Straits Talk

United Methodist and Presbyterian (USA)

The Church of the Straits

P.O. Box 430 * Mackinaw City, MI 49701

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Straits Talk

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDMackinaw CityMichigan 49701

Permit No. 1

August 2015Minister Pastor David WallisHead Usher Cless Hurlburt Organists Wayne Clemens

and Loretta MartinekTreasurer Janet SchaeferFinancial Secretary Jean HuntClerk Diane Robbins

Secretary Judy Churchill

Office Phone: 231 436-8682 * Pastor’s Home Phone: 231 436-5484E-mail – Pastor – norev@juno.com

Church office – office@churchofthestraits.comChurch website – www.thechurchofthestraits.com

OUR WORSHIP SCHEDULETraditional Worship 9 and 11 a.m.Adult Sunday School 10:15 a.m.

The Mission of The Church of the StraitsTo worship God faithfully

To grow together spirituallyTo serve Jesus Christ and

our neighbor joyfully… in the power of God’s Spirit.

23rd Psalm – Lesson 8

The Lord is my Shepherd;I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;He leads me in the path of righteousness for His

name sake.Yea, though I walk through the valley of the

shadow of death,I will fear no evil; for You are with me;

Your rod and staff, they comfort me.You prepare a table before me in the presence of

mine enemies;You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

 In Romans 7, Paul describes the wrestling that he had to do with his own nature (and he called it "sin that is within me")—wrestling in order to keep it disciplined and under control. But always it was there, under the surface, trying to pull him away from the paths of righteousness and take him back to living and thinking in the way he had before.  ~ John W. Ritenbaugh  "All we like sheep have gone astray." Jesus says in John 14:6, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life." There are 6 attitudes that are part of this path of righteousness:

1. I John 3:16 Instead of loving myself most, I am willing to love Christ best and others at least as much as myself.    

2. John 17:17 Instead of being one of the crowd, I am willing to be singled out, set apart from others to be used by God for God.

3. I Corinthians 6:6-8 Instead of insisting on doing thing my way, I am willing to let them go in favor of others; be able to turn the other cheek and to go the extra mile. Letting go of pride.

4. James 4:13-15  Striving for peace and contentment instead of asserting my will on others. My future is in God’s hands.

5. Romans 8:28  Instead questioning God with a bad attitude, trust Him knowing He wants the best for me.

6. Luke 22:42   I need to let go of the “I” attitude and be willing to be led by faith.

  We, as sheep (not dumb, frightened, passive animals), but obedient followers; wise enough to follow One who will lead us in the right places and in right ways. ~ Donna Keene

**Donna is a dear friend of mine and also the church secretary at St. Paul’s UMC in Cheboygan.

~Judy Churchill

VBS happens here at COS the week of August 10-14th.Children ages 4 thru 6th grade are welcome, 9am to 12:30 pm. Join us for SonTreasure Island Adventures! We can use help with teaching, kitchen, etc. You can call the

church office to pre-register your child at 231.436.8682. Set-up will be Sunday August 9th at 12:30 pm, following the 2nd service. Please feel free to come and help, even if you aren’t working VBS. Donations of food and craft items would be welcomed – call the office to see what is needed – thanks!

Expectant WaitingWhen we shoot an arrow, we look to the fall of it; when we send a ship to sea, we look for the return of it; and when we sow seed, we look for a harvest; and so, when we sow our prayers into God's bosom, shall we not look for an answer? … A sincere Christian will pray and wait and strengthen his heart with promises out of the word, and never

leave till God give him a gracious answer.  ~Richard Sibbes 

We extend our sympathy to the families of those who have entered the Church Triumphant:Gerald Loveland, Sr, who passed away July 4, 2015Betty Nieland, who passed away July 4, 2015Sheri Poole, who passed away July 14, 2015

The Lord’s DayO day of rest! How beautiful, how fair,How welcome to the weary and the old!Day of the Lord! and truce to earthly care!Day of the Lord, as all our days should be!

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Labor Day Sunday, September 6, at 9:00am at Church of the Straits, 10:30 at Conkling Heritage Park, and then at the park for the 11:00 am service – we welcome back 4 ONE Quartet. 4 ONE Quartet is a male southern gospel

quartet from Reed City, MI. The group formed in March of 2012. They have had the privilege to be on the stage with; Perry's, Triumphant Quartet, and Soul'd Out. They have a song to share and message to communicate in today's world. These guys love God, family, each other and it shows that they love what they are doing with their 4 ONE mission! For more information, see www.4onequartet.com

Men’s Breakfast will meet Thursday August 6th at 8:00 am. Come, bring a friend and join in for food and fellowship!

“If you lack knowledge, go to school. If you lack wisdom, get on your knees!

Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge.”

~Vance HavnerJim and Judy Churchill are the proud grandparents of twins Olivia Quinn (4lbs 7oz) and Alexander Jeremy (5lbs 13oz), born on

Wednesday, July 1st. Mom, Dad and twins are all doing wonderful.

Operation Shoe Box 2015Our collection box is growing and I am so grateful!! In November we will have a ‘BIG’ packing party. Remember, the monthly item is only a suggestion – if you see something on sale that you think a child would love, that’s fine!

August is scissors, rulers, and smallmeasureing tapes month.

Call me if you have any questions. As always, donations of money are welcomed to help cover the cost of shipping for our boxes. Thank you and God bless. ~ Judy Churchill

Cheboygan Compassionate Ministry Presents:

9th Annual Back to School Giveaway Event

Saturday, August 22nd from Noon to 2:00 pm at The Lord’s

Kitchen Cheboygan Church of the Nazarene, 221 N. Bailey Street, Cheboygan

♥ Free Lunch ♥ Free Haircuts ♥ ♥ Free Entertainment ♥ Free Fun ♥

♥ Free Backpacks with School Supplies ♥Phone 231.627.1173 or 231.420.7034 for more information.

I want to express my sincere appreciation to all who prayed for my safety and wellbeing during my cardiac intervention. 

Pastor Dave came and prayed at my bedside for my recovery and, above all, peace of mind that I was not alone.  I do not believe I deserve Pastor Dave

being there but I shall be forever thankful for the blessing.  Lee Hall

9 am & 11 am

16 17 18 19 20 21 22Wms Bible Study 3pm

Summer Services Missions 10am9 am & 11 am

BOG 7pm23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Summer Services Wms Bible Study 3pm9 am & 11 am ANNIVERSARIES:

Hannah & Olivia August 2 Mark & Meghan (Downing) HoffmanBake Sale August 2 Bill & Donna Ptashnik

30 31 August 5 Duane & Dorothy Darrow August 8 Roger & Debbie Moore

August 17 Dick & Jane SpaydeBIRTHDAYS: August 25 Werner & Gay Schoenknecht

August 2 Kim Flemming August 19 Doug Boyce August 28 Cless & Judy HurlburtAugust 4 Danna Marvin August 22 Nelson Thompson August 31 Norm & Shirley Schneider August 5 Greg Vieau August 22 Mike KruegerAugust 8 Maribeth Barnett August 24 Sharon BonterAugust 9 Werner Schoenknec August 24 Shelly House

August 14 Isabelle House August 25 Chris LaningaAugust 14 Ella House August 26 Jerry SmithAugust 14 John Wesley House August 27 Terralyn TarrantAugust 14 Jennifer O'Brien August 27 Nicholas VieauAugust 15 Wayne Clemens August 31 Andrea SartoAugust 15 Sally Raible

A dear lady in the church gave me a cute knick-knack a couple of weeks ago that says “Why didn’t Noah swat the two mosquitoes?” I laughed so hard when I got it I wanted to share it with you. To me it makes all the sense in the world that Noah should have done that, although I wonder if God allowed the mosquitoes to just hitch a ride outside the boat.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all the bothersome things in life could just be avoided or just not happen? I assume there would be consensus on that statement but that isn’t an option for us. Life is sometimes easy and sometimes hard, sometimes slow and sometimes fast, sometimes sad and sometimes happy! I suppose you could add a bunch of other identifiers as well but you get the point. In fact it would have been easier to just quote Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (you know the passage that starts out with, “There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, etc…”)

I still don’t know what the purpose of a mosquito is but maybe the answer is in how we respond to these creatures. I need to address this because I am writing this just before I head out to the mosquito Mecca at Camp Michigamme with the Junior High kids. When something is bothering you sometimes you need to see it for what it is and just swat it away. We are “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37) through Jesus Christ so we can put the little things in perspective and overcome them in Christ.

Sometimes we see one mosquito as a minor issue but what about a swarm of them? Insect repellent is a necessary item when in the woods and we can look at the many annoyances of life and realize we need to put on the armor of God as spoken of in Ephesians chapter 6. That is our repellent against the enemy that is sometimes not even seen. Our fight is “not against flesh and blood but against … the spiritual forces of evil in this dark world”. We need to be ready with the Word of God and prayer as we move through this world. We have to be keenly aware and discerning when it comes to the things of God versus the things of this world.

Do you want to fight on your own? You will fail! Are you ready to fight as a soldier of God? You will succeed when He is your anchor in Christ. Life may not be easy but learning to lean on Jesus has its rewards. Maybe that is why we have mosquitoes? Nah!!!

Love you all in Christ,

Pastor Dave