Listen to Pastor Brian's Sermons
When available, Pastor Brian's sermons are posted on our website by Thursday each week. Sermons are available on The Pastor's Page™.
You may also view our 10:30 AM Facebook Live Service each week – click here.
Easter Sunday Service - April 4 - 10:30 AM
Because of the construction project and the pandemic, we have had to change our Lenten and Easter practices at the church. We will not be having a Maundy Thursday service this year and we will be having only one service on Easter Sunday. It was decided by the consistory that the best thing to do was not to have the Easter service indoors. This is for several reasons. Instead, we will be doing something similar to what we did for Christmas Eve. We will have a drive-in service at 10:30am. The service will be broadcast over the radio in the parking lot, so people can stay in their cars to listen. The service will also be simultaneously broadcast over Facebook Live, so that people can watch at home live, or later if they wish. In the case of rain, the drive-in service will be canceled and we will have the Facebook Live service only.
Sunday April 11 - Question Sunday - 10:30 AM service only
On Sunday April 11th we will be having the 10:30am service on Facebook only; there will be no 9:00am drive-in service that Sunday. Pastor Brian will be leading the service from a remote location while taking vacation. As such, the service will be a bit shorter than usual, and we will not have hymns for that Sunday either. It will also be a “Question Sunday”, so please get your questions ready now.
Wednesday April 14 - Social Hour Zoom Meeting moving to Wednesdays
Our regular social hour Zoom meetings that have been happening every Tuesday will be taking a break and moving days. Our last regular Social Hour Zoom meeting will be on Tuesday March 30th at 7pm. After that our next Zoom meeting will be on Wednesday April 14th at 7pm. Information will be sent out over email the day of as usual. After April 11th, we will continue to meet every Wednesday night except for the 4th Wednesday of each month, where we will take a one week break each month.
Sanctuary Work Day - April 17 - 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
We will be getting the sanctuary ready to use again for future services by having a work day on Saturday April 17th from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Feel free to drop in anytime during that period to help. We are asking, because of the pandemic and the length of time we will be working together, that all volunteers for the event be vaccinated and bring a mask to wear. We would also ask that if you have tools such as cordless drills and paint brushes that you bring those as well.
Front Steps Work Day - Saturday April 24 - 9:00 AM
Our front steps need to have the plywood and carpet coverings replaced due to the plywood no longer being sealed against water. We will be working on this project over several phases. The first phase will involve removing the old plywood and carpet, and patching any large holes made in the process. We will be showing up at 9:00am on Saturday the 24th of April to work on this. Because of the closeness with which we will have to work, we are asking that all volunteers for this project be vaccinated and bring a mask to wear. We would also ask that you bring gloves, crowbars, cordless drills, circular saws, grinders, large hammers, and claw hammers if you have them. In the case of rain we will reschedule for another Saturday.
A Gentle Answer: Our 'Secret Weapon' in an Age of Us Against Them - Book Study - April 20 to May 11 - 7:00 PM via Zoom
We will have a new book study that will be four weeks in length on Tuesday evenings, starting on Tuesday April 20th, and ending on Tuesday May 11th. We will meet all nights at 7PM over Zoom, and the information for the Zoom meeting will be sent out via the all church email list each Tuesday. The book we are reading is A Gentle Answer: Our 'Secret Weapon' in an Age of Us Against Them by Scott Sauls. It is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many major booksellers. The ISBN number is (1400216559). “In a defensive and divided era, how can followers of Jesus reveal a better way of living, one that loves others as God loves us? How can Christians be the kind of people who are known, as Proverbs puts it, to "turn away wrath?" Scott Sauls's compelling new book shows Christians how to become people of "a gentle answer" in a politically, relationally, and culturally fractured world by helping readers:
- grow in affection for Christ, who answers our hostility with gentleness
- nurture a renewed, softened heart in light of Christ's gentleness toward us
- and catch a vision to forsake us-against-them mentalities, put down our swords, and "infect" a hostile world with gentleness”
April 27 – Chapters 3-4
May 4 – Chapters 5-6
May 11 – Chapters 7-8
Plaque Dedication Honoring Gifts Given In Honor Or Memory
Last year the church was facing a monumental task of having to pay for a needed repair to the sanctuary that was going to cost over $250,000. Fortunately, we were able to make an insurance claim to pay for a portion of the project, and we have been given many generous donations by church members and others totaling over $101,000. We are now at the point where we have raised all needed funds for the project. Any future gifts given for the project will be used to replenish the church’s maintenance fund, which was depleted to help pay for the project. Many of the donations we received were given in honor or memory of another person or couple. The consistory has decided to make a special dedication in the form of a plaque with the names listed of those honored and memorialized. If you would like to add a person or a couple to this list for your donation, please contact either Pastor Brian or Melissa Baumbarger with this information. Any donation of any amount or even donations of work qualify you to have someone added to this list. If you haven’t yet made a donation, but plan to and want to have a person listed, you can still do so, as we will be collecting these names for some time yet. We will eventually publish a list of the names in advance to make sure we have everyone listed before we have the plaque made.
Church Scholarship
It is that time of the year again for us to receive applications for the church scholarship. If you are a graduating high school senior and wish to apply, you can request an application from Pastor Brian. The due date for the application is May 30th.
Church Directory With Pictures
Several people have asked for a church directory with pictures. Shortly after we start worshipping in the sanctuary again, we will start taking family pictures for the directory. We hope to have the picture directory ready this summer. Have you moved during the last year, or changed your phone number or email address? We are updating the church directory information now. Please email your new contact information to Alice or write the information on a card and drop it in the offering basket. If you have a family picture for the directory, please include it in your email. You can pick up an early version of the directory, without pictures, starting on the Sunday when we re-dedicate the sanctuary.
Visits From Pastor Brian
Due to an increase in the infection rates of COVID-19 for our area, and an abundance of caution, Pastor Brian will not be doing regular visits to people in their homes. This is a continuation of his current policy on visits. Pastor Brian, will however, do visits in emergency cases such as hospital visits. If that is required please contact Pastor Brian to let him know.
Joys And Concerns
We will be continuing our joys and concerns during our online service at 10:30 AM and our 9:00 AM drive-in service. To be included each week, please email your joys and concerns to Pastor Brian before each Sunday. There is also the ability to make comments during the service and we will use that as well for joys and concerns.
Offering Envelopes
The new offering envelopes are here for 2021. If you would like to get your envelopes, they will be available at the drive-in services, or you can also contact me, Pastor Brian, at 937-469-1383 to arrange a time to pick them up from the church. Also, if that doesn't work, I can mail them to you, just call me and let me know and I will verify that I have the right address for you.
Giving To Beaver Church During The Pandemic
All of us have been impacted in so many ways by the Coronavirus pandemic. Many have been struggling financially, and for those of you who have, please contact Pastor Brian and we can assist you from our benevolence fund. For those that are able to continue to give your offerings to the church and wish to, you can either send checks to the church at “1960 Dayton-Xenia Rd. Beavercreek, OH 45434”, or if you wish, you can go to our website www.beaverucc.org and use the yellow donate button in the upper right hand corner of the webpage to donate online via credit or debit card. We also have a box for your offerings available at the 9:00am drive-in service. If you wish to give in person and cannot make it to the 9:00am drive-in service, please contact Pastor Brian to arrange a time to meet. We are very grateful for continued offerings during this period, as we are still paying staff and taking care of other bills and obligations.
Items For The Kids
Jeannette, our fabulous children’s moment leader, will be putting some things together for the kids which will be sent in the mail for Easter. If you wish to have your children receive something from Jeannette, or any other care package items we send to the kids, please email Pastor Brian with your address and the number of kids who would like to receive things at that address.