From the Desk of Pastor Steve Pastor Steve

From the Desk of Pastor Steve
Easter egg hunts are awesome events. Watching your child hunt down eggs full of candy and prizes
is always a good time. At an Easter egg hunt I attended this year, some of the eggs had money in them. I
saw one child give away some of the candy she had collected, while holding on to the cash. Smart girl.
Not all Easter egg hunts went well this year. PEZ Candy, the company that makes those collectible
candy dispensers, cancelled its third annual Easter egg hunt this year just as it got started. They had
“hidden” over 9,000 eggs in three different fields. The plan was to allow children of different age groups to
hunt eggs in each field in an orderly way. Things did not go according to plan.
The eggs had been placed well before the event was supposed to start. Some parents arrived early,
even before the event staff showed up, and allowed their children to start collecting eggs. Other parents
became upset about this. And in the words of one person at the event, “When it came time, at like 10:30
A.M., the parents just bum-rushed that area. When my son left, he had a broken basket, and he was hysterically crying."
One can only imagine the scene as outraged parents rushed the field, pushing over kids as young
as four, to make sure that their kid got their fair share of free candy. In a report on CNN, PEZ said, "We
made efforts to get everyone something before they left and passed out tons of candy and coupons. Due
to the actions of a few, the good intent turned into a mess."
Greed and selfishness can lead us to do some pretty crazy things.
Contrast the PEZ Easter egg hunt with actions of Jesus. “Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not
consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, He made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a
man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)
As you can see, there are two paths in front of all of us. One is the path of self-interest and selfpromotion. It is the path where you put yourself first at all cost. The second path is the path towards
selflessness. It is the path marked out for us by Jesus. He gave up all He had for others.
We choose between these paths every day. All of us are tempted to go down the path of selfinterest. We may not have joined the parents who rushed the egg hunt, but if no one was looking…
As followers of Christ we must choose to follow His path. The good news is that when we do
that, we put ourselves in God’s hands. He knows what we need. As we serve others and put others before ourselves, God takes care of us.
My encouragement to you this month is to have the same mindset as Jesus did. Give yourself to
others. As you do this, God will lift you up and you will be amazed at the ways He uses your selflessness
to change the world around you.
Blessings,
Pastor Steve
No Community Without Unity…
On March 20 at our Burlington location, we saw 10 people go public with their faith through
baptism. I’ve had the privilege of baptizing many people in five different states. All of them have
been meaningful in their own way, but there was something different about this service. To me, this
was the most powerful baptism service I have ever had the privilege of being a part of. God’s Spirit
was heavy on us that morning. There was no shortage of laughter, tears and joy. It was amazing as it
felt like you were literally seeing new life take place right before you. It’s one I will never forget. It’s
also a baptism service where I noticed something very interesting. Of the 10 people baptized, 7 of
them are actively involved in Home Groups. And the 3 who weren’t were kids who are actively involved in our kids and youth ministries.
If you asked any of those 7, they will tell you that being a part of a Home Group where they
experience unity in community has played a massive role in their lives. Each one of them may not
have been on that stage that day if they didn’t have the love, support, prayers, encouragement and accountability that the people in their Home Groups have given them. Our Home Groups are not just a
program to be a part of. They aren’t there so you feel the pressure of one more thing to add to your
schedule. They are there because the simple truth is that as Christians, we cannot live on an island.
We can’t tackle our faith and the weight of the world on our own. We need one another. We need to
do life together. We have been wired by God to be in community together. When the church works as
God designed, then you see things like we saw on March 20 in our tiny little building.
If you are on the fence about being a part of a Home Group, then I say take a leap and jump
off. It will change your life. The relationships we build in these groups are vital to becoming the men
and women of faith that God desires. Please go to our website at www.lamontchurch.com/groups and
see what group you could join today. And if you don’t see one that you think will fit your schedule,
come talk to the pastors and we will help you start one. Until you take the leap, you’ll never know
just how much the right Home Group could change your life.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All
the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to
give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They
broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying
the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47
Pastor Ryan
A note from Pastor Mark
Vocational ministry is an interesting career. You get to meet some of the most interesting people
with stories that vary widely from one another. You get to see victory after victory, and struggle after
struggle. Now, the details always change. Each person’s story is like each person, with its own personality, idiosyncrasies, and fine details that make it unique. But there are always common threads through
each story from person to person as well. Sometimes bad things happen because bad exists in the
world. But sometimes, bad things happen because we make bad decisions…repeatedly.
Paul had some experience in this as well. He writes:
I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
– Romans 7:15
Paul expounds on this a bit, but do you identify with this? Do you catch the idea that he is speaking about? I asked the teens the other night, “Have you ever looked at what you are doing and ask yourself what happened?” What about you? Have you ever done that? Been on the wrong side of the wrong
decision only to look back and find that you gave into temptation and have no idea why that happened?
In addiction recovery, when someone gives into the temptation of addiction, it’s called relapse.
That is also the title of the next series of sermons we are going to dive into on Wednesday nights. The
bible is full of wisdom, and how to avoid the temptation of relapsing once you seek Christ is a part of
that wisdom. The series will end with the promise of the cross. The promise is that when we mess up,
fall off the bandwagon so to say, God is still faithful to His promise to forgive us.
I will end with a question for you to consider. In the face of temptation, what do you do to overcome it? What steps do you take to fight back against your weakness? Take time this month to write
those things down. Find strength from scripture. Let me know what you discover from God’s word this
month.
Peace & Hope,
Pastor Mark
Mission Work in Haiti
In March, Chuck Smith traveled to Haiti to spend a week assisting with the construction of another
church. LWC will continue to participate in church building in Haiti for the foreseeable future. You
are always welcome to contribute funds for church building and to provide clean water.
A group of women from LWC are planning a mission trip to Haiti on April 4-11. The group will be
arriving in the capitol city and then traveling to the mountains with Truth Evangelism Ministries, to
reach out to the people in an area called Z’Orange. The area is made up of dozens of small villages.
Chuck Martindale, founder of TEM, will be their guide and host. Activities planned are women’s
health and hygiene education, Bible studies with the women, VBS with village children, and general
ministry. The group will be taking hygiene kits, over the counter medications, bandages, ointments,
etc. The team consists of Jan Kraft, Jola Casey, Paige Casey, Lisa Bullock, Sheila Raaf, Jamie Flaigle,
Nicole Crespino, Taylor Loveall, Staci Weirick and McKenzie Gulick.
Please be praying for the women as they travel this month to Haiti, and continue to pray for the
group building the newest church in Haiti.
VBS 2016: Cave Quest
July 10-14
If you are interested in volunteering for the first time this
year, or if you have turned 18 since last summer, you will
need a background check. It is very easy--just contact Dale
Free in the church office.
We are ready to begin registering participants and volunteers.
Please visit https://www.groupvbspro.com/vbs/ez/lamont and register your family. It really helps out our VBS team
when you pre-register as early as possible.
Please include your t-shirt size. If you want an adult size shirt, be sure to choose the size with “adult” in front of it. The
first sizes listed are child sizes. If your child needs a smaller size
(2T, 3T or 4T), please choose XS and then note the
size you want in the “Allergies” box.
Our Crew & Station Leaders will be wearing hard hats with lights on them this year, so we need to be on the lookout for
those items.
Abby Strawder
Aryn Raymer
Gabby Lyons
Casey Lyons
Courtney Strawder
Joelle Gilbert
Justin King
Gabe Gardner
Nolan Strawder
Linda Cole
Happenings at LWC
April 2016
April 1-9
Friday, 4/1:
Saturday, 4/2:
7:30a-10:00a Breakfast
Fundraiser for Turners
Sunday, 4/3 (Communion):
9:30a Sunday School-Lamont
9:30a Burlington Service
11:00a Lamont Service
12:00p Lunch on Us-Lamont
6:00p Station 3:16 Youth Group
6:00p Madison Home Group
6:30p Gridley Home Group
April 10-16
Wednesday, 4/6:
6:00p New Strawn Home Group
6:30p Women’s Bible StudyBurlington
6:45p Unleashed Youth Group
7:00p Lamont Home Group
Monday, 4/4:
12:00p Care Team-Lamont
Thursday, 4/7:
10:00a Women’s Bible StudyLamont
12:00p Women’s lunch at El
Lorito-Emporia
4:30p AHG-Burlington
6:00p Women’s Bible StudyAkers’ house in Burlington
6:30p Revelation WellnessBurlington
Tuesday, 4/5:
Friday, 4/8:
Sunday, 4/10:
9:30a Sunday School-Lamont
9:30a Burlington Service
11:00a Lamont Service
6:00p Station 3:16 Youth Group
6:00p Madison Home Group
6:30p Gridley Home Group
6:30p “Relentless” concertLamont
Monday, 4/11:
12:00p Care Team-Lamont
5:15p Care Team-Burlington
Wednesday, 4/13:
6:00p New Strawn Home Group
6:30p Women’s Bible StudyBurlington
6:45p Unleashed Youth Group
7:00p Lamont Home Group
Thursday, 4/14:
10:00a Women’s Bible StudyLamont
6:00p Women’s Bible StudyAkers’ house in Burlington
6:30p Revelation WellnessBurlington
Tuesday, 4/12:
Friday, 4/15:
Saturday, 4/16:
9:00a-12:00p Health FairMadison
Saturday, 4/9:
10:00a-12:30p LGBTQ meetingSalina
April 17-23
Sunday, 4/17:
9:30a Sunday School-Lamont
9:30a Burlington Service
11:00a Lamont Service
12:00p Pizza with the PastorsLamont
5:00p Pizza with the PastorsBurlington
6:00p Station 3:16 Youth Group
6:00p Madison Home Group
6:30p Gridley Home Group
Monday, 4/18:
12:00p Care Team-Lamont
April 24-30
Wednesday, 4/20:
6:00p New Strawn Home Group
6:30p Women’s Bible StudyBurlington
6:45p Unleashed Youth Group
7:00p Lamont Home Group
Thursday, 4/21:
10:00a Women’s Bible StudyLamont
4:30p AHG-Burlington
6:00p Women’s Bible StudyAkers’ house in Burlington
6:30p Revelation WellnessBurlington
Sunday, 4/24:
9:30a Sunday School-Lamont
9:30a Burlington Service
11:00a Lamont Service
6:00p Station 3:16 Youth Group
6:00p Madison Home Group
cancelled
6:30p Gridley Home Group
cancelled
Monday, 4/25:
12:00p Care Team-Lamont
7:00p Church Board-Burlington
Wednesday, 4/27:
6:00p New Strawn Home Group
6:30p Women’s Bible StudyBurlington
6:45p Unleashed Youth Group
7:00p Lamont Home Group
Thursday, 4/28:
10:00a Women’s Bible StudyLamont
6:00p Women’s Bible StudyAkers’ house in Burlington
6:30p Revelation WellnessBurlington
Tuesday, 4/26:
Friday, 4/29:
Tuesday, 4/19:
Friday, 4/22:
Saturday, 4/23:
Saturday, 4/30:
6:30p Trivia Night fundraiserLamont
Birthdays
4/1
4/1
4/2
4/2
4/4
4/4
4/4
4/5
4/5
4/7
4/8
4/8
4/8
4/10
4/11
4/11
4/12
4/13
4/13
4/13
4/14
4/14
4/14
4/16
4/16
4/17
4/17
4/19
4/19
Kloey Shaw
Malachi Njoroge
Karen Edwards
Luke Turner
Laverne Lynes
Lynley Scheck
Ezra Crutchfield
Les Harlan
Melissa Harlan
Bethany Unruh
Paul Kesler
April Hill
Candy Dale
Ginger Kraft
Grace Mirante
Hannah Hatch
Savannah Whitesides
Eric Johnston
Brandon Williams
Allyson Turner
Marlea Harlan
Easton Rich
Naomi Dennis
Bradley Over
Owen Wilson
Chris Murphy
James Bemis
John Hudson (Burlington)
Brody Anderson
4/19
4/20
4/20
4/20
4/20
4/23
4/23
4/23
4/23
4/24
4/24
4/24
4/24
4/25
4/25
4/25
4/27
4/28
4/29
4/29
4/30
Ty & Katie Rich
Jess Allen
Juanita Ketley
Andrew Rawlings
Alyssa Pyle
Ryan Akers
Alisa James
Aubrea Burns
Kurt Keegan
Lydia Hines
Hannah Henderson
Henni Autio
Landon Metzen
Jamie Menard
Reneé Sampsel
Kelton Kraft
Aubrey Thomsen
Dan Kraft
Dan Crespino
David Knight, Sr.
Christian Buster
Anniversaries
4/9
4/13
4/30
4/30
Kevin & Yvonne Lutz
Michael & Dale Free
Joseph & Amanda Whitehurst
Glenn & Crystal Jamison
Somewhat new to LWC and want
to know more about us?
Join our pastors for pizza on Sunday, April 17 either right after
church in Lamont or at 5:00 p.m.
in Burlington.
Please RSVP either at one of our
church locations or at
lamontchurch.com/pwp
GRADUATION CELEBRATION
Every year we spend a little time honoring our kindergarten, middle school, high
school and college graduates. We will be doing this one Sunday in May (date to be
announced). To help make that happen, we need the names of all of those graduates
as soon as possible. We do a little more to honor our graduating high school seniors.
For that, we need their full names and 12 growing-up photos (one of those should be
a senior picture). Parents, please help us out by getting these things to Dale Free in
the church office as quickly as possible. You can send them to Dale at [email protected] in digital
form, or contact her at 620-427-4010 to arrange for her to scan them and return them to you. Please don’t
assume she knows your child is graduating. Names of all grads as well as photos of the seniors need to be
in Dale’s hands by April 24.
LUNCH ON US
Right after church in Lamont on Sunday,
April 3.
On the menu: Spaghetti, chicken tetrazzini and
lasagna soup
There are a group of ladies who like to
meet for lunch in
Emporia once a
month. If you would like to join them,
meet them at noon on Thursday, April
7 at El Lorito on 6th St. (the old Carlos
O’Kelly’s building). You can contact
Gena Ott at 620-437-2458 if you would
like her to save a seat for you. Or just
show up; there is always room for one
more!
Sermon series in April
READY. SET. GLOW
Lamont Wesleyan Church
Glow Run 5k
Saturday, July 16
Hannah Young, a student at K-State, is
part of the Student Mobilization college ministry. She will be spending 9
weeks at the Gulf Coast this summer
acting as a small group leader for
college students to grow in their
faith. She will need $3,000 for this
ministry opportunity. If you would like
give toward her project, you may do so
thru LWC.
9:00 p.m.
Kelley Park in Burlington
$20.00 per runner
Youth ministries fundraiser
Register at:
https://www.raceentry.com/races/lwc-glowrun-5k/2016/register
New Worship
Service time
In Lamont
11:00 a.m.
Dear church family,
Les and I do not have the words to say how much
we appreciate all of your prayers for us and your continued prayers. Thank you for the food, cards, visits,
kind words and deeds. We truly have experienced a
MIRACLE. God has given us so much strength through
Les’ illness. We are excited for his recovery and look
forward to living for Him.
Les & Deb Harlan
If you are interested in connecting with other LWCers, we
encourage you to look at joining a
small group. We have various
Home Groups, Bible study
groups, a fitness class, and
several other ways to connect.
Visit:
www.lamontchurch.com/groups
APRIL Nursery Schedule
Burlington Campus
1st Sunday:
2nd Sunday:
3rd Sunday:
4th Sunday:
Candy Dale, Stephanie Baker & Eli Crutchfield
Christy Over, Wendy Carlson & Cooper Carlson
Tara Glades, Raini Glades & Easton Burns
Kim Hatch, Jill Whitworth & Kylen Sturgeon
Lamont Campus
1st Sunday: Lyn Blubaugh & Julie McKenzie
2nd Sunday: Courtney Metzen, Aubrey Thomsen & Tori Calia
3rd Sunday: Lyn Blubaugh, Lindsey Fankhauser & Lizzie Knight
4th Sunday: Lyn Blubaugh, Rachael Knight, Emma Murphy & Alyssa Pyle
Burlington Location
Little Kidz leaders (ages 3-K):
Big Kidz leader (1st-5th grades):
1st & 3rd Courtney Strawder
2nd Sunday: Mandy Thompson
4th Sunday: Christine Fraker
Taylor Akers
June 20-23: Kids Camp
July 10-14: VBS
July 18-23: Falls Creek Youth Camp
Concert at LWC-Lamont
Sunday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m.
a cappela group from OKWU
A free will offering will be gathered
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Anyone who attends a Wesleyan Church is welcome to attend a free session called “Walls or Bridges: The Church’s
Relationship to the LGBTQ Community” to be held from 10:00 a.m to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 at the Holiday Inn
Conference Center in Salina, Kansas (314 S. 9th St.). Dr. Christopher Yuan will share his own story of living a gay lifestyle, experimenting with drugs, being expelled from dental school, being imprisoned for dealing drugs and discovering
he was HIV positive. He will discuss his experience with receiving God’s redemption and grace and then beginning a
ministry working with people struggling with their sexuality and to those living with HIV/AIDS. He wants to help Wesleyans build bridges instead of walls with the LGBTQ community while not compromising biblical principles. Note: You must
be 12 years old or more to attend.
Church Board Meeting
Monday, April 25, 7:00 p.m.
Burlington location
Youth Group
Unleashed
1st Wednesday - Bonnie Ott
2nd Wednesday - Erika Miser
3rd Wednesday - Melissa Harlan
4th Wednesday - Jerrie Schreiner
Station 3:16
1st Sunday - Kristy Reeves
2nd Sunday - Devra Parker
3rd Sunday - Laura Keegan
4th Sunday - No youth group tonight
Ushers
Greeters
Lamont Campus:
Tom Long, Craig Schreiner,
Chris Dietel, Alan Brown,
Dan Johnston, Ryan Engle
Lamont Campus:
To be announced
Burlington Campus mornings:
To be announced
Burlington Campus mornings:
4/3-Charlie Whitworth
4/10-Dirk Over
4/17-Kim & Eric Hatch
4/24-Linda & Deric Cole
If you have any information to submit, please contact Dale
Free by email at [email protected] or by phone at
620-794-5822. Submissions for “Inside LWC” need to be
given to Dale by 5:00 p.m. on the 2nd to last Sunday of each
month.
Important: We use a bulk mail permit for mailing our newsletter, which means we do not receive address changes
from the post office. This means that it’s very important
that our records be accurate. If you receive this newsletter
via an address that is not a complete mailing address,
please let us know as soon as possible. If you have moved,
please let us know your new address if you would like to
continue to receive this newsletter. Also, please check the
calendar each month and notify us as soon as possible if we
have missed your birthday or anniversary. It is our sincere
desire to recognizes those important dates in the lives of
our LWC church family.
The Lamont Wesleyan Church newsletter, “Inside LWC”, is
published each month as a communications aid for our
church family and friends. We hope you find this newsletter informative and useful.
2016
2726 349th St. in Lamont
620-427-4010
Sunday Service 11:00 a.m.
Pizza With
The Pastors
Health Fair
in Madison
“Relentless”
Concert
From the desk
of Pastor Steve
APR.
P.O. Box 593
Lamont, KS 66855-0593
605 Kennedy St. in Burlington
620-364-1414
Sunday Service 9:30 a.m.