May 10
7:00 PM (E-Free vs. Trinity Lutheran)

May 17
6:00 PM (E-Free vs. United Methodist)

May 24
E-Free has a BYE

May 31
6:00 PM (E-Free vs. Community Reformed)

June 7
6:00 PM (E-Free vs. First Baptist)

June 14
6:00 PM (E-Free vs. Trinity Lutheran)

June 21
7:00 PM (E-Free vs. United Methodist)

June 28
E-Free has a BYE

July 5
6:00 PM (E-Free vs. Community Reformed)

July 12
7:00 PM (E-Free vs. First Baptist)

Playoffs begin on July 19

Shortly after returning from the trip I took my car to the shop for an alignment. And was it worth the cost! Driving after that repair was a breeze! Eight hours of fighting the steering wheel can be distracting, if not draining. But that was all gone and driving was a pleasure again!

The funny thing is, we need personal alignment as well. In the first four chapters of the book of 1 Corinthians, God speaks to us about being aligned. The most noticeable aspect of alignment mentioned in these chapters is the need for believers in a local church to be aligned with one another. The Christians at Corinth were pulling in different directions. Some followed one leader and some followed another. Rather than being in harmony with one another, they were posturing and quarreling. This resulted in divisions, not unity. The apostle Paul appealed to them to “be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1:10).

But through Paul, God speaks of the need for an even deeper alignment: being aligned with the gospel by God’s Spirit. We desperately need to understand the message of Christ crucified. This message is the power of God for salvation to all who believe. In Jesus Christ, crucified, we find all we need, including harmony with our brothers and sisters.

And God has given us His Spirit to reveal to us this marvelous message of the cross, foolishness in the world’s estimation but filled with the power of God Himself. As we yield to the Spirit’s gospel-pull and listen to His teaching about Christ crucified, we become aligned. And in this alignment—with the gospel, with God’s Spirit, and with one another—true spiritual life can be experienced.

Maybe it’s time for a visit to the shop. Time for an alignment.

(Pastor Tom is currently preaching through the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians. If you can’t make it to the worship service, listen online! clinton-efree.org/sermons)

Summer 2012

This summer our church is going on a mission trip to our community. From July 8 — July 29, 2012, the entire church will be involved in serving our community through various service and outreach projects. View calendar of events.

Sign-up Begins in May

Opportunities to sign-up and volunteer for projects will begin Sunday, May 6 (and continue through the month of May). Sign-up tables will be located near the doors in the foyer and near the office following the Worship Service. You may sign-up and  serve on multiple projects.

Our Projects

Our service and outreach projects will include the following:

• Provide and serve meals at the Victory Center
  (Coordinators: Jim and Laura Norman)
  Groups of 6-8 will prepare and serve dinner at the Victory Center. We currently are offering five evenings to serve from Monday, July 8 – Friday, July 13 with the potential to open up additional evenings. For more information about the Victory Center click here.
• Build a home with Habitat For Humanity
  (Coordinators: Men of Honor)
  We will be a part of helping build a home in Clinton through the organization Habitat For Humanity. We are offering two days (Wednesday, July 11 and Saturday, July 14) to be a part of this project. For more information about Habitat for Humanity click here.
• Cleaning area parks and schools
  (Coordinators: Still Needed. We need 1 coordinator(s) per city. This can be an individual or couple)
  We are taking three days and focusing on cleaning up parks and schools in Clinton (Monday, July 16), Fulton (Wednesday, July 18) and Camanche (Friday, July 20). Come out and be a part of helping us practically serve our communities.
• Providing meals for first responders (police and fire fighters
  (Coordinator: John McClung)
  We will be providing meals to the first responders in Clinton, Camanche and Fulton during the week of July 15-20. If you are interested in being a part of serving in this area please contact Pastor John McClung.
• Leading 5-day clubs
  (Coordinators: Tom and Sue Ann Loyola)
  We will be hosting 5-day clubs in homes throughout our communities during the week of July 23-27. These “back yard bible studies” which will take place during the evenings are a great opportunity to reach out to the kids and their families in our neighborhoods. For more information about 5-Day Clubs click here.
• Serve the RAGBRAI community
  (Coordinators: Eric and Kristen Brown)
  RAGBRAI will end in Clinton this year and our church is going to be involved in both the Saturday event on July 28 (parking, giving direction, providing general assistance, etc) and a church-wide clean-up on Sunday, July 29. For information about RAGBRAI click here.

Listen to Pastor Jeff share about our plans for Mission:Gateway

If you have any questions or comments about Mission:Gateway please contact Pastor Jeff Horch

Our Sunday schedule

9:00     Study Groups
10:15    Worship Service

Our worship services are planned to allow people to connect with God through congregational singing and the teaching of the Word of God.  Our music is a mix of current worship songs and traditional hymns. Our teaching is biblically-based and relevant to our everyday lives

Sunday mornings are a casual atmosphere.  You will see people dressed in everything from sport coats to golf shirts. Our goal is for you to be comfortable and relaxed as we fellowship with one another and engage in worship and teaching.

While all are welcome, we do offer a fully staffed nursery for infants and toddlers and Children’s Church program for children ages 3-5. Our nursery and children’s staff provide a fun and safe environment for your little ones while you enjoy the worship service.

We were about eight years into our marriage and about three years into a time of relational strain and distance. Every now and then during those years Sue Ann would talk to me about the problems in our marriage—we weren’t communicating, we weren’t connecting, there wasn’t much of a relationship going on. My response usually went along the lines of, “I don’t see it.” Our marriage had started off well, but after two miscarriages and the birth of our first child we found ourselves at a different place. Despite these significant events, I had just kept chugging along like nothing had happened. This created painful distance between Sue Ann and me.

But then the light came on. I saw it. I saw that, yes, we did have problems, problems that needed addressing. How did the light switch get flipped from “off” to “on”? By the hand of God. Sue Ann simply prayed, “God, open Tom’s eyes.” He did, and, in fact, quite soon after Sue Ann asked! When I came home saying “I see it” it was unmistakable that God had answered Sue Ann’s prayer. By God’s grace that was a turning point in our marriage. We began to work together to communicate and connect … to build a deeper relationship.

Truth be told, all of us need our eyes opened. We all have blind spots—deficiencies in our lives we don’t see but others do. Habits and traits that push others away and offend. If you are ready for an adventure in life change, ask God to open your eyes. Pray, “Lord, open my eyes,” about a specific area of your life and see what God will do.

Jesus is the master eye-opener. The gospel writer Mark tells us how Jesus opened the eyes of two blind men, an unnamed man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26) and Bartimaeus in Jericho (Mark 10.46-52). Mark’s goal in giving us these accounts was not only to show that Jesus has power over physical blindness but to show that Jesus’s followers need Him to heal them from their spiritual blindness. They just didn’t “get it.” Case in point: Peter. Right after Jesus heals the blind man in Bethsaida, Peter makes the bold confession that Jesus is the Messiah but then he immediately goes on to try to dissuade Jesus from going to the cross (Mark 8: 27-33). Peter needed his eyes opened, too. He needed to see that Messiah was God’s Suffering Servant. Peter didn’t get it. We don’t get it.

It is always the right time to say to Jesus what blind Bartimaeus said to Him: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” and “Rabbi, I want to see.” But it does seem especially timely now. We are in the season where we remember the passion of Jesus and His glorious resurrection. We need Him to open our eyes to who He really is and what He has done for us. We may be blinded by the familiarity of it all and need a fresh and clearer glimpse of our great Savior.

“Lord, open my eyes.”

The annual Walk for Life is a two mile walk on the streets east of The Pregnancy Center. Hundreds come together to proclaim the preciousness of each life. This year the challenge is: will you spend 60 minutes celebrating with us the many unborn babies that have been touched by the Pregnancy Center over the years and walk to help raise funds so more lives are saved and young adults ministered to this year. If you are unable to join us that day, walk on your own another time and why not invite a few friends to join us.

* Walk registration begins 8:00 AM in front of The Pregnancy Center (240 N. Blvd.)
* The Walk begins at 9:00 AM.

* Earn a free t-shirt by walking 2 miles and raising $200 in pledges.

* Following the Walk you are welcome to visit The Pregnancy Center, meet our volunteers and staff and enjoy refreshments.

You may download the Walk pledge forms here.

For more information contact The Pregnancy Center at 242-6628

The speaker will be Dan Erickson of People Matter Ministries. He will challenge the men to descend into greatness so you can live a life that echoes in eternity.

Sign-up Sunday morning at the Men of Honor Toolbox January 8, 15, 22, 29. The cost is $25.00 per person.

Don’t miss this exciting and challenging conference.

The personality of some people actually inclines them toward change. They like to try new things, drive a different way home just for the fun of it, keep up with the latest fashion, and stay on the edge of the learning curve. In fact, some folks who have this bent are “change agents”—influencers who guide their companies to the “next level” or who lead their volunteer groups in a whole new direction. These are people who dislike the status quo. They seem restless by nature.

On the other end are personalities who not only dislike change, they may strenuously resist it. It’s as if you can see them holding on to their status quo with a white-knuckled grip. They find comfort in the predictable patterns of life. They are people for whom the word “rut” is not necessarily something to be avoided.

But change comes to all, whether pursued and welcomed or hated and avoided. At the very least the passage of time brings the change of aging. No matter the exercise regimens pursued, the natural supplements religiously taken, the cosmetics and cosmetic procedures used, all of us are getting older. And with that inexorable progression of time comes unavoidable change.

We all need help with change. The change-lovers need help making sure their eagerness for change does not become the imposing of their agenda upon others. The change-haters need help making sure they are not living in denial, fighting the inevitable. We all need to walk in godliness.

As in all things, Jesus shows us the way. He is our help in change. Jesus not only experienced change, He underwent change to a greater magnitude than anyone ever will. The Son of God, existing from all eternity past in the glorious splendor of the Father, entered time and space, took on human flesh and human nature, and lowered Himself even to the point of death on a cross. No matter how long or deeply we ponder the Incarnation, we will never understand such great change.

Jesus tells us what guided Him through this incredible change: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38) In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus reiterated this guiding principle for His life: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus resolved to do the will of the Father.

As we enter a new year and encounter the change it will inevitably bring, let us imitate our Lord Jesus and navigate change well. Let us resolutely commit ourselves to the will of the Father above all things.

Office Manager

The candidate must be a mature Christian with strong people and organizational skills, have knowledge of and/or experience with current accounting principles and software applications, and demonstrate technology proficiency in the office setting. A copy of the job description may be obtained from the church office or viewed online at Clinton-efree.org/employment.  If interested, please send your resume to Pastoral Staff at resume@clinton-efree.org or 1010 13th Ave N, Clinton, IA, 52732 by January 15, 2012.

Click here to view Office Manager Job Description

Sometimes when there is a big change, things seem a bit unstable for a while until everything gets settled back into place.  I firmly believe that this is God’s church and He will provide all that is needed.

It has been my joy to serve this body in any way I have been able whether in the capacity of my office position or as a volunteer. I so appreciate being allowed to play piano/keyboard for the worship services, which had been a hope as I grew up in this church and watched the other musicians serving.  I loved teaching the children and being a part of their lives.

Although we will be a long way away, your love and friendship will always remain in my heart.  Thank you for your support and confidence in me over these many years.

–Marybeth Giddings