Thanks to Dennis A, Hello to Ed P, and a few random thoughts from Pastor G

A great big thank you to Dennis Aleson for stepping in for me while I was gone Sunday Sept 13. The
church folks truly enjoyed him and he enjoyed them. His experiences and wisdom are greatly appreciated and his willingness to help me out is appreciated.
For this Sunday Missionary Ed Potter, missionary to the Madeira Islands, will be with us and he will preach for us. He is in the states for a short visit and this is the only Sunday he can be with us. Please come to hear him and give a love offering if so led. Ed and Abbie have been great friends to us over the years and he is truly loved as a partner in the ministry.
Just a few running thoughts from the pester:
There are just some things you don’t want to constantly hear when you go to church:

•          Don’t want to hear constant litany of bad news

•          Don’t want to hear constant begging for money

•          Don’t want to be guilt manipulated

•          Constant preaching about church membership (goes with giving)

You want to hear the good news of the gospel and hope for life today. The Bible acknowledges that we will suffer in this life but it also gives us reason to hope, to strive and to have joy. The steady drumbeat of “we need more money” is wearying after awhile. Of course there are times when money and giving has to be addressed but it is best to discuss it in the normal course of expository teaching or when there is a dire need that the folks need to know about.

We must also be careful to not “toot our own horn” all the time about how great we are. We are not great. Even Paul was reticent to defend himself against his enemies because it would sound like self-promotion: “are we beginning to commend ourselves again?” (2 Cor 3:1). I really don’t think that a church’s finances are a matter of a lack of teaching or a lack of knowledge. Another “stewardship campaign” is not always the answer: for the most part we present the good news of Jesus Christ, the power of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit and “all these things will be added to you.” This is a part of what we are about at Freedom.

 

 

A Bio for our speaker this Sunday Dennis Aleson

Ruth and I will be gone this Sunday traveling to VA to see Tim, Christa, Neva, Esther and Oliver. My good friend from the Songspinners Dennis Aleson will be speaking in my absence and I appreciate his willingness to come and speak. Here is a bio of Dennis' ministry.

Rev. Dennis Aleson is a retired clergy member of the Dakotas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and also a retired chaplain with the U. S. Air Force (1977-2003).  He was born in 1947 into a parsonage family of the Evangelical United Brethren Church in North Dakota, where his father served as a pastor for 50 years.  Pastor Aleson’s twin brother Darrel, of Bismarck, ND, is also a retired United Methodist clergy, just retired from 26 years as a fulltime hospital chaplain, preceded by church pastorates in ND and MT.

Dennis Aleson graduated from Kindred,  ND High School in 1965, followed by a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Westmar College in LeMars, IA in 1969.  After two years of military service courtesy of his draft board (1969-71) and with duty in Turkey and Spain, he felt his call to ministry and in 1975 received his Master of Divinity from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, with an additional year of post-graduate studies at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA in 1984.   After two years as a civilian pastor in Hettinger, ND,  Rev. Aleson began a 26+-year career as an USAF Chaplain, with 10 duty locations during that time,  His stateside assignments included two in Colorado Springs: the USAF Academy (1986-90) and his final assignment at Peterson AFB / Cheyenne Mountain AF Station (1999-2003).  Other unique assignments included Izmir, Turkey, ancient Smyrna of biblical times (1981-83), and the Greek island of Crete (1990-92).  Following the Air Force Chaplain Service, Pastor Aleson has done a variety of short-term interim pastor locations in CO and ND, as well as supply preaching and other occasional services of the church (weddings, funerals, etc.)
 A defining moment in his life and ministry occurred in 1996 when he was the senior deployed chaplain at Khobar Towers, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, a military housing complex attacked by Islamic terrorists on 25 June 1996.  Nineteen persons were killed, along with 300-400 injuries.
For his leadership of chaplain services in the aftermath of this tragedy, he was named the
1996 USAF Outstanding Chaplain of the Year, and in 2000 was named the Outstanding Alumni of the Year in Specialized Ministries from his Denver seminary.
Dennis Aleson has been married since 1971 to Carol (Arnold) Aleson, a Nebraskan.  They have two adult offspring: 1) son Ryan, living with wife Emily and grandchildren Calvin (2010) and Lucy (2012) in Orlando, FL, and soon to add grandchild #3 in early 2016.----2) daughter Heather Bingham and her husband Dustin living in Colorado Springs……Besides volunteer work and occasional ministries, Pastor Aleson is a longtime member of the Colorado Springs Show Choir, the Songspinners.  Travel is also now high on the priority list for Pastor and Mrs. Aleson.  

For this coming Sunday the 13th

So for this week we will have the Meet-Eat-Greet time on Wednesday night instead of Tuesday night and there will be no Thinking Like a Christian meeting this week. Greg and Ruth are heading to Virginia on Friday and we would sure appreciate your prayers for us while we go. This coming Sunday the 13th we will have Dennis Aleson preaching for us. Please plan on coming and hearing him speak this Sunday. Greg will be back for the 20th
Rev. Dennis Aleson....retired Air Force chaplain, serving from 1977 through 2003 including both the USAF Academy and Peterson AFB here in the Springs.....named the 1996 USAF Outstanding Chaplain of the Year......retired United Methodist clergy member of Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church but resident of Colorado Springs......married to wife Carol since 1971....two adult offspring, both married......two grandchildren in Orlando, FL with #3 due early in 2016......two grand-dogs.....a Songspinner for over 10 years, sharing music adventures with Pastor Greg and Nancy
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Dennis will be at church at about 9:15 Sunday to share some of his experiences at the 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist truck bombing in the Sunday School hour. His message in the service will be based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, entitled "Journey to 'Vegas' and Back" 
We look forward to Dennis’ sharing with us on Sunday!