Do you remember a time when everyone seemed

to know who lived next to them, and people under-stood what it meant to be a neighbor? While we live in the so-called social media generation, we are becom-ing less and less social, and it has its consequences. According to Livestrong.com, 35 percent of all men and 50 percent of all women experience moder-ate to extreme amounts of loneliness. People are becoming more isolated, feeling empty, alone and

unwanted. Loneliness neg-atively affects a person’s health and their brain func-tion such as heart disease, memory loss, the way we learn and our decision mak-ing. Ultimately, it can lead someone to depression and even suicide.

According to Psychology.about.com, loneliness may even be contagious. Research has found that a person close to someone experiencing loneliness has a 52 percent chance to also becoming

lonely themselves.

During the month of February we will learn how to be a church that combats loneliness. For example, Valentine’s Day is coming up which can be a reminder for many of their loneli-ness. The Bible writes, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or terri-fied because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

continued on page 2

Being a Friend by Cary Fisher

God’s Love

Could we with ink the ocean fill, were the whole sky of parchment made; were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade; to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretch’d from sky to sky.

—Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai

INSIDE

Transformed Stewards page 3

Taste & Inspiration on page 5

What’s happening? see pages 6 & 9

Our Church Family page 7

Young Adult Ministry on page 8

Kid’s Page on page 9

For the members, family and friends of the Downey Adventist Church

Friendship Outreach

Our theme for the month of February is “Being

a Friend.” Too many people in our community are lonely. So we will be following our long standing tradition and trying to ‘build commu-nity.’

On Saturday, February 28th, we will take a group

out in Downey to make friends with our neighbors. We will be offering to pray

with people. Or maybe someone will just want to talk and have someone

listen to them. Another may just want a free hug.

Stay tuned during February for more details about our new Friendship Outreach minis-try. =

THE LATEST WORD

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First of all, we are never really alone because our God is always with us, and besides, God gave us something else to help know that we are never alone. God gave us the church. The church is a com-munity of believers and by definition, a community is a gath-ering of people who have the same belief system. God’s plan for his children is to come together as the body of Christ, so we can be connected to each other to fulfill His purpose and to never be alone.

We understand that a person needs to have three or four people that they can confide in to help battle the symptoms of loneliness. My desire is

for all us to know that we have a whole community of friends at the Downey Seventh-day Adventist Church, and no one here

needs to feel isolated or lonely. While loneli-ness may be contagious, I believe friendship is also contagious. Let’s see if we can spread friendship throughout our church. And not just stop there, but maybe also we can find a way to be good friends to the world around us.

February’s Sermons

For the month of February we are going

to have a series on Friendship.

February 7 – You are Never Alone. On this Sabbath, we are going to start off with a message that reminds us that God is always with us. We find such

great comfort to know this as Paul writes, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (I Corinthians 3:16).

February 14 –Will You Be Mine? This Sabbath happens to be on Valentine’s Day, and the message is about God’s invitation. Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20). God is always knocking on the door of our hearts, and it is up to us to let him in.

February 21 – Let’s Be Friends. This sermon will focus on the importance for friendship. The Bible says, “Anyone who with-holds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty” (Job 6:14). As brothers and sisters

in Christ, we are bound together and we need each other.

February 28 – The World in Need. Our final sermon of the series will remind us of our com-mission to be a friend to the world. Paul writes, “I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepen-ing your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ” (Philemon 1:6). Sharing our faith could not only change the life of the receiver but also the one who is sharing.

See you when the church gathers. =

WE

D

ID

IT

The Latest Word V 27 N 02

BILL AUMACKresponsible for this

LINDA AUMACKcopy editor

LAURA LUNApaper distribution

CARY FISHERpastor

address mail to: Downey Seventh-day Adventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd.Downey, CA 90240office: 562.869.6013fax: 562.622.1691 downeychurch@gmail.comwww.downeychurch.com

distributed monthlyissue date: Feb. 2015 copyright 1992-2015

Loneliness may even be contagious

“

”

Being a Friend (cont. from page 1)

February 2015

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Behavioral scientists remind us that when

one is feeling stressed or under pressure at work the best remedy is to take five deep breaths; stand up and take a five-minute break; refresh brain cells with a large glass of water; meditate on God’s good-ness; or visualize a favorite place. I really like this last practical suggestion of imagining for a moment a place far away from the current challenge or crisis, such as sunset on a beach in Hawaii or being in a rowboat on a calm lake surrounded by tall majestic mountains.

Occasionally, I remi-nisce about a vacation my wife and I took to Philadelphia, and in par-ticular, the counties where the Amish live. Watching these people going about

their work and play in a calm and collected manner makes me envious when I feel frazzled. The bless-ings of having no cell phone ringing; no e-mail demanding attention; no radio or television breaking the silent moments of thought! Imagine each morning not needing to think about what you are going to wear or searching through your closet looking for that perfect outfit. In fact, it makes me wish there was an Adventist Amish commune that I could join. Then reality hits. Would the peace and tranquility I

envy be worth the hassle of harnessing a horse and buggy? Would I be satis-fied with continually wear-

ing black and white or having to walk to the front gate to answer my tele-phone?

For the majority

of us, the Amish lifestyle is not going to happen. We will continue to live in our modern world with its striving to get ahead, it’s passion for materialism, and it’s blatant greediness and selfishness. But that doesn’t mean we have to conform to the expec-tations of our modern society. The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) This mes-sage was not for the first century only but for the 21st century as well.

A young pastor in Manhattan, New York, is facing this burnt-out lifestyle with the gospel’s transforming power. He

writes, “This is definitely more than theory for me. I pastor a network of con-gregations in some of the most godless neighbor-hoods in America, and in spite of the odds, sprouts from the seeds of the gos-pel have broken through the secular concrete of Manhattan. We have Wall Street Traders steering their careers away from greed into radical gener-osity. We have people in the fashion industry who get behind the veneer of beauty with restorative and creative projects for vic-tims of sex trafficking and battered women. We have families living in proxim-ity and sharing resources and valuing community above convenience as they live as the people of God. We have media executives working on new stories and programming that highlight the good, the true, and the beautiful. We have artists creating out of a renewed imagination, offering compelling works of hope in a culture of cyn-icism. The list goes on.” 1

You and I can change our lives by not conform-ing to what is expected by the world around us and in the process reduce the tensions and pressure of our modern way of life by being a transformed stew-ard.

Here are a few samples:

Feb. 7Cary Fisher

You Are Never Alone

Feb. 14

Cary FisherWill You Be Mine?

Feb. 21Cary FisherLet’s Be Friends

Feb. 28Cary Fisher

The World in Need

Worship Schedule

The Stewpotby Gordon Botting, DrPh, CHES, CFC Transformed Stewards

continued on page 4

THE LATEST WORD

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HousingHouse sizes have

mushroomed over the last fifty years from approxi-mately 1,000 square feet to over 2,500 square feet. This extra square foot-age means more privacy, utility, and lots of room for family and company. However, conforming to this new standard of liv-ing does mean we pay the price for that bigger house by needing to work longer hours to make the monthly mortgage payments as well as the consequences of additional cleaning and higher electrical and gas bills. 2

E-mailIn 2009, there were 247

billion emails sent around the world. That’s over 3,000 per second. Over 60 % of these e-mails are to private customers and nearly 40 % to public busi-nesses. The typical cor-porate user will send and receive approximately 170 messages every 24 hours and spend a third of his or her work time writing, reading and responding to this e-mail monster. Large business organizations of over 1,000 employees can spend $1.8 million annu-ally on technical problems, such as spam, and lose another $160,000 on virus attacks. Add an additional 59 % of the population

checking emails from their beds; 53 % while in the bathroom; 37 % while driving; and more than a tithe (12 %) in church. In two years from now, that is expected to double. Then there’s all the social networking services such as Twitters, Facebook, and MySpace, just to name a few.

We can conform to the pressure of the Internet world, or we can be trans-formed by adopting sensi-ble margins such as check-ing e-mail at the beginning and at the end of the day, writing succinct replies, not being irritated when the other person fails to reply in a timely manner and taking a Sabbath rest from e-mails. If all else fails, do what a Stanford Law professor did: simply declare e-mail bankrupt-cy.2

CommutesToday, we have the

option of living and work-ing in two different loca-tions. Unlike the 19th century when your work surrounded you — the farm you grow up on and worked from dawn to dusk — now you may commute to your place of employ-ment up to three hours away. The national aver-age is just over 50 miles round trip. With approxi-mately a third of our nation commuting (130

million), “over twelve millennia of time [is] lost every day. With the cur-rent unemployment rate at 9%, many families and individuals have no choice but to make those one to three-hour trips to work every day.” 2

You may be able to transform your hectic pace with some flextime. Under certain circumstances, you can work four ten-hour days instead of five eight -hour days. You can also ask about working from home, which often means less interruptions and more productive work. 2

FinancesWith the average fam-

ily or individual having approximately 14 credit cards, it’s no wonder the credit card companies and banks are enjoying a whopping profit of $18 billion (2007) in late fees and other penalties. You could cut up your credit cards, but with rental cars, airlines, and other services refusing cash it seems plastic is here to stay. Instead, transform your plastic by reducing the number to no more than two cards and sign up for automatic payment. Or if paying by mail, return a full payment right away to avoid late fees and penal-ties. Never having a bal-ance or paying a fee makes

Transformed Stewards (cont. from page 3)

“All who will conform their lives to the plain require-ments of God’s Word will inherit eternal life.” — Ellen White SM, Book 1, p. 174

“God made time, but man made haste.” — Irish Proverb

continued on page 5

February 2015

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Ingredients• 12.0 ounces jumbo pasta shells

• 1.25 cups mozzarella cheese shredded. Reserve 1/4 cup

• 1.0 cups Parmesan cheese grated

• 2.0 lbs ricotta cheese

• 4.0 large eggs lightly beaten

• 1.0 teaspoons black pep-per

• 1.0 teaspoons garlic pow-der

• 1.0 tablespoons dried parsley

• 8.0 ounces spaghetti sauce jarred or homemade

• 1.0 to taste fresh basil chopped, for garnish

Directions1. In an 8 quart pot, bring water to a boil and cook shells for 8 minutes or until al dente.

2. Drain and cool immedi-ately with cold water.

3. Drain and place open side down on paper towels.

4. In a medium bowl, com-bine the rest of ingredients except the spaghetti sauce.

5. Reserve the 1/4 cup of Mozzarella.

6. Place a thin layer of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 12 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.

7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Spoon the cheese mix-ture into each pasta shell and place open side up, in a single layer, in prepared pan.

9. Pour the rest of sauce

over the stuffed shells.

10. Loosely cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

11. During last 5 minutes of baking, remove foil and sprinkle remaining Mozzarella cheese on top.

12. Bake 5 more minutes.

13. Garnish with fresh chopped basil.

Enjoy! =

Baked Stuffed Pasta Shells

Taste & Inspiration

Pilar & Phillip

you a banker “deadbeat,” but it’s a far cry from the average family’s $1200 giveaway in annual inter-est. 2

StewardshipToo many Christians

operate on the principle of paying all their bills and THEN returning an honest tithe. However, you and I live in a fast-pace world where most of us have too

many bills and not enough money at the end of the month. Let’s transform our priorities; return to God his tithe FIRST, and it will surprise you how the rest of the finances work out. Test God. Instead of the same $1 we placed in the plate since 1950 or 1990, how about giving God a cost of living raise of $5 per week in our freewill offerings? =

References:

1. Jon Tyson, Breaking the Mold, Leadership magazine, Spring 2011, p. 50.

2. Concepts from Richard A.; Swenson, M D, In Search of Balance, 2010, p. 142, 143, 146 &147

Transformed Stewards (cont. from page 4)

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

2 3 4 5 6 7

8 10 12 13 14

16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

5:35 pm sunset

5:42 pm sunset

5:48 pm sunset

9:30 am S.S.

9:30 am S.S.

9:30 am S.S.10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary 12:30 pm Luncheon2 pm Pathfinders4 pm Bible Study

9:30 am S.S.10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

4 pm Bible Study

Visit www.downeychurch.orgS.S. – Sabbath School

C.S. – Community Service

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11

10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

2 pm Pathfinders4 pm Bible Study

10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

4 pm Bible Study

9

7 pm Band Practice

15

Downey Adventist Church

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Band Practice

5:29 pm sunset

9 am Pathfinders

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Church Board

February 2015

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Feb. Birthdays David Martinez – 2Issac Diaz – 5 Akeem Meade – 7Jasmine Huinquez – 9 Irene Garcia – 11 Victoria Zamora – 11Sheila Bathgate – 13 Maggie Zamora – 15 Ellis Perry – 19 Teresa Miranda – 22 Donna Morgan – 24 Letty Duran – 29 Susie Duran – 29

If your birthday is left out in the monthly newsletter, please contact the church office so we can put it in.

Upcoming EventsWednesday - 7 p.m. Wed. FellowshipFridays - 7:00 p.m. Band Practice

Feb 7 - Pathfinder Convocation @ The WhiteFeb. 7 - Pathfinders @ 2pmFeb. 8 - Pathfinders @ 9amFeb. 19 - Church Board @ 7pmFeb. 21 - Fellowship Luncheon @ 12:30pmFeb. 21 - Pathfinders @ 2pmFeb. 28 - Friendship Outreach

The Latest Word deadline is the 5th of the month.

Coming Soon

March 21 - Youth SabbathApril 4 - Easter SabbathApril 11 - Small Groups BeginApril 19 - Pathfinder Fair

Be sure to keep up with the latest news by signing up for the Wednesday email. You can sign up here www.downey-church.org/Signups.html or send us an email at DowneyChurch at gmail dot com and we’ll add you.

THE LATEST WORD

8

The Latest About

Our Church Family Christina Haddad

completed her school work for her Psychology degree. Congratu-lations! She’s going to start working on her Masters degree now.

We are always look-ing for students who are get-ting good grades or other

recognition. If you know someone, please contact us so we can celebrate with

them.

If you have any Church Family news, please contact the church office so we can get it into the

newsletter. =

Commandment #11

Thank you to everyone who has been saving Box Tops for Education. That is greatly appreciated.

For the Box Tops for Education, please save the Box Tops coupon.

Please give your labels to Linda Aumack. Thank you for your support! =

During the 17th cen-tury, an archbishop

traveling through Scotland met theologian Samuel Rutherford but kept his identity secret. Rutherford invited the man to stay with him. When Mrs. Rutherford gathered the servants on Saturday to prepare for worship the next day, the guest joined in and was asked a basic question: “How many commandments are there?”

When the guest replied “11,” Mrs. Rutherford said, “What a shame it is for you, a man with gray hairs, in a Christian country, not

to know how many com-mandments there are!”

The next morning, Rev. Rutherford went out in the woods to pray and heard his guest doing likewise. When he discovered the archbishop’s identity, Rutherford invited him to preach that morning. The archbishop’s topic? The 11th commandment, based on Jesus’ words in John 13:34 — “A new com-mandment I give to you, that you love one another” (ESV). =

Calling all Young Adults! We are going

to be starting a Young Adult Ministry. There are quite a few collegiate age and young adults at church. So we are going to be starting a ministry for this demographic.

If you are in this demo-graphic, hopefully you’ve already been contacted. But if somehow we missed

you, please talk to Bill Aumack or Pastor Cary. We want to make sure we include everyone.

We will be planning some get-togethers and working on a time for Bible Study / Sabbath School class.

Come on out and join us! =

February 2015

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February 2015

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Downey-Florence Seventh-day Adventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd., Downey CA 90240

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DATED MATERIAL

Ponder This...

= “Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone — we find it with another.” —Thomas Merton

= “Do something wonderful; people may imitate it.” ―Albert Schweitzer

= “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” —J.R.R. Tolkien