Youth Fall Dates, Young Adult Ministry and the Fests!
Dear Stillmeadow Family,
As I prepared for Sunday’s message on marriage I was repeatedly reminded that strong marriages are not built on feelings but on faithfulness. In Two Part Invention, a memoir on marriage that Madeleine L’ Engle wrote as her husband was battling cancer, she said:
“…a long term marriage has to move past chemistry to compatibility, to friendship, to companionship.”
A beautiful picture of a gospel-oriented marriage companionship is Priscilla and Aquila who accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys (Acts 18:18), taught the budding preacher Apollos the fullness of the gospel (Acts 18:26), and hosted the growing church family in their home in Rome (Romans 16:3-5). William James Jennings described their partnership like this:
“Priscilla and Aquila are a couple under ideal conditions; they are not consumed with self-preservation but with a shared life that yields to the Spirit.”
When Jesus gave his instructions on marriage in Mark 10:1-12, he was right in the middle of describing the essence of discipleship. And Dietrich Bonhoeffer comments, “The disciple’s exclusive adherence to Christ therefore extends to [their] married life. Christian marriage is marked by discipline and self-denial. Christ is Lord even of marriage…Christianity does not depreciate marriage but sanctifies it.”
May our approach to, conversations about and practice of marriage be salt and light in our community and world where people are suffering from the broken effects of putting feelings, chemistry and self-preservation first.
And let’s engage in the word every day this week. Here’s the reading schedule that includes further exploration of what the Bible has to say about marriage…
Weekly Reading (October 6-12)
Monday: Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:18-24; 1 Corinthians 7:1-9
Tuesday: Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 8; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16
Wednesday: Psalm 8; Mark 10:1-16
Thursday: Deuteronomy 24:1-5; Matthew 5:27-37
Friday: Psalm 22:1-15; Hebrews 1:1-4
Saturday: Amos 5:1-17; Ephesians 5:21-33
In His Hands and In His Time,
Pastor Josh
And check out the services at the Stillmeadow Lane Campus and the York City Campus!
The Main Announcements
Youth Fall Dates
Young Adult Ministry
The Fests! Autumn Fun Fest (Oct 19), YCC Fall Fest (Oct 26)
Get more information HERE
Young Adults 18-30 Join US! For questions and location go HERE.
The Fests!
This season we’re welcoming our neighbors through the Autumn Fun Fest at Stillmeadow Lane (Oct 19, 2-4) and Fall Fest at York City Campus (Oct 26, 6-8). You can donate candy, s’mores and/or volunteer!
Sign-up to volunteer or donate HERE.
From Our Church Board
October is Pastor Appreciation Month! We have a group of dedicated professionals who serve on our staff at both campuses. In October please consider the ways that you can recognize them with gift cards, meal invitations, cards of appreciation, gasoline cards, or other tokens of your gratitude. ~Scott Mingus, Sr., Church Board Secretary
Children’s Ministry Update
We are entering phase 3 of our children’s ministry transition. Phase 1 was saying farewell to and celebrating Pastor Rachel while also grieving her departure. Phase 2 is the Interim Prayer Phase as we seek God’s guidance on what’s next. Phase 3 is the Search Phase as we put together a job description and interview potential candidates for the position. Phase 4 will be the welcome and integration of a new leader.
In this interim season, Trudy Gunnet continues to serve as our Children’s Ministry Director and Patsy Moses as our Children’s Ministry Assistant, with Pastor Tabitha Martin providing pastoral oversight. We are grateful for each of them and the members of our Stillnaz Kids Ministry team who are leading well in this season.
Let’s continue to pray for those leaders and for our next leader. We are currently accepting applications for this position. Please contact Pastor Josh (pastorjosh@stillnaz.com) for more info.
Grow with us
No one matures alone. Check out our listing of groups and let us know if you’re interested in one. Contact Karon Kagan (kkagan@stillnaz.com) or Pastor Tabitha Martin (pastortabitha@stillnaz.com) if you’d like help signing up or learning more.
We believe that as followers of Jesus, we are on the pathway of discipleship. This pathway is not linear, but we grow when we gather together, when we take courses to grow in our spiritual formation, when we commit to a lifegroup to practice the mission of Jesus together, when we begin to lead others, and when we pray together. Join our discipleship pathway as we grow with Jesus and one another!
Join a Lifegroup- We are all on a discipleship pathway here at Stillmeadow and we believe we can't do it alone. We have lifegroups of all kinds to deeper our walk as we learn to intentionally share faith and life together in community while practicing the mission of Jesus through conversation, fellowship, prayer, service, and intimacy. You can find a list of our lifegroups at stillnaz.com/lifegroups.
Young Adult Ministry (YAM)-Our young adults, led by Heath and Kate Grim, meet the first, third and fifth Saturday of the month at 10AM for brunch, community fellowship and a group Bible study. Please reach out for location information by going to stillnaz.com/lifegroups.!
Serve with us
You have been gifted and we’d be honored to serve with you. We’d love to have you partner with us. Click the “Serve” button below for more opportunities.
~Autumn Fun Fest & Family Fall Fest at YCC- Volunteers are needed to make these events a success! Go to stillnaz.com/serve to sign up.
~ Community Thanksgiving Dinner-This event is a multi-church event that will be held at YCC! Many hands are needed to feed the community a Thanksgiving meal! Go to stillnaz.com/serve to sign-up.
~World Habitat Day 2024-Join Habitat for Humanity at the Habitat ReStore October 7th, 3-5PM and take part in their Housewarming Drive! Purchase a $25 ReStore Voucher, buy an item from the needs list or drop off items to donate.
Pray with us
You can find a guide to prayer and submit a prayer request at www.stillnaz.com/pray. This week, let us pray for…
Our citizens who live in York County, mayors, school boards. The print and broadcast media. The churches of York: members and clergy. All who live in poverty. All who suffer from mental illness.
Give with us
EJAM Jerk Chicken Dinner Fundraiser and Silent Auction
Support the EJAM Work & Witness Team on Saturday, October 12 and as they raise the funds they need to continue their work in Jamaica in 2025! Donations of new items for the silent auction are appreciated! Please contact Tiffany Stonesifer at msunn1973@gmail.com if you can donate a new item. Donations of baked good are appreciated! Please contact Cynthia Farley at cynthia.farley@gmail.com if you can donate baked goods.
Congratulations to…
Brady and Karla Rotz who were married on October 5.