August 2020 Chips, Cedar Chips

Babylonian Captivity

AUGUST 2020

Babylonian Captivity

If you’ve read the prophet Jeremiah, you’ve grieved along with him in warning God’s people about the coming captivity. God warned them again and again and again. And they choose to ignore Him again… and again… again.  It’s heartbreaking.  As I read along, I am angered and bewildered why the people won’t listen! What else can God do to get their attention?

Nothing. There is nothing else He can do. They don’t want to listen. Their hearts are hardened. Their ears are closed.  The God that has been so faithful to them as a chosen people for the last 500 years is no longer a priority. They are worshipping idols made of wood and stone (which God points out is sheer ridiculousness). They are sacrificing their children to these man-made idols (a hideous and gross practice). They are content with sin.

And then, the book of Lamentations—a short little 5-chapter book highlighting Israel’s lament after Judah is destroyed and her inhabitants are carried off to Babylon for a 70-year captivity.  It is in Lamentations where they finally they cry out and begin to recognize the error of their ways.  But this book isn’t so much a book of sorrow, as it is a recognizing that God’s plan for His judgement and their sorrow has been and always will be to return their hearts to Him.

In reading this, I can’t help but ask:

”God, what are you trying to teach us?”

He’s got my attention. We are feeling pain. We have seen destruction. And in a way, COVID-19 is holding us in captivity.  So I keep asking God what to do. What is our response? How are we to act? What are the next steps for the church?

Is He trying to get our attention? Have our hearts hardened? Are we worshipping other gods and man-made idols?   Are we content with sin?

Watch this short and well-made summary of the book of Lamentations: https://youtu.be/p8GDFPdaQZQ

Leah Carolan
Director of Worship & Media

 

 

 

 

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    Communication, Connection, News, Prayer, Volunteers Needed

    Volunteering, Prayer and a Midweek Update

    PRAYER MEETING TONIGHT

    Join us for prayer at the church, 6:30pm.  Stop in for as much or as little as you are able.  Due to the heat, we will meet in the Gathering Space.

    VOLUNTEER – CEDAR HILLS WORK GROUP

    Saturday, August 29, meet at church at 8am and we will split up into teams and go to two different locations to clean up branches and debris from yards of two locations in need of help. Bring gloves if you have some.

    VOLUNTEER – MATTHEW 25 WORK GROUPS

    With all of the recent storm damage and urgent needs caused by it, Matthew 25 is refocusing the August 31-September 4 Transform Week to derecho repair projects, targeting low-income homeowners with damage that won’t be covered by insurance as well as clearing of trees and removing debris from homes.  PARTNER WITH MATTHEW 25 next week.

    SUNDAY CLASSES RESUME SEPT. 13

    Our Fall season of ministry will begin Sunday, September 13. Classes for ages 3 to adult will be open, as well as the nursery.  Help us plan by registering the whole family for this new season of ministry. READ MORE

    REGISTER NOW FOR CLASSES

    MEDIA UPDATES

    THE CEDAR CHIPS

    The August Cedar Chips are online.  The Cedar Chips is the monthly newsletter of Cedar Hills Community Church and highlights reflections from each of our ministry staff members. READ NOW

    Derecho, Uncategorized

    Clean-Up Stories

    Tate Joens working with a Cedar Hills work group

    The work continues on the storm clean-up.  A number of groups have been coming and going from the church since last Monday’s storm.

    Steve Poole has coordinated multiple groups this last week, addressing over twenty trees on the Oberembt property, cutting up and hauling away brush, clearing walkways.  And the work didn’t stop at just our church members. Many times the groups also addressed the neighbors to the properties they were visiting.

    Nathan Schnell assisting a neighbor of one of our church members.

    In one instance, the neighbor was a single lady who living alone.  Her driveway had been cleared just enough to get her car out, but Steve’s group addressed the other 3-4 trees that had fallen across the sidewalk and street. “She was very grateful because she didn’t know where she could turn for help.”

    Water from Trinity Reformed

    Former staff member Jeremy Van Genderen brought a crew Monday morning from Trinity Reformed Church in Allison, Iowa to assist in the clean-up.  Their church sent cases of water, handmade sandwiches, chips and cookies for us to distribute as needed.  We were able to bless the apartment buildings on the SW side of Cedar Rapids that took a major hit from the storm with these offerings of food and water.

    Trinity Reformed work group

    We have a need to walk the grounds and continue to pick up debris around the church.  We’re planning a quick pizza lunch around 12:05 after the second service this Sunday, August 23. We will then walk the property to finish the cleanup of debris.  Come and help — bring gloves, sunscreen, work shoes/boots.

    Derecho

    Derecho Response Information

    Moving forward with our storm clean-up, we are partnering with a couple of different disaster relief organizations who specialize in mobilizing groups and volunteers for this very specific purpose.

    MATTHEW 25

    If you’d like to help with derecho recovery, please check Matthew 25’s Facebook page for current volunteer opportunities. If you’re available between October 13-17, consider signing up for Transform Week when they will be doing a blitz of home repair projects.

    Homes damaged by the derecho may be eligible for free repairs by Matthew 25 volunteers and partners. All applicants must:

    • Own your home
    • Have damage to your home that insurance won’t cover
    • Earn under 80% of median income

    If you meet these requirements, please complete the online application. Work has already begun and projects will continue to be added as funding and volunteers become available. Contact Matthew 25 if you have any questions.

    Samaritan’s Purse

    Individual volunteers and teams welcome.  You can sign-up online or via phone (828-588-5711) though they do ask for 24-hrs notice from volunteers.  Volunteers meet and get oriented at Hillside Wesleyan Church, 2600 1st Ave. NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405.

    Eight Days of Hope

    Sign up on their website to volunteer.  They are planning an extended stay in Cedar Rapids until at least September.   Here is an FAQ page for their plan in Cedar Rapids.

    Cedar Hills Community Church

    As a church, we will also be collecting donations to our Caring Hands Fund and assisting our church body and local neighbors with clean-up. You can donate via check to the church office or by choosing “Caring Hands” from the fund menu on our giving page.

    Please let us know if you still need help with tree removal, debris clean-up, food, shelter, etc.  We want to make sure all of church body’s needs have been addressed as best we can.

    Local Resources

    CR News Now – text alerts from the city of Cedar Rapids with latest storm updates

    Cedar Rapids Storm Damage Page – a listing of all the recent news and updates from the city related to the derecho.

    Derecho

    Post-Derecho Work

    We’ve heard many stories and seen many of our church body in action this week, helping our church, neighbors and community in post-derecho storm cleanup.  Thank you to all who have jumped in and helped! Whether slinging a chainsaw, prepping meals, gathering supplies, or just listening to the stories of another with an ear of compassion, we have witnessed the Body of Christ in all her gifts this week.

    From Left to Right: A couple from the neighborhood, Bruce Boldt, Olivia and Amy Geiger, Gary Sager, Lisa Boldt, Nate (pastor) and Scott from Hope Reformed in Parkersburg. Picture credit: Stuart Geiger

    This particular group visited the Geiger’s house, addressing over half a dozen large trees that had fallen and clearing up debris.  After a lunch break (thank you, Lisa Boldt!), they headed next door to address the house of a neighbor whose husband recently had a stroke. She was feeling overwhelmed with the mess in her yard until this group jumped in.  A couple other neighbors joined in the effort, and many hands were able to address her yard!

    We know there are many needs ahead of us in our community.  Thank you for having open hearts to your neighbors and your communities to see how God can use you to bring His love and His Kingdom to the greater Cedar Rapids area.

    August 2020 Chips, Cedar Chips

    You Can Make a Difference

    AUGUST 2020

    You Can Make a Difference

    This morning I remembered the story of Esther. An ordinary young woman who became a queen and found herself in the middle of a crisis. Faced with an extraordinary challenge, would she act boldly or remain silent? Her uncle Mordecai asked this pivotal question: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

    Mordecai knew that God would save the people; the only question was: Who would God use to accomplish this deliverance? In this (long?) season of uncertainty, I have no doubt that God is alive and active and will accomplish His work in our community and around the world. I do wonder who God wants to use.

    I wonder if, but for a time like this, God has placed us strategically in our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and families to offer encouragement and hope. We are the kind of people who bring good news of great joy to the world. Who knows but that you are the right person, in the right place, at the right time, to make a difference?

    As we prepare for the fall season there are still many questions about how we engage with each other. Safety is important as reaching out with the love of Jesus. We are the kind of people who reach out to love others with hospitality, authenticity, and forgiveness. We reach out to bring restoration. We long to see all that is broken in our world fixed.

    You can make a difference in restoring the world back to the way it ought to be!

    Kent Landhuis
    Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

     

     

     

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