Southside Oracle Archive

Vol. 50, No. 39                   SOUTHSIDE ORACLE                   December 14, 2007

 The Bulletin Board

York College Concert Choir will sing at Southside at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 5^th. We will provide housing and meals for the choir members. If you can help, see the sign-up sheet or talk with Linda Stanger or Daryl Miller.

The Christian Workers' Meeting will be at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 18th. The speakers will be Roy Ratcliff of Madison who will do an exegetical study of 1 John 1:1-2:2, and Keith Brumley of Northtown who will speak on "Theological Understanding of Human Nature." This meeting is open to everybody. Come if you can.

Southside Blood Drive - Sarah Borges is in charge of a blood drive at Southside on January 19t^h. It will be from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you can contribute, come to the church during those hours. To make an appointment or for further information, contact Sarah at (414) 243-1122.

(*} first service, 141, second service, 80

Address change - Bob and Connie Slye. See us for details.

Monroe Hawley will be our speaker Sunday evening. Robbin Vugrnick will bring the evening lesson on December 23^rd .

The Sick - Pat Young continues to recuperate from her surgery, but will be confined at home for several weeks .... Alice Anger, mother of Jim Nichols, had knee replacement last week at Waukesha Memorial Hospital .... Jose Cervantes, son-in-law of Mary Anguiano, is improved and out of intensive care at St. Luke's Hospital .... Reuben Melendez, brother of Ossie, is now home after being hospitalized with heart failure.

 Calendar of Events

December 19 - Christian Workers' Meeting, 9:00 a.m.

January 5 - York College Concert Choir, 7:00 p.m.

January 14 - Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.

January 19 - Southside Blood Drive, 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

January 25-27 - Spirit Fest, Duluth, MN, for youth

February 16 - Camp auction and dinner for Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp

February 24 - Southside area-wide men's breakfast, 9:00 a.m.

March 2 -  50th anniversary of the Southside Church

March 28 - 30 - Southside youth rally

July 11, 12 - 50th anniversary celebration and reunion of Southside Church

To Help or Not to Help

If you're serious about being a Christian, you'll want to help people.  The Bible says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" (1 John 3:17). That's plain enough, but do we ever demonstrate God's love by not helping?

In Passionate People Bruce Larson recalls the time he took in a homeless family of six. The Larson family had four members and they were crammed into a tiny apartment. Even so, they made room for the needy family. Minutes after the guest family received permission to "move in for a few days," they hauled several washer loads of clothes from their car. From that time on, it seemed as if the washer never stopped. As time went on, it soon became apparent that the Larson's temporary boarders had no intention of trying to better themselves.  They had food, clothing, shelter, and access to the laundry room. One day Larson's wife said, `Bruce, I have an idea. Why don't we move out and let our guests have the apartment." Ultimately, the Larsons reluctantly packed a picnic lunch for all the members of their guest family and said, "There's the road." Quite often, well-intentioned acts of servanthood end up that way.

We really don't exhibit compassion when we encourage others to settle into a state of perpetual dependence. We must respond to human destitution, but we ought to be thinking in terms of helping needy people establish their independence. A Chinese proverb advises, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Sometimes you show love when you say "no" to a request. If you're a compassionate person, it may be the hardest thing you've ever done. You may even invite the wrath of the person who makes the request, but when a person puts himself in a position that would cause him to become perpetually dependent, he's making an unwise decision. You need to say, "I can't help you this time, but I'll stand on the sidelines and lead the cheers while you learn to stand on your own two feet." That, too, is love.                                                                                             _--                                                                                                                                       Norman Bales

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