November 2023 Fellowship Connections Newsletter
/From the Elders
Dear church family,
This past Lord’s Day, October 29, we celebrated our first Family Worship Sunday since our summer of family worship. Why did we take this break from the routine of children’s ministry? It was not primarily to give our volunteers a break, although we believe rhythms of rest are crucial, and not to merely simplify our schedule on a fifth Sunday. Rather, we emphasize family worship because of what we believe worship itself is.
When God’s people assembled in worship after the exile, they committed themselves to reading and preaching Scripture, to prayer, to confession of sin, and to joyful celebration of God’s mercy (Nehemiah 8). Similarly, in Acts 2, we see the early church gathering around the apostles’ teaching, the prayers, fellowship, and the Lord’s supper. From this we discern that worship isn’t just a good idea; it’s a visible renewal of the covenant of grace in which we stand, as when a husband and wife renew their vows after years of marriage.
Kevin DeYoung writes:
Every Sunday, we come to worship our covenant-making God, be reminded of his covenant promises, and once again renew our covenant commitment. The deepest and richest and most biblical worship will have a liturgy that reflects these ancient, and continuing, realities.
The question comes: if this is what we believe worship is, why wouldn’t we want to give our children the opportunity to participate?
If the goal of our Sunday morning activities is simply to learn, then it makes sense to divide based upon age and intellectual capacity. We do believe that instruction in God’s Word is crucial, and this is part of our motivation behind offering children’s programs on Sunday mornings. Yet fundamentally, we believe the gospel is for all—both us and our children (Acts 2:39)—which also means that young and old should have opportunity to see, hear, and participate in God’s promises with the rest of his assembled people.
As we approach the holidays, we look forward with affection to gatherings at our dining room tables with family members young and old, near and far, marking the seasons and celebrating God’s goodness. Most of us would not consider excluding our little ones from these festive events, so why would we not lovingly lead our children to also celebrate the Lord’s Day with us each week, even when it means stretching their attention spans and hearing the joyful noises children tend to make? The same reasons that we must prioritize weekly worship are the reasons that we should invite our children to join us, not neglecting the assembly of the saints (Hebrews 10:25).
Reflecting on the importance of worship, Michael Horton concludes:
We gather each Lord’s Day not merely out of habit, social custom, or felt needs but because God has chosen this weekly festival as a foretaste of the everlasting Sabbath day that will be enjoyed fully at the marriage supper of the Lamb. God has called us out of the world and into his marvelous light: That is why we gather.
Thank God for the Lord’s Day and the blessings it brings to our families.
— Alex Kocman
Announcements
Life Groups — These life groups will be meeting during the month of November:
Sunday night (adult Sunday School)— first and third weeks (November 5 and 19)
Tuesday night (Christian parenting)— first and third weeks (November 7 and 21)
Wednesday night (sermon review)— third Wednesday of the month (November 15)
Please see one of the pastors if you are interested in one of these groups.
Christmas Is Coming! — We will begin the holiday season with our annual Christmas tree lighting on Sunday, November 26. Starting with a cozy dinner at 5:00 p.m., the evening will unfold into a beautiful tree lighting ceremony around 6:00 p.m., accompanied by carol singing. Let's gather to celebrate the hope and joy of the Christmas season together!
November Fellowship Meal — Since we will be having our tree lighting on the fourth Sunday of the month, there will be no Fellowship Meal for the month of November.
Men’s Bible Study — The Men’s Bible Study will meet again in December to continue their walk through 1 Peter. See Pastor Ricardo if you would like more information about this group.
Women’s Fellowship Group — We will start a new study on Thursday, November 2: A Praying Life, by Paul Miller. The group meets every other Thursday from 10—11:30 a.m. See Jean Soyke if you would like to know more.
Election Day
Election Day — Some of you may not know that our church serves as a polling place for the community. We will be open to our neighbors to vote again on Tuesday, November 7. We will have a table with information about our church and treats to bless our neighbors. If you are available to man the table for any length of time or would like to provide treats, please contact one of the pastors to volunteer.
“What, then, are the prerogatives of the church in times of upheaval and crisis? One, undoubtedly, is the discipline of tranquility of spirit. As the church is a city set on a hill for all to see, a Spirit-induced sense of composure should be conspicuous among Christians. Fearmongering and vitriol will do nothing to set us apart from the world, even if they are induced by our support of otherwise righteous causes. But the fuel for this peace does not come from our own resources. It comes to us through the preaching of the Word... So what is the principal thing that the church must do in times of crisis? It must do what it always must do. It must proclaim the gospel and attend to the hearing of the gospel as it is proclaimed.”
This article was first published in the September 2023 edition of Tabletalk, the Bible study magazine of Ligonier Ministries.
Service Opportunity
The FBFC Women’s Ministry is hosting its second work session to make baby blankets for Hearts and Hands on November 11 at 10 a.m. Feel free to bring your project to the work session so you can craft while enjoying fellowship. If you would like to learn some of these skills and help to make donations, several ladies will be available to help teach you a new skill. This is open to anyone (all ages) from our congregation who would like to learn and craft together.
If you can’t attend the session but would like to make a blanket on your own, there will be a donation box in the lobby throughout the coming season. If you are not crafty and have no desire to knit or crochet but would still like to help the cause, donations would be greatly appreciated! Contact Karla Armstrong or Carolyn Kocman for more information.
Meet the Heltebridles
Hi! We are Brian and Lynne Heltebridle. We met in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and have been married for 40 years. We have two children and an 18-year-old grandson, whom we adore.
Brian enjoys ‘50s and ‘60s music and also has a 1965 Plymouth Barracuda that we like to show. Lynne enjoys playing music on the keyboard and singing and served on the worship team at our former church.
We are so happy we have found a new church family at Faith Bible Fellowship, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Meet the Holmes Family
Hi! We are the Holmes family: EC (Dad), Virginia (who goes by Ginny), Imani (10), Kailani (7), Zayani (3), and Eliani (6 months). As you can imagine, we are a busy family! EC works as a Principal Tech for a defense contractor in Baltimore and is a current third-year seminary student at Metro Baltimore Seminary. Ginny works for Wellspan as a Quality Assurance Specialist. Imani and Kailani attend York Suburban elementary schools, while Zayani and Eliani are in daycare. We have officially been attending Faith Bible Fellowship Church since June of this year. Because of the inability to find a solid church in York for some time, we had the blessing of being at a church in Lancaster for seven years, where the Lord pruned EC as a minister of the gospel and grew our family from three to six. Ginny does an amazing job of taking care of us in so many ways. She is funny and a supportive wife, great mother, and loyal friend. Imani is extremely intelligent and loves to play her violin. Kailani loves to play with dolls and create art. Zayani is hilarious and surprises us every day with how much she knows already. Finally, Eliani is supper laid back but will let you know she’s there with her random laughs and bursts of excitement.
Recognizing the growing and great need for a faithful, holistic, and genuine gospel presence, we desire to serve the Lord in the city context in which we grew up. We look forward to getting to know everyone as we worship and fellowship together.
May the peace of Christ rule your heart.
Missionary of the Month
Does this face look familiar? Until just a few weeks ago, you would find Kim Knaub sitting in the congregation with us on a Sunday morning. Now, however, she is in Kenya, serving with Pioneers. She is helping train native believers to share the gospel with their own people. Please pray that God gives her wisdom, strength, and protection and that God opens the hearts of the people of Kenya to receive Christ. We look forward to hearing how God uses her in this new adventure.