Good morning Church Requel!
I woke up at 5am this morning. My first thought was, 'Ugh, it's 5 in the morning.' My second thought was, 'This morning I get to write to my Church Requel congregation!'
It's Friday! Yay! I hope you have big plans for this beautiful weekend in Richland County. And I hope those plans include Church Requel for Father's Day morning at 11!
Real Dads of Genius. We've named our theme for Father's Day, "Real Dads of Genius." We have some genius dads at CR and we plan to feature 4 of them! This will be fun as well as inspirational. You will want to be there to celebrate these genius dads with us. What makes them "genius" is not that they are perfect dads, but that they model their "dad-ness" on Our Father in Heaven. They work on being caring, consistent and close to their children. (Want to get a head start on Sunday's talk? Here are the sermon notes.)
I know that Father's Day is not always a celebration for everyone because we all haven't been blessed with such "genius" fathers. According to today's Richland Source, one in 3 children in America live without their biologicial fathers. Even more local, 47% of Richland County households are "female-headed with no husband present." For those of you who are in this category - and many of you are - please come Sunday anyway. We will be celebrating the One, Who is the original and best Father of all.
"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who honor him. " Psalm 103:13
"The Lord is near all who call upon Him." Psalm 145:18
Old Rock and Roller at CR! Sunday morning we will also enjoy a hilarious visit from Joff Barnes. You've met Jeff Barnes, who leads our worship singing sometimes at CR. This is Joff - Jeff's legendary rock and roll twin brother. We grabbed a snapshot of the famous singer while recording his latest raspy licks at Church Requel studios. He will revive his "Real Dads of Genius" just for us this weekend. Seriously - you won't want to miss this!
Children at Church Requel. Of course we can't talk about dads without also highlighting the children's activities. After all, you can't have dads without kids. (And vice versa!)
I have to confess I don't know everything going on with KidsMin Sunday. But I have watched with fascination as Tamira as been making her plans for an awesome, fun and educational morning for our children. She borrowed all my ties for a game. (Nice that they'll be used for something.) She has also been looking all over Mansfield for stuffed animal pigs - yes, I said pigs! Not only that, but she's looking for 2 fake beards. What do stuffed pigs and fake beards have in common? I don't know, but I bet it will be fun. (If you could help her out with these unusual requests, please let Tamira know.)
There is so much more that I could write to you, but I'll leave it there. God is good. He has blessed us more than we deserve. Let's rejoice together this Sunday morning at 11am!
With great affection, Pastor Mark
