Paynesville Christian Church Elders Blog

The Ides of March

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:38:29 -0400

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Well, the Ides of March have come and gone and we are looking forward to the promise of Spring. I think all of us are ready for the Groundhog to give up his hold on the Winter weather. As Brother Joe, and Velma are taking a few days off this week, we pray that they have good weather on their trip.

This Sunday Brother Phil LaMaster delivered a Spirit filled message for us in Joe's absence. If you didn't get a chance to hear Brother Phil live, be sure to check out his message on our sermon podcast page. We wish Happy Birthday to Jonita this week.

Resurrection Sunday is upon us already, the earliest that any of us will ever experience. (I posted an article about it on our community forum, for those members with access.) Our Good Friday candlelight service is always a special and quiet time that you won't want to miss. Then come early to get a good seat on Easter morning. The choir will be performing. See you there!

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 8:37 PM

Mid March Update

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:49:08 -0400

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

After getting snowed in last Sunday, it was good to see all the smiling faces at business meeting Wednesday night. The famous Indiana weather changes so much in a few days that Brother Joe actually had on a short sleeve shirt. The Spring Peepers were singing up a storm, just like they were after the Sonshiners concert the week before. They must have gone into hibernation under a foot of snow for a few days.

Janice reminded me that I forgotten to mention the special guests that visited us the week before. John Rowlett and some of his family came to worship with us. John is the son of one of our former ministers, Joe Rowlett (1952-55). It is always good to have friends join us.

Speaking of friends joining us, be sure to come out this Sunday (3-16) to hear Brother Phil LaMaster speak. He will be filling the pulpit as Brother Joe takes a well deserved vacation. Keep Russell Bair in your prayers. He has had a stroke during some surgery, has lost a lot of blood, and is not doing well.

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 5:43 AM

Let the Son Shine

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 05:42:43 -0500

Sunday, March 2, 2008

What a glorious day! After a few weeks of lower attendance, our numbers were back up this Sunday. The weather was warm, and sunny, the birds were singing, and Spring seemed to be in the air. Thank you to Arleen for signing for special music time. The choir continued to practice for our Easter presentation. And then that evening was our Chili and Soup Supper followed by a concert by The Sonshiners Quartet.

The Sonshiners really packed the house, and delivered a stirring performance. Thank you to all of the sister churches that came to worship with us. We had folks from Lexington, Hanover, and Mt. Tabor Christian Churches, and probably several others that I am unaware of. As Brother Joe put it, "If you weren't blessed by this, I don't know what it would take to bless you."

The concert was made even more special as they invited brother Joe to join the quartet, and sing a song with them. Towards the end, they "drafted" Jerry to play Amazing Grace on the piano as the congregation joined in. Very moving. All in all a wonderful time. If you missed this opportunity to see the Sonshiners, you can catch them again at Hanover Christian church on April 20th at 6:30pm.

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 5:41 AM

Back Into the "Sing" of Things

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:07:28 -0500

Sunday, February 17, 2008

It was good to see some of our members returning this week even as the cold and flu bug still kept others away. Janice was feeling well enough to join us for Bible study this week. Let's keep her in our prayers. Jerry also needs out prayers as he continues to struggle with medical condition.

Jerry was scheduled to play a special with Joe this week, but Joe had to fill in by himself, singing "Beulah Land" for us. Congratulations to Jerry and Cathy as they celebrate their 35th anniversary this week. Judy was back, and ran the choir through its paces after giving us a couple weeks off while she was ill.

Thankfully, the skunk that visited us a couple of weeks ago seems to have found a new home, and the "aroma" lingering around the entry way is slowly fading away.

Thank you for all your prayers for my father-in-law, John. He was able to move to Hanover this week, and is steadily improving. This will be much easier for the family to visit him without the long trip to Louisville every day. I�m sure that he would appreciate your visit also.

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 4:06 PM

Sick and Tired

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:33:20 -0500

Sunday, February 10, 2008

For the second week in a row attendance has been down. It seems that many in our community have come down with the flu, or flu-like symptoms. Please keep these people in your prayers.

Lee and Arleen sang a special for us Sunday. Ken celebrates his birthday this week. Happy birthday, Ken. David and Claudia celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary this week. Congratulations to you.

Judy is one of our members that has been ill, so we didn't have choir practice again this week. Due to illnesses, and extensive travel by some of our members, we will not be having a business meeting this month. Hopefully by March things will be back on a more normal schedule.

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 5:21 AM

Blown Away

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:09:55 -0500

Sunday, February 03, 2008

It's been another hectic week for me and my family. My father-in-law went into the hospital last Sunday morning, and although they expect him to recover, it has meant a lot of time on the road back and forth to Louisville, and less time to dedicate to the website. Let's see if I can bring you up to date on a few happenings around the congregation in the past two weeks.

Joe sang a special for us last Sunday. We postponed the Building Committee meeting last Wednesday, and the movie tonight due to us being gone so much this week. When I showed up at the church house to take delivery of some new office furniture Friday, I found several trees blown down, the parking lot full of limbs, and the flashing gone from the roof on the back of the sanctuary. Thankfully there did not appear to be any major damage from the winds that blew through this week.

I received word this week about a friend from college days, and that she had accepted Christ recently. The lesson is to keep praying, and never give up on anyone, even if you think it to be a lost cause. The Lord works in His own way, and at His own time.

It's great to see attendance at Sunday morning Bible study going up, even though we were missing several of our regular attendees this morning. Joe took his once-a-month turn to lead chorus singing today. Lee brought us special music. And today we wish a Happy Birthday to Paula.

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 9:08 PM

Happy 50th Birthday, Jeannette

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:38:35 -0500

Sunday, January 20, 2008

I want to wish my sister, Jeannette, a Happy Birthday. We celebrated her 50th birthday with her, her kids, and her grandkids yesterday. Shirley celebrated her birthday with us today also. Happy Birthday to you both. It was good to have Shirley and Alethea back with us today after being out sick last week.

The men's group sang for our special music today, performing an old favorite, Just Over in the Glory Land. Despite lingering colds, and little practice, I don't think we sounded too bad.

Mitch tells me that he is now the official minister for Lexington Christian Church. LCC has always been a close sister church to PCC. Let's all wish Mitch the best, and pray for the congregation there.

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 4:34 PM

A new Beginning in Lexington

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:33:17 -0500

Sunday, January 13, 2008

We always covet your prayers for the Lord's work at Paynesville Christian Church, but today I would like to ask you to also keep Mitch and the Lexington Christian Church in your prayers. Mitch is just starting his ministry there, and is trying to build up the congregation whose attendance has dwindled in recent years.

Please remember Mitch's mom, Irene also. She has been in and out of the hospital recently, and needs our prayers. We missed Shirley and Alethea because they were out sick Sunday also.

Jerry certainly made the old piano come alive with his rendition of Amazing Grace sung to the tune of House of The Rising Sun for our special music. We thank Jerry and all of the talented musicians and singers that share their God-given talents with us. The choir is working on a medley to be performed at Easter time. Bless Judy and all the choir members for their hard work.

Lastly, I would like to point out that the PCC Community Online (PCCCO) site, that I spoke of in an earlier blog entry, is now up and running. Several members have already signed up, and if you are an attendee, and haven't checked it out yet, I encourage you to do so. This is a PCC member community site, and it needs your input and participation to make it a success. You can find a link to PCCCO on the PCC home page menu, labeled "Community Online".

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 5:32 AM

Perfect Attendance

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:48:45 -0500

Monday, January 6, 2008

There's nothing like starting off the New Year with a spirit of optimism. Brother Joe congratulated us all for having perfect attendance so far this year, and went on to talk about the certainty that we have in Christ's sacrifice at the cross.

The congregation is starting out the New Year with many encouraging signs, including increased attendance for Sunday morning Bible study, and Junior Church. If you are considering group Bible study, now would be a good time for you to start. Joe is leading us in a very practical study on Making the Most of Life using Biblical principles. See our booklist for details.

Joe also brought his guitar today, and led us in our choruses. It's a source of constant joy the amount of talent that God has given our members. Paula spread some of that joy around by bringing us a piano solo for special music today. Thank you, Joe and Paula.

Lastly, we started off 2008 right with a fellowship dinner after service. Thank you to all that pitched in for the pitch-in!

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 5:46 AM

In Transition

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:39:09 -0500

Sunday, December 30, 2007

For those of you who follow this blog, you probably noticed that no new posts had shown up for almost a month. Then several showed up at once. This is partly due to our web hosting company transitioning to a new hosting platform. Although they continue to work on it, our part of the transition is now complete, and we should be getting back to a more normal schedule now.

Along with this new hosting platform comes some new capabilities, and I have been putting in a lot of time in the past several week writing, and programming PCC Community Online. I hope to have that portion of our site unveiled within the next few weeks.

Thank you to Shirley who brought us a piano solo on Sunday, and Happy Birthday to Claudia, and Irene. Looking forward to a new year, Brother Joe urged us not to look back at things that drag us down, and hinder our walk. As we get ready to ring out the old year, I wish you all a bright, blessed, and prosperous New Year in 2008.

Loren

posted by Loren Bair at 4:36 PM