August 2023 Newsletter
123
August 2023
How many of you play scrabble? Donna and I love the game and play it a lot. Do you know that the theoretical highest point total on any one word you can score with? Well, the word is OXYPHEBUTAZONE. It is defined as an anti-inflammatory medication. The point total, given teh right scenario on the board with a TRIPLE word score, is incredible. You can find the answer somewhere in this newsletter.
Some Thoughts:
Work, Service, Courage
IN the early hours of February 3, 1943, the U.S. Army troopship Dorchester steamed through the icy waters of “torpedo alley” some 100 miles off the coast of Greenland. The ship, carrying more than 900 men, was having a rough go of it. Winter winds screeching across the North Atlantic, and heavy seas pounding the bow. Beneath the frenzied surface lurked a German submarine. At 12:55 AM a torpedo ripped into the Dorchester’s side, and the ship started sinking at once. Desperate soldiers rushed topside, stumbling toward lifeboats and jumping overboard. Amid the confusion, four chaplains worked quietly and methodically, calming the soldiers, directing them to lifeboats, and handing out life jackets. When they ran out, each chaplain took off their life jacket and put it on another man. The chaplains were from different faiths, a Rabbi, a Priest, and two Protestant pastors. Alex Goode, John Washington, George Fox, and Clark Poling were their names. They joined the U.S. Army to serve and tend to the spiritual needs of the troops. Now, in this hour of urgent need, they put their courage and faith to work so others might live. As the ship slid beneath the surface, soldiers in the lifeboats took one last look at the Dorchester. They saw the four chaplains standing on the deck, arms linked, praying. Rescue ships plucked 230 men from the sea, but 672 died in the freezing Atlantic. The four chaplains were not among the survivors. “They were always together” one of the soldiers later said, “they carried their faith together” to the end. The four chaplains died as they lived, serving their country, their fellow men, and the Lord God.
-William Bennett/John Cribb
You managed to read this article until the end. Thank you. Our work is never done. Our faith in the Living GOd, Jesus, and our dedication to His work and His church is also never done. Keep serving, keep sacrificing and putting others before you. And the answer to the Scrabble related question can be found at the very top right hand corner of this newsletter.
In Christ,
Pastor Dan