On January 16th, 6 PM., you are invited to attend a Celebration of Praise at the Fellowship Church of the Brethren, Blossom Drive, Martinsburg.

Soloists and choirs from a number of Church of the Brethren congregations will be participating, as well as several local singing groups. There will also be a joint Praise Choir and Praise Band.

A love offering will be taken to benefit Camp Shepherd’s Spring, one of our District Camps. For more information contact 304-263-7750.

*Members that are eligible for 2nd three year term......**Filling an unexpired term. (Member eligible for 2 three year terms)...C Chair for that commission.

C-CAP has a FREE BUDGETING service for couples and individuals. For more information, contact C-CAP at 304-263-3940.

Our February meeting will be held on Feb. 1, 1999, 7 pm. at the home of Beadie Hildreth. This meeting is open to ALL women . We encourage you to come and join in an evening of fellowship, sharing and prayer.

February 17th is the beginning of Lent. Lent is the period from Ash Wednesday until Easter. It covers 40 days (excluding Sundays) preceding Easter.

The term Lent comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning spring or the verb meaning to lengthen and pertains to the lengthening of days especially noticeable at this time of the year. The forty days of lent are identified with Jesus’ forty-day fast in the desert, the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai, and Israel’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

It’s a time to focus on discipline and penitence and is a time for increased reflection on the life, teaching, and sacrificial death of Christ.

Music & Worship has ordered worship aids to assist you in reflecting on Christ’s life and how the presence of the Holy Spirit enables us to walk our faith.

This was Isaiah’s response to God’s call. WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE? We have 2 immediate needs:

Director of Children’s Church Ministries

Chapel Choir Director

If your answer is LORD, HERE I AM, contact Pastor Carol for Children’s Church Ministries and Cheryl Ruckman for Chapel Choir Director.

We concluded nine years of ministry on December 31, 1998. As we look toward our remaining time with you as Pastors, we want to encourage each of us to continue the work of Jesus, Peacefully, Simply and Together.

The next 3 months will go by quickly and we each need to be open to our feelings and to work through the process of a relationship ending. It is not a time for procrastination, but a time for open sharing and caring.

People in general seem to procrastinate - we want to "put off" until "tomorrow". One area we "Procrastinate" in is our spiritual life - You see spiritual procrastination is our very human inclination to "put off" until "tomorrow" our response to God’s gracious offers of salvation, sanctification in love, and peace on earth. As with other types of procrastination, we justify our response to god’s gracious invitations with rationalizations that "Thy Kingdom Comes", refers to some other time in history or the afterlife.

Jesus declared "The time is fulfilled". He is saying the time has come for us to wake from our slumber. It’s time now to make room for God, to forgive and to be forgiven, to receive a heart of flesh, in place of our hearts of stone, to let the Spirit move more freely in our lives.

Jesus is calling us to "Repent and believe the good news". He is calling us to let God’s love turn us around, transform our lives and make us a blessing in the lives of others.

Let’s not continue to procrastinate. We invite you as your Pastors to share with us. Let’s begin 1999 together.

Shalom,

Pastors Duane & Carol

Carl & Juanita Lewis joined us from Calvary Assembly of God, Virginia Beach, VA. They have been life-long members of the Assembly of God, originally from Cumberland, Md. They have 2 grown sons, one living in Iowa and one in North Carolina. They have four grandchildren. Carl is presently a resident at Care Haven Nursing Home. He is recovering from a stroke. Juanita lives at Senior Towers, Apt. 401, Martinsburg, WV. Juanita brings the gift of music with her to our congregation.

John & Tona Stevian joined us from two UMC churches. John’s membership was transferred from Beverly UMC, Beverly, KY. Tona’s membership was transferred from Oakland UMC, Charles Town, WV. Tona is a registered nurse working at Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown, MD. John is an engineer working at AB&C Distribution in Ranson. They have been married three years and John brings to their marriage two adult children and two granddaughters, Tona brings to their marriage a son Ben. They both enjoy the outdoors, hiking, camping and biking. They have already begun sharing their gifts . They have joined the choir, John shared the gift of music by playing his trumpet. Tona is an assistant teacher for the Young Adult Sunday School Class and Youth Class.

We received the above new members into the fellowship on December 20, 1998.

The Fellowship congregation has always been a caring group of saints. The Witness Commission thanks all who gave so very generously for our "Special Offerings" - - $3000 was given and sent to Emergency Response/Service Ministries for Honduras.

Another offering in the amount of $155.35 was received for a family who lost their home due to fire.

In addition to the above, we provided Christmas gifts for a family, two Christmas baskets for two single men of food & gifts; and personal gifts to the Senior Center.

Read Hebrews 10:19-25

Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

Something unusual happened recently while I was leading the music in a worship service. We were accompanied by a guitar. Our difficulties began when one string on the guitar snapped. When a second string broke, the problem became worse. When a third string broke, I grew a little nervous and concerned. When a fourth string broke, the guitar was no longer usable. We had to finish the song a cappella.

Just like the guitar that cannot be used in worship because so many strings are missing, a church does not work well when its members are absent. Each guitar string has its own role, and it enhances the sound of the other strings. The absence of members of the congregation can cause others to become discouraged and uninterested in the Lord’s work. In fact, without cooperation and regular attendance from everyone, the remaining members can become overwhelmed and unable to carry out the church’s ministries.

We should take the guitar’s lesson to heart. Within the church our presence encourages and motivates others. We are each one vital to what God is doing.

Once again the Youth invite you to participate in Souper Bowl ‘99. Please bring a non-perishable can of food and a dollar on Sunday, January 31st. Once again our donations will be going to Loaves & Fishes.

By Carolyn Wilson

Did you know there are NINE Sundays between Epiphany and Lent? Not many calendars mark Epiphany, the Christian festival held on January 6th, celebrating the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi; also known at the Twelfth Day.

THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY: The Baptism of the Lord , the focus of the story is not just the water baptism, but the Holy Spirit coming as a Dove descending from heaven to land on Christ’s shoulder. Before this time Jesus was a carpenter, studied the Scriptures and prayed after the baptism. He began His work of teaching, healing and performing miracles. How do we identify other ways of the presence and working of the Holy Spirit?

THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY: God’s Power And Strength, the Gifts of the Spirit mentioned in I Corinthians. God has given us the power to work through Him and use these gifts. Each is different and of great value. We just need to use them or lose them. Phillippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me".

THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY: The learning of the Ten Commandments and letting them be a guideline for living our lives and that the Bible is a road map to live by. Pointing out what happens when we obey and when we disobey. Christ came to fulfill the law, not to do away with it. There are ten in Exodus, twenty two mentioned in the Gospels. Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind". This is the First and great commandment. The second is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. On these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets.

THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY: God uses the young as well as the older people to do His work. As told in Jeremiah, He knew us before we were born. He used Prophets of old to prophesied about things to come. He used His disciples and Apostles to tell how they were being fulfilled and He will use us today if we are willing to let Him use us. I Corinthians 13, the story of love tells us how He expects us to tell His Story.

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY: This story tells us how He called Isaiah, Peter and Paul into the Ministry. It tells how each one encounters the greatness of God, feels unable to face God and then how God called them. The secret is to LISTEN for His voice within our spirit, our trouble seems to be we do all the talking and asking. Following Christ is not easy, but in the long run it pays off.

THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY: Children watch us and follow our examples. That is why we need to adjust our values, standards and morals. Training them with the Word and I always will believe the Rod is the Bible. It doesn’t hurt quite as bad as the hand connecting to the back side.

THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY: The story of Joseph and his brothers, how they treated him even after being sold and in prison God used Joseph to bring full circle the truth to His brothers and how important loving others and being able to forgive, to let go of the past and look to the future.. What we do and how we live for Christ is the most important thing we have to do.

THE EIGHT SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY: We learn to trust Christ and express confidence in the power, care and love of God. Learning to sing praises. The Psalms that have been put to music, singing and praying the Word. What a wonderful way to show adoration and priae God that He is in control and He is coming again.

THE LAST SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY: The transfiguration of the Lord. If you remember the story of Moses when he was on the mountain with God his face was so aglow that people could not look at him. When we are in God’s presence it will make a difference and others know. Because they can see God’s love and it reflects in our lives. It is important to teach our children to spend time in the Word and Prayer. It is also important that we bring them to Sunday School and Church. At the transfiguration, Jesus had taken the disciples, Peter, James & John high up into the mountains; and He Jesus was transfigured, His face shone like the sun and His clothes as white as the Light. Behold Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with Him. Peter answered the Lord "Lord it is good for us to be here; If you wish, let us make three tabernacles: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.

While He was still speaking, behold a bright cloud over-shadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him.

The disciples heart it and fell on their faces. Jesus spoke, "Arise and do not be afraid". Epiphany is taking the Old Testament and seeing it fulfilled in the New Testament. Read Hebrews 11:1.

Twenty-one years ago the School of Religion began at Calvary United Methodist Church as a prayer meeting and Bible Study. It then became a tool for the Sunday School Dept. to help Sunday School Teachers, Lay Persons and Clergy and serves as a great opportunity for learning more about the Bible and culture. Rev. Dr. Edward Grove serves as President of the School and is Pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Martinsburg. There are other Pastors and Lay Persons serving on the Board from various Churches in Martinsburg and Berkeley County.

The classes will be held at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Boyd Orchard Road:

Time: 12-1:30pm

Dates: March 1,8,15,22,29

Evening session are:

Time: 7-9pm.

Dates: April 12,19,26

May 3,10

Music A Spiritual Journey - Rev Harshorn

School of Christian Discipleship (a Boot Camp for Christians, a forum "hearing from the unchurched"

Rev. Reese; Rev. Hill; Mark Mason, Youth Minister; Ken Bethany; Rev. Dean Snyder.

No registation fee - free will offering will be received for luncheons. Flyers will soon be available.