Feed the Need Progress

Heifer International Missions Field Trip

Sunday, March 30, 2008, 10:30 AM – 6:30 PM

Our 5th and 6th Grade Youth Group will be taking a trip to Overlook Farm in Rutland, MA to gain an appreciation of the cultural elements of the daily life of those served by Heifer International, and gain a better understanding of where their food comes from while preparing a meal using appropriate technology. All children attending must complete and turn in an Overlook Farm Consent Form and a Parental Consent Form. For more information feel free to contact Destiny.

Overlook Farm Registration Packet

Announcements – Week of February 10

4-4-40 Daily Prayer

• If you are not receiving 40 Days daily prayer requests, it could be that we don’t have your current email address. Please stop by the CommUNITY center in the Rotunda to fill out a card with your current email address.
• Prayer is and has been an essential part of 40 Days of Community. Anyone is welcome to join us in prayer as we meet every Monday at 4:00 PM in Room 100.

40 Days of Community Study Guide

The “Better Together” Study Guide contains everything you’ll need for your small group sessions. Cost is $10. Books are available in the church office during the week.

“Better Together” Fair – Sunday, March 2 and 9

Take action and use your skills, knowledge, background, or experience to help someone else—you grow, give back to our church family, and glorify God. Don’t miss this great opportunity to start using your talents and time to offer a helping hand here at Bethany Church. Challenge yourself to find one new area where you can serve our church. More information will be coming in the following weeks.

“Feed the Need” Food Drive News

Details will be announced in your small group this week.

• Please refrain from purchasing or gathering food for the 40 DOC food drive.
• Each small group will be a part of this fun community-building experience with a combination of time, talent and treasure.

FOR HOSTS:

• All hosts must attend an informational meeting February 3 at 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM in the Village. Packets of Food Drive information for your small group will handed out.

Small Group Sign-ups End

Small Group sign-ups through the website have come to an end. All Small Groups should be having their first meeting this week. If you have any questions, please contact Pat Fuller (pfuller@bethanychurch.com).

Food Pantry Graph

Believing that we are Better Together, we at Bethany Church feel called by God to provide 50 tons of food to 50 food pantries within our area.  This will require us to raise $200,000 by Palm Sunday, above and beyond our normal giving.

Realizing that “From the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48), we ask everyone to consider prayerfully what they might give toward this effort. Remembering as well that “this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others,” we are aware that God regards the size of the sacrifice more than the size of the gift. (Mark 12:43) 

The chart below illustrates how we might achieve this goal together as we each give what we can. 

Better Together Family Missions Day

Want to involve your kids in missions? Bring your family to the Better Together Family Missions Day on February 9 from 1:00 – 3:30 PM in the Rotunda. You will enjoy mission project activities and so much more – including a moon bouncer, firefighter’s presentation, facepainting, and construction vehicles to explore.

Please bring the following items for missions collections:

Recipient	New	Gently Used	Please Bring
NH SPCA			Pine shavings Rabbit food pellets Kitty litter Canned kitten and puppy food Canned dog food (Science Diet/Pedigree)
			Blankets Towels Wash cloths Tennis balls Video baby monitors
Tilton School – Haverhll, MA			Children’s books
Local Pediatric Wards			DVDs Videos
HEIFER International			Please bring money to purchase animals for families in developing countries

Daily Devotionals and Journals

Yesterday was Day 1 of 40 Days of Community at Bethany. That means that you should all be on Day 2 of the Daily Devotionals and Journals in your “Better Together” workbooks. If you haven’t picked up a copy of this book yet, they are still available this week in the church office for $10.

If you have any comments or questions about your Daily Devotionals, please post them here. If you are wondering about something, chances are that someone else is too.

Got a 40 DOC Praise Report?

If you have any praise reports regarding 40 Days of Community that you might like to share with others, please post them here as a comment or email Jan Dietrich at janmd53@verizon.net. 

We all want the opportunity to celebrate with you, so please let us know where you see God working!

4-4-40 Daily Prayer

As we begin 40 Days of Community, prayer requests will be posted on this site daily – 4 requests at 4 PM for 40 days. To find them, just click the 4-4-40 Prayer tab on the top of this page.

We know that it is God who changes the hearts of people, so as we journey through these days together, and as we ask God to help us grow closer to Him and to each other, please join the congregation in praying these requests.

Would you also consider fasting on some sort of basis throughout the 40 days? You could fast for one meal a week (the money you save could even help with the food drive), or more as you feel led. If you need information on prayer and fasting, there are some guides at the CommUNITY center.

Feeding the Hungry – Laura Knoy

Take a minute to check out the NHPR program that Bruce mentioned in his sermon this morning. 

Click on the link below to hear Laura Knoy discuss what’s being done differently by organizations in New Hampshire to meet the demands of the hungry - from taking a more business-like approach, to reexamining the system as a whole from how food is gathered to how it is delivered.

Feeding the Hungry – Laura Knoy