As for a real quick update on the building and its recovery: the professionals dispatched by our insurance folks have been absolutely fantastic. They worked on the most heavily damaged bathroom on Thursday, on the sanctuary on Friday, and today removed all of the machines they were using to deodorize the place. Meanwhile, volunteers from our congregation set to work on Thursday on the other bathroom, the sanctuary, and the kitchen. We completely intend for our Sunday worship activities to continue as planned, with Sunday School for all ages at 9:45 am, worship at 11:00 am, and fellowship time after worship, plus our monthly ACTS prayer service at 6:00 pm in the fellowship hall.
To everyone who has been committed to and involved in our recovery--congregants, friends of the congregation, insurance and cleaning professionals, my own personal friends, family, and colleagues, the Disciples of Christ denomination, and the community at large--I offer my sincere and heartfelt thanks for the grace and compassion God has shown through each and every one of you.
This has been a trying week for all of us, including me. But we are determined to continue our ministry and mission, and we are already doing so. With vigor.
Yours in Christ,
Eric
This
Month in Worship: December 2012
According
to the church worship year, it is time to be wishing each other a happy new
year! The church calendar, which
revolves around the four seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter (as
opposed to winter, spring, summer, and fall!) begins anew every autumn, as the
four Sundays prior to Christmas make up what we call the season of Advent,
which is meant to be a time of, as John the Baptist would say, preparing the
way for the Lord!
In
that spirit of turning our lives and plans towards Christmas, we’ll be
exploring a new sermon series centered around the Old Testament prophet
Isaiahfor these four Sundays of December.
The series is entitled “How Much is Enough? Hungering for God in an Affluent Culture,”
based on the book of the same name by Bread for the World founder Arthur
Simon. Much like last year’s “Advent
Conspiracy” sermon series, we’ll be talking about where God is in the giant
production that has become Christmas in the 21st century! It is a sermon series I have been looking
forward to for a long time, and I am very excited to share it with you. And after Christmas, you won’t want to miss a
guest sermon by one of our former senior pastors, Tom Yates, on December 30th!
I’ll
See You Sunday,
Pastor
Eric
Advent
2012: “How Much is Enough? Hungering for
God in an Affluent Culture”
December
2: “Fat Wallets, Empty Lives,” Isaiah 3:13-15
December
9: “Rushing to Nowhere,” Isaiah 5:18-23
December
16: “Saying “Yes” to Life,” Isaiah 6:1-8
December
23: “The Meek Inherit the Earth,” Isaiah 9:2-7
December
24 (Christmas Eve, 7:00 pm): “In the City of David,” Luke 2:1-20
December 30: Rev. Dr.
Tom Yates, guest preaching
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