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NUMBER 2011-14 AUGUST 23, 2011

IN THIS ISSUE SUNDAY SCHOOL RETURNS! ~ NEWS & NOTES ~ CWF ~ and so much more..... Dear friends, Summer activities always keep me busy much busier than I anticipate at the beginning of each summer. Its amazing how things like General Assembly, Vacation Bible School, summer camp, and preparations for an outdoor concert on our patio can really throw a wrench into ones normal routine! Of course, I wouldnt change a thing. Ministry takes place in ways that are unique and special during the summer months. A few days ago, I returned from my last big summer event: a hike on the Mt. Whitney Trail with a few family members and close friends. With that hike behind me, Im now experiencing a sort of seasonal whiplash as my kids get ready for school and I turn my focus to the fall events that await. With the fall months almost upon us, my attention is now on making plans for the following activities: fall worship, including the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and our stewardship campaign; planning programs and events for our youth group, which has acquired a whole new dynamic with the addition of a large number of new 6th graders; developing some sort of program for our Wednesday night dinners; and starting a new & prospective members class for those who want to learn more about what it means to be a part of BKCC. One sad bit of news as we transition into fall: The Treasure Box has announced that it is ceasing operation. (See letter in this edition of Fellowship News). However, I am thankful for the many opportunities that we still have to reach out to our community and our world, especially those in need; things like preparing food for Christian Outreach in Action, and supporting

A prayer for Bixby Knolls Christian Church

Use me to bring wholeness to my neighbor. Use my church to bring wholeness to our community. Show us how your kingdom of shalom can be made real on earth through us. the work of Week of Compassion and Church World Service. Be sure to read the article about the work these organizations are currently doing to assist victims of the famine in Africa. The truth is that there is much going on, much for which we can be thankful, and many opportunities for you to join with fellow Disciples in bringing wholeness to a fragmented world. I am so thankful for the ministry we share, and so happy to be your pastor! See you in worship!

Pastor Danny

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

9/11 Interfaith Remembrance

Sunday, September 11, 2011, 4:00 p.m. First Congregational Church 241 Cedar Avenue, Long Beach The South Coast Interfaith Council, which has worked for many years, especially since 9/11, to create a world of understanding, acceptance, respect, dignity and peace for all, invites you to an interfaith community-wide gathering to observe the 10th anniversary of 9/11. This will be an event to draw together members of our faith and civic communities. We will remember those who lost their lives and look toward a new future where our common humanity is honored. As we stand together on this day, may we make this an opportunity to focus on our sense of unity and redouble our efforts to build communities, a country and a world worthy of the lives lost that day and since. Please join us as we witness our community's strength and lift our hopes for a better world. For more information, please contact the SCIC at southcoastinterfaith@gmail.com or call 562-983-1665.

Join Disciples men from across the United States and Canada at Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia, for inspiration, fellowship, education, and spiritual renewal. Recreation, including softball & golf; Mission work, including opportunities to help restore Alexander Campbells mansion; Fellowship, including a pig roast and pep rally; Educational opportunities, including workshops for Disciples Men; and worship, featuring Frank Thomas, pastor of Mississippi Blvd. Christian Church in Memphis, who will present a special message for Disciples Men. There are significant savings if you register early. Men under 35 also receive a discount. For more information, or to register, visit www.gathering2012.org.

Community BBQ
7th District Councilmember James Johnson invites you to a summer BBQ and potluck at Somerset Park this Saturday, August 27, 11:00-2:00 At Somerset Park. Hes providing BBQ & refreshments; you are welcome to bring a side dish or dessert to share. In addition, there will be a 7th District Croquet Tournament to be held during the BBQ. The tournament winner will take home a trophy and bragging rights. If you have any questions, please contact the 7th

Heaven is blessed with perfect rest, but the blessing of earth is toil. --Henry van Dyke

Time to Renew Grocery Rewards Cards

After Sept 1, Ralphs requires the renewal of your Community Partners contribution card every year. You can pick up renewal letter with bar code at the Scrip table. Just take it to Ralphs Grocery Store the next time you shop, and Ralphs will scan it and link it to your rewards card. This is such an easy way to bring extra money in to BKCC. Please call me if you would like a renewal letter mailed to you. Sandy 427-4387 Watch for your Vons newsletter with the mail in coupon for renewing or you can go online to www.escrip.com to renew.

CWF
Open Board Meeting Thursday, August 25 10:00 in room 115.
In September, the Christian Womens Fellowship will begin meeting again. The Mary group will meet on 1st Thursday at 9:30am in room 115; the Esther Group meets after the 10:00am Prayer Circle on the 4th Tuesday; and the Ruth group meets on the 3rd Tuesday at 1:00pm. All women of the church are invited to participate in any one of the CWF group that fits your schedule. For more information, call the group leaders: Mary group Sandy Jeglum 427-4387 Esther Lillian Hester 310/691-3999 Ruth Pat Cohen 920-1485 September 15 at 11:00am, all groups will join together in the Fellowship Hall for a fun time lead by Betsy Hillig and followed by lunch. Bring a sandwich. Dessert and drinks will be provided by the CWF board members.
FROM CHURCH WORLD SERVICE

Not a Church Key but Keys to the Church...

A list is being accumulated of those who have keys to the church. The keys are numbered 1,2,3,4. If you are in possession of any of these keys, please call the church office and let us know which one(s); even duplicate keys. Should you have a key to the church that you no longer use, please turn the key in to the church office. This is limited to keys numbered 1, 2, 3, or 4. We do not need to know about cabinet keys.

I want to thank you for your generous contribution of $537.00 - especially appreciated in this challenging economy. Thanks to caring donors like you, Church World Service can provide food, water and other necessities to families displaced by natural disasters.
FROM CENTRO SHALOM

Thank you so much for supporting Centro Shalom with your recent donation of $300.00. The many contributions we have received have gone a long way towards helping us meet our budget obligations through the spring and summer and we appreciate your answering the call.

Labor of love
During Labor Day weekend worship, many congregations bless members of various occupations. From painting to parenting, from truck driving to teaching, from farming to pharmaceutical research, work is honored as holy. Some might believe that certain jobs pastor, missionary, bishop are holier than others. But in his classic book The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence tells of performing even the most common, tedious tasks as holy service to God: I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of [God], he wrote. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God. No matter your field of work, remember that any task done in Gods name and to his glory is holy.

Dear Treasure Box Friends, With heavy hearts, we must share some sad news with you; September will be the last month that Treasure Box will be serving communities. We want to personally thank you for loyalty and support of our program throughout the past 3 years. When we began serving 3 years ago, many were experiencing the severe pinch of the recession with rapidly escalating food, gas and utility prices combined with a loss or cutback of their jobs and nowhere to turn for relief. With our community partners by our side, Treasure Box was able to step into that gap to provide much needed relief for families squeezed on every side by the economy. Unfortunately in recent months, we have also been hit hard by rising food costs, supplier issues and skyrocketing fuel charges, making it difficult to continue to provide the outstanding cost savings we once could. Although the economy is still in major turmoil and we still offer our customers value for their money, our value proposition has been diminishing over the past 6 months. Our goal from the onset has always been to serve with 3 E's: Excellence, Executable and Exceeding Expectations. Once we recognized we could no longer continue to do that, we realized that The Treasure Box's season of service had reached its end. Although we are profoundly sad because we love our partners and YOU our customers, it is time to say goodbye. This month, September, will be our final distribution. Our last order deadline will be September 14th, with our final distribution on Saturday, September 24th. We will only accept online orders for September, as it will be on a first come, first served basis. We're adding extra value to our boxes this month for you, our loyal customers. Instead of selling off our inventory to institutions, we'd rather put those extra items into the boxes and provide you with the best value possible to thank you for your faithfulness. In addition, we'll be putting some "bonus" items that aren't listed on the menu into our regular monthly Treasure Box as another token of our appreciation. Don't forget to order early since some of the boxes might not last until the September

14th deadline. Please view our final menus at www.thetreasurebox.org. Please help us spread the word to all your family, friends and neighbors about the extra value in our boxes this month. We're determined to finish strong...serving with the 3 E's right up until the very end. Order a box for yourself or one to give away. There are so many that could use food this month. Let's conclude this season of service with joy and grateful hearts, order your boxes and come out one last time to thank all the volunteers who have helped to make this all possible. Thank you again, Treasure Box friends! It has been a privilege and honor to serve you these past 3 years! Warmest Regards, Steve Guy Executive Director

To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower, hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour. --William Blake

Surviving the Drought:

Preparing for the Next One

Women in Kibauni, Kenya, wait for a food distribution to begin. Photo by George Arende water points, her family's four cattle, 10 goats, four sheep and two donkeys would already be dead. Because of water points, relief workers can report that severe malnutrition is still rare in Kaikungu, but the same cannot be said for the rest of Mwingi district. On August 15, 250 local people gathered in Kaikungu to dig silt out of the community's sand dams, restoring their capacity to hold water. To support their work and meet immediate needs, Church World Service and the Anglican Church of Kenya provided packages of corn, beans, salt and cooking oil to each participant. The food will last their families about a week, and weekly distributions are planned for the next five months. The next rains should come in October, with another six months until crops can be harvested. These seasonal rains cannot come too early for the millions of people in this region who depend on rainwater for subsistence. In Kaikungu, at least, it might not be too late. Bixby Knolls Christian Church supports the work of Week of Compassion and Church World Service through our February Week of Compassion offering and our Spring Blankets+ offering. This is your money & prayers at work. Thank you!

Women carry stones to build a sand dam in Kibauni, Kenya. Church World Service and its partners are helping drought-stricken communities build sand dams, which hold water in the sandy beds of seasonal streams. Photo by George Arende.

Tim Shenk is a communications officer with Church World Service, one of Week of Compassion's trusted implementing partners. He is currently on assignment in Kenya, reporting on the drought that is ravaging East Africa. He sends this report: As you drive east from Nairobi, the Kenyan countryside becomes progressively drier. Long grass becomes yellow and eventually disappears. Bare, reddish soil is all you can see in the barren fields. This is the East African drought, a vast disaster stretching across Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and beyond. Two years with scarcely any rain has withered fields and pastures, putting more than 12 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. In Kaikungu, a rural community of about 6,500 people in the Mwingi district, Eastern province, spiky green sisal plants are about the only crop that survives. In normal years, farmers grow plenty of peas, corn, beans and sorghum, but the drought has forced the community to seek food aid. Nevertheless, local farmers are working hard to become self-sufficient. Since 2007, humanitarian workers from Week of Compassion partner Church World Service and the Anglican Church of Kenya have been helping the community build structures to capture and store water. These include a borehole well, two concrete tanks filled from a hilltop water catchment and six "sand dams," which hold water in seasonal streambeds under a thick layer of sand. If not for these water points, life in the community would be far more difficult. Local people walk anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to fetch water, instead of the grueling, daylong treks people make in other droughtaffected communities. Water has made it possible for some families to grow vegetable gardens and to keep a few livestock long into the drought. Jessica Mutinda, 28, told me that without local

NEWS AND NOTES

Betty Rollo has a new great granddaughter, Sophie OConnor born on August 6th. Lynndy Kennedy passed away on August 21. A memorial service is being planned for Saturday after noon, August 27, 2:00 at BKCC. Bill Maddy continues to recuperate at home. Esther Dybas passed away on August 18; services will be Friday, Aug. 26 at Chapel of our Father, Forest Lawn, Cypress. Jim Hardeman has been admitted to Long Beach Memorial Hospital for observation. Please keep him in prayer. Laurel Henrickson fell and broke several bones while vacationing in Laughlin, where sge is currentaly hospitalized.

BKCC Youth
Many of our youth have been traveling this summer, going to camp at Loch Leven, and/or traveling with their families. Its so good to see them all return to worship, and to hear about their summer adventures! There are more adventures yet to come! We welcome all youth in grades 6-12 to attend our youth group events. Our first official youth event for the fall will be on Sunday, September 18, when we begin the new school year with a Superhero Party! This will be for all youth in grades 6-12, so mark your calendars, invite your friends, and plan to be there! It will start at 6:30pm; the location will be at Pastor Dannys house; and you are encouraged to come dressed as a superhero one that you invent! Your costume can consist of a beach-towel cape, a colander helmet, whatever! Use your imagination and be sure to let us know what your special super-power is, as well as your one fatal flaw or weakness. Also, please look in this newsletter for a special 9/11 event happening here in Long Beach. It would be great for all youth to attend this event with their families. Maybe afterward we can get some dinner before coming home.

Birthday Blessings September Ken Brown - 6 Doug Gissel - 9 Madison Kobel - 17 Angela Hillig -21 James Rugh - 30 Ruth Settle - 30 October Rahail Sardar - 7 Betty Jo Williamson - 9 Hattie Johnson - 14 Robert Charboneau - 25 Gayle Charboneau - 29 Alice Flaig - 30

Camile Grant 2011

The Church in Society Committee of the Pacific Southwest Region offers grants to help fund special projects and programs that address and deal with the root causes of injustice, poverty, and promote Christian growth. Application materials are now available, and the deadline to apply is August 31. Materials are available and forms. The Church in Society Committee of the Pacific Southwest Region offers grants to help fund special projects and programs that address and deal with the root causes of injustice, poverty, and promote Christian growth. Applicaat the regional website: www.disciplespswr.org; look under resources

Common thread
Christ was common to all in love, in teaching, in tender consolation, in generous gifts, in merciful forgiveness. His soul and his body, his life and his death and his ministry were, and are, common to all. His sacraments and his gifts are common to all. Christ never took any food or drink, nor anything that his body needed, without intending by it the common good of all those who shall be saved, even unto the last day. -Jan van Ruysbroeck

tion materials are now available, and the deadline to apply is August 31. Materials are available and forms. at the regional website: www.disciplespswr.org; look under resources

It is useless to pray for more knowledge, power or faith until you begin to use what you have al-- Henry Bucklew ready.

Just a Note!
Hope you have all had a fun summer in Long Beach! The Music department is tuning up for a special fall season. Coming soon is Ken Brown and his clarinet of renown and Angela Hillig will bless us with a solo over labor day weekend! Ist day of choir rehearsal is September 7.....we will start with dinner at 6pm in fellowship hall followed by rehearsal in the Sanctuary. Bells will hopefully start again September 12th, Monday, and any and all are welcome to join us. We are always looking for new members in each group. Our praise team has brought us 8 services this year and will continue to do so once a month. We are starting something NEW!! Praise Beginning Band for the beginners and also younger set. We will rehearse for several months and hopefully lead in worship in the new year. If you play ANY instrument or sing and would like to be a part of this just let Barb Peebles know and we will put you on the contact list for rehearsals and music! Praise team is also looking forward to combining with our Cambodian sister church for praise in October. More about this in the future. Come and join us one and all for a season of Worship in music and song! Barb

Children's Sunday School Returns!

Yep, summer vacation is winding down and kids are starting back to school AND Sunday School! Sandy and I will be teaching classes for children beginning Sunday, September 11th. Children entering kindergarten thru 3rd grade: Worship & Wonder (Sandy) Children entering 4th thru 6th grade: Jr. Youth Sunday School Class (Scheri) The boys & girls will be dismissed from the sanctuary after Children's Moment with their teacher. Pastor Danny will be meeting with the older Youth Group. If anyone is interested in being a helper, please let Sandy or myself know. It's a special time of worship for our young people and children are invited to bring a friend! Please pray for the children and adults who will be participating in Sunday School this year. Thank you and God bless. Scheri Dubon, CE

UPCOMING SCRIPTURES Sept 4 - When Youre Sinned Against Matthew 18:15-20 Sept. 11 - A Way Forward Exodus 14:19-30
Newsletter Article Deadline Monday, Sept. 5, 5:00 p.m.

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