Author: susiejfox

It was a joyful time for our church family to share in the baptism of Tracy Freeze and Brian Walsh during the worship service on Sabbath (Saturday), February 25, 2017.  The act of baptism is a symbolic event to signify and celebrate the decision they have each already made to publicly follow Jesus Christ and Christian teachings.  Being baptized follows the example and teaching in the Bible, including Jesus himself (Matthew 3:13-17).   Going completely under the water and coming back up again is symbolic of burying one’s “old way of life” and being “reborn to a new way of life” (Romans 6:3-4). While baptism is an important milestone in a Christian’s life, it is just one step in a lifelong journey of learning about & being more like Jesus Christ that Brian and Tracy have chosen to take.

Our church was privileged to share this important day with Tracy & Brian and ask God’s blessings on them as they continue to seek God and live in His love!

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A service of dedication was held on Sabbath, February 18, 2017 for Samuel Luke Van Horn.  His loving parents (Christopher and Veronica Van Horn) and older siblings (Josiah, Ava, Emma, and Lilly) shared the joy and responsibility of raising Samuel with the rest of their extended and church family.

During the dedication service, Veronica’s father (Randy Borman) shared a reading called “We Wish You” and Pastor Robert (also a proud grandfather) shared thoughts from scriptures read earlier in the service by Mark Pest — Psalm 139:13-16, Mark 10:13-16, and Matthew 18:2-6.

Children are a blessing from God! Family members and church members joined together in a responsive reading pledging their support and commitment to share in guiding, teaching, encouraging, and being an example for Samuel to choose God’s way and honor Him as he grows up.

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On Saturday evening, February 11, 2017, we had a great group meet together in the church fellowship hall for delicious pizza and snacks and some rousing rounds of Family Feud.  Both children and adults joined in the excitement, whether watching or participating as contestants!

It all started around 6:30 as we gathered to try out 10 different kinds of pizza, salad, and several yummy snacks including a chocolate fountain with a variety of “dippers”!

Next, our MC for the evening (Susie Fox) announced the first two teams….the “Strikers” (Lilly Van Horn, Marissa Patterson, Arabella Lear/Betty Pierce, Mark Pest, and Terry Lanzer) and the “Right Side Family” (Emma Van Horn, Christopher Van Horn, Abigail Lanzer, Heather Lanzer, and Chip Thorngate).  After 5 exciting rounds, the “Right Side Family” had the highest score and Abigail & Christopher played the FAST MONEY round. 

Then we did it all over again with two more teams….the “Winners” (Veronica Van Horn, Jamie Fox, Robert Van Horn, Shirley Pest, and Marge Patrick) against the “Big League” (Lana Van Horn, Jamie Patterson, Kym Goodson, Peter Fox, and Susan Crissinger).  “Big League” was the winner after 5 rounds and Peter and Jamie were the FAST MONEY volunteers. 

Special thanks to Dean Fox for running the computer for the game graphics & survey questions projected up on the big screen with the familiar Family Feud music!

After we finished playing Family Feud, Pastor Robert gave a short devotion about families and being in the “Family of God”.  Then we divided into small family groups for prayer.

It was a fun evening with plenty of food & laughter throughout the evening.

The annual church business meeting for the Seventh Day Baptist Church of Pataskala was held on the afternoon of January 7, 2017.   It was a time of giving thanks for the many ways we have seen God at work and are privileged to be apart of His ministry through our church.

Some of the highlights during the last quarter of 2016 were Pastor & Lana Van Horn’s trip to visit our branch church in Puerto Rico, a church work bee, Wednesday night Bible Studies watching Creation evidence videos, active weekly Sabbath School and Worship services, distribution of Family Fund (for emergency financial assistance to church members) by the Deacons, and seeing many answered prayers.

The new church officers were elected as follows:  President/Mark Pest, Vice President/Darwin Van Horn, Clerk/Susie Fox, Treasurer/Chip Thorngate, Sabbath School Superintendent/Jamie Patterson, Assistant SS Supt/Kym Goodson, Trustees/Jamie Patterson and Chip Thorngate-for a 3 year term, along with previously elected Trustees, Lana Van Horn, Mark Pest, Becky Van Horn, & Dean Fox, Association Executive Council Reps/Marge Patrick and Kym Goodson, Corporate Agent/Jamie Patterson, and Missionary Key Worker/Marge Patrick.  The Deaconate remains in place with the following elected previously for 5 year terms of service: Kym Goodson (exp Jan 2018), Lana Van Horn (exp Jan 2020), Chistopher & Veronica Van Horn (exp Jan 2021).

The church spending and financial report from the Treasurer was reviewed.  A new 2017 budget prepared by the Treasurer and Financial Committee was also reviewed and approved.

The “Building Up the Temple” mission offering recipients for 2017 were confirmed & decided as follows:  1Q (Jan-Mar) for Farmer’s Market Ministry, 2Q (Apr-Jun) for Goats through the SDB Missionary Society, 3Q (Jul-Sept) for Christmas Outreach, specifics to be decided later, and 4Q (Oct-Dec) for the Puerto Rico Church.

We talked about the Appalachian Association meetings which will be hosted by our church June 23-25, 2017.  Moderator Mark Pest reported the theme will be “Sabbath. It’s Not Just Another Day,” focusing on the weekly celebration of God’s Creation.  A representative of the Answers in Genesis will provide two presentations at 10AM – Dinosaurs and Dragons in the Bible and 2PM – Genesis, is it necessary?  These presentations are listed on the Answers In Genesis dot org events website. The hotel information for the information packets are prepared and ready & information packets are planned to be sent out by the end of January.

Some other key dates coming up are:  Church Board Meeting (Feb 4, 2017), Family Night (Feb 11, 2017), Quarterly Business Meeting (Apr 1, 2017), Eggstravaganza (Egg Hunt) (Apr 15, 2017), SDB Pastor’s Conference (Apr 25-27, 2017), Family Night (Apr 29, 2017) and Seventh Day Baptist General Conference in Azusa, CA (Jul 23-29, 2017).

October 6-13, 2016, Pastor Robert Van Horn and his wife Lana traveled to our branch church in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico to help celebrate their 4th anniversary since they initially formed.  Joel and Judith Houts, members of the SDB church in Pataskala, Ohio, were called to plant a new church when they relocated to Puerto Rico in  2012.   Pastor Robert & Lana Van Horn went down for a week in October 2012 to hold evangelistic meetings and the church has been active and growing ever since.  On January 2nd, 2013 the Puerto Rico group gathered for an inauguration of the church and a baptismal service for their first five members in the ocean.  And the church has been active and growing ever since! 

PR SDB Church building

Church service times

Front of the church

In addition to Pastor Robert & Lana, there were also two other visitors representing the Seventh Day Baptist denomination.  Pastor John Pethtel, SDB Director of Church Development and Pastoral Support and Pastor Helmer Umana, chairman of the SDB Hispanic Ministries Council also visited for the celebration.

Friday evening there was a worship service at the church to begin the Sabbath celebration.  (Seventh Day Baptists believe in observing the Sabbath from sunset Friday evening to sunset Saturday evening.) The Friday evening worship service featured several interpretive dance presentations.

On Sabbath, there was an unexpected interruption in plans when Lana Van Horn fell and broke her patella (knee cap) going down some steps in the morning.  While Lana spent the rest of the day in the local medical facility receiving treatment and waiting (a lot), the regularly scheduled services continued led by other members of the church.

On Sabbath, there were also recognition and prayer for three members of the church who have been called to leadership positions:  Maritza (Figueroa) Gonzalez, assistant pastor with a 2 year licence to preach; Alex Joel Nunez Agudo, faithful deacon and , and Ruth Russel, “Foot Soldier” for exemplary dedication to God’s service.  Lana had also made beautiful scarves for the women in the church and those were handed out and happily modeled by those receiving them!  There was also an inflatable jump house for the children to enjoy during the Celebration too!

Lana made scarves for the wormen

Beautiful scarf!

On Sunday, a men’s retreat was held with one baptism performed by Pastor Robert Van Horn and Pastor Joel Houts.  The man baptized was involved with the initial group when they started in 2012, but wanted to wait for Pastor Robert Van Horn to be the one to baptize him.  As John Pethtel was taking pictures at the  baptism, he also fell and “accidentally” took a picture of the clouds.  If you look close, you’ll see a figure in the clouds watching over the group during the baptism.

Monday, there was a seminar on Healing and Deliverance which was led by Pastor Robert Van Horn.  At one point, Pastor Robert was surprised to also fall out of the chair he was sitting on.  Prayer support within and for the group by many kept the Kingdom work moving forward in spite of “would-be” road blocks that kept coming up throughout the celebration events!

Tuesday was the soonest Lana could get back to see the specialist about her knee (it was a long weekend celebrating Columbus Day and the doctors were not available).  Sh
e was able to get a full length hard cast put on her leg to immobilize the knee for travelling.  She would need to have a surgeon look at it when they returned home for surgery (which she ended up having on November 20, 2016).

On Thursday, Pastor Robert and Lana headed back home to Pataskala, Ohio.  It was a trip filled with God’s hand at work in ways we don’t  understand or control, but it was a good trip following God’s leadership! 

See more pictures below:

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The Pataskala Seventh Day Baptist Church women hosted this year’s annual Appalachian Association Women’s Retreat at Camp Joy in Berea, WV starting Friday evening, September 23rd through Sunday morning, September 25th.  The theme for the weekend was based on the 4-part audio series by Joyce Meyer entitled “Mind, Mouth, Moods, and Attitudes” which was shared by the group throughout the weekend.
Other highlights for the weekend were quiet relaxation among the West Virginia hills, delicious meals & snacks, laughing along with Chonda Pierce videos, games, and connecting with old & new friends!

There were a total of 16 women in attendance from Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and one car load from our sister church in Paint Rock, Alabama!

Missed the retreat?  Here’s a video you might want to watch.

Plan now to attend next year’s retreat the last full weekend of September at Camp Joy in Berea, West Virginia!

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Singing Durng Worship

More worship & singing

Lesson time outside

Delicious food!

Talking about positive choices