<= o:p>

YOUTH SLEDDING

Plans for sledding on January 23 in the afternoon are progressing, but stay tuned to the bulletin on Sundays= and the web page as the appearance of snow is important to this activity. As we go to press, the temperature= s seem to be dropping.

<= o:p>

Janu= ary 30 is shaping into a busy day as comm= union is served at both services, and Juni= or Choir Youth Bowling Party is in the planning for the afternoon. The Membership Committee is planning a Hymn Sing for the evening. Look for more details about all of these activities.

LOOKING AHEAD

&n= bsp; Easter is early this year, fallin= g on March 27, so our annual Ash Wednesday Service will be here before you know it on February 9, = 2005.

FREE COMPUTER TRAINING AT THE LIGH= THOUSE

Begins January 27 for beginners to advanced.

Classes are taug= ht weekly by volunteer instructors in a no-pressure, hands-on computer classro= om along with other students at your skill level. &n= bsp; = ; If you are interested in taking a class or teaching, call Linda at 724-898-4673 ext. 26.

MARS MEMO

January 4, 2005 = V= olume 30 = ; Number 5

THE AMEN CORNER

&= nbsp; Instead of a retelling of the outline for a recent sermon, I'd like to start the New Year with a few thoughts about the earthquake and tidal wave that have wreaked s= uch death and havoc around the rim of East Africa, South Asia, and Indonesia. I tried to get into this a little = bit during the Morning Prayer last Sunday but in some ways didn't feel I had he= lped much. I guess it is one of th= ose times when I have to chew and ruminate through all the ramifications before= I can be a lot of help to folks.

<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; First of all, think about the suddenness and enormity of this when we contrast it with the prior news emphases of 2004. The Peterson murder trial, Kobe Bryant, and the Presidential Campaign had caused most of us to abandon all hope and to consider an emotional breakdown out of sheer frustration with the media. Yet, here on the Sunday morning af= ter Christmas an event takes place that rocks us to our roots.

<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; To start out, after a month of Advent coupled with the news of the Baby in Bethlehem, how many of us were struck with the visual image of the bloated bodies of children washed from their mother's grasp by the pounding wave? Here is a place that many preacher= s would pump us with some time-honored bromides about "No man knoweth" or "It's God's Will." = But, in truth, this type of an experience can just tear the faith out of many a soul. When we won't admit tha= t, the people of faith have missed the boat. A lot of people want to blame such horror on God, and they can't tru= st that kind of a God.

<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; So I believe the first thing to do in response to such tragedy is to copy anew= the line from a sermon preached by Londoner Leslie Weatherhead during the Battl= e of Britain in the early forties. The sermon was titled Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People= ? There is one line that tells the whole sto= ry: "These bad things happen with God's reluctant permission." This is not God getting our rotten butts. It's tied to the fact = that nature extracts a price from us; and even though science and communications help, it is still dangerous.

<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; I believe we come out of the experience with three observations. The first is a rush of sympathy. The knowledge that what happened t= here could have happened to us and ours. We can identify with the pain. I know I had some tears at the corner of my eyes as the news trickle= d in on Fox and CNN. Now those tea= rs have been abated by anger as I see the "Today" staff and everyone else milking the tragedy to sell soap.

<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; Following the sympathy, and really part of the sympathy, is the desire to see how we = can help. I was so pleased to hav= e one man call inquiring where to send aid within hours after the tragedy, while = the rest of us stood around like cattle waiting for news to come down from chur= ch headquarters about how to help. The helping is going to be spread over a series of efforts. There is, of course, an immediate = effort to bury the dead and feed the living, a long running push to rebuild the buildings and infrastructures, and lastly, if we don't forget, an early war= ning system that could save thousands of lives the next time. After all, look what hurricane forecasting means along the Atlantic.

&= nbsp; The third effect is to remind all of us that we are not so insured, medicated, = and protected that we are invulnerable to danger. The tragedy of the tidal wave loom= s to tell us that in the last instance the fact that we know Christ is far more important than whether someone can grab us from the surge of danger. When conservatives say, "Jesus saves," they are not kidding. No matter what the adversity or malady, we know we will be with Him = in the end. Surely one of the few pluses of the aging process is to experience enough of the spiritual tsunam= i that in maturity we understand at last his grace is sufficient.

<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; R.= B.

* * * * * * = *

<= o:p>

MARS UNITED PRESBYTERIAN MISSION<= /o:p>

A Partial Report

<= /o:p>

The year of 2004 will be remembered by many as a year filled with natural disasters. The immediate area suffered some flood damage, but most of the Martians at the Presbyterian Ch= urch escaped with minor problems. = Three of the mission projects that we support regularly were immediately involved= in relief work: The Lighthouse, Hosanna Industries, and the Food Bank housed at the Glade Run United Presbyterian Church. When it = comes to rapid deployment of needed supplies and support, the existing mission gr= oups usually respond better than a hastily gathered group of well-intended neighbors.

<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; There are still opportunities to help people in Etna and Sharpsburg as they rebui= ld and recover. Your Church and Community Committee has explored some possibilities of hands-on mission by = our members in the communities that are nearby. The thought of a workday or a work project over several days is one direction of hands-on mission. Another is regular participation in Meals-on-Wheels as a volunteer or even as a representative to the board. Contact Pastor John if you have an interest in great participation in mission by doing mission locally.

<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; Christmas time saw us collecting $839 to be split between Salvation Army's Project Bundle-Up and Pine Valley Camp Nehemiah Project. But that was only a portion of our outreach for Christmas as many different members picked names off the Angel= Tree and a large pile of gifts were picked up by the Salvation Army to go to loc= al, needy children. The other pil= e of shoeboxes collected in November made a much longer journey to children in faraway countries. We had our children and families gather after church to properly wrap 82 gift boxes and sent $271 in cash to help support the shipping of the presents.<= /span>

<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; Our PCUSA Tsunami Relief Effort has begun with an immediate commitment of $300,= 000 from General Assembly Mission Funds. We have identified other agencies as well in the locally based Broth= ers Brother Foundation with a great track record of delivering needed medical supplies to people in need worldwide.