First Church of God

7968 U.S. 23, Risingsun, OH 43457

Website: www.risingsunfcog.org F E B R U A R Y 2023
Church email: fcogrisingsun@gmail.com NEWSLETTER
Phone: 419-457-3971
Pastor Paul J Rutledge

Pastor’s Meditation February 2023.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
 Pastor Paul’s A Happy February 2023 to you all. We’re two months into the new year already. The snow
Meditation and cold hasn’t been too bad so far, and I hope it stays that way.

 Yacht Club
For this month’s mediation, I want to talk about “The Chronicles of Narnia,” a series of
seven fantasy novels written by British author C. S. Lewis. The books were published
 Chili Cook-off between 1950 and 1956. The series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world
of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals. The stories revolve around the adventures
 Safety Team of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. In
six of the seven books, the protagonists are children from the real world who are
 KFC Family night magically transported to Narnia, where they are sometimes called upon by the
lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its
 Stellar VBS
creation in “The Magician's Nephew” to its eventual destruction in “The Last Battle.” “The
 Women’s break-
Chronicles of Narnia” is C.S. Lewis's best-selling work, having sold over 100 million copies
fast Club in 47 languages.
My mother starting reading “The Chronicles of Narnia” to my sister and I around 1976,
 Breakfast alert
when I was in the second or third grade. She started with, “The Magician’s Nephew,” and I
 Future Women’s
was hooked. I loved the story and the characters, and my mom explained stuff in the
breakfast club books we might not understand. I picked up on the Christian themes immediately and saw
events myself as one of the Penvensie children.
Out of the seven books, the first one published was “The Lion, the Witch and the
 Save the date
Wardrobe in 1950. “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is the most popular of the
 Community Lent books and the best known in the series. In the story, all of Narnia is thrilled when the
services mighty lion Aslan reappears after a long absence. Their joy turns to sorrow, however, when
Aslan concedes to a demand made by the evil White Witch. Faced with Aslan’s apparent
 ACTS missions defeat, the Narnians experience his power when he emits an earsplitting roar that causes
the witch to flee in terror. Although all seems to have been lost, Aslan ultimately proves to
 February be greater than the evil the villainous White Witch tries to bring about.
calendar
In 2Kings 6, the prophet Elisha is facing what looks like defeat. Like Aslan’s followers in
C.S. Lewis’ allegory, Elisha’s servant despaired when he got up one morning to see
himself and Elisha surrounded by an enemy army. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” he
exclaimed (2 Kings 6:15). Elisha’s response was calm: “Don’t be afraid, those who are
with us are more than those who are with them” (6:16). Elisha prayed, “Open his
eyes, Lord, so that he may see” (6:17). So, “the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he
looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (6:17).
Although at first things seemed bleak, God’s power ultimately proved greater than the
enemy army.
There are times in life, and I’m sure there will be times in this new year that our
If you have an item to circumstances will be difficult. We are surrounded by things that are bad, discouraging,
put in the newsletter, maybe something that seems impossible, leading us to believe all is lost. With God by our
please submit it to Susie
Hoffman by the 3rd.
side, all is never lost. Just like with Elisha’s servant, God desires to open our eyes and
Sunday of the month. reveal that He is greater than anything we are facing. God is always faithful to us in all our
Susie’s email address is situations.
fcogrisingsun@gmail.com
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 Yacht club:
Saturday February 11th
will be the next men's
breakfast. 8:30am at
Tim's house. Any FCOG
men are welcome, come
and enjoy food, fun, and fellowship. Will
be talking about and planning all of our
events for the coming year including the
upcoming chili cook off.
Chili Cook off - Saturday March 11th
Registration will begin at 4:30pm with
judging and dinner starting at 5.
There is an $8 fee to enter a chili.
The cost for dinner is $8 for an adult $5
for a child 12 and under and $20 for a
family of 4. This includes chili, cornbread,
drink, and a dessert.
This year we will be partnering with an
school or community organization (yet to
be determined) that 50% of the proceed
will be donated to. Details to follow as
soon as we get them finalized.
Safety Team:
Annual Mandatory team training
will be held on Sunday February
26th. Right after 2nd service
until approximately 5pm. Pizza
lunch will be provided.
KFC FAMILY NIGHT— February 15, 2023
Parents, join your sons and daughters for
a fun evening of food, fellowship and fun
for our Kids For Christ Valentine’s Family
Night at FCOG. There will be great
activities, such as minute-to-win-it
games, an object lesson, and coloring
pages. Dinner will be served at 5:30pm
and the evening will end by 7pm. Hope to
see you there! Bus transportation will not
be available for this event.
Vacation Bible School 2023!!!
Yes, that’s right…
plans for the ‘23 VBS
has begun!! Mark your
calendars for July 16-
20 when children and adults, alike, will
continue to learn about Jesus’ shining
light!! This week of VBS is not possible
without the help of our church family!
Please pray about how you may be able to
help…teaching/assisting, group leader,
kitchen staff, crafts, monetary donations,
food donations, etc. More information will
be shared soon, and sign-up sheets will
be added to the clipboards.
The Christian Education/VBS teams are
very excited to see how the plans roll out
and look forward to giving the students a
“STELLAR” week!!!
February 11, 2023- Women’s
Breakfast Club!!
Ladies, please join us at the church, 9am,
for a delicious breakfast, great fellowship
and continued planning of various
projects and events! Bring a favorite
breakfast dish to share and be prepared
to have a wonderful time!!
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 BREAKFAST ALERT!!! Community Lenten
The Women’s Breakfast Club will host a Services 2023
pay-to-eat (donation) breakfast on Sunday, It's quickly going to be
February 19, between first and second February and Lenten
service (Sunday School hour)!! season. Last year, the Community Lenten
services went well with many working together
If you’ve not attended in the past, mark to have our area prepare for the Easter
your calendar…you won’t regret it! All food season. It had been a while since we could
is prepared by the ladies’ group. You are gather as a community and God was honored.
simply asked to bring your appetite and a It was beautiful to see God’s people,
buck or two for the donation basket! The regardless of church affiliations to gather to
proceeds from this breakfast will benefit celebrate the unity of believers and prepare
The Women’s Breakfast Club as they move our individual hearts for the Easter season.
forward to plan various 2023 activities for Lent is quickly approaching so we need to get
the church family! a commitment from the local churches that
would be willing to host a service on Sunday
Thank you in advance!! Hope to see you in
nights from 6:30-8. We can have as many as
the breakfast line!! six nights: February 26, March 5, 12, 19, 26
and April 2. We have already had churches
Future dates- Women’s Breakfast Club committed to host this year, including
Please mark your calendars and look for Risingsun First Church of God on March 12.
further info on each date! Last year three churches hosted the services,
Sunday, April 16- Spaghetti Lunch, with many others helped in the services and
following the 2nd service, pay-to-eat supporting the host church with their
donation. Buon Appetito!! attendance. We would love to see more
Saturday, May 6- Tea With Tricia! churches getting involved; either as a host
Program, 10am in sanctuary (Karis Matz) church, 15–20-minute devotional speakers,
Tea/Brunch, 11am in gym (Tricia Brooks) special music, or reading of poems and
You don’t want to miss it! Scripture. We need to finalize these details by
Saturday, November 11- February 5 so we can get the information out
to the community. The host church would need
Men’s Appreciation Dinner, in gym
to provide the building, pianist, and
Time TBD! congregational song leader.
GO BUCKS!! We believe God wants His Church to work
together. We would be interested in getting
feedback on any idea that will help us prepare
Mark your calendar our hearts and minds for the Easter season.
Please set aside the Sunday evenings
Garage Sale and lunch stand February 26-April 2 to gather with our
May 19-20. More details will community in celebration of our Lord’s
be coming soon. works, sacrifice and resurrection. If you have
questions or comments call or text Jim Dieter
Women’s Appreciation Dinner May 13th. at 818-522-7152.

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 First Church of God February 2023

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 8:30-9:30 walking 2 9am Bible Study 3 8:30-9:30 walking 4
group group

5:30-7pm KFC

7pm Bible study

5 8:15am Worship 6 8:30-9:30 walking 7 8 8:30-9:30 walking 9 9am Bible Study 10 8:30-9:30 walking 11 8:30am Men’s
9:30am donuts/coffee group group group breakfast @ Tim’s house
9:45am Sunday school
10:45am Worship 6:30pm Congregational 5:30-7pm KFC 9am Women’s
prayer breakfast at the church
7pm Bible study

12 8:15am Worship 13 8:30-9:30 walking 14 Happy Valentines 15 8:30-9:30 walking 16 9am Bible Study 17 8:30-9:30 walking 18
9:30am donuts/coffee group Day group group
9:45am Sunday school
5:30-7pm KFC
10:45am Worship 6:30 Council meeting
Family Night

7pm Bible study

19 8:15am Worship 20 8:30-9:30 walking 21 22 8:30-9:30 walking 23 9am Bible Study 24 8:30-9:30 walking 25
9:30 Pay to Eat group group group
breakfast donation
10:45am Worship 6:30pm Congregational 5:30-7pm KFC
prayer
7pm Bible study

26 8:15am Worship 27 8:30-9:30 walking 28

2-5 Susan & Brad Justin & Tim W.
9:30am donuts/coffee group
9:45am Sunday school 2-12 TJ & Jim D. Jessica & Mike M.
10:45am Worship 6:30pm Congregational
prayer 2-19 Scott & Dean Randy & Alana
12-5pm Safety training 2-26 Tim J. & Cindy Pam & Greg