From the moment you enter as a Freshman, you begin to plan for that final day when you leave as a graduate. How you look forward to that senior year, knowing the end is near. With the assistance of family and friends, you design a celebration worthy of the accomplishment. Pictures, parties, and presents - all are welcome! Graduation day arrives and it’s beyond your highest hopes. What an exciting journey to that special moment. The following day could be a devastating disappointment after the celebrations conclude and relatives return to their homes. It could be such a letdown… EXCEPT… the day after graduation is when the REAL adventure begins as you make your claim on the world, as you plot the course for your future. The day after graduation is when the real work begins as you start to build a life.
Some people, when asked what was the happiest day you can remember, will answer, “The day I was married.” Certainly it is an occasion to remember and cherish. But, as I think back over the last forty-four years, I must admit a happier day began the next day when it hit me clearly that for the rest of my days, I would have a partner who would HELP me build a bigger life. What a joyful, fulfilling collaboration that has been.
Of course, there’s nothing more grand than preparing for the birth of a child. What busy arrangements are necessary before the anticipated arrival. There are names to be chosen and nurseries to decorate. Clothes are gathered and dreams explored. That moment of birth is a day to be remembered and cherished, but it is only a wonderful BEGINNING! Suddenly, you have the opportunity to build a new life.
Careful planning, excited preparations guided us through Holy Week, leading us to a joyous Easter day. What a thrilling day it was as we celebrated the Easter wonder. It would be so easy for today, after the plans and preparations have played out, following the lovely music and beautiful flowers, to be a great letdown… EXCEPT…the week after Easter is when the real ADVENTURE of faith begins as we make our claim on the world, as we plot the course for the future of the Church, as we move out in bold service to the risen Christ. The days after Easter are when the real work begins as we build a living, vibrant, growing church of committed believers. What an exciting day it is for Allisonville as you look forward to your new senior pastor and all the blessings that will come with that arrival. What glorious days are these days after Easter! It’s when our faith grows. Embrace this new day in Christ! Blessings for all that is ahead!
Love,
Pastor John
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So, hello Allisonville from Josh-of-the-Past! I wrote this on Good Friday, since by the time you read this I will be sitting on a beach in Florida! I am sure that I miss all of you very much already. If you didn't know, I am currently in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, with 5 of my closest friends and I will be here through April 25.
I just want to take a brief moment and give a huge, heartfelt, Texas-sized THANK YOU to every single one of y'all who helped make Holy Week happen this year at ACC. From waving palms, to hiding eggs, to participating in our beautiful worship services- it really took our whole Allisonvillage to celebrate the resurrection together and I could not be more joyful. This has been my first Holy Week in full-time ministry, and now I really understand just how much work it is to do. But, it is good, important, and I would say holy work. My spirit is filled to the brim with joy and gratitude. I am also a liiiiittle bit tired.
So, I also want to say thank you for letting me have this time off and away. I very much needed it, and I am grateful to be in a loving congregation who actually, truly cares for its ministers. I feel so loved, and I am grateful for this time away in Florida with some very dear friends. I will see y'all next week! I hope y'all all have a great week!
Peace and blessings,
Josh
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Joys:
- We celebrate a wonderful Easter Sunday together.
- We celebrate the joy of our community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.
- We rejoice that Tom Cain had a successful knee surgery and is home recovering.
Concerns:
- We surround in prayer the family of Bonnie Ross, who passed away earlier this month.
- We hold in prayer Joanne Medlen as we remembered and celebrated the life of her partner Keith Byers on Saturday.
- We pray for Chris Higgins, whose aunt and uncle passed away in Oklahoma last week.
- We also life up in prayer Brock McCracken whose uncle, Merle Templin, passed away.
- We hold Robert Keltner and his family in prayer as he was hospitalized with health complications last week.
Continued prayers for:
- Carol Q. Cosby
- Betty Wright
- Cora King
- Dottie Lloyd
- Bob Hessong
- Ben Hinton
- Davis Goforth
- Lee Ridoux
- David Parker
For the people of Ukraine
For all who are grieving
For all who are affected by COVID
For our work and all work to be an anti-racist church and people
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Lenten/Easter THANKS
What a meaningful Holy Week we shared together. We celebrated the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the Holy Supper, the agony of the Cross, and the joy of Easter morning! It did not just happen - so many people lent their creative gifts to our celebration and we are grateful. Many thanks to the following who helped so much:
- Rev. Josh Jackson who led ALL our worship services with great joy and energy, as well as orchestrating the Children’s Easter Egg Hunt! Blessings, Josh!
- Tracy Noens played so beautifully for all our special services and Sunday worship and did so with such skill and devotion.
- Chris Higgins chose and directed all the music for the choir and the Praise Band and did so with such sensitivity and grace.
- Ruth Wolff who prepared all the bulletins.
- Our wonderful Choir that sang so beautifully for all four of our Holy Week services and our Praise Band that led our contemporary worship on Palm Sunday and Easter with such spirit.
- Our guest musicians on brass, horn and timpani - such a glorious sound to fill our sanctuary on Easter Sunday.
- Our Elders and Deacons who serve so quietly and with such dedication in countless ways.
- Our Maundy-Thursday “preachers” - Josh Jackson, Janet Spaulding, Russ Smith, Julie Wilson, John Quick, Nita Orth, Larry Rahn and Garrett Receveur who did such a stirring job in presenting those present at the cross.
- Our Good Friday “Preachers” - Josh Jackson, Janet Spaulding, Ginny Campbell, Linda Belding, Joel Duffield, Russ Smith and Cherilyn Williams who presented with such faithful attention to the darkness of Good Friday.
- Liz Young who planned, organized and led our Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday and thanks to all the volunteers who made it a joyful event.
- Audrey Pelsor who created the lovely backdrop for our Easter worship - it is exquisite.
- Those who donated lilies and to those who arranged them.
- To all those dear souls I missed who helped in some way and to ALL of you who came and joined in worship.
Many thanks to the many, many people who made our Holy Week memorable and meaningful. Christ is risen! So now the real work begins! Alleluia!
With gratitude,
Pastor John
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Pastors on Vacation
Josh Jackson, our Associate Pastor, who just gives and gives and gives with such joy, took this week off and is enjoying a well deserved break in Florida. Safe travels!
I will be gone April 26-29 to NYC to see “The Music Man,” on Broadway. We’ve had tickets for two long years and are looking forward to enjoying it with a dear friend. I so appreciate the time away. (It is my last planned vacation!) Thanks to a loving congregation!
Gratefully,
Pastor John
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Annual Meeting - Sunday May 1
Save the date! Watch the Buzz for more information.
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Search Committee Update
Your ACC Search Committee would like to invite you to one of our upcoming small group meetings. We will be discussing the results of our congregational survey and asking for your further input towards helping us in selecting our next senior minister. The schedule for these meetings is listed below:
Sunday, May 15 - In Person Only
10:30am (following Traditional Worship)
Family Room
Sunday, May 22 - In Person Only
12:00pm (following Contemporary Worship)
Family Room
Wednesday, May 25 - In Person or Virtual Options
7:00pm
Family Room
Thank you for your participation in this most important process.
John Quick, ACC Search Committee Chair
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MISSION TRIP FORMS DUE APRIL 255
The permission forms for the youth group mission trip to Nashville are due on April 25. Please get those to Josh ASAP (you can email them to him too, he will see them when he is back in town). Your $125 payment is not due until May 1. If cost is an issue, please reach out to Josh and we will make something work.
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Pick Up Your Easter Lilies!
We have many Easter Lilies left in the sanctuary. If you ordered lilies and have not yet picked them up, please make arrangements to do so this week. The office is open through Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm or you may pick them up on Sunday.
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Welcome Center Greeters
With the relaxing of COVID restrictions, we are starting up our Welcome Center again! If you would like to be a greeter on Sunday mornings to help welcome members and greet newcomers, please sign up here! You can reach out to Josh if you have any questions.
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Youth Group Meals for the Spring
We continue to have a signup to provide youth group lunch this semester. It is wide open, so please take a moment and find a day that you might want to bring lunch for the youth group. If you have questions, talk to Josh.
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Apr 24 | COFFEE CAFE REMINDER!
Coffee will be available in the family room by 9:00am Sunday morning if anyone wants to grab a quick cup before church. The main part of Coffee Cafe with treats, will be available in between services. Come for that casual fellowship that we have missed for so long. Do you remember? Sorry, no bowls of donut holes but the cheese sticks will be back along with some other goodies. Can’t wait to see you all or y’all!
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Apr 24 | Youth Group
For youth group on Sunday, we will continue working on Youth Sunday. We are going to be working on writing our parts for worship with an extra special guest: Rev. John Williams!! He is excited to get to know our youth group and help with this planning. John is an excellent preacher and worship leader, so this will be a very helpful time as we plan Youth Sunday. Thank you to Teresa Cochran for providing lunch!
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Apr 24 | JYF Meets!
JYF will meet today, 12 - 2pm.
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Apr 24 | Anti-Racism Book Study and Club
The Anti-Racism Book Study and Club has finished our discussion of Waking Up White. For April we will be reading The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. This book will have a one-time discussion on Zoom on Sunday, April 24 at 5:00 pm. We encourage anybody who has read this book or wants to read this book to join us for this discussion.
The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin
A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation, gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement--and still lights the way to understanding race in America today.
“With clarity, conviction, and passion, James Baldwin delivers a dire warning of the effects of racism that remains urgent nearly sixty years after its original publication.
Penguin Random House Books
IndyPL has many copies of this in various forms - book, CD book, e-audiobook, ebook
We also hope to have pizza and a movie.
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Apr 21 | Grief Group This Week
Grief Group will meet Thursdays, 6:00-7:00pm via Zoom. Everyone welcome:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 858 113 1740
Passcode: 7srZvu
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Apr 26 | ACC Book Club
Our ACC Book Club will be reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz in April. We will meet via Zoom on Tuesday, April 26 at 7:00 pm. Amazon says: “ This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov—an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity.”
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Apr 28 | Mary Martha Circle
Mary Martha Circle will meet Thursday, April 28 at 1pm in the church sanctuary.
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Apr 30 | Spring Tea Party
Disciples Women’s Ministries presents: Spring Tea Party
Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.
Ladies of All Ages (children included)
Join us for tea (coffee, lemonade and water also available) and special Hors D’ourvres
Bring a guest and receive a surprise
All girls under 12 will receive a surprise
Entertainment, photo booth, and fellowship
Sign up at church on Sundays, April 17 and April 24. Call, text or email Linda Belding for questions.
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May 1 | Food Pantry Sunday
Please join us for worship on Sunday, May 1, for Creation Care Sunday, a day we set aside to celebrate and give thanks for the wonderful creation that we enjoy every day AND to remind us that we have a responsibility to care lovingly for our earth so that it is here for future generations. We are concentrating our thoughts on caring for the earth and how vital it is to do so for our children and grandchildren. We want them to know the wonder and beauty of this world God has created for them. Come worship with us and renew your commitment to caring for the earth. It is a big part of our faith journey!
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May 1 | Creation Care Sunday
Please join us for worship on Sunday, May 1, for Creation Care Sunday, a day we set aside to celebrate and give thanks for the wonderful creation that we enjoy every day AND to remind us that we have a responsibility to care lovingly for our earth so that it is here for future generations. We are concentrating our thoughts on caring for the earth and how vital it is to do so for our children and grandchildren. We want them to know the wonder and beauty of this world God has created for them. Come worship with us and renew your commitment to caring for the earth. It is a big part of our faith journey!
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May 3 | Building Availability
Allisonville Christian Church has traditionally served as a polling site for elections and this year is the same. Please plan to avoid the Family Room and Door 2 entrance on Tuesday, May 3 (unless you're here to vote!). The parking lot will also be busy throughout the day, so keep that in mind if you have business in the building that day.
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Seeking Virtual Scripture Readers
Virtual scripture readers are needed. Now scheduling for the summer months. Please contact John Quick (317-294-2709, [email protected]) to sign up!! |
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Exploring Worship and Worship and Wonder Volunteers
Would you like to be involved in our children's ministry? We are still in need of volunteers for both Exploring Worship and Worship and Wonder. Here are a brief description of the roles we are needing to fill:
W&W Greeter - The Greeter helps to welcome the kids to Worship and Wonder and assists the Storyteller in crowd control and keeping the ministry flowing.
W&W Storyteller - The Storyteller leads the lesson directly from the Worship and Wonder curriculum. We have access to the official W&W training.
EW Teacher - The Teacher leads the activity for the day, such as the sharing of joys and concerns, reading the scripture for the day, etc.
EW Shepherd - The Shepherd assists the Teacher in getting the kids to the EW space and keeping the activity going smoothly.
If you are interested in any of these roles or if you would like more information about them, please reach out to Josh!
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Apr 23 | Indy Creation Fest, 11am - 3pm
Location: Christ's Community Church, 13097 Allisonville Rd, Fishers, IN 46038
Come join us at the first annual Indy Creation Fest which is an Open-House style celebration of our role as stewards of God’s earth.
- Learn about beekeeping, composting, and native plants
- Sample vegan cooking and ethical chocolate
- Meet adorable animals
Indy Creation Fest has been put together by multiple churches and local organizations. Presentations and exhibition booths will promote the efforts of local churches involved in nature conservation, organic gardening and more. All are welcome! Join us!
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COVID Guidelines for Worship - UPDATED 3/2/2022
After careful consideration, our COVID team has updated our guidelines to move us closer to a
more “normal” use of our facilities. Beginning, March 6, we will observe the following:
- Masks are optional during worship and other activities. If you are more comfortable wearing a mask, please do so. Our number one goal continues to keep everyone safe, comfortable and healthy.
- Please seat yourself for worship; all pews are open. Be aware that some worshipers may still prefer a little space between them and their pew mates, so just do a quick check in with them about their space preferences.
- We will continue to observe our offering time and communion as we have been doing during the COVID restrictions. It was agreed that it was healthier to have limited contact with offering trays and communion ware until numbers are significantly down.
- Hymnals will be returned to the pews and ready to use on March 6.
- The Membership Committee will begin our Coffee Cafe after Easter.
- You may schedule groups or class meetings at the church. Please call the office to reserve a room or follow the link below. Zoom calls for meetings are still an option depending on the group’s preference.
- Greeting one another is encouraged, always respecting one another’s comfort. Instead of hugs and handshakes, fist bumps or elbow bumps are suggested. Social distancing continues to be encouraged.
- The Nursery is open each Sunday morning, along with Children’s Worship and Wonder and Exploring Worship which are in session each week.
We are moving closer to a sense of normal for our life at the church. It is our prayer that we can
continue to care for all among us with the deepest Christian care. These guidelines are subject
to change depending on need. Thank you for your patience and for participating fully in keeping
everyone safe and healthy.
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