The Bangor Liberty Bell

Sharing the News and Views of

Bangor Liberty Friends Church

October 2013   Volume 34, No. 10

 Manny Garcia, Pastor

 

 

Living for the Rope

By Pastor Manny

“We Western peoples are apt to think our great problems are external, environmental.  We are not skilled in the inner life, where the real roots of our problems lie .... our complex living, we say, is due to the complex world we live in, with its radios and autos, which give us more stimulation in per square hour than used to be given per square day to our grandmothers.  I would suggest that the true explanation of the complexity of our program is an inner one, not an outer one ... Strained by the very mad pace or our daily outer burdens, we are further strained by an inward uneasiness, because we have hints that there is a way life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power.”

-Thomas Kelly from A Testament of Devotion

I can’t take a day off from my relationship with God because God has plans for me.  I need to be prayed up, read up, and ready to take on the enemy.  My family depends on me to be the spiritual leader in my home and God trusts me with many things in life.  If I am not taking time to be a better man of God every day then I am not only letting myself down, I’m letting down my church, my family, and my God.  Even Jesus, God in the flesh, took time away to pray, to commune with the Father, to have that intimate time with the Creator.  If Jesus needed this time then how can we convince ourselves that we don’t?  We must be in search of a deeper relationship with Christ each day.

It is no longer enough to have our only encounter with God for the week take place on Sunday morning.  As a matter of fact, that has never been enough.  I have heard a lot of reasons why people think that their schedules don’t allow for intimate time with God, but I have yet to hear a good excuse.  God wants us to visit Him at the Divine Center of our souls daily, several times throughout the day.  We will be swayed to the left or right often but to return to Him is to return to the peace and power that only come from Him.

We are equally called to live in community, to grow spiritually together.  The two most important uses of our time are personal time with God and corporate time with God.  A knife cannot get sharper on its own and we cannot grow beyond a certain point in our spiritual lives without partners for the journey.

A busy schedule is never a valid excuse for not knowing God or one another better.  The analogy of the rope comes to mind; imagine a length of rope as long as the eye can see with a strip of red tape at the end.  So many of us live for that one strip of tape.  We strain and struggle each day to do more than we did yesterday just so that we can be comfortable within that little piece of red tape.  We are called to live for the rope, not the tape!

Our culture beckons us to be selfish.  To do more, make more, and spend more so that we can experience temporary happiness.  God beckons us the other direction.  To give up what we hold dear.  To allow Him to help us reorganize our priorities so that the rope is the focus rather than the tape.  What is your current life style doing for your eternity?  How about for the eternity of those around you?  Are you living for the rope or for the tape?  There is more to this life and you are invited to experience it.

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works…”               -James 2:14-26

 

                                               

Remember In Prayer

~October mission emphasis - the Mesquakie

   Friends Center & Director Daneen

~ A safe harvest season for farmers

~Kris & Amber Smitherman, for housing,

   a part time job for Kris, plus a safe

   delivery for their fourth child.

~Our Youth program for H.S. & J.H. Youth

~The Friends School in Belize, Sam & Becky

   Barber and family

~Nathan & Brianna Martin back in the USA

   on furlough from Cambodia

~Quakerdale’s Wolfe Ranch, Marshalltown

 

 

Thank You! 

The House of Compassion Supply Closet Team wants to thank you for contributing school supplies at your church.   It helped make the School Supply Project successful again this year.  With your help, we were able to collect supplies and give out 797 backpacks/bags at St. Paul's and upwards of 160+ additional ziploc bags filled with supplies at HOC the following few weeks (no backpacks).  Families expressed gratitude and hundreds of thank you notes were left from students and parents alike.  Thanks so much for helping to make the beginning of school so much more enjoyable for many students!    Sincerely, The HOC Supply Closet Team 

 

 

A Second Family, Bound Together by Faith and Love

          It was a small church.

                Surrounded by pines, it sat perched on one of those rolling Iowa hills that seemed conjured out of a Grant Wood painting.  The building and grounds, elegant in their simplicity, were rimmed by venerable pines and surrounded by the well-ordered fields, creeks and roads of farm country.

                There was a gentle strength in that church, a strength that seemed to well up through the rich, black soil into the people who made up the congregation.

                The people had a lot in common with their land.

                Their wit could sparkle like the emerald glint of new corn.

                Their generosity could rival the bounty of their incredible harvests.

                The bite of their disapproval, if you crossed those things they held most sacred (family, honor and God) could take your breath like a harsh January wind.

                Yet their friendship and love could wash over you like a gentle summer breeze.

                I know.

                I watched what it did for a cocky 15-year-old who had the audacity to ask to join the congregation.  The asking wasn’t out of the ordinary; the fact his parents went to another church in another community was.

                Trivial, perhaps, by today’s standards, but something like that just wasn’t done 20 years ago.  Imagine a child joining a church without his parents?

                Never mind.  There were lots of parents to go around.  Not to mention brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles.

                Many pay lip service to church as family.  This congregation lived it.

                Attracted first to an active youth group, the boy quickly slipped into other activities.

                Imagine a softball game with players ranging from six to 60.

                Think about a service where people took the charge to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” seriously and with uncommon artistry.

                Visualize a worship service held under the same starlit cathedral the land’s settlers had used for generations.    Imagine having a double handful of concerned parents:

                People like Mom Tuttle, whose brownies always disappeared from the pan before they had a chance to cool.

                Or Father Martin, who prepared breakfast according to the number of sleeping bags on the floor and delighted in a wake-up call of silverware dropped to the table from a height of several feet.

                And, of course, Dad McDonald, who sat by a teenager’s hospital bed night and day until the boy’s vacationing parents could be found.

                Imagine being a part of a huge, extended family bound together with humor, faith and love.

                I miss those people, but I’ll never forget them.  Once you’ve been part of the Bangor Liberty Friends Church you never really leave.

                For example, Mother Martin called me last Wednesday night.  She said the church was planning to publish a book of remembrances, and would I be willing to send them something?

                Anything for the family.

 

(Jim Elsberry wrote this article in November 1991 for the Southwest Daily Times of Liberal, Kansas.  He was publisher of that newspaper at the time.  He has been a member of Bangor Liberty Friends Church for many years.  He currently lives in Edmonds, Wash.)  -Contributed by Neil Martin

 

 

 Welcome to

 Kris & Amber Smitherman,

Bangor Liberty’s new Youth Pastor and wife!

 

          On September 8, 2013 Bangor Liberty Monthly Meeting approved the hiring of Kris Smitherman as our new part-time Youth Pastor!  Kris began working on September 15th after moving to Grinnell from Chandler, OK where he served most recently as a youth pastor for 5 years.  Kris and his wife Amber (the former Amber Vanderploeg of Grinnell) are seeking a new home and additional employment in the area for Kris, as well as expecting child #4 in October.

          Kris and Amber’s children are, Aiden (5), Adaline (3), Zander (2).  We look forward to having the Smitherman family becoming a part of our church family, and Kris’ work with our Sr. and Jr. High Youth groups. 

          Kris says that he “loves making connections with youth and really getting to know them on a personal level.  I will work hard at loving on kids and just really caring about them.  High School and Jr. High youth are at such an important stage in life, and I love seeing them make good choices and being a part of their lives.”

         

 

2nd Annual Fall Family Fun Festival

October 30, 6:15-8:00

All ages welcome to this FREE event

Carnival type games, a cookie walk, tattoos, crafts and table games for all ages

Costumes welcome, but not necessary

Come and go as needed

Sign up to bring an item for the

Gorp trail mix

Papa Murphy’s pizza & drinks provided

Come join our church family

in celebrating Fall!

           

 

Missions Emphasis:  Mesquakie Friends Church

Daneen Ahumada became The Mesquakie Friends Church pastor and director on February 1.  Daneen is from the Mesquakie people and came to know Christ over twenty years ago.  She is a delightful person who carries a deep burden for the Mesquakie people to come to know Jesus Christ.  Her husband Juan works at Manatts (road construction & cement business) as a seasonal employee and is off during the winter months. 

During the past several months improvement has been seen both in attendance and behavior of the children at Wednesday Kids Club.  45-60 children attend the meal and lesson time each week along with a growing handful of adults.  Sunday services average in the 30’s.  Daneen and her daughters have been helping with our HOC meals and hope to get others from their church involved in the future.  If you are interested in visiting the church, it has been suggested we visit on October 27 as they have a potluck meal the last Sunday of each month so we would have more time for fellowship.  Let Margaret know if you wish to go.

Please be generous in your giving to our 3rd Sunday offering.  Our funds will help with gas for the vans to pick up kids, food for the meals, lesson materials, utility bills, salary and other needs of a growing ministry.  Daneen and Juan appreciate your prayers as they continue in this mission work in the Tama area. 

 

 

Easy as ABC        

Each month over 600 needy households can choose 3 items from the House of Compassion Supply Closet that cannot be purchased with food stamps.  Needs are growing but donations are shrinking. In October we join other churches to fill the HOC shelves with non-food items. 

To remember items most needed think ABC:  A-aspirin, Aleve; B-baby supplies; C-cold medicine; D-dish soap, laundry detergent.  Take home a bag in the entryway and bring it back with any of these items by Sunday, October 27.  Or give a check designated to HOC Supply Closet.  Each item will be used and appreciated.

 

 

HOC Meal Report 

On September 26th, 19 from BLFC provided a meal for 89 guests.  The menu was tuna noodle casserole, carrots, tortilla chips & warm cheese, mixed fruit, tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers, pudding, cookies or pie.  Many expressed their thanks.  With this big group there were very few leftovers.  The shelter was full as well.  It was a busy night but all went well thanks to all our volunteers!  Our next meal will be Thursday, Oct. 31. 

 

 

October is

Pastor Appreciation Month!

One way to “live love” this month would be to think of one small thing Pastor Manny enjoys and give him a token of appreciation from you or your family.  Include a note with specific reasons why you appreciate his spiritual leadership.

 

 

DEEPER Program - Join Us!

Classes/Studies @ 7 pm each Wed. Night

at BLFC - Everyone is welcome!

 

*Nursery for children under Kindergarten age

*Children, K-4th Grade - “God Wants Me to…”

*Jr. High & Sr. High Youth

*Young Adult Study - “Power of Ugly--Grace That Transforms” - 7 part DVD series

*Women’s Study - “When Women Long for Rest”

*Adult Video Series - “Why You Believe What You Believe”

 

Fellowship meals are held the 2nd & 4th Wed. nights each month at 6:15, before the studies/classes begin.  Volunteers or families sign up to prepare the meal and those who attend are asked to contribute a free will offering for their meals.

 

 

Bangor USFW

          Barbara Jo Morgan will host the Bangor USFW ladies at their next meeting on Tuesday, October 15 at 1:30 at the Embers in Marshalltown.  Craig and Judy Marshall will share stories and video of their trip to the Jamaican mission work.  All ladies are welcome to attend.

 

 

Liberty USFW

Ladies of Liberty USFW will meet the evening of September 19th at Sharon Johnson’s home in Union at 7 pm. Mollee Patten, Jade Hammers and Leah Higgins will share about the Jr. Youth’s mission trip to Wisconsin this past summer. 

 

 

Congratulations!

Blake and Alicia Matney of Liscomb are new parents as their first child, Parker Alan, was born at 1:01 pm on Sunday, September 22nd in Marshalltown.  Parker weighed 8 lbs, 11 ozs and measured 20-3/4” at birth. 

 

 

hawk-i

Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa is a no-cost or low-cost health insurance program for working families.  hawk-i  insurance provides medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage.  For some families the program is free, others pay a $10-$20 premium per child, per month.

However, no family will pay more than $40 per month.  A working family of four may earn up to $70,650 and still qualify.

hawk-i also offers a dental-only plan.  There is a poster on the church’s bulletin board with information on it and free applications are also available.