Worship Connection September 2016
The
WORSHIP
September 2016 FaithWestwood Worship Team: Creating elements together that are Deep, Daring and Daily worship experiences.
Connection
On August 28th FaithWestwood participated in our annual Outside the Walls event. After the event I asked Dawn Stock to share a little about the day and what happened. How many people were involved with Outside the Walls? We had over 250 people involved. 12 Project Team Leaders. And a staff that pitched in where needed. What kind of impact do you feel Outside the Walls has on our community? I think Outside the Walls is a great opportunity for the community of Faith Westwood to work together and get to know each other in a different way. It is a great chance to meet new people and build relationships while serving and learning about mission opportunities. The work we do with our Mission Partners is certainly appreciated, but I think what our people walk away with is even greater. As with many mission projects, you set out to help someone else and Hind that in the process you have been blessed. You see the good that is happening within our community and the people that are helping day in and day out, and it gives you hope. (Continued on page 2)
[1]
Work Completed: •
3 offices painted at CFCI
•
Over 2,000 meals packed at Kids Against Hunger
•
Over 1,100 backpacks packed for the Food Bank for the Heartland
•
Entertained 25 residents at Millard Good Samaritan Nursing Home
•
Cleaned and moved feet upon feet of shelving for the FaithWorks Pantry
•
Sorted, flattened, and cut bags for CareMaters
•
Picked vegetables and weeded at Together
•
Cleaned and moved appliances at Omaha Street School
•
Made 40 cookie baskets and delivered to our block in North Omaha
•
Delivered 48 tasty sliders to the Omaha Police Department Southwest Precinct
• Distributed 12 dozen donuts and bottles of water to Millard Days Parade participants. • Transplanted, weeded, and picked produce, in anticipation of the demolition crew coming Monday at the Big Garden. *
At Abide we were able to clean and take a tour of the new Abide campus.
Is there a God sighting story this year that you experienced or heard that inspires you to keep organizing Outside the Walls? I think the energy created on Outside the Walls day is contagious. Everyone comes with a servant’s heart and helps out however needed and you feel it. We had 3 new families that stopped in that day looking to attend our regular church service, but what they saw instead were people serving, and smiling, and relating to people of all ages. I think it speaks volumes about the type of church that we are and that we actually act on the values we state. All 3 families liked what they saw and wanted to come back. For me, my God Sightings are often times taking a moment in a big event to pause and look around. To take it all in, think of all the work that has gone into getting to this point, and just observing the good that has come about. I feel such a sense of love, togetherness, and common purpose. For me this year, it was looking over Fellowship Hall, where the CareMaters people were working, others were eating lunch, the kitchen crew was humming along, and just this sense of I Love this place and all these people. Anything else you'd like to say about Outside the Walls? I love the sense of possibility after Outside the Walls. It gets me energized and opens my eyes to the “more” that we could be doing. You see connections between mission opportunities and communities and people and how they can work together toward something even greater. Outside the Walls is a pretty amazing day! Thank you Dawn for helping us all be able to do more in our community!
[2]
Spot Light:
Why do you or
Jaymison Dinoso
participated in
How old are you?
I am 11 years old.
What grade are you in?
I am in the 6th grade.
have you these areas? We do a lot of serving as a family.
What’s your favorite thing you've ever done in worship? Why? Praise band is my favorite thing to do in worship because, I love to sing.
What is your favorite worship song?
What school do you attend? I go to Central Middle School.
Why? Build Your Kingdom Here. It is the acolyte motto song because of the lyric “set your church on fire.”
How many years have you been at FaithWestwood? I have been at FaithWestwood for 3 1/2 years.
What parts of worship do you or have you participated in? I participate in Praise band, acolyting, Christmas pageant, cherub choir, VBS, 3 point choir, and children's ministry
What is your favorite scripture? Why? Proverbs 31:25, “She is clothed in Strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.” I like this scripture because my sister Sydney painted me a sign with this scripture on it for my bedroom.
[3]
CELEBRATIONS Backpack Blessing: On August 14th we were able as a congregation to bless the backpacks of the students returning to school. This year the parents were up front as a part of the prayer, then we cheered on our students as their grades were called. It was such a special way to send our kids off into a new school year! Good luck to all the students and staff who have returned to school!
Student-Led Worship -Mission Trip Recap On August 28th, we were blessed at both services by the students of FaithWestwood. We had the opportunity to hear about both the Dallas and Des Moines mission trips, as well as some amazing music. It was a service that helped us all remember about loving our
neighbors just like the Samaritan man.
All About That Baby- Pageant 2016
Attention Students 4th through 12th graders! We will be holding auditions for All About That Baby on October 2nd from 12:00 to 1:30pm in the Worship Center. Audition opportunities include: Singing and acting parts for students 4th grade – high school. **All students who audition must commit to music rehearsals each Sunday during one of the Sunday School hours.** For more information or questions please contact: Leah Dinoso at [email protected] or Liz Polivka at [email protected]
[4]
myself yearning, will get this question: Was this the intention of God entrusting these resources to me?
Work, Save, Spend, Repenaat
Work is Worship Some people are gifted with talents and hearts to serve others in tangible ways; whether as a steward of funds in a non-‐proXit helping the unemployed Xind jobs, to farming food for the country, to maintenance work in a plant that provides clean water for our city. For others, work does not directly fulXill a basic need of our community. I will certainly be joining you in that boat. Where my work does not directly help people with food, clothing, or shelter, I can exemplify Christian work ethic to the people in my company, build meaningful relationships with coworkers, and serve my teammates, partners, and clients hour to hour. Don’t work to enhance your life. Work to have time for prayer/reXlection and giving to others who are unable to do so for themselves, so that you both may be lifted up in God’s eyes.
pag by Jessica Cam
Going to lay it all out there for you my friends. I am CONSTANTLY battling the pull to acquire and ‘keep up’ in our capitalistic world. I place emphasis on brand clothing, techy gadgets, new furnishings, sparkling Xinishes, and nice vehicles to give me purpose and standing in society. My thinking has been that my stock of ‘things’ will reXlect to others how smart I am with money. What compounds this obsession with money is my personal distrust of the institutions some rely on for future security. I need to store up money for the unknown/unforeseen hardships waiting ahead; no one is going to bail me out when times get tough; no one needs to know that I’m struggling in the Xirst place; no one is responsible for my well-‐being. I told you, laying it ALL out there and I cringe to think I am alone in these thoughts. In my quest to reconcile these feelings and share with anyone willing to read this, I turned to a number of devotionals for tips about Xinding God’s voice in this ‘matter of money.’ I wanted to know what contemporary religious students/scholars/ writers, have to say about freedom from the enslavement to money in our capitalistic world. I wanted to know if this struggle was really anything new.
Sourcing to Serve What does God have in mind for the money you’ve earned? Are self-‐embellishments uplifting others for God? God has designed you and put you at this post to beneXit others. I am reminded of an economics book from a college course I took called, ‘The Company of Strangers.” As evident by the title, the book outlined the evolution of society from individual and immediate family sustenance to hunter/gatherer roles in early tribal communities, to the emergence of large cities, states/provinces, and nations, where you couldn’t possibly know the man who raised the hoof stock or the woman who sewed your clothing. We do not have to know each other to need and serve one another. We are interdependent on each other and on God.
It’s all His Poverty is not a sign of your bad standing with the Lord. Wealth is not a sign of your good standing with the Lord. Jesus dismissed the long-‐ held belief that wealth or poverty was a sign of God’s favor to a person, family, or nation. Jesus said that those blessed with wealth are entrusted to share that gift with the poor, avoiding arrogance, dishonesty and greed in kind. The Bible reiterates Jesus’ message, warning of the downfalls of greed, as there are many. Wealth and greed breed temptation. Temptation to swindle our employers, stay away from family in order to accumulate more money, and closing our hearts to the needs of others. The next shopping spree, for which I Xind
In conclusion, we cannot call it a ‘balancing act’. There is no room for both money and the Lord in the hearts of His people. God says one cannot serve two masters. He calls you and me to remove the wedge of wealth, dividing us from Him. For some of us, this may be the last and BIGGEST thing keeping us from God. Rightly so, ‘the BIGGEST’ thing. Greed has ruined so much of God’s beauty: the land, families, faith and hearts. We all have to make the choice. I pray we make the godly choice. Amen.
[5]
CHOIR CORNER
Chancel Choir News
Christmas Pageant
The Choir continues to practice every Wednesday from 7:30 to 8:30 in the
Interested in being a part of the
choir room. If you are interested in joining the choir, or would like more information, please contact Jill Anderson at: (402) 677-‐3704 or [email protected]
children’s pageant? Check out page 4 for audition information or contact Leah Dinoso at [email protected] or Liz Polivka at [email protected]
Kid’s Choir News Both the Little Angels and the Cherubs have started rehearsing on Wednesday nights. Rehearsals are from 6:30 to 7:15pm. There is still room for more kids to join, so if you’re interested, please let Sue or Jill know! We’d love to have your kids be a part of these fun groups! For more information, please contact: Little Angels: Sue Hamilton, (402) 330-‐4930 or [email protected]. Cherubs: Jill Anderson, (402) 677-‐3704 or [email protected]
DATES:
LITTLE ANGELS
CHERUBS
BELL CHOIR
THREEPOINT CHOIR
Next Rehearsal: Wednesday at 6:30pm.
Next Rehearsal: Wednesday at 6:30pm
Next Rehearsal: Monday nights at 7:00pm
Next Rehearsal: More Information to come!
Sing in Worship: September 11th
Sing in Worship: September 25th.
Sing in Worship: More Information to come!
The Little Angles sing every second Sunday of the month.
The Cherubs sing every fourth Sunday of the month.
Play in Worship: Third Sunday of the month at the 9:00am service.
[6]
CHANCEL CHOIR Next Rehearsal: Wednesday, 7:30pm-8:30pm
Sing in Worship: The first, second, and fourth Sundays of the month, during the school year, at the 9am service.
WORSHIP
September 2016 FaithWestwood Worship Team: Creating elements together that are Deep, Daring and Daily worship experiences.
Connection
On August 28th FaithWestwood participated in our annual Outside the Walls event. After the event I asked Dawn Stock to share a little about the day and what happened. How many people were involved with Outside the Walls? We had over 250 people involved. 12 Project Team Leaders. And a staff that pitched in where needed. What kind of impact do you feel Outside the Walls has on our community? I think Outside the Walls is a great opportunity for the community of Faith Westwood to work together and get to know each other in a different way. It is a great chance to meet new people and build relationships while serving and learning about mission opportunities. The work we do with our Mission Partners is certainly appreciated, but I think what our people walk away with is even greater. As with many mission projects, you set out to help someone else and Hind that in the process you have been blessed. You see the good that is happening within our community and the people that are helping day in and day out, and it gives you hope. (Continued on page 2)
[1]
Work Completed: •
3 offices painted at CFCI
•
Over 2,000 meals packed at Kids Against Hunger
•
Over 1,100 backpacks packed for the Food Bank for the Heartland
•
Entertained 25 residents at Millard Good Samaritan Nursing Home
•
Cleaned and moved feet upon feet of shelving for the FaithWorks Pantry
•
Sorted, flattened, and cut bags for CareMaters
•
Picked vegetables and weeded at Together
•
Cleaned and moved appliances at Omaha Street School
•
Made 40 cookie baskets and delivered to our block in North Omaha
•
Delivered 48 tasty sliders to the Omaha Police Department Southwest Precinct
• Distributed 12 dozen donuts and bottles of water to Millard Days Parade participants. • Transplanted, weeded, and picked produce, in anticipation of the demolition crew coming Monday at the Big Garden. *
At Abide we were able to clean and take a tour of the new Abide campus.
Is there a God sighting story this year that you experienced or heard that inspires you to keep organizing Outside the Walls? I think the energy created on Outside the Walls day is contagious. Everyone comes with a servant’s heart and helps out however needed and you feel it. We had 3 new families that stopped in that day looking to attend our regular church service, but what they saw instead were people serving, and smiling, and relating to people of all ages. I think it speaks volumes about the type of church that we are and that we actually act on the values we state. All 3 families liked what they saw and wanted to come back. For me, my God Sightings are often times taking a moment in a big event to pause and look around. To take it all in, think of all the work that has gone into getting to this point, and just observing the good that has come about. I feel such a sense of love, togetherness, and common purpose. For me this year, it was looking over Fellowship Hall, where the CareMaters people were working, others were eating lunch, the kitchen crew was humming along, and just this sense of I Love this place and all these people. Anything else you'd like to say about Outside the Walls? I love the sense of possibility after Outside the Walls. It gets me energized and opens my eyes to the “more” that we could be doing. You see connections between mission opportunities and communities and people and how they can work together toward something even greater. Outside the Walls is a pretty amazing day! Thank you Dawn for helping us all be able to do more in our community!
[2]
Spot Light:
Why do you or
Jaymison Dinoso
participated in
How old are you?
I am 11 years old.
What grade are you in?
I am in the 6th grade.
have you these areas? We do a lot of serving as a family.
What’s your favorite thing you've ever done in worship? Why? Praise band is my favorite thing to do in worship because, I love to sing.
What is your favorite worship song?
What school do you attend? I go to Central Middle School.
Why? Build Your Kingdom Here. It is the acolyte motto song because of the lyric “set your church on fire.”
How many years have you been at FaithWestwood? I have been at FaithWestwood for 3 1/2 years.
What parts of worship do you or have you participated in? I participate in Praise band, acolyting, Christmas pageant, cherub choir, VBS, 3 point choir, and children's ministry
What is your favorite scripture? Why? Proverbs 31:25, “She is clothed in Strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.” I like this scripture because my sister Sydney painted me a sign with this scripture on it for my bedroom.
[3]
CELEBRATIONS Backpack Blessing: On August 14th we were able as a congregation to bless the backpacks of the students returning to school. This year the parents were up front as a part of the prayer, then we cheered on our students as their grades were called. It was such a special way to send our kids off into a new school year! Good luck to all the students and staff who have returned to school!
Student-Led Worship -Mission Trip Recap On August 28th, we were blessed at both services by the students of FaithWestwood. We had the opportunity to hear about both the Dallas and Des Moines mission trips, as well as some amazing music. It was a service that helped us all remember about loving our
neighbors just like the Samaritan man.
All About That Baby- Pageant 2016
Attention Students 4th through 12th graders! We will be holding auditions for All About That Baby on October 2nd from 12:00 to 1:30pm in the Worship Center. Audition opportunities include: Singing and acting parts for students 4th grade – high school. **All students who audition must commit to music rehearsals each Sunday during one of the Sunday School hours.** For more information or questions please contact: Leah Dinoso at [email protected] or Liz Polivka at [email protected]
[4]
myself yearning, will get this question: Was this the intention of God entrusting these resources to me?
Work, Save, Spend, Repenaat
Work is Worship Some people are gifted with talents and hearts to serve others in tangible ways; whether as a steward of funds in a non-‐proXit helping the unemployed Xind jobs, to farming food for the country, to maintenance work in a plant that provides clean water for our city. For others, work does not directly fulXill a basic need of our community. I will certainly be joining you in that boat. Where my work does not directly help people with food, clothing, or shelter, I can exemplify Christian work ethic to the people in my company, build meaningful relationships with coworkers, and serve my teammates, partners, and clients hour to hour. Don’t work to enhance your life. Work to have time for prayer/reXlection and giving to others who are unable to do so for themselves, so that you both may be lifted up in God’s eyes.
pag by Jessica Cam
Going to lay it all out there for you my friends. I am CONSTANTLY battling the pull to acquire and ‘keep up’ in our capitalistic world. I place emphasis on brand clothing, techy gadgets, new furnishings, sparkling Xinishes, and nice vehicles to give me purpose and standing in society. My thinking has been that my stock of ‘things’ will reXlect to others how smart I am with money. What compounds this obsession with money is my personal distrust of the institutions some rely on for future security. I need to store up money for the unknown/unforeseen hardships waiting ahead; no one is going to bail me out when times get tough; no one needs to know that I’m struggling in the Xirst place; no one is responsible for my well-‐being. I told you, laying it ALL out there and I cringe to think I am alone in these thoughts. In my quest to reconcile these feelings and share with anyone willing to read this, I turned to a number of devotionals for tips about Xinding God’s voice in this ‘matter of money.’ I wanted to know what contemporary religious students/scholars/ writers, have to say about freedom from the enslavement to money in our capitalistic world. I wanted to know if this struggle was really anything new.
Sourcing to Serve What does God have in mind for the money you’ve earned? Are self-‐embellishments uplifting others for God? God has designed you and put you at this post to beneXit others. I am reminded of an economics book from a college course I took called, ‘The Company of Strangers.” As evident by the title, the book outlined the evolution of society from individual and immediate family sustenance to hunter/gatherer roles in early tribal communities, to the emergence of large cities, states/provinces, and nations, where you couldn’t possibly know the man who raised the hoof stock or the woman who sewed your clothing. We do not have to know each other to need and serve one another. We are interdependent on each other and on God.
It’s all His Poverty is not a sign of your bad standing with the Lord. Wealth is not a sign of your good standing with the Lord. Jesus dismissed the long-‐ held belief that wealth or poverty was a sign of God’s favor to a person, family, or nation. Jesus said that those blessed with wealth are entrusted to share that gift with the poor, avoiding arrogance, dishonesty and greed in kind. The Bible reiterates Jesus’ message, warning of the downfalls of greed, as there are many. Wealth and greed breed temptation. Temptation to swindle our employers, stay away from family in order to accumulate more money, and closing our hearts to the needs of others. The next shopping spree, for which I Xind
In conclusion, we cannot call it a ‘balancing act’. There is no room for both money and the Lord in the hearts of His people. God says one cannot serve two masters. He calls you and me to remove the wedge of wealth, dividing us from Him. For some of us, this may be the last and BIGGEST thing keeping us from God. Rightly so, ‘the BIGGEST’ thing. Greed has ruined so much of God’s beauty: the land, families, faith and hearts. We all have to make the choice. I pray we make the godly choice. Amen.
[5]
CHOIR CORNER
Chancel Choir News
Christmas Pageant
The Choir continues to practice every Wednesday from 7:30 to 8:30 in the
Interested in being a part of the
choir room. If you are interested in joining the choir, or would like more information, please contact Jill Anderson at: (402) 677-‐3704 or [email protected]
children’s pageant? Check out page 4 for audition information or contact Leah Dinoso at [email protected] or Liz Polivka at [email protected]
Kid’s Choir News Both the Little Angels and the Cherubs have started rehearsing on Wednesday nights. Rehearsals are from 6:30 to 7:15pm. There is still room for more kids to join, so if you’re interested, please let Sue or Jill know! We’d love to have your kids be a part of these fun groups! For more information, please contact: Little Angels: Sue Hamilton, (402) 330-‐4930 or [email protected]. Cherubs: Jill Anderson, (402) 677-‐3704 or [email protected]
DATES:
LITTLE ANGELS
CHERUBS
BELL CHOIR
THREEPOINT CHOIR
Next Rehearsal: Wednesday at 6:30pm.
Next Rehearsal: Wednesday at 6:30pm
Next Rehearsal: Monday nights at 7:00pm
Next Rehearsal: More Information to come!
Sing in Worship: September 11th
Sing in Worship: September 25th.
Sing in Worship: More Information to come!
The Little Angles sing every second Sunday of the month.
The Cherubs sing every fourth Sunday of the month.
Play in Worship: Third Sunday of the month at the 9:00am service.
[6]
CHANCEL CHOIR Next Rehearsal: Wednesday, 7:30pm-8:30pm
Sing in Worship: The first, second, and fourth Sundays of the month, during the school year, at the 9am service.
