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Vol. 46, No.
48 SOUTHSIDE ORACLE February
20, 2004
The Bulletin Board
Congregational Meeting – A special
congregational meeting was called by the elders after the second service
last Sunday. The purpose was to consider the possible purchase of some
property on South 13th Street for the future erection of a new
church building. The property became available suddenly and hence the
meeting on short notice. The meeting was very well attended. Several
significant issues were raised. It is clear that more research is required
before a final decision to purchase can be made. The meeting was very
profitable because it brought our future growth and expansion into focus.
Our regularly scheduled congregational meeting will follow the second
worship on February 29th. It will be preceded by a sandwich
lunch. Hopefully by that time more information will be available regarding
the land in question if it is still available for purchase.
The
dinner and silent auction for the Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp will
be Saturday at 6:00 p.m. If you have items to donate for the auction
contact, Wayne Alexander. Southside is greatly blessed by the camp and we
regularly have about 25 children attend the two-week sessions as well as
numerous staff. Currently Tim Shilts and Bobby Valentine are represented on
the board of directors. Plan to attend and buy some of the items to be
auctioned.
Identified – We welcome into our fellowship Barbara Dawson.
(Contact us for details).
She was formerly a member of the Wauwatosa congregation.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
Two years ago Last
year Last week Goal
Bible classes
145 130
145 170
Morning worship
218 218 *224 250
Evening worship 68 71 64 80
Contribution $3744.61
$3430.93 $4473.99 $4500.00
Twenty-six couples attended the
Sweetheart Dinner last Saturday evening which was possibly the best
attendance ever. Our thanks to Jim and Lori Nichols and Wayne and Jan
Alexander for planning it, as well as those who served so graciously.
New Arrival – Congratulations to Corey and Candice Hoze on the birth of
baby girl Carise on Sunday, Feburary 15th, at St. Joseph’s
Hospital.
Elder Forum – Sunday, February 29th will be our quarterly
elder forum. If you have a biblical question you would like the elders to
address, write it out and put it in the box provided for that purpose in the
side foyer.
Men! Be sure to sign up on the bulletin board if you plan to attend the
annual men’s breakfast on Saturday, February 28th.
February 29th will also be picture-taking day. Our
display of church families on the bulletin board needs considerable
up-dating. Probably 40% of our families are not on the board, so come
prepared to have your photo taken.
Confessions
of a Former Vulture
Have you seen any vultures lately? I
have. You can see lots of them this time of year hovering around mall
parking lots. They drive slowly in circles until they see a shopper get
into a car near the mall entrance. The vulture then swoops down to position
himself near that car. While other cars line up behind him, the vulture
waits for the shopper to pull out. Once he does, the vulture pulls into the
newly vacated space, secure in the knowledge that his “vulturizing” has been
successful. The whole process takes about ten minutes.
I used to be something of a vulture
myself. Then I realized that, in the time it takes me to get the “very
best” parking space, I can park in a space thirty feet further away and be
halfway through my shopping.
Unfortunately many people never learn this
lesson. They go through life thinking that happiness is a state to be
reached instead of a life to be lived. Having the closest parking space is a
symbol of their greatest hopes. Like the biggest house, the fastest car,
the corner office, it is a symbol of triumph. It doesn’t matter what they
have to do to get there or how long it takes. If and when they achieve their
goals they are happy.
These vultures are blind to the fact that
other people already have happiness. They may work on assembly lines, drive
rusty cars, or live in small apartments, but they are happy. They have
learned that “godliness with contentment” is great gain” (1 Tim. 6:6). Does
this mean you have to be poor to be happy? Not at all. But it means
happiness is not a plateau to be reached, but a life to be lived. If we are
living for God, let’s be content with whatever He chooses to send our way.
And if it happens to be a parking space in a distant corner of the lot, so
be it. __Glenn Hawley
Calendar of Events
February 21 – Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp dinner
and silent auction, 6:00 p.m.
February 28 – Southside area-wide men’s breakfast
February 29 – Picture taking day after morning worship
services
February 29 – Congregational meeting after second
worship and sandwich lunch
February 29 – Elders’ forum, 6:00 p.m.
March 14 – Elders/deacons meeting, 4:30 p.m.
March 14 – Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.
March 26-28 – Southside Youth Rally
March 31 – 5th Wednesday combined meeting
of midweek study groups
April 2-4 – York College High School Days
April 16-17 – Southside men’s retreat
April 17-18 – Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp spring
youth rally, Fallhall Glen
May 7 – Mother/Daughter Banquet, Southside, 6:00 p.m.
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