Stolen air conditioner

Our air conditioner was stolen Thursday night. Thanks to one of our neighbors who spotted the disassembled A/C unit while walking his dog in the alley behind the church, we were able to at least get out there and prevent further damage. But it’s an eye-opener to realize that even churches aren’t immune to the thefts that have plagued our community. In fact, we’re not the first church they’ve hit. It was probably just a matter of time.

The remains of our air conditioning unit, 10/28/11.When the police came out to file the report, they told us that the thieves have to turn off the power before they start cutting apart the air conditioner to get at the copper or other materials that they can take to the recycling center and exchange for cash. Occasionally, the police officer told us, they will forget to turn off the power or not do it correctly, and then “Zap!” they fry themselves.

How sad that some mother’s child, some father’s son, some grandmother’s grandbaby, is out there risking their life just for some copper, probably to feed some addiction or habit. As the pastor, I can’t even be angry, I just pray that those who are doing this will wake up and realize that God created them to be more, do more, and have more than what this life of petty crime can provide.

DisciplesNet devotional - Romans 5:1-11

Pastor Rebecca is providing the devotional writings this week for DisciplesNet, the first online church in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination. Read her reflection on Romans 5:1-11, “What Are You Hoping For?”

DisciplesNet devotional - Psalm 95

Photo: NeilsPhotography (Creative Commons license)Pastor Rebecca is providing the devotional writings this week for DisciplesNet, the first online church in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination. Read her reflection on Psalm 95 - “Restless Hearts.”

DisciplesNet devotional - Exodus 17:1-7

Photo: Florian (Creative Commons license)Pastor Rebecca is providing the devotional writings this week for DisciplesNet, the first online church in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination. Read her reflection on Exodus 17:1-7 — “Is the Lord Among Us, or Not?”

What's happening in Carthage?

The Carthage Civic League met Monday night (3/21/11). Here are a few highlights from the meeting:

• Officer Jodie of the Cincinnati Police Dept. gave her monthly update. Burglaries are up in Carthage, especially in vacant properties. If you notice suspicious activity at a vacant house, contact the police at 352-3536. Crime generally goes up in March because people get “spring fever” after being cooped up during the winter.
• April 9 is the community Easter Egg Hunt at Caldwell Park. Meet there at 11:15. Don’t be late - the egg hunt is usually over in about 5 minutes!
• OKI Auto Auctions will be moving into one of the vacant Jim Beam facilities in May.
• On April 1, there will be a live band at Andy’s Cafe on Vine Street. Cindy is organizing another get-together/fundraiser at Andy’s in May. Stay tuned for details.
• The Carthage Seniors have continued to meet on weekdays up at Hartwell Recreation Center (since the Carthage Rec Center closed in January). However they would prefer to find a place to meet in Carthage. Bob Hartlaub encouraged them to talk to churches and to look into maybe renting the building on Vine Street recently rehabbed by Cincinnati Housing Partners. They have a little money, but not much, and probably could not rent the building, so they are hoping to find something inexpensive or free. They generally meet from 10-2 on weekdays and have two Friday night dinners each month at 5 pm.
• U-Pull & Pay - the owner spoke at the meeting, to thank the community for their support of his proposal and to find out if there are any problems. A couple of residents mentioned things and he said he’d look into getting the problems addressed. He also said they’re hiring for two positions. One is a customer service/cashier, and the other is in production (manual heavy labor).