Hillside Happenings
a blog from our pastors and staff
I wanted to write to you this week in encouragement that God is alive and well in the world today. I feel that Christians feel so isolated in this large world that we have. Living in Western New York, I feel that way a lot of times. We need to remember that we have a body of Christ right around the corner at our local church. I know it is hard to get to know others and going to church can sometimes not be what we want to do on a Sunday morning, but God is worth our time. God is worth the effort. And you will be better for the time that you plug in to God's work here on earth and get with a good Christian community of believers. And ultimately that it what it comes down to, our choice to plug in and spend effort with God and others.
Many of us have strong opinions and various view points on a wide variety of issues, but lets not let this separate us, for we are together in Christ! I truly believe that those who proclaim Christ most often have more in common then different. Though I am an Assistant Pastor at Hillside Wesleyan Church in Olean, I encourage you to plug in to your local church where you are. But if you are in the Olean area, do not have a group of Christian believers to plug in with, or feel that you want to find out more about our church, come here. I should be there just about every Sunday morning at 10:45am. Come and talk with me and maybe we can have a coffee in Christian fellowship. Oh, and I hear the worship at Hillside is pretty good too. Thanks for reading, Andrew Fidurko, Assistant Pastor (Worship Leader)
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Winter is upon us.
And just as we go through the seasons, especially here in Western New York, so we go through seasons in our lives. Education, relationships, church life, growing older, illness, deaths and losses. I heard a speaker ask the question of the audience – what would you like to have known at graduation that you now know? From the group of older adults - a lot of the answers were around the topic of relationships – how important they truly are – and yet how little time we invest in them – until it is too late. We seem too busy chasing after things – things that we later find out do not matter as much as we once thought they did. John Wesley often asked the question – Are you closer to God today than you were yesterday? Brennan Manning believes Christ will ask – Did you know I loved you? And God may ask – what did you do for my kingdom? Did your life bring me glory? Were you the salt and light for the world? Was your life lived in such a matter that you were a Christian example of my love and grace? Hillside is a very caring and giving group. And I am proud and honored to call Hillside my home. How can I and Pastor Dan help you answer these questions? How can Hillside be an outreach to the city of Olean for Christ? If Hillside ceased to exist – would we be missed – and what for? What is our identity in the community? We are both a body, and a group of individuals? As individuals we impact those around us. How do we share our faith to those around us? Do we believe in our faith enough to share it – and tell others that our relationship with God is real – and I just wanted to share with you how important it is to me – and how real it can be? Our relationship with God needs to be alive and real before we can share it with others. We need to be growing closer to Him daily – spending time with Him in prayer, reading his Bible, joining with others in Sunday School and small groups – and growing together. On this journey, I don’t want to leave anyone behind. If there is anything we at Hillside can do to support your journey, please talk to us. Thanks, Pastor Nila This is my go-to song when I need some encouragement and a reminder of God's faithfulness. I pray it blesses you! |
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