KEMPTON NEW CHURCH NEWSLETTER, May 2011 page 1
LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME
And they brought to Him little children, that He should touch them; and the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was indignant, and said to them, Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Amen, I say to you, whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter into it. And having taken them up in His arms and set His hands on them, He blessed them. Mark 10:13-16
Here, as also in other places in the Word, by infants are meant those who are in innocence. The reason why good is good according to the measure of the innocence within it is because all good is from the Lord, and innocence consists in being led by the Lord.
Conjugial Love 414
FROM THE PASTOR
Little Children: Our congregation is greatly blessed by the presence of little children and their sphere of innocence. We celebrated the birth of two little children in April. Parents who are willing to take on the responsibility of having and raising children can be responding in a wonderful way to the Lord’s command to the disciples, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them.”
In our culture there are many voices rebuking people for having children. Some say that having children is bad for the environment. Others point out how expensive it is to raise children and provide them with a good education, and how having to care for children greatly limits one’s lifestyle. But Jesus was indignant with such attitudes among His disciples. He pointed out that the only way to receive the kingdom of heaven is as a little child, that is, with innocence.
Parents receive from the Lord a love of protecting and supporting those who cannot protect and support themselves. The love of infants also brings a sphere of innocence and peace from the Lord. It flows into infants and through them into their parents and touches them. Meanwhile innocence and peace is also flowing directly into the souls of the parents and joining itself with the same sphere with the little children, and it is insinuated especially by touch, as the parents hold their little ones and care for them. As parents take their children into their arms, the Lord is taking the parents themselves into His arms, and putting His hands on them, and blessing them, as well as the little children.
The Lord describes innocence in Matthew 6:25-34: “I say to you, Do not be anxious for your soul, what you shall eat and what you shall drink; nor for your body what you shall put on. Is not the soul more than food and the body than raiment? …For your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Parents have a responsibility not only to have children but also to care for them, so they must be prudent in figuring out how they can provide for their children, including in the future. This is part of the love of infants. Such prudence can be a servant to the Lord and to the willingness to be led by Him, which is innocence.
We as a society greatly benefit from the presence of children, and we in turn can support parents. We can be a society that protects innocence. Parenting is difficult. Parents need our support. The Church is meant to be a spiritual mother. We act as a spiritual mother to each other by friendship and moral support, sharing ideas, meals on wheels, sharing childcare, and by contributions to make a spiritually-based education available to the children here.
The purpose of creation is that there may be a heaven from the human race. The Lord gives us the awesome opportunity to participate in this purpose, by letting little children be born, so that they can grow up and come to Him. And through the sometimes hard work of raising children, He gives us great blessings, both in this world and especially for eternal life. So we are very grateful to those who are raising children and have raised children. In some ways, support of this use is the purpose of the Kempton Society.
Doctrinal Class on May 4th will be on the meaning of the Rider on the White Horse: the Lord’s second coming in the spiritual sense of the Word.
Pastor’s Council in May will discuss how we can invite newcomers, including young adults, find ways to really join the Kempton Society if they wish; and a good process to make decisions about building projects.
New Church Day Celebration: On Sunday, June 19th, beginning at 5:00 p.m., we will have a worship service celebrating the Lord’s second coming. After the close of the service, New Church Day gifts and silver and golden wedding anniversary gifts will be presented, followed by a picnic with a potluck dessert table.
The New Church Day Pageant will be about Revelation 19: the bride making herself ready, and the Rider on the White Horse. It will include a person riding a white horse.
Society Meeting: Please come to the meeting to discuss reports from the pastor, treasurer, contributions chair, investments, and also further discussion of proposed building improvements.
Men’s Breakfast: We hope to have men’s breakfasts on the second Saturdays of every month, but May is too busy, so June 11th at 7:00 a.m. will be the next one. We will discuss a sermon on Civil Responsibility by Rev. Robert Jungé.
MAY WORSHIP
Sunday, May 1, 10:00 a.m. Sunday School Service. Setup: Brandon Jungé
Sunday, April 8th, 9:00a.m. Younger Children’s Service. Setup: Chris and Tabitha
10:00 A.M. Family Service. Setup: John Robertson
Sunday, May 15th, 10:00 a.m. Sunday School Service. Setup: Steve King
Sunday, May 22nd, 10:00 a.m.Family Service Setup: Gideon Alden
Sunday, May 29th, 10:00 A.M. Sunday School Service. Setup: Dandridge Cole
CLASSES
Monday, May 2nd, 7:30 p.m. Older High School class at Evanses’ on Doctrine of Life 67-91
Wednesday, May 4th, 7:30 p.m. Society Doctrinal Class at Roy Odhner’s
Thursday, May 12th, 10:00A.M. Morning Class at Mary Griffin’s
Tuesday, May 17th, 7:30 p.m. TCR at Sal and Joan Tuccio’s. Read TCR 429-462. TCR Reading Discussion Class: The readings for the class this month will be from TCR 429 to 462, with an emphasis on how to keep the desire for merit from entering charity (435-442), forming genuine friendships in charity (446-449, 454,455), and how to good can be done from the Lord, and yet with man doing as if of himself (461) and avoid the double talk of the two headed turtle (462).
Monday, May 16th, 7:30 p.m. All High School class at Schorran’s on Doctrine of Life 92-114
MEETINGS
Tuesday, May 10th, 7:30 P.M. Pastor’s Council at Christopher and Tabitha Judson’s
Thursday, May 19th, 7:30 P.M. Society Meeting
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Congratulations and Best Wishes to Matt and SheilaHeiter on the birth of their son, Trenton Kenneth Heiter,born on April 22, 2011, 9 lbs. 6 oz., 22½ inches long.
Congratulations and Best Wishes to Dandridgeand Tamar Cole on the birth of their son, born on April 26 at 7:00 p.m., weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz., 21 inches long. Name still to be decided.
Notice to Parents of Middle School Students: Please know that we have two history field trips planned for May: one on the 4th to Philadelphia for grades 7-8 and one on the 18th to Harrisburg for grades 7–10. Trips will leave after chapel and return around 4.00 p.m. Permission slips will follow when all the details are worked out. Thanks. – Barbara Karas
The last dayof Kindergarten will be Thursday, May 26th. – Gray Glenn
MAY ANNIVERSARIES
The marriage of good and truth in heaven is from the Lord; wherefore in the Word the Lord is called the "Bridegroom" and "Husband," while heaven and the church are called the "bride" and "wife;" and therefore heaven is compared to a marriage. Arcana Caelestia 10168
Congratulations and Best Wishes to:
Tom and Sandie Capparell
on the 1st – 19 years
Cade and Caelwen Cole
on the 1st – 12 years
Michael and Gail Short
on the 4th – 20 years
Peter and Roxanne Genzlinger
on the 6th – 10 years
Paul and Nina Schorran
on the 9th – 24 years
Penn and Leesa Cooper
on the 15th – 29 years
Arne and Emily Bau-Madsen
on the 17th – 41 years
Hugh and Janina Brown
on the 20th – 39 years
(Eyvind) and Marcia Boyesen
on the 22nd – 48 years
Roger and Kathy Schrock
on the 25th – 37 years
Sean and Mekenna Schrock
on the 29th – 1 year
* * * * * * *
ANNOUNCEMENTS, continued
Online Reading Program: During May and June you can receive daily readings by email from The Last Judgment.You are invited to join this reading program by signing up at
-- Rev. Patrick Rose
Box Tops for Education: General Mills Box Tops for Education has sent KNCS a check for $25.00.
This together with our fall check for $25.00 gives the library a total of $50.00 for the 2010-2011 school year with which to purchase books. Thank you for your continued support.
– Margaret Heinrichs
Memorial Day: There will be no school on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30th.
New Church Perspective:If you are not already familiar with New Church Perspective, check it out at newchurchperspective.com. It’s an online magazine that publishes weekly articles which you can subscribe to for free. If you are already familiar with the project, consider joining the team of volunteers who make it happen. Currently we are looking for someone to put in about 4 hours per month on the “Mixed Media” feature. This requires internet access, basic knowledge of computers and being organized. And we would love your help. – Brian Smith
The June-July-and-August Newsletter will go out the end of May. Please give me the items you would like to include by May 25th. Thank you. – Emily Smith,
ADVERTISEMENTS
Wanted to rent: Home or apartment in the Kempton area for two friendly adults, one cute baby, and one mannerly dog. Call Pearse or Taryn Frazier: 215-385-0015
Summer Work: Red Earth Farm is seeking a capable person willing to cook a big hot lunch 1-4 days a week for our crew. Interested? Apply to Charis or Michael Ahlert: 570-943-3460 or
Seasonal Vegetables and Flowers: We have plant starts for early spring vegetables at Wanamakers General Store, flower bouquets for any occasion, and CSA shares available. Check out our website for more information:
Thanks! – Charis
Kempton Lions Club Golf Scramble: Annual fundraiser for local Lions club, June 4th at 1 pm. Talk to any Lions club member if interested in playing or sponsoring a hole.
Diaper Call! Heath Synnestvedt will be delighted to receive several gently-used cloth diapers. He's looking for at least six each in two sizes: 18 mo. and 4 yrs. Please call his cell if you have any you would like to donate: 484-357-3101
JUNE EVENTS
Thursday, June 2nd, 10:00 A.M. KNCS closing
Sunday, June 19th, 5:00 p.m. New Church Day pageant, gifts and picnic
Thu. - Sun., June 23rd – 26th, General Church Assembly