THE WHITE OAK LEAVES
White Oak Springs Presbyterian Church (USA)
W. Lee Dreyer – Pastor
Office Phone 789-7145 - Home Phone 789-9899
E-mail address:
May 2010 Volume 25 Number 8 191 Years of Service (est. 1818)
From The Pastor
April 19, 2010
Dear Friends,
When I think about the ministry and my role in it, I realize that there are some things I like about my call…and some things I don’t like. I suppose the thing I like the least is having to come up with a sermon title on a weekly basis. It may sound strange to you, but sometimes it is easier to come up with a fifteen-minute sermon than it is to come up with a title.
Back in the days when I was a seminary student, doing my field education work at the Cheswick Presbyterian Church, it was easy. My mentor, Vic Fogelin, was an understanding sort, and never required me to have a title for my once-a-month sermon. Usually, “The Sermon” sufficed.
When I first arrived at White Oak Springs, I noticed that my predecessor, Bob Crawford, published his sermon titles and biblical texts a month in advance. This seemed like a good practice, and, in fact, I was able to maintain this discipline…for a while. In fact, I was able to begin the process of sermon preparation months in advance. I would read the texts, identify a theme or themes that would inform the writing of the sermon, and allow the title to be published in the WHITE OAK LEAVES. This was fine except for the fact that when it came time to write the sermon, the title had little to do with the sermon I ended up with. Whether the members noticed the problem or not, I don’t know.
After a year or two, I abandoned the practice of working that far in advance. I decided that beginning a sermon a week ahead of time was good enough. But the problem of coming up with a sermon title for the weekly worship bulletin was still there. Truth be told, I struggle almost every week over this. Should I be witty, cute, or profound? Why does it need a title in the first place? Why not call it “A Sermon on John 21: 1-19”?
During the early years of my time here, there was the additional problem of the sign out by route 68. Every week, I would but the sermon title on the sign, unless, of course, the snow was too deep or the temperature was so cold that the metal letters stuck to my fingers. At first, I actually believed that drivers would slow down on the highway to see what Dreyer was preaching on this week. After a while, I concluded that the only people interested in my sermon titles were other preachers and that the sign along the road was a remnant of the days when people walked to church or drove by in a horse-drawn buggy. I soon concluded that Louise and Andy Bloom and I were the only people who walked by the sign, and that any driver who slowed down to read it was taking a risk. I had a recurring nightmare that someone would have a major accident while trying to read my sermon title.
Well, twenty years into my ministry with you folks, I still have difficulty coming up with sermon titles. I take some comfort, however, in the knowledge that I am not the only person who has difficulty in this area. In conversation with other preachers, I realize that they struggle also. I have also come to realize that newspapers and magazines have whole editorial boards to come up with the titles for articles. I am also comforted by the knowledge that even great novelists have trouble with titles. When I read that it was at the suggestion of an editor that F. Scott Fitzgerald changed the title of his great novel from TRIMALCHIO IN WEST EGG to THE GREAT GATSBY, or that Margaret Mitchell called her first novel TOTE THE WEARY LOAD…then NOT IN OUR STARS…and then BUGLES SANG TRUE before settling on GONE WITH THE WIND, I don’t feel so bad about my struggles.
My friends, I mention my difficulties with sermon titles because the “web mistress” of our new web site, Carol Dreyer, has asked me if I would like to publish sermon titles and biblical texts a month in advance. Sigh! I agreed, but I didn’t tell her of my difficulties. And so, I will do my best, but don’t be surprised if, in an act of quiet revolt, I give it up altogether, revert to the practice of my seminary days, and title what I do on Sunday “The Sermon.” I hope you will forgive me if I do.
Yours in Christ,
Lee
Richard & Carol Wagner May 30th
May Birthdays
Steve Berresford 2nd
Bob Cichra 3rd
Gene Koebler 4th
Ben Berresford 6th
Becky Williams 8th
Brian Henry 9th
Carol May 12th
Gayle Pollock 15th
Colleen Dreyer 15th
Carol Vinroe 22nd
Jewel Comes 25th
Lu Farnsworth 26th
Kathy Kummer 27th
Jim Thompson 30th
* May 9th – Deacons and Trustees
* June 13th – Choir
* July 11th – Christian Service Committee
Your group is responsible for hosting Moments of Fellowship during the assigned months and with providing people to serve as greeters before the worship service each Sunday.
Please check the paper products and drink supplies prior to your dates.
NEWLETTER DEADLINE
Deadline for the
June issue of
WHITE OAK LEAVES is
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Call (724) 789-9899, or e-mail
Carol Dreyer at
www.whiteoakspringspreschurch.com/
You can find the latest news and upcoming events.
The White Oak Leaves will be available from the web site, as well as information on upcoming sermons. Take a look and let us know what you think of it.
Help us reduce costs,
Let me know if you would prefer to receive your newsletter via: e-mail, website, or snail mail
Thanks, Carol Dreyer
Please remember our on-going mission projects:
· The Evans City Food Cupboard
· B.E.R.I. - Butler County Emergency Relief Initiative. There is a container on the back table.
· MILES OF PENNIES – Jar on back table. Proceeds of this project will be used where needed.
· Remember to keep in touch with your Secret Sister in some way at least once a month (a card, a poem, etc.) and remember them daily in your prayers and on their special days
Meals on Wheels Baked Goods
May is our month to provide baked goods for Meals on Wheels Please see the list posted on the bulletin board as to what is needed. (It has been requested that if you are baking a cake or cupcakes with icing, please send the tub of icing separately. The baked goods freeze better without the icing.) Thank You.
The Christian Education Committee is looking for people who will teach—or help with teaching—a class during our Vacation Bible School in June. If you would like to help, please contact one of the committee members
Church Directory
Following the 9:45 A.M. Service each week during May you will have the opportunity to have your picture taken for the directory. Please sign up at the table in the back of the sanctuary for the week that you wish to have your picture taken. Also, please take one of the information request forms with you and return it on the day of your picture. If you are unable to attend one of these sessions please contact me and every effort will be made to get your photo.
Arrangements will be made with shut-ins to come to you.
Thanks, Carol Dreyer
Junior Worship Program
Believe In God
May 2010
B.I.G. Theme: All People Can Serve God
B.I.G Idea:
We believe that each of us can serve God.
Date Lesson
May 2nd / JeremiahMay 9th / Timothy
May 16th / Mary & Martha
May 23rd / Pentecost/Spiritual Gifts
May 23rd will be the last Jr. Worship until September 2010. We will be taking the summer off to give our teachers a much deserved rest.
Recent Worship Attendance
March 28th - 60
April 1st (Maundy Thurs) – 36
April 4th – Sunrise – 46
April 4th – 9:45 AM – 47
April 11th - 42
The Adult Sunday chool Classes of White Oak Springs Presbyterian Church
“Upper Room” class (which meets in the small classroom to the right of the chancel) and the “Wired Word” class (which meets in the church library).
You can preview the weekly lessons from the Wired Word class online through the web site at
www.whiteoakspringspreschurch.com/
Follow the link to the Sunday School page.
Jerry & Joe SarrapoEdie Marlowe
Geza Doctor
Rev. Bob Crawford
All our Service Men & Women
Bob McGinley
Linda Connelly
Jeff Boice
Jim & Beulah Gilliland
Also keep our friends and family members who are ill, grieving, or suffering in your daily prayers.
Church Financial Report
Account Balances
March 31, 2010
Checking Balance 31-2010 $ 5,744.94
Total Receipts 6,293.61
Total Expenses $ 11,207.02
Checking Balance 3-31-2010 $ 831.53
Total Investments
Balance 3-16-2010 $ 521,585.42
Balance 4-11-2010 $ 535,256.12
2010 Vacation Bible School
June 21-25, 2010
6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.
Plans are underway for this years VBS. We can use your help.
Please check the volunteer sign up sheet on the bulletin board in the narthex or contact a member of the Christian Education Committee. Teachers are needed. If you would like to help but are unable to give of your time, we would be grateful for any monetary donations to help offset the cost of the VBS.
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Registration Form
Name ______Age/Grade Completed______
Address ______
Phone Number______
Parent/Guardian ______
Allergies/ special concerns ______
Please call the church at: 724-789-7145 if you have any questions.
You can also register online at: www.whiteoakspringspreschurch.com/
May 23, 2010
"I will sing praises to my God all my life long" Psalm 146:2
Do you remember how it felt to be a child, a teenager, or a young adult just starting out on your lifelong journey? Everything was fresh and new— a wonderful adventure! Songs of praise to God flow naturally from the lips of children. If only we could tap once more into that seemingly endless supply of vitality, faith, and joy that young people possess.
Well, we can! We can spend time with children. We can mentor youth. We can support young adults in their endeavors. When we focus our time and attention on young people, we get everything we give back a hundred-fold. And their energy lights a corresponding flame within us. It is truly God's Spirit at work.
A meaningful way we can engage with children and youth is through our gifts to the Pentecost Offering.
• Forty percent of the Pentecost Offering is kept by each congregation to help
children at risk in our own community. Think of the many creative ways we can
make a difference right here at home. And if you can't think of the best way to
use the money, just ask a young person!
• The Pentecost Offering supports a new generation of leadership for the church
through the Young Adult Volunteer program. Over 25 percent of these
young adults go on to serve as elders, mission workers, seminary professors, or
pastors—the people who will shape our church in the future.
• Pentecost Offering funds were used to create www.365.org, an engaging
online devotion written for youth. It is offered free of charge and it is timely,
theologically thoughtful, and diverse. And it lives where young people live—online!
The Pentecost Offering offers us the opportunity to designate 40 percent of what we receive to help children at risk in our community. Through General Assembly ministries, the Pentecost Offering supports the faith journey of Presbyterian young people, develops a new generation of church leadership, and advocates on a national level for children at risk. None of these vital ministries would be possible without the Pentecost Offering. Keep the spirit flowing.
Join us for a time of fellowship on Pentecost Sunday for our annual Soup and Salad Lunch in Backhaus Hall at 11:00 A.M.
We will receive the Pentecost Offering during our 9:45 A.M. Worship Service.
THE CHARLES AND MARY LOU O’PLANICK SCHOLARSHIP
At its regularly scheduled meeting of August 17, 2006, the Session of the White Oak Springs Presbyterian church, using a gift from the family of our dear friends, Chuck and Mary Lou O’Planick, established a scholarship fund in their memory. THE CHARLES AND MARY LOU O’PLANICK SCHOLARSHIP “will be awarded to students in good standing who are pursuing a post-high school education in an accredited four or two-year College or university or an accredited vocational institution.” “Scholarships will not be limited to members of the White oak Springs Presbyterian Church.” For more information and an application, please contact Pastor Lee. The deadline for application is May 30, 2010.