June 2024 Newsletter

We give the headline to Karen’s health issues.
 
Karen’s health. Karen had a health scare at the end of April, and we wanted to wait until we knew more before sending out information. In brief, it turns out that she has multiple blood clots in both lungs and a very large one in her leg. She was hospitalized in ICU for several days, put on medication, and released. The specialists said that she could act normally so long as she did not tire herself. Since it is Karen we are talking about, that’s not always easy! She has continued at a slower pace but is still teaching her Saturday classes to India and presenting her work with Gary on some Sundays. Here we are last week at New Beginnings in Ambler, PA!


Karen’s online classes at ESEPA Seminary (San José, Costa Rica) begin this week, so she’ll be teaching Wednesday evenings 8-11pm through October.
 
Karen will also be traveling to Indiana in July to do some training and curriculum development for the Child Safety Protection Network. This is a part of her own ministry, “Levanta La Voz” (Raise Your Voice!), which aims to prevent, recognize and respond appropriately to abuse, especially in churches and ministries.

Our Anniversary! Gary and Karen celebrated 44 years together on May 17. Not coincidentally, they have also been in ministry together for 44 years: in 1980 Gary began doing teaching and some preaching, and Karen music, in a church in Penndel, PA.


 
Gary’s Teaching. He is currently teaching “Canon and Text of the Bible” online Monday nights. He and the students do some detailed examination of ancient Bible manuscripts (for example this one, the Isaiah scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls) and show how we got our Bible. He is also creating a new course on “The Development of the Believer’s Identity”, based on 1 Corinthians.

See us this Summer:

• June 1 – we will be at Calvary Church in Baldwin, NY, to attend their anniversary dinner
• June 9, 10:30am – we will see our long-term friends at Christ Evangelical Free Church, Lehighton, PA, where we will update our ministries and Gary will preach
• June 16, 10am – Central Ocean City Union Chapel, Ocean City, NJ – Gary will preach
• June 30, 10:30am – Gary will visit solo and preach at St. John’s, Compass, PA – a Bible-preaching Episcopalian church
• July 7, 14, 21, 28, 9am – Gary will teach a series in the adult class at Paradise Bible Fellowship, Paradise, PA. He will help us “drop in” to first-century “Sacred Spaces” – visiting the Temple, a synagogue, and various (illegal!) house churches

Gary’s Birthday was May 27! If you care to donate, he has set up a birthday fundraiser for Wycliffe Associates. They work with local churches worldwide to translate the Bible into languages that have none. Gary has worked part-time with them for a number of years, especially in the production of the SUN Bible for the deaf nonreader. Gary set the goal at $350, which we’ve already surpassed – there are a few days left to keep pushing it higher!
 
Gary’s Newest Blog Teaching: “When ‘I do not know’ is the best answer a Bible teacher can give.” So, there was the pastor of a megachurch in the Midwest USA who never changed his mind – or at least would never admit it! He stated emphatically, A preacher should never correct himself. Even if he was wrong. He never strayed too far from standard Baptist doctrine, but he created and presided over a cultic following.

PRAISE AND PRAYER:

• We thank the Lord that Karen’s health issues were quickly detected and stabilized Please pray for answers as to why this happened and what is the best way to move forward safely in the long term.
• We are very grateful for 44 years together, both in marriage and in ministry
• Thank you to two new churches on our financial support team: Stony Lane Baptist/A City on a Hill (North Kingstown, RI) and Paradise BFC (Paradise, PA)

Thanks! Gary and Karen