Newsletter of Hamilton Bible Fellowship
August 2005
Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Psalm 127:1a
What does the opening phrase of this Psalm of divine blessing mean? It might conjure up images of God somehow making construction happen while we stand and watch the progress. But actually it does picture laborers working - yet, with purpose. So, perhaps the Lord’s "building" is not to be taken literally; rather it has to do with his giving purpose in the process. He thus "blesses" it. Certainly that is happening with our project. We have been very deliberate and careful, taking the time to think many things through. Some of that has been circumstantial, as we did not have funding to move any faster. But God certainly used that time to clarify his purposes.
We are now steadily moving forward. We have signed the papers for the loan from Alliance bank, successfully working with them to minimize closing costs. We were able to secure the $90,000 (maximum) line of credit for a fixed rate of 6.6% (for the full 15 year term). Thanks go to Ron Cleveland at the bank, and Paul Noyes who did legal work for us at no charge! I also want to thank Jim Andrews for continuing to take charge of organizing and superintending the work on the jobsite. Many of you have already contributed time and talent, and that will continue.
HBF has survived, and at times thrived, despite the handicaps of meeting times and places. Those will be removed soon. Our decision not to participate in joint services this summer was made for the right reason: that we maintain our distinctives. Churches have different models for doing worship and ministry: experiential models, entertainment models, traditional models. Ours is a reflective model, at the core: we encourage reading, teaching, and thinking about the content of the Scriptures, in a comprehensive way. The Hamilton area needs a church with that distinction - it needs HBF. We just need to make our fellowship more accessible and attractive.
We have a lot to do, and not just to complete the building. Having the building finished won’t solve everything. We need to think about ways to make our model, our ministry, our fellowship more effective. That is an ongoing process - and one with purpose. Thanks to all who have and will continue to participate in it!
NEWS AND PRAYER UPDATE:
Continue to pray for the building project - for safety and efficiency on the site. And praise God for all the fill and site work coming from the Colgate project!
Pray as students return to Colgate, and for students going off to college: Jordan Cox, Meghan Pils, Meghan & Colleen Schindler, Steven Shen, Spence Smith, Keiko Yoshino.
Jean Deiter’s brother, Don Moreland, went to be with the Lord at the end of July. He was a career pastor and missionary, who preached at HBF in the late ‘80's. It was great to be with the extended family at his committal outside of Oneonta.
Pray specifically for: Norm’s job situation, Frank’s job situation, Geoff & Lori’s house search and wedding preparations in NJ, Carolyn’s book, Barb Schindler’s brother George
THE QUOTE CORNER
The church always defaces itself, it always denies God
when it seeks to set itself apart from the world in which
it exists; when it makes itself a place of refuge, a citadel
with high walls inside of which people can hide; when it
shuts doors to close out any part of the life of people outside.
Franklin Clark Fry
COMING EVENTS CALENDAR:
Sunday Schedule for August:
7th: Normal HBF Service, 9:00 AM
14th: Putter will be out of town at a wedding. We encourage you to attend the joint service (Park Methodist & First Baptist) at PUMC, 10:00 AM, or to worship somewhere else.
21st: Amber Nelson will be sharing about her summer ministry with IVCF students in New York City during HBF’s service, 9:00 AM
28th: Joint service with PUMC and First Baptist to kick off the Fall semester, 10:00AM at PUMC. There will be a potluck picnic following the service, with all three congregations.
Beginning Sunday September 4th, we will be back to our normal fall schedule.
Tentative (final) Church Bulletin Night at Syracuse Skychiefs: Monday, August 29th.
Birthdays: 2 Sarah Hubbard; 10 Sam Hubbard; 17 Linda Hoisington; 23 Elizabeth Hodge; 31 Keslie Nolen