The Interim Pastor’s Pen
By Rev. Daniel Webster    

            It is so good to be here at my new church.  Bethany in Lakeland has been so welcoming, and Nel and I are grateful to so many of you.  Thanks for already making us feel a part of your church.

I was deliberate about my choice of language in that first paragraph.  Did you notice I spoke of the church as my church and as your church?  I guess that makes it our church together.  Those words can be kind of funny, especially when it comes to church. 

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about those little possessive pronouns, especially when it comes to church.  I know that sounds a little strange, but bear with me a moment.  These are words we use all the time, and, at first glance we would all be fairly certain we know just what they mean.  Those little words?  They are variations on my and our – yours, mine and our.   If I were to say, “That’s my coat,” you would be safe in assuming that I own that coat.  It is mine.  If I were to say, “Our car broke down the other day,” you can safely assume that Nel and I own the car.  We have both possession and responsibility for it.  When we hear those two words in that sort of context we understand them to be talking about ownership and responsibility.  In a sense these are legal terms.

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Fall into God's arms, having served well today.

FALL FESTIVAL

The fall festival will be held on Sunday, October. 23^rd  right after church.  Lunch will be served. There will be a costume contest, hay ride, games, trunk or treat and a cake contest and auction. Also, we would like to fill 20 Operation Christmas Child boxes and we encourage anyone and everyone to bring what they can for these boxes!

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ALL SAINTS SUNDAY 

Sunday, Nov. 6th  

During worship, we will recognize the saints among us who have graduated to heaven in the past year and will place bricks in the Memorial Garden in their memory following the service.

The saints to be recognized are:  

Deborah Adams

Dick Bradley

J. Donna Bryan

Doris Collins

Carolyne Fearnow

Chuck Miller

Gladys Worden

Announcements   

LET’S HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER ON  

November 6th  

The Red Elephant Pizza and Grill will make a donation to Bethany of 15% of all purchases made by anyone who mentions “Bethany Christian Church” to their server.  Tell your friends!

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DWM/CWF

Mark your calendars for the DWM/CWF Annual Fall Retreat at the Conference Center to be held on Saturday & Sunday, November 12^th & 13^th.  Mary Beth (Elliott) Harper will be the keynote speaker.  For more information call the church office.

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ROAD TRIP

Start getting your Christmas list ready for a shopping trip to “The Barn”.  We will meet at the church promptly at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 5^th if you would like to share a ride.  Will shop and have lunch.

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DECEMBER LUNCHEON CELEBRATION

Join us for our December Luncheon Celebration of Music with Perry and Vivian Sunday, December 18th.  We'll enjoy our beautiful cantata at worship and thank Perry and Vivian for their musical gifts to Bethany for ten years. We'll provide ham as our meat and share delightful covered dishes to fill out our meal.  Bring extra so we can provide for guests to share our music and fellowship.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Food for Thought will meet on Monday, November 14th, 12:00 p.m. at the Red Elephant Restaurant.

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FUN & GAMES NIGHT 

Fun & Games will resume again on Friday, November 18th at 7:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall.  Please bring a snack to share and if you have a favorite table game bring that also.

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IT’S SHOEBOX TIME!  

If you have been putting it off, now is the time!  Fill those shoeboxes and return them to church!  We will gather and dedicate our shoeboxes during worship on Sunday, November 20^th.  Please contact Roger Kingsley or Brad Beyer who are co-chairing this project if you have any questions.

Coming events, the serving schedule and are all posted on the calendar.