If you prefer to print the newsletter, you may download it here: Printable June 2024 Here is also a printable June calendar: 06 2024 Calendar
elder’s perspective
By Elizabeth McMullan, Elder
open, only to see that little spinning circle telling you it’s still loading? So you wait. And wait. And wait, until you grow impatient and hit the refresh button to only be met by that little spinning circle yet again. Then you hit the refresh button, this time twice, just in case you didn’t click it hard enough the first time. And slowly you become annoyed and frustrated that nothing is happening. How often are we that way with God? We are impatient when we aren’t getting something right away or don’t see the instant results that we’re expecting. We want things to happen in our timing instead of His. But instead of becoming irritated at these times, what if we used it as our own moment to refresh and enjoy this time of rest?
As many of you know, the LvCC Women’s Retreat is coming up this weekend and the theme is Times of Refreshing. During the retreat, I will be teaching yoga classes open to anyone who attends. And as I have been preparing for these classes, I have been purposeful in my prayer and scripture reading and asking God what He wants the women at the retreat to hear through my classes. During my prayer time, He has put it on my heart to share Breath Prayers at the retreat and I also feel that this is something I should share with our entire congregation. Breath Prayers are a simple way to connect with the Lord whenever and wherever you are. Prayer is our way to talk with God and Breath Prayers allow us to be in constant communication with Him. Whether reciting scripture or lifting up your own words to Him, you can turn anything into a Breath Prayer. Simply follow a rhythmic breath, inhaling for one phrase and exhaling for another. One of my favorites is Psalm 23:1. Inhale “The Lord is my shepherd” and exhale, ” I have all that I need.” You can also use this for your own words, whatever your personal prayer may be. An example would be to inhale, “Lord I lift this up to you” and exhale, “I pray Your Will not my own.”
So the next time you see that little spinning circle on your computer screen, I challenge you to allow yourself a moment of rest. Take your hands off the keyboard, sit back in your chair, and lift up a Breath Prayer that is only for you and God to know. He may use it to speak to you in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without your personal time of refreshing.
elder meeting highlights
Susie Kirkpatrick opened the May 21 Elders business meeting with a devotional sharing quotes and thoughts about leadership. She then introduced the Elder Classes to the new Elders. They are Class of 2025-Susie Kirkpatrick, Lorraine Little, and Elizabeth McMullan; Class of 2026-Jay Holland and Leslie Wolff; and Class 2027-Jaime Boaglio, Rob Buckingham, and Ben West.
The Elders then selected and voted to approve the new officers: Jay Holland, Chairperson, Susie Kirkpatrick, Vice Chairperson, Elizabeth McMullan, Secretary, and Jaime Boaglio, Treasurer.
Jaime shared that member contributions in April were good, although expenses were a little high because Missions checks were written in April instead of March. YTD is still in the black at $2,747 with expenses staying in line. Member contributions were almost $14,000 more this April than last year. The Ordinary Savings account has about three months’ worth of cash in it. Jaime invited the new Elders to seek him out if they have any questions about the financials.
For the Properties Update Report, Jay referred the Elders to the Annual Congregational Meeting report listing projects in 2023. He shared that other upcoming projects include hanging the speakers in the sanctuary, updating interior signage, and moving the furnace in the Youth Room into the closet outside the Youth Room. One of the trees on the Washington Way parking strip was recently hit and damaged by a car; Jay reported it to the city. A subcommittee for the van of Dave Wolff, Sean Kelly and Jay Holland has been formed to determine whether or not to purchase a new van.
Lorraine Little said that the trip to Uganda was shared with the Missions Ministry and that she volunteered to work with Caleb Strom as co-leaders. She and Caleb have already met to go over the timeline and how to publicize the mission.
Dave shared with the new Elders that there are Elder Liasons to various staff and teams. He explained that with staff it’s important for the Elder to check in with how they’re doing, not just in their position but in life. New Liaison assignments were made.
The Elders voted to approve Crystal Allen as a new Trustee.
Susie suggested that an earlier business meeting time would be better because late meetings are difficult for “early morning” people. It was decided to move the business meeting on the third Tuesday to 5pm.
Patty Howland explained to the new Elders about the schedules for “additional responsibilities” which include writing the “Elder’s Perspective” article for the newsletter, leading devotions at the Elder meeting, and being a Moderator for the worship service and leading the prayer time. She will add the new Elders to the schedule.
The next Elder Business meeting is scheduled for June 18, 2024 at 5pm in the Journey Room.
fish report
By Shirley Edstedt for FISH
FISH is always looking for nice people to volunteer to help us out! And since you are all nice people – we need you! We also are in desperate need of paper grocery bags. The church will have to buy some if we don’t get enough donations by our July food distribution time. So, look in your cupboards, or maybe the back of your car and bring them to the church main entrance FISH box as soon as you can. Thank you in advance!
The numbers for this last FISH week on May 20-25 are as follows:
Households 234
Seniors 166
Adults 391
Kids 3-17 301
Babies 29
Total people 887
As I’ve mentioned before, please take note of the total kids and babies. There are so many children in our area who are suffering daily from food insecurity. Thank you to everyone who supports this ministry!
history
“harambee mission trip”
By Sharon Kuroda, History Team
Were you inspired recently by how the Lord has led two of our flock to set off on missions of His own calling? Leslie Wolff has been led to do a mission in Africa. Jed Rutherford is volunteering in Israel. Our prayers go with them! Inspiration at LvCC is ongoing. The Missions Ministry is active and continually reaching out to our local community and to far reaches of the world.
Happenings like these made those of us on the History Team reflect on many former mission trips at LvCC, including the Harambee Mission Trip to Pasadena from July 17-23, 2011. We can only guess at the life changing experiences, maybe even some lessons, our current missionaries might encounter. To gain insight about the trip, I interviewed Harambee Team Members Elizabeth Meharg Jacobsen and Shannon Inman. This article summarizes some of their reflections of the mission trip.
Tom Adams, LvCC Assistant Pastor on Missions at that time, hatched the idea of supporting the Harambee Christian Family
Center and Preparatory School. He had done a mission trip there and knew the founder, John Perkins. Led and organized by then Associate Pastor Elizabeth Meharg and supported by Senior Pastor John Willams, 30 LvCC church members raised $6,000 and drove down to California. They stayed for a week, sprucing up the Harambee facility and teaching Summer Bible School to the financially needy children. Funding for the trip paid for all their gasoline as well as some supplies. The money was raised by Mother’s Day flower pot sales, pie auctions, and a mission dinner at LvCC before the group departed.
The team worked in 90 degree weather, sleeping on air mattresses on the floor of the Harambee fellowship hall. Since the fellowship hall was used for adult Bible study during the day, each morning they had to clear sleeping gear out and set them up at night. Norm Krehbiel provided security by sleeping by the open main door during those hot nights. Harambee is in a high crime area so the team was told to stay only on property, not to venture out on the streets. One night there was even a loud and exciting police helicopter hovering with search lights hunting for someone or something over the facility!
The team cooked their own food, cleaned, and spruced up the facility. The mission team also played games with the kids and did Bible Study with them. They helped Harambee kids memorize Bible verses. Pastor John, with his usual charisma and fun-loving, Christ driven self, led and inspired those children each day.
The team also painted stepping stones in the garden and planted plants which they had purchased. They painted a mural on the stage and a rickety old fence in 95 degree weather. Crystal and Patrick Allen were work horses repairing the playground. Steve Meharg, Norm Krehbiel and Jeff Inman replaced the toilet, plumbing, and repaired the showers. Margaret Meharg and Crystal Allen cleaned out the freezer and commercial refrigerator that were covered with mold. The team, including Shannon Inman, demolished a whole blackberry patch. Young Tony Inman developed a friendly relationship with one of the young Harambee boys.
At the conclusion of the week, the team gave each child a Bible if they did not have one. That was exciting for the kids to have their very own Bible.
At the end of the week when the team had completed their work at Harambee, John convinced the team to go into the neighborhood and clean out overgrown bushes at the house across the street.
In retrospect, Liz and Shannon felt that the trip was overwhelming yet personally rewarding and well worth it. Some of the team developed relationships with the people of Harambee, including with some of the five or so young adult seminary students there. It was great to be on an actual mission to help others. They hope that recounting the Harambee Trip will spark some thoughts and interest in future mission trips.
lvcc youth/young adults
By Matt Avalon, Interim Director of Youth and Young Adults
A swimmingly awesome summer is just around the corner – know a youth/anyone with a youth/do you happen to be a youth? Our church is partnering with several local youth ministries to bring together youth for this camp. Fun, food, fellowship, (f)proximity to the beach, and time spent getting closer to Jesus – this week will have all of the ingredients to be the highlight of the summer, as well as an opportunity to experience God working. (register at dunesbiblecamp.com)
We will be attending the camps beginning July 6th (Middle School) and 16th (High School), and do have scholarships
available for families. Please be in prayer for God to be at work in the young hearts at camp, as well as the volunteers who may be providing the first message of the Gospel some of these students have been able to hear!
children’s ministry
By Sarah Fix, Director of Children’s Ministry
This past month has been super full for our family! Among sports and things wrapping up for the year, Weston broke his arm earlier this month at school trying to jump from a step and grab onto the monkey bars. It was a lot to handle as a parent, but I’m super proud of how resilient he has proven to be. It has also just added a level of “extra” on top of my already very busy life.
That being said, we are trekking right along with prep and planning of Family Fun Nights (FFN) coming up starting July 10th! My team and I have been meeting and putting our brains together to plan enjoyable evenings for all who attend! If you are interested in volunteering, please let me know as soon as possible! We cannot do this without you. We’ve got some great things lined up such as the reptile guy, a drone presentation, face painting by the local CEF, and much more! Many of you are not able to make it to all four of the FFN’s- that is totally okay! Even if you’re only able to volunteer for one or two of the events, that would be super helpful.
Please take time to check out the display board in the back of the sanctuary and sign up where you feel you’d fit best, and I will get in touch with you. Or grab a few stars that tell you what items we need donated and bring them back to the tubs in the Lobby or by the Church Office. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions about how or where to volunteer. I am really looking forward to getting to connect with families around our community! I feel strongly that FFN is going to be very impactful and fun evenings for all!
trustees scholarship
Longview Community Church Trustees are accepting scholarship applications for the 2024-25 academic year.
Earnings from an endowment established in 1954 support the Trustees Scholarship program. The scholarships fund only people pursuing studies to equip them for Christian service but the Trustees have defined that term broadly. Past scholarship recipients have ranged from pastors pursuing advanced degrees to high school graduates taking “gap year” programs at Christian institutions.
Eligible for scholarships are students of all ages beginning with high school graduates. Residents of Cowlitz County and Columbia County, Oregon, may apply.
Trustees prioritize scholarship applicants as follows: Church staff first, seminary and post-graduate students second and undergraduates third. While the applicant pool has been expanded to people outside the church, priority will be given to applicants affiliated with Longview Community Church if funds are limited.
To apply, complete an application available from this link Scholarship Application 2024-25 or pick up a printed copy in the Church Office. Email or call Jonathan Ferguson, Trustee chairperson with questions: jferguson2006@gmail.com or 360-506-2673. Applications are due June 15.
this and that
Dear Church Family…
I have been overwhelmed with the love, prayers and many cards I’ve received from my family at LvCC! I truly feel your prayers and am encouraged to remain optimistic and work hard at recovery. Thank you ~Lou Cannon
The Missions Ministry will be hosting a chicken lunch for visiting missionary Marie Adams, with InterVarsity in the Fellowship Hall after church on Sunday, June 16. Plan to stay for lunch and to hear an update from Marie about the ministry.
Upcoming Events with SAM (Senior Adult Ministry):
Sign up for the trip the seniors will be taking on Thursday, June 20 to the new Mountain Timber Market in Kalama. They will meet at the church at 10 a.m. Lunch afterwards will be on your own at the Lucky Dragon Restaurant. Cost of $5 is for gas if you ride the van. A walking tour of the sculptures in downtown Longview is scheduled for Thursday, July 11. In August, the seniors will hold their annual Picnic at Willow Grove on Thursday, August 15.
There will be a Celebration of the Lives of Wendell and Mickey Kirkpatrick on Saturday, June 15 at 1pm in the Sanctuary followed by a reception in the Fellowship Hall.
Due to vandalism, we have closed the “After Hours Mail” slot in the Chapel Door. Please bring any contribution envelopes to the Church Office during the regular office hours of 9-12 and 1-4:30 on Monday through Thursday. We regret any inconvenience this may cause.
Medical Equipment Available If you or someone you knows needs medical equipment, i.e. walker, wheelchair, commode, etc, please contact Roberta Baird at 360-430-8402.
90+ Birthdays This Month
To honor our most senior members and attenders, we will be listing their birthdays each month using the records in our database. If you or someone you know is 90+ years of age and has an upcoming birthday, please contact the Church Office by the 20th of the prior month so we may be sure to include it!
Jun 2 Rex Davis 90
Jun 7 George Hext 95
Jun 10 Bob Guide 91
Jun 13 Sondra Bates 90
Jun 14 Lois Brudi-Conrod 93
Jun 19 Cec Conner 91
APRIL FINANCIALS
YTD CONTRIBUTIONS: $ 161,294
YTD OTHER INCOME $ 2,869
YTD EXPENSE: $ 164,163
YTD NET INCOME: $ 2,747