Worship News July 1, 2009

The Girl in a Coma, Adapted by permission

Picture:Thousands prayed for the Girl in a Coma: On a spring day in Michigan, a large truck crossed the center line into an oncoming van from Taylor College. Three passengers escaped serious injury, five were killed instantly, and one girl was unconscious. Shock and grief reigned as school and families were notified. The students had been healthy, active, born-again Christians, close to their families. Laura Van Ryn had been cheerful, athletic and attractive. Now her parents Don and Susie and her sister Lisa were warned that Laura was brain-damaged, in a deep coma from which she might never recover. In ICU, they saw the life support systems, the swollen face, the closed eyes, and Don said, "Laurie, it's Dad. I don't know if you can hear us, but that's okay. You're going to be okay." The three set up a 24 / 7 vigil, taking shifts, always watching, talking, and praying. Others prayed at their homes. When Don heard that Newell Cerak was praying, he was touched. "The man has just lost his own daughter, and he's praying for mine." When Newell Cerak was told of his daughter’s death, he had gasped, "No, no, not Whitney." Whitney’s sister Carly was waiting anxiously at a hospital. When she heard, she fell to the floor screaming and weeping. Friends helped her into a chapel, where she cried and cried, but told her friends, "God is still good. This accident didn’t change that at all." Carly wanted the Cerak family to spend two hours a morning in private worship. There were hundreds of visitors, decisions to be made, but Carly insisted. So they listened to worship songs, sang along, prayed, remembered, and cried together. Then the rest of the days, even the huge funeral, were uplifting, bittersweet. The coffin was closed; they wanted to remember Whitney full of life, making everyone laugh with her quick wit. Whitney had loved Jesus; they’d see her again. For now they must struggle on, incomplete, and join the growing number praying for the Van Ryns and the Girl in a Coma. And she improved! She never got pneumonia. The ventilator, then the trach tube, were removed. The broken arm and leg were set. Each day, thousands worldwide followed her remarkable progress on a blog site. Many prayed; others were touched by the family’s faith. Weeks passed. The Girl opened her eyes, spoke faintly, and learned names, but she remembered nothing. She was not yet "awake," but she was fighting her way to the surface. She worked hard in therapy. Then she began to say names wrong. Once she murmured, "False parents." Don didn't like this new stage! "Normal confusion," said the staff. "Draw a triangle," said a therapist. The Girl did. "Can you write your name?" She held the pencil in her fist, concentrated hard, and wrote ... WHITNEY. Wrong name? The staff wasn't worried: "Does she know a Whitney?" Bringing her back from a therapy session, Laura's sister Lisa stopped the wheelchair and knelt down close to the Girl, and praised her for her hard work. "Thank you," whispered the Girl. "Tell me...What's your name?" "Whitney." "Great. Wonderful. What are your parents' names?" It was a special moment. Later, Lisa reported to her father, "She says her name is Whitney Cerak and her parents are Colleen and Newell." Don was stunned, but convinced. They loved the Girl, whoever she was, and they must correct the mistake quickly. Don gathered he family and said, "The girl in the hospital room is not Laura. Laura died at the accident." "No, no, no," said her brother. "I know my own sister!" But dental records proved the Girl was not Laura. When Colleen Cerak got a phone call, explaining that the Girl might be Whitney, and requesting dental records, Whitney's sister Carly yelled, "Hang up the phone, Mom!" What a sick joke! How could the Van Ryns be with her for five weeks and not notice it wasn't their daughter? Even as Pastor Jim drove them to the hospital with the dental records, Carly refused to hope. Newell Cerak was out of state, but he warned Colleen by phone that the Girl might be disfigured, unrecognizable. As they approached the hospital room, Carly could hardly breathe. Colleen braced herself and walked in. "It’s Whitney," she said. Carly fell on the floor weeping again, this time for joy. Then they were all hugging and saying "Whitney, Whitney," and the Girl was nodding yes, yes, awaking at last, remembering. "Too much excitement," warned a nurse, but Carly said, "My sister is alive!" In another state, Newell answered his cell phone. “Newell, it's Whitney! No, there's not a mark on her." In the background, he heard a faint voice, "I love you, Dad." Whitney and Laura had looked remarkably alike, but the Van Ryns told the Ceraks, "You must think we’re so stupid ..." "Not at all. Thank you for your wonderful care of Whitney." "I'm so happy for you," Susie told Colleen. Carly felt guilty. "We get the happy ending." "So do we. We just have to wait longer." At Laura’s funeral, 2,000 people sang in praise, "I stand, I stand in awe of you ..." The families drove off ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN Oprah and Dr. Phil. Whitney was shy now, slower, still recovering. Even when she returned to college, the quick wit was gone. She mourned to her sister Carly, "I miss the old Whitney." "I miss the old Whitney too," said Carly, "but I love the new Whitney." In a flash, Whitney was at peace. She might never be the old Whitney, she might never do a super-deed for God, but if she was herself, maybe just a mother who taught her kids to love God, that would be enough. Later, Whitney suggested that a book might help someone. So with the help of author Mark Tabb, the families wrote Mistaken Identity (by Van Ryn, Cerak and Tabb, Howard Books, 21.95), a very moving testimony to the love and faith of two families that death could not defeat.

More Globe-Miami Vacation Bible Schools

Pictured:Dozens of kids attended the "Discovery Canyon" VBS at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Country Club Manor, and even the hardworking volunteers had a great time. Other VBS groups are planned at other churches: Coming soon: Vacation Bible Schools with a 'Crocodile Dock' theme will be offered at two churches in east Globe, and "Boomerang Express" is set for the First Southern Baptist Church in Miami. Kids need not attend the church - all are welcome. Games, crafts, snacks, songs and Bible stories will be featured daily at each less-than-a-week VBS. Maranatha Baptist Church's VBS Crocodile Dock VBS is free and open to all kids age 4 through 6th grade, July 6 - 10 from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Come early the first day to register before the fun begins. For more information, call Mary Toner at 928-812-7100 or Lois Jacott at 425-4198. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church's Crocodile Dock VBS is set for July 6 to 11 from 6 p.m. -7:30 p.m. Call 928- 200-8551. Driving east out of Globe, turn left into the first driveway past Montecito Drive, and up the hill. Drive east on Hwy. 70, first driveway East of Montecito Dr., turn left into driveway and up the hill. Miami’s First Southern Baptist Church is on the north side of Highway 70, not far from the- Burger House. Their Boomerang Express VBS welcomes all kids kindergarten through 6th grade, 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., July 12 - 17. Friday evening is Family Night, so, parents, come at 5 p.m. with your kids, food and a great time will be provided. Questions? Want to find out about the church's bus service? Call 928-473-4143.

Join"Call to Fall on Our Knees"

Pictured: Americans seek God in the rain on the National Day of Prayer:Millions participated nationwide in the National Day of Prayer. For the Call to Fall on Our Knees, Sunday, July 5, organizers expect eight million Christians to pray for their country. Will you be one?

All is Well, by Barbie Howland-Morton,Co-Pastor, First Christian Church(Disciples of Christ

It's true that there have been times we've all thought about giving up or resigning from a stressful job or situation. However, life is full of stress no matter where you look. But, there is something you can do. You can learn to surrender, place your trust in God and accept in faith the purpose He has planned for you. For you see, resignation paralyzes the life process and tempts you to live with a negative attitude. Just recall the lives of Joni Erikson, Corrie Ten Boom, and missionary Elizabeth Elliot. Rather than resignation, they chose to accept their lives and then rose up to meet the God who fills the universe with purpose and destiny. Know that with God, all things are possible ... it's a change of heart that makes things well with the soul.

Free Concert: Continentals in Safford July 8

Continental Singers will perform on We d n e s d a y, July 8 at 7 p.m. at the Center for the Arts, 985 S. 14th Avenue in Safford, AZ. Their high- ene rgy, mul t i -media, family-friendly performances have been a popular touring tradition for decades, always with new young Christian talent and state-of-the-art effects. The concert is free but a free-will offering will be taken for the Continentals’ ministry.

Know Your Clergy, by Carole Mathewson

Dell Kimberly, Payson Church of Christ: Dell Kimberly has served the past four years as pastor of Payson Church of Christ. A graduate of Heritage Christian University in Florence, AL, he came to Payson from the northern part of Alabama. Mr. Kimberly and his wife, Robbi, are the parents of a son, Kevin, and a daughter, Karla, both married and living in Huntsville, AL, and both will present the Kimberlys with their first and second grandchildren soon. "We are a grace-centered church preaching Jesus to the world that needs to hear," Mr. Kimberly said. He cites John 14:1-3 as a favorite verse: "If you believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also." Mr. Kimberly extends a welcome to all to attend services at his church, which is located at 401 E. Tyler Parkway, across from the Payson radio station. Telephone (928) 474-5149. Bible study is at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, with worship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday evening service is at 6 p.m., with a Wednesday service at 6:30 p.m.

Methodist 'Oz'

Rev. Rula Colvin has been in the community a year now, and visitors are welcome to hear her speak at services on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. at Claypool United Methodist Church on Highway 60, and at 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul's Methodist Church in Globe at the corner of Cottonwood and Hill. Sermons will take a "Wizard of Oz" theme in July: July 5, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"; July 12, "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"; July 19, "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh, My!" and July 26, "There’s No Place Like Home." (Dorothy made it home; was she a good example for us?)

Payson Churches

Calvary Chapel, 1103 N. Beeline Highway, at Sherwood Drive. Services at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Prayer Service at 6:30 p.m. Monday. Telephone (928) 468-0801. Church of Christ in Payson, 401 E. Tyler Parkway. Bible classes, 9:30 a.m.; worship, 10:25 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Bible study, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Telephone (928) 474-5149. Church of the Holy Nativity, Anglican, 1414 N. Easy Street. Sunday Mass, 10 a.m.; children’s Sunday school, 10 a.m.; Wednesday Low Mass and Holy Unction, 10 a.m. Telephone (928) 474-2660. Community Presbyterian Church, 800 W. Main Street. Sundays: Sonrisers Adult Bible Class, 8:50 a.m.; hymn sing, 10:15 a.m.; worship, 10:30 a.m. Telephone (928) 474-2059. Crossroads Foursquare Church, 114 E. Cedar. Sunday celebration service, 10 a.m. Telephone (928) 474-2602. First Baptist Church (Independent/ Fundamental), 303 W. Main St. Sunday school, 9:45 a.m.; worship service, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Telephone (928) 474-3530. First Church of the Nazarene, 200 E. Tyler Parkway. Sunday traditional worship service, 9 a.m.; Sunday school, 10:10 a.m.; contemporary worship service, 11:10 a.m.; family celebration, 6 p.m. Telephone (928) 474-5890. First Southern Baptist Church, West Bonita and Colcord Road. Sunday Bible study, 9:15 a.m.; Sunday worship, 10:30 a.m.; Sunday evening worship, 6 p.m. (928) 474-3374. Mount Cross Lutheran, 601 E. Hwy. 260. Sunday traditional service, 8:30 a.m.; contemporary 10:30 a.m. Telephone 474-2552. Mountain Bible Church, 302 E. Rancho Road. Sunday worship, 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Children’s classes both hours. Telephone (928) 472-7800. Payson Christian Church (nondenominational), 501 E. Ranch Rd. Sunday school, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday worship service, 10:45 a.m. Telephone (928) 474-3138. Payson First Assembly of God, 1100 W. Lake Drive. Children's Sunday School, 9:30 a.m.; worship services, 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Telephone (928) 474-2302. Payson United Methodist Church, 414 N. Easy St. Sunday contemporary service, 8:30 a.m.; traditional service, 11 a.m. Telephone (928) 474-0485. Payson United Pentecostal Church, 700 E. Wade. Worship service, 6 p.m. Sunday. Telephone (928) 468-2171. Ponderosa Baptist Church, 1800 N. Beeline Hwy. Sunday Gospel service, 8 a.m.; traditional service, 9:30 a.m.; contemporary, 11 a.m. Telephone (928) 474-9279. Rim Valley Church of God, 208 S. McLane. Sunday morning worship, 10:45 a.m.; Sunday evening worship, 6 p.m. Telephone (928) 474-5449. Rock of Ages Evangelical Lutheran Church (Wisconsin Synod), 204 W. Airport Rd. Sunday worship service, 9 a.m.; Sunday school, 10:15 a.m. (928) 474-2098. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1000 N. Easy Street. Holy Eucharist, 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Telephone (928) 474-3834. St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church, 511 S. St. Phillips.. Daily Masses, 8 a.m. Mon.- Friday; Saturday, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.; Spanish, 12:30 p.m. (928) 474-2392. Shepherd of the Pines Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod), 507 W. Wade Lane. Sunday school, 8:30 a.m.; worship service, 10 a.m. Telephone (928) 474-5440.