Hi everyone! Pastor Mark here with your "What's Happening at CR" weekly post. This really is an extra, extra special edition because there is so much going on right now. Make sure you check it all out so you don't miss anything!
Our First Neighborhood Meal. Saturday night will be our first opportunity as a church to provide a free meal to those in our neighborhood who could use a good, warm, tasty dose of home cooking! Here's what's on the menu:
Salisbury steak, real mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, fruit cocktail, and all the great and wonderful desserts you all are planning to bring.
Our thanks go to Jack and Sheri Pryor who, even as I type these words, are out shopping for the meat. We also thank Sandy Hill Fruit Farm for donating all the potatoes. And of course we thank you all for providing all the rest.
Here's the schedule for Saturday. Sheri and several of you ladies will gather at the Point of Grace around 2pm to start preparing the meal. The rest of the church volunteers should show up by 4pm. You can bring your desserts with you - or if you're not staying Saturday evening - drop off your desserts any time after 2pm. The meal will be served between 5pm and 6pm. We're expecting 60 to 100 folks to come and eat. Cleanup should be finished by 7pm.
My Story Chapter 2 - "Ghostwriting" We continue our new sermon series this coming Sunday morning at 11am. I'm really excited about this particular talk. God met with me this week in a powerful way as I was preparing this weekend's sermon. We'll take a focused look at Hebrews 12:1-2. Along the way I'll use illustrations from my Marine Corps Marathon experience 12 years ago. There are stories that I've never told in public before and I think the talk could be a powerful one. Come and learn how we make Jesus the author... and the authority... of our lives!
Let's Help The Smith Family. Some of you may have heard about our neighbors, Robert and Ashley Smith and their 4 children. Monday night their Hammond Avenue home burned down. (Here's the article about it in the News Journal.) The Smiths were not home at the time, but tragically they lost their pet dog, Thunder. The Red Cross provided 3 nights stay at a local hotel. On Church Requel's behalf, I contacted the hotel and provided another night's stay. I've also used online social networking to raise a hundred dollars for them. I'm hoping some of you could be generous toward this family with your financial gifts as well on Sunday morning. They pretty much lost everything they owned. I'll keep collecting money for this family for the next week.
The Red Cross provided them with funds to buy one change of clothes at WalMart. I've had some clothing already donated on their behalf. They could use more clothes as well. Here are their sizes: Rob Smith wears size 34 pants, medium to large shirt. Ashley wears size 6. The nine year old son wears size 10-12 shirt and size 14 pants, the 8-year-old daughter wears size 8 girls, the 5-year-old son wears size 4-5 and they have a 5-month old baby boy. Anything you could bring for them would be most welcome.
Some of you have asked me how I know the Smith family. The answer is that I didn't know them before I read about the fire. I figure God has placed our church in this neighborhood for a reason. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, right?
Ladies Bible Study. Ten of you met this past Wednesday night for the introductory lesson from Beth Moore. The name of the study is "Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman." It looks like this is going to be an awesome study! The ladies plan to meet again on Wednesday, February 13th at 6:30pm at the Pierce home. If you didn't make it to the first, introductory lesson, it's not too late to join in. The books arrived yesterday. Talk to Mary Kay or Cindy if you want to purchase one.
Church Improvements. We had another good week of work behind the scenes at the church. Much of the conduit has been installed up in the attic above the sanctuary. The power and data lines have been installed on the 2nd rafter for the projector. Also our new screen was delivered on Thursday. We will definitely need some extra muscle power to get it installed because it is so large and so heavy.
Thanks this week go out to Randy Craig and his cousin, Brian Blair, who provided an entire day of work! Also thanks go out to Larry Shick who came in Wednesday evening to do some electrical work for us.
Some of you have asked about the ladder we have laying on top of the pews in the santuary. No, it won't always be there. But it will be there for awhile while we are doing the work in the sanctuary. This weekend you'll see the large box containing our new screen right next to the ladder. Pardon our dust... and ladder... and screen!
This is a great time for Church Requel. We are growing every weekend. It's exciting. Don't miss out on the opportunity to invite a friend or family member to come with you either Saturday night or Sunday morning at 11am. Love you all much! Pastor Mark
