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Vol. 46, No.
22 SOUTHSIDE ORACLE August 8,
2003
The Bulletin Board
We extend our condolences to Susan Medina in the
sudden death of her father, Robert Wendorf, on July 27th. The
funeral was on Friday of last week.
Area Congregational Picnic – Saturday
several Milwaukee area congregations including Southside will have a joint
picnic at Kletzche Park, 6560 N. Milwaukee River Parkway, areas 5, 6, and 7
in Glendale. The meal will be served about noon. Contact Bobby Valentine
for additional information.
Camp Notes – The six weeks of youth
camping at Fallhall Glen concludes this weekend as our senior campers come
home. The Family Week begins Sunday and will conclude on August 16th.
The Labor Day Encampment will be August 29 – September 1. For
information see the posting on the camp bulletin board.
The Sick - Sheila Wagner fractured a
tibia and underwent surgery Tuesday to put the broken piece of bone back in
place. She will be on crutches for several weeks….
Martha Sepulveda entered St. Luke’s Hospital Monday
with a recurrence of her breathing problems.
ATTENDANCE
RECORD
Two years ago Last
year Last week Goal
Bible
classes 103 123
107 170
Morning worship
194 216 *225 250
Evening worship
55 43 54 80
Contribution
$3710.34 $3271.22 $4000.64 $4200.00
Praise and Palate will be Sunday at 6:00 p.m.
Bring summer fruits.
Calendar of Events
August 9 – Inter-congregational picnic, Kletzsch Park,
6560 N. Milwaukee River, Parkway
August 10 –16 – Family week, Wisconsin Christian Youth
Camp
August 10 – Elders & deacons meeting, 4:30 p.m.
August 10 – Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.
August 29 – September 1 – Labor Day Encampment,
Fallhall Glen
September 20 – Family Bible Day
September 22 – 24 – 40th annual Midwest
Preachers’ Retreat, Fallhall Glen
October 11 – Annual Southside Give-Away
Open Up Your Heart
In the ancient world pearls were highly prized.
In Bible times Jesus metaphorically warned against casting one’s pearls
before swine (Matthew 7:6) and related a brief illustration we call the
parable of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45). At the close of the
Book of Revelation John describes the New Jerusalem with twelve gates made
of pearls. Today the pearl is a highly prized gem even as it was two
millennia ago.
The pearl is formed as an abnormal growth found
inside some oysters. An irritant such as a grain of sand stimulates a
secretion around the irritant that hardens into a protective coating that we
call a pearl.
In everyday life there is a human parallel to
the formation of the pearl. It is common for a child who has been badly
hurt in a dysfunctional family to build a shell around himself to guard
against future pain. With steely resolve he vows never to be hurt again.
Since he has been betrayed so often, he is unwilling to trust others,
fearing their disloyalty and his resulting misery. He puts up a front
masking his inner suffering. He refuses to confide in others because that
would make him vulnerable. In marriage he may even bar his wife from his
confidence causing her to feel rejected. Divorce may result.
We all have our secrets, things that we don’t
want others to know about us. I don’t want to know all of your problems and
you don’t need to know mine. There is nothing abnormal about one’s wishing
to maintain his privacy. There are times when a person may struggle with
whether it is wise to reveal some dark spot from his past.
However, you can never live a happy life if you
abandon trust in others. Life totally without trust is impossible. You
have to trust the unknown driver at the intersection to stop for the stop
sign. Sometimes that trust is betrayed and an accident results, but you
cannot on that account go through life never trusting another driver.
In the spiritual realm it is vital to allow
yourself to become vulnerable. You may need to seek counsel from another
Christian about a family problem, trusting him not to betray your
confidence. Finding support and a solution to the issue is so important
that you must risk getting hurt. Because it is a fellow believer whose help
you ask, you may be quite certain that your confidence will be kept. The
remote possibility that it will not be should not deter you from seeking the
help you need.
The oyster deals with his irritant by building a
pearl around itself. With a human being, however, the shell created by hurt
can only result in further suffering in years to come. So when you have
troubles and need help, open up to other Christians, and especially to
God. __Monroe
Hawley
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