THE KEMPTONNEWCHURCHNEWSLETTER – July 2017 page1
CIVIL FREEDOM AS A BASIS FOR SPIRITUAL FREEDOM
Happy is the nation whose God is Jehovah,
The people He has chosen for an inheritance for Himself. Psalm 33:12
The more excellent of the English nation are in the center of all Christians…. The reason why they are in the center is because they have interior intellectual light. This is not apparent to anyone in the natural world, but it is conspicuous in the spiritual world. They derive this light from the liberty of thinking, and thence of speaking and writing, in which they are. With others, who are not in such liberty, intellectual light is darkened because it has no outlet. Continuation About the Last Judgment 40
PASTOR’S NOTES
Civil and Spiritual Freedom: One of the wonderful things the Lord accomplished at His second coming was to restore spiritual freedom. He reopened the way for the light and warmth of heaven to flow down through the world of spirits to people on earth. This light and warmth had been nearly cut off with the collapse of the first Christian Church. But now, if we want to, we can be inspired to see the truth about the Lord, the life of charity and eternal life, and be inspired to live by these truths. (See Last Judgment no. 73-74.)
It seems clear that in this way, the Lord prepared the way for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Just as the Lord’s restoration of spiritual freedom prepared the way for a new model of civil freedom on earth, in turn, good civil freedom provides an essential foundation for the exercise of spiritual freedom, the freedom to see what is true and love what is good, and do it. Therefore it is the responsibility of citizens to guard the civil liberty and order of their country from external and internal enemies. Just as in our spiritual life, freedom means people can abuse instead of making good use of the opportunities the Lord has provided us, so in civil life, too, freedom will erode over time unless we work thoughtfully and diligently to protect it. As Benjamin Franklin said, we have a republic—if we can keep it.
The first duty of every citizen, then, is to shun evils as sins against the Lord, so that he or she is not undermining civil freedom and order. The second duty is to do our daily responsibilities and maintain our relationships with justice and faithfulness, so that we contribute to the common good. And we have the further duty to think about and discuss the trends of our day to see how they enhance or erode civil freedom, including the free exercise of religion, and to take part in the civil life of our country. In this way, we will serve the Lord’s kingdom both in this world and forever in heaven.
A Woods Service and an Adult Evening Servicewill take place on the last Sundays of the next three months: July 30 (Holy Supper in the evening), August 27 and September 24. If it rains, the woods services will be held inside. Directions to the woods: Park at the church, cross the street, and walk down the lane, following the signs. There is also parking in a field at the end of the lane, on the right, for those who prefer not to walk. The adult evening services are for those who love the peacefulness of the evening, or who prefer not to worship in the woods.
WORSHIP
Sunday, July 2, 10:00A.M. Combined Service. Supervising children during the sermon: Seth and Heather King. Usher/Setup: Thos Powell
Sunday, July 9, 9:00 A.M. Young Child’s Service. Setup:Justin and Anndwyn Hendricks
10:00 A.M. Family Service.
Usher/Setup: Christopher Judson
Sunday, July 16, 10:00 A.M. Combined Service. Supervising children during the sermon: Justin and Anndwyn. Usher/Setup: Roger Schrock
Sunday, July 23, 10:00 A.M. Family Service. Usher/setup: Roger Schrock
Sunday, July 30, 10:00 A.M. Woods Family Service.Usher/setup: Owen King
7:00 P.M. Holy Supper Service. Usher/Setup: Bengt Boyesen
EVENTS/CLASSES
Every Wednesday, 9:00 A.M. Weeding
Tuesday, July 4, Please Join Us to Celebrate the 4th of July. Parade starts at 10:00 a.m. Parade participants should gather in the ski hill parking lot. There will be speeches, entertainment, races, and swimming. Bring your own picnic for lunch, and don’t forget that potluck dessert to share! And please watch your own children at the pond.
– Steve and Janis King
Tuesday, July 11, 7:30 P.M. Board meeting. Library
Wednesday, July 12, 7:30 P.M. Lawson and Brett will give a report on the recent Council of the Clergy meetings. Library
Tuesday, July 18, 9:30 A.M. Spirits and Men class.Pages 20-30. Lawson’s office
CONTRIBUTIONS
Dear Friends and Members of the Kempton Society,
Another fiscal year is behind us and we look forward to this “new year” and all of the blessings the Lord has in store for us.Your support is appreciated and is indeed necessary to maintain the uses that we hold dear.Please consider making regular contributions to the church so that she may continue serving the people of Kempton.
Thank You!
The Contributions Committee
ANNOUNCEMENTS
We Are Thinking So Warmly of Wellesley Hosheanna Cole, infant daughter of Dandridge and Tamar. She was baptized, “enrolled and numbered in heaven,” on Saturday, June 24. May the Lordguide and bless her always.
No Family Soccer on Sunday afternoons, until further notice. – Jordan Cooper
Seeking Shelter: We are searching for a place to rent in the greaterKempton area with the hope of moving some of our stuff in September.Whether it be for a small apartment or a little home for rent, any leads wouldbe greatly appreciated. You can contact me at 484-280-7571.
Thanks – Kenan (and Kathleen)
Happy Settling In to Justin and Anndwyn Hendricks. New address: 129 Bailey Rd., Kempton.
Penn and Leesa Cooper will be living in Kempton full time by early August. Direct all mail, now, to 109 Gun Club Rd., Kempton, and use Leesa’s cell number to contact them by phone. 610-850-2558
Live Music: The one and onlyReade McCardell and I will join forces on Friday, July 7, to perform at the StonyRunInnBeerGarden. 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. – [the one and only] Stephanie Eden. [Reservations are recommended. 610-756-4433]
Many Thanks to those who involved themselves in the highly successful Kempton Fair. It was a great event, which will be repeated next year. – Tom Kerr
Opportunity to Volunteer: If you are seeking some modestly demanding physical volunteer work, interior demolition activities are beginning at The Old Schoolhouse.Contact Tom Kerr (610-756-4376 or tjkerr3@gmail) for information.
Maiden Creek Beef is now offering quarters of Angus beef! If you are interested in only half of a quarter, that can be arranged. We butcher everymonth and are only a phone call away. A quarter of a cow is about 100 lbs. of meat at $574. A quarter of this amount of quality of beef at the grocery store (Wegmans in particular) costs about $650 to $750. Call me for details (484-375-4406) or visit our website at
Thanks – Kelsie Odhner
25% Off Chris and Heather Smith's Seriously Free Range Hens' Eggs.Veggies available too. 756-4050.
Eggs No Longer Available.
Thank you – Susan Henriques
Sower’s Chapel Four-Person Golf Scramble Fundraiser: Saturday, September 2, 2:00 P.M. start. Birdsfoot Golf Club in Freeport, Penna. Proceeds benefit the Freeport Meals on Wheels, the Cabot Food Bank, and "Nouvelle Eglise Chretienne de Cote d’Ivoire" in Ivory Coast, West Africa. To register or donate go to
WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES
There is a conjunction of good and truth in each and all created things. But there is no conjunction unless it is reciprocal, for conjunction on the part of one and not in turn on the part of the other is of itself dissolved….It follows that there is… truth from good, and…good from truth.… Truth from good is in the male and is the very masculine, and… good from truth is in the female and is the very feminine; and there is a conjugial union between these two. Conjugial Love 61
Congratulations and Best Wishes to:
Ken and Ingrid Klicker
on the 7th – 34 years
John and Alexandra Cole
on the 7th – 10 years
Matt and Daelen Saltzer
on the 12th – 9 years
Brandon and Char Jungé
on the 16th – 34 years
Anders and Juliet Smith
on the 18th – 2 years
Thaddeus and Kaemmerle Glenn
on the 20th – 15 years
* * * * * * *
A BIT MORE
Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have. – Harry Emerson Fosdic
In childhood the daylight always fails too soon—except when there are goingto be fireworks; and then the sun dawdles intolerably on the threshold like a tedious guest. – Jan Struther, Mrs. Miniver
One benefit of summer was that each day we had more light to read by. – Jeannette Walls
Summer was on the way; Jem and I awaited it with impatience. Summer was ourbest season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or tryingto sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was athousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill. – Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Day’s End
Night is come
Owls are out;
Beetles hum
Round about.
Children snore
Safe in bed;
Nothing more
Need be said.
– Henry Newbolt
My Plan
When I’m a little older
I plan to buy a boat,
And up and down the river
The two of us will float.
I’ll have a little cabin
All painted white and red
With shutters for the window
And curtains for the bed.
I’ll have a little cookstove
On which to fry my fishes,
And all the Hudson River
In which to wash my dishes.
– Marchette Chute
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
– Wendell Berry
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
When Angels
When angels,
those past bright women
and men failed
to trust that dusk
precedes morning,
failed to feel safe
in their graceful lives,
failed to tell easily
what is beautiful
and what is less,
What could one
that held them all
in His concern
do but come
and be true in the Jordan,
true on the sea,
true speaking on the mountain,
saying, I give you beauty descending
in the foothills, onto the plains
and everything else
is that which falls away.
– Janna King