The council approved the newsletter to be issued twice a month. This starts with the next issue. We will mail/e-mail newsletters on the first and third Thursdays of each month. This will mean that any articles or entries must cover the two weeks following those days. Since it is common that we already receive notifications several weeks in advance, this will not be a real issue for most of us. Only those who are accustomed to giving weekly notice must now give two in advance. This means I must give two Scripture lessons at a time. Oh, well. I guess I can handle that. Also, I have introduced a prayer column to be put in the newsletter. It is my understanding that the “phone/e-mail/instant” prayer chain is for the prayer needs of our church members. But in order to share prayer requests for the needs of those beyond the church—i.e. families and friends of our members – this prayer list will enable us to pray for those beyond ourselves. This endeavor is a matter of trust. Before you request that we print a non-member’s name, get permission from them to do so. Without that, be generic. “Ben’s third cousin twice removed needs prayer.” The idea is to pray for people. God knows who my third cousin twice removed is and hears your prayers for one so designated. Furthermore, these lists can become very long, very quickly. This is one reason these requests are not placed on the instant email/phone chain. Therefore, these requests will be published for two issues only.
Like all new endeavors, this is a work in progress. It will be tweaked as needed to best meet our needs in this prayer ministry. -- Ben