Since 1949, Presbyterians have joined with millions of other Christians through One Great Hour of Sharing to share God’s love with people experiencing need. Our gifts support ministries of disaster response, refugee assistance and resettlement, and community development that help people find safe refuge, start new lives and work together to strengthen their families and communities.

Recognizing that the hope we have in Christ is lived out in our hope for one another, we respond with gifts that help our sisters and brothers around the world find the hope for a brighter future.

This year we have chosen to take this offering on Pentecost Sunday, May 23. Join with us as we reach out to help those in need.

PCUSA Great Hour of Sharing link:  http://www.pcusa.org/oghs/

Faith in Action Weekend is a joint project of the churches of Escalon, where we will gather together on a Saturday May 1,  to devote time to a few service projects.  We have one “global” service project (The World Vision CareGiver Kit project) and a couple of “local” service projects (this year will include a project to improve our C.A.R.E. facility, our local food bank).   Come be a part of this project and be a blessing to your community and abroad.  This is a great way our entire church can serve those in need in Christ’s name.

Saturday Schedule:

1)       Faith In Action CareGiver Kits Assembly 9:00 am - 12:oo noon, in the Faith Center

2)      Faith In Action C.A.R.E. Cleanup Project – 9:00 - 12:00 noon, C.A.R.E. on First Street

Win $100, closest to the Hole. Get your tickets at the Escalon Club house. $1.00 for Three Balls!!   Your donation to this event will benifit the 2010 Youth Mexicali Mission Trip.

Best Ball Golf Tournment & Dinner…March 21 – 2:00 pm – Escalon Golf Course

It’s time for the EPC annual Golf Tournament.  This year the proceeds received  will benefit the 2010 Youth Mexicali Mission Trip, April 3-10.

Shotgun at 2:00 pm Sunday March 21

Get some friends together and make a foursome.  Singles are welcome also.  Dinner will follow the tournament at aprox 4:00 pm.

Cost:

$25.00 per person
$5:00 Dinner Only

Tickets will be available at EPC, beginning March 7th.

Please register at:

Registration Dedline is Sunday March 14, 2010

Read more about Mission Aviation Fellowship here:  www.maf.org

About Ralph and Valerie

Ralph and Valerie Dawson and their children Kathryn, Elliot, Emilee, and Elisabeth, are missionaries with Mission Aviation Fellowship. They are currently serving at MAF’s headquarters in Nampa, Idaho. Their previous terms have been spent in Irian Jaya (now Papua) Indonesia.

Ralph shares that the highlight of their ministry in Indonesia was working together with the local church to reach the remaining isolated areas of Irian Jaya, bringing the Gospel to those who have not yet heard. He flew more than 800 hours a year to help support the church development in areas where there is no other transportation. Valerie loved seeing God work in the lives of the national people. She shares, “As I saw each person change and grow in Christ, I was being changed and grew in ways I never imagined.”

Ralph is currently part of the Learning Technologies Department in MAF Headquarters. He plays an integral part in helping the church deliver Biblical teaching to remote, hard to access parts of the world.  Valerie enjoys participating on MAF panels representing the MAF wives’ role, addressing the new candidates coming into MAF. She opens her home providing meals for candidates and orientees. Valerie also shares her musical talent through singing and playing her violin for MAF Chapels and other functions.

Ralph was born in Escalon, California and grew attended Oakdale High School. The evidence of Christ in the lives of some of his high school friends was instrumental in his decision to accept Christ as his Savior. Attending an Urbana Missions Conference confirmed Ralph’s desire to serve in missions. Ralph earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology, and his Airframe and Powerplant mechanic license from LeTourneau University in Texas. He received his flight training at Moody Aviation in Tennessee. He holds a Commercial Pilot License, Instrument Rating. In November 2002, he received his Commercial Flight Instructor-Instrument rating. In 2003 Ralph went back to school part time and in 2007 earned a Masters in Spiritual Formation from Talbot Seminary, a part of Biola University.

Valerie grew up in Modesto, California. At age 19, she heard and truly understood the Gospel message, accepting Christ as her Savior. She attended Modesto Junior College and California State University at Chico, where she received a B.A. in Elementary Education. Valerie also attended Urbana in 1976 and 1979 where the Lord challenged her to make a commitment to missions. Ralph and Valerie met in 1978 and were married in 1980.

Ralph’s favorite verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”  Lamentations 3:22-23, is a special passage for Valerie. “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.” The Lord’s grace is sufficient for whatever situations she finds herself in.

To fund the worldwide ministry of MAF, God is faithful in providing loyal, generous ministry support from His most caring people. He has called the men and women of MAF to serve Him in a unique way. He is also calling people like you around the world to play a special role in the ministry of MAF.  You are invited to become a ministry partner with Ralph and Valerie in this strategic ministry. Please prayerfully consider involvement with them through prayer or financial support.

I do not look forward to work each day. I see hard working dairymen confronted with the fact that they are losing massive amounts of money. Rising feed prices squeeze non-existent margins, while lenders slowly circle like vultures. Dairy economists state that this cycle could be the second worst in 40 years. Dairy groups petition California Department of Agriculture for relief, others lobby Congress. The Secretary of Agriculture announced that the entire dairy industry needs to be restructured. In the meantime, milk prices fall, herds are liquidated, and some dairymen loose what they have worked their whole lives to build. Dairies drive many businesses in this area. When they cannot pay their bills, hay dealers don’t get paid, service companies don’t get paid for dairy supplies, feed companies lay off people because of falling demand, and fewer tractors or pick ups are bought.   Sometimes I feel flat, dry and overwhelmed by the economic mess which is widespread throughout the Valley. Whether this period is a recession or a depression makes little difference. For the thousands of people in the Valley who have lost their homes or are unemployed, it is a very difficult time.  Joy for many is not readily apparent

 Sometimes you have to leave the Valley, just to leave, take a break from the tedium, the harvest brown dust, and struggling dairies, and look at the ocean, ride a ferry, climb a mountain, see a play, or just drive.

 Against this backdrop, the 2009 Global Church Conference,”Overflowing Joy and Generosity” in a world of pain and scarcity, at First Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, was a much welcomed respite. An astute dairy manager once told me, “It’s good to have another set of eyes on a dairy.” He meant that people see things, which we sometimes take for granted and miss. For the past four years, I have had the opportunity to hear the perspective of dynamic Christians with vibrant testimonies from around the world.

 Rev.  Zac Niringiye, is the Assistant Bishop in Kampala whom I heard two years ago. As the Bishop sitting on a government council, he is able to call cabinet meetings of the Ugandan government. In 2007 he co-convened the Hiv/Aids symposium in Kampala, sponsored by Harvard University, and the Templeton Foundation. He is also the Chair of the Task Force for Northern Uganda. Northern Uganda is closely related to the problems of the Congo and Rwanda. The problem in Northern Uganda is compounded by a group called, the Lord’s Resistance Army which is notorious for the use of child soldiers which have been kidnapped. Thousands of people have been displaced and live in camps.

 Rev. Nirigiye titled his talk, “Meeting God in the Valley.”  He started by asking the question,”Are there places where God is not allowed?” Are there places too dismal for God? The Congo, where over 5.5 million people have died, and Northern Uganda are dismal in their suffering. Places racked by Aids or war would seem on the outward surface to have been abandoned by God.  Yet, this is not the case.

 Some men do not acknowledge the existence of God because they have been deceived. They do not worship God as creator; they do not reflect his image and hence worship and serve what they have created themselves. From Acts 17, Nirigiye reminded us that God is a creator not served with human hands. If a man worships what he has created, i.e., his bank account, home, wealth, wife, he will grieve when it disappears or is taken away. There is a correlation here between joy and generosity. He stated,” What ever giving does not proceed from gratitude is idolatrous.”  Note the example of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19.  He walked away from Jesus rather than cut loose with his wealth.

 God has created us to worship him, to find our peace and contentment in him rather than in material things. Hence it is possible to have joy in spite of terrible loss. Ironically we are reminded,”In thy presence is the fullness of joy.”

 Some examples of joy:

•  A man with cancer told Zac, “I truly cried for the blessings God has brought me. Cancer has revealed something of God; I    would  never have had the opportunity to see.”
•  An Aids patient in Kampala, “I thank God for Aids, maybe I would not have known God the way I do.”
• A prisoner, who had been a Leading Security official, formerly sentenced to death for atrocities, upon receiving a presidential pardon, “I received a gift while in prison for the last 25 years that I would never exchange for anything.”

 Theodora Niringiye, wife of Rev Niringiye, is a social worker in Uganda. She spoke on “Generosity and Joy in Brokenness.”

 She stated,”Northern Uganda is a broken community.”  Numerous people have been displaced, families separated, children traumatized. There is a widespread incidence of sexual abuse of women and girls. Furthermore there is a problem of a lack of forgiveness towards child rebels who have fled or escaped the army and try to reintegrate back into civilian life.

 She responded to the question, “Is there anything God can do in the presence of so much pain?”   Mrs. Niringiye responded,  “Even in brokenness, God consoles. He gives the oil of gladness instead of mourning.” Isaiah. 61:3.  Further she believed that God will intervene and that God’s people need to pray for the people in camps. She noted that a people of compassion are a people of generosity.  She relayed the account of a woman she had spoken to who had lost a son. Upon her departure the woman offered her a cracker with a Ugandan version of peanut butter with the admonition, ”If you want to complete my joy, carry this.”

 The last speaker, Chamron Phal, was a Cambodian who pastured a church in Oakland.   His talk was titled, “Transformed through Tough Times.”

 Phal narrated some of the events of the Killing Fields which lasted three years, eight months and 20 days from April 17, 1975 to 1979. He centered his talk on Romans 8:28.   A believer who follows Jesus often refined, tempered like Jesus was in Isaiah 53.  He did not denigrate the horror of the times in which he lost 4 of his 15 brothers and sisters as well as numerous other members of his family.  He stated,  “A sword has to be put into the fire to become the best sword used by the Master.  Christians are not exempt from terrible things. But even in the midst of them, there is a profound joy even in the midst of numbing pain, a gratitude and joy in the Savior, a simple trust in His word and promise.”

 Phal reminded us of the depth of God’s plan and that we know that the promise of God stands against the nearness of pain.

 I am thankful for the brief glimpse I had, and the encouragement from these three people, each of whom gave a powerful reminder and simple testimony echoed in Romans 8:35:  ”Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble, hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword…:  37   No in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us.  :  36   For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In choosing Fair Trade, we apply the principle of loving others as we love ourselves to how products are sourced. We buy things we need, and give a job and a future to people living in desperate poverty.

The Just One idea revolves around one startling statistic: Just One Fair Trade purchase from every churchgoer in America would lift one million families out of poverty for one whole year.

Giving meaningful gifts. It’s the new original way to celebrate Christmas.

Watch the video below and click over to the Trade As One Website for more information:  Trade As One / Just One

Conference Overview

How can it be that many Christians around the world suffer so greatly and have so little, yet live with such joy and demonstrate such great generosity? Meanwhile, many others have so much and yet struggle to know joy or abundant giving. In our attempt to find and define joy, we often miss the fundamental truth that it is precisely the One who carries our sorrows who also gives us joy. How we understand the suffering love of God and our call to follow Jesus Christ directly impacts our capacity to experience true joy and generosity.

At our Global Church Conferences so far, our brothers and sisters from the Majority World have helped us to enter into God’s heart for those suffering the impact of power, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and slavery. In 2009, we want them to lead us into knowing joy in all circumstances, especially in a world filled with suffering. At a time when the world is in a place of great vulnerability, the 2009 Global Church Conference will be a welcome gift

EPC Support

Escalon Presbyterian Church is a church-sponsor of this yearly event – a conference dedicated to hearing the voices of Christians throughout the world concerning various topics.  For previous years topics, click here:  Conferences. We would love to have you join us for this year’s event – please contact Dick Nelson, Dan Adams or Pastor Troy Onsager for more information.  We will be adding more information to the website as the event comes closer.

It’s easy to get equipped for personal, relational evangelism.  For more than 45 years Evangelism Explosion has impacted lives around the globe by equipping believers to share their faith.  Millions have been trained and they , in turn, have trained millions of others.  This “spiritual multiplication” is why EE has been so successful.  Equally exciting for us is that, every year, millions of people make a profession of faith in Christ through EE and hundreds of churches experience tremendous growth.

Do you remember when you became a Christian?  Why and how?  Of course it was part of God’s plan for you but chances are someone stepped out of their comfort zone to tell you the Good News about Jesus.

When we have given our lives to Christ that’s when the journey starts, and God wants us to give others the opportunity to know Him too.  After all, what if no one had ever told you?

Jesus tells us to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). “Go” implies an expectation on Jesus’ part so let’s be part of that great expectation.

• Connect
• Share
• Multiply

Sharing your faith starts here.  We invite you to get on board!

July 17 & 18th
Escalon Presbyterian Church
Faith Center
1612 First Street
Escalon, CA

Click here to view a promo video: XEE Video – (after clicking video link, choose the area and then it will take you to the video)

For more information please contact the Church Office, 838-2798.