Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

Happy Good Friday 2021!

Happy Good Friday everyone!

What a difference a year makes. I know we are not out of the Covid woods entirely, but we have so much to be happy about this year. For one thing we now have the ability to worship together. Last year our Easter worship was entirely virtual and on Zoom. Looking back now, I'm grateful we had the technology available to still connect together. However, it was far from ideal. Many of us just never did figure out the Zoom tech. And for those of us who did, let's just say it wasn't particularly music friendly - especially those first few times.

We are calling this coming Sunday our Resurrection Sunday - both for an obvious reason and also for a less obvious reason. The obvious reason (and by far the most important) is that this is Easter and it is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Christ! 

We also are hoping to "resurrect" our Sunday morning attendance. We understand that many have been keeping their distance from church and everyone else. But now that many of us have had our vaccinations, let's get back to going to church. Two weeks ago Georgiana began attending again. If our oldest member - she's 96 and proud of it! -  can attend, then the rest of us probably can too.

Of course for those who choose to stay home and for those many of us who don't actually live anywhere near Mansfield, Ohio, we will continue to stream on both our Church Requel Facebook Page as well as our YouTube channel. (Here is the link - https://youtu.be/k4DTodniNCU)

Special Easter Worship Plans! I'm thrilled to tell you that we have some really special plans for our Easter Sunday morning worship experience. There will be lots of music and lots of special speakers! The format we will be following will be for us to sing a song, or two, followed by one of four special speakers. Each speaker will talk about one of four first encounters with the risen Lord Jesus. Many thanks to Brian Betts, Brandi Walker, Cheryl Buckley, and Don Causley, who will make our Easter Sunday morning such a wonderful worship service.

Here are the songs we will be singing Sunday morning - some for the very first time. This set was chosen by members of our praise team, who chose some very special songs for Easter 2021!

• "Because He Lives (Amen) by Matt Maher
• "Evidence" by Josh Baldwin
• "How Great Thou Art / It is Well / Great Is Thy Faithfulness" by Anthem Lights
• "Gracefully Broken" by Matt Redman
• "How Can It Be?" by Lauren Daigle
• "Forever" by Kari Jobe
• "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" by Chris Tomlin
• "Glorious Day" by Kristian Stanfill

I - for one - have been practicing so much that my ukulele finger callouses are thicker than ever! Many thanks to Don, Brian, Chris, Missie, Trish and Brandi for all their preparations for this coming Sunday morning!

At the end of our worship time, we will celebrate together with communion! After this Covid year, it should be a very special time of unity for our church! I'm really looking forward to it. I hope you are too!

Love you all much! Pastor Mark

Palm Sunday THIS Sunday at 11am!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

Wow! The winds of change sure blew through the Mansfield area last night! Anyone else wake up this morning to the howling reminder that Spring has arrived? I don't know about you, but I am more than happy to see the winter chills get blown away!

Springtime's arrival also means Palm Sunday's arrival! Yay! I am SO LOOKING FORWARD to worshiping with all of you! We have some great plans for Sunday morning. Brandi will open up our worship service with the seasonally perfect, "Hosanna!"

The congregational songs we are planning to sing include: "Dwell In The House (Psalm 27)"; "Praise His Name Praise His Name" - the first two songs written by yours truly; "Hallelujah for the Cross" by Chris McClarney; "Goodness of God" by Bethel; and "Greater Things" by Mack Brock. We will be waving our palm branches with our voices this Sunday for sure!

We will continue our 1 Peter sermon series - this time from 1 Peter 4:12-19. Thank you Eddie Walker for reading our Scripture for us this Sunday! The title of the sermon this week is: "When Our Faith's On Trial." We will consider 5 things to do when we suffer because we are Christ-followers.

Yes, we will pray together and share communion together. I hope many of you can attend in person. We are seeing more and more of you coming back. it was so great to see Georgianna and Sandy at Church Requel this past Sunday morning. If a nonagenarian can make it to church... do I need to finish the sentence? However, if you live far away or feel it safer to stay at home, you can watch on our Facebook Page or on our YouTube channel. Here is the YouTube link - https://youtu.be/HTKZYuROgbo

Ukulele Prayer Songs. It has been an exciting week at Church Requel. This past Wednesday evening my ukulele and I hosted the March of Prayer. For those of you who came out to support me and to pray - thank you! (I know I am home among friends when I hear John clapping and dancing with joy!) We did have a really good evening.

For those who would like to hear just the music portion, I have edited the evening down to the 16 prayer songs. If you ever want to play some ukulele prayer music in the background, click on this YouTube link. 

https://youtu.be/E6-lGegpOjQ

Also, if you are interested in hearing just one particular song I have included time stamps in the description for each song.

Tech Booth Upgrade. I've also been busy at the church this week continuing to upgrade our computer streaming capabilities. This week we brought up the MacMini computer from the office downstairs and installed it in the tech booth. When everything is complete this will give Chris some additional capabilities on Sunday morning. 1) He will be able to add back the Mevo camera to our stream if we lose it during the middle of a worship service. No more having to come up to the laptop in front of everyone if it goes down. 2) Chris will be able to record our music digitally straight from the sound board to the computer. This will be a big help to the worship/praise team to be able to playback during rehearsals.

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

How God Heals Hidden Wounds

Good Friday morning Church Requel

Hidden Wounds. We all have them. Of course some people hide them better than others. But they are there. Hurtful memories. Recollections that you keep secret but cause you pain. The hidden wounds of rejection. The hidden wounds of abandonment, of unfaithfulness. The hidden wounds of feeling like you don't matter.   

Where do we get the hidden wounds of life?  From everywhere.  You get them in society.  Some of you have been wounded in society through prejudice or through injustice.  You can be wounded by your family and those are probably the wounds that hurt the most.  You can be wounded at school by other children.  You can be wounded by a friend who betrayed you. I've discovered that everyone has a hidden wound.

Sunday morning we're going to talk about them - bring them out into the spiritual SON-light and allow God to heal them. We will continue our study of 1 Peter, turning this week to chapter 4. We will discover 4 keys to how God heals our hidden wounds. So make sure you either come to the church or turn on the stream at 11am EST Sunday morning. You can watch on our Facebook page or you can watch on our YouTube Channel. (Here's the link - https://youtu.be/9aGt6MTeMyQ

Many thanks to Steve and Chris. This father and son duo have been working in the church this week and last. They built a new media table for us that attaches to the front center pew. This allows our online congregation to have their own front row seat to all the worship services.

This past week Steve and Chris came in and stained all three tables - the front media table as well as the two communion tables. Now all the tables perfectly match the pews. It's like retrofitting our 2021 technology back to the 1886 beauty of the wood in the sanctuary.

Well done gentlemen!

Many thanks to Cheryl and Jack Buckley, both of whom will be helping us with our worship this coming Sunday morning. Cheryl will be reading our Scripture for the day, 1 Peter 4: 1-11. jack has agreed to sing a special song for us. We so love to hear his beautiful tenor voice!

Here are the songs we will be singing this Sunday morning: "Start Right Here" by Casting Crowns - this one is a brand new one for us!; "Faithful Now" by Vertical Worship; "King Of My Heart" by John Mark McMillan; and "Death Was Arrested" by North Point Worship.

Wednesday Night Pastor Mark Leads March of Prayer. Speaking of singing, yours truly has agreed to lead the March of Prayer this coming Wednesday night (March 24th) from 6-8pm. My trusty ukulele and I will be singing lots of my favorite songs along with giving opportunities for prayer. I will be here at Church Requel on the other side of the wall - at the Point of Grace in Paul Lintern's Great Room. I would love it if some of you could come down to support me. However, we will also stream the event both on our Godsfield page and on our own Facebook page as well as on YouTube. So lots of chances to tune in.

Thanks to so many who make our Sunday church experience something I look forward to each and every week. Love you all much! Pastor Mark

Sharing Hope Sunday Morning at Church Requel

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

Wow! What a Sunday we enjoyed last week! A wonderful worship morning followed by a powerful evening of worship for two hours! How grand to see the church filled with worshippers! It's enough to give an old pastor... HOPE!

And HOPE is exactly what we will be talking about this coming Sunday morning. In his first letter, Peter tells us to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have in Christ. Sunday morning I'll be talking about how we might prepare.

We also will be singing, praying and sharing communion together. I encourage you to come if you are able. But if not, join us online. You can watch on our Facebook page or you can watch on YouTube with this link - https://youtu.be/3jjl5i5Foyo

Mike and Leanna will be sharing our Scripture Reading, which is 1 Peter 3:15-20. I have come to love this couple. Leanna is now a full-fledged member of our tech team too! Yay!

Here are the songs we plan to sing on Sunday: "Champion" by Bethel; "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury; "The Blessing" by Kari Jobe; "Christ Lives In Me" by Rend Collective; and "Graves Into Gardens" by Elevation Worship. 

Speaking of singing - I've just got to share one song from this past Sunday evening. It so perfectly exemplifies the joy, joy, joy we have as Christ-followers (and Church Requelers.) En-JOY! 

https://youtu.be/VZj2giPeQLU

Love you much! Pastor Mark

HUGE Sunday! March of Prayer Sunday Night!

Good Friday, Church Requelers!

We have a HUGE Sunday planned at Church Requel. Not only do we have our normal worship event Sunday morning at 11am EST, but we also will be hosting the March of Prayer Sunday evening at 6pm. Brandi and I and the worship/praise team have been planning this day for over a month. We're really excited about it and are hoping you are too!

Sunday Morning at 11am EST. We have planned 5 different songs that we will also sing together, some for the first time: "Overcomer" by Mandisa; "Another In The Fire" by Hillsong; "Made New" by Lincoln Brewster; "Jesus" by Chris Tomlin; and "Glorious Day" by Kristian Stanfill.

We're also excited that Don and Vanessa Causley from Devon, England will be joining us via video feed. Don will read our Scripture from 1 Peter 3. Vanessa will sing us a meaningful and heartfelt song entitled, "Forgiveness." It certainly moved me as I listened to it this morning!

Our sermon Sunday morning is entitled, "When Opposites Attack." Often we think of opposites attracting, but anyone who has been in a relationship for any length of time knows the truth of my sermon title! We will discuss 6 attitudes from 1 Peter 3 that can help us with the divisions in our relationships, whether in be marital, family, business or school. We'll also pray together for the needs of the congregation and we will share communion together.

If you are unable to be physically present Sunday morning, you can watch on our Facebook page OR you can now also watch on YouTube using this link, https://youtu.be/Hja68M21f_c . Many of you have responded that the video feed is more stable on YouTube than it is on Facebook. Also some of you prefer to watch on your televisions, which you can do more easily with YouTube. So we are glad it's working out for you!

Sunday Evening - March of Prayer - 6-8PM EST. Our Praise Team will be staying at the church after our morning worship to practice and prepare for Sunday evening. We also will be sharing lunch together. Yay! We plan to sing many of our favorite songs together. We also plan to pray for the requests that come to us that evening, both from our online audiences as well as those who come in person.

Last year (right before the Pandemic broke out) our sanctuary was filled with visitors from many other churches. They really seemed to enjoy our style of worship and praise. We have no idea how many will come out now, although I personally attended this past Wednesday evening at The Potters House, and it was close to a full house! I would really encourage you to come out this Sunday evening. It will be good for your soul, I promise you! But if you cannot come, please tune in. We will offer the live stream in 3 places - our own Facebook page, our Church Requel YouTube feed, AND the Godsfield Facebook page. Triplecast! (Let's all say thanks to Leanna Perdue, who will be keeping us going online that night!)

I have also written a devotional for our March of Prayer night. It comes from Psalms 27. The title of the devotional is "Time To Leave The Caves?" Some of you might recall that I wrote a song a year ago from Psalms 27. It really is a Scripture for these days! I've also asked Cheryl Buckley to read our Scripture and share a prayer before our devotional time together Sunday night.

The evening is sure to be filled with great music and inspiration. You won't want to miss a second! Hope to "see you" one way or the other!

Love you all much! Pastor Mark

Worship Plans For Last Day In February

Good Saturday morning Church Requel!

Yes, I know. Saturday. Not Friday. Your normally very scheduled pastor is running a day behind! Ha! This may be a relief to some of my less scheduled friends.

Sunday Morning Plans. Here is what we have scheduled for tomorrow morning... assuming our “schedule” works! Ha! Our band will lead you in 3 different songs: “Death Was Arrested” by North Point Worship; “This I Believe (The Creed)” by Hillsong; and “More To Come” by Passion. The first and the third are brand new songs for us!

Wendy has recorded an original song for us! It’s called “Mercy House.” It’s really good! And she does such an excellent job with it! I can’t wait for you all to hear it. Original music! How about that!?!?

Our sermon is entitled, “The Key To Quality Relationships.” It comes from 1 Peter 3 and is the 5th sermon from our Hard Times, Holy Living sermon series. I’m just going to give away the key right now. It’s a word we don’t like to use much in the modern age. The key is submission. The key to a quality relationship - any relationship - is submission one to another.

I hope you all really tune in tomorrow morning because I think this talk could be most helpful. Submitting to one another is not being a doormat, just letting someone else run over you. But it clearly is not being selfish either. We are going to talk a lot about this biblical idea of submission. I define it as having the courage to give up my rights (we all like our rights, don’t we?) so that I might meet another person’s needs. 1 Peter 3 gives us both the WHY we do it as well as the HOW we do it! Here’s hoping you tune in Sunday morning!

Before we leave for the day, we’ll all sing “Unstoppable God” by Elevation Worship. This is such a great song for us! Do you realize that next month it will be an entire year since we had to do most of our worshiping together online? If you had told me a year ago that we would go an entire year when most of us could not gather together, I would have told you that our church could not survive. (Oh me of little faith!)

Yet God is unstoppable! Our church is stronger than ever and we are reaching more people than we ever did before. It’s just like God to take a negative situation and turn it into something so good!

So whether you show up in person, and more and more of you are starting to come back, or whether you watch online... I hope to “see” most of you tomorrow morning. Remember you can now watch BOTH on Facebook as well as on YouTube. In fact, many of you are reporting back to us that you like the YouTube feed even better. So check it out if you haven’t already.

Love you much! Pastor Mark

New Streaming Camera Debuts Sunday

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

Could a little camera, smaller than my hand, make that much of a difference in how you will worship? YES! In fact, for our purposes at Church Requel - I would describe this as our new worship camera! This little piece of tech gear will be just as important as the musical instruments, microphones and computers that bring our worship stream to your mobile phones, tablets or televisions. 

You'll notice a big improvement in the clarity of the picture Sunday morning. Not only will we enjoy a higher resolution, but we will have the ability to zoom and pan to get some of those closer up shots that will really help to bring your right into worship event as you are watching!

(Should I have written this? Brandi and I will be investing our morning today getting the camera set up. I know what I am hoping to accomplish. I guess you'll have to tune in Sunday morning to see if we will be successful in setting up this new camera!)

The other BIG benefit is the camera's small size. So for those who physically come and worship in person - the little camera won't be too much in the way or too big a distraction. The camera is really small and that's a BIG deal!

Our Worship Plans For Sunday Morning at 11am EST. Beyond the new camera gear, what are we planning for this coming Sunday?

Our worship songs will include "Man of Sorrows" by Hillsong, "Control" by Tenth Avenue North, "The Whole Earth" by Gateway Worship, "Yes I Will" by Vertical Worship, and "You Are Good" by Israel Houghton.

Cheryl will read our Scripture - 1 Peter 2:13-25. Jack will sing a special song, "Who Am I." Pastor Mark will bring the sermon entitled, "How To Live With Integrity." Our worship will also include communion and prayer.

You can join in to our online worship experience by using this YouTube link OR by going to our Church Requel Facebook Page. While we are talking about these links, why not share them with some of your other family and friends? They will appreciate you thinking of them and including them.

Lent 2021 - A Spiritual Growth Opportunity. This past Wednesday afternoon, Brandi and I hosted an online conversation about the next 40 days leading up to Easter. Rather than have the attitude that we are "giving up" something for Lent, we consider the possibility of gaining a closer relationship with Christ. It is a good discussion and worth watching. You can watch it here on YouTube.

Ok - that will wrap up today's newsletter to you all. Like I wrote before, I have to meet Brandi down at the church and get things set up for Sunday morning. I love you all! I sure hope you will join us Sunday morning. - Pastor Mark