Page 8 - Senior Times South Central Michigan - September 2019 - 26-09

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Branch Area Transit Authority
MATTERS
Rev. Dr. James Gysel, Special to Senior Times
Curb to Curb TransportationHalf Fare for Handicapped & Senior Citizens Over 60Weekly Subscriptions AvailableEquipped for the HandicappedOpen Seven Days a Week
Who’s an evangelist? Joel Osteen? Joyce Meyer? Franklin Graham? Rick Warren? Certainly all those folks and many more have made a successful career and ministry out of expounding about salvation that comes from faith
in Jesus Christ. And yet there’s a part
of me that believes that it’s almost impossible to tell other people what
to do. Just try to parent a teenager and you know what I mean. From my expe- rience, what I believe helps others the most is to do this at the right time, when people are asking important questions about your faith, simply express in your own words, “This is what God has done for me. And because of that, I believe.” Others can take your expression of faith to heart or blow it off, but as a person of faith you’ve done your job to share the “Good News.”
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 Antiques & collectibles  Homemade jams, honey
& maple syrup
 Silk & dried floral arrangements
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 Primitive giftware  Amish log furniture  Braided rugs
 Yarn shoppe
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 Hand built furniture  18” Doll clothes
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cats” story of unintended consequences is that we are at our best when we listen to the voice of the Holy One, and sim- ply tell our story of faith and hope and not push something on someone else.
CALL (517) 278-5889
in Ramah”) are the very words used
in Matthew’s Christmas story of King Herod’s men slaughtering the baby boys in Bethlehem and the, “Wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem.” How many millions of mother’s wailed at the death of their child during the “Black Death” pandemic in medieval Europe?
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Services for Seniors
By: Alisa Parker, Managing Attorney
The Legal Services of South Central Michigan-Battle Creek office will conduct interviews for legal advice and possible representation, without charge, to interested seniors.
• Tues, Sept 10, 10-11am, Sturgis Senior Center
• Wed, Sept 18, 10:30am-12pm, Delton Faith United Methodist Church 503 S. Grove Street, Delton, MI, 49046.
• Wed, Sept 25, 10am-12:30pm, Burnside Senior Center 65 Grahl, Coldwater, MI, 49036.
Legal Services of South Central Michigan-Battle Creek office is a non-prof-
it organization, which provides high quality legal assistance, representation, and education to low income people in Calhoun and Branch counties and seniors in St. Joseph, Branch, Calhoun, and Barry counties. The advice and counsel at the senior sites is funded primarily the CareWell Services Southwest through the Michigan Aging and Adult Services Agency under the Older Americans Act of 1965.
For additional information call (269) 965-3951.
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Senior Times - September 2019 Faith
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CATS VS RATS
the Black Death (bubonic plague) swept across the continent and an estimated 25 million people died. Entire villages and regions were depopulated. Authorities believe the plague was carried by fleas that infested the rats. But it wouldn’t have happened had the cat population been present. Without the cats, the rats ran rampant. Robert Petterson writes about this in his Book of Amazing Stories and notes the sad irony that Gregory’s Vox in Rama (“The voice
One of the darkest times in Christianity was during a time when Ugolini de Conti was pope Gregory IX, and determined that it was the church’s job not just to tell people what to believe, but to put to death anyone who believed otherwise. With a zeal that unrivaled other pontiffs, his reorgani- zation of church law brought about the terror of the “Inquisition.” Yet the real terror of this “leader” was his belief that satanic demons embodied black cats! True story! He called it Vox in Rama. As a result, the hundreds of thousands throughout Europe slaughtered cats. Because food was scarce even for peo- ple, cats were forced to forage for them- selves on mice and rats.
The truly sad truth is that “man’s inhumanity to man” continues even (especially) today.
A hundred years after Gregory died,
to a world that desperately needs the good you can provide. In fact, in that moment, you are an evangelist!
Legal Advice &
306 N. Franks Avenue, Sturgis, MI, 49091.
Jesus was so aware of this state of humanity and observed “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”
~ John 16:33
A great lesson from this “rats and
If they ask questions, then you have the opportunity to share from your heart of what God has done for you. When you do that, you are God’s voice of hope
Faithfully yours, ~ Jim Gysel