November 2022 The Monthly Newsleer of Turner Chrisan Church Volume 17; Issue 11
We are called to share Jesus in creative and intentional ways, through: Connecting with
God and His Church, Growing in Faith and Love, and Serving Our Community and World.
The
Connection
By act of the United States Congress, November is the month in which we Americans focus on giving thanks.
As Chrisans we know that thanksgiving should be a part of our daily life—even moment to moment—but
reminders to be grateful should always be welcome, and so we set aside a day toward the end of the month
to say thanks to God.
For some of us Thanksgiving will be a big producon—travel, family, turkey, football—for others it will be
smaller and humbler. Casey and I started out trying to pull off the big producon. Casey made all kinds of
delicious food, and put out an amazing spread. But she also ran herself ragged trying to make sure that the
food was perfect. Then one year we had a baby on the day before Thanksgiving (that was Charley) and we
went without the big producon. We had no family, no turkey, just take-and-bake pizza, a cracker-cheese-
jelly tray, and our family. And it was wonderful. Ever since, Casey and I have found the big producon of
Thanksgiving unappealing. Not that we don’t like it (although neither of us like turkey, but that’s why God
blessed us with ham!)—but we realized that it isn’t essenal to the purpose of the day. It reminds me of
what Jesus told Martha: “You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or in-
deed only one.” (Luke 10:41-42, NIV).
You see, even though we call it Thanksgiving, what we oen feel pressured to do on the third Thursday of
November is to celebrate what we’ve been given. We are told to put on the biggest feast we can, to eat as
much as we can, to show off just how much we have. But celebrang and giving thanks are not the same
thing. You can celebrate without giving thanks. And You can give thanks without reveling in all the wealth
God has given you. Now, I’m not trying to tell anyone that they shouldn’t have a big meal on Thanksgiving—
as we’ve seen this fall, Jesus was a BIG supporter of feasng!—I’m simply trying to remind us that the es-
senal part of Thanksgiving is not the food, or the company, or the football—it’s the gratude.
So what can you thank God for? Are you alive? Thank him for that. Do you have family around? Thank him
for that. Do you have food on the table? Thank him for that. Do you have a home? Thank him for that. Aer
all, “Every good and perfect gi is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,” and
“nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” (James 1:17, 1 Timothy 4:4 NIV) We can thank
God for every good thing he has given us to enjoy—we can, and we should.
But what if you don’t feel parcularly blessed this year? Has God given you the strength to survive the past
year? Thank him for that. Has God found ways to make blessings out of obstacles, to put silver linings on
your clouds? Thank him for that. Has he helped you grow into a mature follower of Jesus in the midst of
difficulty and trial? Thank him for that. Has he forgiven your sins and promised you eternal life through his
son Jesus Christ? Thank him for that. Being thankful doesn’t mean pung a posive spin on your troubles.
It means recognizing, in the midst of your troubles, that God is sll caring for you, watching over you, and
being generous to you. He will get you through what you are facing, even to the point of facing death—and
receiving resurrecon.
So let us be thankful. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Amen.
―Rachel
About Grace!
You might not know this about me, but I am opinionated, stubborn, and judgmental. And I oen strug-
gle when other Chrisans approach life with different atudes than I do. For as long as I can remem-
ber, I have oen complained to my mother when I am unhappy about the decisions of others.
I will let things come out of my mouth like:
“Well I think it’s ridiculous that they decided to do that.”
“I can’t believe that he would think it’s okay to say something in that way.”
“Why would anyone make that choice?”
And, as long as I can remember, my mother has responded with things like:
“But Rachel, think about where they are coming from. Your perspecve is not their experience.”
“But Rachel, why don’t you extend them some grace?”
“But Rachel, that’s not where they are at. They aren’t ready to think about it that way. But you can
pray for them, that they would hear God’s voice in this.”
When I was younger, her responses just cked me off. Now, I begrudgingly listen. I don’t like it, but
when my mother says, “Grace” it always feels like God is saying, “Listen to her.”
I take my mother’s concept of grace seriously. She has been in the eye of storms, she has been the
target of the enemy. And when life is chaos and the way forward is unclear, she fixes her eyes on Jesus
with all that she possesses. And she sll extends grace.
Grace costs us. It costs us our passionately stated opinions, and our self-righteous judgements. It costs
us the high ground, and the ability to speak over others. It requires gentleness, and forgiveness, and
the ability to listen. It takes a lot of prayer. It takes a lot of stern stuff―we have to take the churning
parts of our insides and focus them on Jesus.
I have been blessed by grace. First, by my Savior and my King, second by the family of God. The gos-
pels drip with references to the grace of God, and we in return, extend a version of that grace to oth-
ers. In our feeble humanness, God allows us to offer love, forgiveness, compassion, paence, kind-
ness, joy, and hope to others without any expectaon of receiving. We can offer freely, remembering
that we serve a God of abundance, and when we let go of ourselves to extend grace, we are becoming
more of who Jesus is inving us to be. The cost of grace to us is the smallest of echoes of the cost of
God giving grace to us.
When my mother cauons me towards grace, she is not cauoning me to passivity. She is encouraging
me to pray in certain ways, with certain perspecves. She is guiding me to listen to the hearts and
minds of those I am judging. She is offering up an alternave way to think and feel about those whom
God has crossed my path with. There’s no pretense of the issue going away. There’s no covering up
the unpleasant honesty of my thoughts and feelings. It’s me and God in a room, working it out. It’s me
and a friend on a walk, when I take a deep breath and say, “Why don’t you tell me about it? I’ll listen.”
It’s the thought crossing my mind, and then my mental response of, “It’s okay that they responded
differently than I would,” or, “They need me to truly hear them, before they can listen to me point to
scripture, or welcome my prayers.”
If you are a journaler, or a discusser, or a ponderer, I invite you to think about the times grace has been
extended to you by members of your church family. Thank God for those people and those moments.
Then turn your mind and your prayers to your life now. Is there a place where God is prompng you to
mimic His grace, and extend it to others?
Verses to contemplate: Hebrews 4:14-16, James 4:1-12
Let Us Be Thankful and {Humbly} Celebrate Our Beautiful Feet
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in
the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching
to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are
the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:14-15
You, my friends, have beautiful feet. You, through your participation in Operation Christmas
Child, are sending Shoeboxes, which allow preaching opportunities, so that those who have
never heard the Good News can hear, and can believe, and can choose to call on Jesus.
Together, let us thank our faithful God for allowing us to be a part of this far reaching minis-
try for the past 26 Shoebox seasons. Let us thank our Heavenly Father for all the good gifts
that He blesses us with so that we, in turn, may be a blessing to others. The growth of this
ministry is testament to God’s good will to see that everyone to the ends of the earth has a
chance to receive, be preached to, believe, and call on His Holy name.
As we are giving thanks, we’d like to offer an opportunity to celebrate together the blessing
of God’s gift of beautiful feet. You are invited to celebrate with us on Friday, November 18,
at 6:30 p.m. We will begin our celebration by filling some Shoeboxes to provide further
preaching opportunities. We will continue the celebration with a time of prayerful thanksgiv-
ing and dedication. Then we will top it off with ice cream sundaes. {We will do our best to
have ice cream available to meet most every dietary need, so hopefully we will have some-
thing specifically for you.}
We would love to see everyone who has participated in any way
so that we may show our gratitude for your faithful support.
Together we will give thanks and celebrate our Beautiful Feet.
―Ann Stoker
November Birthdays
Ruth Casey 11/2
Margorie Van Den Haak 11/3
Tom Hedgecoke 11/4
Marcia Carter 11/6
Neil Walker 11/6
Larry Page 11/7
Dakota Richards 11/8
Maggie Remy 11/20
Gary Tiffin 11/21
Charloe Holmes 11/24
Robert Clokey 11/27
November Anniversaries
Hank & Bonnie Rusten 11/7
Danny & Janie Anglen 11/26
Gary & Pat Tiffin 11/29
Come Check Us Out At this year's Country
Mouse Holiday Market event on November
10, 11, and 12 (that's Thursday through Sat-
urday) at the Tabernacle!! We will be up on
the stage with our yearly display of infor-
maon and interesng garden trinkets. We
will once again be having our raffle drawings
each of the three days with garden-themed
baskets. We will also have lots of Community
Garden volunteer opportunies and garden
plot informaon on hand. You can even bring
the kids and show them our interacve soil
layering display―see how carrots and onions
grow under ground! You can contact us at:
turnercomgarden@gmail.com.
-From Your Friends at Turner Community Garden
Annual Food Drive
You may drop off donaons (any type of shelf
stable products—cans, boxes, pouches of food)
in the cart outside the food bank or in the
church office during the month of November.
Canned tuna, meat and meals are especially
appreciated. Also, large paper/plasc grocery
bags are always needed.
We’d like to thank everyone who contributed
to the foodbank. The food and other donated
items have been very much appreciated by
our community friends and neighbors. Your
prayers always help sustain us.
A special thank you to our hard working food
bank staff: Donna Buyser, Clyde Casto, Pat
Crook, Keith Elsberry, Joanie Hanson, and
Thomas Polk. Only because of your connu-
ing efforts along with our Lord’s providence
and provision are we able to serve the Turner
community!
―Dennis Losie
“He who has a generous eye will
be blessed, for he gives his
bread to the poor”
Proverbs 22:9
November 2022
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
Zoom Small Group
9:00 am—
Gary Tiffin
CCHOA MTG
6:00 pm
Elders Meeng
6:00 pm
2
Ladies Bible
Study—6pm
Adult Sermon-
Based Study-6pm
3
Music & AV
Teams—9:30 am
Cub Scouts
6:30 pm
4
Ladies Movie
& Prayer Night
6:30 pm
5
Missions Team
Meeng—9 am
Fellowship Hall
in use—11am-2pm
6
9:00 Sunday Classes
10:30 Worship
Bldg & Online
Youth Group,
Kids Club &
Parents Group
6:00 pm
7
Men’s Discussion
Group—8:00 am
Food Bank
9:00-11:30 am
Staff Mtg - 10 am
Drama Team
6:30 pm
8
Zoom Small Group
9:00 am—
Gary Tiffin
9
Ladies Bible
Study—6pm
Adult Sermon-
Based Study-6pm
10
Music & AV
Teams—9:30 am
Cub Scouts
6:30 pm
11
Church Office
Closed
12
Fellowship Hall
In Use All Day
13
9:00 Sunday Classes
10:30 Worship
Bldg & Online
Board Mtg 4:30 pm
Youth Group &
Parents Group
6:00 pm
14
Men’s Discussion
Group—8:00 am
Food Bank
9:00-11:30 am
Staff Mtg - 10 am
15
Zoom Small Group
9:00 am—
Gary Tiffin
Camelides 4-H
6:30 pm
16
Ladies Bible
Study—6pm
Adult Sermon-
Based Study-6pm
17
Music & AV
Teams—9:30 am
Cub Scouts
6:30 pm
18
Operaon
Christmas Child
Packing Party—
6:30 pm
19
OCC Event
In Auditorium
All Day
20
9:00 Sunday Class
10:30 Worship
Bldg & Online
OCC Dedication Day
Youth Group,
Kids Club &
Parents Group
6:00 pm
21
Men’s Discussion
Group—8:00 am
Food Bank
9:00-11:30 am
Staff Mtg - 10 am
Com Garden -3 pm
Y.I.T. Mtg—3:30 pm
Drama Team-6:30pm
22
Zoom Small Group
9:00 am—
Gary Tiffin
23
Ladies Bible
Study—6pm
Adult Sermon-
Based Study-6pm
24
Church Office
Closed
25
Church Office
Closed
26
27
9:00 Sunday Classes
10:30 Worship
Bldg & Online
Youth Group &
Parents Group
6:00 pm
28
Men’s Discussion
Group—8:00 am
Food Bank
9:00-11:30 am
Staff Mtg - 10 am
29
Zoom Small Group
9:00 am—
Gary Tiffin
30
Ladies Bible
Study—6pm
Adult Sermon-
Based Study-6pm
Green—Online Meengs
Black-Meeng in Building
We Invite All Ladies to Join Us for Fun, Fellowship and Prayer!
We will watch “Sully,” the true story of Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, who became a hero aer
gliding his disabled plane along the water in the Hudson River, saving all of his 155 passengers.
Aer the movie we will share in a me of prayer for our church and community.
Invite a friend to come with you and bring a snack to share!
November 4th
Ladies Movie &
Prayer Night!
6:30 pm
Office Hours: Call us: Look us up at:
Monday—Thursday: 8:00am—2:00pm 503-743-2119 www.TurnerChrisanChurch.com
Friday: 8:00am—11:00 am Facebook:/turnerchrisan/OR
Faithlife.com/turnercc
Staff
Mahew Holmes….……Senior Minister—ma@turnerchrisanchurch.com Sunday Morning Schedule
Rachel White….…..Associate Minister—rachel@turnerchrisanchurch.com Adult Bible Classes at 9:00 am
Jules Roberto………..Preschool Director—jules@turnerchrisanchurch.com Worship Service at 10:30 am
Jerry Sygney……..Office Administrator—office@turnerchrisanchurch.com Online Worship at 10:30 am
TRH Live Stream at 10:30 am
Friday, November 18th
6:30 pm
Friday, December 9, 2022
6:00―7:30 pm
Invite Your Family and Friends!
Cra Items Needed
For Night in Bethlehem!
Empty, Clean, No Labels
Soup Cans (12-16 oz)
Please bring cans
to the church
by December 4th
