Pastor’s Pen 2

Operation Christmas Child 3

Worship Opportunities 4

Bible Studies /Prayer Concerns 5

Hub Happenings 6

Heritage Day Schedule 7

Birthdays, With Sympathy

7

Inside this issue:

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Issue 8, Volume 16

August 2015

Page 1

This year’s Copley Heritage Days celebration will take place

on August 1st. There are a number of activities and events

that will take place on Saturday, August 1st at the Historic

Copley Circle and Copley-Fairlawn Middle School where

you will find us involved. Our church will, once again,

partner with St. Luke’s Anglican Church at the Free Kid’s

Zone (on the front grounds of the Copley-Fairlawn Middle

School) where we will have a tent and offer face painting and

craft making. Contact Carol Comer if you would like to help

with this event. We also need people to walk in the parade

and pass out bags with our church information in them. They

will be used to hold the candy that will be thrown. If you can

be a part of the parade and willing to pass out bags please call

the church office at 330-675-6608.

Help Is Needed For the Heritage

Day Parade

Important Dates

August 1 - Heritage Day Parade - 6:00 pm

August 3rd - Prayer Meeting - 6:30 pm

August 4th - Underground Railroad Program

- 7:00 pm.

August 16th - Preventive Health Event

ISS U E 8, VOLUM E 16 Page 2

Pastor’s Pen

Dear Members and

Friends of The Vine Fellowship Church:

I pray you have had a

good summer- a time

to relax and maybe get away for a few days or have a “stay-cation”

where you just kicked around at the house and maybe spent some much

needed time with family and friends.

I was reading a devotional the other

day and the author wrote something that caught my attention: “Everything

hinges on what you’re looking at. Get

your eyes on the Lord.” Everything hinges on what you’re looking at….

How true. I mean it is a known fact that 4 people watching the same

event, whatever it is, each one might

have seen something different and unique, something that the other 3

just did not see.

It happens when I read the Synoptic

(from the Greek word synopsis, a seeing together) Gospels and it has to

do with the fact that Matthew, Mark

and Luke have so much in common. And yet we do not read the

same stories verbatim but rather a different perspective, emphasis is

brought out that you do not read in

the others. Of course you have to take into account the audience:

Matthew was writing primarily to the Jews; Mark was written with the

Roman or Gentile Christians in mind; Luke was written especially for the

Gentiles. All this to say that when

two people see an

event they might see slightly different

things because, “everything hinges on what you’re looking at.”

During the month of August we are going

to have some fun looking at some

passages of scripture that have to do with “Sight” and I am taking the first stanza of

a popular Christmas song entitled, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” that goes like this:

Said the night wind to the little lamb Do you see what I see

Way up in the sky little lamb Do you see what I see

A star, a star

Dancing in the night With a tail as big as a kite

With a tail as big as a kite

So as we have a “look” at scripture that

has to do with “Sight” I pray that we all will have our eyes open to God’s Word and

that through the series we will get our

eyes focused on God and what He has to say to us and that we will see (and hear)

some new things that will enable us to grow closer to Jesus because, we have our

eyes on Him.

Blessings on you as we look to the last

month of the summer months and keep listening and looking for what God is up to.

Yours in Christ and on the Journey together,

Mark

Page 3 F IRS T THI NGS

Per Capita Per Capita for each member is $32 this year.

$7.07 - goes to General Assembly

$21.68 - goes to Presbytery

$3.25 - goes to Synod

It’s that time of year again!!! The time of year where we start collect-

ing items for the Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes. Please look

at the list below and purchase a few items for the boxes. There is a

bin labeled “Operation Christmas Child” in the front entry way of the

Hub. Last year our congregation put smiles on 60+ children in Mada-

gascar, Africa. Take time again this year and help put a smile on the

face of another child in need. Many of the items can be bought at the

Dollar Tree or Five Below. If you do not want to shop, we will ac-

cept monetary donations so we can do the shopping for you.

When writing a check, please make it out to Ann McCord and put

Operation Christmas Child in the section. Keep this date open -

we will be filling the shoe boxes on November 6th at 6:00 pm at the HUB - (pizza included for

those who come to fill boxes).

$7.00 per shoe box for shipping

t-shirts for both girls and boys (S, M, L—no XL please) (plain colored shirts preferred)

Regular Size Spiral Notebook

Toys for boys - Slinkies, action figures, trucks, puzzles, marbles, hot wheels, yo yos, etc.

Toys for girls - dolls, doll bottles, jump ropes, puzzles, tiaras, miniature barbies, marbles,

etc.

Toothbrushes and Toothpaste (normal size please)

Bars of soap in a plastic ziplock bag (normal size please)

Wash cloths

Hair accessories—barrettes, headbands

Coloring books

Combs/ brushes

Small stuffed animals

Pens

Small balls

Playdough

Operation Christmas Child

Worship in August

Sunday, August 2nd Communion

11:00 a.m. Worship Service

Scripture: I Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon: “Looking in the Wrong Place”

(A sermon series: “Do You See What I See?”)

Sunday, August 9th

11:00 a.m. Worship Service

Scripture: I Samuel 17:19-37

Sermon: “Faith and the Giants We Face”

(A sermon series: “Do You See What I See?)

Sunday, August 16th

11:00 a.m. Worship Service

Scripture: Luke 2:25-35

Sermon: “Seeing Your Salvation”

(A sermon series: “Do You See What I See?)

Sunday, August 23rd

11:00 a.m. Worship Service

Scripture: John 9:1-14

Sermon: “Blind, Physically”

(A sermon series: “Do You See What I See?)

Sunday, August 30th

11:00 a.m. Worship Service

Scripture: John 9:1-41

Sermon: “Blind, Spiritually”

Page 4

Worship Opportunities

F IRS T THI NGS

Our thanks goes out to Dr. Nancy Kahaian, Interim General Presbyter, and Eastminster Presbytery for a mission gift by way of the Synod of the Covenant.

The gift of $1,241.76 was used to scholarship 10 of the 21 youth at our camp

who were in need. We truly have been blessed.

Gift to AMPLife Sports Camp from our Presbytery

Evening Circle

Evening Circle will resume in September.

Tuesday Club

Tuesday club will meet for lunch on August

11 @ 12:30 at Waterloo Restaurant, 753 E

Waterloo Rd. Call Rita 330-633-5242 for

reservations.

Page 5

Bible Studies and Fellowship Opportunities

F IRS T THI NGS

WNGs “They that have hope in the Lord shall renew their

strength… They shall mount up with wings of ea-

gles.” Isaiah 40:31

Women of the church are invited to participate in the

Wednesday Night Intergenerational Caring group at

7:00 pm. Contact Pat Franklin if you have questions.

Men’s Thursday Morning

Bible Study

Every Thursday morning a group of men of all

ages meet together either at Panera Bread in

Montrose or at the HUB at 6:30 am for Bible

study and fellowship. If you would like to join

this study, please contact Tony Miller @

330-825-9254.

Women’s Bible Review Fellowship

Women’s Bible Review Fellowship will resume on September 15th, 2015, at the HUB.

Prayer Concerns Pray for our military: Scott Bakerink (nephew of Dick & Ann McCord) - Coast Guard Boot Camp,

Paul Jones - Air Force

Please continue to pray for: Verne Rowland, Frank Weaver, Helen Harrod, Arnold Ruppert,

Rev. Dr. Nancy Kahaian (Interim General Presbyter, Eastminster Presbytery), Dick Ferris,

Bradon Lewis, Evelyn Bell, Frank & Shirley Jenkins, Linda & Tom Flanagan, Phyllis

Spindler, George Chima, Paul Marcinkoski, David Cook, Mia and the Wilson/Weaver

families, The Phelps, Snyder and Badgett families, Love Akron, The Middle East, The

Persecuted Church, The people who lost loved ones in the earthquakes in Nepal, The people

caught in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Our friends at the Copley United

Methodist Church, The PCUSA, President Obama and elected officials.

Page 6 F IRS T THI NGS

The Hub Community Center is pleased to offer a preventive health event. Life Line Screening, a leading provider of community-based preventive health screenings, will host their affordable, non-invasive and painless health screenings on 9/16/2015 . Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health problems related to: blocked arteries which is a leading cause of stroke; abdominal aortic aneu-rysms which can lead to a ruptured aorta; hardening of the arteries in the legs which is a strong predictor of heart disease; atrial fibrillation or irregular heart beat which is closely tied to stroke risk; and a bone density screening, for men and women, used to assess the risk of osteoporosis. Register for a Wellness Package which includes 4 vascular tests and osteoporosis screening from $149 ($139 with our member dis-count). All five screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. In order to register for this event and

to receive a $10 discount off any package priced above $129, please call 1-888-653-6441 or

visit www.lifelinescreening.com/community-partners.

Hub Happenings - www.thehubcopley.com

Take Care of Yourself!

Come and experience The Underground Railroad. The

Underground Railroad is a mixture of historical fact

and myth. Join National Park Service Park Ranger

Pamela Machuga and costumed characters as they

bring the past to life. Listen to the stories of the dan-

gerous realities that were the Underground Railroad.

What would you have done to end the institution of

slavery? What would you do today?

Take a Journey Back in Time

ISS U E 8, VOLUM E 16

Come and enjoy some fun and fellowship with

our Copley neighbors at Copley’s Heritage

Day Festival. There is something for every

age to enjoy. Below is the schedule of what is

happening.

12:00-8:00 At The Circle

Food, Craft, Business and Service

Booths

Bake Off “Sales”

50/50 raffle ticket sales

2:30 Hula Hoop Contest

4:00 Bake Off Winners Announced

5:00 Raffle Winners Announced

5:30 Sit Means Sit

Dog Training Demo

6:00 Parade

Page 7

Heritage Day Happenings

With Sympathy

Sympathy of the congregation goes out to the John Phelps family on the death of John. John

died on June 27th, 2015 in South Carolina.

Sympathy of the congregation goes out to the Franklin family on the death of Dick’s brother

Dean. Dean died on June 16th, 2015 in Georgia.

August Birthdays

8/1 - Gunnar Runkle

8/4 - Walt Detweiler

8/8 - Rebecca Butler

8/10 - Grace McCarthy

8/14 - Robert (Bobby) Wilson

8/19 - Roy Davis

8/21 - Dick Hillebrand

8/21 - Frank Jenkins

8/24 - Denise Negowski

Riddle of the Month

What’s full of holes but

can still hold water?

The answer to this

month’s riddle will be

published in next month’s

First Things.

As a caring Christian community, The Vine Fellowship Church welcomes all people as we proclaim, witness and teach

the good news of Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and service

FI RST PRESBYTERIAN C HURCH/

T HE VINE FELLOWSHI P CHURCH

The Vine Fellowship Church

Sunday School begins at 9:30 am

Traditions Worship begins at 11:00 am

Mark T. Ruppert - Pastor

Charles Kobb II - Director of

Music Ministry

Denise Negowski - HUB Coordinator

Elaine Stone - Pianist

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

www.thehubcopley.com

Plain English

The Bible is the only book whose author is present when one reads it.

This month’s

prayer meeting

will be on

August 3rd from

6:30 pm - 7:30

pm at the HUB

(3676 Community Lane).

The Vine Fellowship Church

3676 Community Lane

Copley, OH 44321

Phone: 330-576-6608

www.thehubcopley.com

www.thevinefellowshipcopley.org

Prayer Meeting