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Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013 – It was Promotion Sunday…

The first few rows of pews were full of kids, preschool through 12th grade, who were sitting with each of their Sunday School teachers upstairs in the sanctuary during the first service. Each teacher would present the students who were moving up from their class and talk a little bit about what they do during Sunday School.

The preschool teachers stood and presented the two children who were moving up from their class, gently coaxing the nervous kids to stand and smile at the congregation, and then they passed the mic on to the Kindergarten and 1st grade class.

Mr. Walt Semenyna, the kids’ Sunday School teacher, stood up in front of the congregation and said how glad he was that he had this chance to share with the congregation what their normal morning routine looks like. He was talking about how the kids enjoyed singing along with the songs he played on his keyboard and started to describe the lesson time, when he suddenly collapsed, clutching his chest.

Time seemed to stand still.

Then, it slowly seemed to pick up speed again, as people rushed up to help, including a local EMT who attends our services. The Sunday School classes were escorted out by their teachers, one person called 911 and one of our church leaders led the congregation in a group prayer. The ambulance arrived and we all filed out of the sanctuary to give them privacy to do what they needed to do.

Everyone gathered in small groups throughout the foyer to pray, talk or just to be together in silence while we waited to hear the news. When the ambulance took Mr. Walt away, we were told that he was still not responding and the situation seemed critical.

By the end of the second service, we received word that God had called Mr. Walt home to be with Him in heaven.

Having served in the children’s ministry (AWANA, Sunday School and VBS) at Bethel Memorial Baptist Church for 30 years, Mr Walt had been doing the work that he loved when God chose to take him out of this world.

It’s events like this that make you think. We live life as if we’re going to be here forever and as if it doesn’t matter what we do from moment to moment. Yes, we have the hope of eternal life with Jesus and we know that we’ll go to be with Him in heaven some day… but where’s the proof of that belief? Who are we to tell God what needs to be done or how we want things to go in our lives?

David makes a good point in Psalm 139:14-16

“I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”

Every single one of our lives, our days and our moments are written down in God’s book. He has this master plan that we’re all a part of and, while we may not see the big picture just yet, each of us has a significant part to play.

It was interesting too, because on that very same Sunday that Mr. Walt went to be the our Savior, our pastor’s sermon was based off of Ecclesiastes 3, which starts off like this:

“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die,
A time to plant and a time to uproot,
A time to kill and a time to heal,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn and a time to dance,
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
A time to embrace and a time to refrain,
A time to search and a time to give up,
A time to keep and a time to throw away,
A time to tear and a time to mend,
A time to be silent and a time to speak,
A time to love and a time to hate,
A time for war and a time for peace.”

There is a time for everything.. and our Creator is sovereign over time. We can’t rush things and we can’t slow things down. It may seem like God is too far away to care about us down here on earth, but there is evidence all around that He is very present in each of our lives.

My pastor then read Ecclesiastes 3:11, which says,

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

We may never fully understand what God is doing from moment to moment or how much of an impact we can have on someone’s life, but in the end, we have a hope… the hope that “we belong to eternity, but are presently stranded in time… that we can know our eternal destiny and can walk with God in our earthly lives.” (as my pastor said)

So, what are you doing with your life? Are you living as if nothing could take you down, as if you’re “unstoppable”? Or are you seizing the moment, using every opportunity you get to make a difference in someone’s life?

Take every moment and find a way to use it for the glory of God. That’s really the best kind of legacy to have once you leave this earth.. living a life that is glorifying to God 🙂

Amidst Governor Tom Corbett’s proposal of cutting our funding and the possibility of tuition going up again next year, Edinboro University’s faculty unions and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) have been working to negotiate a new faculty contract for the upcoming year.

“What’s nice about it is for all that it’s hard to sit down and work it out, once it’s worked out, we’ve got the rules,” said Dr. Jean Jones, president of Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculty (APSCUF) at Edinboro.

“It makes things a little bit easier once the contract is negotiated. It’s all clear that this is what we’re going to do and how we’re going to proceed for the next couple of years,” said Jones.

There are 46 articles in the contract that deal separately with hiring and firing faculty, number of work hours, sick leaves, online courses, number of classes that an individual professor should be able to have and more, explained Jones.

The faculty contract expired on June 30, 2011 and they have been “going to the table” and sitting down with the union leaders on one side and the PASSHE leaders on the other, trying to come to an agreement on a new contract that both groups can sign off on, said Jones.

“We have been working under the terms of the old contract since it expired,” said Kenn Marshall, the media relations manager for PASSHE. He said PASSHE is aiming to benefit both sides of the negotiation as well as the students at the campus.

According to the PASSHE website, the 14 universities in the PASSHE system pride themselves in offering the lowest costing, four-year degree programs in the state. Currently, the annual in-state tuition is $6,240.

“Nearly 120,000 students, 90 (percent) of whom are Pennsylvania residents, are enrolled at PASSHE universities,” said the PASSHE News Post.

So, as faculty, when it comes down to contractual issues, said Jones, APSCUF wants to protect as much as they can. She stressed good working conditions, how many temporary faculty are working, how often we’re putting classes online, and class size, as examples.

Another worry that has been added to the contract negotiations is Governor Corbett’s proposed state budget cuts.

Jones said she didn’t know if the potential budget cuts will affect the class sizes or the faculty members, but as a union president, she said she was worried about faculty jobs.

“If there was any fat, we’ve cut the fat. We’ve cut into the muscle and I think we’re now down to cutting the bone,” Jones said. “I don’t know where we can possibly find the money to make up for the shortfall.”

Financial costs are always an issue when it comes down to the contract, said Marshall.

He said 75 percent of the finances are personnel-related and reduction of the funding will have an impact on our contract negotiations.

However, contractual concerns aren’t the biggest concerns right now, according to Jones.

We’ll work out our contract, said Jones. “This isn’t about money for professors. This is about us really loving this institution and us being really worried about its future.”

–Anna Tielmann (Taken from The Spectator, Vol. III, Issue 17)

Anna's Alcove

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A Time and a Season for Everything

APSCUF Negotiates New Contract

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