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The Reflector
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REV. MITCHELL LEE MILLER
FALLSTON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - MAY 2006
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From the Pastor
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, greetings to you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“How’s your prayer life?” is a question I ask people all the time. It is for us, as people of faith, a crucial question. Prayer is the link between God and ourselves. We all know that we are supposed to pray, and we know what prayer is supposed to be, yet, there are so many who have come to me over the past fifteen years of my ministry and asked; “How do I pray?”
Libraries of books have been written on the topic of prayer. There are so many opinions about prayer and so many tools that have been suggested to help people pray that I could never begin to list them, and yet, it is still something we should often speak of within the church.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle to over-come in praying is taking the time to listen. We are so accustomed to asking God for things and thanking God for things in our prayers that we often forget to take the time to listen for God to speak to us. This is not something, I believe, that comes naturally. It is something we need to work at, something to develop, and, it can be a little disconcerting; for we know that we may not believe or like what we are hearing. Still, we are called to listen for God to speak as well as expecting Him to listen to us. Indeed, God speaks to us all the time, it’s just that we don’t seem to be listening very often. One friend quipped about this saying, “Remember, that voice in your head might be God speaking.”
Psalm 46 tells us we must “be still” and know God. The challenge to be “still” and listen for God is a difficult one. We are often distracted by the noise and confusion of this world and all that is going on in our lives. We have thoughts that creep into our prayers and keep us from really concentrating on our relationship with God. The busy-ness of our lives is often the biggest cause. Thomas Kelly wrote that “The whole of the Spiritual life can be summed up in God’s invitation to the swimmers to become floaters.” If this is what you find to be difficult, then perhaps the first question to ask God ought to be, “What must I let go of, so that I can fully engage in this conversation with God?” or perhaps, “What is in the way of my listening to God?”
Listening to God must be at the center of prayer and of our lives. For listening is not a suggestion for the faithful life it is a necessity. In Deuteronomy 6:4 we find the heart of Judeo-Christian theology, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” “Hear” or ‘Shema’ is a command. It is a command that we find over and over again in both the Old and New Testament. So then, we must take the time in our personal prayers to listen, that we might hear.
So when you are asked, “How is your prayer life?” what you are really being asked is, “How have you been listening for God to speak, and what is God telling you?” This month, take more time to “be still”, and listen for God to speak.
May the peace and blessings of God, the joy of Jesus Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit be with you all, Mitchell Lee Miller
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Vacation Bible School
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COME JOIN THE BIG DIG!
Adventure of the Treasure Seekers Vacation Bible School will be held from Sunday June 25 through Thursday, June 29. We will have dinner from 5:30 - 6:00 and events from 6:00 - 8:00.
Many helpers are needed. If you can help or need more
information, contact us at churchoffice@fallstonpc.org
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Magnolia Elementary Mission
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Every Sunday there has always been a bag placed in my basket to go to Magnolia. It ranges from a bag of books, little toys, videos, clothes, school supplies, underwear, coloring books, etc. I can't begin to tell you how much everything has been appreciated and put to such good use. The little toys are being used as prizes in treasure boxes as rewards for good work. The books are being put in classroom libraries so the children have books to read during silent reading time. The school supplies are being put in a central area so that when a teacher comes to the teacher in charge and says a student doesn't have a notebook, glue stick, pencils, etc, she may get what they need. The students, faculty and staff are very appreciative of what Fallston Presbyterian has done for us. Any help we can give in encouraging and helping these children to achieve and succeed and in realizing they are cared for and loved, means a lot to me and all those people that work at Magnolia Elementary.
Thank you so much for all that you do. ~Wendy
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PCUSA Pentecost Offering Art Contest
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The Pentecost Offering is looking for a high school-aged artist to create art to promote its 2007 theme, "That very Spirit!" (Rom. 8:16).
For information about submitting art work and the application and selection process, please use this link http://pcusa.org/pentecost/artist.htm or call Kathy Middelton at (888) 728-7228, ext. 5121, We are eager to hear from you! Thanks so much for your support of the Pentecost Offering. We are excited about this wonderful opportunity both
for the Offering and for Presbyterian high school students. Thank you so much for your help .
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Cub Scout News
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 Cub Scout Pack 801 is recruiting new members.
Boys currently in kindergarten – fourth grade. Come join us at our May 19 Pack meeting, 7 pm in the McCall Center @ St. Mark's. Join us this summer for camping, a rocket launch, Iron Birds game. For more information, contact Mrs.Cathy Smith 410-692-2932.
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Change in Office Hours
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Please note the church office hours have been changed to
8:30 am – 1:30 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
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Country Fair
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The John Carroll School will hold its annual Craft and Country Fair
Friday, May 5 th from 6:00 to 10:00 pm
Saturday, May 6 th noon to 10:00 pm
Sunday, May 7 th 11:00 to 4:00 pm
There will be a pancake breakfast on Sunday May 7 th from 9:00 am – noon. The cost is $ 6.00 for adults, $4.00 for students and children age 5 -10 and children under 5 eat free.
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Homecoming Festival
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Rehoboth Welsh Church, Delta, PA is having a Homecoming Festival May 6 -7. Dinner and Noson Lawen at Ferranti Ristorante in Delta on Saturday at 5:30 pm. Full course dinner for $15.00. Call Glenn Grove 717 456 7379 for reservations and entrée choice.
Sunday 11:00 am Bilingual Worship Service with the Sacrament of Holy Communion, Rev. Baskerwill officiating. Turkey Dinner across the street at Trinity AME Zion Church at 12 noon. Price: $10.00 per person. Call Glenn Grove 717 456 7379 for reservations.
2:30 pm – Spring Gymanfa Ganu (singing festival) with James Cassarino of Green Mountain College, Vermont, conducting. Special music by Cor Rehoboth and soloist Wendy Mc Nally.
Visit http://home.comcast.net/~rbaskwil/chapel.html for more information.
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Fred's Losers
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So far we have lost 80lbs. The swim suit season, weddings, and graduations will be coming soon. Are you ready? Some of us want to look better for a vacation or a special event. These can be great motivators for keeping on a diet but not the best reason. In a recent meeting we discussed a daily devotional that reminded us of a spiritual purpose for keeping our bodies healthy. God gave us our body to glorify Him. We are to treat our bodies as a temples. Free will and temptation are given to us to exercise our character muscle. Prayer, a treadmill and rice cakes are what we use to show God we are thankful for his gift of life.
If you can’t be with us, pray for us.
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Spring Clean Up
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 Good weather is on us now & we need your help. Please set aside time for a Church Work Party Saturday, May 27 th. We will begin at 8:00am and end when we are too tired to do any more. We will have some fun while painting, landscaping & doing pavement repairs.
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Mission News
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Mission’s Focus Donations for May
Paper Towels for the Harford Community Action Agency’s pantry
Continued support for Magnolia Elementary School in donating
school supplies and children’s underwear
Bowl-A-Thon
Faith Communities and Civic Agencies United (FCCAU) will be presenting its 2 nd annual “Bowling for the Homeless” at the Forest Hill Bowling Lanes on Saturday, June 10 th from 12 noon to 4:00. We are hoping to get some teams from all age groups to represent Fallston Presbyterian Church—it promises to be a “fun time”; if you are interested, contact Mitch or Judy Hebert for more information.
On behalf of FCCAU, I personally want to thank all of you who participated in the Basket Bingo event on Friday, April 7th—we raised $8777!!!
Results are in from the “Souper Bowl” collection, on Sunday, Feb. 5 th:
$175.00
We collected 68 tubes of toothpaste in
March for the Harford Community Action Agency’s pantry.
Over 100 hospital gowns , made from men’s dress shirts, were delivered to the Church World Service to be distributed through the Medical Benevolence Foundation, and a large quantity of medical supplies was delivered to be distributed through the Inter-church Medical Assistance Program.
Thanks for all your support—together we can make a difference!!!
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Happy May Birthdays & Anniversaries!
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1 Dale, Madelyn
2 Debbie
3 Scott
6 Joseph
9 Kathy
15 Jenna
16 Jack, George
17 Brad
18 Pam, Sara
18 Wilbur & Lois (A)
21 Jason
22 Douglas
23 Gay
24 Robert
25 Mark & Gardin (A)
27 Susan, Christie
29 Nancy, Jeff
31 Robert
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