Maranatha Class Website

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Next Sunday, August 22nd, is "Great Day at BA"; it is also the day chosen to celebrate the 30 years of service by Dr. Biggs and his family to BAUMC. Your gift to Dr. Biggs in honor of his service will be your presence at Sunday School and Church on Sunday, August 22nd. Be there and contact other members to encourage their attendance!!

This Sunday, we had a great group of members and were glad to have everyone in class. If you weren’t able to be there today, make certain that you’re with us next Sunday if at all possible.

We recognized several people for their birthdays and anniversaries, including Richard Payton and Richard Wansley (both whose birthdays are on August 19th) and Lee & Pam Snodgrass whose anniversary is August 18th.

Johnny Romo was our only visitor; he is the new resident at the Maranatha sponsored apartment in Exodus House. Johnny tells us that he plans on being a regular at Sunday School and Boston Avenue. Welcome Johnny!

Friday evening, 6pm, August 20th, will be the Anniversary Dinner for Maranatha’s 30th; the dinner celebration will be held at the Church. Contact Pam Sherman or Pam Low for reservations and more information. I know that some of us (including Meredith and me) have prior committments that will prevent our attendance, but we’ll be thinking of our Maranatha friends. If possible, join your Maranatha family on Friday evening! Enjoy!

Suzy and Denny Meredith-Orr told us that the mission activity, serving at the Day Center, was successful. Photos of the service were placed on the Mission Board in the classroom. Thanks, Suzy and Denny, for organizing this and other mission opportunities.

Several concerns were shared with the class, including news that Michelle Place’s grandmother continues to have both good and bad days; Kirk Place’s mother, Margie, has learned that she has Stage 4 cancer; Jim Seymour’s mother, Theda, died earlier this week (services will be held for her on Thursday, August 19th, 10am, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1222 S. Guthrie); Jim Smryl’s mother, Kathryn who lives in San Antonio, has esophageal cancer; John Sherman’s friend, Steve "the Greek" Vaniadis died this week. Please remember all these people and their families and friends in your prayers. Christi Luks is travelling in Bolivia, visiting the shores of Lake Titicaca. Keep Christi in your thourghts and prayers, as well.

Jim Embrey led us in a prayer; thank you, Jim!

Keith Madden taught a interesting lesson on the crusades, and affored us ample opportunities to consider how contemporary times can mirror history. Thanks, Keith! After class was dismissed, I presented Keith with a Certificate of Appreciation for stepping up at the last minute to be our teacher.

Next Sunday, our teacher will be Professor Sandra Costen Kunz, Phillips Theological Seminary. Dr. Kunz has taught our class in the past, and we look forward to hearing from her next week.

Have a blessed week!

Richard Wansley

"Kdo jinemu jamu kopa sam do
ni pada"
(When you try to dig a hole for someone else, you usually fall in
it yourself!)

The above quote is a Czech wisdom, shared with me by my daughter-in-law who along with our son and grandson are visiting with us from their home in South Africa. It’s been a busy week for us with all our adult children, their significant others, and grandson under the same roof once again!

On Sunday, we had a great morning! If you were there, you know that already; if not, then we missed you, and hope to see you soon!

We celebrated two birthdays, Gene Martin (8/14) and Don Forsman, our teacher (also on 8/14), and several anniversaries, Jim McCann & Angie Dale (8/8), Kevin & Barbara Meehan (8/11), Rob & Frieda Reck (8/11), Paul & Ruth Giessen (8/13), and Rob Smith & Susan Morgan (8/13). Congratulations.

Our greeters who brought refreshments were Shari & Lynn Goodwin and Debbie & Neal Pascoe; thank you!

Next week greeters and providers of snacks are Ginny & Jerry LeDoux (guilt-ridden/set up) and Dana & Stuart Solomon (healthy/clean up).

Melanie Evans, a Maranatha alumus, joined regular members on Sunday.

Several announcements were made by members. Friday evening, August 20th, will be the date of our Maranatha Anniversary Dinner at the church. Check with Pam Sherman about details. Those who signed up for the mission, serving at the Day Center for the Homeless, on Friday, August 13th, please remember to be there; contact Suzy or Denny Meredith-Orr for details or if your plans have changed.

Concerns recognized by members included the death of Jim Seymour’s mother, Richard Payton’s aunt whose caretaker stole money from her, Kirk Place’s mother who was recently diagnosed with cancer, and Michelle Place’s grandmother who is seriously ill. Your prayers are requested for these families.

An eloquent, thoughtful prayer was prepared and delivered by Ed Payton.

Please note this important announcement: On August 22nd, it with Great Day At BA! It will also be the 30th Anniversary of Dr. Biggs at BAUMC. At Dr. Bigg’s request, there will be no grand event, but it is requested that we fill every pew and overflow the sanctuary with all of us who are members. So, please mark your calendars and be at BA on August 22nd!

Our teacher on Sunday morning was Don Forsman, who spoke to us about being a Christian "doubter". Thanks, Don. Don will be back with us at some date yet to be rescheduled in the next month or so.

Next Sunday, our own Keith Madden has agreed to be our teacher for a lesson on the Crusades; come join us for this interesting topic!

Have a great week.

Richard Wansley / Meredith Davison
Presidents

"Life well spent is long."
Leonardo da Vinci

Great Sunday! If you were there, I’m sure you would agree, if not, then we missed you!

Our opening prayer as given by Lynn Russell.

We recognized member’s birthdays (Shannon Lathchem, 8/2; Paul Staat, 8/4; Mary Staat, 8/5; Jill Thomas, 8/6; Glenna Arnott, 8/6) and anniversaries (Olin & Karen Holmes, 8/5; Denzil & Lisa Tallent, 8/6; Jim & Patty Banes, 8/7). Happy birthdays and anniversaries!

Our greeters who brought this morning’s refreshments were Sharon Bookout and Jennifer Hall. Thank you!

Jim and Ginger Smyrl are our new members; welcome Jim and Ginger!!

Colin Rainey, Nancy Christi’s son, was our visitor this morning; come again, Colin.

The Cans and Karaoke Party is scheduled for August 28th; contact Paula and/or Skip Scott for more details is you purchased a ticket for this event. The Amish Dinner is scheduled for October 2nd. Pam Sherman will bring us more information on this all members event.

We received a nice thank you note from Paul Staat, and Mary updated us on his status. The Low’s neighbor who suffered brain trauma from an accident did not survive his injuries. Darlene Lorenz is home from the hospital but not feeling well with the medications that she is taking for her infection. Kendall Carpenter’s father who suffered a stroke while in OKC has been moved to a Tulsa hospital. Other concerns were expressed for Lanny Ross and his family as well as the family and friends of Cherl Poppinberger. Prayers were requested for Casey whose father is hospitalized. Others were mentioned out loud and in our thoughts. Please pray for all these, their family and friends.

The South African clan of the Wansley family is in town for 2 weeks as of Sunday, and the rest of the immediate family will be here in Tulsa beginning on Wednesday evening. It’s going to be fun to have them all together under the same roof again.

Nancy Christi offered our prayer this morning.

David Carpenter completed his first 4 week cycle of teaching and will back with us for the second 4 weeks in September. Each week, David has drawn out more and more discussion from the class. Thanks, David.

For the next two weeks, August 8th and 15th, Don Forsman will be our teacher. See you next Sunday!

Richard Wansley

See the message below from Shari Goodwin:

"Good news! Paul’s test results have come back. He learned yesterday that his lymphoma is B cell, non-Hodgkins, which is the most treatable kind. There is no indication that the cells have spread any place other than the lymph nodes. He will have to have chemo for a year – a full dose every three weeks with maintenance chemo in between, beginning just as soon as his abdomen is sufficiently healed. His port will be put in this afternoon, and the prognosis is very good for a full recovery and no reoccurrance.

Dr. Yeary told him that it would have been a completely different scenario two months from now if the lymphoma had gone undetected. What a blessing that he had the hernia surgery when he did and had an excellent, thorough surgeon performing it!

He said to tell everyone that he is feeling God’s grace and feeling everyone’s love and prayers, and he wants you to know that you’re in his prayers as well. He has appreciated all the visits, but is beginning to get tired after all the surgery and tests. He suggested that, for a while, it might be good for everyone to check with Mary before visiting. He would love to get cards any time!

He should go home tomorrow, then will need to stay down and heal. He’s hoping to create a blog as soon as he is able, to include everyone who wants to be with him on this journey.

Blessings,

Shari Goodwin"

See message from Pam Sherman; contact her directly if interested.

"I have one ticket left for the Music Man performance.
Thanks, Pam"

"Will the circle be unbroken
By and by Lord, by and by
There’s a better home awaiting
In the sky, Lord, in the sky."
Refrain, Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Great day on Sunday! There was a nice number of members and visitors who joined us on Sunday to hear the third Bible Study lesson presented by David Carpenter. Thank you, David; you’re doing a great job at generating some interesting observations and discussions.

We celebrated several birthdays, Charlotte Rowe (7/25), Skip Scott (7/29), Mary Ninde (7/31), and a couple of anniversaries, Jim & Ginger Smyrl (visitors who are nearly members) and Mark Lee & Brenda Miller. Congratulations!!

Our thanks for our greeters who provided refreshments: Jim McCann & Angie Dale and Rex & Allene Donley. Yummy, yummy! Next week, our greeters and providers of snacks are Sharon Bookout (guilty snacks / setup) and Jennifer Hall (healthy snacks / cleanup).

One of our announcements pertained to the expected arrival of a new resident at our sponsored apartment at Exodus House. However, today, I received notice from Bob Russell that the prospective resident committed infractions prior to his release which will result in his continued incarceration for some future time. Whether it will be the same or a new person assigned to the apartment in the future is yet to be known by us.

There were announcements of joys and sharing of concerns. First, the joys. Bill and Susan Thomas announced the engagement of their daughter. Denise and Albert Klein’s son, Matt, has completed his requirements for the Eagle Scout award (an update from Matt will be sent seperate from this weekly report). Darlene Lorenz, hospitalized last week, while still in the hospital (Hillcrest), is doing much better and expecting to head home by Tuesday.

As to concerns, there were several. Former member, Karen Koller has discovered that she has cancer; Michelle Place’s grandmother is moving to a nursing home. Kendall Carpenter’s father had a stroke while in OKC, and is hospitalized there. All these members, friends, and family members need your prayers and expressions of concern.

Paul Staat was hospitalized last week for abdomidal surgery, relatively routine. Regrefully, there were complications. First, the routine surgery was not routine; greater repair was required than originally expected. Second, swollen, inflammed lymph nodes were removed for further testing. The tests have shown that Paul is suffering from lymphoma. Further testing will reveal the type of lymphoma and whether there are other sites for the disease or additional complications. Paul had a great attitude when Meredith and I visited with him (and Mary) on Saturday evening, expressing his feeling of being blessed by God that the original surgery enabled the discovery of a disease that was otherwise without symptoms. Please pray for Paul, Mary, and Kate! Visit Paul; he enjoys company! We’ll keep you updated on his progress.

Karen Brownlee Campbell has arranged for meals to Mary and Kate (and Paul when he returns home), and it is my belief that she currently has sufficient volunteers. However, I urge you to contact Karen if you are interested in helping. At this time, we don’t know when Paul will be returning home. News today indicates that he might be staying longer than expected to begin treatment for the lymphoma.

Next week, David will complete his first of two 4-week Bible Study sessions. The Bible verses for this coming Sunday are: Galations – Chapters 5 and 6.

Following David, we will be joined on two Sundays by Don Forsman who will be our teacher.

Have a great week! Look for updates.

Richard Wansley

I want to thank those of you who have subscribed to the Maranatha Class Blog. We currently have 23 subscribers to the Maranatha Class Blog, and over 140 still getting Class News and other emails by the Gmail delivery method.

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