A friend of mine recently commented that “quality time is lots of time.” This is so true. In our physical families a baby for the first few months after birth requires much of its mother’s time. As the infant begins to crawl, pull up, and then walk, the mother has no less time to spend; she simply changes what she does with the baby. Now she is assisting, encouraging, and leading. Good parents will cuddle, kiss, hug, and express love to the growing child. Any child deprived of these expressions of love is irreparably harmed.
As the child develops, the parents adapt again. The child loves to hear stories, be read to, and plays games. It takes lots of time, but it is worth it. No one can ever take away these priceless experiences from the parents and the child.
    Can you imagine Jesus being with his disciples only one hour a week? If that had been true, what would have happened? Would we have a Bible? Would we have an understanding of what it takes to be a Christian? Acts 2-3 tells us that the Church met together daily. They grew to love each other as they studied together, ate together, and worshipped together.
    The Church today tends to be not a family, but a parade. Members parade in, performers put on their show with the audience having no participation. Then people arise and parade out and have no contact or involvement until the next performance.
    At the Dowagiac Church we work at avoiding that by involving everyone in the work of the Church. James tells us that “Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” Take on a ministry. Get involved! Join us at pot lucks, after-services get togethers, and at special meetings and trips. We are all babes in Christ and need all the love and support from one another that we can get.

    That Cheshire cat grin is not put on. Bill Gibson is our Mr. Positive. If there is a bright side to a situation, Bill will find it. Problems get that Bill Gibson shrug and a suggestion of a solution. This is a man of action, not talk.

    Bill has had quite a history with congregations of the Church in the area. He grew up in Benton Harbor and everyone who knew him as a kid has some Bill Gibson stories to tell--especially his mother.
    For a while Bill was part of a gospel quartet that traveled all over the Midwest singing at youth rallies and giving congregational concerts. He uses that singing ability as one of our song leaders during our worship services. Bill and his wife Patty know a lot of people in the Dowagiac area since he grew up in the area, and that has made their ministry of working with people in the community in benevolence and special needs especially effective.
    In addition to living in the area for so long, the Gibsons’ business is the Pitcher Lake Campground, and many contacts and teaching opportunities come through guests visiting the campgrounds.
We are thankful to Bill and Patty for their hard work and efforts in the community. They are great servants of the Lord and a blessing to us all.


If God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't He more surely care for you…? (Matthew 6:30)

The Gibson family. Continue to remember the Gibson family as they grieve the loss of Don. The Gibsons want to thank everyone for their support and their love during these hard times.
Maelene Salmons is gaining slowly in her recovery from the medications given her for her cancer bout. Keep her in your prayers as she tries to regain her strength.
Phyllis Clayton got a good report on her bone density. Her spine is up 6% and her hips 4% due to the recumbent DNA treatment she has been injecting into herself every day for close to a year. She  has had good news on her foot ulcer also.  Keep her in your prayers.
Terry Turman has had some changes in his meds that have given him some problems. He has been out, but has ups and downs with his meds. Keep Terry in your prayers.
Carole Adler is awaiting a series of surgeries which she hopes will allow her to walk again enough to get back to worship. Keep Carole in your prayers. She has had a rough winter.
Harold Mathis had an umbrella stint put in his heart March 19. It is hoped this will stop the strokes and mini-strokes that he has been having. This is an on-going process, so keep Harold in your prayers.
Leon Forbes will have cataract surgery on his eye. He hopes to have this done as soon as possible, so keep Leon and Margaret in your prayers
Dave and Donna Pickens. Dave has had treatment for his sleep apnea. He is still working with a night device to help him with that problem. His problem with his teeth is improving. Keep Donna in your prayers as she is struggling with her blood pressure meds. She has had some highs and lows that have made her pretty ill recently.

Passenger a Drop-Off Area.  Last quarter we mentioned that we are working on a plan to build a discharge area for cars on the south edge of the building. We are ready to get this done this quarter. Plans are to build a 20 x 30 foot covered area attached to the building on the south side of the fellowship area. It will be concreted and will be able to handle two cars at a time. In the summer we can also use it for an eating area and overflow area for pot lucks. We are going to need a “raising day” to get this done. We will announce this when we get the materials to do the job.
Fellowship Area. It was decided at our last congregational meeting to re-carpet the fellowship area. The carpet has been selected by the members and is being ordered.  We hope this project will be ready to go as soon as the construction of the discharge area is completed.
New Classes Begin.  Jim Harasewicz is teaching a new class on the book of Job on Sunday morning.  This is a wonderful study of why there is pain and suffering.  Sunday nights are when we dig into the meat of the Word and study things that are more difficult and challenging. In this day of erroneous teachings about the book of Revelation, prophesy, the mark of the Beast, 666, etc., it is important to be informed on this vital subject. Join us each Sunday night for this quarter as we study the book of Revelation.
Ladies Fellowship and Luncheon.  Remember the Ladies Get-Together on the 2nd Saturday of each month from 11:00-1:00.  Come join us!


    We want to welcome Janice Love into our fellowship. Janice moved to Niles not too long ago. Some of us knew Janice and her family in South Bend. This is a lady who always has a fast comeback and a good retort to anything you say. Some of us can’t wait for her to be around Bill Gibson for a while and watch the clichés fly. Janice is a faithful Christian who has been a member of the Church for many years. We are thankful she is meeting with us.
    Our thanks to Jr. Castaneda who did a wonderful job of keeping the parking lot plowed this past winter. The last snow in March came the weekend of Don Gibson’s funeral. Jr. was taking care of things at Pitcher Lake while Komoka attended the funeral when he became ill with a bad flu bug.  He still got out and plowed the lot for us. We had enough trouble with the lot plowed;  I can’t imagine where we would have been without it plowed.  Thanks, Jr.
    Thanks to Dave Pickens and Bill Gibson who fixed the light and plug problem in the basement classrooms. We now have each classroom with a way of showing visuals without turning out everyone else’s lights.  Thanks also to everyone who helped with our recent water problem in the basement.