A box has been placed in the vestibule for you to place your canned goods and non-perishable food items. The food collected will go to needs within our own congregation and any surplus may be given to local food banks. Anyone wishing to make a cash donation rather than food may do so...please see Deacon Carl Childers.

                                    The last day for the food collection box will be February 26th.

Attention ladies of Faith Church! The L.A.M.B.S. (Ladies AM Bible Study) will begin a new study book on February 2^nd, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The new book will be Peter: Fisherman to Follower. All ladies of Faith Church are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Session Reorganization

During the January meeting Session did it’s annual reorganization of duties. The following is a list of the elders and their responsibilities:

Clerk of Session – Dick Roach

Evangelism & Visitation Committee – George Caler

Christian Education Committee – Dan Sevcik

Deacon Liaison to Session – George Caler

WIC (Women in the Church) Liaison to Session – Dan Sevcik

From the Pastor’s Study

(As I am writing this, tens of thousands of pro-life advocates are gathering at our nation’s capitol to rally and march for life. I found the following in my E-mail Saturday and thought it worthy of reproducing, especially in light of the relate debate over Supreme Court justices. Let us pray faithfully for our national leaders and our nation.)

Pandora's Box: What Roe Has Wrought?

Charles Colson

January 20, 2006

This Sunday marks the thirty-third anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision — a day Americans should mark with sadness and shame. Forty million babies have been sacrificed on the altar of personal choice and autonomy.

When Roe came down, many of us argued that it was the beginning of a slippery slope, that once we devalued life in the womb we would devalue life — and endanger life — at all stages. After all, we had just established, as a matter of law and social priority, that individual choice trumps even the right to life.

Tragically, we have been proven right. The so-called "right to choose" has led to Supreme Court decisions like the Lawrence case that held that it is discriminatory for states to legislate against sodomy. As Justice Scalia put it in his dissent, "This opens the flood gates for gay marriage and makes it impossible for any morals legislation to be enacted." He is right. Who can say the common good demands the preservation of traditional marriage when personal choice is exalted to the summum bonum of society and is constitutionally protected?

The worst post-Roe decision was Casey v. Planned Parenthood, in which Justice Kennedy wrote: "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life."

Now, if you take those words literally, it makes it impossible to legislate any determination of the common good, because inevitably, the individual then has the right to say that does not conform to his idea about the meaning of life. This is individualism run amok.

And this week more damage was done. By invoking federal drug laws, John Ashcroft, when he was U.S. Attorney General, tried to stop Oregon from allowing doctors to assist in patient suicide. This week the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, held that the federal government cannot bar the dispensing of controlled substances for assisted suicide in the face of a state provision permitting it.

Thankfully, it is a limited decision. The Court did not rule on the constitutionality of the assisted suicide — except by implication. But it does suggest that six justices are sympathetic to it. If assisted suicide is ever permitted, it will soon become involuntary euthanasia, as it has in Holland.

I don't like to be an alarmist, but unless we do something — such as getting more justices like Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas on the Court — we will soon have Dutch-style euthanasia in America.

Some good news this week from the Court: On Thursday it unanimously ruled that a New Hampshire law requiring parental notification if a teenager is seeking an abortion can stand. An exception must be added for medical emergencies, but on principle, parental notification still passes constitutional muster. This vindicates the incremental strategy: Chip away at Roe.

On this anniversary, Christians must resolve to go on fighting, not only on behalf of the unborn, but addressing a broader question: Does our society have the capacity to rule itself according to what is the common good, adhering to its founding principles of the protection of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Or will it be swept up in the notion that the only thing that matters is that individuals can choose for themselves whatever they want?

Don't give up this struggle. We must resolve to fight smarter and harder — for as long as it takes.

Missionary Updates

Calvin & Geeta Taylor – India: Calvin was in the U.S. on a short visit for a conference recently. The conference was very worthwhile and his travels went very well. Calvin and his children came down with a bad case of flu just before Christmas. On Christmas day they drove a couple of hours to get to a village that had invited them to speak. It was cold and foggy and they had to sit on thin carpets on the ground inside a tent. There were more than fifty villagers, including many of other religions. They listened attentively to his presentation of Mark 2, of Simeon’s recognition of Jesus when he was presented in the temple in Jerusalem. The main point was the proper recognition of Jesus prepares us for death, and if we are prepared to die, then we can also live in peace. After returning home Calvin was in bed, sick for two days, and then the children got sick again. Thankfully they were all well enough for another two hour drive to preach on New Year’s Day.

Items for prayer and praise:

✦Pray for continued healing and good health.

✦Thank God for good worship services they were able to participate in and pray God will bring good fruit.

✦Pray for the upcoming country-wide conference on church planting that their group is helping to organize in conjunction with an association of reformed people.

✦Thank God for a project of some local congregations and seminary students who were able to distribute blankets in a local slum community, in which some friends have been leading children’s Bible classes.

✦Pray for God’s word to bear fruit in these people’s lives and for protection for them and others during this cold weather.

Prayer Chain Requests

Jan. 12:             Please pray for Karla Richard’s step-father Richard Sauser (79 years old). He has a suspicious mass on his pancreas and will be having surgery next Wed.

Jan. 13:             Jim Bruder came home from the hospital on Wed. He is doing very well. He is not on any medication right now and will be concentrating on building up his strength. Please continue to uphold him in prayer.

Jan. 14:             Kermit Best is going to have cataract surgery on Jan. 17^th. Please pray for him and for his Christian surgeon, Dr. Hassaad.

Jan. 18:             Richard Sauser is at University Hospital in Cleveland. The surgeon is not sure he has cancer (50/50) and won’t know until surgery. Karla’s mother and step-father are not Christians and she is praying this experience will open their hearts and eyes to the Lord. Please pray for safe travel for Randey and Karla as they travel back and forth to Cleveland to see him.

Jan. 18:             Praise – Kermit Best’s cataract surgery went well. No problems! He thanks everyone for their prayers.

Jan. 19:             Pastor Jim Kobb was involved in an automobile accident on his way home from work. A man fell asleep at the wheel and rear ended him pushing him into two other cars. No one was injured. Thank the Lord for His tender mercies!

Jan. 19:             Richard Sauser’s surgery went well. The surgeon was pleased and able to remove the entire tumor. They will know in a few days if it is cancer. The family thanks everyone for their prayers and concerns.

February Preaching Schedule

Feb. 5:               AM: Pastor Buchanan                 PM: Pastor Kobb

Feb. 12:             AM: Dr. Bogue – #124 A God Unlike the ‘gods’ – Ps. 86

                          PM: Pastor Buchanan

Feb. 19:             AM: Dr. Bogue – #1 A Trustworthy Statement; 1 Tim. 1:15

                          PM: Dr. Bogue – #125 City of God; Psalm 87

Feb. 26:             AM: Dr. Bogue – Doing All Things Well; Mark 7:37

                          PM: Pastor Buchanan