The Baptist Bridge

July 2012 By the grace of God, the Philippi Baptist Church shall Embrace, Model, and Share the love of God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Philippi Baptist Church 107 Church St. Philippi, WV 26416 (304) 457-3206

Inside this Issue Pastors Message...2 Birthdays3 Anniversaries...3 Prayer requests...3 Family News...4 Invitation...5 Tid bits...6 Announcements...7 Union Assoc...8 Getting to know...9

Catch us on the radio live every Sunday morning at 10:30a.m. WQAB 91.3 FM
E-mail: office@pbcwv.net Website: www.pbcwv.net

107 Church Street Philippi, WV 26416(304)457-3206

Jon Villers, Pastor Lisa Dadisman, Secretary

Greetings PBC Family, We bring you greetings from Deep Creek Lake, Maryland! It has been a wonderful week with our family! What a great privilege to spend some time away with those that God has entrusted to us!! We have also experienced two weddings in two weekends! The first weekend involved a renewal of marriage vows after 50 years together.My Mom and Dad, Rev. Lewis and Louise Villers, involved their entire family to walk down the aisle yet again. Then the next weekend involved us going to a wedding for my oldest nephew, Bryson Morlan and Leandra McMillion. Both services were beautiful occasions to gather with family and see commitments renewed at the beginning and after half a century! It was an interesting turn of events to come back to Philippi to find no power or water at our house! I wanted to say a big thank you for all those that came on out to our "unplugged" service Sunday morning! I used the following quote and thought it was worth sharing for us all. ATTITUDE by Charles Swindoll "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes

It is a good reminder for us all. Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Philippians: Philippians 2:5-11 (New International Version) 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. May we be found having the servant attitude of Christ as we go forward in ministry together! A blessed Summer to you all! Shalom,

Pastor Jon
2

Please Pray for:

AB College faculty, staff and students, Denny Poling Bowers, Heather Browning, Lee Beuckman, Phyllis Crites, Ralph Crites, Casey Cleavenger, Billy Coontz, Audrey Cross, Bernitia Dadisman, Becky & Mike Elmore, Maria Eye, Jim Friend, Carl Gant, Jane Gibbons, Joe & Beverly Gouer, The Hinkle Family, Jim Lockhart, Ralph Mace, Christina Maddy, Donal Matthews Amanda Means, Gloria Miller, Donna Moore, Michele Moore, Dr. Jennifer Parks, Brenda & Gary Price, Margaret Salimi, John Scott, Kaley Sinsel, Josh Spriggs, Jean Westfall,

Please remember in prayer members of our church family who have faithfully attended down through the years, but are unable to do so at the present time: Otilia Franke: (Mansfield Place) Blair & Pearl Marks, Dr. Shearer, Mary Tamulitis, Vangie Shaffer: (Mansfield Place) Germaine & Austin Whitman, Albert Carman: (Good Samaritan) Unspoken requests for family members, unsaved people, community concerns, job and home loss, financial difficulties. Also, in need of prayer: Our national, state, and country leaders and officials. Please pray for Victims of crime, war and violence throughout our country. Pray to protect military personnel and their families throughout the world and those serving our country: Tim Jenkins, Chris Mossburg, Major Kris Wood. Captain Aaron Cross who 3 was deployed to Afghanistan.

July
2-Thomas Villers 2-Bobby Villers 3-Terry Wilfong 6-Pastor Don Walls 9-Carol Ervin 16-Bruce Blankenship 20-Randy Moore 21-Alice Tenney 22-Richard Hepler 23-Kathy Prusa 23-Jared Kirchberg 26-Eliza Hodge 27-Jeannie Mozley 29-Taylor Smith 30-Erin Davis 30-Martie Gribble 31-Caleb Villers

2-John and Kathy Prusa 3-George and Maria Sommer 8-Terry Jr. and Melissa Wilfong 11-Gary and Brenda Price 16-Jud and Kelly Bracey 29-Pete and Sarah Ferguson 30-Bruce and Cheryl Blankenship

Calendar Dates from Board of Christian Education

July 14th - Vacation Bible School

Philippi Baptist Church will be hosting a one day Vacation Bible School on Saturday, July 14th from 9:30-3:30 and we need your help. As part of our team, you can help make the Rocky Point Lighthouse VBS a great time for all of the kids. The students will be in four different age groups (from pre-school through middle school). Each group will have bible lessons, music, arts and crafts, science, and games. We need teachers, helpers, kitchen workers, crafters, people to set-up and clean-up, and people to help with advertising. If anyone would like to donate, here are some food items that would be appreciated: shells and cheese boxes, blue kool aid, goldfish crackers, watermelon, yogurt covered raisins, cream cheese frosting. Please mark food donations as VBS and leave donations in the kitchen. Any monetary donations will be appreciated also. Monetary donations can be given to Sara Poling, Sarah Ferguson or Cheryl Wolfe. Thank You!

We can't wait to see you shine at Rocky Point Lighthouse!

If you are interested please call: Sarah Ferguson: 304-457-5606 Cheryl Wolfe: 304-457-2910

July 28th, Family Movie Night August 17th- MoveIn at AB and Battler Fair August 18th Battler Fair August 25th Family Game Night September 29th Family Game Night

The Family of Reverend Donald E. Walls invites you for a celebration of his life in ministry upon the occasion of his 80th birthday. Please join us for a come and go reception to be held Sunday afternoon July 29th, 3:00-6:00 p.m. at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church 30 Church St. Smithfield, Pennsylvania If you cannot attend, please send memories or stories you might have of Don for his scrapbook to the following address or email: Mrs. Joanne Walls 296 Raymond Franks Rd. Lake Lynn, PA 15451-1046 Email: jowils@atlanticbb.net Pictures would also be appreciated. This is not a surprise event and the only gift is you! An RSVP to Joanne by July 15th would be helpful. Phone: 724-725-5755 Cell: 724-557-2771

Letter to the Elders of the Church of Wherever Beloved: Let us think of ourselves as members of the crew Cutting Boones Trace through the mountains. The path will never be considered a highway For we do not have the fancy equipment To remove all the stones or smooth out the rapids. Our job is just to clear the way, make it passable For those who will come after. It wont be easy, more like back-breaking, Chopping down trees, moving stubborn rocks, Fording streams and cutting through canebrakes But we do have both orders and directions, All of which are relatively simple: Go into all the world, Make straight the path, Do unto others as you want to be done unto Love your neighbor as yourself. The key to our success is also plain: Keeping our eyes fixed on the goal And our ears tuned to the Master. Hell be with us all the way. --Anonymous
A Holy Calling

Shorty Collins, who served for many years as American Baptist campus minister at the University of Wisconsin, define a calling as realizing a need and having the ability to meet it. On the basis of that definition, who can deny the calling of Reduce, Recycle, Reuse?

Perhaps we should all adopt the mantra of a woman who is occasionally tempted to go shopping. She considers ever purchase on the basis of whether or not she can live without it. That may be a little extreme, but that extra pair of shoes those costly avocadoes? That new TV set?maybe we can liveand live well without them.

As for recyclingthe two centers on Wabash Avenue and Midway Road will take plastic, cardboard, aluminum can mixed metal, office paper, magazines, newspaperseven paint cans and old batteries. (At the present time they canno take glass.)

Surely we could all respond to this holy calling to conserve and preserve the earth that God has created and continues t create. Lets get with the programthe reducing, recycling, and reusing program.
-- Anonymous

Childrens volunteer watch and teach calendar for July

July 1st Nursery Wee Church

July 8

July 15th
Need Volunteer

July 22nd
Cheryl Wolfe and Allison Villers Heather and Hayden Cottrill Sarah and Pete Ferguson

Wanda and Jim Christie Allen Steele Volunteer needed Tom Dadisman Pete Ferguson

Koreen Cheryl and and Abby Thomas Villers Blankenship Kelly and Lindsay Bracey Chuck and Carol Ervin

Junior Church

Sarah and Pete Ferguson

ed

One Great Hour of sharing for the month of June brought in $833.23 Our goal was $1,200.

ry s

Thank you for your contribution to this wonderful cause!

Reminder you can help out here in your community by volunteering on the first Monday of every month from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Heart & Hand thrift store. ABWM Book of the month: Psalms: 1-72

s, ot

to

Union Association Summer/Fall Cluster Services 2012 All services begin at 7:00p.m.

NO JULY MEETING
August 5 - Summit Park Baptist Church - Pastor Larry Fleming, Speaker October 7 - Point Pleasant Baptist Church - Pastor Bruce Hoffman, Speaker November 4 - Union Baptist Church Pastor Chris Mullett, Speaker December 2 Flemington Baptist Church Pastor Alan Rosenberger, Speaker

All offerings will go to the General Treasurer of the Association. If you have any questions regarding these meetings, please call Roger Delaney, Chairman of Discipleship, Union Association, at 304-842-5149.

Longand Blessed--Journey

Zvezdana Vlasic grew up with a father who knelt to pray every night. He read the Bible every chance he got. He lived his faith. Is it any wonder, then, that his daughter is a devoted Christian whose faith shines in her face, her voice, her daily deeds? Born in Zagreb, Croatia, as were her parents, Zvezdana had just one brother, who still lives in Europe. When she was twenty-two and working as a secretary at a local college, she attended a youth convention on the seashore in Croatia, and there she met her future husband, Jovan Vlasic. They were married in 1979 and lived for fifteen years in Belgrade, Jovans home town, where he held a responsible position in the American Embassy. Their three children were born during those years. Hostilities between Croatia and Serbia increased. Because of that and wanting their children to experience life in a more positive environment, and because of urgings from Jovans sister and brother-inlaw, Marija and George Sommer, the young Vlasic couple decided to emigrate to the United States. God blessed us then and he always has, Zvezdana says. Because Jovan was working in the embassy, we got our visas in three months instead of having to wait, like others do, up to twenty years. Jovan and Zvezdana arrived in Philippi in 1994 and lived with Marija and George for several months. Then, with the help of then-pastor Dick Hepler and attorney Gerald Fogg, they were offered rent-free use of a house on Walnut Street. The building belonged to Stan Dickinson, who was living in Alexandria. You wouldnt believe how generous he was, Zvezdana smiles. For a year we did not pay rent or utilities, just telephone, and for another year we paid just telephone and utilities. And he even wrote us a thank-you letter for taking good care of his house. And then he sold it to us for practically nothing. Interestingly, Stan is the son of Mary Dickinson, long-time pillar of Philippi Baptist Church. She and her husband, Key, had willed the house to their son. Since the fall of 2011, and in addition to her work as caregiver and housekeeper for local residents, Zvezdana has served as the custodian of the church, and her devotion to the task is evident throughout the building. She is also a member of the chancel choir, and she has served on the Diaconate and is currently a member of the Board of Missions and Outreach. She is also a member and a discussion leader of the Kononia Sunday School class. This church has been a true blessing, Zvezdana suggests. Throughout all of our tough times when we first came and when our parents died back in Croatia and Serbia and we couldnt be there through everything that has happened to us, God has blessed us through this church. We are thankful for this congregation and everyone in it. In her wallet Zvezdana carries a slip of paper on which are writtenin Slavictwo Bible verses: As for me and my house, I will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15) and The joy of the Lord is my strength (Ps. 21/1).