Northwest Community Church
May 2017
Murphy’s Minute
This year, 2017 the world remembers and celebrates the 500 year anniversary of the Protestant
Reformation. It was in the year 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of All Saints
Church in Wittenberg Germany and with those hammer blows western history took an enormous turn. The
theses were the enumeration of Luther’s objections to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Chief
among those teachings was the issue of how one comes to be saved. The church of that day taught that salvation
was available to all, but it came at a price – literally. The pope had sent his emissaries out to sell
“indulgences”. These were sold to people to assure them of their salvation. You could even buy an indulgence
for a loved one who had already died to make sure they made their way to heaven. The proceeds of these sales
were used to rebuild and repair St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. Luther specifically points that out in thesis 86,
which asks: "Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus
(Emperor), build the basilica of St. Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own
money?" Luther and the other reformers taught that we are saved by God’s grace alone!
Luther based his understandings of God and salvation on what he read in the Bible, not just on what he was
taught by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1517 not many people could read and even fewer could afford
books. Books were not printed, they were copied by hand, making them rare and expensive. The church taught
that only the priests and theologians should read the Bible so they tightly controlled what people thought and
believed. The reformers, on the other hand, believed the Bible should be read by all and that anyone could
understand the salvation freely given by God’s grace we find in those pages. Then, an amazing piece of
technology came along and through it God remade the western world. The printing press using movable type
had been invented a mere fifty years earlier. One of the first books printed was the Bible. But, the Gutenberg
Bible, named for the inventor of the printing press Johannes Gutenberg, was in Latin so it still wasn’t that
accessible to many people. It wasn’t until Luther put that invention together with a translation of the Bible in
German that the reformation took off.
Today, nearly every home in this country has at least one Bible in it. (My home, and I’m sure many of your
homes, has several.) But how often do we take it down, dust it off and read it? There are many new translations
out there. (One I’ve recently found that I like a lot is the Common English Bible.) And there are all sorts of
technological advances that make the Bible more accessible than ever. You can read the Psalms on your iPhone
while waiting in line at the grocery. These new translations and technologies make the text new and fresh and
accessible for today just as Luther’s translation made it that way for the people of Germany in the 1500s. So
you don’t have to take my word for what it says. Read it for yourself. Hear firsthand of God’s love and grace
for you.
I'll see you in church and as the church in the world.
Peace,
National Day Of Prayer Service
Northwest Community Church
Thursday, May 4th at 6:30 p.m.
Please mark your calendar and plan to join us and other churches in our community for this
service which is being sponsored by the Clippard Family YMCA. Light refreshments will be
served after the service and we will have the opportunity to visit with our neighbors.
Church Work Day
Saturday, May 6th
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. or longer if needed
Please sign-up on the sheet in the narthex
or see one of the trustees with questions or
about a project that interests you.
Forever Youngs
Our May luncheon will be on Friday May 12th at noon at Ron’s Roost
(3853 Race Road).Please see Mary Lou or Lois with your reservation.
June Mouse Deadline Saturday May 27th
NORTHWEST COMMUNITY CHURCH
TREASURER’S REPORT ~ MARCH 2017
NORTH SIDE BANK
Beginning Balance
$42,784.62
Ending Balance
$37,186.13
OPERATING FUND
$ <5,964.32>
Beginning Balance
Income
Expense
Monthly Profit/Loss
9,600.07
14,471.17
<$ 4,871.10 >
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ending Balance (Cumulative)
January
February
March
< $10,835.42 >
10 UP PLEDGE FUND
< $ 6,036.15 >
1,388.00
1,388.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<$ 4,648.15>
MONTHLY OPERATING FUND BALANCE
Income
Expense
Profit/Loss
$11,266.27
$16,661.47
$<5,395.20>
14,651.87
14,984.43
<332.56>
9,600.07
14,471.17
<4,871.10>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year to Date
$35,518.21
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$46,117.07
$<10,835.42>
SON Ministries in March received $51.53 from Loose Coins/Hunger Offering.
Acts of Compassion collected $176.72.
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Worship Committee Thank You
Thank you to all that purchased the beautiful Easter flowers to decorate our sanctuary on Easter
morning! The lovely flowers added to the beautiful service and the wonderful music provided by the
choir, Corey, Julia, and Kyle.Thank you again to all who participated in the Lenten Soup Suppers and
worship service that followed. We had an average of 25 people each week from the three
churches.Thank you to those who provided soups and assisted in hosting the event in our fellowship
hall. We couldn’t do this without all of you!!
Vacation Bible School
If you are interested in helping with this year's VBS, please contact Sharon
Stratman. VBS will run July 23 to July 27 and be held at St. Paul's United
Church of Christ.
If you know of a child 4 years old through 5th grade who would be interested
in VBS, please give Sharon their name and address and we will send an
invitation to them.
Presbyterian Women will meet at the home
The rummage sale made $1455. Thank you
of Elisabeth Paradies on May 3rd at12:30 pm for
dessert followed by the study of chapter 6 of BE
THE MESSAGE.
to all who helped. Most of you have heard that
the local paper put our sale as being held on
April 14-16 in their paid advertising; therefore our
number of shoppers was way down costing us
about $500. Also sadly, many of our customers
who use our sale to dress their families were not
there.
Just For Fun
When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear,
Grandpa," he advised, "mine says
I'm 4 to 6."
A second grader came home from school and said to her
grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today" The grandmother, more
than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. “That's interesting," she said, "how do you make babies?"
"It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."
A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when
we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're
done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."
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A VIEW FROM THE PEW
By Jeannette Lohner
What On Earth Is A Bucket List?
Jim Beattie, a member of White Oak Presbyterian/Northwest Community Church for
15 years, does not have a Bucket List. To understand why, you need to know more about
him.
Jim was born in York, Pennsylvania 93 years ago during the Great Depression. He
remembers his family losing their home and having to live in apartments. He didn’t have a
car until he was 18 years old. And he still remembers cutting cardboard to fit the bottom of
his shoes.
Following his graduation from William Penn High School in 1943, he enlisted in the
U.S. Navy. Here he met and married Grace Kolb, a member of the U.S. Navy Waves.
The young couple settled in Cincinnati, Grace’s birthplace. Jim worked for a printing
company and studied evenings at the University of Cincinnati for a certificate in Applied
Arts. He also worked at Swallen’s for almost 30 years until they closed.
He and Grace were married 59 years and had one son, two grandchildren and two
great grandchildren. Grace died in 2003 and Jim considers her as the one person who has
influenced his life the most.
Jim says he has a strong faith. “Church is an essential part of my life. Marian (Baird),
my fiancé, is the best part of my life since my wife died.” The best advice he has ever
received was to “get a Shingles shot.”
For fun Jim is a member of the Syrian Shrine in Cincinnati, a philanthropy group who
support the 22 Shrine Hospitals in the United States, Mexico and Canada. All the hospitals
are called: Shriners Hospital for Children. No one over 18 is admitted; no one is turned
away. “There are a number of Shriners in our church,” said Jim. He is Chaplain for the
Shriners and has been Past Commander of the Shrine Legion of Honor twice. He and
Marian like to go to their dances where they “swing dance.”
Marian said, “Jim has traveled extensively over the years and has been fortunate
enough to do almost everything he ever wanted to do. He is proud of being a member of
Northwest Community Church and helps when he can.”
So why doesn’t Jim Beatty have a ‘Bucket List’? A Bucket List is a list of things a
person wants to do before they kick the bucket (or die). And Jim has done about everything
he’s ever wanted to do.
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