the

PAST AND PRESENT COPIES OF THE FELLOWSHIP NEWS MAY BE VIEWED AT

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Bixby Knolls Christian Church, (Disciples of Christ) (562) 426-0428
ISSUE 21

OCTOBER 13, 2015

Dear Church,
There are times when
I feel that I have no idea
what Im doing. Who am
I, I think, that I should be
the one to do this?
It happened recently
at Dorothy Volkers funeral. Actually, it happens
at many funerals I officiate.
Before the service starts, as
I look out at the gathered
congregation family and
friends of the one who has
died I think, Who am I
to speak a word of comfort
to these people, and to
talk about things like life,
death, and life after death,
when I myself have so
many more questions than
answers
about
such
things?
It happened again the
very next day As I stood
up to preach at our combined World Communion
worship service, and began
sharing my reflections on
Jesuss teachings about
divorce, I thought, Who
am I to share just a few
words on such a complex
topic? How can I adequately explain what I
mean what I think Jesus
means concerning the
pain of broken relationships and the hope for reconciliation?
Sometimes it really
does amaze me that that
people attending a funeral

really do find comfort from

my words, or that those
who hear me preach find
inspiration and meaning.
It just means that, somehow, Gods Spirit
worked
through me (or
perhaps around
me) to reach those
who needed to hear a particular message that day.
Without Gods Spirit I
would never be able to do
what I do, because without
the Spirit, Im just me.
We are all ministers of
the gospel. That doesnt
mean we all need to be
like one of the heroes from
the Bible, or one of the
holy saints of church history although even they
were all flawed and imperfect. It just means that we
allow the Spirit to work
through us in all we do,
every task, every word at
home, at work, and in our
community.
How is Gods Spirit
working through you?
How is God calling you to
be a minister of the gospel
at Bixby Knolls Christian
Church?
With Gods Spirit in
you, you can do far more
than you imagine.
Blessings,
Pastor Danny

Im so glad I live in a world

where there are Octobers.
L.M. Montgomery,
in Anne of Green Gables

Who am I
Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
fluttering from the autumn tree.
Emily Bront

BKCC Budget Update

For the past several years, Bixby Knolls Christian
Church has been operating with a deficit. The
budget approved by the congregation anticipated
a budget deficit, and a budget deficit is what
weve had.
The good news is that, for the past several years,
the deficit has been shrinking. Financially, we are
moving in the right direction, getting closer each
year to a balanced budget.
However, even with these positive signs, the deficit remains. As a result, the church board voted
Oct. 11 to transfer $18,000 out of our permanent
funds so that the church is able to continue meeting its expenses.
Details of this and all board actions can be found
in the board minutes, which are posted in the fellowship hall.
It is clear that many good things are happening at
Bixby Knolls Christian Church. Nevertheless, it
does cost money to run a ministry such as ours.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the
ministry we share, and the pledges you have
made the year to come. 2016 will mark the 70th
anniversary of BKCCs ministry, and with your continued generosity and the guidance of Gods
Spirit, there will be many more years to come.

This Sunday is Scrip order day--October 18th. The

Helen Tedesco

new updated list of gift cards available to order is

Sarah Stolze

posted on the Scrip bulletin board in the Fellow-

Phil OLaughlin

ship Hall.

Sumbal Sardar

If you are planning for your holiday

Keri Clark (daughter of M. Lanz)

gifts and shopping, you can pick up a copy of

Hattie Johnson

the new list so you can plan ahead for what you
want. We will be ordering again on November
15th and a least one more time in December in
plenty of time for Christmas.

Remember the

Grace Kobel
Porter Family, Ruthie Atkin (friends of B. Smith)
Nargis & family in Pakistan (family of Sumbal Sardar)
Keri France (family of A. Hillig)

Scrip program as you plan for your holiday spend-

Venus (friend of A. Hillig)

ing. Gift cards make great gifts, and for shopping

at your favorite stores and restaurants, they are
safer then credit cards.
This month we earn extra 5% on California Pizza
Kitchen cards for total of 13%!

A Note From a Friend Hello from the Solans in Buckeye, we are doing well,
my foot surgery is great, still battling my knees but we
are putting off surgery again at doctors request. We
are in our cooler time 90's and 70's at night. Looking
forward to Robbie and Gayle birthdays in a few
weeks and getting ready for Christmas, been shopping
and planning to take all to Reno in Nov. Thanksgiving.

Gods highly valued investment

Prayers for all who need them and have great holidays.
Love Marcia

Someone once asked IBM founder Thomas

Watson if he would fire an employee who made a

Veterans Day - Thanksgiving - Christmas

mistake that cost the company $60,000. To the

Remember our veterans and send a card

questioners surprise, Watson replied, Why would

In the coming months, we have 3 holidays that we

I fire someone in whom Ive invested $60,000 in

share with our veterans at the VA hospital. Sun-

training?

day, Nov 8th is the deadline for Veterans Day

Neither will God fire or in any way dis-

thank you cards.

Sunday, Nov 22nd is the

miss us for our mistakes and failures. He has in-

deadline for Thanksgiving cards and Sunday, Dec

vested far too much even his own Sons life!

13th is the deadline for Christmas cards. A box

in each of us for that.

will be in the narthex for the cards. Sign your first

Dont hold back for fear of failure. Serve

name, name of our church. You can include a per-

the Lord boldly. Try something new for the sake of

sonal greeting if you want. Rememberdo not

the Gospel, and when you make a mistake, bring it

seal the envelope. Our cards are very much ap-

honestly to God in prayer. Be open to the Holy

preciated by our veterans.

Spirit, who provides continuing education in

Scripture, through other Christians and by connecting directly with your heart to improve
your skills and gifts every day.

Appreciative Inquiry Event

In order to become spiritually connected, inspired, transformed some Native Americans go to their sweat lodges,
yogis will do hot yoga, and this past Saturday we here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church used room 115. Approximately 25 of us, teens 80 years +, joined together to work through a day of Appreciative Inquiry. We successfully
engaged in a process that put our most positive, life-affirming experiences to work in order to continue in transforming and revitalizing our church. Despite the heat and a lot of sweat there was a lot of laughter, inspiration, and
most importantly three plans of action that we have chosen to take on for the next three to six months.
We started our time simply answering and sharing the question, Tell me a story of when you experienced connection at BKCC. What made it a life giving experience? Who was involve? Then with our partners we took a
deeper look at our answers focusing on how each others stories impacted and compelled us, seemed to be the
most life-giving, and what particularly creative and/or innovative.
From our partnerships we then shared our discoveries in small groups. With these stories and discoveries in mind
we started listing ideas as a group that stood out. Finding the common threads we realized and wrote down a few
sentences best describing what we had uncovered so far. We shared once again from our small groups.
Based on our small group findings we worked to create a Life Statement for the church. This is not a Mission Statement, but a statement that reflects on who we are right now as a church. The small groups came up with three
choices and by overwhelming vote and with some large group editing, this is what was chosen
BKCC is a welcoming and loving family that accepts all, nurtures and mentors each persons God-song, (ie passion) in order to worship and serve, God and our community.
We were then asked what do we do now? Here is our list Improv for God, provide food for passers-by, worship
and wonder, youth program, greeters, fellowship/coffee hour after worship, open communion, visitor friendly bulletin, care and support of people dealing with life changes, scholarships for youth and college students, youth praise
team, litter pick up for the neighborhood, cooking for/ feeding the homeless, prayer circle, donations of food to local community center, open and affirming. This what was written down and does not include all of the other things
we thought of after seeing the list. One of the participants said they felt encouraged to see all that is going on.
Once again we broke into small groups and were asked the best, most important and inspiring question of the day,
What do we want more of? The groups came up with and shared some amazing ideas, but we were each asked to
choose only one. We had to choose the idea that spoke to us the most. Gave us the most energy. Was the most
inspirational. These are the final three
1. Increase the visibility and participation of a. what is currently done to help those in need including - cooking for the homeless; providing food for
the homeless; collecting clothing, supplies, and other goods for COIA; Christmas toys for Eastmonts
childrens party; etc
b. Prayer Circle
2. Youth led worship service
3. Connecting with shut-ins via cards, phone calls, visits.
We had a wonderful experience sharing our stories and seeing them come to a call to action. Now filled with
our spiritual energy we leave Room 115 and are ready to transform. Of our three options what calls out to you?
What will you be ready to say yes to? Be ready for seeing, feeling, and doing something that is your Godsong, that
feeds your passion.

Help cook food for Christian

Outreach in Action (COA).
Every 2nd Thursday at 8:00 a.m.
in our church kitchen.

Check us out on Facebook

www.facebook.com/bixbyknollschurch
website:
www.bixbyknollschurch.blogspot.com

Our prayer circle meets every

2nd and 4th Tuesday at 10:00
a.m. in room 115. Join this
dedicated group in praying
for our church, community, &
world.

The Fellowship News

A publication of
Bixby Knolls Christian Church of
Long Beach (a Disciples of Christ
Church)
1240 E. Carson Street
Long Beach, CA 90807
www.bixbyknollschurch.org
Editor:
Monica Lanz
562-426-0428
bkcchurch@aol.com
fax 562-426-0429

Our next litter pickup is Oct. 25

at 11:45 a.m. Help pick up litter
in Somerset Park and along
our neighborhood sidewalks &
gutters.

Pastor:
Daniel Bradfield
The Fellowship News is published
twice monthly.

Wednesday Night Dinners are

back! Join us each week at
6pm for a simple yet hearty
pay-what-you-can meal.

Submit your articles for

the next newsletter by

October 25

Bixby Knolls Vision Statement

To know what the Lord requires of us;
to do justice, and love kindness,
and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8)
BIXBY KNOLLS
CHRISTIAN CHURCH

(Disciples of Christ)

SUNDAY SCHEDULE:
9:00 a.m. Sunday School for Adults
10:15 a.m. Morning Worship and Childrens Church
OFFICE HOURS:
Monday - Thursday 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Friday closed

CHURCH STAFF:

BOARD OFFICERS:
Leo Dittemore
Pastor Daniel Bradfield
-Board President
-Minister
Scheri Dubon
Monica Lanz
-Vice President
-Church Secretary
Pat Cohen
Barbara Neal-Peebles
-Secretary
-Music Director/Organist Angela Hillig
Suzie Romero
- Treasurer
- Custodian
Chrysan Naw
- Financial Secretary
-Church Clerk