Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

Good Friday Kicks Off Good Easter Weekend

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I write that to you each Friday morning, but today it carries extra meaning. Today is the day we remember Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross. There are many opportunities to set aside a time of remembrance and I encourage you to pick at least one.

Happening Now - Lasting Until 9pm will be a meditative display throughout the sanctuary of Mosaic Church. This church is right across the Park Avenue from us. You can come and go at a time convenient for you. I encourage you to take advantage of this Grace Space today.

Noon - The Godsfield Interchurch Council Good Friday Service at First English Lutheran Church, 53 Park Avenue West. The cornerstone for this church was laid in 1891. It's another beautiful Grace Space. Several downtown pastors, including yours truly, are participating in leading this worship service.

7pm - Good Friday evening service at Oakland Lutheran, led by our good friend and ministry partner, Paul Lintern. Mary Kay and I hope to attend this tonight as well. Oakland Lutheran is located on the north side of town - 575 Crall Rd E, Mansfield.

Today is just the first day of a three day Easter celebration at Church Requel. We have the opportunity to go to church twice on Saturday!

Saturday at 11am - Saturday Morning Bible Study, "Discussing Mere Christianity." This Bible study is led by Pastor Brian. This week we will be talking about Christian Behavior and the Great Sin of Pride. Here is a link to the 21-minute video that will be the focus of our discussion: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-62u0l-POqYfOWaKh8V7a9mjN5gQTMdr/view?fbclid=IwAR3eON1eGiKrN6ODHBWVDHnIE7Hi0eWbLzE1-DOElGOLm-K0GMZellfbkOE

Saturday, 4pm-6pm - Neighborhood Meal. We serve a warm, nutritious, FREE meal to our neighbors on the second Saturday of every even month. This year it just happens to be the night before Easter. Our fearless leader, Eric, is not dissuaded. He says he knows that enough of you will show up that we will be able to serve well. Eric and Chris are shopping the food today. Let's show up in support! We arrive ready to serve at 4pm. We begin serving the meal at 5pm. We are usually cleaned up and walking out the door by 6pm. Thanks Eric and Chris!

Sunday at 11am - Our Easter Worship Service at Church Requel. Brandi has picked out some great music for us to sing. I have written a new Easter sermon from John 20 - "The Greatest Surprise Ever." For those who would like to get an advance copy of my notes, click here: http://bible.com/events/49059222

For those of you who cannot physically be with us Sunday morning, we will stream the worship service on our Facebook Page and on our YouTube channel. We usually start that stream a few minutes before 11am.

T-Shirt Orders Due On Sunday. Many of you have already placed your T-shirt orders. If you haven't yet, Sunday morning will be your final chance to order a T-shirt with a Church Requel logo on it. The order forms are on the piano in the back of the Sanctuary. You'll be glad you ordered all summer long... especially on May 4th, the National Day of Prayer, when we hope to march in the Prayer Parade together down Park Avenue West.

I am looking forward to worshiping with you all... perhaps multiple times in multiple ways and in multiple places. God is good! Love you much, Pastor Mark

Brandi and Mark Lead March Tonight at Church Requel

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

So many things happening. Let me attempt to get them all down for you in one place and in the right order!

Tonight at 6PM.  The March of Prayer was supposed to be held outside at South Park. But with today's windy and rainy weather forecast, we have relocated indoors to Church Requel. Brandi and yours truly will lead the worship. There will also be a couple dulcimer songs. Pastor Paul LIntern will lead the service. There will be no potluck meal tonight.

Sunday at 11AM. Worship at Church Requel. The Requel Band will be leading us in worship singing, including our new "Many Hallelujahs" song - a mashup of several Hallelujah praise songs (arranged by Pastor Mark) and a new version of "In Christ Alone," in which each verse changes keys (arranged by Brandi.) The sermon will be from John 17:1-5 and is titled "The Unmemorized Lord's Prayer."

For those who would like an early copy of this Sunday's sermon: http://bible.com/events/49055835

For those who want to watch this weekend's worship service online, go to our Facebook page or YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/live/bdgog7Ezwrc?feature=share

Monday at 6pm. The March of Prayer will be outside at the proposed site of the new Jericho Wall. I will be there and will be leading worship music with my trusty ukuele. The Jericho Wall is currently a nondescript concrete wall, but will become a work of art this summer. It is located on West Dickson Avenue, between Third andFourth Streets, near Bowman. That’s just east of First Christian Church. The wall will be a place of recovery and remembrance for those who have died from addiction. For more information about this proposed Jericho Wall, check out this website: https://jerichowall.info/

Saturday, April 8th at 11am - Bible Study led by Brian. We will continue the Mere Christianity study.

Saturday, April 8th, 4PM to 6PM - Neighborhood Meal led by Eric. Our church serves a warm, hot meal on the second Saturday of every even month - even when it is the night before Easter. I'm sure Eric would love to have all the help he could get. Thanks Eric!

Easter Sunday Morning Sunrise Service at 7am at Kingwood. This service is led by many different clergy, but kicks off this year with a welcome and a Bible reading by yours truly.

Easter Sunday Church Requel Worship at 11am. Join all your Church Requel friends for this year's Resurrection Celebration!

What a big week we have coming up! Just the way it should be when we have the best news in the world to celebrate! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Love you all much! Hope to see lots of you lots of times! Pastor Mark

National Day Of Prayer PARADE May 4th!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

Wasn't last Sunday just the best!? Worship. Praise. Ordination. Pot Luck. Wow! Congratulations and prayers go out to Brian Betts and his entire family. We are all just so happy for him and for his dedication to following Jesus as a minister of the gospel. Go Brian!

I love mountain top experiences. Don't you? It would be so easy to just rest here and take in the scenery. Sometimes that's exactly what we should do. For a little while. But eventually, if we stay in this one place for too long, we can notice that the Holy Spirit has moved on. I've noticed that God's Spirit is like that. Always moving. And we have to move to keep up!

So what will be the next big mountain for us? The National Day of Prayer Parade on Thursday, May 4th. You say you didn't even know there was a parade for that? That's what I'm talking about! This year will be a first! We have parades for all kinds of things in Mansfield. Why not a big celebration for the National Day of Prayer?

Let me fill you in on some deets... at least as I know them now.

The parade will begin on Thursday, May 4th, at 6:30PM. You'll never guess where it starts. AT OUR PLACE! You guessed it! Right at Church Requel at the 5-way light. The parade will begin forming up an hour earlier - at 5:30pm. The Prayer Parade committee has asked for us to provide live music during that hour. They asked for loud, festive, and praise. Does that sound like us or what?

The parade will march down Park Avenue West to the gazebo in the downtown park, where the band from Potters House will be waiting. There we all will assemble together for the largest prayer event in Mansfield for the last 108 years!

Who all will be in the parade? Churches. Congregations. Ministries. Schools. Elected officials. First responders. City employees. Neighborhood associations. What will they all be doing? There could be lots of different entries: floats, walkers with banners, a shofar choir, a handbell choir, a brass ensemble, Biblical costumes. Bottom line? It will be a joyful display of hope and praise and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are hoping to make this the biggest parade of the year!

And I want Church Requel to be a part! What should we do? I'm open to ideas. I would love to be able to make music, not only at our church property, but all the way down Park Avenue. I don't know how to make that happen. But I bet someone within our congregation does know! Or at the very least knows someone who knows. I'd love to see us have a float. I've never made a float and have no idea how to go about it. But I bet someone within our congregation does know! Or at the very least knows someone who knows.

We are 6 weeks away! We have to act now so that we can celebrate on May 4th! Let's get together with our Church Requel friends and come up with some cool ideas for our parade entry. Be thinking about it and come to church Sunday with some exciting ideas!

Let's get out those Church Requel T-shirts and Hoodies! It would be great if we could all show up wearing our Church Requel outfits. But maybe you weren't able to order a few years back. Or maybe your size has changed. For that reason - for the next 3 Sundays - we are going to be taking new orders. The last day to order will be on Easter Sunday, April 9th. That will give us time to have the T-shirts made and delivered to us in time for the parade.

In the meantime...

March of Prayer Continues! Tonight at 6pm we meet at Christian Life Church, 961 Springmill Street. This is a church that is very much like our own. A small church with BIG things happening. This one holds a special place in my heart. They have a very similar tech / sound system as we do. Last year - when I attended the March of Prayer at their church - was where I got the idea for the in-ear monitor system that we now enjoy at Church Requel. I'm so glad I went last year and got inspired. What a difference that has made in our church! 

Tomorrow morning we meet at San Shalom, 2510 West 4th Street at 10:30 am. This is another very special March of Prayer event. If you've never celebrated Christian worship in a Messianic synagogue before, you don't know what you're missing!

Saturday Morning Bible Study with Brian. We will be continuing our Mere Christianity study. Tomorrow's topic is a good one: "Free Will and the Shocking Alternative!" The study begins at 11am. There's usually good food and coffee available. We meet in the Chome at church. Thanks Brian!

Church This Sunday at 11am. We have exciting plans for Sunday. Here are the songs we'll be singing: "House of The Lord" by Phil Wickham; "Battle Belongs" by Phil Wickham; "A Thousand Hallelujahs" by Brooke Ligertwood; "Who You Say I Am" by Brooke Ligertwood; "Holy Spirit" by Francesca Battistelli; "Graves Into Gardens" by Elevation Worship; and (new) "Reason I Sing" by Phil Wickham. Thank you Brandi Walker for arranging all this for us!

Our sermon Sunday morning will be from John 16 and is titled "The Greatest Advantage." I'm really looking forward to our teaching time together. If you would like a sneak peak at Sunday's sermon, click here: http://bible.com/events/49052100.

For those who cannot be with us in person Sunday, but would like to join in online... you can join us on our Facebook Page or on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/live/Zb5AhpifzFY?feature=share.

Neighborhood Meal on Saturday, April 8th. We serve our neighbors a free, warm meal on the second Saturday evening of every even month. So it's coming up again in just a couple weeks from today. Let's get it on our calendars now. Thank you Eric for your leadership in making this possible for us!

If you made it this far, I congratulate you. If you think it was a lot to read... you should have seen me read it the first time! Ha! I am excited for all our ministry opportunities at Church Requel. Hope you are too. Love you all much! Pastor Mark

Brian Betts Ordained Sunday Morning!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

What a great privilege we all have this week - Brian Betts has heard the call from the Lord to become a pastor. We will witness his ordination service this coming Sunday morning.

I had the joy of meeting with Brian yesterday. There was no doubt or wavering in the conviction of his calling. The leadership team also concurs and believes that Brian has demonstrated an exemplary Christian life and shown himself to be a maturing leader in the service of Christ.

So what happens at an ordination service? We will call Brian forward. The congregation will read responsively their own affirmations. We will ask Brian to publicly answer 7 questions confirming his appointment. Then the congregation will come forward and lay hands on Brian and pray for God to strengthen and guide Brian in his next steps.

Some have asked if Brian will take over for me when I retire at the end of November as pastor of Church Requel? We don't know the answer to that question yet. Personally, I believe Brian will make an excellent pastor wherever God should call him. But we and Brian are taking this one step at a time. What we are confirming this Sunday morning is that Brian is called and that God has an appointment in mind for him. We all await to see the Holy Spirit's direction.

I am greatly looking forward to watching how God will move in Brian's life and in the life of Church Requel. Over the next several months I will be asking you to commit to praying and fasting over our next steps. Actually - you don't have to wait. I've been in the prayer and fasting mode all year. 

Potluck Celebration - In true Church Requel fashion, we will celebrate Brian's ordination with a potluck meal after the morning worship service. The church will provide sliced ham as a main course along with drinks and all the paper plates, napkins and eating utensils. You all bring the side dishes and desserts. Potlucks are great! Thank you Brian for giving us a good excuse for another one!

Love you all much! Hope to see you Sunday morning! Pastor Mark

March of Prayer Continues Strong!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

About a hundred worshipers joined us at Church Requel this past Sunday night. What a wonderful experience to see our church filled with enthusiastic worship participants! I don't know about any of you, but it was most definitely a shot in the arm for this pastor. And I couldn't have been more proud of all of you. Most of you showed up and were terrific hosts. I'm also most grateful to the efforts and sacrifice of our Requel Band, who faithfully invested eight hours of their time last Sunday. We all experienced just a little taste of Heaven!

And wasn't Alyse the best? She represented Catalyst well. Like many of you, I had no idea that Catalyst offered so many services to us here in Richland County.

Let's continue to join together to pray especially for the work Catalyst does with the drug addicted in our area. Their services are needed these days more than ever.

If you didn't get the chance to be with us Sunday night... or you just want to watch again... we have kept the live stream recording up and available. You can watch anytime you want. Here is the link. 

https://www.youtube.com/live/FXcRJB2Olzs?feature=share

The March of Prayer continues each evening. Several of you have joined me at other churches. I encourage you all to get out to as many of these services as you can. Each one is unique. I can honestly tell you that I have experienced the Presence of our Lord's Spirit at each and every one.

Tonight the March of Prayer heads to Fusion Lexington, 2200 Industrial Parkway. The service begins at 6pm. I have heard that several of your Church Requel friends will be in attendance, so you won't be alone.

Saturday night's March of Prayer should be really special. The March comes back to the Point of Grace... in the Chome... where it all started 5 years ago. Jordan Baker has agreed to come back and lead about 45 minutes of worship. Paul and I will sing our 4 March of Prayer anthems together. And Susan Evans will lead from the piano, playing and singing any hymn you pick out. She is truly amazing! This service also begins at 6pm.

Bathroom Upgrades. I hope you all are thankful for Paul Lintern's leadership in getting these 40 different ministries to cooperate together each evening for the 40 days leading up to Easter. Our worship community is so fortunate to have him with us.

To give you some idea of his SERVANT leadership, he came into our church yesterday and painted the men's restroom last night. He wrote me and said that now that we have the lights working, the bathroom deserved to have some fresh paint.

And ladies, Paul also caulked the shower above the women's restroom as well. That should eliminate the leak into the ceiling of the bathroom. This should allow us to get up a new light fixture in your bathroom as well! Thank you Paul!

Sunday Worship Plans. We have some awesome plans for Sunday morning. Our sermon is titled "Home... Built By Jesus" and comes from John 14:1-6. I hope you will feel the same way I did as I wrote it. Inspired. Encouraged. Hopeful. If you'd like a preview, you can check out my sermon notes here: http://bible.com/events/49044217.

Here are the songs we plan to sing on Sunday: "Father's House" by Cory Asbury; "The More Of You I See" by Iron Bell Music; "History" by Matthew West; "Good Grace" by Hillsong; "The Way (New Horizon)" by Pat Barrett; "If We've Ever Needed You" by Casting Crowns; and "Confidence" by Sanctus Real. If you will be watching remotely, you can tune in on our Facebook page or on our YouTube channel. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/live/lD2W0HTAh6U?feature=share

REMEMBER! We spring forward an hour Sunday morning. So while our service still begins at 11am, it will be EDT not EST. In other words we lose an hour. It will feel more like 10 than 11. The good news, of course, is that we should be able to enjoy another hour of sunshine in the evenings.

NEXT SUNDAY - ORDINATION! Make sure you mark down March 19th as a special Sunday morning you won't want to miss. We are planning to ordain Brian Betts to become a pastor. For the last year, he has told us that he feels called by the Lord to become a pastor. Our leadership team also confirms this calling in Brian's life. So we want to ordain him (anoint him, set him apart for ministry) next Sunday morning. This is a very memorable time for any pastor, so plan to be a part of Brian's special day.

We don't know yet where Brian will be called to minister. In the meantime, we hope God can continue to use him at Church Requel. Right now Brian leads a Bible study time on Saturday mornings. However, we need to be prepared that God could call him elsewhere. Our leadership team has not made any plans - one way or the other - to find my replacement as pastor when I retire at the end of November.

Potluck Meal After Sunday's Service. This ordination of Brian deserves every ounce of celebration we can muster. So plan to stick around after the morning worship service next Sunday for a potluck meal. The church will provide a ham as the main dish. We also will provide paper plates and utensils and drinks. You all bring everything else: salads, side dishes, casseroles, and desserts. Let's plan on a great time together next Sunday, March 19th!

Wow... for a small church we sure do BIG things! I love sharing this ministry with you. Hope to see you all this weekend! Love you! Pastor Mark

March Of Prayer 2023 Has Begun!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

My heart is so full as I write to you this morning.  I have had the privilege of attending the first two March of Prayer events. Both have been fantastic! Wednesday night was at Mansfield Alliance Church. Last night was at Journey Life Center. In both places God showed up in a mighty way. Worship was wonderful. Prayer was profound. As far as I'm concerned I will take a true worship experience over any other opportunity any day of the week!

Tonight we head to First Baptist Church, 4534 State Route 13 in Bellville. Tomorrow night we head to Southside Christian (where Paul Lintern is the pastor) on Middle-Bellville Road. Both services begin at 6pm. 

Then Sunday night... SUNDAY NIGHT!!!!... is Church Requel March of Prayer night! Of course I'm really looking forward to that one! I've been practicing all the songs and trying to imagine what it will be like to see our sanctuary full again. I sure do hope you all will come and be good hosts for all of our guests. And also I hope you will be an enthusiastic encouragement for our Requel Band. I'm sure they have all worked as hard as I have this week preparing for the 6-8pm worship and prayer time.

I love to keep stats. The world keeps stats on all kinds of things - sporting events, weather, history, and on and on. Want to hear about some cool worship stats? Sunday night we will have the privilege of celebrating and hosting the 190th March of Prayer event over the past 5 years! Want to hear another stat eerily coincidental? It will also be the 190th performance / worship leading experience of the Requel Band since its first time leading worship in 2018! Two 190s on the same night! Now you have to come and see, right? Ha!

We also have a special guest coming to speak Sunday night. Alyse Schroeder from Catalyst will come and tell us about the addiction issue with which so many people in Mansfield are struggling. Catalyst is on the front lines in this battle. I'm really looking forward to hearing Alyse speak. Alyse and my daughter, Jessica, were best friends growing up and they remain fast friends today. A couple months ago as we were making plans for this year's March of Prayer, Paul told me that this year we would have a special prayer emphasis on addiction. I immediately thought of Alyse and invited her to come and talk to us. I hope you will all join me in praying for her when she finishes.

Seriously, I hope you not only plan to come. I hope you also will invite someone else to come with you. Don't miss out and don't let your favorite people miss out either! For those of you who live far away or who just can't leave your home, we will plan to stream the service on YouTube as well as on our Facebook page AND on the Godsfield Facebook page.

But First... Sunday Morning! We have great plans for our morning worship time as well. The sermon on Sunday will be from John 13:1-11. The title is "Servant or Master?" Don Causley will read our Scripture for the morning. Vanessa Causley has prepared a special song to match, "Jesus Washes My Feet" by Land & Salt. Can't wait to hear that!

Here are the other songs we plan to sing together Sunday morning: "Agnus Dei / How Great Is Our God" by Brandi Walker; "God Really Loves Us" by Crowder; "Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns; "Jesus Friend of Sinners" by Casting Crowns; and "Nobody" by Casting Crowns.

One more cool thing will be happening for the first time Sunday morning. I've asked our youth pastor, Eddie Walker, to give us an update on what's happening with our Sequels Student Ministry. I appreciate Eddie and all he is doing to pastor our young people. Come and hear so you will know best how to go and pray.

For those of you that like to get a head start on the sermon, you can check out my sermon notes for Sunday in your Bible app or use this link - http://bible.com/events/49040416.

For those of you that need to watch the Sunday morning service online, you can go to our Facebook page or use this YouTube link - https://www.youtube.com/live/HpCPvSH3EYY?feature=share

Hope to see many of you multiple times this weekend! Love you much! Pastor Mark

Which Kind Of Worshiper Are You?

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

What kind of worshiper are you? That's the question we will be asking during Sunday morning's sermon. Our Bible text will be John 12:1-8 - the story of Mary pouring out the expensive perfume on Jesus' feet.

I had never really considered these verses from the standpoint of different styles of worship before. Clearly Mary is worshiping in a grand way. However, there are other worshipers present. It just may be that you will identify more with one of the others. What do I mean? Show up Sunday morning to find out!

Can't be there in person? No problem! We will be streaming the worship service on our Facebook page and on YouTube. Here is the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/live/sQ3-Awrm8jw?feature=share.

Can't wait until Sunday? No problem! You'll find the text to my sermon on your Bible app. Or you can just click here: http://bible.com/events/49036739.

March of Prayer begins this week! For the 5th year in a row Mansfield area churches will be participating in the March of Prayer. Each evening, usually from 6pm to 8pm, a different church will host. These evenings will be filled with worship and prayer in the style of the hosting church. Each will be different and in that difference God is glorified. (Hmmm... seems like that would be a good topic for a sermon. Wait! That IS our topic this Sunday. Wow - what a coincidence!)

I recognize that everyone cannot attend every evening. However, I would highly recommend that you make plans now to attend as many as you can. You will come out of the March at the end of March a very different worshiper than when you started. Would you like to know the schedule? Glad you asked. Here is a link - http://bit.ly/3knwjfz

One week from Sunday - March 5th - Church Requel will be the host church. I sure do hope you come to that one! Your Requel Praise Band will be leading worship that Sunday evening. Lots of folks usually come to hear what you get to hear each Sunday morning. There are a couple other evenings when either Brandi or I will also be leading in worship. I'll let you know about those dates as we get closer to them.

Bible Study Saturday Morning. Brian Betts will be hosting our Saturday morning study tomorrow at 11am in the Chome at Church Requel. This is only the 2nd meeting, so if you missed the first one you can still come and not be too far behind. The name of the study is Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Here is a link to the video for tomorrow morning. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-M93Zyv37xPpRWgmEodnUHv7otnHCWYV/view?usp=share_link

Don't you just love being a Christ-follower in this place and time? Mansfield, Ohio and the March of Prayer and Church Requel... what a great combination! Can't wait to see you all this weekend.

Love you much! Pastor Mark