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Vol. 45, No.
49 SOUTHSIDE ORACLE
February 7, 2003
The Bulletin Board
Camp Dinner and Auction – The annual W.C.Y.C. dinner and
auction will be held at Southside on Saturday, February 15th
beginning at 6:00 p.m. If you have items you would like to donate for
auction for the camp, see Wayne Alexander. There is no charge for the
dinner that will precede the silent auction. Plan to come and support
the camp that has meant so much to our youth and all their families.
The Sick – Lisa Gustafson is now home and recovering from
her throat surgery. The healing process is slow and we need to keep
praying for her….Elfriede Wandsnider is also slowly improving from her
back surgery and undergoing physical therapy….Irene Bohach is not
doing well. She is in the health center at Tudor Oaks….Nathalie
Campbell has had a good report regarding her health and as of now is
cancer free. She thanks us for our prayers and concerns.
Praise and Palate will be Sunday at 6:00 p.m.
The elders and deacons will meet at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
Two years ago
Last year Last week Goal
Bible classes
137 153 151 170
Morning worship 208
236 *237 250
Evening worship
22 47 71 80
Contribution
$3001.10 $4604.45 $3853.67 $4200.00
The Lord’s Supper (5)
The Setting
In considering the details and disputes surrounding the Lord’s
supper, it is easy to overlook its relevance to each of us and reduce
it to a ritual to be carried out in a precise manner. Unless my
eating the supper is meaningful as an expression of my personal faith,
the “how” of taking it becomes irrelevant. Still, it is vital to
learn something of how it was observed in the primitive church. Our
sources of information are the New Testament and the writings of the
church fathers who lived soon after the apostolic age.
Jesus instituted the supper as he shared the Passover meal with
his spiritual family. The description in the gospels indicates that
each disciple reclined on a Roman couch called a triclinium. The
family atmosphere carried over into the early church. There is
evidence that the first Christians may sometimes have taken the Lord’s
supper in conjunction with a social meal called a love feast or
agape. The sole New Testament mention by name of the agape
is in Jude 12 where the writer describes some people as being
“blemishes at your love feasts.” Paul probably alludes to the love
feasts when he writes, “When you come together it is not Lord’s supper
that you eat, for as you eat, each one goes ahead without waiting for
anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have
homes to eat and drink in?” (1 Cor. 11:20-22). Paul seems to suggest
that some were confusing the agape with the Lord’s supper, and
if they were going to abuse the Lord’s supper, they should fill their
stomachs at home before sharing the memorial supper.
References from the church fathers indicate that in the second
century Christians shared a common meal provided by the wealthy
and that what was left over would be taken to the poor disciples
unable to attend. Thus the agape was similar to a modern
potluck with emphasis on Christian fellowship and helping one another.
The relationship between the agape and the Lord’s supper
in Christian assemblies cannot be established with certainty. It is
likely that practices varied. Certainly there is no conclusive
evidence that the Lord’s Supper was eaten only when brethren shared a
common meal. But of this we may be certain. The Lord’s supper was
the focal point when Christians assembled to worship on the first day
of the
week.
__Monroe Hawley
Calendar of Events
February 8 – Parent to Parent 2000 video/discussion, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
February 9 – Elders and deacons meeting, 4:30 p.m.
February 9 – Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.
February 15 – W.C.Y.C. dinner and auction, Southside, 6:00 – 9:30 p.m.
February 18 – Christian Workers’ Meeting, 9:00 a.m.
February 21, 22 – Northtown Church women’s retreat, Kohler, WI
February 22 – Parent to Parent 2000 video/discussion, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
February 23 – Congregational meeting after second worship
February 28 – March 2 – Northtown Church Youth Rally
March 1 – Southside Area-wide Men’s Breakfast, 8:45 – 12:00 a.m.
March 28 – 30 – Southside Youth Rally
April 4 – 6 – York College high school days
April 12, 13 – W.C.Y.C. youth rally at Fallhall Glen
April 29 – May 2 – National Assoc. of Christian Camps workshop,
Fallhall Glen
May 9 – Mother-Daughter Banquet, 6:00 p.m.
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