CHAPEL  TALK    

     The Newsletter of The Saratoga Chapel                                  Spring, 2003

News from the Schoenstedt Family

 (We asked Lynn for news for this issue – here’s what she wrote:)

“Thank you for asking me for input for the next Chapel Talk.  Sarah is doing well.  She is feeling almost 100 percent better since her recent illness.  She enjoys her job doing physical therapy assistant work at an out-patient facility in Norwich, New York.  She really likes her new house, located in Chanengo Bridge.

Mary is enjoying attending college at Bethel College in St. Paul.

Jenny is also enjoying her time at Bethel College.  She is majoring in Business Finance, with a minor in Economics.  She will be taking a trip to Arizona over her Spring Break to visit a good friend, Jana Swenson.  She will have an opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon, and will tour other points of interest in Arizona.  She is hoping to get a paid internship in the Capital District over the summer involving anything to do with business finance.  This could include working with a broker, an accountant, or a financial planner.  She is on the Bethel tennis team, but only participates with the team during practices, as she does not have the time to be part of the tennis matches.  Travel to and from these matches is too time-consuming for Jenny. Jenny's e-mail address at Bethel is : schjenl@bethel.edu. John and I leave tomorrow (Sunday) at 8:00 a.m. to fly to Hawaii for a week.”

 Really Big News!!! Take a look at the concept drawing of our proposed church building and floor plan attached!!!

The Saratoga Chapel Building Committee has been hard at work over the past year and a half. Charged with finding our what kind of building would best suit our needs and still be in the realm of possibility financially, the committee explored all kinds of avenues and, on Friday, March 28^th, they presented their findings to the congregation. 

“Oohs” and “Aahs” were heard in the Malta Community Center where the Chapel held their presentation meeting as John Dortch of Collins + Scoville Architects PC lifted the paper covering the rendering of the conceptual design of our future church building. For the first time, we were able to visualize what our new church building could look like. (John donated his time and the rendering to the Chapel as a community service project. We take it as a sign of God’s provision for the Chapel that God placed an architect looking to do community service in our midst at just the time we needed this kind of help. We are deeply appreciative of John for his help.)

The committee has made the recommendation that Morton Buildings will construct our building on our property on the corner of East Line Road and Lake Road in the town of Ballston.  The building will be a simple rectangular, slab-built structure with a sanctuary to seat 180 people and a pastor’s office and Sunday school rooms, a kitchen, bathrooms and a nursery.  The total cost for the construction will be about $310,000. The site work, including the entrance and exit roads, parking lot, septic and drainage fields and landscaping will cost an additional $80,000 and the finishing work (painting, flooring, trim work, and purchase of seating) is estimated at an additional $10,000.  This brings the total amount of money needed to realize our project to about $400,000. 

The committee planned for Phase II and III buildings in the future as the Chapel grows.

Pastor Hale is preparing a presentation on the principals of financing and we will also invite Pastor Mike Collins of the Brunswick

We plan to make our decision on whether to move forward with this project by April 26^th. We would ask that friends of the Chapel prayerfully consider ways the Lord might have you participate with us in this venture. Please pray for our project, especially that we will be able to have a  permanent building to proclaim Jesus Christ to the community of Malta and that God will use us in a wonderful way to change lives and bring the hope of salvation to people in this area.

We have opened a building fund savings account. Mail can be sent to Saratoga Chapel, c/o David Kautzmann, 51 Saratoga Drive

See Drawings of the building and the site plan below.

See proposed Floor Plan sketch. (Browser - Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later)
Please be patient, this may take a while to display.

See proposed Site Plan sketch. Please be patient, this may take a while to display.
(Use Zoom In feature for details)

Chick on Concept Pictures below:

(They packed up all of our donations last Saturday--over 20 large suitcases FULL! Many thanks to each one who has participated in monetary and/or material giving, and prayers.)  

And a special request from Chris and Barb Lambertsen during this difficult time for our servicemen:

LADIES TRIO NEWS    

  Celia Petronis

   Also included in the repertoire was a very entertaining rendition of "While StrollingThrough the Park One Day," complete with parasols, fans, and clever choreography arranged by our multi-talented Celia! Other old favorites and the inspirational songs, "When Love Was Born," "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Your Love Has Melted My Heart," and "Written in Red," interspersed with personal testimonies from the ladies, seemed to be well-received and enjoyed by all. We thought you might like to hear the testimonies that were shared with the residents of Coburg Village.  Please pray for God’s blessing on this ministry.

Celia writes:

   I would like to take a few minutes to tell you how the wonderful gift of Christ’s love was born in my heart. The song we just sang for you: “When Love Was Born” had some words in it that really fit into my story.  Listen to these words of the song:  “The years have passed, and still today, each looks for love in his own way.  Some seek in vain, sad and forlorn, remembering not how Love was born.”  That was me.  Not having seen it displayed very much in my family as I was growing up, I really didn’t know what love was – I didn’t know what it looked like – and I went looking for it in my own way.

   When I was 20, I married my husband, Stephen, and we had our first child when I was 23.  I certainly thought that getting married and having a family of my own would be the end of my search for love.  But that still didn’t satisfy me completely.  I still had a hole in my heart.

   One day when my son, Chris, was about 5 months old, a knock came at my door.  It was another young mom with a 3 year old daughter whose car had broken down in front of my house and needed to call her husband.  It turned out she lived at the other end of my road.  That was the beginning of a very special friendship between Gail and me.

   We talked about all the things that good friends usually talk about, including God.  Since I didn’t know the God of the Bible, my input in our discussions was a god of my own invention.  The one whom I imagined I would face one day when I died along with a gigantic set of scales—and everything bad I had done in my life would be weighed against everything good I had done, and whichever way they tipped was the direction I was going…up or down!!  I imagined that there was a line drawn in the heavenly sands   between “good enough for heaven” and “bad enough for hell.”  Only I didn’t know where that line was and that bothered me.

   Gail, on the other hand, did know the God of the Bible and she used to talk about Him and what the Bible said practically every time we got together.  And, boy, the Bible did not agree with my philosophy.  The Bible said that my good deeds as a way of “earning” a place in heaven were as “filthy rags” in God’s sight!  That meant I had absolutely nothing of any value to outweigh those sins I knew I had committed.  The Bible also says that the “wages,”  or “reward” of sin is death.  Not just physical death, but eternal, spiritual death—which means separated from God for eternity.  Now this was very bad news to me.  It wasn’t until I truly realized my desperate condition,  that the Light of God’s love got through to me.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus!

   A gift cannot be earned,  it can only be freely accepted or rejected.  Jesus Christ is a gift of God’s love for me.  This is the good news that overcomes the bad news—that God demonstrates His own love for us in this—that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  There is no “good outweighing the bad,” there is no line between “good enough for heaven or bad enough for hell,” there is only Jesus Christ and His shed blood on my behalf that could take away my sin and make me acceptable to God. And I freely accepted the gift of Jesus Christ.

Marra’s testimony:

“I am in love with Jesus Christ!  All I want is to know Him more.”  When I heard myself saying this I could only imagine what others were thinking.  This was totally out of character for me.  But at that point, I didn’t really care what others thought.  I had actually experienced an up-close and personal encounter with the True and Living God, and I wanted to share this with everyone in my life.  “He’s alive!  He’s really real!  And the best part is that  He  loves  me, even me!”  The idea that I was so completely loved by Someone, just the way I am, was the most precious, yet profound revelation of my life.

After years of attempting to fill the voids in my heart with self-destructive behaviors and futile relationships, God demonstrated His mercy by drawing me to Himself as I cried out to Him in my pain one night.  Suddenly, my heart was filled with immeasurable peace.  All the fear and confusion was instantly gone as I found myself enveloped in His presence.  I could hear Him softly speaking to me in my mind, “I’ll never leave you. I’ll be with you always.  I love you.”  I knew this was Jesus Christ talking to me and as I received His comfort, I felt as if He were stroking my head in compassion and great love for me.  He loved me, just as I am.  I was hooked.  His everlasting love and devotion to one such as I was irresistible and demanded my commitment; which I instantly gave with no hesitations.  I got up from my knees a brand new, young woman that night.  Forgiven of my sins, He made me clean, fresh and whole.  I was given a changed, tender heart filled with love for my newfound Savior and Friend.    His love has truly melted my heart. 

And from Holly:

   I’d like to tell you about how I met Jesus Christ, God’s own Son. But first, I’d like to tell you what a songwriter has to say about Jesus:

    “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world. Behold the Lamb of God, White as snow, Pure as gold, Greater love, the world has never known.”

    The Bible, God’s word to all of us, says the same thing, and also says it this way: “God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (or, life forever with Him)

   Growing up, my family went to a Methodist church in our hometown occasionally, and almost always on holidays like Christmas and Easter. I remember hearing about God, and believing that He existed.  I also remember going to a carol-sing each Christmas Eve, and singing songs like “Away in a Manger,” and “Joy to the World, the Lord has Come.”  My mother would put out a small nativity scene each December for my brothers and I to play with.  So I understood the concept of Jesus being related to God, and I think I even knew that He was God’s Son, who came to earth as a baby, but that was about where my knowledge of Him ended.

    My Dad would often watch a preacher on television (Billy Graham) whenever he was on, and for some reason, I usually sat on the floor by his chair, mesmerized by this man talking of Jesus’ love and sacrifice for me. This preacher would ask people if they wanted to give their lives to God, and have a relationship with Him through Jesus, the Savior of the world. One time after this preacher had been on TV for several nights, my mother said she had noticed my interest and gave me a Bible to read, bookmarked at the gospel of John, and that was when I started reading the Bible. 

    When I was about 12 years old, I joined a community girl’s club, and made friends with an older girl who was assigned to be a “big sister” to me. This girl not only helped me feel welcome in the club, she also invited me and a few of the other girls to her home for a weekly Bible study.  This was something I had never heard of, but was very interested in. I can’t remember exactly what we studied, but I do remember my friend’s caring and kindness in reaching out to me, and the great love she seemed to have for God and for others, and especially her desire to have everyone she knew understand who Jesus was. 

   About this same time, the church we attended had dwindled in numbers, with only a handful of people remaining, mostly those whose families had grown and gone elsewhere.  My parents were invited by friends to another church, and chose to start taking us there on a regular basis. There were people of all ages, and lots of other young families. This church was much different than the one I had been to before. Most people I got to know, through a youth group and services held several times a week, seemed genuinely excited about God and talked about knowing Him in a personal way---like a best friend and a loving Father, and most importantly, as One who had given up something He loved with all His heart, Jesus--his own flesh and blood--so that each of us could be made right with Him.  I think that was the point where I began to realize that I had a need. I was a sinner, someone who wasn’t pure in God’s eyes, and I longed to be close to Him the way these new friends of mine were. I started asking God to help me understand Him and His Word--the Bible, and I asked Jesus to be my Savior, and the Lord of everything in my life. 

   God has blessed my life with many joys and good things since that time, but it hasn’t always been an easy road, as He has also allowed many difficulties, pain, and times that were far beyond my understanding. Through all of it, though, He has continued to make Himself more and more real to me, walking with me, guiding me each step of the way, revealing who He is, and what He is molding me into. A Bible verse that has become very personal to me is from the book of Romans, chapter 8, and it says, “we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose.” I can’t often see with my own eyes the “how” of His working everything in my life together for good, but He has proven Himself trustworthy to me, over and over again. And I know that in the light of all things, in this life and the one that exists after this, He will keep His promises, and do what He says He will do. That means someday, perhaps in eternity, I will get to see how He has worked all of these events of my life together for good, and made me more like my Savior, Jesus, through all of it.

    There were actually quite a few other pieces that fit into the puzzle of my understanding--and though it wasn’t a change that happened immediately, little by little, over the last 30 years, Jesus has proven to be not only my Savior, but my comfort, my joy, and my peace in every circumstance in life. He has become my very reason for living. He wants this special friendship with each of us. He shed His blood on a cross on Mt. Calvary 2000 years ago--for me, and for you. And then He conquered sin and death for all of us, for all time, by rising from the dead. This Easter season, will you ask this Jesus to be your Savior?  

I John 4:10 says, “This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Something to think about: The Infantryman

(received in a recent e-mail message)

The average age of the Infantryman is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either.

He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or promises to be waiting when he returns from half a world away.

He listens to rock and roll or hip hop or rap or jazz or swing and155mm Howitzers. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.

He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less-in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade
launcher and use either one effectively if he must.

He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity.

He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.

He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.

He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove
their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.

Just as his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather did, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.

Remember him, always in your prayers, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. 

LADIES - SAVE THESE DATES!!!
October 10 – 12 – Saratoga Chapel Ladies Retreat – Silver Conference Center, Silver Bay, NY – Speaker is Ginny Winn, of Loudonville Community Church, who will talk about “Delighting in the Lord”

 Cost is $100 in advance which includes Dinner Friday night through Lunch on Sunday. This conference is open to women of the Saratoga Chapel and friends of the chapel on a first-come-first-serve basis. The conference schedule will allow time for reflextion and relaxation as well as a time of spiritual renewal during the peak leaf-peeping season on beautiful Lake George

 September 19 – 20 - Women of Faith The Great Adventure 2003 Conference – Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY.  Information about conference speakers and a registration form can be obtained from their website at www.womenoffaith.com. Thousands of women are gathering for a life-changing experience. Join Women of Faith Friday and Saturday for The Great Adventure conference. We’re traveling to 29 cities across North America and bringing our amazing new conference to a city near you. What is The Great Adventure? What You’ll See: Thousands of women from all ages and stages of life uniting together to hear God’s liberating message of grace. Cost is $59 if we get 10 women. $69, otherwise. Register online.  Carpools might be a good idea. Talk to Janet or Deb Ludke if interested.

                            All Women Welcome !!!!!

Check the church website at saratogachapel.com for meeting dates and locations.