All is well here.  We have finished three cow barns.  Everyone is healthy. The children in the schools send their greetings and thanks for your support.  Wait until you hear the letters they have written you.  They are so grateful to you all.  The dresses and shorts made the guardians and teachers cry as we distributed them.  You have all helped make a tremendous difference in the lives of these children.  See you soon!

Teri

Kenya Mission Page

Dairy Stalls/Barn built with help from Northminster (Photo by Emily Keesling)

A group of the Umoja children with their new dresses after a home visit from Northminster. (Photo by Emily Keesling)

BY REV. DR. TERI THOMAS

This summer is going to be a time of comings and goings here at Northminster. Once again we are sending a group of members to Montreat for the annual Music and Worship Conference. This event appeals to people of all ages and the group always returns inspired with new ideas for our worship and music at Northminster.

Be sure to take time this month to meet J.C.. Blankenbeker, our summer intern from Louisville. We are thrilled to have him with us through the month of August. We will say hello and goodbye to our intern from Duke Divinity School in June. Cameron Virjee arrives for a week and then leaves for his seven week stay with the Umoja proj- ect in Kenya. He will return at the end of July and be with us for two weeks.

June 27th I will leave with 19 other folks for Kisumu, Kenya. We will deliver all the beautiful dresses and shorts you made to the Lakeside Orphanage. Then we will work at two elementary schools building structures to serve as lunch rooms and classrooms. Some of us will be building, painting, wiring, and roofing while others keep the children out of the way with songs, games and practicing English. We will also visit our intern, Cameron.

Pastor Ruth continues her renewal leave this month. She and her family will be enjoying some beach time. You can keep up with her on the map in the Gathering Place or on her Blog. Go to the church web site and look under programs. She has regular posts and lots of photos. Be sure to look for Flat Ruth.

In July we are sending a group of our young people to the Youth Triennium of the Presbyterian Church USA. Young people from across the country will gather at Purdue for this event. This will be an amazing experience for our youth.

Many of you will be traveling on vacation, weekends at the lake, business trips and more. We do hope you will join us when you are in town for worship. Your presence here makes a difference. When you are gone you can always join us on the web at 11:00 via video streaming. You can actually see the entire service, print out a bulletin, and make your donation through e-giving! Have a great summer and I’ll see you in church!

Blessings,

Teri

Can you tell me about it?  Where, when, who?  What did you give?  Time?  Money?  A hand?  A visit?  A gift?  And what did you receive back?  Love?  A warm feeling?  The presence of God?  A thank you?  A changed perspective?

We do not give for the purpose of receiving.  But we do know that it is frequently an added blassing.  Tell me your story.

Access to afforable health care is not simply a political issue.  It is a religious issue as well.  There are some interesting articles on it at this web site-

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/27/a-health-care-judas-recounts-his-conversion/

Check it out.

You know Jesus was really into healing and he believed everyone should be entitled to it.  This Sunday we will have anointing for wholeness and healing in worship at both 9 and 11. Join us.

John 20:19–31

“Peace be with you.”

In this story, Jesus appears to the disciples when they

are locked away in fear and breathes upon them with a

word of peace and empowerment. Think of the last time

someone calmed and empowered you. When have you

done the same for someone else? Make it your mission

this week to look for occasions to breathe peace into a

situation of fear. 

John 20:1–18

“I have seen the Lord.”

Mark 16:1–8

“...they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid.”

In this year, we have two gospels stories of the Resurrection from which to choose. In John’s gospel, Mary Magdalene has an encounter with the risen Christ. In Mark,

the women see the empty tomb and are told by “a young

man, dressed in a white robe” that they will see Jesus in

Galilee. In John, Mary announces what she has seen; and

in Mark, the women run away in fear. Read both stories

side by side and simply reflect on the differences. What

is your own Easter experience like?  

Mark 11:1–11

“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of

the Lord!”

What does it mean to come in someone else’s name? think

about the various responsibilities you have throughout

the week; in whose name do you come in each of them?

How might it change what you do or how you approach

what you do if you understood yourself to be coming into

each situation in the name of God?

Jeremiah 31:31–34

“I will write it on their hearts.”

What has God written on your heart? Make a list of what

you hold most dear. Cut out a heart shape on a piece of

paper – it doesn’t have to be very big. Write a favourite

quote, a word of encouragement, something you love on it

and find a public place to put it. Leave it at a coffee shop,

post it on the bulletin board at work, put it in a book your

loved one is reading for them to discover. 

Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22

“O give thanks to God, for God is good.”

Spend an entire day being thankful for everything that happens, no matter what happens.

Take a digital camera with you throughout your day, take pictures of moments

of gratitude, and post them to Facebook with your reflections on what it was like to

be intentionally thankful throughout the day. 

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my

heart be acceptable to you, O God.”

It is so easy to just fire off an email or Facebook update or

Twitter “tweet” or text message without thinking much

about it. Challenge yourself to be more mindful of your

words in these contexts this week. Take a deep breath

before you respond to anything and make space in your

heart before you start typing or texting. Notice how this

mindfulness affects your sense of connection to others.