WEST SIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

535 Cherokee Road

Portsmouth, Virginia 23701

www.westsideccdoc.org

757-488-0514

Non-Profit Organization

US Postage Paid

Permit 118

Portsmouth, VA

ADDRESS SERVICE

REQUESTED

West Side Christian Church STATEMENT OF CALLING

West Side Christian Church is a faithful and caring church family

committed to making disciples of

Jesus Christ in our CHURCH, our COMMUNITY, and our WORLD.

CHURCH: Equip our church family through spiritual growth and leadership development.

COMMUNITY: Share the love of Christ through service.

WORLD: Witness through support of Disciples’ missions.

April 2014

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Vol. 45

Number 4

April Birthdays

5th George Pyles

8th Allison Nutting

9th Steve Goss

14th Lois Pyles

16th Shannon Stidham

17th Debra Trevino

19th Jerry Thornton, Jr.

21st Nina Milam

25th Brenda Hayth

26th Allen Wallace

28th Louise Twine

PRAYER LIST

Church Members

Justin & Debbie Friberg,

Kitty Baker & Kim Powell, Lois Pyles,

Andrew Wells, Mary Wyatt

Family & Friends

Kathy & Curtis Nelson, Amber & Kyle Critzer

& Family, Deleta McClure, Ernie Turner, Sr,

Judy (Lee) Perkins, David Carpenter,

Shirley Jones, Ellean Mullins, Josh Williams,

Katrina Hastings, Teresa Smith,

Dwight Brooks, Hunter Vaerewyck,

Patricia Mann, Phil Barnes, Judy Kelly,

Maureen Powers, Ruth Ann Gonzalves,

Tim Brown, Jordan Lahy

SHUT INS

Ruth Blackman, Catherine Buchanan, Ruby Fulcher, Garland Cook

Staff: Rev. Cyd Cowgill,

Senior Minister

Claudia Moorad, Music Director

Trish Barker, Office Manager

Joe Diggs, Custodial Services

Lectionary Readings

April 2014

April 6 Ezekiel 37:1-14

Psalm 130

Romans 8:6-11

John 11:1-45

April 13 Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Matthew 21:1-11

April 20 Acts 10:34-43

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Colossians 3:1-4

John 20:1-18

April 27 Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Psalm 16

1 Peter 1:3-9

John 20:19-31

Stewardship Quote ~

I do not believe we can settle how much we ought

to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give

more than we can spare.

~C. S. Lewis

Stewardship Giving for February 2014

Weekly Operating Expenses: $ 4,054.00

Needed for February: $ 17,655.00

Received in February: 13,376.29

Expenditures February: 14,180.28

ENDING BALANCE FOR FEB: (1,484.59)

In memory of

William Powell given by

Stanley & Clara Thornton

Barbara Powell

A love gift towards the Roof Fund was given in

“loving memory” of

John Davenport and Berry Brown who served our church so faithfully in maintaining

our building and grounds along with their helpers

including our precious Pop, Harold Pyles.

These two men were Property Chairmen for many

years and we will always remember them.

In Christ love,

George & Lois Pyles

OBCCM Lenten Services St Andrews United Methodist Church

5615 Portsmouth Blvd. 488-3534

12 Noon

Lunch 12:30 ~ $5.00

April 9 Rev. Kirk Culpepper

April 18 Rev. Tom Potter

A food offering will be received at the

Good Friday service.

SYMPATHY

NOTE

We wish to extend our

sympathy to

Kitty Baker and Kim Powell

on the recent passing

of their brother,

Warren Little

Garland Cook Province Place 1Bon Secours Way Suite 142 Portsmouth, VA 23703 757-673-9649

A special thank you for your cards, phone calls and

most of all your love that was felt from your many,

many prayers during my recent surgery and recovery!

Each one of you are very dear and precious to George

and I.

Our Love and prayers, Lois & George Pyles

Dear West Side Members,

Thank you for providing such a warm and caring service

for my husband, Bubba’s funeral. Thanks for all who

made phone calls, cooked, cleaned, music and your kind

words. I know things were difficult because of the snow

and extremely cold temperatures. I appreciate the

effort—you made it seem as if it was no problem at all.

Keep me in your prayers. I’ll be seeing you soon.

In His love,

Barbara Powell

To Our West Side Family,

Thanks for the cards, prayers and calls during this

difficult time. We are blessed to have all of you as

friends.

In Christian Love,

Billy & Kim & family

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Monthly Breakfast Meeting

Saturday, April 12

8:00 AM

Speaker:

Rev. Cowgill

Reservations are

requested.

SERVING AT OASIS

April 17

10:00 a.m.

Sign up to help!!!

West Side Christian Church 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 5/9/2014. Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health problems related to: blocked arteries which is a leading cause of stroke; abdominal aortic aneurysms 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 discount). All five screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. In order to register for this event and to receive a $10 dis-count off any package priced above $129, please call 1-888-653-

6441 or visit www.lifelinescreening.com/community-partners.

Roof Fund Update: $4,770.14

Original cost of new roof- $37,988.06 - March 2013 Contributions- $14,770.14 Remaining balance- $23,217.92 We received $4,770.14 from the March 7 luncheon. It will be used to pay down the amount owed on the replaced roof of the new section of the building. Thank you for such a great response. Of course, the turkey dinner by Chef Cornwell was delicious. Special thanks to Leo Gibbs for the unique roof & steeple decorations he contributed for the tables. The upcoming yard sale on April 26 will be our next effort to pay another large sum off the balance owed.

Congratulations to

Kevin & Helen Gibbs

on the birth of their son,

Griffin William Gibbs, born March 5, 2014

weighing 9lbs., 4 ozs. and 20-1/2 inches.

Leo & Pam Gibbs are his proud grandparents.

District VIII

Dinner Meeting

April 24th, 6:30 PM

New Light Christian

138 Lucas Ave

Norfolk

Reservations are

requested.

Maybe you knew him as a baby. Maybe you knew him as a teenager. Maybe you remember him running these

West Side hallways and popping up in the pew behind you on Sunday mornings. Or, maybe you are just now

hearing his name and meeting him for the first time.

Whether your memories are old or new, lift them up and give thanks to God as you do because Zach Lowman is

our new Youth Director at West Side Christian Church!

Zach is the God-produced result of a long search process which, in and of itself, has made a significant contribution

to our youth ministry. The members of this search team – Mary Redmon, Christie Wells, Karen Hartzog, Donna

Nutting, Bill Loftis and Jimmy Jarvis – met for months, talked through our current situation with youth, and then

wrote out a carefully crafted job description which reflects this group’s best thinking about a number of things.

*First, Zach’s job description affirms that the purpose of our youth ministry is to provide our young people “with

the maximum opportunity to participate and grow in their faith.” This means that we minister to youth because

youth are worth ministering to and because it is part of our mission imperative to do so. Youth ministry is part of

who we are as the Body of Christ at West Side.

*Secondly, the job description affirms the congregational nature of youth ministry. Zach will often be present on

Sunday mornings to greet youth and their families, and to present himself as the “face” of youth ministry at West

Side. His visibility at church and in church will reinforce the fact that this highly important ministry is done as

church. Through presence, through funding, through prayer and support, we minister to youth together.

*And third, through the written job description, the search team has endorsed the importance of the youth

director himself as a person. The youth director is someone who not only “has a heart for youth,” but who

actually extends that heart through communication, cooperation, and connection. The youth director will very

soon feel like part of the church, not just because he literally is in the person of Zach, but because that is how he

will conduct himself. Zach’s presence and influence will be felt throughout the West Side body, and that is cause

for great rejoicing.

When you see the members of the search team in the weeks ahead, please thank them for their work. Offer to

join your prayers with theirs for our church in the coming months as we reignite our youth ministry, fulfilling our

imperative and goal to be the whole people of God.

And when you see Zach, give him a hug and a great big welcome as he begins this new chapter in his life of faith

and service to God.

Even if you “knew him when,” give thanks for knowing him now. I sure do.

Glad to be your Pastor, West Side!

Cyd

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Disciples Women extend the hospitality of the table to ALL

sisters and invite them to join us. Quadrennial Assembly is a Disciples Women’s Event which lifts up women

from around the world through fellowship, worship, service, and edu-

cation. It is sponsored by International Disciples Women’s Ministries

~ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Quadrennial - June 25-29, 2014

to register go to www.discipleshomemissions.org/qaregistration

Quadrennial Scholarship Deadlines Extended

Attention: The deadline for Scholarship Applications has been extended! A second round of scholarship applications will be accepted until April 15, 2014. This new deadline applies to general applicants as well as Disciples of Christ women studying at theological institutions. Please pass the word on to the women you represent and encourage them to apply. I have attached scholarship forms in both Word and PDF formats for your convenience along with a flyer with more information. You can also find these online by visiting www.quadrennial.org and clicking on the “QA – Scholarships” link.

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.

—Corrie ten Boom (Matthew 6:25-34)

I have been a ‘Disciple’ all my life...and I have participated and served in many ways...The next 4 years

I will start a new venture, actually I started in January, as a member of the General Board of the DOC.

I serve as a liaison for the Virginia Regional Board, so I present a formal report to the Regional Board.

I have attended my first General Board meeting this past February. It was educational, overwhelming

and interesting. I received anti-racism/pro-reconciliation training. I serve on one of the standing

committees, as well as participate in a conventional dialogue group. I spent 4 days with disciples from

across the USA and Canada. We are a bi-national church. I encourage you to get a copy or go online to

Disciples.org and read the Communique which give a full account of the board meeting. If you have

any questions, I am glad to speak with you.

Grace and Peace,

Jennifer Larson

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West Side Yard Sale (Proceeds to help pay off the Roof loan)

Saturday, April 26 9am-1pm. (rain date May 3)

Yard sale items may be left in the rear of the

Fellowship Center anytime. Please remember to price all items

before dropping them off

It has been suggested that we sell most of the folding metal chairs

(keep about 25) and the dishes that were purchased by the church many years ago.

If you have a comment or suggestion about these items, please let Pam Gibbs,

Sharon Jenson or Mary Redmon know as soon as possible.

Here is a partial list of items we are planning to sell.

Dishes TV Chairs

Projector, Stand Paper cutter Pictures

Bookcase VCR Tripods

Sermon tapes (Bryant) Candle holders Duffle Bag

Non-working Copier West Side T-shirts Coffee mugs

West Side Jacket

and the list goes on and on!

Edna Shearin Scholarships 2014

Graduation Sunday, June 8

Applications for Edna Shearin Scholarships are now available for the 2014-15 school year. If you are an active member of West Side and plan to attend college or vocational school, you may apply by obtaining a current application and submitting it to the Church Care Team with the necessary documentation no later than May 1, 2014. Contact Fran Gray if you need further information. Applications can be found in the church office and on the

bulletin board beside the office.

GRADUATION SUNDAY

We wish to include ALL of your graduates in this celebration service. So, if you or a member of your family will grad-uate this year from high school, college or technical center, please contact Fran Gray or Kim Powell as soon as pos-sible so preparations can begin. A luncheon honoring our Graduates is planned following the worship service. ALL Graduates will dine free of charge.

V i r g i n i a D i s c i p l e W o m e n ’ s

SPRING 2014 SPA DAYS (Self-Care, Prayer and Action Day)

Who is my Neighbor? May17, 2014

Begins at 9:00 a.m. First Christian Church, Hampton, 1458Todds Lane

826-0711 REGISTRATION COST IS $15.00

This includes workshop materials, a light continental breakfast and light lunch. Please mail this registration form and check to

Christian Church in Virginia, 1290 Enterprise Drive, Lynchburg, VA 24502

(Forms available in the church office)

The Tri- State Anti- Human Trafficking Task Force is sponsoring the

Memorial Day Event – Coffee Safety Break I-85 & I- 95

Monday May 26, 2014 from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM EDT These are some of the rest stops we are covering. If anyone is willing to go,

they will need to be registered on line.

Rest Area at Ladysmith-North Bound-This rest area is located at 95 North Bound at Mile Marker 107

Rest Area at Ladysmith-Southbound-This rest area is located at 95 Southbound at mile marker 107

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Please join us here at West Side for our

Easter Egg Hunt & Party

Saturday, April 19

3:00 PM

Ages Toddlers- 5th grade

Parents please accompany your children and enjoy the celebration!

Holy Week Events & Services

April 13 - 11:00 AM Palm Sunday Worship Service

April 17 - 7:00 PM Maundy Thursday Worship Service

April 18 - 12:00 PM OBCCM Good Friday Service

April 18 - 1:00 PM 24-hr Prayer Vigil (please sign up)

April 20 - 7:00 AM Easter Sunrise Worship Service

Breakfast in Fellowship Center

9:45 AM Church School

11:00 AM Easter Sunday Worship Service

“Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes

through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which

He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands which He is to bless us now.”

— Saint Teresa of Avila

Jesus gave his life as an offering to the world. He offered living water that would transform

the world. The Easter Offering supports the General Ministries of the Christian Church

(Disciples of Christ) and the countless ways that Disciples can continue to be the hands,

feet and voice of Jesus.

Your generous donation to the Easter Offering will support the General Ministries’

commitment to being the hands, feet, voice and heart of Jesus through countless servants

all around the world. With our giving we model the life of the One who gave the gift of

Living Water that transforms the world.

REGIONAL ASSEMBLY

AN INVITAION FROM THE REGIONAL MINISTER

Rev. Lee Parker

The time is near for us as sisters and brothers of the Christian Church in Virginia to gather at Lynchburg College

for fun, fellowship, learning, worship, renewing friendships and making new ones. This year the Reverend Dr.

Sharon Watkins is our keynote speaker, along with Jon and Dawn Barnes, representing the Division of Overseas

Ministries and Week of Compassion.

Using the theme of Mission: Possible, we will focus on being a missional church and a mission-oriented people.

I have seen what mission-oriented people can accomplish here and to the ends of the earth and pray that our

churches in Virginia will capture a vision of possibility through this Assembly. I look forward to having a chance to

celebrate together as those called by Jesus Christ to reach out to the world.

Let us celebrate what God has done for us and what we can do for God and god’s people as the 171st gathering

of the Christian Church in Virginia.

Lee Parker

Y’all come. See you there!