Welcome! I hope you spent a happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones. When I think of my loved ones, a serious situation in my brother’s family comes to mind.
My brother’s brother-in-law, John Holland, suffered a severe spinal cord injury on July 23 as a result of an ATV accident. He has been in hospitals and rehab facilities ever since. He had five surgeries on his cervical vertebrae over the summer. John is currently receiving skilled nursing care and intensive physical therapy.
John is a longtime member of our community. He lives in Linesville and is a Conneaut Lake High School graduate. He served in the United States Marine Corps, and owns a construction business, Fast Response Contracting (FRC). He has two young daughters.
John needs help with all daily tasks and is in a wheelchair. He’ll need a stair lift, a cement slab to facilitate vehicle transfers, and other home modifications. As you can imagine, medical bills are accumulating and his insurance is running out.
His family is hosting a benefit dinner on Friday, December 8, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Conneaut Valley Middle School, located at 22154 State Highway 18, Conneautville. The menu is chicken and biscuits, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Fallowfield United Methodist Women are providing homemade pies. There is no set price for the meal – it’s by donation. There is also a silent auction. You may bid on tool sets, Christmas and family movie night-themed baskets, wreathes, restaurant gift cards, and kids’ bean bag chairs. Auction donations are still coming in.
I hope you can attend this dinner, and I ask your prayers for John Holland and his family. Thanks.
I had the chance to attend the annual fellowship dinner at Fallowfield United Methodist Church on November 19. There was a packed house, and we had lots of delicious food to choose from. It’s always a buffet-style meal, but I hit the dessert table first. My friend, Sue, makes the most delicious raspberry pretzel salad. You can bet I got a big piece. I also had a delicious pumpkin dessert, and one of my daughter’s homemade cinnamon-sugar doughnut holes. Yum!
The church provided turkey, ham, rolls, and beverages. I had a big serving of my friend Anita’s fabulous homemade macaroni and cheese, too. Wow. Kraft has nothing on this recipe.
This dinner is a thank-you for all those who helped in any way with this year’s Crawford County Fair pie project. We distributed around $28,000 to missionaries and charities, both local and foreign. It’s such a blessing to be part of this project.
Oasis Church’s praise team provided the entertainment after dinner. Oasis meets at 10 a.m. on Sundays at Meadville Area Middle School. The group sang covers of several modern worship songs, including David Crowder Band’s “O Praise Him,” Matt Redman’s “10,000 Reasons,” Hillsong United’s “Lead Me to the Cross,” Phillips, Craig, and Dean’s “You Are God Alone,” and Chris Tomlin’s “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone).” The praise team is comprised of Bethany Fields on keyboards, Rebecca Doty on guitar, Kurt Dennis and Kara Alsdorf on vocals, Mike Fields on guitar, Steve Potts on drums, and Rich Ivanic on bass guitar. They’re a very talented group, and they offered genuine praise to our great God.
Have a wonderful week. Blessings!