Rev. Tucher

If I could, I would sell this stuff like people in Colorado did last winter.  We have received so much snow, Christmas lights are still around our porch poles because the snow hasn’t melted to put the ladder up!

Here are some statistics from our local paper.

February snowfall to date: 4.7 inches
February snowfall average: 7.8 inches

WINTER SNOW

- Snow since October: 34.2 inches
- Precipitation since October: 1.62 inches
- Snow last winter (Oct.1, 2006, to March 1): 35.1 inches
- Winter average: 63.7 inches
- Biggest snow day this winter: Dec. 1, 5 inches

So, if anyone has a lack of snow at their location and would like some, please let me know and I’ll be more than happy to give you some.

This has appeared in our local newspaper at least twice now.  The church will be left anonymous but that doesn’t affect the article.

Eight reasons why you might try our Thursday Night Church Service

8.  You’re never in town on the weekends
7.  Thursday Night Church might not be as boring and irrelevant.
6.  Gillette’s best looking pastor.*
5.  You’re always watching football on Sunday.
4.  In at 7 p.m. - out by 8 p.m.
3.  Your kids will have a blast at Thursday Night Jam Time.
2.  Everybody just wears their work clothes.
1.  You like to sleep in on Sunday.

* An opinion held by almost nobody

~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, so let me discuss the following points.

8.  For Gillette, this is very common.  With traveling sports as well as intramural sports, people are traveling all weekend and playing games from Friday through Sunday.  By the time they get back in town, church is well done and over with.  For most sports travelers, there isn’t even time to go to church while traveling for sports because games are often held during church services to get all the games in.

7.  What does that say about your Sunday service?  That’s all I’m gonna say about that!

6.  This really isn’t even worth comment, joking or not.

5.  We have 2 services on Sunday: 8:30 and 10.  If you attend our 8:30 service, you will still be home before the early game kicks off.  Granted, you may miss some pregame interviews and what-not, but oh well!  Church is either important or it’s not.

4.  Wow, church in an hour.  We can do that too.  FYI, this church has two services on Sunday.  One lasts 60 minutes and the second lasts 70.  Question: what takes 10 more minutes in the second service?  Lord’s Supper?

3.  Obviously, you’re kids won’t have a blast during the Sunday service.  This tells me that worship isn’t a key point here but having fun.  As Higher Things says, “When we worship, we worship.  When we play, we play.  When we work, we work.”

2.  We have people who wear their works clothes here as well.  We have people just coming out of the mines, we have people on their way to the mines.  We have people on their way to the hospital.  They wear what they wear.  As long as it is appropriate clothing, we don’t say anything.

1.  Who doesn’t like to sleep in on Sunday?  I like to sleep in too, but I’m up and at church.  Granted, it is my vocation as pastor that requires me to be at church on Sunday morning.  But we have 200+ people every Sunday who, given the chance to sleep in or come to church, choose the latter. 

Now, I’m sure that this particular church isn’t holding up their Thursday night service as something better than their Sunday services.  This is just a way of advertising their service on Thursday.  Couldn’t they have done something different than this, making up a list of reasons why Thursday church might be better for you than Sunday?  Just by putting in a little ad highlighting their various services and indicating that Thursday is a more “relaxed” setting would have sufficed, but I guess this is more appealing to people.

Weather today in Gillette is just this side of white.  We had some nice snow overnight and possibly another 6-8″ due to a lovely Canadian storm coming down on us.  So right now, I’m in the office doing some work.  Bible study was canceled this morning and it’s very likely that our Voters’ Meeting will be rescheduled to next week.  Currently, it’s 16° with light snow.  Radar shows the majority of it over Rapid City, SD right now, but should be heading our way anytime.  So this afternoon, I’ll be going to Walmart because we need food; the old parsonage pantry is looking a little empty.  After that, some quality time with the snowblower so we can actually get our cars up the driveway and back in the garage.  After that, I might get a little Xbox time in.  Regardless, I’ll be in the for the afternoon today and quite possibly tomorrow.  Only time will tell with the weather.

Below are pictures of some members who have been featured in the Gillette News-Record in recent weeks.

(Source: Gillette News-Record) (Source: Gillette News-Record)

(Source: Gillette News-Record)

I couldn’t believe the story when I read it.  Who would have thought that an argument over a remote control could be such a “pointed” issue?  Sorry, I know, a very bad pun.  Regardless, check out the story here.

 You decide.

(Photo courtesy of The Gillette News Record)

This was the scene in Gillette on Wednesday.  I guess it was a good thing that I wasn’t there. 

Rain has been falling in Gillette rather hard.  In early May, we had 4.5 inches of rain and then another 2 inches Wednesday.  Gillette’s yearly rainfall is almost 14 inches, nearly double what it should be this time of year.  While Gillette is in much need of precipitation, I think they have enough to last them a while.

Places are flooded out, including the senior pastor’s parsonage.  Fortunately, they were able to drain most of the water and called out a professional company to dry up the excess and apply anti-mold chemicals in the affected rooms.

We were very glad to hear that our house is still high and dry.  That’s good news, seeing that we will be in Indiana until June 18.  Should anything happen to our belongings between now and then, I think my wife would just die (as would I).

I have to credit my mother for sending this to me.  This story did appear in our newspaper, but since it was so small, I must have missed it.

Can’t steal your heart, so your valuables will do

Police in Wyo. say stolen credit card used to buy computer, online dating

Someone was clearly desperate for a date — so desperate they tried to steal their way to a happy heart.

According to Gillette police, someone used a 30-year-old Gillette woman’s credit card to buy a Gateway computer and then rack up charges on various dating services.

Sgt. Dirk Blackmer said $1,400 of charges were made on the woman’s card between May 1-18.

At this point, the identity of the thief remains unknown.

Police continue to investigate.

I’m sorry folks, but you can’t make this stuff up even if you tried!

There was an interesting article in Sunday’s paper about two women living in Gillette who were “married” in Canada several months ago. Leah Vader was raised Catholic, attended Catholic school, was a good Catholic and took Communion every Sunday. She began attending a Catholic church here in Gillette for a number of years. She brought her spouse to the church and she was baptized in 2000. However, they received a letter from the priest saying that “because of your union and your public advocacy of same-sex unions, that you are unable to receive communion.” The two women were outraged by this and view this as “discriminatory.”

What Leah Vader and Lynne Huskinson fail to realize is that this is a sin. God clearly speaks against homosexual relationships in the Bible. For them to call this “discriminatory” is to say that God made them to be sinners. That is just pure wrong. God did not make any of us to be sinners. God made us to be perfect in His image. However, when Satan entered the Garden of Eden, all of creation became sinful. That was not what God intended so He sent His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ to restore creation. While we are still sinners, we have been clothed in the holiness of Christ’s righteousness. However, that doesn’t mean that we should purposely live contrary to God and His Word.

To read the entire story, click here.

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Britt Shelstad is one of the 10 finalists for Maxim’s Hometown Hotties 2006. Earlier when I posted about this, she was in a newspaper article here in Gillette talking about modeling. When you look at her two new recent photos on Maxim’s site and her video, I don’t think she’s doing the modeling that she refered to in the original article. You be the judge.