Issue #16 - August 2007

Minister's Message

I don't feel old and I certainly know that I am not old. However, this time of year always reminds me that I am getting older. In the last couple of months, high school seniors all across the country graduated. It has officially been eleven years since I graduated from high school.

It is strange how some people seem to know from a very young age what they would like to do with their lives. When we were kids, I can remember my older brother wanting to be a pilot when he grew up. I don't know how much he has "grown up." However, he is a pilot now and seems to enjoy it.

For me, it was a different story. I think that I would have been happy doing anything other than going to school. I simply could not stand to wake up in the morning and go to school. After graduating, I tried to join the Navy. Through a paper error, I was sent back home on the first day. After that, I tried my hand at studying to be an electrician. I quit half way through the course and got an F. I gave up on finding a career and decided to go to college. I thought teaching couldn't be too bad. Politician. Writer. Lawyer. Doctor. I pursued all of these careers. God only knows how I ended up being a minister.

It was frustrating at the time, but my journey to find my calling was full of surprises, fun, and wonderful people (we'll just forget that F in Basic Electronics). I hope that the graduates in our church and in Louisa County will find careers that they feel called to, even if they have to do the "trial by error" thing.

This year we have two graduates in our church: Valerie Donovan and Spencer Margaret Southall. Valerie played tennis at Louisa County High School. She will be attending Piedmont Valley Community College. She is not sure what she will be studying, but she is considering business and teaching. Valerie is also working part-time for an auctioneer. Spencer graduated from Citizen's High School. She had a 3.25 grade point average. Spencer will also be attending Piedmont Valley Community College as she tries to find a career that she would enjoy.

We wish the very best to Spencer and Valerie. Please, offer them support and encouragement as they continue school and try to find God's will for their lives.

~ Matthew

Baptism at Johnson's Pond

Poised at a respectful distance from the bank,
The crowd shifts and strains for a better view.
A woman muffles a cough under a tissue;
A folding chair squeaks as it snaps into place.
We wade into the water, the boy and I.
Minnows dart, cool mud oozes between my toes.
Swelling with water, my white robe balloons
Like a hoop skirt around my thighs.
Waist-deep now, we plant our feet;
A bumblebee drones in a nearby bush.
Cupping his head, I lower him backwards;
Ripples lap the spot where his face had been.
I raise him to the surface; he sputters and gasps:
Death and rebirth, the rite is complete.
Like a broken strand of shimmering pearls,
Glistering beads of wather cascade from streaming hair,
While high overhead in the milky blue haze,
A hawk wheels and banks in a graceful arc
Before melting into the sun.

~ H.D. Burnette

Thanks

Dear Church Family,

Thanks to everyone for the visits, prayers, cards, food, flowers, and phone calls not only while I was a patient at St. Mary's and Sheltering Arms in Richmond, but also since returning home. God has truly blessed me with caring friends and a loving church family. As I continue to recover, please keep Virginia and me in your prayers.

In Christ,
James Fleshman, Sr.

Board News

Recent board news:

Schedules

Acolytes

August: Andrew P. and Amber W.
September: Abbie S. and Corey S.
October: Shawn L. and Andrew P.
November: Katelyn P. and Jack P.
December: Andrew P. and Amber W.

Nursery

Louisa Christian Church

Aug 5 Sherri Davenport
Aug 12 Maureen Dodge
Aug 19 Debbie Dessent
Aug 26 Steff Throckmorton
Sept 2 Diane Purcell
Sept 9 Patricia Burnette

A Little Inspiration

This is how human nature is related to the divine: the disciples sleep - while Christ suffers.

~ Soren Kierkegaard

Lectionary

Louisa Christian Church

August 5, 2007
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Hosea 11:1-11
Psalm 107:1-9, 43
Colossians 3:1-11
Luke 12:13-21

August 12, 2007
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40

August 19, 2007
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Luke 12:49-56

August 26, 2007
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 13:10-17

Take a moment and read these scriptures each week!

Volunteer Opportunities

Upcoming Youth Activities

Louisa Christian Church

Birthdays

Louisa Christian Church

Milton Wayne Atkins 9/21
B. Fay Cardinal 9/27
Donna Corle 9/22
Sheryl Eubank 9/28
Tracey G. Fisher 9/15
Bill G. Furniss 9/17
Dianna McCoy Garnett 9/7
Bucky Groome 9/8
Ryan H. Hott 9/19
Joe Hoyt 9/22
Dwayne Knight 9/22
Nora Jane Leake 9/8
Patsy Lunceford 9/5
Mary Lee Maddra 9/19
Alison M. Nunnally 9/24
Alan W. Perkins 9/28
Robbie W. Perkins 9/19
John Jerl Purcell, III 9/10
Maxine Shifflett 9/20
Meredith Smith 9/22
Nelson C. Smith 9/11
Whitney Southall 9/23
Greg V. Strickland 9/12
Deborah W. Woodward 9/16

If we missed a birthday, let us know.

Worship

Sunday School every Sunday at 10 AM
Worship Service following at 11 AM
Prayer Service each Wednesday at noon

Every Wednesday we offer a Bible Study at 10:30 AM and 6:30 PM
Community Youth Night every Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:15 PM

Louisa Christian Church
P.O. Box 1344
104 Elm Avenue
Louisa, VA 23093

www.louisachristianchurch.org

Rev. Burnette: 540-967-4884
Email

Rev. Ricks: 804-683-3537
Email

Newsletters