Dear friends,

Greetings in the name of our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

It is with great joy that the Oceanside United Reformed Church announces that Mr. Jonathan Moersch has unanimously sustained his candidacy exam at the June 30 meeting of Classis Southwest U.S. Upon completion of his candidacy exam, and with the concurring advice of Classis, our consistory has declared Jonathan to be a candidate for the ministry of the Word and Sacraments in the United Reformed Churches in North America and we highly recommend him to the churches.

Jonathan is a charter member of the Oceanside URC and is a 2008 graduate of Westminster Seminary California. He and his wife, Kristin, have two young sons. Jonathan continues to serve the Oceanside URC as an intern until the Lord calls him to the ministry. As an intern Jonathan continues to exhort, assist in leading the liturgy, catechize our young people, attend consistory and council meetings, and work closely with our church planter and pastor, Rev. Daniel R. Hyde. Jonathan may be contacted by e-mail at jonathanmoersch@yahoo.com.

In Christ's Service

The Consistory of Oceanside URC

Beginning this Lord's Day, June 1st, our catechism class will be at 10:15am and our morning service will be at 11:00am.

http://urclearning.org/2008/05/21/las-vegas-worship-services-beginning-june-1/

The March 7th live taping of the White Horse Inn at Oceanside URC is now available online.

One of our sister churches across the world, the United Reformed Churches of Myanmar, has suffered from the recent disaster there. Below is info on how you can help:

*WORD & DEED – MYANMAR/BURMA*—With an estimated 32,000 people dead and fears that the number could rise to 100,000 with a further 1.5 million at risk, the world's eyes are fixed on the repressive government of Burma (Myanmar). While UN emergency relief was recently given permission to land, the supplies were seized by authorities there. The United States has been able to bring in one plane load and has permission to bring two more. Only a small fraction of the aid that is needed is getting through.

Word & Deed has been in touch with various Christian organizations to see if we can partner with them in bringing much needed relief and development to the victims of this horrible disaster. One potential partner involves Woord en Daad and Zoa Refugee Care (both in the Netherlands). Zoa has an experienced disaster relief couple in Rangoon, the capital of Burma, who have been given permission by the government to set up a relief office and hire workers. The couple is currently in the rural areas most affected by the cyclone doing a needs assessment.

All aid however is contingent on the cooperation of the Burmese government. There is also serious concern about how funds may be handled in Burma. We will want to ensure that the funds go directly to the team in Rangoon rather than through the government which is notoriously corrupt.

A further complicating issue are the sanctions put in place through the UN on the country of Burma. This may restrict the types of aid that can go to Burma. We expect to get clarification on this in the near future.

The immediate needs are food, clean water and shelter. The threat of water borne disease could result in further dramatic rise in the death toll.

Word & Deed invites you to donate but asks that you designate your donation for disaster relief. While we fully expect that world pressure will force the government of Burma to cooperate with international aid efforts, we cannot support the idea of simply handing funds to the Burmese government. We will only partner with a reliable, Christian organization with people who will actually oversee the project directly in Burma. In the unlikely event that we are unable to meet these criteria in Burma, the funds will be used for other disaster relief projects—both existing and new. One example is the ongoing recovery efforts in Nicaragua (Hurricane Felix).

Pray that the Lord will use the disaster to break open the country of Burma to the Gospel and that the attempts to bring relief into this devastated country will be successful.

Please check our website for updates as well as mailing addresses (see "contact us") or to donate on line (flags on the right of the webpage). This email together with some pictures can also be seen there.

In His Service,
Rick Postma, Word & Deed Ministries
877.375.9673 (Canada)

"He that has pity upon the poor lends unto the LORD; and that which he has given will he pay him again." Proverbs 19:17
"..and what does the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8