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EFFINGHAM UNION CHURCH Jeff Cochran, Pastor
Church Office 513 Seabury St., PO Box 303 Effingham Ks. 66023 913-833-4481 Office Email: effunionch@yahoo.com Mary Kay Barnett, Sec. Manse/Pastor 606 Sixth St., PO Box 29 Effingham, Ks. 66023 913-833-2379 Manse Email: effunionch@lvnworth.com Schedule Sunday School all ages 9AM Worship Services 10AM Women's Circles: Mary-Martha Circle (1st Wed. of Feb, June, Sept, & Nov @ 7:00 p.m.) Nite Circle (2nd Wed. of mo. @ 7:30 p.m.) Ruth Circle (2nd Tues. of mo. @ 1:30 p.m.) Sara Circle (1st Thurs. of mo. @ 10:00 a.m.) Call the Church for details. Home Page The Newsletter Our Church History Our By-Laws Religious Links Annual Report Find us by clicking here	Catch of the Day The mystery of God's will by John Fischer Reconciliation is the central theme of God's history in dealing with the human race. The short of it is: God created human beings in His image and birthed them into a harmonious world. For reasons we can only speculate, He allowed evil to enter into this idyllic world and separate human beings from Himself and each other. This has obviously had disastrous results, but, nonetheless, the rest of the story is the process of reconciling what has been separated. In Ephesians 1:9 it says, "And he [God] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ." That would mean that whenever we work to overcome some difference or repair a breech in a relationship, we are participating in a mystery. To reconcile a relationship is to act according to the mystery of God's will. That means Christians need to be "uniters," not dividers. It's true that some people will be repelled by the fragrance of Christ in us, but that's God's business, not ours (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). If someone's going to be repelled by the fragrance of Christ in us then so be it, but let's not help that repulsion along by adding our own reasons for it. For years, Christians have prided themselves in being dividers -- so much so that we have made up reasons to be different from everyone else and called that difference: holiness. Being different is not necessarily holy, especially when the difference consists of erected cultural taboos and behavioral requirements with no real biblical or moral grounding. The walls that exist between Christians and non-Christians are largely of our making. Our bent needs to be on reconciliation -- finding what we have in common with others, not creating reasons to separate. If the mystery of God's will is to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ, then we want to be working along with that will, not against it.	For a copy of the bulletin Click Here Click Here for Yard Mowing/Snow Removal Schedule To volunteer email: effunionch@yahoo.com PRAYER CONCERN --Jevin Smith, 3-month old son of Nathan and Cherise Smith, Marcia Rygaard, Kristen George, Nancy Dunn, Adeline Wood, Emma & Ellie Speer, Kallie Parnell, Taylor Jennings, Scott Strine, Liz Thompson. --We extend our sympathy to Larry and Bev Bowyer, as Bev’s mother Elizabeth Randall, passed away --Teachers and students as they have started another school year. --The team of people working on the evening service and especially for our need for a drummer. Lord give us a renewed sense of energy and excitement as we are giving this service to you. --Prayers for people in recent storms and flooding areas. --Prayers for our brothers and sisters of the St. Ann’s Parish. CELEBRATIONS Aug. 24 - Birthday: Ava Speer Aug. 25 - Birthday: Helen Caplinger Baptism: Ashley Gerety, Susan Sprang Aug. 26 - Baptism: Florence Hinz Aug. 28 - Birthday: Courtney Wehking Anniversary: Bob & Helen Caplinger --There are still items in the Educational Building that were used for VBS. If you are missing something, please pick it up and take home. CALENDAR OF EVENTS Sun. Aug. 24 - We are happy that you have chosen to worship with us today and pray you will want to join us again next Sunday. --An appreciation dinner for Seth Montgomery, following church in the Education Building. ‘Love Gift donations’ to Seth will be received to thank him for his summer internship and to wish him well as he heads back to Manhattan Christian College. --Nursery Care: John & Elaine Oakleaf --Lawn Care: ??????? Wed. Aug. 27 - Items due to Alice for the September newsletter. Sun. Aug. 31 - Scripture readings: Jeremiah 15:15-21, Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28 Child Care: Tammy Gigstad, Susan Sprang, Jayne Wehking Lawn Care: ??????? Wed. Sept. 3 - The After School program for students Kindergarten through 6^th graders will hold their opening session from 3:15-5:00 P.M. Sat. Sept. 6 - IGNITE, Time to Fire up Your Night Life Worship Service at 6:00 P.M. --Ryan Young, son of Keith and Sandy Young and Ashley Hicks, daughter of Kevin and Sue Hicks of Kansas City, invite the congregation to help celebrate their marriage. They will be married at the Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception at 6:00 P.M., 416 West 12^th St., Kansas City, MO. Reception to follow at The Muehlbach, downtown Kansas City. Sun. Sept. 7 - The First Christian Church are asking for the following items for their food pantry in September: cereal, soda crackers, spaghetti, macaroni, peanut butter, and canned fruit. Sat. Sept. 13 - 2K/5K Fun Run/Walk at Lancaster to start the 150^th year celebration of the city of Lancaster. Registration starts at 6:30 A.M. at the City Hall with a $10.00 registration fee, which includes a T-shirt and breakfast. The Run will start at 8:00 A.M. Pre register by calling Kate Oswald 913-833-4401 or Sandy Callahan at 913-874-2415 by August 29^th. Sept. 27 - The women of Horton First Baptist Church are inviting the area church women to join them on a bus tour of Nebraska City. The tour includes a tour of the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Trail and Visitors Center followed by a visit to Kimmel Orchard. Then the group will visit downtown Nebraska City for lunch, followed with a tour of Arbor Lodge State Historical Park. The day will conclude with shopping at the Factory Stores of America that has several outlet stores. Big Jim Tours is conducting the trip. For more information and reservations please contact Donna Conner at 833-4685 or dlcebc@yahoo.com as soon as possible. You wouldn’t want to miss a day of fellowship, touring and shopping.

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