Month: May 2023

“The cloud that was a wall of darkness to the Egyptians was to the Hebrews a great flood of light, illuminating the whole camp, and shedding brightness upon the path before them. So the dealings of Providence bring to the unbelieving, darkness and despair, while to the trusting soul they are full of light and peace. The path where God leads the way may lie through the desert or the sea, but it is a safe path.” (EGW, PP, 290)

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Last Sabbath our church went through a painful shock when Pastor Matthew announced that he would no longer be serving in our conference. For the last six years Matthew, Emmalee, and the boys became an integral part of our church family. They impacted our lives in many ways. Pastoral transitions are never easy for a body of believers. I invite you to pray for God’s comforting presence in the lives of Pastor Matthew and Emmalee. We’ll keep in our hearts and minds all the great things of his ministry that we’ve enjoyed through the last six years. This Sabbath we’ll Celebrate pastor Matthew’s ministry. Come and stay for the Fellowship meal in honor of the Shallenbergers.

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Sunday morning started pretty early in our church kitchen with our men cooking breakfast. Men’s Ministry is a great bonding experience for many gentlemen in our church. They are not just cooking and eating together, but they share their joys and struggles. They pray for each other and support one another. If you have not yet attended their monthly breakfasts, try it in June and I am sure you’ll love it! Thank you, Matthew Geraghty, for your ministry to the men of our church! After the group photo was taken there were several more who came a little later.

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This week we celebrated two graduations at OAKS. Monday night was the “cute graduation” of the Kindergartners’ and Tuesday night the 8th grade class and their friends and family filled our Fellowship Hall. It was an emotional experience for me personally. These graduates just started Kindergarten when I started my ministry here in Ooltewah nine years ago. We’ll be praying for all of them as they transition to high school.

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On Wednesday morning I had a great time with the OAKS staff and teachers as they reviewed the achievements and the challenges of the past school year. It was obvious that God was blessing and leading our school in a mighty way. There were many prayers offered during that meeting. The last hour of the meeting was dedicated to the spiritual vision for the next school year. I was impressed with how much OAKS teachers trust God and want the students to learn how to be spiritually safe. Now OAKS is already prepared for the next school year. Please pray daily for Shelly Parrish, our Principle, teachers, and staff. They carry a huge load on their shoulders.

Also, did you see a cool photo of our OAKS teacher, Jesse Hoffman, in the Southern Tidings? 🙂

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Looking ahead:

Children’s Ministry Pool party is on June 11.

Vacation Bible School, July 16-20.

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Our local church budget needs a serious boost this month. Are you ready to show your generous support by giving to the local budget this week? All of our ministries are funded from this account. Thank you for your part in reaching our monthly goal.

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The Light of Hope Ministry received an official request from Adventist World Radio and the Ukrainian Union president to hold a series of evangelistic meetings in Eastern Ukraine. As the war entered the second year of fighting, the people of Ukraine need encouragement and hope. They need to know that God has a better plan for their nation and for the whole world. I’ll be traveling to Ukraine in the middle of June. Please remember in your prayers the cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia where the meetings will be held daily.

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The nominating committee finished its work. There are a few vacancies but the church board will fill them in in the next couple of months. If the church office does not have enough time today to print the report for the first reading this Sabbath, here is the online file link:

NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT 2023-2025

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Wishing you a blessed Sabbath day!

Pastor Peter

We often succumb to anxiety and live in fear because we are confused by the events of this world, problems in our personal life, issues we face at work or in church. Not knowing how to trust God, we lean on our own limited understanding and eventually get angry and frustrated. There is only one sure path to peace. That path is nothing else but Trust in God. He is still in control. This is still His world. He keeps our fragile lives in His strong hands. He still leads His church. He will always be faithful to His Word. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

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For the past school year, the Discipleship Class has been “sponsoring” the seventh- grade class at OAKS, as we occupy their classroom on Sabbath mornings. Each of our class members has adopted a student prayer partner, and we have all had a good time getting to know our student a little better. And two of our class members even adopted Ms. Veness!
 
This past Monday, May 15, the Discipleship class had our final event with this group of seventh graders. We enjoyed a picnic together outdoors under the trees in the school yard. The Discipleship Class members provided sandwiches, potato salad, chips, baked beans, watermelon, and desserts, and we all enjoyed sitting at the picnic tables with our partners and sharing.
 
Our Sabbath School class hopes that these seventh graders will have felt support and love through communication and prayers. We also pray that these energetic and fine young people will find their special place in God’s service as they continue their education. It won’t be long, and these kids will be in college and moving toward adult life and responsibilities. May God bless each one of them.
Mike Harrell
Discipleship Class Facilitator

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On Wednesday, May 10, our OAKS students spent an hour hosting their annual walk-a-thon. Students set a goal to finish fundraising for their new playground. The weather was beautiful as students walked 6 to19 laps each….three laps equaling a mile. Sponsors pledged donations based on time walked, laps completed, or a flat donation for the entire event. In all the students raised $11,532.50. Congratulations to our students for finishing the fundraiser! The installation will be completed mid summer. Thank you to all our sponsors for your continued support of our program at OAKS. 

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Choose Immune Vitality seminar participants gathered for the last session on Thursday night. As always the food was exceptional and the presentation by Heather Neal was practical and engaging. It was good to see how the attendance grew with each session. All those who attended expressed their appreciation. Thank your, Health ministries team for your commitment in sharing the good news of a healthy lifestyle. I want to seperately thank several of our elders and Rick Banks, the head deacon, who were always there to support the seminar logistics.

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Have a blessed Sabbath Day.

pastor Peter

Jesus offers us the light of life. When His light shines in us we become the children of light. We kill the darkness and bring hope and grace into the lives of others around us. The sun shines for the righteous and the sinners, young and old, black and white, merciful and evil, foreigners and locals. Is this how you shine in your community?

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” John 8:12

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Do you feel young even if you carry an AARP card in your wallet? If so you are cordially invited to join the Young at Heart group. Every month they come together for lunch and fellowship. This month over twenty of them met at City Cafe in Cleveland. How awesome!

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Tuesday morning May 9 the OAKS gymnasium was renovated into a “wax museum”, complete with “talking statues” offering insightful information on important people in American history and culture. Parents, grandparents, and students toured and listened to presentations ranging from Elvis Presly, Harriet Tubman, Oprah Winfry, plus many more! Museum visitors were impressed with the depth of knowledge displayed and the accurate representation of each “wax figure”. Thank you Mrs. Starr, Ms. Hartman, and the 3rd and 4th grade classes for your hard work and dedication to learning. 

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Last Sabbath we were all blessed with two worship services where the Youth honored the Senior members of our church. I was very impressed with the quality of the program and the powerful testimonies of Ralph Williams and Ina Longway. Enjoy the photos taken by Laura Standish.

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This Sabbath is a full day with two worship services in the morning followed by the Fellowship Meal honoring teacher Margo Haughee’s retirement from OAKS. Margo has been teaching at OAKS for 27 years!!! She was a true blessing for hundreds of OAKS students.

At 7:30 PM everyone is invited to join our spring Bonfire. Come to sing, to eat, and to make friends.

Galena and I just returned from our short vacation. We spent 4 days with our daughter Stacey and her sweet family. We didn’t waist time and all together built a greenhouse from scratch 🙂 We hope they will have a good harvest!

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Happy Sabbath, my friends.

Pastor Peter

I am confident that God wants every family to be happy. That’s the reason He created family. There are many ways you can create joy in your home for your spouse and your children. It is so easy to concentrate on our own headaches, to feel stressed and overwhelmed. Eventually we snap, ignore each other and try to escape the pressure. There is actually a rewarding joy in forgetting about ourselves and concentrating on those around us. Our smile can change the mood for the whole evening. Our kind words may extinguish the sparks of a potential tantrum. Our hug may warm up the soul of an exhausted spouse. It all starts with me being intentional in making my home, my marriage, my parenting experience a joyful one.

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On Thursday night Ann Weeden reported that there was a good turn out for the health seminar. She shared a few photos with me. We all appreciate our Health Ministry team. Their efforts bring positive change in our lifestyle and create awareness in our community. There will be three more sessions of the Choose Immune Vitality seminar.

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Last Sabbath our volunteers got up super early and drove to the Community Kitchen in downtown Chattanooga. Richard Johnson had a perfect system in place. The regular volunteers were all busy preparing breakfast for the hundreds of homeless. The number of those willing to help kept growing with every minute. This is the spirit of a caring church! God bless all of you who came that early in the morning to show your love to the less fortunate in our community.

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On Sabbath afternoon the Fellowship Hall was full when two churches, Ooltewah and McDonald Rd, came together for the joint Gospel Hymns Vespers. What a great way to celebrate our spiritual unity with the local Adventist churches in our community. This is the second time we have had this kind of a joint vespers. I hope this will be our annual tradition.

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On Wednesday night Patricia and Matt Geraghty shared several photos with me from the Pathfinder Investiture Service. Another year completed! Great job, Pathfinders! Thank you, David Reynolds and your team, for providing leadership to our children and youth! We hope the Club will continue to grow after a short summer break.

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I am grateful to all of you for your consistent and generous support of the Cornerstone building Fund. The Building committee is working closely with the architect to finalize the bidding process. We are all praying that this year we’ll see some heavy equipment on our property preparing the site for the new sanctuary! Every dollar is needed and has a great value for the project. Wouldn’t it be great to have the full amount raised by the time the project is completed? I pray that we all continue to support the future ministry of our church.

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Wednesday night Bible study turned into a vibrant spiritual experience. Don’t miss the blessing of praying and studying with your brothers and sisters. Here is a photo Greg Leavitt shared with me from the ‘engage time’ during the study last Wednesday.

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This Sabbath you are invited to two Youth-led worship services. You’ll participate in a totally unique worship experience where our youth will join hands with the elderly members of our congregation. Don’t miss the blessing.

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Next week is my official vacation week 🙂 Galena and I will travel to Flagstaff, AZ to spend time with our daughter Stacey, her husband Javan, and their two precious boys, Pierce and Caspian. Stacey already planned every hour of my vacation at her house. She brought a bunch of lumber from the Home Depot! She expects a new greenhouse built by Thursday night 🙂 ! Fun! I’ll be sharing photos on my Facebook and Instagram while we are there. If you call or text me don’t expect a quick reply… You can always call the church office or pastor Matthew.

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Pastor Peter