TCC JUNE NEWSLETTER
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There are lots of exciting things happening this summer!
We always have awesome events in the summer—like Convention, summer camp and vacation bible school—but this summer we also have some exciting changes happening here in the building!
First of all, I am excited to announce that we are taking on a summer intern!
Grace Brown will be serving part-time with our youth & family ministry and worship teams this summer. Grace is from right here in Turner, and she’s going into her senior year at Bushnell University. Make sure and welcome her when you see her!
Second of all, we are making some changes to the doors in the church. The office door and western hallway doors have gotten full-length windows that let in a lot more light, and we’re adding keypads to the office entrance and the rear entrance west of the Fellowship Hall.
If you are a resident of Eden Circle or Mill Creek and walk to church, you can contact the church office for a code to get into the church though the back door.
Thank you so much to Robert Walborn for doing the work on these projects!
Finally, we’re making some changes to the classrooms so that we will have a new youth room, a children’s ministry room, and several classrooms. Thank you to everyone who’s working on painting and rearranging the room!
More exciting than all these changes, however, is every opportunity we have over these coming months to share the love of God with each other and our community. I am looking forward to it all!
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What Summer Activities
Should I Get Involved With and Why?
When it comes to the summer season, many people make time for a vacation. Summer is when good weather comes around and road trips, outdoor activities, and so much more are enjoyed to make the season that much more fun! For churches, the summer brings a lot of unique programming. So, as we go into the summer season, I wanted to highlight a few unique opportunities and why you might consider getting involved in them!
First, I’d love to encourage you to check out the Northwest Christian Convention! This is a week-long event here in Turner at the Oregon Christian Camp and Event Center right next door to our building! So, if you’re a part of our church here in Turner, you are within a few minutes of this great event! The best thing is, you can participate however you’d like! Do you want to see a specific speaker? Great! You can do that! You want to be at the sessions? Awesome! Have to work throughout the week and can only come on Saturday? We’d love to see you there! It is a full week of wonderful speakers, workshops, worship, fellowship, activities, and more. I really hope you might consider attending. There is more information about this event on the Northwest Christian Network website.
Next, I’d love to encourage you to check out our Sunday classes throughout the summer! On Sunday mornings at 9:00 am, we have Sunday classes here in the church building. Our current classes will run through June 12th! We’d still love to have you attend one of these classes. Beyond that, we will take a two week break for our Sunday classes. Then we will start up two new classes on July 3rd! These two classes will finish off our summer. More information is to come on the details of these classes, but I can tell you, you won’t want to miss them!
Lastly, I’d love to encourage you to consider serving at a couple of our youth and children’s events! We have an annual VBS event that helps us connect with children and their families, help them grow, and hopefully plug them into the church! There are many different ways to get plugged into VBS and I know that we could find a place for you that uses your special gifts, talents, and abilities. I’d encourage you to reach out to Pastor Rachel if you are interested!
One other event I’d love to encourage you to consider serving in is high school camp this year! Pastor Rachel and I have the opportunity to be directing high school camp at Camp Koinonia this year. We’d love to chat with you about serving at this week-long camp. Camp can be such an important week for students, and we want to do everything we can to invest in the kids who will be there. We want to make it a week they will never forget with positive, safe, and encouraging adults pouring into them! We hope you might consider joining us this year for camp! If you have questions or are interested in camp, feel free to contact me or Pastor Rachel!
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About Dreams!
It makes sense. I spent the last week in Eastern Oregon, dipping my toes into all Wallowa County has to offer. I gazed at majestic, snow-capped mountains. I put the tips of my fingers into ice-cold water. I explored downtown Joseph. I froze in snowy, rainy, hailing weather.
It was a good trip, made into a really good trip by my company. My entire immediate family―two siblings, their spouses, their kids, my parents, and a beloved uncle―were able to join me there. It was a week of good food, great conversation, and real relaxation.
It wasn’t the trip I had planned.
I have wanted to explore the northeastern corner of the state for the past 10 years. I have dreamed of hiking up to stunning overlooks and back into hidden, pristine lakes. I have imagined intense sweating, and incredible pride as I labored to the sights I have seen pictures of. Instead, I was nursing a foot injury, barely able to walk a half mile without intense pain.
What do we do when our dreams don’t pan out?
If you’re not a traveler this may all seem a little silly to you. Who puts that much emphasis on a lake? Well, I do. Hiking is a solace to me. It’s one way I connect with the Lord. As someone who can get lost in their brain, it always grounds me to the here and now-grateful for the world that God has made, delighting in silence and pouring out my heart to Him.
Instead of silent ponderings, I huddled in a noisy RV with rambunctious nieces and nephews. And I stayed in camp and rested while members of my family got to go adventure.
But oh, am I grateful.
There is a certain kind of beauty when one lets go of control. I cannot fix my foot, only choose behaviors that help it heal. I cannot climb mountains right now, only delight in the stories of those that got to. I can trust in the presence of the God who hears our hearts on quiet mountaintops and in crowded RVs.
This wasn’t the trip I dreamed of, but I think it was the trip I needed. In sweet moments with my sister, in cuddling up next to my dad, or goofing around with one of my nephews . . . in reading to a young niece, or chatting with my brother-in-law . . . there were so many good moments. Moments that I would have missed traipsing across hilltops. And though I sincerely hope that God provides me to the opportunity to return to Wallowa and climb those peaks, my bigger hope is that contentment will be more and more woven into the fabric of the way I live. So that whatever I do, and whoever I am doing it with, I am grateful to God for all that he provides.
This wasn’t the trip I dreamed of, but I think it was the trip I needed. In sweet moments with my sister, in cuddling up next to my dad, or goofing around with one of my nephews . . . in reading to a young niece, or chatting with my brother-in-law . . . there were so many good moments. Moments that I would have missed traipsing across hilltops. And though I sincerely hope that God provides me to the opportunity to return to Wallowa and climb those peaks, my bigger hope is that contentment will be more and more woven into the fabric of the way I live. So that whatever I do, and whoever I am doing it with, I am grateful to God for all that he provides.
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Vacation Bible School
July 26—30
9:00—11:30 am
Welcome to VBS 2022, Jerusalem Marketplace! This summer your child is going to take a trip back in time to see what life was like when Jesus walked the earth! Through fun songs, crafts, outdoor games, and dramas, your child will explore the 1st Century, and learn about Jesus. And don't miss the extra-fun on Saturday -the whole family is invited along for morning VBS and a barbecue lunch afterwards. It's all free!
And come back again Sunday - the kids will sing some of their VBS songs on the stage for Sunday worship, and the service will be followed by a church potluck.
Pre-registration available on:
https://turnerchristianchurch.com/vbs
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We Invite All Ladies to Join Us for Fun, Fellowship and Prayer!
We will watch “ West Side Story (2021 version)” and then we will share in a time of fellowship and prayer. “West Side Story” is an adaptation of the 1957 musical which tells the classic story of fierce rivalries, surprising love, and dawn of hope.
Bring a friend and a snack to share!
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Dakota Richards
graduated from Sprague High School
Calista Leatherman
graduated from Western Oregon University
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Stitches of Love will host a meeting on Saturday, June 18, 2022 from 10AM to Noon. All ladies and their friends are welcome.
This meeting is mostly social. Many ladies make quilts and other items that go out to different organizations. It would be great if these ladies came and brought a sample of what they do and shared what they did. Isn’t it a blessing to know that the projects we make with love go out across America and around the world.
So far this year there have been around 200 caps made and several draw string bags and small quilts. They are all beautiful and will go in the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. We can use all that you make so keep on stitching, crocheting, knitting or ?? This is another wonderful blessing going from our church to the world.
All items have been made from donation of fabric and yarn from church members and their friends. There have been over 5000 items made since 2008. All items have been made with love. It is our prayer that the children who receive the quilts and other items will know that someone loves them even though they do not know them. Most of all we want the children to know that God loves them.
If you have excess yarn and fabric, we could put it to good use. We always appreciate your prayers and donations of time, yarn fabric.
Please call if you have any questions. (503-769-2862).
Thank you -- Elizabeth O’Dell
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In our missions committee meetings, we have been learning about the role of western Christians in global missions. We can no longer operate under an “west to east” kind of mentality. We need to be true partners.
One of the most important ways of determining our role is LISTENING—listening to the specific, and often unique, situations of a mission (e.g. the religious/political climate of the location, the skills we offer, the condition of the church there, the willingness of us to adapt to the others’ customs and language, and the region’s opinions of North America).
Paul Borthwick, in Western Christians in Global Missions, gives some specific ways that we need to “listen.” The first, and probably the most important, is to be a friend. We need to get to know and walk alongside them as true brothers and sisters. Solutions can only be offered after creating a relationship. A relationship requires lots of listening.
Second, we need to listen or learn from history. We need to learn from our mistakes, especially ones in which our individualism, power paradigms, racism, and consumerism has hurt our ability to work together.
Third, we need to listen to their suffering. We must understand the kinds of sacrifices and suffering that a group of people have had and how it affects their faith. Until we understand that, our teaching will be hard for them to accept.
Fourth, we need to listen to their perspectives on theology and the context of ministry. We all interpret Scripture through our own cultural lenses. Further, for many non-Western brothers and sisters, the American concept of separation of church and state is impossible. For many of them, religion crosses every threshold of society: government, education, family, economy, and culture.
Lastly, we need to listen to their calls to serve the poor and resist the urge to simply send money. We need to pray with them and plan with them and then share any skills we have which could help them be self-sufficient. Many times, advocacy is more important than charity. They may not want what we want. Poor people need to be asked repeatedly what they think.
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Who else is ready for some Shoebox packing? Our Community Packing Party is approaching rapidly and we're looking forward to working together to make the best use of the good gifts that God is providing through His trusted servants.
This year's Community Packing Party will take place on Sunday, August 21, at 2:00 p.m. Salem Evangelical Church has graciously offered use of their gymnasium again this year for this event. With the financial, prayer, and volunteer support of congregations, businesses, and individuals, we are anticipating the packing of 1200 Shoeboxes during our time together on August 21.
There are many ways that you can be a part of this amazing Community effort to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We are continuing to collect items in our donation baskets in the TCC lobby. We are still accepting your monetary gifts to use for purchasing Shoebox items or to be used to cover the cost of getting these Shoeboxes to their ultimate destinations for distribution. There is always room for more volunteers to help in many ways on the weekend of the Packing Party. You could even consider coming on board one of the local Operation Christmas Child service teams.
We are grateful to hear that there are many in our congregation who continue to support this ministry to children around the world in the name of our Father―a Father who desires that everyone hear and have a chance to accept His plan of salvation. We are excited about a few upcoming events that will get our congregation involved in fun ways. Our kids in Junior Worship will be focusing on Shoeboxes during their 5-week Service Project that began in May and continues through most of June. They will be collecting items for and packing a few Shoeboxes of their own while also working on some school supplies and hair accessories for our Community Shoeboxes. Wow!! There may also be plans in the works for more opportunities during this year's VBS and Trunk-or-Treat events. We'll keep you posted on those as they draw nearer.
As always, I am willing to answer whatever questions you may have regarding this Mission/Ministry. You may email, text, or call and I will do my best to give you the information you need.
―Ann Stoker
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Ralph Holcomb
passed away and went home to the Lord on April 23, 2022.
A Memorial Service to be held on Monday, June 20, 2022,
3:00 pm at Turner Christian Church.
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Ty McLean was baptized into Christ on May 8th by Pastor Jack.
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To serve on the first Sunday of each month for the worship service (10:15 am—12:00 noon). Please contact Vicky Remy or the church office if you are interested!
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We have two new reference books in the Library! Bible Charts, Maps, and Time Lines is full of great time lines and maps from every period of the Bible. There is a companion book titled Chronology of the Bible which has a great summary of the many events of the Bible.
These and many other wonderful books are available to check out ― the Library is open whenever the church building is open!
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First person to call or bring in all the correct
answers to the church office wins a prize!
What Am I?
1. I am full of holes, but I can hold water.
2. What gets wet when drying?
3. What are two things people never eat before breakfast?
4. What is it the more you take away, the larger it becomes?
5. What has two hands and a face, but no arms or legs?
6. What has four legs and only one foot?
7. What has many keys, but can’t open any doors?
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Combined Worship Service at the Oregon Christian Convention
Sunday, June 26th at 10:00 am
Each summer we meet with other Christians attending the
Oregon Christian Convention for Sunday worship.
There will be no meetings at TCC that day.
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