Hello, Friends.
This has been an exciting week for us. This was severe weather week in the Midwest. You may have heard the sirens go off twice on Tuesday: once in the morning and once in the evening. If you have school children, they probably practiced their tornado drills. Where do you go when you hear the sirens? What if you are driving in your car? What do you keep in the safe place in your home? NOAA publishes a PDF of severe weather safety tips that are particularly applicable to Midwest living. It is the last week in March. This month has flown. Since March came in like a lion, tradition has it that it will go out like a lamb. This March has been unseasonably cold with more snow than usual. The frost and cold hasn't daunted the spring flowers. They are still hanging in there. Watch the predictions, but don't put your gloves away, yet
March 20 was the vernal equinox (equal hours of night and day). Other signs of spring are the owls. The Great Horned Owls have been calling at night. These amazing birds hunt at night. Their calls carry for miles. This time of year you can hear them well since the trees are still bare. You may even see them in the trees. Great Horned Owls have a classic "Hoo Hoo" call. Owls are also a symbol of wisdom. Edward Webb wrote the poem The Owls Wisdom. Notice that this poem is one long sentence that never actually ends since he does not include a period at the end to complete the thought. This is a very interesting and unusual approach to expressing a thought.
Carmel is beginning construction on the intersections of Gray Road and Main Street and Gray Road and Smokey Row. There will be two more roundabouts installed. We do love our roundabouts! When you come to church you may need to come up with a new route. And speaking of roundabouts: you are supposed to signal when you intend to exit the roundabout. You should signal as soon as you pass the exit prior to the exit you want to take. This lets the other drivers' know that your intentions and allows them to move forward. The law states that you should always use your turn signal in an intersection and a roundabout is an intersection. The Carmel mayor is proposing an ordinance that has $100 fine attached to the ticket for not signaling in a roundabout. This is to ensure that people can move smoothly through these intersections and increase traffic flow as they were intended. Using your signal also takes the guesswork out of driving.
International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100.
March 20 was the vernal equinox (equal hours of night and day). Other signs of spring are the owls. The Great Horned Owls have been calling at night. These amazing birds hunt at night. Their calls carry for miles. This time of year you can hear them well since the trees are still bare. You may even see them in the trees. Great Horned Owls have a classic "Hoo Hoo" call. Owls are also a symbol of wisdom. Edward Webb wrote the poem The Owls Wisdom. Notice that this poem is one long sentence that never actually ends since he does not include a period at the end to complete the thought. This is a very interesting and unusual approach to expressing a thought.
Carmel is beginning construction on the intersections of Gray Road and Main Street and Gray Road and Smokey Row. There will be two more roundabouts installed. We do love our roundabouts! When you come to church you may need to come up with a new route. And speaking of roundabouts: you are supposed to signal when you intend to exit the roundabout. You should signal as soon as you pass the exit prior to the exit you want to take. This lets the other drivers' know that your intentions and allows them to move forward. The law states that you should always use your turn signal in an intersection and a roundabout is an intersection. The Carmel mayor is proposing an ordinance that has $100 fine attached to the ticket for not signaling in a roundabout. This is to ensure that people can move smoothly through these intersections and increase traffic flow as they were intended. Using your signal also takes the guesswork out of driving.
International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100.
We had the most interesting discussion on Tuesday! Several of us had attended a seminar last Saturday, in which we learned about sharing the love of God with Muslims. Our discussion started with what we had gained from that experience, but it moved on to our general angst about sharing our faith with neighbors, co-workers, and friends. This morning, as I was browsing through recent Facebook posts, I came across a blog titled "What if All I Want is a Mediocre Life?".
"What if I am too religious for some and not spiritual enough for others? Non-evangelistic. Not bold enough. Yet willing to share in quiet ways, in genuine relationship, my deeply rooted faith. And my doubts and insecurities.
This will have to be enough."
(From a blog on Facebook by Krista O'Reilly Davi-Digui)
It is enough! God can and will do the work of evangelism. It brought back many of the thoughts shared at Tuesday's Bible Study. In the book of Acts we have read about the sermons of St. Peter and St. Paul. But what if we can't express our faith as eloquently as they did? We can still share the love of Jesus in small and simple ways and let people know that the reason for our hope lies in Jesus, who died and rose again for us.
March 28: We will continue with Acts 14. Please join our group for more fascinating conversations about the early Christian Church and what the Church today can learn from their experiences.
International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, room 100.
We met for a planning session and to talk about emergency weather planning. Click on our International Friends Schedule to see our plans for the rest of the year.
March 28: By popular request, we will make a spring flower craft. Bring your scissors, some branches (you should be able to find plenty on the ground since our last wind), tissue paper (the paper that comes with shoes or as other wrapping is perfect, or bring colored tissue paper if you have it. If you have a glue gun, bring it. Here's what we will be making: Flower branches
Casual Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, room 201.
Conversations circled around poetry and the Easy English News articles. Discussions around Shakespeare's poetry including meaning and pronunciation were the highlight. It is so interesting and engaging to talk about abstractions that are expressed and inferred in poetry. Discussions comparing culture, crime, and government between the various countries following articles in the Easy English News were very interesting.
March 29 Let's watch some Slam poetry! Here is a link to help you write your own slam poetry. Here is a passionate performance by Taylor Mali. Find one to share!
English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms.
daunted: discouraged
still hanging in there: persevering
drills: training that requires specific behaviors or knowledge
applicable: relevant or appropriate
approach: a way of dealing with something as opposed to moving toward something
prior to: before
ordinance: a piece of legislation (a law that is under consideration) enacted by a municipal (relating to a city) authority
proposing: an idea presented for consideration
intentions: what you plan to do
takes the guesswork out of: makes something easy to do; helps to make confident decisions
seminar: a meeting for exchanging information and holding discussions
angst: a feeling of anxiety
browsing: looking at or glance at casually or randomly
mediocre: of only ordinary or moderate quality
evangelistic, evangelism: sharing the Gospel story
eloquently: having the power of fluent, forceful, and appropriate speech
fascinating: interesting
Church: it is capitalized here to indicate that we are writing about the Church as a proper name as opposed to church as a building
abstractions: dealing with ideas and not events
inferred: gathered through deductions
"What if I am too religious for some and not spiritual enough for others? Non-evangelistic. Not bold enough. Yet willing to share in quiet ways, in genuine relationship, my deeply rooted faith. And my doubts and insecurities.
This will have to be enough."
(From a blog on Facebook by Krista O'Reilly Davi-Digui)
It is enough! God can and will do the work of evangelism. It brought back many of the thoughts shared at Tuesday's Bible Study. In the book of Acts we have read about the sermons of St. Peter and St. Paul. But what if we can't express our faith as eloquently as they did? We can still share the love of Jesus in small and simple ways and let people know that the reason for our hope lies in Jesus, who died and rose again for us.
March 28: We will continue with Acts 14. Please join our group for more fascinating conversations about the early Christian Church and what the Church today can learn from their experiences.
International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, room 100.
We met for a planning session and to talk about emergency weather planning. Click on our International Friends Schedule to see our plans for the rest of the year.
March 28: By popular request, we will make a spring flower craft. Bring your scissors, some branches (you should be able to find plenty on the ground since our last wind), tissue paper (the paper that comes with shoes or as other wrapping is perfect, or bring colored tissue paper if you have it. If you have a glue gun, bring it. Here's what we will be making: Flower branches
Casual Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, room 201.
Conversations circled around poetry and the Easy English News articles. Discussions around Shakespeare's poetry including meaning and pronunciation were the highlight. It is so interesting and engaging to talk about abstractions that are expressed and inferred in poetry. Discussions comparing culture, crime, and government between the various countries following articles in the Easy English News were very interesting.
March 29 Let's watch some Slam poetry! Here is a link to help you write your own slam poetry. Here is a passionate performance by Taylor Mali. Find one to share!
English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms.
daunted: discouraged
still hanging in there: persevering
drills: training that requires specific behaviors or knowledge
applicable: relevant or appropriate
approach: a way of dealing with something as opposed to moving toward something
prior to: before
ordinance: a piece of legislation (a law that is under consideration) enacted by a municipal (relating to a city) authority
proposing: an idea presented for consideration
intentions: what you plan to do
takes the guesswork out of: makes something easy to do; helps to make confident decisions
seminar: a meeting for exchanging information and holding discussions
angst: a feeling of anxiety
browsing: looking at or glance at casually or randomly
mediocre: of only ordinary or moderate quality
evangelistic, evangelism: sharing the Gospel story
eloquently: having the power of fluent, forceful, and appropriate speech
fascinating: interesting
Church: it is capitalized here to indicate that we are writing about the Church as a proper name as opposed to church as a building
abstractions: dealing with ideas and not events
inferred: gathered through deductions
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