WestRock Family News for September 1, 2013

September 1, 2013 Era of the Victory, Liberation, and Completion of the True Parents of Heaven, Earth, and Humankind

Weekly Greeting Table of Contents Dear Brothers and Sisters . Weekly greeting and Testimonies Happy September! – And another school year begins! . Sermon Notes . Light Thought Soon, Sunday School – centered on Cynthia Shibuya and our Up & Coming Program (for for the day middle and high school kids – centered on Yasu Yukawa and Toyo Hagiwara) will begin. In . Testimony addition Justin Okamoto will start a young adult ministry. Let’s give them our full support . Providential and encouragement! News . Quote for the This past Sunday I gave a sermon on tithing – I know it is not the most popular topic, but it is one important element, if we want to make God and True Parents happy – and for our Week general spiritual (and physical) well being. The link for the recording of the sermon is . Announcements below. The one big change (which was made with the approval of our council) is that we will no longer pass a collection basket around. We are asking each family (or member) to make their offering as a tithe, each of us giving 10% (or as close as you can to 10%) of our income. It is important that this is done intentionally with a sincere heart. If you want to make your offering on Sunday at Belvedere – you can do so by placing it in the offering box at the back of the room near the door.

Thank you for all you have given over the years. Let’s continue to give – challenging ourselves to reach the 10% mark. I believe, through this sincere effort, that God will bless our WestRock community – and that this will be an important factor in our future growth.

Finally, please take note – under testimonies; a writers’ small group is open for interested members.

Let’s make this a great month! God Bless You Andrew Compton

The sermon this past Sunday at Belvedere, “The Joy of Offering,” is on tithing – you can listen to it at this link: soundcloud.com/pastor-andrew/sermon-tithing-andrew-compton

Light Thought for the Day:

Grandma’s Accident I was lying in my hospital bed on the third day after an accident when my eight-year- old granddaughter arrived with her mom.

She looked in awe at the wrist-to-shoulder cast on left arm, then asked to see the rest of the damage. I showed her my broken right ankle, which wasn’t in a cast yet; my left leg, bruised knee to thigh; and, pushing back my bangs a raw bump the size of an egg above my eyebrow.

Her blue eyes wide, she asked earnestly, “Grandma, can I take you to school tomorrow for show and tell?”

Testimonies/reports Writers Small Group From: Alan Subject: Ready For A Writing Adventure?

Ready For A Writing Adventure? I don’t want to sprinkle you with fairy dust here, but armed with nothing but the spark of an idea and the desire to create, you get to build an entire living and breathing world using only your imagination. What’s not to love about that?

But isn’t writing “difficult”? Well, it’s certainly not “easy” to write - not boiling-an-egg easy. There will be tough times on this writing adventure … But you’ll get to have plenty of fun along the way, too… And so long as you understand the three keys to success, there is nothing to stop you reaching your final destination. Here’s what you need… A little raw talent A willingness to work at it A strong knowledge of your craft

Many people dream of writing a novel, but for most of them that’s as far as it goes. The mere fact that you are reading shows you are willing to make your dream come true. But do you have what it takes to finish a novel and publish it? I mean, dreams are all well and good, but realism has to kick in at some point. I used to dream of being the lead singer in a band. Trouble is, I can’t sing and I haven’t got a musical bone in my body. That’s why I haven’t wasted my time and effort on it.

Will you be wasting your time and effort writing? It’s important to know the answer to this right here and right now. How do you ensure that your writing days are a pleasure and not a chore? The good news is that writing to a publishable standard is a lot more achievable than you might believe. As a matter of fact, if you don’t want to read this article because you’re worried what you might find out, be brave and keep reading anyway. The preceding are excerpts from: www.novel-writing-help.com

A well-structured Small Group for writing now exists in our community. We study from “On Writing” by Stephen King until we pick our next book. According to Mr. King: “Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.”

Some of your neighbors travel along this writing path, first and second generation work side by side. We gather twice per month: the Wednesday closest to mid-month and the last Sunday. Small Group principles were adapted for writing from the Ossining Small Group started over ten years ago. A real chemistry and support exists for individuals willing to travel down a one to three year course of writing a publishable novel or other work such as a true story. This is an average time but books may take longer than three years and that’s OK too! You must love reading and or love writing to start. Are you such a person?

Going back to our friend Stephen King, he washed motel sheets to earn a meager living much worse than us but he kept writing. Why? He loved to write! He still loves to write but now he gets paid for it. I believe we can have great fun writing and with hard work we also can be published. After all, we have something to say in print! Well at least I have something to say in print. What about you? How do I start? Please contact Alan Rylands, Debby Grodner, Gelo Fleisher, June Saunders, Lesa Ellanson and Lowell Ellanson at church and ask them about their experience or respond to this email with your information and one of us will get back to you. We’ll gather in Ossining, NY on Sept 18th and in Clifton, NJ on Sept 29th. At least we act on our passion. With this Small Group you too may realize your deep-seated dream of a finished book.

If you have a testimony or report to share please send it to me.

Providential News

 True Mother is in Korea.

 The 20-20 Providence has begun! WestRock and Upstate have been paired with the Solomon Islands and Italy. Metro NY and Long Is have been paired with Nepal and Israel.

 Dong Woo Kim, representing the Solomon Islands will be visiting our community on Sunday Sept 22

Quote for the Week

CHEON IL GUK IS THE IDEAL HEAVENLY KINGDOM OF ETERNAL PEACE

Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon

In addition, all citizens of Cheon Il Guk will provide funds for the well being and peace of humanity, not by taxation but by voluntary contributions. They will demonstrate the model of offering the first three tenths of their income for public purposes. This cannot be an imposed tax; it has to be a gift that citizens offer willingly to Heaven with joyful hearts. [of the 30%, 10% is to go to the local community]

Announcements Announcements

 Open DP Discussion: Monday & Friday- 7:30PM at Whitehouse each week!

 New National HQ Outreach Website: www.dplife.info Take a look at it! Share it with your family & friends!

 Guest Friendly Memorial Service for True Father Saturday, Sept 7 @ 10 AM at Belvedere. Brunch included. Invite Clergy, Ambassadors for Peace, and other contacts! Registration fee - $10. Contact Julia Okamoto.

 Outreach Meeting: Wednesday, Sept 4 @ 7:30 PM at White House. Plan outreach activities for Sept and beyond. Contact Julia Okamoto.

 Witnessing Cards are still available after Sunday Service & at White House anytime. They’re easy to use & a great help for outreach! Free!

 White House Yard Sale: Sat and Sun, Sept 21-22. Donate or sell! Contact Lydia Compton.

 Outdoor Sunday Service: Sept 15, @ 10 AM on the newly developed South Property. Help plan a special program! Contact Dominic Barber.

 Special Meeting and Presentation by Mrs Eu: Don’t miss this – Mrs Eu is one of our 36 Blessed Couples. She is promoting a new book that True Father asked her to write. I have been reading it – and it is good! Saturday Sept 21 @ 7PM at Belvedere. Sept 22 after Sunday service (1 pm) at 43rd Street

 Sunday Service by Dong Woo Kim (2020 Nation Representative from Solomon Islands – WestRock’s partner nation) Sept 22 @ 10AM at Belvedere

Next Ahn Shi Il: Wednesday, September 11, 2013

MAKE IT A GREAT WEEK!