Crosswinds August 2015 - Smithville Mennonite Church

Crosswinds
No. 284
From
The
Pastor’s
Smithville Mennonite Church
August 16, 2015
Many of you are familiar with “Our Daily Bread” daily devotions.
“Our Daily Bread’ also produces topical booklets on pertinent topics
and one really caught my eye— “Being Jesus Online”. I read it and
found the wisdom profoundly applicable to our online reality. We
are more connected than ever before—but the connection doesn’t
make community. The following article (printed with permission)
gives some powerful, Biblical principals that can help us be a clear
witness of God’s love online. Hope it helps us be holy!
What Would Jesus Tweet?
Every Wednesday an American TV talk show host tweets out a
hashtag with a category like: #iusedtothink, #worstgiftever, and
#misheardlyrics. When viewers see that week’s topic, they tweet funny stories back to him based on the theme.
Here are a few examples from some of his fans:
Desk...
#iusedtothink the asterisk on the phone dialing pad was a snowflake
my parents used to call Santa to tell him when I was being naughty.
#worstgiftever a $25 Starbucks Gift card...The balance was only
$10.
When I was young, I thought The Lion King started with
“PENNSYVANIA!” #misheardlyrics
A hashtag typically consist of the hashtag itself and the word or phrase that
follows it. The hashtag helps identify messages that relate to a specific topic.
This TV host is using the hashtag as a prompt to his followers to join in the
conversation via Twitter.
There’s no denying it; social media is everywhere. And it is really
fun! My kids tweet constantly. My parents are on Facebook more
than I am. Thanks to my smartphone I spend most of my waking
hours plugged in to a steady flow of information and commentary.
Many of us check in each morning shortly after our eyes pop open
and sign off every night before we fall asleep. Social media has become a primary means of communicating and sharing life.
The Pew Research Center says that the fastest growing group on Facebook
is those over 65. In the US, more than half of this demographic is on the
Internet.
Continued on page 4
Crosswinds
HERE AND THERE
AROUND THE PARISH
Submitted by Carolyn Martin...
On June 29 my youngest sister, Bonnie Bennett, came from Wisconsin and picked me up
and we traveled to Versailles, Kentucky,
where we met our other three sister from Harrisonburg, VA. We lived in a vacation house
for five days. The first night we found a little
out-of-the-way restaurant supposedly rated
“excellent” but we were not impressed. We
then went to a grocery store to get some food
in case we wanted to cook.
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needless to say, there are not many if any
Shakers today. They are known for their
Shaker furniture which is made today in some
Amish communities. We ate in their restaurant which was delicious and shopped in their
gift shop.
On Friday, we left for home. We had a good
time drinking coffee, talking and laughing as
sisters do, this was the best part. We are all
retired and getting older, as sisters do.
*
*
*
*
*
Rebecca and Elliot Martin went on an adventure to Stansburry Orphanage in Bolivia,
South America at the end of June for a week.
When our children were young, I (Rebecca)
had decided that since international travel
has been such an impact on me, I wanted to
expose our children individually, to service in
other countries when they were teenagers so
that they can each see how the rest of the
world lives & how blessed we are here.
We were near Lexington, KY which is known
for its bourbon and horses. On Tuesday, we
toured a plant to see how bourbon is made.
It was very fascinating. The main ingredients
are corn, wheat and barley (Good for the
farmers!) In the evening we went to see the
outdoor musical about the life of Steven Foster in Bardstown. The props and costumes Our trip began on June 23 when we got up at
4:30 am to head to Canton-Akron Airport, bewere excellent and the weather cooperated.
cause we were able to use frequent flier miles
On Wednesday, we took a tour around horse to fly to Miami for free, we then had to change
country. We saw historic Lexington, we went airlines to get the rest of the way there so we
to where the horse races are held in the had four different flights that day (to Atlanta,
spring and fall. Horse country is beautiful and Miami, Lima, Peru and finally Santa Cruz, Bowell manicured. We also went to where the livia) before finally arriving at the orphanage
retired horses are kept and buried. We saw at 4 am on Wednesday!
the horse who
played
Sea During the weekdays we helped out in the
Biscuit in the kindergarten at the daycare that is connected
Crosswinds
Editor & Printing: Kathy Lehman
& we would play with the kids, sweep & mop
movie.
after snacks and meals and help the children
Published the second Sunday
On Thursday, with their coloring and writing. The daycare
Of every month for
we visited the was developed after people were bringing
Friends and members of
Shaker
Vil- their children to the orphanage because they
Smithville Mennonite Church
lage.
We
Submission deadline is the
couldn’t take care of their children. The leadlearned about ers at the orphanage asked why they couldn’t
Last Sunday of every month.
the Shakers. and the answer was that because there was
Pastor: Todd Martin
When
you nowhere for the children to go during the day,
Youth Pastor: Justin Smith
joined
them,
the parents couldn’t work and so they didn't
Church Phone: 330-669-3601
you
gave have money for food. So out of that need
E-Mail:
them all your was born the idea of offering quality care for
[email protected]
money
and the children during the day at a very [email protected]
they were cel- ble cost so that people could find work and
[email protected]
ibate, so
not have their children taken away. As long
Continued on page 3
Crosswinds
as the parents prove that they are consistently working and they pay a very minimal
fee for services, their children can continue
to come as well as the parent having the opportunity to receive education about how to
parent. Of course, the waiting list is long and
the staff works hard at the beginning of each
year to decide which families will receive services.
On the weekend, we were able to spend
more time with the children who actually live
at the Stansberry Orphanage. There are
three casas (homes) that have parents living
in them and about 8-10 children in each (for
a total of almost 30 children)-mostly elementary aged children. We were fortunate to
have the house of parents of one house be a
newly married couple who both speak English. He grew up in Kidron (and was in an art
class Todd taught a few years ago) and she
grew up at Stansberry, but attended Central
Christian for her 11th & 12th grade years.
They married last fall and moved in as house
parents, they invited us to spend time with
the children on a number of occasions. We
ate three different meals with them and the
children in the home, we played with the four
youngest children that lived there. Some of
the fun things we did with these and other
children that live on the grounds is: cut open
fresh coconuts, play soccer, play with balloons, play on skateboards, and of course
teach them how to play nose flutes! We also
attended Prince of Peace Mennonite Church
with them on Sunday, which was all in Spanish! By the end of our time in Bolivia, these
four children from that home were especially
dear to us, there were hugs and pictures
when it was time to leave.
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The other family that we spent a lot of time
with was Julie & Alex and their three children.
They are the directors of Stansberry and she
was a Steiner and grew up in Wayne County.
(Unbeknownst to me when I first contacted
her!) They have two adopted children (A boy
age six and a girl age eleven, both of them
from Bolivia) and a biological daughter who is
seven so we had much in common to talk
about as Julie took us around the community.
Elliot really enjoyed spending time with these
three children as we would see them around
the orphanage every day and also went to
their house a number of times so we could
call home. We also visited the market and
ate at a local restaurant with them.
Another very interesting opportunity we had
was on the first night we were there, there
was another family who spent the last year
traveling the world and living in each place for
about a month before moving on to the next
country. We were invited to go with them to
deliver sandwiches, coffee and clothes to
some homeless people in the city. We were
going with a man who has made this his mission for the last 10 years and who knows
where the homeless sleep and spend time.
The first place we went, as we got out of the
van, there were three men who showed up
before we even had the food and clothes
ready. We moved to the median strip between the road and at one point there were
about 20-30 homeless people milling around
us taking sandwiches and coffee that was being offered to them. Most of these people
were young adults and addicted to sniffing
strong shoe glue-which we actually saw a
number of them doing as they were walking
around talking. This is the most common addiction because it is so inexpensive and easy
to obtain. Often, they will work during the day
selling things along the road or doing street
performances until they have enough money
to buy a container of the glue to get them
through the evening (which helps one not to
feel hunger pains).
We then went to another location which was a
little more off the beaten path, there was a
boy about ten years old standing on the street
Continued on Page 5
Crosswinds
From the Pastor’s
Desk...Continued
These powerful communication tools haven’t
merely changed the way we connect and communicate; they’ve change the way we experience community itself. With the touch of a
button, at any time, from almost anywhere, we
can share information.
We can relate
thoughts and experiences with people who
may be hundreds or even thousands of miles
away.
Trading a pen and paper for a smartphone,
tablet, or computer has certainly made communication quicker and easier, but such a convenience isn’t always helpful. Like everything,
social media has its own problems. Sometimes words and images are not carefully
thought through before sending them out for
the world to see.
The good and bad of social media were on display recently when a peaceful, but snowy
evening at our home was suddenly thrown
into chaos by two screaming teenage boys.
What caused their emotional eruption? This
tweet from our school district’s superintendent:
JoeSuperintendent@joesupertweetsJan 26
Due to the continuing extreme winter weather
conditions *****Public Schools will be closed
tomorrow. Enjoy yet another day off of school!
With all the running around and shouting one
would have thought this was the first time
school had been cancelled . . . ever. Several
minutes later, after the snow day euphoria had
ebbed a bit, our phone rang with a cancellation notice. That was an eye-opening moment.
In the time it took a computer to call our
house with the automated message, Twitter
had already shared the information simultaneously with hundreds of people and spawned
hundreds of additional tweets from students.
#joesuppertweetsistheBomb this had better
trend
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No clean pants...no school...no problems
#pjday
No school? Yus.
#extendedwinterbreak2K15
This is the great side of social media—
sharing a moment together. Building a community, a cyber-community. Social media is
just that, social. Through it we build and
strengthen (yes, even begin) relationships by
sharing the moments of our lives with each
other. We can laugh and cry with friends
and loved ones, even if we can’t be together
in person.
Most of these tweets were clever, timely, and
fun. They did exactly what social media is
supposed to do. But not everyone seemed to
remember that twitter is a public forum.
Many tweets that night were not fit for public
viewing. Some were laced with profanity.
Others questioned the intelligence of the
administration for canceling school. It was
the good and the bad of social media.
Many people tend to feel that their usage of social
media is somewhat anonymous because they are
not face to face with other individuals. This
tempts them to say things they would never say to
someone in person.
As my phone announced each tweet and post
via an assortment of beeps, chimes, and
whistles I found myself wondering: What
would Jesus tweet? And if He did, what
would He say and share? How would He
relate to his “friends” and “followers” and to
those who disagreed with Him?
Pondering questions like these led to other
questions—questions about my tweets, posts,
and comments. If Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God, then shouldn’t His actions and
attitudes serve as a guide and example for
every area of my life—even my use of social
media?
When responding to questions like these, it’s
easy to slip into rules-and-regulations mode,
into viewing everything as black and white.
Continued on Page 5
Crosswinds
From the Pastor’s Desk...Continued
We may be tempted to make blacklists and set
up moral walls to keep the “good” in and the
“evil out.
But we’re not trying to write a manual to govern
social media behavior. Behavior management
never produces real and lasting change. Rules
may work for a while, but they don’t change
who we are, and eventually, who we are will
show up on our wall or in our news feed. We
need to get to the heart of the issue.
We’re attempting to paint a picture of representing Jesus well in our digital spaces.
Some might object that this effort is purely
based on conjecture. After all, Jesus never
owned a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
You’re right! And if this were only about technology, we would have a problem applying
Scripture’s wisdom to our Facebook and Twitter
feeds. But the struggles we face with social
media are not new. They are ancient problems
showing their ways. Every time a new technology comes along—whether television or radio or
the printing press or even writing itself—
followers of Jesus have been forced to think
about how best to interact with and use those
advances. So while it’s true that Jesus said
nothing about technology, He had quite a bit to
say about how people relate, communicate, and
love.
Even though the Scriptures might not provide
specific answers for questions like “What would
Jesus tweet?” and “How would he use social
media?” they offer us something far better.
They give us a clear view of Jesus. They tell us
who He was, why He came, what He did and
taught, and how He changed everything.
That is what this booklet is about. The Christian’s participation in social media is not a technology issue, it’s a communication issue and
ultimately a heart issue. It’s about relationships, not smartphones. And the Bible has a
great deal to say about relationships—and about
our hearts.
Page 5
HERE AND THERE
AROUND THE PARISH Continued
at 9 pm beside two sleeping figures. He
whistled when we arrived and a few more
teenage girls (one with a small toddler)
showed up to get food and coffee. The
mission workers spent time encouraging
the young mom to sign up to bring her
daughter to daycare so that she could get
a job and avoid the potential problems her
daughter will face in the coming years as a
homeless person. It was a very eyeopening experience to see both scenarios
of homelessness and how it affects all
ages.
Our return trip was not quite as long, but
definitely more eventful! We were up at
4:30 am again to get to the airport and the
first two legs of the trip went by uneventful.
As we waited in Miami, we found out that
the weather in Atlanta was causing all
kinds of delays and our departure time
was moved back several times while we
waited which meant that we would miss
our connecting flight home and would have
to pay for our own hotel. When we finally
got on the plane, we had to sit and wait as
many other planes had been delayed and
they had to add more sandbags to balance
out the plane before we took off. Fortunately, when we arrived, they had postponed our last flight and ironically, as we
boarded our last flight, it was the same
flight crew from the third segment so we
ended up not needing a hotel after all! We
were finally home in our beds around 3 am
after a wonderful adventure seeing how
God is moving in South America!
Crosswinds
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Vignettes on
Prayer
By Ruth Reifsnyder
Submitted by Ruth Miller
Pray for America
“The time has come for us to pray … believing that the Father can mightily reverse the
tide assailing our nation. The truth of the
matter is, when we fight our battles on our
knees, we win every time.”
-Charles F. Stanley
__________________________
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,
intercession and thanksgiving be made for all
people—for kings and all those in authority,
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all
godliness and holiness. This is good and
pleases God our Savior.
A
U
G
U
S
T
-Timothy 2:1-3 NIV
_________________________
PRAY FOR YOUR FAMILY, that each loved
one would walk in close step with the Lord
and be a shining light in your community and
beyond.
PRAY FOR YOUR LOCAL CHURCH, that
each member would be equipped for the
good works God has ordained and that the
body would never lose sight of the Great
Commission.
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS, on the local,
state, and national levels, each man and
woman in a position of authority would feel
the weight of their God-given responsibility
and work to honor him.
PRAY FOR OUR NATION, that revival might
break loose from coast to coast, that hearts
would return to the Lord, and that America
would once again reflect biblical values to a
watching world.
S
E
P
T
E
M
B
E
R
10 - Velda Rohrer
13 - Robert Shetler
Ruth Shetler
Valerie Schaffter
Bill Ropp
14 - Aaron Mast
17 - Mae Miller
18 - Jan Kauffman
19 - Lois Ramseyer
21 - Casey Miller
22 - Eileen Keller
29 - Elijah Shetler
1 - Mabel Hartman
2 - Isaac Holt
4 - Al Miller
Patricia Merrill
8 - Trenna Patterson
10 - Evan Holt
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Thank you to those that brought donations to the library. There
are new books, DVDs, CDs and puzzles for all to check out and
enjoy!
The Librarians:
Kristen Laird
Monica Mease
Lynette Neuenschwander
Children’s Books
1. A Way Through the Sea by Robert Elmer
2. Firestorm at Kookaburra Station by Robert Elmer
3. Touch the Sky by Robert Elmer
4. Follow the Star by Robert Elmer
5. A Light in the Castle by Robert Elmer
6. Chasing the Wind by Robert Elmer
7. Escape to Murray River by Robert Elmer
8. Beyond the River by Robert Elmer
9. Into the Flames by Robert Elmer
10. Race to Wallaby Bay by Robert Elmer
11. Far from the Storm by Robert Elmer
12. Dingo Creek Challenge by Robert Elmer
13. God’s Easter Plan by Carol Greene
14. Jonah by Cindy Kenney
15. Jesus Must be Really Special by Jennie Bishop
16. You Are Mine by Max Lucado
17. A Children’s book About Disobeying by Joy Berry
18. A Children’s Illustrated Bible
Adult Books
19. Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate
20. Another Dawn by Kathryn Cushman
21. Chasing Hope by Kathryn Cushman
22. The Other Side of Darkness by Melody Carlson
23. Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury
24. Twilight’s Serenade by Tracie Peterson
25. A Lady of Hidden Intent by Tracie Peterson
26. When Good Kids Make Bad Choices by Elyse Fitzpatrick, Jim Newheiser & Laura Hendrickson
27. Lonestar Sanctuary by Colleen Coble
28. Agents of the Apocalypse by David Jeremiah
29. The Art of the Firs Date by Hayley and Michael DiMarco
30. Heartfelt Discipline by Clay Clarkson
31. It’s More Than Music by Bill Gaither and Ken Abraham
32. Anathema by Colleen Coble
33. Fire Dancer by Colleen Coble
34. Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson
35. A Safe Haven by Summer Allman
36. House of Mercy by Erin M. Healy
37. Never Let You Go by Erin M. Healy
38. Simple Gifts by Lori Copeland
Continued on page 9
Crosswinds
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On a Someday by Roxanne Henke
How Sweet It Is by Alice J. Wisler
A Step of Faith by Richard Paul Evans
Delicacy by C.L. Kelly
In An Instant by Lee and Bob Woodruff
Secrets of Harmony Grove by Mindy Starns Clark
Under The Cajun Moon by Mindy Starns Clark
Sunset Beach by Trish Perry
A Parents Guide To The Christian College by Todd C. Ream, Timothy Herrmann, & C. Skip
Trudeau
DVDs
48. Adventure in Odyssey Shadow of a Doubt
49. 321 Penguins! Runaway Pride at Light station Kilowatt
50. 321 Penguins! Moon Menace on Planet Tell-A-Lie
51. 321 Penguins! Trouble on Planet Wait-Your-Turn
52. 321 Penguins! The Cheating Scales of Bullamanka
53. 321 Penguins! The Doom Funnel Rescue
54. 321 Penguins! Escape From Planet Hold-A-Grudge!
55. The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name
56. Bible Man Silencing the Gossip Queen
57. Bible Man Shattering the Prince of Pride
58. Bible Man The Six Lies of the Fibbler
59. Bible Man A Fight for Faith
60. Bible Man Defeating the Shadow of Doubt
61. Bible Man Breaking the Bonds of Disobedience
62. Bible Man A Light in the Darkness
63. Bible Man The Fiendish Works of Dr. Fear
64. Bible Man Tuning Out The Unholy Here
65. Power Lab: Sonic Sing & Play Music
66. Road To Emmaus the Greatest Mystery Revealed
67. Veil of Tears, Hope is on the Way
CDs
68. Larry Boy & the Fib from Outer Space
69. Veggie Tales: Pistachio
70. Veggie Tales: Sing-Alongs
71. Adventures in Odyssey: Sounds Like a Mystery
72. Touch the Sky: Celebrating with the Music of Promise land
73. Make Some Noise: Celebrating with the Music of Promise Land
74. Michael Card: The Hidden face of God
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