The weather has been wet and sloppy outside of the Lakefront Church of God, it has delayed the ground excavation needed for the new sidewalks and loading docks. Although the weather is holding up progress outside the pantry, work continues on the inside. Crews from the church began the installation of a men and women's restroom facility in the pantry. The new area will offer a wash station where fruits and vegetables can be gone through and cleaned before reaching the pantry floor. Having running water on this end of the building will be a big advancement for the pantry. Not only will there be bathroom facilities, but running water for mopping, and cleaning fruits and vegetables, and other water needs. An exact date of opening has not been set. Work of opening walls has been completed in earlier phases. The next project will be floor and paint work in the pantry.
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Brother Lou and Sister Mary Anna Speller was leaders in the Indiana Disaster Relief Agency. In the March of the tornadoes, the call came that a tornado had hit Salyersville Kentucky. Brother Lou and Sister Mary Ann arrived on the scene to assist with volunteers and in disaster relief. Both Mary Ann and Brother Lou fell in love with the mountain folks, and with the church family at Lakefront.
In the aftermath, the disaster teams left when the debris was cleared. It was the love that Mary Ann and Lou had that kept them returning with mission groups to Lakefront Church of God and Magoffin County. They loaded supplies and brought mission teams to help with housing needs in the community. The groups stayed at the church, where Lou and Mary Ann spent many nights on cots in the library. It pains our Lakefront Church of God family to announce the recent passing of Brother Lou Speller. Brother Lou loved the sound of the Mountain Dulcimer. In the article following, learn a little more about Lou and his hobby that built the bridge between the mountain people that he loved and his hone in Indiania. Inside the home of Rev. Lou and Mary Anna Speller are two racks of dulcimers, neatly mounted on display. Each built by Lou’s gentle hands, they are a small fraction of the 411 instruments he has lovingly crafted over the years. They stand as a symbol of the Spellers’ life and the approach to the ministry they have shared for more than 50 years. The dulcimer has several drone strings, with each one vibrating just one pitch. The melody is then played on the remaining string. Like the dulcimer, there are multiple strings that form the consistent backdrop for Lou and Mary Anna as they shared the simple, sweet sounds of a faithful life. Respond to people’s needs. Use your gifts to the fullest. Give freely of yourself. Rev. Speller was pastor of St. Luke’s UCC in Dayton’s St. Anne’s Hill from 1965–1972, a time when construction of the interstate highway system was splintering the urban neighborhood surrounding the church. With Appalachian roots evident in the community, Rev. Speller sought to find a way to connect. The dulcimer became his bridge. He bought his first dulcimer for his daughter, Cynthia. At first glance the instrument seemed simple enough—strings, frets, soundboard—yet each piece was unique in shape and size. His interest was piqued. He attended a workshop and in 15 minutes he was on his way to a lifetime of music. Rev. Speller has since hosted dulcimer groups in each congregation he has served. He maintains he can teach anyone, even non-musicians, how to play the dulcimer with the same method he learned. “I enjoy teaching and have shared this gift with the people in the churches I served,” he said. “See a need and figure out how to satisfy that need” Kentucky natives and Heidelberg College alumni, Lou and Mary Anna have dedicated their lives to working with people in need. For more than 50 years, their dedication, volunteer service and generous donations have supported many vital efforts of United Church Homes. Inspired by their familiarity with Riverview Community in Cincinnati, and while serving at St. Luke’s, they held a vision of a community for seniors which was shared with two other local pastors, Rev. Willard Kratz of St. John’s UCC and Rev. Ed Puff from Memorial UCC. After many months of wrangling with local government leaders, a donor with land in Greene County provided the ideal, tranquil location. “It’s the culture of the UCC that if you see a need, you figure out how to satisfy that need. That's why we went to Beavercreek—to get it done,” Rev. Speller said. Eight years later, Trinity Community opened its doors. Rev. Speller is proud that his mother, Marie, was one of the first residents at Trinity. Until she died in 1982, she experienced his vision of seniors living in an attractive, compassionate community. Still work to be done The Spellers have served congregations in every setting imaginable—urban, rural, large suburban churches and smaller community churches—providing Mary Anna with a broad perspective on church life and equipping her with the gifts to work the last decade of her career as a member of the Indiana-Kentucky Conference staff. While the Spellers continued their ministry in Indiana, they became supporters of the Altenheim Community and Mary Anna served on the board of directors of United Church Homes for 10 years. She continues to be a member of the UCH Housing Services board. Together, they continue to volunteer to meet needs, facilitating the disaster response ministry for the Indiana-Kentucky Conference. After residing in parsonages most of their lives, the Spellers now enjoy retirement living in their own home in Indiana. “We lived very frugally our entire life to enjoy the things we have today—however, one thing we were never frugal with was our giving,” he said, tearing up as he spoke. In retirement, the Spellers started Just For You, providing Lou with an outlet to build more custom dulcimers. Each one is handcrafted and personalized. With Lou serving as craftsman and Mary Anna as the well-organized record keeper, their individual complementary gifts bring new life to each new instrument. And like each dulcimer, their lives continue to play the drone strings that allow them to meet people’s needs, to use their own gifts fully, and to generously give that others may experience the fullness of life. Indeed, the Spellers are testimony that life, like sweet and soft music, is to be experienced, played, shared and enjoyed. In order to continue to grow our ministry and provided assistance to Magoffin County, we continue to add partnerships and relationships that the Lord provides us. We currently have partnerships with the Christian Appalachian Project, numerous local churches, businesses, and individuals. We also have groups that have partnered with us from Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
On March the 28th, we will welcome a group of students from Berkeley California Law School to come and volunteer and gather information on the ministries that we work with. We will forever give all the credit to Jesus Christ for all good things come from Him. We look forward to new partnerships as the Lord continues to bless our ministry. If you would like to join our partnership and help in serving Magoffin County Kentucky, please contact us on how you can help. If you assist us, we will light up your state in honor of your assistance. Together, we can make a change here in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. We can give hope to the hopeless. The church office of, Community Outreach & Missions, at the Lakefront Church of God has undergone renovations. The office has been repainted and the floors have undergone renovation. New furniture was donated for our sitting area. The new updates are designed for comfortable seating for those who seek assistance at the church.
The Community Outreach & Missions at the church offer: Resume Writing, Job Search, Placement, Emergency Clothing & Hygiene Products, Prescription service for dentures, glasses, medicine, hearing assistant devices, and assistance through the Water Into Wine Food Pantry services. The office opens at 9AM and closes most nights at midnight seven days per week. The office is also glad to receive and send out your prayer requests. Please call for our services at 606-349-6301. |
AuthorMy name is Jeff Tackett. I work at the office here at Lakefront Church of God. I handle technology and other office administrative duties. Archives
October 2019
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