VBS once again started the season on a high note. Both morning and evening schools noted heightened spiritual sensitivity and evidence of the Lord’s blessing day by day. At the same time, it seems this year health issues hit more teachers and their families during VBS than usual. As needs arose so did the Lord’s provision. Busing was once again available and both registration and attendance were up. New students mixed with new workers and God was honored.

Camp at Otyokwah was an opportunity once again for the churches of our Presbytery to band together and serve the Lord by serving children. God assembled a great staff and 18 children coming from the Island. Tim Becker, a former camper, now serves as camp director and did a great job. From our church, Joe Zilbauer, Sarah Comfort, Julia Lasch, Jegar Chinnavan, and Pastor Kevin served as staff. Ask any of the many people who attended and they’ll tell you camp at Otyokwah was great – great fun, great times with friends. It was also a great time for the Lord to work in the hearts and lives of our campers and counselors alike. Daily, our counselors earned the name as they could be seen guiding the campers one by one in their walk with God. I considered it a privilege to have a small part to play during the week.

Summer is also a high time for missions. In addition to missionary speakers, our church members are busy preparing for, traveling to, and serving on mission fields. As I write, our Team Timothy members (Julie Brown, Leah Brown and Chelsea Pine are coming back from a very intense ministry in Bolivia supporting the work of Pastor David Quisbert and the BPC of LaPaz. Pastor Len says, “You’d be proud of your girls”. Very soon the Presbyterian Missionary Council will meet in Cincinnati, followed by our General Synod. Decisions will be made that greatly impact the direction of our outreach for the next year.

Within 12 hours of returning from Synod, Sharon and I will be heading for Myanmar to work with our burgeoning ministry in that land. While we’re there, Courtney Amacher, Eli Pine and Rebecca Williams will join Pastor Len for the Team Timothy trip to minister in New York City. Please pray for these ministries.

Using Elyse Fitzpatrick’s book “Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone” ladies will seek to study God’s Word to learn how the heart manufactures idols; how we may identify the idols of our hearts; and how we should go about dealing with them. Moses burned and crushed the golden calf and destroyed it completely. How do we crush the idols of our hearts?

“You shall have no other gods before me” – Exodus 20:3. In order to obey willingly and with joy, we need to rid ourselves of other objects of worship. In order to truly worship the One True God, we need to destroy the idols that take us away from obedience and lead us into yielding to them in sin. How do we avoid the sin of idolatry when our hearts are so deceptive?

Elyse leads us gently, but firmly, on a path designed by God to understand our hearts and yield to the Holy Spirit’s will for us. Having been justified through faith, we embark on the journey called sanctification so we may be finally glorified. Come join us as we study and journey on.

Then the women and children come down for our Chapel worship service. We are able to begin early in each service by praising our Lord as we are so blessed with many gifted musicians who play guitars, and even a ukulele, as we sing 3 hymns or praise songs during our service and pray with them as well. Thank you to those who serve in vital portions of this ministry diligently and faithfully.

Typically after the second song, if there are enough children, (and enough workers to work with the children), we send the children upstairs to hold a Cornerstone Kids ministry where we read them Bible stories, sing children’s praise songs with them, and do arts and crafts or play games with them.

After the second song in our worship service we begin the most important part of this ministry as we open Gods word and let its power touch the hearts and lives of the women present, (and ours too naturally). His word never goes forth void. I have seen it change the lives of these women as they often attest to after the service when they come up for prayer or to speak to us. God is often so clearly working in their hearts and lives during these hardest times they are experiencing.

Think about it. Can’t you look back at your hardest times in life and admit this is when God had changed you the most? I myself can, and often do, testify that at my own lowest point in life, that is when He “grabbed me” and literally brought me to my knees in saving faith. Many women at Cornerstone Manor are bowing down in saving faith before the Lord of all creation during this difficult stage in their life as well. Some already know the Lord but they testify they are encouraged by His word.

What better way is there to serve them then to bring them the truth of God’s holy and inspired word we ourselves hold with such high regard and due reverence. This is our honor and duty as we seek to go forth as ambassadors of Christ. All are welcome to join us as we do so monthly…. as long as the Lord shall tarry.

This is Awana’s 60th Anniversary. The Annual Awana Ministry conference is scheduled for September 11th, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm at the First Baptist Church in Pavilion, New York. Two of the prominent speakers will be Art Rorheim, Founder of Awana and Jack Eggar, President and CEO of Awana. They will be broadcasting this event simultaneously nationwide.

If you don’t know much about camp, let me give you some background: BP summer camp is held in Butler, Ohio at Camp Otyokwah, about 7 hours away, during the second full week in July. The camp is open to kids from 4th grade through high school. This year we took 18 campers and 5 counselors -what a great group! Having been a counselor for many years, I can say that we had one of the best groups in the category of “well-behaved.” Now maybe some of that comes from the recent upgrade in transportation: we traveled in style on a full-sized “Bedore Tours” bus, complete with a DVD player, recline-able seating , and air conditioning!

This year we had about 100 campers attending from all the presbytery churches. With that many campers, you can imagine the coordination that goes into the daily schedule. Each day starts with group devotions at 7:30 am. From there we go to breakfast at the dining hall. Happily, meals at camp were not only nutritious, but also quite delicious! After breakfast the campers rotate through 2 class sessions and 2 recreation sessions (including organized games and crafts). This year the teaching sessions for the seniors focused on the doctrine of “Depravity of Man” (Pastor Tim’s class) and “Resolving Conflict Biblically” (Pastor Kevin’s class). Lunch starts around noon and then we go to “feet off the floor time” for rest and memorizing Bible verses. In the afternoon, there is free time for organized games…like the annual camper/counselor soccer game and the steeple chase. After games, the campers get cleaned up for dinner, rally and chapel. There’s so much to be said about each of those items, but why not ask one of our campers for the details?

There are lots of camp pictures that you can check out at http://bpcamp.org/pictures.html

Patty Vampotic’s husband Bill suffered a minor stroke and is recovering well.

Mr. Jegar Chinnavan has been serving as summer intern. He is a student at Greenville Theological Seminary and will complete his studies in one year, at which time he and his family (wife Jemima and daughter Sheena) will return to Singapore. A Deacons’ Fellowship was held Sunday evening on June 6 to welcome Mr. Chinnavan and family.

Our guest speaker for Holy Week and Easter April 1-4 was Dr. John Battle of Western Reformed Seminary. Dr. Backus spoke at the Sunrise Service at Beaver Island Park, which was followed by breakfast at the church.

We rejoice with Jim Logel and Lisa Mufford who were united in marriage on April 17th.

Wedding bells also rang for Eric Pastorek, our past summer intern, and Brenda Calle on May 22nd.

Congratulations:
*To Tom Dahlquist and Grace Lyszewski on their engagement. A wedding is planned in September.
*To Elizabeth Heim and Steven Mellott who also announced their engagement and plans for a September wedding.
* To Mr. & Mrs. Art Broadway who will be celebrating their 70th Wedding Anniversary in August!

A Talent Show was sponsored by 24/7 Youth Group and BP Singles on May 1 with an open invitation to all. It was a great time of enjoying some serious and some not quite so serious presentations.

The Secret Prayer Partners Luncheon was held on May 1 at which time our partners were revealed and new partners received. Thanks to Ruth Heim for planning the event.

On May 8, a Ladies Breakfast was hosted by the men of the church. Our guest was Miriam, who was here from her work in Asia. She also gave an overview of her work in the Adult Sunday School Class and the 6:30 PM Service.

The Middlers enjoyed an evening of fun at a pot luck supper at the FLC on May 28.

Our church participated in Island Happenings/Kidbiz at the Town Commons on June 26, promoting our Vacation Bible School and other ministries of Bible Pres.

Rev. Jason McGuire of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedom, spoke at our Adult Sunday School class and Morning Worship Service on June 27.

High School graduates honored at the Morning Service on June 27 were Courtney Amacher, Chelsea Pine, T.J. Rains, Bethany Williams. Congratulations to all on a job well done!

Pastor Len Pine, Chelsea Pine, and Leah and Julie Brown were among the members of Team Timothy Bolivia. They served with Rev. David Quisbert in many areas of ministry from July 6-24. Another team will go to New York City in August.

Paul and Kyle Kroening were guest speakers in Adult Sunday School class and Morning Worship Service on July 25.

Mrs. Annie Perkovich, longtime member of Bible Pres., went to her eternal home on July 21. She was a resident of Elderwood on Grand Island for many years.

The Annual Church Picnic was held at the Family Life Center on July 31. A special presentation was made to the Pine family as they anticipate a change in location with Pastor Len planting a new BP church. Thanks to Paul and Cindy Brown for organizing the event.

Annual Meeting:
Our annual Congregational Meeting was held on May 7. It was a time of great rejoicing and praise to God for His goodness to us as a congregation. Many new families have become a part of our number and added many children to our nursery, Sunday School, and Children’s & Junior Church. We also bade Godspeed to two families who were with us for short-term work assignments; Randy and Jayne Frahmann with Andrew have returned to Wisconsin, Hamilton and Helena Napolitano to Brazil, and Jemima and Sheena (Chinnavan) to South Carolina. They are missed! Jegar Chinnavan will soon be heading back to SC to finish his studies after serving as our summer intern this year. He did an outstanding job!

Financial decisions were made at the meeting because our offerings have increased over the past year. Excess funds were designated to: $1,500 Camp Expenses, $1,000 VBS Expenses, $250 to Kroenings, $250 to Harrises. It was also possible to replace church windows which were in great need of work. The Pat Bergstrom distinguished service award recipient was Ruth Thompson.

LOOKING AHEAD . . . . . .

August 13 Cornerstone Manor Service and Kids’ Ministry – 7:30 PM at Cornerstone Manor
August 27 24/7 Youth Annual Pool Party
August 29 Service for Seniors at Elderwood – 2:00 PM – all invited to participate
Sept. 22 AWANA BEGINS for age 3 through high school
Sept. 24-25 Ladies’ Conference with Mrs. Kathleen Curto