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SCC
People -
John Miller
Look around SCC on a Sunday morning, and
you might just see a man with a superhero T-shirt on. That would be John
Miller, sporting a piece of apparel that combines being a
conversation-starter with his love of comic books.
John and his wife of 32 years, Teresa,
have a long history with Sycamore Creek Church that actually, in one key
way, predates its beginnings - years ago, they were in Barb Flory's youth
group at Grace UMC. Fast forward to about 10 years ago, and John and
Teresa were attending Mount Hope UMC when Pastor Barb asked them to
become part of the new church she was planting: SCC.
"Teresa was all gung-ho right away,
and I wasn't," said John. But the more he prayed about it, "the
more I knew we had to do it," he said.
It was an important next step in the
adult faith journey of someone who remembers praying at the age of 6 for
a brother or sister. When his prayer was answered with a sister - born to
a mom who was 45 and a dad who was 60 - God certainly became pretty real
to him.
John grew up with a strong sense of
right and wrong that developed at a very early age. When he was in just
first or second grade, he and a friend went to a drugstore and his friend
stole a piece of bubble gum. "I told him he had to take it back or
I'd tell on him," he said.
But throughout his childhood and into
his teen years, the fact that he always tried so hard to do the right
thing and deeply internalized the "shoulds"
and "should nots" - "I had a
really legalistic mindset," he said - led to problems when, as he
put it, "no matter how good you are, you're not good enough."
It was a struggle that in junior high led him to contemplate suicide.
Then, he went to a Christian musical,
where one of the songs was about Jesus; how Jesus is love and Jesus is
the way. And that, he said, "was the moment I understood" - the
moment he realized that it wasn't about what he did, but about what Jesus
had done.
"It literally saved me," he
said of that instant in his life. "It changed everything."
It's not that he doesn't still fight the
"shoulds," he added, "but I know
there is an answer, and Jesus is that answer. I never turned away after
that, and even through rough times I've always known that Jesus is my
Savior."
continue...
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SCC
Support Group
A new kind of small group is beginning this fall for
adults attending SCC. It is for people who are struggling with
daily life stressors to come together with others who are struggling
and to share and support each other through the power of
the Holy Spirit. It is for the people of SCC to feel and to
really know that they are not alone, that they are loved and
can find support through their church and in God, no
matter what they are going through.
- This support group could help people struggling
with loss and grief, unemployment, relationship difficulties,
addictions, aging parents, raising teenagers, depression,
anxiety, etc...
- People can come to as many groups as they want
or when they feel the need.
- Confidential, safe, supportive atmosphere.
- One male and one female leader.
- Wednesday evening from 7:00-8:30 at the church
office.
Find out more about the group at GroupLink
on Sunday, Sept. 12th. For more information contact Pat Orme at 410-1931 and leave a message.
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Summer
Office
Hours
Mon:8am-12pm
Tues:8:30am-3:30pm
Wed:8:30am-3:30pm
Thurs:8:30am-3:30pm
Get the Message on the Web
Now you can
listen to, download or read each week's message on the web. Go to SCC and click
on message. Then just choose your preferred way of enjoying the
message. You can get the message as a podcast now, also through
iTunes (search: Sycamore
Creek Church).
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John Miller
continued...
John went to college intending to be a teacher, and in fact
taught school for a year, "but it wasn't for me." He then went
to work for GM in payroll, which is where his current career was born
even though the GM job itself wasn't a great experience for him. He went
on to work first for a credit union and finally to his current job at
Capitol Bankcorp, where he's the reconcilement
team lead.
But anyone who knows John would understand his true life's
dream: to own a comic book store. To say he's a comic book collector is
something of an understatement - he owns 30,000 of them.
"I'm weird," he said, laughing. "I'm 55 and I
collect comics." He's also contemplated writing a book in the Dave
Barry vein.
That sense of humor led him for a time, at least - it just
may happen again someday, he said - to occasionally show up on a Sunday
at SCC as Stanley Sycamore, a character in skits that help people see
what the church is all about. "He's like Gilligan for this
church," John said. "He tries to do the right thing." And
for Stanley
to have been part of services on occasion is part and parcel of SCC's idea, as John put it, "that church isn't
required to be boring to be spiritual."
John also brings his monetary skills to church on Sundays,
helping count the offering as a member of the finance team.
Above all, he said, whether it's as a financial-team person
or as Stanley Sycamore, he just wants to serve in the best way he can.
"It's not about me," he said. "It's about God. I'm just
trying to be the vehicle."
To him, SCC is "a place where people can find a
challenge, to be challenged to grow," he said. "As a church,
we've really strived to not worry how people come. Come however you are,
because you're welcomed however you are, and search for God."
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Fall
Preview
Peace,
Friends!
What does your fall season look like? Back to school. Fall garden harvest. Autumn color tour. Pumpkin patch. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Winter vacation. New Years.
We've been planning ahead here at SCC preparing for a
great fall season. Consider this
newsletter your Fall Preview
Edition. I'm going to give
you a sneak peek at what great series and more are in store for you and
your friends this fall.
Fall Kick-off:
3 Simple Rules
Just like back-to-school, fall is the busy season at any
church. In September we'll begin
a new four-part series called 3 Simple Rules that will be church-wide
and include small groups.
Wouldn't it be great if following Jesus could be as elementary
as 3 simple rules? Well, the
rules are simple, but following them isn't always simple. Our big kick-off begins on September
12th. Kids Creek and StuREV will shift back into full gear for a full
ministry schedule with our children and youth. As well, GroupLink
will be offered and will give you an opportunity to find the perfect
small group to help you live out these 3 simple rules. Plan on attending worship and joining
a small group for this back-to-school elementary 3 Simple Rules series.
continued below...
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Spiritual
Retreat
Jesus regularly took time away from his busy schedule to
go into the country or wilderness and spend time in prayer. Are you in need of a similar spiritual
retreat? If so, join Pastor Tom as he leads a one-day spiritual retreat
(silence, prayer, scripture, conversation, reflection, rest,
recreation) on Thursday, September 23rd at the Leaven Retreat Center in
Lyons, MI(45 minutes from Lansing). The Leaven
Retreat Center
sits along the Grand River and looks
over rolling farm-land. The cost will be $35 for the day and will
include a guide to prayer book that we will be using. Bring your own
sack lunch. We will carpool from the office at 8:30am and be back by
5pm. Space is limited to 8 people. If you'd like to sign-up, call
(394-6100) or email the office (office@sycamorecreekchurch.org) and turn in your $35 no
later than Sunday, September 12th. Scholarships are available.
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 unSeries
Welcome to the unSeries. A series unlike any other. A series of no
series. Each week a series unto itself. The unSeries...August,
2010.
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 3 Simple Rules
Are
you the kind of person who doesn't like rules? Most of us
don't. But there are some good rules that keep us spiritually
alive. They're as basic as the rules you learned to stay safe and
happy in elementary school. During the month of September we'll
be looking at three simple rules for your spiritual life:
September
5 - 3 Rules?
September
12 - Avoid Harm
September
19 - Do Good
September
26 - Stay in Love with God
Along
with this series of messages, small groups will be meeting to encourage
one another to follow these three simple rules. Imagine a world
where people avoided harming one another, did good
to one another, and found the strength to do both by staying in love
with God. When a community of people really lives into them,
these three simple rules have the power to change the world!
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Kid's
Creek
 Summer
Help Is Needed
During
the summer Kid's Creek looks for volunteers to help out. This
gives the teachers and assistants a well deserved break. Please
consider 1 hour of your summer to help minister to our children. Just
show-up & serve. If you are interested in helping out on one or
more Sundays during the summer contact Julie
Soltis at 394-6100 or email. The dates available are Aug 22, and Aug
29. Please give Julie the following information; name,
phone, email and possible dates. Julie will then contact you with more
information.
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Care for SCC
We've all been there. Life happens so quickly in both
happy and challenging ways and sometimes we all could use a little
extra care. It might be amid the joy of a new baby or the
stressful times of an illness.
One of the ways the family of Sycamore Creek
Church ministers
to and cares for one another during these often hectic times is by
preparing and delivering a meal to someone in need of a little extra
help.
We
could use more people who would be willing to be called upon to provide
a meal for someone within SCC's community. The details for the need come to you in an
e-mail and then if you are able to fill the need,
you simply sign up to do so. If you would be willing to help out
with an occasional meal for one of our own SCC family, please
contact Susan Bigger at 394-6100
for more information.
"Dear children, let's not merely say that we
love each other; let us show the truth by our actions." (1 John 3:18 NLT)
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Missions
Report
from Dr. Mir's Church
Hello to all members of the church CICOMORO and especially
to the church sponsors and the children's eating room of our church
here in Nicaragua.
I apologize for not writing in time for the July report. So, to
continue with the report now:
-Children are persevering in the Bible School and have very good grades
-The mother of some of the children we help here had surgery for
a tumor in the head of the femur and pelvis; thank God for you
for helping save her life as she is doing well.
-With reference to the dining room on Sunday, we are providing cereal
and milk three times a week your food; I want to inform you that the
need for food in our country is becoming more difficult, but thanks to
GOD and YOU, these children do not suffer. Thank you very much for the
blessing you give to our children. Please know that GOD WILL BLESS you all and REWARD you all RICHLY AND
ABUNDANTLY!!!!!!!!!WITH LOVE , Pastora y Dra. Mirtila
Great Food for All
Great Food For All is a ministry that provides very affordable
food boxes for families of all incomes. This ministry of our
church is shifting it's communication
strategy. Deo & Darlene Wells will now be emailling
each month that month's GFFA menu to everyone who has ordered a box in
the past. If you would like to be added to that list, please email them. They willl no longer be handing out menues on Sunday morning unless you specifically
ask for one. You may also order boxes online at www.greatfoodforall.com.
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Fall Preview
continued from above...
Capital Campaign: 20 Years Deep
During the month of October
and November we're going to be wading into an exciting new adventure
for Sycamore Creek Church: our first capital campaign, 20 Years Deep: A Campaign to
Celebrate 10 and Plan for 10.
The planning for this campaign is just beginning, so I don't
have a lot of information to give you, but the goal of the campaign is
to put SCC in a good place to own a building three years from now! One of the exciting parts of this
campaign will be the celebration of our 10-year anniversary on November
7th. Watch for more
info coming soon.
Four Elements of Worship
Remember the periodic table
of the elements? Or perhaps
you'd like to forget that week of chemistry class! While you may or may not know all the
elements, you've probably heard of at least four: carbon, hydrogen,
copper, and lithium. Going into
December we'll be rediscovering these four elements and the help they
give us in understanding four character traits of God: glory, holiness,
mercy, and love. Worship happens
most fully when the community gathers to encounter these character
traits of God and respond with everything they've got (heart, mind,
soul, strength).
That brings us up to Christmas, but I'll keep you in
anticipation for what the Christmas series is going to be. I hope to see you in worship as we
learn three simple rules for following Jesus, celebrate 10 years and
plan for 10, and encounter the four elements of worship. Don't forget to bring a friend!
Peace,
Tom
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