Our first gathering for the fall will be on September 9.  Children who are age 4 through fifth grade are welcome to participate.  They will be dismissed to the fellowship hall usually following the children’s message in the worship service. The program includes Bible lessons, service projects to our church and community, crafts, and activities to encourage the children to live like Jesus.  Talk with Margaret Good if you have any questions.

All Ladies of the church are invited to attend one or both of the USFW meetings as the groups start a new year.  Liberty USFW will meet at Darlene Bradley’s home for an organizational meeting on Wednesday, September 12th at 7 PM.  Devotions, plans for the new year, and fellowship will be shared.  Bangor USFW will gather on  Tuesday, September 18, 1:30 p.m. at the home of Jeanette Roe in Clemons.  Betty Arterburn will provide the devotional program.  We’ll continue to collect funds for mission workers and have workdays to make quilts or tray favors for various local projects.

LADIES USFW FALL RETREAT

October 6, 2007 @ Motor Friends Church

Speakers: Gene & Fran Wolfley share their Jamaica experiences

Theme: “Evangelize or Fossilize”

For ALL Ladies!

(More information coming in the bulletin)

Missions News

Patrick Nugent and Mary Kay Rehard have completed five years with the Friends Theological College in Kaimosi, Kenya and are returning to the States.  During August, Mary Kay and the girls settled in Cincinnati with the girls enrolled in Walnut Hills High School.  This is a big step for the girls.

During this period Patrick is staying in Kenya to assist Ben and Jody Richmond in their duties and to complete a brief deputation - introducing Ben to the files, computer documents, systems and office procedure, campus ministry, Sunday church and home visits in the rural areas.  Ben and Jody will both be teaching classes at the school and will keep us informed through their newsletters, and trust that we will continue to support them in the years to come. 

Mary Kay has set most of the practical information down in a large document to serve as a handbook for the Field Staff in the future. It is the Nugent/Rehard hope to leave FUM with a zero balance in their ministry.  They thank everyone for faithful generosity over the past five years.  The total needed to FUM by August 30, 2007 was $30,000.  Patrick has been appointed to be the Director of Major Giving at the Cincinnati Museum Center.  We thank them for their five years of working at the Friends Theological College and wish them God’s blessings in the years to come.  We look forward to hearing more from Ben and Jody Richmond in the future.

When Hurricane Dean hit Jamaica a couple of weeks ago, we have heard through FUM of the damage done to the schools there.  Swift Purscell Boys Home lost part of the roof, making the old cafeteria unusable.  As the new cafeteria is not yet completed, there is a need to raise the funds to complete the new one so the boys have a place to eat. 

           The Lyndale Girls Home has a different problem. An Ackee tree (native Jamaican fruit tree) blew over near the home completely condemning the restroom facilities and the girls are not able to use the restroom.  A new facility will cost about $2500.  We wish them prayers of thanksgiving that no one was hurt and prayers of encouragement as the clean up process continues.  At this time we are not sure about other places where Quaker meetings are located.

Also many of the banana fields in Jamaica were flattened, leaving many people without work or income from this important commodity. 

How thankful and appreciative we are that we can enjoy the simple things of life. We do take much for granted. 

If you are led to support these worthy projects, you can send a check through FUM or Bangor Liberty Friends Church, marked for the hurricane relief in Jamaica.  

-BLFC Missions Committee

In Our Thoughts and Prayers

~Swift Purscell Boys Home and Lyndale Girls Home in Jamaica and their building needs after the hurricane

~Morgan Martin in her campus ministry with InterVarsity at Coe College.

~The Kaimosi Hospital in Kenya needs funds for a new roof and salaries.

*Please contact the church office to have prayer concerns listed in the bulletin or newsletter.

Passing Along Some Needs

           Jean Bergen, Director of the House of Compassion has shared some projects that they are unable to help with, in hopes that we as a church or as individuals might be able to do.  A homebound individual on oxygen 24/7 would like a small deck added to her home so she can be outside occasionally; an individual needs a roof put on her house as it has a big hole and leaks badly; the HOC needs a few good men to take laundry to the hospital a couple of times a week, and also asks for some people who would be willing to share their pick up trucks for moving shelter guests into new apartments or for moving furniture.

           If you can help with your time, funds, strong backs or vehicles, please call Jean Bergen at 641-752-5999.

Library Ledge: 

Inspiring Devotionals

Joseph Parker said, “If I really love my Savior, nothing will stand in my way of a personal meeting with God every morning.” 

One of our Quaker Queries asks, “Do you endeavor to advance your spiritual growth by prayerful study of the Bible and devotional literature?”  During the month of September the library will display books that will encourage you in your devotional life.

            The audio When God Whispers Your Name by Max Lucado reminds us that only God can move us along in our journey with His power from above.

            Janette Oke shares a collection of devotionals in The Father Who Calls.  An index in the back provides a list of each subject.

            A few other books include The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life by Chuck Swindol, and Everyday Miracles by various authors.  Other audios choices: Fire Up Your Life, In His Steps or Just Give Me Jesus.  Check out these and more on the library ledge.