Good Friday morning Church Requel!
Welcome to the 4th of July weekend! Wow - this summer is speeding by way too fast! The Pierce home has had Pierce guests every night since Tuesday and I'm thrilled. I hope you will have the opportunity to celebrate our freedoms with friends and family too. Bring them with you to Church Requel Sunday morning. I'm excited that Tim, Jillian and Titus will be with us Sunday morning. If I could get my dad to come down, we'd have the entire Pierce clan with us!
Our Freedoms. When James Madison sat down to pen the Bill of Rights - the first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States - what was the very first freedom he wanted to be guaranteed by our government to our people? Freedom of speech? Freedom of the press? Freedom to assemble? After all, aren't each of these freedoms included in the first amendment?
The correct answer is none of the above. The very first freedom James Madison wrote down was the freedom of religion! It's true. Read it for yourself. I admit I was a little tricky in my question, since the other freedoms listed are also included in the first amendment. How insightful, though, that the first freedom listed in the first amendment is our freedom of religion!
How easy it is for us American Christians to take this freedom for granted. We don't usually even consider the horrors of the Reformation period that led so many Christians to eventually flee to this new land, where they could practice their religion without fear.
If I may be permitted to digress from my usual Friday morning writings to remind you of WHY it is so important we stand up for the first freedom of the first amendment. In case you're wondering what I mean by this - the freedom from any "law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" does not specifically mention OUR religion of Christianity at all.
The first freedom of the first amendment provides for the practice of ALL religions. This includes Christianity. This includes Judaism. This includes Islam. As unpopular with some as it may be to write this in these terror-ridden days, an infringement of this freedom to ANY religion in America is an infringement against ALL religions. Enough said?
Sunday morning my focus will be on two of the freedoms we have promised us in the first amendment to the Bill of Rights - our freedom of religion AND our freedom of speech, meaning we can freely talk about Jesus! Luke 9:1-9 (as well as the first few verses of chapter 10) show Jesus telling his disciples to talk to others about Him. He also gives us some insight as to what we disciples of Christ should remember when we do talk about Jesus. Sunday morning we'll consider 4 lessons when we tell others about Jesus. If you want a head start, open your Bible app and click on "Events" OR click on this link for the online sermon notes.
Children Lead Worship! I'm also excited about our kiddos being so involved in this weekend's worship events. The first Sunday of every month our children remain in the worship service with the adults. This Sunday morning Phyllis, Saudie, Emma (all pictured above), Leia and Anna join Cindy, Dinah and Brandi.
They rehearsed last night and did a wonderful job! These ladies will bring 5 songs to us on Sunday. If you are a friend or family member, I'd come early to grab a good seat!
Also Elijah will bring our announcements, Wyatt will be a greeter, and Grayden and Cohen will work in the tech booth. Yay kiddos! You're all growing up so fast!
Neighborhood Meal. Our next opportunity to serve our free neighborhood meal is Saturday, July 9th. We will need volunteers to arrive by 4 pm and plan to serve util 6:30. We would also appreciate your donations of desserts to share. Please help us share God’s love with those around us.
Church Picnic July 17th. Our next summer fellowship will be our picnic at North Lake Park after church on Sunday, July 17th. We will all head to the air-conditioned pavilion right next to the northern end of the B&O Bike Trail. Bring food to share with everyone. Church Requel will provide hot dogs & hamburgers, buns, condiments, drinks, plates, cups, napkins and silverware. Come expecting fun and games! And come to be included in our annual church photo! Should be a great day!
5th Sunday Praise Team. We love it when we have a 5th Sunday of the month! It gives our worship teams the opportunity to do something new and exciting. This month on the fifth Sunday - July 31st - will be the chance for anyone and everyone to be part of the worship leadership up front! (If you don't volunteer - you see who our team will be in this picture!) Do you love to sing, but just haven’t had the time to be a regular team member? Do you have a desire to share whatever gift you have - singing, speaking, reading, acting - as a worship participant? Please talk to Brandi Walker. She would love to include you in our praise plans for Sunday, July 31st.
Watch The Tribe With Church Requel! Finally, I know it still seems really early, but if you'd like to go to our Indians event on Friday evening, September 18th, you're going to need to let us know AND give us your money so we can keep your reservation. The photo above is from last year's CR Tribe event - and that was with a losing season. Now the Indians are in first place. In fact they haven't lost a game since the Cavs won the championship. Thirteen winning games in a row! Who woulda thunk it? We have reserved 36 seats this year at a cost of $15 each. Tell Brandi, Tamira or myself if you want to go. Did I mention that we will beat the Detroit Tigers that night? Did I mention that it's also $1 hot dog night?
Prayers Prayers Prayers. We also pause and pray with several of our Church Requel family members who are struggling right now. DeeDee lost her father (also Liam's grandfather) earlier this week. Let's pray for their entire family. Bessica's father-in-law (Quazar's Grandpa Art) is recovering from a heart attack. Many members of our congregation are praying for Baby Kenzlee, born premature 3 weeks ago and fighting for her life. We are also still praying for good friends of ours, who are grieving the loss of their grandson. Georgiana, our dearest nonagenarian congregant (and who never misses!), is still grieving the recent loss of her older sister. And I'm sure there's more I haven't thought to mention. We are a family! We keep praying for one another!
This week I have been reminded afresh of how much of a family you all are to one another. Wednesday morning, while Marci and I were working on the bulletin for Sunday morning, Sheri came down and brought a family with her. She opened up the food pantry and loaded them up with provisions. I know several have provided rides to a family struggling with no car this week. Your love for one another astounds me and speaks to the world so much better than words alone of Christ's love in you. Keep up the good work. Keep up the Good Word. Keep up the good love!
Celebrating with you who are celebrating and grieving with you who are grieving, Pastor Mark
