CHAPARRAL family

BEING THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN OUR COMMUNITY

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When Pigs Fly and Angels Take the Stairs

Frank A. Shirvinski

Whats inside...
Reap What You Sew..pg. 2 Prayer for Moms..pg. 2 Sanitize your Toothbrush..pg. 2 Generous Kids..pg. 2 CCPK Teachers...pg. 3 Sticky Faith..pg. 4 Mission Corner..pg. 4 Tax Credits..pg. 4 AutumnFest...pg. 5 KP Prayer Groups...pg. 5 The Silvieras..pg. 6 Member in November...pg. 7 Wellness Seminars...pg. 7 Interfaith Study...pg. 7

He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ~ Genesis 28:11-12 The nal seconds are ticking away on the scoreboard, the home team is down and they have no way to stop the clock. Suddenly, a player drops to the ground writhing in pain, clutching a knee, or an ankle, or a shoulder. The location of the "injury" is irrelevant, as long as the clock stops with enough time for the team to huddle for one more play. Sports pundits will then spend the next week debating the seriousness of the well-timed injury or the quality of the acting performance. When I was growing up in Indiana, I must admit to using this particular page from our coach's playbook. On occasion, something would upset my younger brother and he would express his frustration by packing his favorite action gure, grabbing his Huffy bike, and setting off for an unknown destination. As the older brother, my role was to give chase. However, instead of wearing out my new bike tires or breaking a sweat, I would lay my bike down and fake a pulled hamstring. Compassion would quickly trump his anger, and my brother would return to check on my condition. Then, I had him! Jacob, the son of Isaac, is running away from home and from the wrath of his brother, Esau. However, Jacob has committed offensives far worse than eating the last piece of chocolate pie or accidentally breaking an original Lego

masterpiece. He has stolen his brother's blessing and maneuvered himself into a position to inherit his brother's birthright. Esau will not be faking an injury for his prodigal brother anytime soon. On his way out of town, Jacob nds a comfortable stone to use as a makeshift pillow and settles in for the evening. As night falls, he dreams of a ladder stretching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending upon it to carry out their assigned duties. There are a number of points that we might nd curious in this story. Why did God stop Jacob in his tracks? Is he deserving of this honor? Did Jacob have a dream or a vision? Is there a difference between the two? How well does a stone function as a pillow? And, my favorite question; Why do angels need a ladder? Every angel that I have seen carefully perched upon a Christmas tree guarding brightly wrapped presents had wings. If I had a choice between climbing a ladder or doing barrel rolls into heaven, I would be prepping my wings for takeoff. We are not the only ones to ask such questions. The Rabbis, reecting on the angels traveling up and down Jacob's stairway to heaven, suggest that the ladder teaches us that our relationship with God is a step-by-step journey in both directions. The ascent to the Divine is not as quick and effortless as our prayers before dinner might suggest. We cannot fake an injury and expect God to chase after us. Instead, we nd a ladder extending between heaven and the depths of the human heart. God is willing to climb down to meet us, here. Are we willing to grasp the rst rung and begin life's real journey?

" REAP WHAT YO U SEW" Q U I LT I N G G RO U P

Sewing seeds of comfort and bringing warmth to all through Christ.

C HIL D REN S MINIS TRY PR AYER G RO U P

PLEASE JOIN ME IN A WEEKLY PRAYER TIME FOR OUR CHURCH AND SPECIFICALLY OUR KIDS. BRING A COFFEE IF YOU LIKE AND MEET ME IN OUR PRAYER GARDEN BEGINNING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH AT 9:30 A.M. IF YOU ARENT ABLE TO BE THERE BUT HAVE SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO PRAY FOR, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT STACY.SHIRVINSKI@CHAPARRAL.ORG.

Meets: 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month at 9 a.m. in the Forum Marilyn Johnson, a group member, kept track of what this Chaparral group donated this year. They donated approximately: 50 eece quilts with a saying embroidered on each, all done by Marlene Riggs 263 Angel Wraps (160 of them knitted by Kathy Ince and her cousin, Colleen) 40 quilts constructed entirely from scratch 37 quilt tops from the stash at First Christian that we found backing for, and then quilted and bound them. The organizations that benet from these quilts include (but are not limited to) Phoenix Children's Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital, Christian Family Care, Hospice of the Valley, Ronald McDonald House, Black Family Services, Phoenix Veterans' Hospital. Chaparral's own ministers also deliver these beautiful quilts to people in the hospital for extended stays and those homebound or otherwise in need of TLC. "Reap What You Sew" would like to invite you to a Valley-wide Distribution night. This is always a big deal, as all of the quilts made throughout the Valley are on display, and sorted into groups for organizations that have requested them. Here's the information:

I LOVE IT WHEN I SEE MY KIDS DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE WITHOUT EXPECTING ANYTHING IN RETURN. AS KIDS GROW OLDER GENEROSITY BECOMES LESS AND LESS AUTOMATIC UNLESS WE TRAIN THEM AT AN EARLY AGE. TO ENCOURAGE THIS, THE CHILDRENS MINISTRY WILL HAVE ALL THE OFFERINGS OUR ELEMENTARY KIDS BRING FROM NOW UNTIL DECEMBER 18TH GO TO WORLD VISION. THE CHILDREN WILL BE ABLE TO CHOOSE SOMETHING THAT WILL BENEFIT CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD FROM PROVIDING CHICKENS, BIBLES, FRESH WATER...OUR KIDS WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THEIR GIVING AT WORK!!! PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO BRING AN OFFERING TO THEIR SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS EACH WEEK. IT WILL BRING THEM GREATER JOY TO GIVE IF THEY WORK FOR THEIR OFFERING. ON DECEMBER 18TH, EACH CLASS WILL CHOOSE A GIFT TO SEND FROM THE WORLD VISION CATALOGUE. WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO EXPLAIN GODS LOVE FOR ALL OF US IN GIVING HIS MOST GENEROUS GIFT, HIS SON JESUS.

R A I S I N G G E N E RO U S K I D S

REAP WHAT YOU SEW DISTRIBUTION NIGHT NOVEMBER 15, 2011 AT 7:00 P.M. FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH, PHOENIX 6750 N. 7TH AVENUE - WORSHIP CENTER

Staying Healthy by Sanitizing your Toothbrush!!

1. Rinse your brush every time you use it. Poor a little mouthwash on the brush to kill the germs, then rinse it well with water to remove all the toothpaste and debris. Soak your brush for about five minutes once a week in mouthwash to sanitize the brush of germs and bacteria. 2. Wash your brush with antibacterial soap regularly and rinse well to remove all traces of soap. 3. Boil your toothbrush for about five minutes, which will kill most bacteria, however, it can wear out your toothbrush faster. This is the better alternative for babies and small children instead of using chemicals to sanitize the toothbrush. 4. Put your toothbrush in the dishwasher and use dishwashing soap with bleach. The high heat in the washer, along with the heavy duty soap, will thoroughly clean your toothbrush. But just like boiling, the bristles will wear out faster. 5. Soak your toothbrush in 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and 97 percent water at least once a week to kill bacteria, or after every brushing when you are sick to prevent the spreading of germs and bacteria. 6. Use toothbrush sanitizer machines. Some use ultraviolet sterilizing lamps to sanitize the toothbrush, killing harmful bacteria and viruses. Others use steam and dry heat. Look for products that are approved and regulated by the FDA to ensure that you get an effective machine. ! ! ! 2 ! ! ! * Excerpt from ehow.com

"Join us as we distribute more than 2,000 quilts to various charities throughout our community. You will enjoy hearing from these agencies as to how they use the quilts for families in crisis and/or need. We would so appreciate your attendance in a show of support for our community and the agencies that help provide comfort and warmth." Current quilters: Janet Hoffer, Martha Hawkins, Jackie Moore, Susan Lee, Margaret Bridgewater, ean Zachow, Kathy Ince, Janet Clark, Marilyn Johnson

Chaparral Christian Preschool and Kindergarten has a staff of warm, caring Christian women who are dedicated to and love working with young children.
Nicole Moran, Director Education,Experience and Background:I have been the director of Chaparral Christian Preschool and Kindergarten for 3 1/2 years. I have a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education, an Early Childhood Endorsement and a Masters Degree in Education Leadership. I have two sons that are 11 and 8 and my husband and I have been members of Chaparral Christian Church for 15 years. What makes CCPK special?One thing I loved about Chaparral when my own children were here was the nurturing, warm environment that was apparent in every aspect of the school. Now, as director I know this is true and that every teacher cares about every child on our campus. I feel we are one big happy school family! Barbara Williams(Asst. Director, Threes) Education, Experience and Background: I have been teaching preschoolers since I was 16! Over the past 34 years I have taught gymnastics, PE, creative movement and worked as a Lead classroom teacher. I am currently taking classes and will have my Associates in Early Education by next semester. What do you like most about teaching young children? I love working with young children because they are always enthusiastic, loving, and every day is different! It is a dream job!

I LOVE WATCHING THE KIDS GROW AND PROGRESS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR...AND, OF COURSE...ALL THE HUGS!

Sari Shanks (Threes) Education, Experience and Background: 6 years teaching at CCPK, numerous conferences and workshops in Early Ed. Recevied CDA in 2010. Currently enrolled to complete Assoc. in Early Ed. What do you like most about teaching young children?Helping them grow developmentally, socially, and seeing the progress they make in those areas throughout the year. Kim Kiel (Fours) Education, Experience and Background:I have an AA in Science. Started at Chaparral Christian Preschool and Kindergarten in 2006 part-time in the Kindergarten Room as an Aide, from there I went back to College part-time to complete my CDA which stands for Child Development Associate Credential. It took me two and a half years with working and having two very active little kids to complete. My plan is to continue my education in this eld to further my knowledge and satisfy my personal goal of completing my BA. What do you like most about teaching young children?I love that I am part of the rst building blocks of life. I love seeing all of the new abilities they develop, from seeing them make friends for the rst time to learning about the world God made for them. It is such a wonderful, rewarding job. I am so blessed to be able to do this for a living. Stephanie Williams (Fours ) Education, Experience and Background: For the past eight years I have worked with children ages 2 through 12 in various day camps, gymnastics classes, and as a substitute teacher here at Chaparral Christian for the past year. I am particularly interested in working with children ages 3 through 6 as well as working with children with special needs. I am currently working on my Bachelors Degree in Special Education. I have also studied Fine Arts for the past ve years and am eager to bring that passion into the classroom. What do you like most about teaching young children? I love to watch them grow and progress throughout the year and, of course, all the hugs! Vickie Cook (PreK/Kindergarten) Education, Experience and Background: I have my bachelors and masters degrees in Elementary education. I taught 2nd & 3rd grade for 7 yrs and then stayed home with my two children for 9 years.I have been at CCPK for 2 years. What do you like most about teaching young children?I love being around their happy personalities and watching them learn or experience something for the rst time is very fun. Monica Kelty (PreK/Kindergarten) Education, Experience and Background: I have aBachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Standard Elementary Education K-8 Certication, Highly Qualied through Arizona Department of Education, Structured English Immersion, K-12, Early Childhood Endorsement, Birth-Age 8. I have taught Elementary School for 14 years with 6 of those being Kindergarten. This is my third year with Chaparral. What do you like most about teaching young children?I really enjoy all their different personalities. I love teaching them something new and seeing how excited they get. I love how happy they are over the littlest things.Their joy and excitement makesgoing to work each day a blast.

New Information regarding your 2011 Tax Credits Feed My Starving Children News!
Chaparral was delighted to hear the announcement that the Tempe-based packaging plant has now become a permanent site. This provides unlimited opportunities to volunteer. Last month, two of our families: Don and Mary Ritter and the Wayne Worthington family participated in an afternoon of packaging food destined for various places throughout the world, including the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. Along with the announcement about permanent status, FMSC has also added two additional packing sessions every week in Tempe, beginning in November. They will be on Wednesdays from 6-7:30 p.m., and Fridays from 4-5:30 p.m. The added sessions raise the FMSC meal goal for Tempe from 3.1 million to 3.5 million this scal year. The Tempe site, at 7965 S. Priest Drive, has been open to volunteers on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays since June of 2010, when FMSC opened it as a temporary measure to meet higher meal demand following the Haiti earthquake. Over the past 14 months, 19,000 Phoenix-area volunteers have packed more than 4 million meals for Haiti and 70 other countries served by FMSC. Since March, FMSC had been studying Tempe's performance to determine whether the location could sustain itself nancially. "Not only has Tempe emerged as a model in volunteer packing," says Mark Crea, CEO of FMSC, "It also is a leader in volunteers who take responsibility for covering their meals costs." "We are thrilled to join the FMSC permanent site family," says Janine Skinner, FMSC Site Supervisor, in Tempe. "Our supporters here are passionate about feeding starving children around the world, and have invested so much time and energy to support this ministry. The credit goes to the people of the Phoenix area, along with my gratitude." Founded in 1987, Feed My Starving Children is a Christian hunger relief charity that distributes nutritionally complete meals in nearly 70 countries. The meals - just 24 cents each - are funded by donors and packed by volunteers. FMSC has maintained the highest four-star rating from Charity Navigator for six consecutive years. As we approach the end of the 2011 scal year, it is once again time to take advantage of the Arizona Private School Tuition Tax Law which permits taxpayers to receive dollar-for-dollar credit against their Arizona income tax liability. This is a wonderful way to assist families, support Christian school organizations and ministries while also taking care of your portion of your 2011 State taxes. As you consider this years Tax Credit options, please understand that we have made some changes. A difcult decision was made at the end of 2010 for the Chaparral Mission Scholarship Fund to conclude its mission of receiving tax credits. Many participated in providing tax credits for both the American Indian Christian Mission School (AICM) and our own Chaparral Christian Preschool and Kindergarten (CCPK). There were many factors that led to this decision, though none of them had to do with the ne work being accomplished by the dedicated staffs of both of these schools. Primarily, the reason behind the decision was made due to the many new requirements the State has now added to the task of administering those funds. We are now partnering with ACSTO (Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization), a non-prot 501(c)(3) federally tax exempt charitable organization, which operates exclusively to implement the Arizona Private School Tax Credit Law. Both AICM and CCPK are included in the list of schools associated with ACSTO. Donations can be made through ACSTO to meet the criteria for your Arizona tax credits and benet these schools. Other schools are also included on their lists, and donations can be made to these and also to particular students attending these institutions. Checks can be made out to ACSTO and sent to: ! ! P.O. Box 6580 Chandler, Arizona 85246

Sticky Faith
Recommended Reading
Dr. Kara Powell & Dr. Chap Clark,Sticky Faith(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011) The following is a selection from the introduction: 40-50% of kids who graduate from a church or youth group will fail to stick with their faith in college. Only 20% of college students who leave the faith planned to do so during high school. Here's the good news, your kids are more connected to you than you might think. We asked graduating seniors to rank ve groups in terms of the quality and quantity of support they received from them. Those ve groups were friends inside of youth group, friends outside of youth group, youth leaders, parents, and adults in the congregation. Which group did they rank number one? Parents. I value and respect author, professor, minister, and executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute, Kara Powell, as well as professor, minister, and vice dean for the school of theology, Chap Clark. Together, they have co-authored a book that I believe every parent should read. Dr. Powell has spent the last ten years researching and interviewing over ve hundred graduating seniors as part of the College Transition Project. Her ndings are insightful, if not alarming, and should motivate the church and parents to be diligent in teaching, and especially in modeling, a faith that sticks and shapes a young person during his/her transition towards adulthood. For some helpful resources, check out www.stickyfaith.org and www.fulleryouthinstitute.org

For additional information, contact them by phone (480-820-0403) or on line (www.acsto.org). As the end of the year approaches, more information will be available in December. We hope that you will continue to consider your commitments to either the American Indian Christian Mission in Show Low and/or to our own Chaparral Christian Preschool and Kindergarten using the Arizona Private School Tuition Tax Credit Law. You may also want to consider other Christian school organizations, but please take advantage of this opportunity while it exists.

K P PR AY E R GR O UPS
"This fall, Chaparral began a new ministry of service-oriented small groups called KP (kingdom promoting) Groups. One of these groups is a prayer team which will routinely meet for the purpose of lifting up in prayer the various requests and needs among those in and for our community and world. This team will regularly gather togetherin the presence of God to presentthe current prayer needs from the prayer chain to our Great Physician and our compassionate Father. If you would like to be a part of the KP Prayer Team, check out the KP Group website chaparralkp.org for more information and/or to sign up." For many years Chaparral has had an email Prayer Chain. Nearly seventy families receive notication of prayer needs and praises as we are a people who understand the importance of praying for one another, and we are condent prayer makes a difference. Our family and friends have been most encouraged by the support received through our collective prayers. If you would like to be part of this prayer chain, just sign in the Welcome Book on Sunday, go to the Chaparral website, or call the Church ofce. In addition, anyone in the congregation can call or email a prayer request to our ofce. We request sensitivity to privacy of individuals placed on the prayer chain, so we will edit details as needed. If, for some reason you decide to be taken off the email list, just let us know.

AutumnFest!!
What a wonderful evening we had with AutumnFest! The beauty of the evening combined with the great people who served and those from the community who experienced Chaparral for the rst time made for a night to remember! Sharon and I cannot thank you enough for each person who contributed! We do have a few questions for you that might help us make it even a better experience. If you served by leading a game, let us know what worked well and what could be improved. If you heard great comments - let us know! In particular, we are curious about the food. Would you rather pay less for a meal like we had this year - Chick-Fil-A for $5 per plate, or more for Dickeys which would run about $9-10 per plate? Or perhaps a combination? Please send any comments to stacy at: stacy.shirvinski@chaparral.org.

Member in November

How many people who pay monthly for a gym membership actually go to the gym regularly? Probably not a huge percentage. I used to have a gym membership, and would go in spurts to exercise. We all have the most noble of intentions, but with the gym, it's so easy to get busy and leave it out. The word "membership" brings several thoughts to mind - the gym, Costco and Sam's Club, Blockbuster and Netflix are just a few of the things I think of that require a membership. Membership has privileges that make it worth joining, so we pay to become official members of these groups. Being a member of a church is a bit different from the memberships listed above. First, we do not require a photo ID to enter the our facilities. We would like get to know you, rather than a photo of you from the 80's. Second, there is no annual or monthly membership fee. We would rather provide you and your family with an incredible place to express your thankfulness to God in ways that go beyond your bank account. Third, our membership really begins outside the walls of our campus. At AutumnFest this year, a visitor told Frank that he was "blown away" by how welcoming and friendly our children were to his grandson. Where do you think the children of Chaparral learned that? It is built into the DNA of our Chaparral family. Fourth, and maybe the biggest reason, is that we want to know that we can count on you as part of our family. We hope you know that you can count on us to be there for you and your family in times of celebration and difficultly. If you can count on us, all of us, then membership tells the rest of the family that we can count on you as well. After all, there is not such thing as a solitary Christian. If you haven't placed your membership at Chaparral, please consider doing so on November 27th. We will have a special hymn at the end of the service, and all of those who wish to become members will be asked to come forward. At that time, you will repeat the words that we say to affirm our faith, "I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God." To help with logistics, if you will be participating in "Member in November" please go to chaparral.org/event/ and click on member in November. If you have not yet been baptized into the faith, and would like to consider being baptized, we would love to talk more with you about that. Please give any of our ministers a call at 480-991-9878. Being a member at our Church is simply this - committing to be a part of our Christian community, by loving, supporting and serving each other as Christ commands us to do. Together as a family, we reach out to those around us, and invite them to join as well.

CrossFit Chaparral and Dr. David Perrine invite you to a series of informative wellness seminars on the following Sunday evenings beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the East Hall:
Fit Families - November 20th
Discover how simple actions can create a legacy of health for you and your family. Living a long and productive life is possible when the proper steps are taken. How well are you prepared? Health is a normal state of being. Illness occurs when we become compromised. Find out the small things that can make a big difference when it comes to staying healthy. New thinking about what were eating

Aging is Normal: How Well You Do It Is Up to You - January 15th

Staying Healthy in a Sick World: Supercharging Your Immunity - April 22nd

Movie: Fresh - May 6th

IN T ER FAI T H S TUDY
Rabbi Keller of Congregation Beth Israel and Frank Shirvinski of Chaparral Christian Church will exploreselections from the Book of Daniel through the lens of both Jewish and Christian commentary. The first six chapters of Daniel offer renewed direction and encouragement from disciples living amid an ancient foreign culture. In the second half of Daniel, we will explore the literary, socialhistorical, and theological aspects of the book of Daniel, and the implications of modern apocalyptic claims. All are welcome! Time:Thursdays, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Dates:November 10th & 17th Location:CBI Library (Nov. 10th), Chaparral (Nov. 17th).

CHAPARRAL
6451 E. Shea Blvd Scottsdale, AZ 85254

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CHAPARRAL family

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NOVEMBER 2011

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