Reaching Heights February 2020

Reaching Heights February 2020

Links to this month’s news:

WORSHIP AND STUDY
Worship – “Love Mercy”
2nd Hour – Adult Study – In Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

FROM THE STAFF
Along the Path – thoughts from Pastor Roger
Kate’s Cogitations

MISSION TEAM UPDATES
Education Ministry Team Events
     Souper Bowl Sunday – Feb. 2
     Mid Week Bible Study – Begins Feb. 11
Worship Ministry Team Report
Mission Ministry Team Report

UPCOMING EVENTS
Community Meal – February 15
Ash Wednesday Dinner and Worship – February 26

PAST EVENTS
2020 Chili Cook-off pictures!

OTHER NEWS
New Daily Bread Devotional
Prayer List Requests

See the Serving Schedule – Go to the church calendar

 

 

 

February Worship: Love Mercy 

Feb. 2 – “The Right Motive” – Micah 6:1-8

Feb. 9 – “The Right Motive: Righteousness” – Matthew 5:1-12

Feb. 14 – “The Right Motive: Covenant” – Matthew 5:13-20

Feb. 21 – “The Right Motive: Reconciliation” – Matthew 5:21-37

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 26.
This will be a joint service with Disciples Christian Church here at HCC.  Dinner at 6:30 pm in the Campbell Room with worship to follow at 7:30 pm in the sanctuary.

 

Sunday Morning Adult Study – 11:30 in the Campbell Room

In Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
All are invited to join us for Second Hour in February! We will spend 4 weeks exploring the principles and practices of Mr. Rogers and how they relate to scripture and our own experience.

“In Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” will inspire us and encourage us to take stock of what kind of neighbors we are called to be and to dream about what our neighborhoods could be like. These sessions are designed for all ages, so feel free to bring your family! Each week includes discussion, scripture, a clip from an episode of the TV show, an activity, and prayer. Please plan to attend! If you have questions or want to help host, please see Kate Gillooly.

Feb. 2 Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Feb. 9 Peace in the Neighborhood
Feb. 16 Just the Way You Are
Feb. 23 Neighboring

Along the Path

Recently I’ve been thinking about the scripture passage in Matthew in which Jesus tells his disciples that they need to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” I will admit that I’ve always wondered about how to understand how to do those two opposite things at the same time. But recently I had a new insight into those words that seems to make some sense to me.

We are all aware of the many ways that people get scammed these days. Hopefully it hasn’t happened to you, but I’m guessing that we are all on guard for that possibility. There are all kinds of scams, so many that it’s hard to keep up on all of them, but the ones I’ve heard of seem to fall into three categories.

The first is the “get rich” category in which the victim is led to believe that they can get a lot of money by first investing a “little” bit of money. These schemes focus on our greed and our desire for wealth and financial independence.

The “hurt loved one” is the second kind of scheme. This preys on our love for someone close to us who is supposedly in some kind of trouble. They take advantage of our close relationships and our fears.

The final category I’d call the “good samaritan”. In this scam the conman (or woman) uses our own desire to help someone as a way to trick us into sending or giving money to them or giving them access to our personal space in a way that allows them to steal from us.

No one likes to feel taken advantage of, but part of the problem with all of these scams is that they also leave us feeling embarrassed and unwilling to talk about the situation, even to the authorities. I know that is how I would feel should it happen to me. But these incidents need to be reported with the hope that the criminals can be stopped from hurting someone else.

So here is where Jesus’ words to his disciples comes in. We certainly need to be “wise” and on the look out for the scam artist trying to part us from what we own. But we can’t become cynical and treat everyone who asks for something as if they are just trying to steal from us. We need to keep that “innocence” that will allow us to reach out in love. And if we make a mistake and give to someone undeserving because we were trying to help? Don’t be embarrassed, be glad you are the kind of compassionate disciple that Jesus was hoping for.

So be “wise,” but “innocent”.

Kate’s Cogitations

If it looks like an Adaptive Challenge…

Adaptive Leadership is described by Heifetz and Linsky in several books published by Harvard Business Press. They explain leadership as the practice of mobilizing people to tackle tough challenges and thrive. Adaptive leadership focuses on the need for change within organizations and encourages actions that disrupt the status-quo in order to incite forward momentum.

How to distinguish between technical fixes and adaptive change:
In technical fixes, we use what we already know to “tweak” or “improve” what we already have. We do more, or a little different, and expect a slightly different outcome.

In adaptive challenges, the problem requires learning and the solution requires learning (or a different way of seeing). We have to totally re-think our situation and possible responses. May require change in beliefs, roles, and approaches.
As HCC discerns new ways to be faithful to God’s call, we might consider how we are being called to see things differently and consider new ways of being church together. Tweaks and slight improvements may not work any longer – we may need new approaches and new understandings for this work. How do you think we might adapt in order to respond to the challenges we face? What might God be calling us to (re)consider? How will we measure faithfulness?

Souper Bowl Sunday – February 2

No, this isn’t a $5 million dollar ad for 30 seconds of your time. It’s for us giving to serve the people in our area who need food. When our children pass the kettles to you, please remember a family member or a person in the neighborhood who may need our help.

MidWeek Bible Study is Back…

with The Gospel according to John

John’s Gospel offers stunning insights into the nature of Jesus and the meaning of faith. We witness signs and wonders, view contrasts of darkness and light, blindness and sight, death and new life as John puts before us who Jesus is, where he has come from and where he is going. Join us Tuesday afternoons from 1-2 pm at 3-19 Coffee on Lee Road for lively conversation! February 11- March 17.

Feb. 11 John Among the Gospels
Feb. 18 Prologue
Feb. 25 Mighty Works and Signs
Mar. 3 Jews and Jewish Tradition in John
Mar. 10 Beloved Community
Mar. 17 Multiple Modes of Knowing

Mission Team Report

Outreach Committee is still accepting grant applications. The next funding will be in March 2020. If you have a suggestion for a group that meets the requirements of this committee, please contact the Outreach Chair person, Freddie Holman at 216-561-1496. The application can be found on the Heights Christian website.

Christian Women’s Fellowship(CWF): The Thrift Shop is where funds for the PEM grants are generated. PEM is in recognition of the former CWF members who were long time advocates for Heights Christian Church’s missions to serve others. So visit and shop at the Thrift Shop.  Call Martha Cubberley at 751-3419 if you would like to become a volunteer.

Community Meal – Heights Christian Church and its partners continue to serve those in the community who are in need of food and/or just fellowship. Come join us and bring a friend. You wont be disappointed in the food or fellowship. The  next meal is on February 15, 2020 from 12-2pm. Volunteers are always needed and welcomed.

From the Missions Team Leader – You are welcomed and invited to share a cause that meets what our faith tells us we should do. Pastor Roger has invited us to connect to a link where this can be done. We do recognize our limitations and its my opinion that given that we are a small congregation, we do a lot to serve others. But I am thinking there might be more that won’t take a lot of time or money to which engage. I am exploring some options that I will share as my exploration suggests what is feasible.

2020 Chili Cook-Off

It was great food and great fun.  Nikki Crosby was our Cook-off Winner!  Many thanks once again to our fabulous celebrity judges – SHHS Principal Eric Juli, SH Library Director Amy Switzer, Council Person Carmella Williams, Chefs Marquise and Casey Harris, and Shaker Rocks owner Annie Richman.

New Daily Devotionals

Enrich your new year with a daily diet of Our Daily Bread devotional literature available on the Campbell Room table and Narthex.
Let the select, diverse group of talented, international authors touch your life and inspire you with their biblical insights.

Prayer List Requests

A new procedure has been established for listing names of individuals to remember in prayer. As of September, each name will be listed on the bulletin insert for a period of one month. If anyone wishes for a name to be included for a longer period, please call the church office to continue listing that individual for a subsequent month. The list will be kept on a rolling basis. As always, the congregation of Heights Christian Church welcomes and honors any requests for prayer support.

Social Media outreach

HCC is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and You-Tube! If you see something you like, share it on your page! This will increase our reach and may draw in our next visitor!