Rev. George Craik, 1928-2009

A Magazine of Christ Community United Methodist Church

CHRIST COMMUNITY CLOSE-UP

On the web at: ChristCommunityUMC.com Volume 6, Issue 1

Christ Community Staff Pastor: Rev. Dr. B.J. Norrix 457-9382 (church) 345-5604 (cell) PastorBJ@CCUMC.com* Church Secretary: Dona Dalton 457-9382 (church) Director of Adult Ministries : Roger Parker 635-5266 (home) Roger@CCUMC.com* Director of Christian

Education : Julie Valeski 457-9382 (church) Julie@CCUMC.com* Pastoral Care: 457-9382 Music Director: Phill Sterling 638-4956 (home) Choir@CCUMC.com* Associate Music Director: Denise Weeks-Bush 635-7175 (home) GraceAlone@CCUMC.com* Ministry Assistant & Close-

Up Editor: Heather Claver 468-6811 (home) Heather@CCUMC.com* * All email addresses are @ChristCommunityUMC.com

Winter is nature’s resting time. Deep below the winter’s snow the bulbs, seeds and plants lay dormant. They are waiting for the return of extensive sunlight and warmer air. They are waiting for the spring thaw that melts the snow and ice and softens the ground so they can get on with growth. But the bulbs, seeds and plants do not feel anxious about the spring; all they do is rest and wait.

Sometimes in our lives we hit “dormant stages” that are times of resting and reenergizing. I am not one who rests well, so to be clear, when these stages or seasons come into my life I struggle to be patient and I really struggle to allow myself to rest. But, like so much of life, it is part of the healthy rhythm needed to live well. The plants take a rest and many animals hibernate or at least “hunker down” in the winter.

Winter brings a great excuse to catch up on my reading. Winter is also a great time to do a little writing. It is a season of rest and “hunkering down.” Have you found a season’s rest in this long, cold and snowy season? Have you found space to renew,

reflect and reenergize? In one of C.S. Lewis’s

more clever lines, he describes the perpetual winter that the White Witch has brought to Narnia (in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) as “it is always winter and never Christmas.” A very bleak thought, indeed.

Our winter thaw has little to do with the so

February 2009

Christ Community United Methodist Church 3474 Stiles Road Syracuse, NY 13209 (315) 457-9382

Winter 2009 A message from Rev. Dr. B. J. Norrix, Senior Pastor

called natural world. Our winter thaw is the fire power of the Holy Spirit that melts our icy hearts and enflames us to throw off the shackles of the frosty environments of our lives and be transformed ever more into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I’ll see you in the defroster.

After BJ's homily at Pastor George’s memorial service, I was given a vision many times:

It was of Jesus washing George's feet, during the process Jesus looks up at George and says: “Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant”

—Gary Weeks

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Parade of Mission Flags Last year, the Mission Team identified 10 countries as locations where our church is involved in missionary work. We have a flag for each country, and a description of the missionary work being done there. We call this our Parade of Missions, and we're proud to say that all 10 flags were purchased through donations from the mission team members. Six of the 10 flags are now hanging up in the fellowship hall. Underneath each flag, you will find a page that gives some brief information about the country, and then a summary of the mission work we are involved with in that part of our world. Flags will rotate during the year so that all the countries are featured. Currently, the countries (flags) on display are: United States, Myanmar (Burma), India, Peru, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Be sure to check them out the next time you're in church!

Christ Community Worship Times Sunday Morning Celebrations

9:00 a.m. Worship and praise with the CCUMC Adult Choir and acoustic sound

10:45 a.m. Worship with our praise band “Sanctified” and the CCUMC Praise Choir Sunday Evening Grace & Healing Celebration

7:00 p.m. Praise & Worship, and Healing Prayer with our worship band “Grace Alone” Sunday School, K-12

9:00 am and 10:45 am “Worship on Wednesday” (WOW) begins with light supper at 5:30 pm

Did you ever get to Wednesday, hoping that tomorrow was Saturday?! We can help you out. Join us on Wednesdays for a light supper followed by a special worship time. Bridge the gap between Sundays and be fed physically and spiritually. Good food, good conversation and a chance to refresh and renew your spirit await you!

For more information visit our website: ChristCommunityUMC.com

or call us at 457-9382

Mission Opportunities 1. Inmates at Auburn Maximum Security prison spend the year crocheting hat and scarf sets for poor school children. This year CCUMC received 50, of the 500 beautiful sets they made to give out in our area. The men know that most of them will never get out of prison and do this only to help someone else. WE can help them by giving them the yarn they don’t have the income to purchase. How about cleaning out your yarn box and bagging up all the leftovers from your various projects and giving it to them. There are some rules that we have to follow—make sure that it is yarn only—no left-over needles. It must be yarn, not macramé rope or crochet thread. There are some color restrictions because of gang affiliation issues, but you can bring what you have and we’ll sort it. Thanks for your help. See Sue Acker (593-3059) if you have questions. 2. The Jr. High Sunday School kids are collecting blankets and outer gear and the Sr. High Youth Group kids are distributing these items when they do their outreach in the city. 3. Refugees are in need of warm clothing—especially Boys size 12, and Girls size 10 and 12. See Pam Suddaby if you can help.

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Prayer. Such a simple word. Such a complex thing. At it's most basic, prayer is simply taking time to talk to God, and allowing some time to listen to His response. At it's most complex, it is a source of power for the Christian and the ultimate weapon in spiritual warfare. It is also an incredible blessing and privi-lege to have direct entry in prayer to the throne-room of God granted to sinful humankind by the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ.

We often pray for our needs (many times as a last resort!) and for the needs of others. At times less fre-quently (to our diminishment) we pray praise to God, adoration to Him, confessing our sins, submitting our will to His. And sometimes we lis-ten.

Can you imagine trying to have a deep, meaningful relationship with someone where the only person talk-ing was you? It would at least be one sided if it was a relationship at all. And yet, while God promises to listen to our prayers, we often do not listen to His replies in turn. And make no mistake about it, God does reply to our prayers in a variety of ways. God answers using audible and inaudible forms of communica-tion, He answers through His Word (the Bible), through His people, through circumstances. What we need to do is take the time to actually listen for His response. We have to expect a response. We have to wait for a response.

This is just what the Mission Team would like you to do.

We would like you to pray this month. Pray often. Pray hard. And take time to listen. What should you pray about? Pray about what mis-sion God is preparing you for this year. Pray about where and when and what God wants you to do for your mission for Him. It could be right in your neighborhood. It could be in this county. Or in this state. But make no mistake about it. God wants to use each and every

Coordination Station: Prayer Roger Parker, Adult Ministries Director

one of us in Mission to the world in His name. Pray and listen hard for what God is telling you regarding this. Who knows, God may want to start a new thing, or change an old thing through you. We won't know until you pray. And listen. Then, when God gives you your marching orders, share them with a Mission team member and we will see what we can do to help you accomplish the thing God wants you to do. It might be the start of something big. It definitely will be the start of some-thing life changing.

One of our congregation has al-ready started and has heard God talk to them about forming a new group to focus on fellowship, devo-tionals and needle work. The idea is to gather a group of those called to use, teach or learn needlework skills in a group in order to supply a vari-ety of needy people with necessary garments such as gloves, hats, scarves, baby blankets, lap robes, etc. This group will meet at least twice a month in a home for these purposes. Does this sound like something you should be a part of? If so, give me a call and we can talk some more about it.

What is God talking to you about this year?

Here are some of the things going

on around church: New Men's Bible Study - There

has been a second Men's Bible Study that started up on Tuesday evenings at 5:30PM. If you cannot make the Saturday Morning Study, come join us for the Tuesday evening one!

Hockey Night II - Friday, March

27th. Sponsored by the Men's Minis-try, this is a popular event for all. Tickets are only $ 11 and we will meet at the church at 5:30 for pizza, wings and salad, then carpool to the game at 6:30. Game time vs. the Crunch's archrival Rochester Americans is at 7:30. Eat and ride with us or meet us at the game. For more information, contact Roger, Bill Dibble or Joe Frega.

Other Men's Ministry Events

Coming Soon - Men's Beaver Lake Outing, Men's Movie Night, Promise Keepers New Zealand Event (Coming to CCUMC to reduce travel cost!)

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Here are some upcoming events sponsored by your Sunday School and Children’s Ministries. If you have any questions you can find me at church on Sundays, call me at 635-9516 or email Julie@ChristCommunityUMC.com. Or you can talk to any of our Coordinators: Sue Rayo, 635-8937, slrayo@twcny.rr.com; Karen Woodside, 695-4514, ricknred@aol.com; or Amy Tyler, 672-5184, Atyler001@twcny.rr.com.

• First Junior High Youth Group Meeting will be on Sunday, February 15 from 5:00-7:00pm. Pizza and drinks

will be provided. All Junior High youth are welcome! The youth will be helping to plan for upcoming meetings and events. See Tim or Cathy Cadwell if you want to join or help out!

• Men’s and Boys Cornhole Tournament, Saturday, February 21 from 3:00-6:00 pm. Toss the corn filled bags into the hole for swell prizes! We’ll have a corny theme of corn filled activities! Bring your friends and family—all men and boys are welcome. We also need women and girls to help! Sign-up sheets to attend or help out at this event are on the Sunday School table.

• Please don't forget to sign up for snacks for both services and to help in the nursery during both services!

• Watch for details about the Women and Girls Event coming on Saturday, March 21st.

• We’re organizing a Babysitting Coop for the first and third Friday evenings (6-9 pm) of the month starting in April. It will be for kids under the age of 10. It’s free if you volunteer to help once per rotation. See one of the Sunday School coordinators if this interests you.

• We’ll be organizing Clothing and Toy Swap this spring. Watch for more details coming soon.

• Can you take some plastic Easter eggs home to stuff for the Easter Egg Hunt? You just need to get some stickers, small candies, little toys like cars and jewelry. See me if you can help!

A big thank you to the Sunday school teachers, substitute teachers, coordinators and congregation for all of their continued love and support of our ministry! We can't do it without you!

Hi from Children’s Ministries! Julie Valeski, Director of Christian Education

Pastor George baptizing Lukas

Some of my favorite memories of Pastor George are: • Baptizing Lukas with ice water! • Hearing his corny jokes and strange Scottish

words and phrases at staff meetings! • Seeing him standing guard at the coffee ma-

chine! • Watching him watch the kids at church with a

HUGE grin on his face!

Loving and missing him everyday. Until we meet again,

Julie Valeski

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Worship Teams at Christ Community Church In an effort to increase the number of choir members at the 9:00 AM celebration, we are recruiting those who read music to come at 8:30AM on Sundays to rehearse. Music will be available ahead of time to learn on your own, then we will put it together just before the service. We will aim to do 3 and 4 part music at an easy to medium level of difficulty. If you're interested, let Phill Sterling know by phone at 638-4956, or email Choir@ChristCommunityUMC.com.

The Worship/Praise Choir is now meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. We are always looking for new members. On the Sundays we sing, we are part of the opening worship segment and then we sing something apart from that. You do not need to be a music reader to join. The

only real requirement is a love of singing and a heart for praising the Lord. Just come on our rehearsal night—the 2nd Tuesday of the month. See Denise Weeks-Bush for more information.

Cloverleaf Children’s Choir rehearses Sunday mornings from 10:15 to 10:45 in the choir room. We sing for the church approximately once a month. Please contact Linda Prell if you have questions.

The CCUMC Drama Team provides dramas for worship. This group needs not only actors but also writers, artists, technicians and directors.

It is open to all (including kids), Contact Betty Kline for more information or to join. Inspired Expressions Dance Team meets Thursdays from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. This ministry is open to everyone. New members are always welcome...just come on Thursday or email Chris Haskins at chaskins03@msn.com for more information.

Here are the names of the winners for the 2009 Human Bean Festival held on January 17 at Christ Community Church! Soups and Stews Sue Dibble for her Bean and Potato Soup Chilis Diane Fisher for her White Bean and Chicken Chili Appetizers, Salads and Casseroles Shelly Peters for her Bean Lasagna Desserts 2nd and 3rd Grade Classes for their Bean Banana Bread Artwork (Adult) Amy Sterling Artwork (Kids) Tie - Sophia Cronk and Noah Evans Best-of-Show Diane Fisher for her White Bean and Chicken Chili

White Bean & Chicken Chili takes top prize at the 2009 Human Bean Festival!

Dianna Fisher’s White Bean and Chicken Chili

2 lbs Northern white beans 24 oz salsa 8 oz Pepper Jack cheese, cubed 8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, cubed 6 Boneless chicken breasts (cubed) 3 shredded carrots Onion to taste (diced) Soak beans overnight, drain. Add all ingredients to a large crock pot and simmer on low 6-8 hours.

Amy Sterling took first place in the art category (adults) with her Butterfly made of beans

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Sometimes life can be described very well by the stories that are writ-ten for children, you probably remem-ber this story…

One day Chicken Little was walking

in the woods when — KERPLUNK — an acorn fell on her head, "Oh my goodness!" said Chicken Little. "The sky is falling! I must go and tell the king." On her way to the king's palace, Chicken Little met Henny Penny. Henny Penny said that she was going into the woods to hunt for worms. "Oh no, don't go!" said Chicken Little. "I was there and the sky fell on my head! Come with me to tell the king." So Henny Penny joined Chicken Little and they went along and went along as fast as they could. Soon they met Cocky Locky, who said, "I'm going to the woods to hunt for seeds." "Oh no, don't go!" said Henny Penny. "The sky is falling there! Come with us to tell the king." So Cocky Locky joined Henny Penny and Chicken Little, and they went along and went along as fast as they could. Soon they met Goosey Poosey, who was planning to go to the woods to look for berries. "Oh no, don't go!" said Cocky Locky. "The sky is fal-ling there! Come with us to tell the king." So Goosey Poosey joined Cocky Locky, Henny Penny and Chicken Lit-tle, and they went along as fast as they could. Then who should appear on the path but sly old Foxy Woxy. "Where are you going, my fine feathered friends?" asked Foxy Woxy. He spoke in a polite manner, so as not to frighten them. "The sky is falling!" cried Chicken Lit-tle. "We must tell the king." "I know a shortcut to the palace," said Foxy woxy sweetly. "Come and follow me." But wicked Foxy Woxy did not lead the others to the palace. He led them right up to the entrance of his fox-hole. Once they were inside, Foxy Woxy was planning to gob-ble them up! Just as Chicken Little and the others were about to go into the fox's hole, they heard a strange sound and stopped. It

The Sky is Falling—Really? Sue Acker

was the king's hunting dogs, growling and howling .How Foxy Woxy ran, across the meadows and through the forests, with the hounds close behind. He ran until he was far, far away and never dared to come back again. After that day, Chicken Little always carried an umbrella with her when she walked in the woods. The umbrella was a pre-sent from the king. And if — KER-PLUNK — an acorn fell, Chicken Lit-tle didn't mind a bit. In fact, she didn't notice it at all. The End

By this time some

of you are saying, “what is she doing, does-n’t she know this is a church?” Yep, I know that, but this is a story worth re-peating. It is a fun picture of life and of our walk to and with our King.

In the news of the day it’s much the same way, espe-cially with news about the current state of the economy…the sky is falling, the sky is falling! It seems as if Chicken Little was on CNN (Chicken News Network) just the other day and proclaimed the SKY IS FALLING. Everyone agreed, “Yes it is. What ever will we do? We are all going broke!”

It is easy to follow our Chicken Net-work reporter and believe the sky is falling, the economy has gone bad, it’s all hopeless. Just like Henny Penny we can cry, “Oh no, I can’t afford what I could last year, it’s totally hopeless, I better cut back on my giving.” Why, you might ask? Has Henny Penny lost her job? “No,” she says, “my income hasn’t changed…but I heard on CNN the economy as bad…I have to hold on to my money.”

And our man on the street Cocky Locky is thinking well at least I still have a job—I don’t care what happens with everyone else, I’m doing fine…but they say on CNN the sky is falling. I can’t help the homeless or the person without a job…I have to hold on to what I have…just in case!

Foxy Loxy totally agrees, yes the sky is falling! We should all hold onto what we’ve got—no need to keep tith-

ing or giving money to the poor—God will understand—the sky is falling!! It’s foolish to give 10% to the church when the economy is so bad. And as for the poor, well it’s not MY fault—maybe they will get a miracle…that is if you still believe in miracles with the sky falling.

But perhaps there are still miracles out there. Henny Penny began to read the latest communication from the King and He seemed to have it all un-der control. He reminded her that He owned the cattle and a thousand hills

and He had every intention of providing for the needs of

his people. Maybe she shouldn’t worry so much

she thought and she went to see the King. Goosey Poosey re-membered the King had always been good to her in the past and that every-thing she had was

because of his provi-sion, so she decided

to tithe the way she always had. It pleased the King and she really wanted to thank him for taking care of her. She went with Henny Penny to see the King.

Chicken Little thought about the King and His goodness and listened again to her friends at Chicken Net-work and began to wonder if it really was true that the sky was falling? And Cocky Locky was very thankful that he still had his same job. So they went off to see the King too.

He reassured them and as they left he gave them all an umbrella to pro-tect them from the fear of the sky fal-ling. On each umbrella it said, “Beloved child of the King” and they went back to their homes comforted that the sky was not falling.

As we are reminded of this story it is easy to identify with some of the characters. But it also speaks to us to be careful who we follow and believe. The news of the day is not usually from God’s perspective. It is important that we as Christians remember, He is still in control—His love for us has not changed. Continued on next page.

CCUMC Prayer Chain Barb Jesmer is our prayer chain

coordinator. You can contact Barb at 422-7266 (weekdays) or 451-7177 (evenings and weekends). Also there’s a link on our webpage to email y o u r p r a y e r r e q u e s t s a t www.christcommunityumc.com.

Your prayer request will be lifted up in prayer for one month—or longer if needed. All information is kept strictly confidential.

Call Barb, or visit our website to add your request to the prayer chain. Remember, God answers prayer.

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Looking for a Small Group or Bible Study?

Monday 7:00 PM Bible Study at Church with Pastor BJ 7:00 PM Couples Group at the Suddabys

Tuesday 5:30 PM Men’s Bible Study

Wednesday 11:00 AM Brown Bag Bible Study at Church with Pastor BJ 5:30 - 9:00 PM Worship On Wednesday (W.O.W) 5:30 Dinner, 6:00 Worship , 7:00 Classes and Small Groups • Really, Really Bad Girls of the Bible with Julie Valeski • Teen Bible Study with Allison Parker • Learning to Read the Bible with Pastor Roger • Book Study with Pastor BJ • Created to Be God's Friend with Pierce Bidlake • Christian Believer Study with Tom Eckrote

Saturday 8:00 AM Men's Bible Study

Continued from previous page.

I wanted to share this message be-cause it is good for all of us to be re-minded that we can take all of our problems to the King, small as an acorn or large as the whole sky falling. He is in fact waiting for us to come to Him. There may be times when it seems like your sky is falling in, those are the times to go to the King. He will have an umbrella ready for you. Don’t be afraid to ask others to go with you to the King, or to even ask them to help you find the way if you get lost. The error is to believe that your sky is falling just because others declare it to be so.

We need to be careful because there are those who would try, sometimes unintentionally, to get us to be as fear-ful as they are. Especially people who don’t know our King, they may think that things are out of control and the sky is falling, and they will feel fear. This would be a good time to tell them about our King.

Many times on our journey to the King we have a chance to encourage others to go with us. Sometimes we have to just proudly show our gifts from the King so that others can see the umbrella over us is love and grace. It is clearly labeled and when we walk with our umbrella, others may want one like it.

THANKS TO THE MY CHURCH FAMILY

On behalf of myself and our children and grandchildren I would like to extend a heartfelt “THANK YOU” to everyone at CCUMC for everything they did to make Georges’ funeral service and calling hours so special. You helped ease our burden and make everything go so smoothly. To the FISH TEAM-the food was great and very plentiful. To all the men and women that set up and cleaned up, directed traffic etc., you did an amazing job. To Judy Lee Green who took 8 grandkids between 8 and 14 under her wing and saw they had everything they wanted a special “Thank You”. And a very special “THANK YOU” to BJ and Karen for changing their vacation plans, and to BJ for planning such a wonderful tribute to George. Many relatives and friends have commented on the service and the friendliness of our church. BJ you were truly a blessing to us that week as was everyone in our church family. Thanks to everyone who continues to give me their love and support.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

With much love, Carol Craik

Remembering Pastor George

__________________________ No one will ever be able to fill Pastor

George’s shoes. He was loved by all who met him. We are honored to be able to call him friend. We served with him on the CCUMC Fish Team and also Barnabas. I can hear our Lord and Savior saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant.”

—Barb & Rolly Claver __________________________

The passing of Pastor George will leave such a hole in our church and our hearts. I will miss his dancing to Days of Elijah, and his funny Scottish jokes. He is just a wonderful person. I have learned a lot from him. He was always there whenever he was needed. He will be dearly missed by all. May your memories of George get you through this difficult time. God Bless. —Marsha, Tom, John, James, Scott

__________________________ Pastor George’s loss will leave a huge

hole in our life and in our hearts. He was such a wonderful man and we learned so much from him. He had such a wonderful sense of humor and was a lways so cheerful and encouraging. Now he is with his Lord and Savior and getting all his questions answered. I am sure all Heaven is just roaring while he is telling all of his Scottish jokes. George certainly was God's gift to all of who knew him and we are so blessed to have been a part of his life. Please know that all of you are in our prayers. We love you. —Burt and Astrid Lamb

______________________________ Pastor George was such a blessing to

our family—he went beyond what he “had” to do. The day my sister Joanie went in for a very serious operation he sat with us all day waiting with us until we got the results. Then when he was allowed to see her, he went in and prayed with her. We’ll never forget the great comfort and strength he gave us when we needed it most. — Diana Fisher

CCUMC donated some very nice items to be sold, and one of those donat ions was a d iamond engagement ring. Pastor George made the rounds looking at everything and spied the ring which was on the table in front of where I sat. He picked it up and asked if it were really a diamond. I swore that it was, although truth be told, I wouldn't know a diamond from an ice cube. But I knew the history of the ring and knew it to be authentic. He asked if I thought that Carol would like it, and I assured him she would. He confessed he had not given her an engagement ring, so I urged him to start the silent bidding, and he did.

That was early in the evening, and he was the first. About every 15 minutes he would come back to see if anyone else had bid higher, and no one had. He absolutely was giddy with the possibility that his beloved would be wearing that ring later that evening. It was so romantic! Of course everyone who saw that Pastor George had bid and heard why, wouldn't dream of trying to outbid him.

You'll have to ask Carol how and when he gave her that diamond ring, but I'm sure it was a sweet moment. —Lois Peery

______________________ Pastor George was such a great

man....and great seems like such a small word when talking about him. His sermons were always fun to listen to and hearing him sing songs from "the old days" warmed my heart. when I was in the nursing home and hospital, his smile cheered me up so! He even came to be with my grandparents when grandpa got into a massive accident. his heart was the

purest gold. I will fondly miss him dancing to "Days of Elijah" and hearing him try to upstage Pastor BJ with jokes. —Betsy Evans

____________________ I have many fond memories of Pastor George and his sermons, his sense of humor, and the times he visited me in the hospital. No one can ever take away those memories and even though we are sad and grieving, I know the angels are rejoicing to have such a wonderful man in Heaven now.

—Jennifer Fujimori

George was an invaluable and tireless member of the staff at CCUMC—it s t i l l doesn’t seem real that he isn’t with us any longer. In addition to Sundays, we got to spend an hour or so with him every

Tuesday afternoon at our regular staff meeting. He always made a fresh pot of coffee and often brought the pot into the office to refill cups for the coffee drinkers. Occasionally he’d have to miss staff meeting because of another obligation—on those days we’d say, “George must be back in rehab.” One week we were discussing how easy it is to misunderstand something if you don’t have the full story—just then Dona came into BJ’s office telling us that George was going to miss staff meeting because he was “at the rehab.” What? Someone asked, George is in rehab??? Well obviously, the full story is that he worked at Mercy Health and Rehab…it was the perfect illustration for “getting the whole story before you jump to conclusions” and we often teased George for being “in rehab.” When he wasn’t working at Mercy Rehab he was visiting our shut-ins and hospital bound. Every week he brought us an update on each of them. We knew they were in very capable hands. It was a joy and an honor to serve with him and staff meetings won’t be the same without him. —Heather Claver

____________________________ A few years ago our church had a

silent auction to raise funds to employ an interpreter for the hearing impaired attending Sunday morning worship. Members and friends of

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1928-2009

Pastor George with his grandchildren at his 80th birthday party

Pastor George sharing coffee and fellowship