Sherman

We had a great Sunday here at Sherman.  It was actually 4 great weeks of celebrating our past heritage and looking forward to the future. 
 
On September 21 we baptized 4 (we did it that early because of the pastoral installation on September 28).  This week we accepted 2 members by profession of faith and 1 by transfer.  It was a special privilege to award the Centennial Heritage award to Goldie Sprinkle (Ed Sprinkle’s mother).  Many also enjoyed the musical presentation. 

It was a great success in other ways as well.  Because of the children challenging us we raised 418 cans for a food pantry in the area.  We also had 111 people in attendance, many of whom said they would be back.                                  --- William Haworth, Pastor

Taylorville

Sunday October 5^th signified the Church of the Nazarene’s 100^th Anniversary.  As a part of that celebration the First Church of the Nazarene in Taylorville gave out 8 Heritage Awards.  These awards were given as remembrance of years of service to the church.  Each person has been a member for at least 45 years with one who is not pictured having been a member for 83 years.  

Pictured above  L to R: Katie Tippitt, Ruth Peckham, Don Tippitt, Gladys Tippitt, Erma Mills, Margaret Burge, Laverta Tewell, Merle Coffey, and Pastor Jonathon Maloney (Not Pictured Evelyn Aufrecht)

Taylorville First also received 6 new members.  Pictured to the left are Amanda Dempsey, Chris Dempsey, Kyle Shoemaker, Stephanie, Lori Cunningham, Robby Hammel and Pastor Jonathon Maloney

Mississippi Valley Zone

On October 5^th the Mississippi Valley Zone met at Godfrey for a combined Centennial Celebration. The celebration started with a great time of fellowship as over 100 children and adults gathered for a picnic. We enjoyed the food, the fun and the fellowship that was made possible by everyone working together.  Then we moved inside where over 160 Nazarenes from all over the zone filled the sanctuary for a celebration service. 

From the beginning the service was blessed with the presence of God. 

We enjoyed the songs and spirit of the praise team from Godfrey; had the opportunity to hear the awesome choir from Roxana sing the “One” musical and had the pleasure of listening to a quartet from Roxana who led us into the spirit of worship.  Each church provided a video that covered their history, histories rich with the blessings of God.  When it seemed that it just couldn’t get any better, Dr. Spruce brought a loving message from a tender heart that was truly anointed by God. 

How wonderful to know that we have a Father who loves us with such great love!

It was such a joy to have fellow Nazarenes from different parts of the zone come together as One people to celebrate 100 years of promoting holiness. Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit we enjoyed a unity of spirit that brought forth a time of rejoicing – let’s do it again!

Centennial Sunday Report as of 10/10/2008   Church Name City SS MW Combined Communion Baptized New Naz. Anna First Anna 83 112   97 0 0 Arcola First Arcola 0 0 50 35 0 0 Arcola - Spanish Arcola  IL 0 0 75 20 0 Bethel community Arenzville 67 92   75 1 3 Auburn Auburn 58 40   37     Beardstown Church of the Nazarene Beardstown 74 109       5 Belleville First Church of the Nazarene Belleville 170 252 - 252 - - Emmanuel Belleville 48 41   34     Benton First Church of the Nazarene Benton 52 129   118 0 0 New Beginnings Community Church Carbondale     95 70 2 3 Casey First Church of The Nazarene Casey 112 183 N/A 177 0 4 Centralia Church of the Nazarene Centralia 62 82   47   4 New Day Community Champaign   65   35 0 0 Chrisman Chrisman 49 101         Decatur West Side Decatur 88 107   98 5 5 Oak Grove Decatur 22 54 n/a 52 2 0 Rush Memorial East St. Louis 4 4 8 4 0 0 Parkview Fairview Heights 55 45   45 0 0 Flora Flora 140 175   175 0 0 OLIVET Georgetown 55 90         Georgetown Church of the Nazarene Georgetown  IL     130 126   Godfrey Godfrey 35 65   50     Harrisburg First Harrisburg 10 37 0 37 0 0 Griggsville Il 27 32   30 0 0 Jerseyville Jerseyville 46 51 0 40 0 1 Lincoln First Lincoln 27 76   56     Mahonet Chruch of the Nazarene Mahomet 36 61   54 0 0 Marion First Marion     105 100 2 0 Marshall Church of the Nazarene Marshall 46 48   43     Mattoon East Side Mattoon  Illinois 140 121   112 0 Mount Vernon Faith Mount Vernon     64 43 6 0 Mt Erie Church of the Nazarene Mt Erie     59 54 7 7 First Church Mt. Carmel 21 66   53 0 0 Church of the Nazarene Mt. Sterling  IL 23 57   50 0 First Church of the Nazarene Murphysboro 49 89   89 0 0 Oakwood Oakwood 24 11   0 0 0 Ogden Church of the Nazarene Ogden 54 72   68     Olney First Church Olney 67 84         Omaha Omaha 14 20   11 0 0 Pana First Pana 167 307   220 5 16 Pittsfield Pittsfield 195 285   250 1   CrossRoads Community Pontoon Beach 33 54   49 1 0 Rantoul Church of the Nazarene Rantoul 45 106   24 0 0 Ridge Farm Ridge Farm     55 42 0 0 Roxana Roxana 169 176   170   12 Royalton First Royalton 86 56   46     Salem Grace Church of the Nazarene Salem 0   307 226 0 0 shelbyville Shelbyville 107 167   165 0 0 First Springfield 163 242   200     Taylorville First Taylorville 52 90   81 0 6 Tilden Tilden 10 12   0 0 0 West Union West Union  Il 62441 73 69 2 5