Welcome to the Archive
Below are all the entries posted to this site in the past under the
heading of "News." They include messages regarding basic up-keep,
in addition to short inspirational pieces and "thank you"s to guest
speakers and the like.
Below are all the entries posted to this site in the past under the
heading of "News." They include messages regarding basic up-keep,
in addition to short inspirational pieces and "thank you"s to guest
speakers and the like.
Website Technical problems
8/4/15:
Unfortunately, some of the domain redirection was updated and the website dropped out of view for awhile. Hopefully, this has been updated to the new specs and the website will once again be visible to the world.
New Website was born
9/17/13:
After much work and many hours, a new website was published with Weebly.com. To make a long
story short, not only was the website provider shutting down, the domain name provider changed hands and operations were taken over by a different company. Thanks to the technical support at Weebly.com, the original website name was kept by some redirections. Hopefully, all will be well for a while.
____________________________________________
Updating Website
8/10/13:
This was the contents of an email from the previous website provider: "We are writing to let you know of an important decision that has been reached after prayerful and careful consideration. After over a decade of serving the church in web ministry, ForMinistry will permanently shut down on October 31, 2013."
This message started a search for a new website provider.
________________________________________________
Write Around
11/18/11:
It's been a while since I've written here, mostly because I
have been so busy with college and over on my blog. For October I did a series
of posts on Fear, some humorous and some social or personal, so feel free to check that
out. The good news is that searches for my blog (MStatoNation)
also bring up links to this page, so maybe potential viewers can be pulled in
that way.
I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately, trying to
find a direction for myself and my writing (and assorted writing projects). The
Lord can provide guidance, but ultimately it's up to us to make the decisions
that will change our lives. It's the same way with bringing people into the
church or saving souls: it's not something you can force, and people aren't
machines that will respond to your words just because you say the right things
or quote the right scriptures. The business of working with humans--or simply
being human--is a complex and time-consuming one.
Moving forward, I am a little worried about what happens next
for me. I made the transition between high school and college with seemingly
little effort, but from here on out the decisions get tougher and I will have to
make a lot more of them on my own--with a little lot of prayer
thrown in as well. Specifically, I want to find an outlet for my writing that
will reach a lot of readers. The blog and this site (though I have promoted
extensively on Facebook and Twitter) haven't seen the amount of traffic I want
them to.
How do we catch someone's eye? With reading and religion, what
attracts a person to one thing or the other?
Thoughts to ponder.
Matthew
In addition to maintaining the Bethel-Keezletown Church
website, Matthew writes a blog at mstatonation.blogspot.com where he expresses
his opinions on all things written and beyond. He also has Twitter and Facebook
pages and dabbles in professional writing. His personal essay "The Day I Ate the
Purple Flowers" was published in the Bridgewater College Philomathean, Spring
2010.
___________________________________________________________________
Putting the New back in News
9/11/11:
Hello again, brothers and sisters in Christ. As you may have already noticed,
the web site has undergone some pretty drastic changes in design recently. What
it all amounts to, more or less, is what I mentioned before about where this web
space will be going in the future, both aesthetically and in terms of the
material available on it (by which I mean links to other spiritually enriching
sites, more articles, etc). It's all about going forward.
Today is the anniversary of the terrorist attacks, now ten years ago, on the
World Trade Centers in New York; and I don't think there's anywhere you can turn
today where you won't see memorials in progress. As a Church, it's as important
as ever that we pray and remember and encourage others to do the same as we
continue to put more distance between ourselves and that day, still we must not
forget what both it and our faith mean to us in these times.
Sometimes though, moving forward in Christ means trusting him to lead us,
blind, toward an uncertain future. All we can really do is look inward and
affirm what we as individuals believe.
God bless you all in the coming week. I will continue to mess around with
things here (the design tools available to non-programming types like myself are
a bit rigid), but like my own blog I suspect that it may be a work in progress
for some time. For now, feel free to browse around and take in the sights.
Until next time.
Matthew
In addition to maintaining the Bethel-Keezletown Church
website, Matthew writes a blog at mstatonation.blogspot.com where he expresses
his opinions on all things written and beyond. He also has Twitter and Facebook
pages and dabbles in professional writing. His personal essay "The Day I Ate the
Purple Flowers" was published in the Bridgewater College Philomathean, Spring
2010.
____________________________________________________________________
9/7/11:
Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a while since this site has been updated (in
any form really), and it's been even longer since I actually posted any updates
here. There's really no excuse for that, but between college and trying to
promote my own blog (over at MStatoNation), Web Mastering here has fallen by the
wayside. One thing I've discovered while blogging is that getting attention of
the good sort on the internet is hard work. I've been working Twitter and
multiple Facebook pages to try and promote my writing with little yield over the
past few months. It's little surprise then that a church could languish both
digitally and literally without a fresh influx of visitors.
Attendance is down across the board in all churches (with equivalent
decreases in man/woman-power for projects and in offering for important services
like food banks and community outreach). Youth are hard to come by, and although
I won't go on ranting about their reluctance to turn out on Sunday-being fairly
young myself I can see where they're coming from-I do want to say that this site
is on my mind. Now that I've got my blogging affairs in order I want to try and
be a more constant presence here.
What comes next?
I'm not sure-possibly some prayer. I'll get the site updated (finally) and
continue to write little snippets here and there. It's good practice for me and
also gives me a little extra room into which to spread (though in a different
direction) writing-wise on the net.
Until next time, God bless and keep you.
Matthew
October 17, 2010: "Thank you" to everyone who came out this Sunday for Homecoming and to hear Olen Landes
speak (he was, as always, a joy to listen to). I would also like to thank the
Capstone Quartet once again for coming all the way out here to our little
church. It was great seeing everyone again this year!
October 18, 2009: Thank you
to the Capstone Quartet for coming out again this year! We had a good turn-out
today for Worship and Homecoming. It's great to come out and support the church.
Just remember that every Sunday is a good day to come home to
the Lord's house! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
The Love Feast is an important part of the Church of
the Brethren; however, I am sure there are people out there (Maybe even members
of the church) who are not sure what the Love Feast actually is. I will do my
best to explain (Keep in mind that the views expressed below are my
own.)
The Love Feast got its start in the Upper Room (Where
Jesus gathered with his disciples for their final evening and meal together
before Jesus was to be arrested and killed for "treason.") The meal included
bread (What we call "The Body of Christ") and the wine (Which we call "The Blood
of Christ.") The bread and the wine are part of Communion, a
ritual which signifies our total unity with Christ's body and blood (His
essence, living in us.)
During the Love Feast, believers are encouraged to
reflect upon their lives (Particularly upon anything they may have done to
distance themselves from Christ. The Bible warns against partaking of the bread
and "cup" without first cleansing one's soul.) We often meditate on God's word,
or some sort of reading, during our Love Feasts.
The most important part of the Love Feast is the act of
servitude (The Washing of the Feet.) During his last supper with the disciples,
Jesus wrapped a towel around his waist and washed the feet of his followers. We
see this as the ultimate act of humility (The Son of God kneeling to wash the
dirt from the feet of mortals,) and are honored to re-enact this scene during
the Love Feast.
The washing is done in turns (With one person wearing
the towel to wash the feet of the person next to him,) then standing, embracing
the person, and telling them "Jesus loves you, and I love you.") During the Love
Feast, men and women are seated at separate tables (To re-enact the separation
of the sexes in the church prior to the modern day.)
The meal eaten at the Love Feast is simple, and
consists of a simple sandwich of beef as well as a mixture of beef broth and
bread I like to call "sops" (Which is actually quite good.) We drink water with
the meal. The Communion that follows the supper features bread with no yeast
(Associated with the meal of Passover,) and grape juice (No wine.
Sorry.)
Now, hopefully you understand a little more about the
tradition known as the Love Feast. I hope you found this information useful. May
God bless.
July 23rd, 2008: After a brief hiatus, the site is
finally back up and running. I'm sorry if anyone was offended by the site that
briefly occupied this spot on the web. I just wanted to take this moment to say
that said site is NOT affiliated with Bethel-Keezletown or any other Church of
the Brethren. We are followers of God, and I pray that the wordly people who
designed that site will someday open their eyes to the truth. May God bless.
June 16th, 2008: Thank you to everyone who came out and attended or helped
with Bible School this past week. Everyone had a great time, and we really
appreciate all of you. May God bless each of you in the coming
week!
October 21st, 2007: I'd like to thank the Capstone
Quartet for their wonderful performance this Sunday. It truly is a pleasure to
see God's word presented through music so well!
June 21st, 2007: First of all, I'd like to thank
everyone who came out and helped with and/or attended Vacation Bible School this
last week. We had a great time! Also, everyone is welcome to come out for the
annual worship service and picnic by the lake at camp Brethren Woods this
Sunday. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
May 13th, 2007: Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there!
May God bless each of you in the coming week!
April 29th, 2007: It has been a while since I’ve
said anything in this column, so I shall be silent no longer! Spring is here at
last and, with summer-vacation only a few weeks away, we need to remember to
keep all students, teachers, and everyone else in the world in our prayers.
However, we need all need to say a special prayer for those involved in the
Virginia Tech shootings. It may not seem possible, considering what he has done,
but we also need to remember the family of the shooter, and remember that we are
to ‘hate the sin but love the sinner.’ Let’s not let hate ruin a wonderful
spring such as this. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
January 13, 2007: Christmas has come and gone, but
we must all remember that God is with us all year long, not just on Christmas
day. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
December 2, 2006: The season of Advent is upon
us. As we draw nearer to the time of Christ's birth, let's all try to slow
down and think about the true meaning of the season. May God bless each of
you in the coming week!
September 30, 2006: Fall revival is almost
upon us, so let's make sure to come out and experience God's word as we renew
our faith in him! Also, be sure to remember that we have reverted to our
fall time schedule, so; Sunday School will now begin at 10:00 a.m. and the
Worship Service will start at 11:00 a.m. May God bless each of you in the
coming week!
September 16, 2006: I've updated the services
section and the calendar of events. Please make note that, starting on
October 1 we will be reverting to our fall schedule with Sunday school starting
at 10:00 a.m. and Worship service starting at 11:00 a.m. May God bless
each of you in the coming week!
September 11, 2006: Remember to say a prayer
today for all those who died on 9/11/01! May God bless each of you in the
coming week!
September 2, 2006: Since we just got a lot
of rain here recently, I decided that now might be a good time to bring
something up. If Church is cancelled due to snow, rain, or etc. I will
post the cancellation on the main page of the site. So, if it snows, and
you haven't received some kind of notification, check the site for
information. Also, I've updated the services section and the calendar of
events. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
August 26, 2006: First of all, I would like
to thank the youth of Wakemans Grove for agreeing to come and share their
National Youth Conference experience with us. As usual, I have updated the
calendar of events and the services section. May God bless each of you in
the coming week!
August 20, 2006: First of all, I would like
to thank Donna Lou Shickel for blessing us all with her wonderful Sermon and her
beautiful music. Second, there will be a called board meeting on the 21st
concerning the selling of the gas stove and the purchase of a commercial
electric stove. The meeting is open to ALL Church members. If you
have any concerns, be sure to attend this meeting. Lastly, I've updated
the calendar of events and the services section. May God bless each of you
in the coming week!
August 12, 2006: I've updated the calendar
of events as well as the services section. Also, I usually update the site
on Saturdays but, with School starting soon, I may not always get the site
updated. So, if there are any questions concerning updates or information
on the site contact webmaster@bethelktowncob.org May God
bless each of you in the coming week!
August 8, 2006: I've updated the calendar of events, as well as the
services section. Also, as we walk through our daily lives we sometimes
forget to include God in everything we do. It's important that we, as
Christians, remember to make God a part of our lives every day of our
lives. Let's all do our best to make God the center of our lives this week
and every week to come. May God bless each of you in the coming
week!
July 29, 2006: We've been online a week now
and I pray that God will use this site to reach people all over the country, as
well as the ones in the local area. The calendar of events has been
updated, so be sure to check it out and mark your calendars. Also, the
services section has been updated to include information for next Sunday's
sermon. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
July 23, 2006: As of July 16, 2006
Bethel- Keezletown Church of the Brethren now has a web site again.
Updates to the site will be made as needed. If anyone has any updates or
changes that need to be made on the site contact: webmaster@bethelktowncob.org
11/18/11:
It's been a while since I've written here, mostly because I
have been so busy with college and over on my blog. For October I did a series
of posts on Fear, some humorous and some social or personal, so feel free to check that
out. The good news is that searches for my blog (MStatoNation)
also bring up links to this page, so maybe potential viewers can be pulled in
that way.
I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately, trying to
find a direction for myself and my writing (and assorted writing projects). The
Lord can provide guidance, but ultimately it's up to us to make the decisions
that will change our lives. It's the same way with bringing people into the
church or saving souls: it's not something you can force, and people aren't
machines that will respond to your words just because you say the right things
or quote the right scriptures. The business of working with humans--or simply
being human--is a complex and time-consuming one.
Moving forward, I am a little worried about what happens next
for me. I made the transition between high school and college with seemingly
little effort, but from here on out the decisions get tougher and I will have to
make a lot more of them on my own--with a little lot of prayer
thrown in as well. Specifically, I want to find an outlet for my writing that
will reach a lot of readers. The blog and this site (though I have promoted
extensively on Facebook and Twitter) haven't seen the amount of traffic I want
them to.
How do we catch someone's eye? With reading and religion, what
attracts a person to one thing or the other?
Thoughts to ponder.
Matthew
In addition to maintaining the Bethel-Keezletown Church
website, Matthew writes a blog at mstatonation.blogspot.com where he expresses
his opinions on all things written and beyond. He also has Twitter and Facebook
pages and dabbles in professional writing. His personal essay "The Day I Ate the
Purple Flowers" was published in the Bridgewater College Philomathean, Spring
2010.
___________________________________________________________________
Putting the New back in News
9/11/11:
Hello again, brothers and sisters in Christ. As you may have already noticed,
the web site has undergone some pretty drastic changes in design recently. What
it all amounts to, more or less, is what I mentioned before about where this web
space will be going in the future, both aesthetically and in terms of the
material available on it (by which I mean links to other spiritually enriching
sites, more articles, etc). It's all about going forward.
Today is the anniversary of the terrorist attacks, now ten years ago, on the
World Trade Centers in New York; and I don't think there's anywhere you can turn
today where you won't see memorials in progress. As a Church, it's as important
as ever that we pray and remember and encourage others to do the same as we
continue to put more distance between ourselves and that day, still we must not
forget what both it and our faith mean to us in these times.
Sometimes though, moving forward in Christ means trusting him to lead us,
blind, toward an uncertain future. All we can really do is look inward and
affirm what we as individuals believe.
God bless you all in the coming week. I will continue to mess around with
things here (the design tools available to non-programming types like myself are
a bit rigid), but like my own blog I suspect that it may be a work in progress
for some time. For now, feel free to browse around and take in the sights.
Until next time.
Matthew
In addition to maintaining the Bethel-Keezletown Church
website, Matthew writes a blog at mstatonation.blogspot.com where he expresses
his opinions on all things written and beyond. He also has Twitter and Facebook
pages and dabbles in professional writing. His personal essay "The Day I Ate the
Purple Flowers" was published in the Bridgewater College Philomathean, Spring
2010.
____________________________________________________________________
9/7/11:
Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a while since this site has been updated (in
any form really), and it's been even longer since I actually posted any updates
here. There's really no excuse for that, but between college and trying to
promote my own blog (over at MStatoNation), Web Mastering here has fallen by the
wayside. One thing I've discovered while blogging is that getting attention of
the good sort on the internet is hard work. I've been working Twitter and
multiple Facebook pages to try and promote my writing with little yield over the
past few months. It's little surprise then that a church could languish both
digitally and literally without a fresh influx of visitors.
Attendance is down across the board in all churches (with equivalent
decreases in man/woman-power for projects and in offering for important services
like food banks and community outreach). Youth are hard to come by, and although
I won't go on ranting about their reluctance to turn out on Sunday-being fairly
young myself I can see where they're coming from-I do want to say that this site
is on my mind. Now that I've got my blogging affairs in order I want to try and
be a more constant presence here.
What comes next?
I'm not sure-possibly some prayer. I'll get the site updated (finally) and
continue to write little snippets here and there. It's good practice for me and
also gives me a little extra room into which to spread (though in a different
direction) writing-wise on the net.
Until next time, God bless and keep you.
Matthew
October 17, 2010: "Thank you" to everyone who came out this Sunday for Homecoming and to hear Olen Landes
speak (he was, as always, a joy to listen to). I would also like to thank the
Capstone Quartet once again for coming all the way out here to our little
church. It was great seeing everyone again this year!
October 18, 2009: Thank you
to the Capstone Quartet for coming out again this year! We had a good turn-out
today for Worship and Homecoming. It's great to come out and support the church.
Just remember that every Sunday is a good day to come home to
the Lord's house! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
The Love Feast is an important part of the Church of
the Brethren; however, I am sure there are people out there (Maybe even members
of the church) who are not sure what the Love Feast actually is. I will do my
best to explain (Keep in mind that the views expressed below are my
own.)
The Love Feast got its start in the Upper Room (Where
Jesus gathered with his disciples for their final evening and meal together
before Jesus was to be arrested and killed for "treason.") The meal included
bread (What we call "The Body of Christ") and the wine (Which we call "The Blood
of Christ.") The bread and the wine are part of Communion, a
ritual which signifies our total unity with Christ's body and blood (His
essence, living in us.)
During the Love Feast, believers are encouraged to
reflect upon their lives (Particularly upon anything they may have done to
distance themselves from Christ. The Bible warns against partaking of the bread
and "cup" without first cleansing one's soul.) We often meditate on God's word,
or some sort of reading, during our Love Feasts.
The most important part of the Love Feast is the act of
servitude (The Washing of the Feet.) During his last supper with the disciples,
Jesus wrapped a towel around his waist and washed the feet of his followers. We
see this as the ultimate act of humility (The Son of God kneeling to wash the
dirt from the feet of mortals,) and are honored to re-enact this scene during
the Love Feast.
The washing is done in turns (With one person wearing
the towel to wash the feet of the person next to him,) then standing, embracing
the person, and telling them "Jesus loves you, and I love you.") During the Love
Feast, men and women are seated at separate tables (To re-enact the separation
of the sexes in the church prior to the modern day.)
The meal eaten at the Love Feast is simple, and
consists of a simple sandwich of beef as well as a mixture of beef broth and
bread I like to call "sops" (Which is actually quite good.) We drink water with
the meal. The Communion that follows the supper features bread with no yeast
(Associated with the meal of Passover,) and grape juice (No wine.
Sorry.)
Now, hopefully you understand a little more about the
tradition known as the Love Feast. I hope you found this information useful. May
God bless.
July 23rd, 2008: After a brief hiatus, the site is
finally back up and running. I'm sorry if anyone was offended by the site that
briefly occupied this spot on the web. I just wanted to take this moment to say
that said site is NOT affiliated with Bethel-Keezletown or any other Church of
the Brethren. We are followers of God, and I pray that the wordly people who
designed that site will someday open their eyes to the truth. May God bless.
June 16th, 2008: Thank you to everyone who came out and attended or helped
with Bible School this past week. Everyone had a great time, and we really
appreciate all of you. May God bless each of you in the coming
week!
October 21st, 2007: I'd like to thank the Capstone
Quartet for their wonderful performance this Sunday. It truly is a pleasure to
see God's word presented through music so well!
June 21st, 2007: First of all, I'd like to thank
everyone who came out and helped with and/or attended Vacation Bible School this
last week. We had a great time! Also, everyone is welcome to come out for the
annual worship service and picnic by the lake at camp Brethren Woods this
Sunday. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
May 13th, 2007: Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there!
May God bless each of you in the coming week!
April 29th, 2007: It has been a while since I’ve
said anything in this column, so I shall be silent no longer! Spring is here at
last and, with summer-vacation only a few weeks away, we need to remember to
keep all students, teachers, and everyone else in the world in our prayers.
However, we need all need to say a special prayer for those involved in the
Virginia Tech shootings. It may not seem possible, considering what he has done,
but we also need to remember the family of the shooter, and remember that we are
to ‘hate the sin but love the sinner.’ Let’s not let hate ruin a wonderful
spring such as this. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
January 13, 2007: Christmas has come and gone, but
we must all remember that God is with us all year long, not just on Christmas
day. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
December 2, 2006: The season of Advent is upon
us. As we draw nearer to the time of Christ's birth, let's all try to slow
down and think about the true meaning of the season. May God bless each of
you in the coming week!
September 30, 2006: Fall revival is almost
upon us, so let's make sure to come out and experience God's word as we renew
our faith in him! Also, be sure to remember that we have reverted to our
fall time schedule, so; Sunday School will now begin at 10:00 a.m. and the
Worship Service will start at 11:00 a.m. May God bless each of you in the
coming week!
September 16, 2006: I've updated the services
section and the calendar of events. Please make note that, starting on
October 1 we will be reverting to our fall schedule with Sunday school starting
at 10:00 a.m. and Worship service starting at 11:00 a.m. May God bless
each of you in the coming week!
September 11, 2006: Remember to say a prayer
today for all those who died on 9/11/01! May God bless each of you in the
coming week!
September 2, 2006: Since we just got a lot
of rain here recently, I decided that now might be a good time to bring
something up. If Church is cancelled due to snow, rain, or etc. I will
post the cancellation on the main page of the site. So, if it snows, and
you haven't received some kind of notification, check the site for
information. Also, I've updated the services section and the calendar of
events. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
August 26, 2006: First of all, I would like
to thank the youth of Wakemans Grove for agreeing to come and share their
National Youth Conference experience with us. As usual, I have updated the
calendar of events and the services section. May God bless each of you in
the coming week!
August 20, 2006: First of all, I would like
to thank Donna Lou Shickel for blessing us all with her wonderful Sermon and her
beautiful music. Second, there will be a called board meeting on the 21st
concerning the selling of the gas stove and the purchase of a commercial
electric stove. The meeting is open to ALL Church members. If you
have any concerns, be sure to attend this meeting. Lastly, I've updated
the calendar of events and the services section. May God bless each of you
in the coming week!
August 12, 2006: I've updated the calendar
of events as well as the services section. Also, I usually update the site
on Saturdays but, with School starting soon, I may not always get the site
updated. So, if there are any questions concerning updates or information
on the site contact webmaster@bethelktowncob.org May God
bless each of you in the coming week!
August 8, 2006: I've updated the calendar of events, as well as the
services section. Also, as we walk through our daily lives we sometimes
forget to include God in everything we do. It's important that we, as
Christians, remember to make God a part of our lives every day of our
lives. Let's all do our best to make God the center of our lives this week
and every week to come. May God bless each of you in the coming
week!
July 29, 2006: We've been online a week now
and I pray that God will use this site to reach people all over the country, as
well as the ones in the local area. The calendar of events has been
updated, so be sure to check it out and mark your calendars. Also, the
services section has been updated to include information for next Sunday's
sermon. May God bless each of you in the coming week!
July 23, 2006: As of July 16, 2006
Bethel- Keezletown Church of the Brethren now has a web site again.
Updates to the site will be made as needed. If anyone has any updates or
changes that need to be made on the site contact: webmaster@bethelktowncob.org