Mt Zion Christian Church Newsletter-JUNE 2017
(Published in memory of Miss Lillian Sharpe)
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A Day for Father
Father's Day is linked to Christianity, in that it was founded to celebrate the ideals of fatherhood set forth in scripture.
The first widely-promoted Father's Day celebration of modern America was held in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910. (There was an observance 2 years earlier in Fairmont, West Virginia with little publicity.)
The Spokane event was the brain-child of Sonora Louise Smart Dodd. Mrs. Dodd envisioned an event focused in special religious services and involving small gifts as well as loving greetings from children to their fathers. She brought up the matter with her pastor and he communicated the idea to the local pastor's association. The mayor of the city and the governor of the state endorsed her concept and issued proclamations in support. The famed politician William Jennings Bryan weigh in with words of encouragement.
Mrs. Dodd dearly loved her father. When his wife died in childbirth, he was left with six children. Somehow he overcame the difficulties of rearing them while operating his farm. His devotion to his children sparked Louise's gratitude.
Father's Day was slow to catch on. What Louise had done was not even well known in her own state despite the governor's proclamation. The idea of honoring fathers with a special day was actually reinvented independently in several other places, each locality thinking it was starting something new. Curiously, circumstances led other founders to select the month of June. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson had endorsed the idea and in 1924 President Calvin Coolidge recommended national observance of the day "to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligation" and strengthen intimate ties between fathers and children.
Despite these presidential pronouncements, it was 1966 before President Johnson established the third Sunday in June as the date of the celebration. Even so, this was not made official until 1972 under President Nixon.
The ideals of fatherhood are strong in the Bible. Unlike the gods of other religions, the Christian God is portrayed as a loving Father. Christ described God as His own intimate Father and showed, in himself, what the Father was like. God gave His beloved Son for the salvation of the world. Consequently, wherever the Christian ideal has prospered, fatherhood has taken on deeper and more lyrical meaning. The tendor appeals of the apostles John and Paul to their "children" helped foster this attitude.
William Jackson Smart's self-sacrificing love for his children led to a national day of recognition for all fathers. We have a grateful daughter to thank for that.
by Dan Graves (christianity.com)
The father of a righteous
child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son
rejoices in him.
Proverbs 23:24 NIV
June 2017--Read the Bible through the year
Jun 1:Job 1-4 / Jun 16:Ps 17-20Jun 2:Job 5-7 / Jun 17:Ps 21-25
Jun 3:Job 8-10 / Jun 18:Ps 26-31
Jun 4:Job 11-13 / Jun 19:Ps 32-35
Jun 5:Job 14-16 / Jun 20:Ps 36-39
Jun 6:Job 17-20 / Jun 21:Ps 40-45
Jun 7:Job 21-23 / Jun 22:Ps 46-50
Jun 8:Job 24-28 / Jun 23:Ps 51-57
Jun 9:Job 29-31 / Jun 24:Ps 58-65
Jun 10:Job 32-34 / Jun 25:Ps 66-69
Jun 11:Job 35-37 / Jun 26:Ps 70-73
Jun 12:Job 38-39 / Jun 27:Ps 74-77
Jun 13:Job 40-42 / Jun 28:Ps 78-79
Jun 14:Ps 1-8 / Jun 29:Ps 80-85
Jun 15:Ps 9-16 / Jun 30:Ps 86-89
The Men's Prayer Breakfast was held on May 27th with 12 men attending. A delicious breakfast was enjoyed by all. The sick
in our church, our families and our community were remembered
in prayer. Those attending were: Jeff Kirby, Jim Stephenson,
Doug Atkins, Haywood Shue, Cecil Shue, Dean Shue, Jerry Lane,
Pete Enroughty, Gary Moran, Max Thompson, Asie Glasgow and
Pastor Rick.
Our next breakfast will be on June 24th.
Please come and joinus.
Jerry Lane
The Mt Zion Support Group met on May 3rd at Cracker Barrel. Seven attendees enjoyed a delicious lunch and great fellowship was enjoyed by all. Our next meeting will be on June 7th at La Fiesta in Mebane at 11:30am.
Please come and join us.
Libby Atkins