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Evergreen Outreach

By Charlene M. Jett
We had another great day, regardless of the downpour that nailed the bus as it was picking up our FAYCO friends!

We still were missing our LTC, Vandalia Rehab, Sweetbriar and Brookstone friends, and hope to see you next week.
The great Healer in the sky is with you, anyway. He is especially needed to be with Katie Schukar and family, with Wolf and Jeannie Schlicht, and with Steve Cox and family.
We shared our refreshments, and sang our welcome and meeting songs to the beautiful notes of Bette Stolte, a mighty fine pianist with a beautiful smile and great personality. I wonder, what would it take to bribe Bette to join our church permanently?
Next, we sang happy birthday to Joanne Gillmore, Jean Wendling, Janet Lusch, Betty Stone, Erna Wasmuth and Deb Williams, and it was slightly off-key, since I was trying to lead!
Pastor Roger Grimmett, gave us a micro-sized but powerful sermon and prayer.
He told a really, really good joke about a high school sports team, and the power of flushing our sins away. This team had lost so many bad memories of loss, that the coach brought an old toilet to the dugout as a symbol of the power of being able to flush away bad old memories and sin. The team could no longer carry forward the bad old memories and the coach explained that God forgets our sin and forgets the past.
As the disciple Paul said, we must forget the past and what was left behind, and press forward to the future. This way. Satan can never bind us to our past sin, and we will always be free, but only through the blood of Jesus. The key is through the blood of Jesus, the only way to be saved.
Now, Phyllis Rams has a host of entertainers up her sleeve, and today she asked Bob Langley from Vandalia to entertain us. He brought his guitar, amplifier and microphone, and the music began.
He started with “Old Country Church” and really got us all clapping and singing to “ Will the Circle be Unbroken.”
When his sheet music is disarrayed, he takes plenty of time to “fix his nest,” as he calls it. This is done with paper clips, and I think I saw a clothes pin! But never mind that – we were having fun!
He sang “Scarlet Purple Robe” and about Jesus’ blood-stained sacrificial robe. Then, one of my favorites “Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down,” and we all decided to takeoff around the room for a little walk with Jesus! Now, Mr. Langley said we could “clap our feet,” but we walked and clapped our hands!
Another lively spiritual was “ What a Day That Will Be,” referring to when Jesus comes back!  And a really sweet melody, “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again.”
He sang and played several encore numbers, which made everyone happy, and I took Dolly (Phyllis’s great-dog) around for the entire audience to pet.
The pinochle table had a good day, with Susan Meador and Mary Woolsey winning both games over Richard Kruenegel and Ruth Ann Scott. One game was so close I think I’ll just call it a tie!
And with that I will sign off, and hope to see everyone next week. God Bless everyone!
 

 

Bob Langley performs at Monday’s Evergreen Outreach gathering in Wesley Hall at First United Methodist Church in Vandalia.

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