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B-SHARP Needs YOU! B-SHARP is in its eighth year of serving our community as a haven for students who are suspended from school. Since 1999, we have provided a safe, supervised place for students to serve out their suspension while getting assistance with their assignments, learning to take responsibility for their ac-tions, and receiving referrals to other ser-vices. Although we are one of seven sites in Montgomery County, B-SHARP is unique in that it is clearly a ministry of Liberty Grove, supported by the congregation out of our love for children and families in our community that need help. All of B-SHARP’s volunteers are church members who selflessly devote time during school hours to children who are often from single-parent homes and living marginally. Usually, the other option for these children is to stay home alone or wander the streets un-supervised during their suspension. We recently decided to re-open B-SHARP on Fridays so we are now available five days a week when schools are in ses-sion. In a typical school year, that means our services are available 1,104 hours and there are at least 368 three-hour slots to fill with volunteers. Volunteers are scheduled in shifts from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. We currently have about 20 active volunteers, many of whom have weekday jobs and/or busy schedules, just like you. Many of them have been volunteering for years and some are slowing down or finding that other needs or inter-ests are calling them. It has become increas-ingly difficult to find volunteers who can de-vote more than 1 or 2 shifts per month, which means we need more volunteers to help. Can you find 3 hours once or twice a month to help out? You don’t need any spe-cial skills–just a smile and a little empathy for kids who made a poor decision. Some em-ployers encourage community service by al-lowing employees to take leave to volunteer; you could go into work late and miss rush hour! If you are interested in volunteering or have questions about the program, please call Kathy Magid at B-SHARP (301-476-9621), at home (301-388-2178) or on her cell phone (301-675-0763). You can also e-mail Kathy at b-sharp@comcast.net or klmagid@verizon.net. Please consider helping out at B-SHARP - WE NEED YOU! WANTED FOR B-SHARP PREACHER FEA-TURE What a summer this has been. The trip to Rochester is a wonderful example of the incredible spirit that is Liberty Grove church. I had a great time, I certainly ap-preciate the work that DON HAUPRICH does now more than PREACHER

The Liberty Bell

ever. The adults who work in support of the

youth ministry are awesome. Pray every day

for their continued ministry among us.

I hope the summer has been a chance for

you to get in touch with God in deeper ways.

We have had a good experience with Summer

Sunday classes and the worship and finances

have been better this summer than last. You

can see the note in another place in this Lib-

I would urge you to start inviting friends and

neighbors to church this fall. There are a lot of

ways to help people get connected to God

with what’s going on around here. The most

successful form of church growth and evan-

gelism, is that friends invite friends to church.

It provides an instant contact with someone

you know, when you come to a strange church

for the first time. Nearly eighty percent (80%)

of unchurched participants are looking for a

church and would go if someone they knew

would invite them.

We have a lot going on this fall. There are

activities for all ages. We have ways of help-

ing people get in touch with God through Sun-

day School classes, especially with five

classes for adults, and each age is represented.

We have Bible Studies going on throughout

the week that would help you get more com-

fortable with the Bible. You can ask Anne

Humphries, or Rob Pierson or the pastor about

We will be covering the best stories in Gene-

sis in the sermons this fall. If you could use a

refresher course this is a good place to start.

But it could be the place where you get a real

handle on what the Bible is all about, and how

do we plug it in to our daily lives. The great

thing about this season’s sermons, is that they

will correspond to the Sunday School class

topics, so parents and their children can talk

about the stories all during the week. There is

even a parent section at Faithweaver website

for midweek ideas for conversations.

Now is the right time to think about how

you are going to grow in reaching your five

stars discipleship. Your getting involved with

Serving in anyway is one step, your getting

into a Bible Study or Sunday School class is

Training your mind and heart. Increasing the

number of times you worship and the number

of times you have private or family devotions

will increase your Adoration of God. Coming

to the suppers, special events and small groups

and committees will nurture your Relating to

one another. Inviting a friend to church for a

special concert, event or service will make

Sharing a part of your balanced faith journey.

We urge you to grow spiritually this fall.

It’s a tough world out there, getting more chal-

lenging everyday, having the spiritual encour-

agement and guidance will make a big differ-

ence for you. Welcome back. I look forward

to encouraging your faith development this

fall. I consider what I do a form of coaching

you spiritually and I look forward to the pro-

gress we will make together.

Thank you for bringing the bulletins from

churches you visited this summer, it inspires