A Word from Pastor Don . . .

Dear Friends,

I’d like to update you on one facet of the transition I am

making from being the Senior Pastor at Washington

Church to launching out into the city at-large with Toledo

Together. One of the largest changes for me will be to

no longer have a regular venue in which to preach or

teach. For decades this has been one of the great loves of

my life. During July and August I have intentionally

encouraged Jimmy to preach more often than I do in

preparation for the new year. I will preach a six or eight

week series in the Fall, something along the lines of my

last words to you. Notwithstanding, my main concern is

to prepare everyone as much as possible for the

transition.

All of my preaching and teaching has been birthed from

my prayer time with Jesus. I’ve always attempted to

faithfully process with Him what it is that He would have

me share with you.

These last weeks when I have not preached I have been

delightfully surprised that my time in prayer with God has

changed, much more silence, much less talking, simply

sitting together. Not better or worse, just different.

I am so grateful to God for our longer than normal

pastoral transition process. We still have five months

more together, being with each other on a weekly basis. It

seems that my gratitude to our Heavenly Father for you

increases as the days pass.

May we all find August restorative as we head into a new

school year this fall, as vacations wind down and activities

start to wind back up.

Love – your friend,

Pastor Don

An Inside Look at the Community Life of Washington Church August 2015

THE CONNECTOR

Our Council of Elders

Ann Bernius

Barry Burnham

Keith Crist

Don Fothergill

Linda Gottfried

Deane Horne

Judy Horne

Carol Kimball

Eric Polz

Todd Taylor

Ben Tousley

The Church Staff

Head of the Church ............................. Jesus Christ

Ministers ................................... All of God’s People

Pastor ................................................. Don Fothergill

Associate Pastor .............................. Jimmy Crowell

Church Administrator .......................... Judy Horne

Worship Director ............................. Bridgett Drake

Secretary .............................................. Jenny Shepler

Chief Custodian .................................. Josh Cowden

The Church Office

Office Hours

7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday — Friday

Phone .............................................. 419-536-3789

Email ................... office@washingtonchurch.org

www.washingtonchurch.org

Worship Service — Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Connecting Together with God

The Elders would like to keep you

updated on our finances for the year to date.

Income $274,178

Expenses - $275,289

Short - $ 1,111

Ann Bernius

Barry Burnham

Keith Crist

Don Fothergill

Linda Gottfried

Deane Horne, Chairman

Judy Horne

Carol Kimball

Eric Polz

Todd Taylor

Ben Tousley

UPDATE FROM THE ELDERS

Page 2

Most of all, let love guide your life, for then the whole

church will stay together in perfect harmony.

(Colossians 3:14)

We encourage everyone to continue praying for the unity

of the church. We ask for specific prayer for Washington

Church during our time of transition over the next few

months. Please join us for Tuesday evening prayer during

the month of August.

The Elders,

Prayer Gathering in August

As our church family is moving through our

pastoral transition, coming to God in prayer

is our foundation and our grounding. We

are all invited to come together on Tuesday

evenings through the month of August for

an hour of connecting together with God in

prayer. This hour will be a time to express

our joy and our requests for Pastor Don and

Toledo Together, for Pastor Jimmy and

Washington Church, for the Elders and the

new Associate Pastor committee, as well as

our own place in this church family.

We will meet in the Chapel on the

following Tuesdays in August from 6:30

p.m. - 7:30 p.m. August 4th, August 11th,

August 18th, and August 25th. It will be

good to be together. See you there.

Ann Crowell

Washington Church Men's Retreat 2015

August 28th - 29th

Get away from everyday life. Come meet new guys.

Come be challenged. Come have fun!

Cost is $40 per person ($20 for college students) which includes three meals and a T-shirt.

Sign up at the Welcome Center or email the

church office at office@washingtonchurch.org

Questions? Contact Ben Tousley at 419-277-1078 or Eric Polz at 419-705-3290

Page 3

Online Giving

We are excited to provide the opportunity for

online giving. Online Giving is a fast, safe,

and secure way to support the ministry of

Washington Church.

This QR code can be scanned by your

mobile phone with a QR reader. It

will take you to the Washington

Church online giving site.

There was a neighborhood in

which the neighbors knew each

other well. One of the neighbors

had just recently lost their dog,

who passed away from old age.

The neighbor next door to the one who had lost

the dog came up with a great idea; he decided to

go over and pick up all the poop in the yard as a

favor to his neighbor who was still grieving the

loss of their dog.

As he walked over and began to pick up the poop,

(something he thought was very noble since he

himself did not have a dog), the neighbor who had

just lost their dog came out of the house and asked

him to stop. "Please just leave it as it is." Not

understanding why, the neighbor showing the

kind act walked home confused.

Why would anyone not want someone else to help

them with a chore around the house, especially a

chore that is never fun, like picking up dog

poop? If you have ever lost someone or

something close to you, you already know the

answer.

When we go through suffering, loss, hardship, and

pain, or when we watch others go through it, often

our first instinct is to try to alleviate the pain in

some way. For human beings, death is a part of

life; suffering, pain and loss are also a part of

what it means to be human. If we attempt to

bypass this aspect of life, we ironically end up

suffering more. As human beings, we need to

allow ourselves to grieve and go through the

process of letting go, mourning our losses so that

we are empowered to move forward. That is why

the neighbor who lost his dog still needed to see

signs of the dog’s existence to help in the grieving

process.

Scriptures speak a great deal about the topics of

suffering, loss, pain and many other feelings that

go with what it means to be human. The one that

I often turn to is Isaiah 41:10. It reminds me that

God knows about my loss, my pain, my suffering

but also that God is with me through it all.

As you experience what it is like to be human,

(either in your own life or in the life of someone

you care about) don’t be afraid to enter into the

pain and suffering that comes with life. This is the

very thing that God does with us. And whatever

you do, however well intended, “don’t pick up

their poop.”

Isaiah 41:10 "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand"

Pastor Jimmy

Don’t Pick Up The Poop

Join me monthly for an hour of yoga in the chapel at

Washington Church. This event is for women only. I

encourage you to invite friends to join us! Wear

comfortable clothes and bring a yoga mat if you

have one. Watch the bulletin for our next yoga date

in August. Questions? Contact Sarah Duvall at (619)

985-6776 or sarahfduvall@gmail.com

ROOTS: Growing deeper in your personal relationship

with God.

Wings: Empowered to go out and serve others.

Following are opportunities to serve:

Join us on the first Saturday of every month to help prepare

and serve lunch at Madison Food Service Center from 11:00

a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Contact Suzie Whetro at 419-356-3212 or

sjwhetro@bex.net by the Wednesday before to sign up. There

is a need for 1-10 people each time.

Join us on the second Saturday of every month to help serve

or donate toward dinner at the Sparrow’s Nest Women’s Shelter

at 5:45 p.m.. Contact Peggy Arnos at 419-472-0026 or

peggy.arnos@gmail.com

Join us on the third Friday of every month to prepare peanut

butter and jelly sandwiches for the homeless at 6:00 p.m. at

Trinity Episcopal Church downtown (corner of St. Clair and

Adams). Then help pass out the sandwiches the next morning,

Saturday, at 9:45 a.m. in downtown Toledo. No sign-up

necessary.

Join us on the third Saturday of every month at Life Bridge

to sort and organize clothing from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Contact Suzie Whetro at 419-356-3212 or sjwhetro@bex.net

by the Thursday before to sign up. There is a need for 1-20

people each time.

.

Washington Family Corner

July’s financial support went to the

following Missionaries:

Two families serving overseas with CRU

A local family serving international students

Page 4

Congratulations to Daniel Kageorge and

Brittany Pesich who were married on

7-4-15.

Women of Washington Church,

You are invited to attend our Women's Fall

Retreat. Our topic this year is Love. The retreat

will be on Friday, October 2 from 7-9 p.m. and

on Saturday, October 3, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. with

lunch provided. The church will be open 30

minutes prior to the event both Friday and Saturday

for you to enter into a time of fellowship with

others or a time of quiet reflective time before the

event. We will be learning what it means to love,

how we love, why we love, and what obstacles

stand in the way of love. We will discuss the truths

of love in relation to the Father, Son and

Spirit. Brochures and registration forms will be

available soon. You're encouraged to put these dates

on your calendar now!

-The Women's Ministry Team

Volunteers Needed ALWAYS

To help with church grounds:

Weeding

Trimming

Pruning

Call Susan Gruwell 419-536-4870

The Church Office will be

CLOSED on the following

Mondays in August

3, 10, 17 & 24.

From the Mission Team

Page 5

Red Room (3-5 years old)

The overall theme for the Red Room in

August is God is always with you. The

memory verse for the month is Genesis

21:22 “God is with you in all that you do.

The Red Room Children will continue to

learn from the Spark Bibles found in the

Red Room. We will skip a few stories this

month, so we encourage you and your

child to read those together.

The Bible stories the children will learn

about in August are the following:

The Lord is My Shepherd pages 160-

163 (Psalm 23)

God’s Peaceful World pages 172-

175 (Isaiah 11:1-10)

The Fiery Furnace pages 180-183

(Daniel 3: 19-30)

Daniel in the Lion’s Den pages 184-

189 (Daniel 6:1-28)

Jonah and the Big Fish pages 190-

193 (Jonah 1-4)

Growing Towards God

August 2015– Children’s Ministry Tri-Directors: Daniel Kageorge, Brittany Kageorge, and Jessica Runk

K-5th Grade

During the month of August, our volunteers

will be groups of dads from our church!

They will lead games, discussions, activities,

and the video series; they will also

experience first hand Kids Church from the

children’s perspective. Thank you to all

the dads that volunteered! You are much

appreciated by the Kids Ministry volunteers

and the children!

The theme for the month of August is

Family! The children will continue to

memorize weekly verses.

Thank You!

Red Room Volunteers!!

Thank you K-5th Helpers!

Jason Clay, Tim White, and Jeff Rodriguez

With the new school year quickly

approaching, we are in need of volunteers

who are interested in volunteering with Kids

Ministry! :)

We have a fun, interactive meeting

planned to train new volunteers and help

all volunteers bond as a church family.

Please save the following date:

September 26, 2015 Thank you!

SAVE THE DATE

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