“Whatever is…”

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!...

Whatever is true, Whatever is noble, Whatever is right, Whatever is pure, Whatever is lovely, Whatever is admirable - If anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.”

Philippians 4:4 & 8 (NIV)

            The Apostle Paul gives us quite a list of “whatever is…” in Philippians. This presents a great challenge for us in regards to what we say to others, compared with what they have actually seen in us. I think that Paul intended that this list is how we should believe and respond fully in our lives to God. I also think Paul presented it as a list because he himself tried to live it, and he wants us to imitate it too.

            The list of “whatever is...” that we have are virtues. It is truth and goodness, an asset, good desirable traits. And a virtue, really is a right response that we have to, and towards, God’s peace and living a life of obedience to God.

            This list of “whatever is…” is certainly not an exhaustive one - much more could be added; but what we have is a representative list of right responses to God.

Whatever is true Whatever is noble Whatever is right Whatever is pure Whatever is lovely Whatever is admirable

            Also, this list is not an end in itself; but it is in truth a preparation for purposeful action in our lives.

            We are all called as Christian believers in this passage to live a life of obedience for one reason! It is so that we might live with the right responses to God so that you may live in God peace!

God be praised! Amen.

--Rev. Johnny Rhoad 

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Choir Picnic ends the 2008-2009 "Singing" Season Members and friends of OPC joined the choir at Steamboat Park for the annual choir picnic.  Youngest in attendance was Gracelynn Taylor, daughter of DeNeil and Todd Taylor who enjoyed the evening by playing soccer with her new friend, Bailey Bechtold.  Gifts of appreciation from the choir were presented to Glenda and Margaret. A beautiful evening and good food brought the 2008-2009 choir season to a close for the summer.  Special music will be provided during the summer months.  If you would like to perform or know someone who is willing to provide special music please contact Margaret Ellefson.

Gracelynn Taylor

Ruth and Glenda

Mother's Day Breakfast Served at OPC

After a special mother’s day devotion by Shirley Eisnach during the worship service the congregation was treated to a gourmet breakfast.

Thanks to Dennie Pfrimmer for the idea and coordination of the breakfast the members and friends of OPC were treated to a gourmet breakfast on Mother’s Day.  The menu consisted of pancakes (blueberry, chocolate and plain) and pumpkin waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs, caramel and frosted rolls, fruit, juice and coffee.  It was a great way to start the day.  The chefs were:  Dennis Pfrimmer, Monty Bechtold, Ron Woodburn, Mike Fugitt and John Rhoad.

Ron Woodburn	Monty Bechtold	Mike Fugitt

Buildings and Grounds Holds Their Annual Rummage and Bake Sale

A very successful rummage sale was held on Saturday, May 30^th.   $1185 was received in exchange for the bake goods and rummage and another $200 was donated for the walking taco feed (which is designated for the OPC Relay for Life team) and $180 received from the sale of plants and that money is also designated for the OPC Relay for Life team.   Ruth Smith provided many many hostas and day lilies for the sale and “manned” the “plant station” in the “garden area” of the sale.

Above:  Duane Jenner and Boots Johnson help themselves to an egg dish as they participate in a pre-rummage sale breakfast.   The breakfast was donated by KayCee Hodson.	Here Candy Sowers and Marijean Petersen prepared and served walking tacos and beverages during the rummage sale along with KayCee Hodson and Ray Sowers	The walking taco sale not only earned money for the OPC team but also provided an opportunity for fellowship and visiting.  Above:  Ruth Smith and KayCee Hodson are “dismantling” the taco sign at the end of the day.

Larry DeJong and Duane Jenner were the “floor managers” for the sale and also helped pack up the rummage sale “leftovers” and take them to the Hospice Thrift Store at the end of the day.

The proceeds from the rummage sale will be directed to help pay for the copier, repair of ceiling cracks, adding an outside faucet to the back of the church and to purchase window coverings for the secretary’s office. Ten percent of the money will go to mission.  Since the replacing of the lodge roof at Camp Rimrock the 10% will go to covering the cost of transportation, food and other needs.

Several of the congregation assisted with the rummage sale either through donations of items and food or through working the sale during the day and transportation items to Hospice Thrift Store at the end of the day.

Captains of the OPC Relay for Life team sold walking tacos over the lunch hour and also sold plants as a way of earning money for the team.

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Rimrock Roofing Project

For the past two years Oahe Presbyterian Church friends and members have been donating money towards the reroofing of the lodge at Camp Rimrock.  This past week (July 6-9) saw a new roof take place at the camp.  Nine OPC’ers plus Rolly Kemink of Onida spent four days replacing the outdated shingle roof with a new metal one.  Those participants from Pierre included:  Pastor John Rhoad, Lyman Chase, Larry DeJong, Meleta DeJong, Duane Jenner, Mary Jenner, Joe Nadenicek, Dennie Pfrimmer,  and Glenda Woodburn.

The crew stayed in the camp cabins and were fed by the camp staff.   Other staff members helped with the roofing and painting on an as needed basis.  

Mary, Glenda and Meleta painted trim of two buildings and painted one bath house as well as helping with the roofing project.

The workers  arose between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. and worked from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the evening spent in fellowship activities {campfires and s’mores and visiting).  Wildlife abounded…deer, cranes, a coyote, one fat field mouse, one bat, one tiny bird that took a disliking to us and trout that jumped out of the creek in search of flying food.

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JOHN  CALVIN  

            Five hundred years ago the reformer John Calvin was born into a French home of fair means. As American Presbyterians we trace our denominational identity to him, and the founding of the basic principles of this denominations from: (1) our specific form of government, (2) our practice of worship and (3) our mode of studying and interpreting the Word of God, our Bibles.

            Our Presbyterian Heritage is a rich and colourful one. Calvin’s message primarily held the supremacy and authority of God over all creation - he emphasised the central necessity of God’s Word and its study for all facets of our lives. He taught and emulated through his life and actions the ever pressing need to always seek God’s wisdom.

            As the Old Testament prophet Amos proclaims in Chapter 5, “Make it your aim to do what is right, not what is evil, so that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty really will be with you, as you claim he is. 15 Hate what is evil, love what is right, and see that justice prevails…”

            Justice will always prevail. And if it is not in this life, it most certainly will be in the next. We Presbyterians, and we as Christians, rightly, and largely, hold to the doctrine of our salvation by God’s grace alone.

            It matters not the works that we do. And most of us, I know, try to “love what is right…” Yet, it is not, nor will it ever be an easy matter. Pitfalls, can be faced daily. To this, I believe that John Calvin wrote in one of his hymns of the French Psalter (1545):

I greet Thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
My only trust and Saviour of my heart,
Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray Thee from our hearts all cares to take.

Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness,
No harshness hast Thou and no bitterness;
Oh grant to us the grace we find in Thee,
That we may dwell in perfect unity.

Our hope is in no other save in Thee;
Our faith is built upon Thy promise free;
Lord, give us peace, and make us calm and sure,
That in Thy strength we evermore endure.  

            Our Heritage as Presbyterian is special - and it is great fun to reflect on the particulars of our denomination identity; but at the end of the day, it isn’t of central importance. What matters is, as Calvin waxes in such poetic harmony, “that our faith is built solely upon Jesus Christ’s free gift of salvation which is imparted on us through the Holy Spirit.”

            The Apostle Paul as he was boldly preaching in 1 Corinthians 2:12 says, “We have not received this world's spirit; instead, we have received the Spirit sent by God, so that we may know all that God has given us…14 Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit.”

            John Calvin sought God’s Spirit along with the Reformers of his day. They sought to be faithful to God in their lives, first and foremost. The Reformers focus and emphasis was on knowing God and living exclusively for God, despite what came at them in life. And life wasn’t easy. John Calvin, almost lifelong was plagued with ill health, and forced to live outside his homeland.

            We as Christians believe in our salvation by God’s grace alone. It isn’t what efforts we are trying to do; we try to “love what is right…” It doesn’t get easier, pitfalls, will always be around. It’s because of this truth that I love to also reflect and contemplate what Jesus said in the Gospel from Luke 4; His words astonished and amazed all of those people that were there that day, as Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed 19 and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people."

            I am personally reminded how we are called to live with the minds of the Reformers who went before - seeking to understand God’s call to our present world. Seeking to live guided singularly by the Bible and His ever-present grace with us and before us in the Holy Spirit.

            These must have been the truths that Reformers like John Calvin, not only believed in; but had an unswerving faith and loyalty to. These Scripture verses, we in fact, know that John Calvin lived by; as Calvin’s Geneva, was formed on the principle of “bringing good news to the poor… proclaiming liberty… freeing the oppressed 19 and announcing that the time has come when the Lord will save his people."

            There is a cost; but don’t forget, as John Calvin is often remembered saying, “my heart I give you, Lord, eagerly and sincerely.”

            God be praised.  Amen.

--Rev. Johnny Rhoad

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Thoughts on RELAY FOR LIFE

--by Candy Sowers

I am trying to prepare for the upcoming Relay for Life that takes place  in Steamboat Park on July 24th.  Every year as I try to prepare with my church team I am aware of how much more I should do so that we can raise funds and awareness.  Here are some of my thoughts as I get ready to walk.

Last year, as I walked, I thought of many loved ones but especially my mother who was recovering from a mastectomy and my brother-in-law who fought prostrate cancer. 

This year I am amazed at one of my co-workers who is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer.  She is an inspiration!  She has had a mastectomy and is now taking chemo - I think she may have had a head shaving "party" recently with her youngest daughter who will be married in mid-July.  She is the 6th or 7th woman in her family to have had breast cancer, so far.  She has missed very little work but she has to go to Sioux Falls for her treatments so that adds more logistical challenges.  meanwhile, she is enjoying planning and preparing for an awesome wedding and trying to make sure that her Cancer doesn't dampen anyone's spirits or take any of the attention off of the bride and groom and their special day.

Last week I went to a funeral for a friend who at 43 years of age lost her battle after a six year fight.  It was heart breaking to see her husband & two young daughters - they have been through so much as she fought brain & then bone cancer.  But at her funeral it was her brave spirit and ready smile that were remembered.  She had a simple, strong faith and never seemed to be resentful or defeated.  She had true grit and grace.

The next day I received an e-mail about a former co-worker who is going through treatment again after her first "success" over breast cancer.  She had surgery for a tumor in her brain earlier this year and now the Cancer has spread to other parts of her body.  The heading on the Care page was "How does one begin to say goodbye?"  She taught in Pierre, worked part-time at the bank too, and has been taking nursing courses since her "retirement".  She has decided that she needs to focus her energy on her treatment and her family now....

I also get regular updates about a colleague who has been fighting lung cancer since December.

The list goes on and on.  Some seem to have won their battles but unfortunately many of my friends and family members lost the battle to cancer.  I walk remembering so many people - those who I still enjoy here and now and those who have left their pain and suffering on earth
behind them.

The theme for the relay - Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back - is very meaningful for me. I celebrate and remember family and friends and I admire those who are fighting back with so much courage!
 

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IKE – TEN MONTHS LATER

-- Gene Straatmeyer

Ground zero on Bolivar Peninsula reminds me of Iraq as it is described by U.S. soldiers – hot, treeless, with blowing sand. Other than some palms, the majority of the trees received a death sentence from Ike when he blew the salty sea around them. Now they have been bulldozed to the ground and burned. New grass is spotty and taking hold mostly where homes have been restored or rebuilt.

Ike, as a hurricane, caused the third largest amount of destruction in U.S. history. In spite of making history, it is “the forgotten hurricane.”  Rita and Katrina have stuck in the minds of Americans but Ike apparently makes them think of a former president. Even someone in the inner circle of a national disaster responder asked me on the phone recently, “What’s the name of your hurricane?”  Bolivar Peninsula, in particular, is one of the most, if not the most, forgotten areas among the communities that bore the wrath of this monster.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has two villages for volunteers, one in Texas City which is west across Galveston Bay from Bolivar Peninsula; the other is in Port Neches, about 60 miles northeast of the Peninsula.  The volunteers who stay with them aren’t available to us because of Bolivar Peninsula’s remoteness.  A big part of our physical remoteness is the three mile wide opening that leads ships from the Gulf of Mexico into Galveston Bay.

Last week I had a meeting in Crystal Beach with officials of two helping organizations.  Both were coming through Galveston. When they arrived at the Galveston side of the ferry, they were told it would be a 2-3 hour wait, so they parked their vehicles, walked on the ferry, and I picked them up on the Peninsula side and delivered them back to the ferry after our meeting.

In the Galveston paper, it was reported that the minimum wait was averaging two hours and the maximum six. When we came back from church Sunday afternoon, there was a line of vehicles about a mile down the road from both ferry parking lanes.  My doctor gave me a medical boarding pass so now our vehicle always gets to move to the front of the line. If we didn’t have the pass, we wouldn’t be going to Galveston at all.

The point is, it is not an easy ocean to cross these days.  The ferry supply is limited so traffic backs up on either side. Workers housed in Texas City PDA can’t get here in a timely fashion and the Port Neches camp is 60 miles northeast. The result is that volunteer groups have sought out more accessible projects. Volunteers who come to help us need to stay on the Peninsula if a full day’s work is to be done. We have a Presbyterian Retreat Center in High Island that can adequately handle up to 20 persons per night. The State is promising us a new ferry any day now, but they won’t promise that it will help alleviate the ferry-jam.  They say they don’t have enough personnel to run the ferries.

Our other problem is the lack of skilled volunteer labor. Bolivar Peninsula Community Outreach, where Jean and I serve as volunteers, has worked with only three work crews since we started asking for help last December.  The first two came from South Dakota and the third from Lufkin, TX. The PDA’s camps are also languishing for occupants.  Volunteers for this forgotten hurricane are not responding as they did for former disasters. 

A lot of young people came to the Peninsula this summer to muck out houses and clean up yards. They accomplished a great deal.  But young people can do only so much. Mennonite Disaster Service requires one skilled adult working with every four young people.  The teens work under the skillful eye of someone who knows what needs to be done and how to do it.  Some of the youth who flooded the Peninsula the early part of this summer, did not have skilled, adult volunteers with them. One non-profit left a group of teenagers, along with one or two unskilled adults, to do sheet-rocking and painting with the result being so unprofessional that it had to be redone at a significant cost.

For those who can afford to rebuild their homes, there is a building boom.  New homes are popping up all over the Peninsula.  Some “slabbers” who can afford it are going for instant gratification – they have a crew put up the pilings, then a pre-built home comes rolling down the highway and onto the street where the topless pilings sit.  A big crane follows and lifts the house high into the air.  A week or two later, the homeowner moves in.

I’ve described what Crystal Beach looks like 10 months after Ike’s visit. But Ike didn’t just come ashore and wash away homes and businesses. He left mounds of emotional turmoil in his wake that continues to erupt into personal discord in families, individuals, and communities. A recent post on the Bolivar Peninsula Group captures some of what is going on in survivors’ lives. The post-er writes,

“I had a neighbor come by recently asking me if it was everyone or just her and her husband who are always at each other’s throats. She stood there with tears in her eyes. I told her that the stress and strain on everyone puts a burden on all marriages and relationships, ours included. She hugged me and thanked me for letting her know it wasn’t just them.
 
“We have all been through so much since Hurricane Ike...seems I can't even ask my husband a question anymore without getting my head bit off, and vice versa. We all have to take a step back, take a breath and realize what the other is going through and feeling.  We will overcome all this – it will take awhile, but deep down we know we will survive. We survived Ike and now we have to survive all this stress that has been put on our shoulders due to insurance and the like. I know someday things will get better! I pray for each of us daily to find the strength to continue on….I just hope you all hang in there, and I hope you know that someone out there knows what you are feeling!!!”

So after 10 months, we still need a host of skilled workers to repair our homes.  And we still need prayer for those of us who continue to cope with the emotional debris Ike left in his wake. It will take much longer to clear the emotional debris, I think, than it did the massive amounts of debris already in landfills. But we make progress in this battle every time we get a displaced family or individual back in their home.

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Aloha Luau on August 5^th

Oahe Presbyterian Church will be honoring Mary Sherman, Peggy Meyer, and Ken Meyer at an Aloha Luau on Wednesday, August 5, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall.  It will be an opportunity for all of us to thank them for their dedicated service to OPC and wish them well as they move to Reno later in August.  "Aloha" in the Hawaiian language means affection, love, peace, compassion, and mercy and, since the middle of the 19th century, it also has come to be used as an English greeting to say good-bye and hello.  For these three wonderful people, "Aloha" seems like the perfect wish for them.

Roasted chicken, beverages, and tableware will be provided. Everyone is asked to bring a side-dish (salad, vegetable, dessert, etc.) to share.  Please wear your favorite luau attire, too, and start practicing your hula dancing!

Volunteer Relay for Life Activities in Full Swing

Members and friends of Oahe Presbyterian Church are keeping busy this month with Relay for Life activities.  On July 8, a group gathered in the church's "backyard" to fill 1,300 small bags of sand. These will be used to weigh-down the luminaria for the Relay for Life on July 24.  "Crafty" volunteers will gather on Wednesday, July 15 from 7-9:00 p.m. and Sunday, July 19th from 5:00-8:30 p.m. to help the Relay for Life teams decorate their luminaria.

These three volunteer gatherings have been a big help to Kay Cee H., who is serving on the community's Relay for Life Committee as the Luminary Chairperson. She extends a great big, "THANK YOU" to the church and its member and friends for their all their gracious help and for letting her use the fellowship hall.

Kay Cee is looking for a few strong people and a pickup or two to help her the morning of the relay, Friday July 24. The job is hauling the buckets of sandbags to Steamboat Park and setting them out by 10:00 a.m.  Another group will then put the sand bags into the luminaria and place them around the walking path.  She needs to do the reverse Saturday morning, July 25^th -- pick up the buckets of reusable sand bags, load them into pickups, and haul them back to the storage place. The time for that would be about 7:00 a.m. (flexible)  If you can help either morning, please give her a call (224-4236 or 945-4490).  She'll try to think of a way to repay your kindness.

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