Hear the Cry

 MESSAGE: Church is not just a Sabbath morning hymn and sermon. Church is a body where every member depends on the support and well-being of the other parts. If one member is hurting, the pain reverberates through the whole body. If the pain is not addressed it turns into a chronic problem; other members stop reacting to it. If we learn to hear and respond to people’s cries for help, we can usually prevent their dropping out. Those still crying will respond to our efforts to reach them. But cries don’t last forever. Some cry longer than others, depending on their bond to the congregation, but when the cry goes unanswered, eventually members leave. Then the damage is much greater and more difficult to repair. Let’s act today!

CHURCH. Tomorrow morning Paul Richardson is our guest speaker for both services. Here is more about pastor Richardson:
PAUL RICHARDSON – has been the Reconnecting Ministries Coordinator for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America for more than 21 years. Through his interviews with missing members he has gained insights into ways to reconnect with them and prepare congregations to receive inactives effectively. Paul is also the Network General Manager for Positive Life Radio with 5 stations in the Pacific Northwest, 120,000 listeners, and is a ministry to inactively attending church members from many different denominations. To learn more or to stream the station, go to http://www.plr.org. Paul’s wife Teri is an RN. They live in College Place WA.

Sermon topic for the first service: “Invisible Church”
Sermon topic for the second service: “Indescribable Welcome Home”
Paul is also speaking during the Sabbath school program in the sanctuary and in the afternoon after the church Fellowship meal. I am encouraging our church leaders and church members to stay for the afternoon seminar. Reconnecting with inactive members is our priority for the next twelve months. Christ is sending us to seek the lost. This seminar is intended to help us get new insights into the best methods of reaching out to the inactive members of our congregation.

FELLOWSHIP MEAL. Greg and Rhonda Wellborn will not be available tomorrow to fix food and to set up the church lunch. I count on your wholehearted support. Please, if possible, bring your favorite dish in the amount that would be enough for you and for some of the visitors. Please, don’t leave frozen food on the kitchen table. We’ll not have enough hands tomorrow to take care of the frozen food or dishes requiring heating. Your help is needed and will be sincerely appreciated.

SABBATH SCHOOL. Message from Michelle Garrett, the SS superintendent:
“We have a guest speaker for both services that will also be teaching Sabbath School for adults in the sanctuary. Adult classes are encouraged to bring their members to the sanctuary and learn together. However, this is not a mandatory class, and classes are welcome to meet at their scheduled locations (with the exception of the class in the sanctuary). *We had some young visitors last week and I will be leading the Young Adult class in OAKS library this week to accommodate them in studying the adult quarterly.
This is the first week that we are holding the Mission Spotlight in the sanctuary before we dismiss to classes (children will be dismissed into their regular classes). We will begin the video at 10:15, Pastor Peter will share some information with us, and then we will divide into classes (you are welcome to stay in the sanctuary to listen to our guest speaker teach Sabbath School).”

WOMEN’S MINISTRY. Please join us on September 26 at 11:25 am as Dr. Doug Tilstra speaks on Domestic Violence Awareness and how it can impact individuals, families and the church. We are looking forward to having him as our guest speaker here at the Ooltewah SDA Church! (Summer Bradford)

COMMUNITY. From Lucas: “It the Ooltewah SDA Church’s turn to cook breakfast for 150+ homeless at Community Kitchen (downtown). We do this once every three months (in a cycle with McDonald Road and the campus church) on the second Sabbath of the month. I’m buying the food at SAMS today and would love your help preparing it and (perhaps more importantly) sitting down to talk with our guests while they eat. If you are interested and available please tell me ASAP so I’ll know I’ve got enough cooking crew for a relatively stress-free morning. 

There’s room in my minivan if anyone needs to carpool form Collegedale/Ooltewah (leaving campus at 5:30 a.m.). We arrive there at 6 a.m., serve at 7, and leave around 8:30 a.m.

Free pancakes, turkey bacon, fruit salad, and perspective for your trouble! Lucas Patterson.”

PRAYERS. The Mountcastle family is asking for your prayerful support. Tim’s nephew (Velma’s grandson) was found irresponsive yesterday in Miami, FL. He is in a coma. Some of the family members are on the road today. Let us pray for their safety and for Brian’s condition.

Our regular church visitor Cindy Cole is at Memorial Hospital with serious health concerns. Please, pray for Cindy’s healing. Let the Lord give her a spirit of courage and strength to cope with her health problems.

Shannon Cantrell is reporting on his Mom’s (Jacque Cantrell), condition: “Mom is having a good day! She’s smiling and talking more. She even ate a bowl of granola cereal this morning! She has not been able to eat anything but very soft foods for several months! She is still very tired and weak, though. But, that should change when we start weaning her off the medications in a few days. Keep up the prayers, because God is answering them!!!”

 BELARUS CHOIR. The Belarus National Christian Choir will be performing in concert at our church on Sabbath morning, October 10, at 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary.
The 33 member choir and instrumental ensemble will perform a half hour program of Slavic Classics along with the Hallelujah Chorus, It is Well, and other American Favorites. Formed in 1986, the choir has performed in Eastern Europe, France, Germany and Russia, and is currently on tour in the United States.

We’ll need help in hosting the choir members in our homes for one night from Oct. 9 to Oct. 10 ( from 7 pm on Friday night to Sabbath morning). Please, contact Lupina or me if you would be willing to take one or two choir members to your home and to help them learn about the loving spirit of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The choir members are not SDA members. What a great way to witness about the love of Christ to those who travel far away from their homes and families.

Click here to get a preview of their inspiring music