Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

Super Singspiration Sunday (And Pancake Breakfast Too!)

Happy Friday morning Church Requel!

We have such a fantastic Sunday planned this weekend. I admit that I am on cloud nine this morning after watching three hours of rehearsals last night down at the church. Did you know we have over 20 people involved? Wow!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so rather than writing a thousand words like I usually do... check out some of these pictures!

Many thanks to all those who will be bringing their music on Sunday: Aaron Parsons, Dave Johnson, Fernando Rosales, Matt Dreher, Leia Walker, Brandi Walker, Brian Betts, Sicily Carrick, Cindy Thoman, Sivon Sewell, Mark Pierce, Ed Wilson, Tamara Engstrom, Bessica Brilla, Adam Vetter, Jon Vetter, Saudaie Sewell, Don Angel, Anna Scott, Trish Trubachik & Missie Miller. What a crew!!!

Yes, we had a blast in rehearsal last night! But I think we will have an even more glorious time when we are all gathered together Sunday morning.

Don't forget to come early - at 9:30am. Dave, Sheri, and Cindy will prepare a terrific breakfast for us to share together. We will have a great time of fellowship together and then walk upstairs to worship together.

All those who are participating in the music Sunday morning WILL NOT have a run through practice Sunday morning. We want you all to be able to have an enjoyable fellowship time together beforehand.

I'm excited to enjoy Sunday with all of you! See you then! Pastor Mark

Jam Band This Sunday!

Good Friday morning to you Church Requel!

The Jam Band will be leading our worship this Sunday morning! Yay! Love jammin' with the Jam Band! We'll be singing (1) Open Up The Heavens, (2) Who You Say I Am, (3) Build My Life, and a brand new one (4) My Feet Are On The Rock by I Am They. That last one should be a fun one!

Chris and Tamara will be in the tech booth. Ken and Karen will be prepping communion. Marci is bringing our snacks. Roger and Judie will be greeting. Cindy, Karen and Sara will be teaching our students. Steve will bring our announcements. And Shelli will lead our counting team.

Our sermon Sunday morning is titled, "The More Things Change..." We feel like we are such a different culture in 21st century America than the Athenian society we discovery in Acts 17. Yet the people Paul encountered are surprisingly very much like us. In our sermon Sunday we'll find out just how much our challenges... and solution... remains the same.

Want a head start on the sermon? Open your Bible app and click on Events. Then choose Church Requel. Or you can also see the sermon notes in your browser window by clicking here.

Sunday Morning Study with Brian. This Sunday morning at 8 am, Brian Betts will continue his new fall study here at the church called "Spiritual Disciplines For the Christian Life." It’s not too late to join. Each week more people show up! Brian has books with him  if you'd like to join. We encourage you to participate and discover how your Christian life could be so much richer!

Singspiration and Breakfast - Next Sunday!
We will enjoy a VERY special morning next week. Our fifth Sunday Sinspiration will feature Aaron, Dave, Fernando, Matt, Brian, Sicily, Cindy, Sivon, Mark, Tamara, Bessica, Adam, Jon, Saudaie, Anna, the Jam Band, and the ladies trio!

Come early from 9:30am to 10:30am to enjoy a full breakfast provided by Sheri, Cindy & Dave. Here's what's on the menu: sausage, waffles, hash browns, biscuits and gravy and MORE! So plan on coming early to enjoy the food and fellowship. 

Singspiration Rehearsals
This week Brandi will be meeting with all the participants in next Sunday's Singpiration. There are three different rehearsal times that she has offered. Don't forget to show up when you are scheduled. Next Sunday there will be no pre-service rehearsal because of the breakfast. If you haven't already scheduled a rehearsal time with Brandi, please do so this Sunday morning!

Dates to circle on your calendar!

• Tuesday, Oct. 29th at noon - Octoberblest here at Church Requel
  
  
• Friday, November 1st - Community Night of Worship at Freedom Ridge. You'll find posters and invite cards all over the church this Sunday. Take one or several and invite your family and friends!

Looking forward to seeing all you this Sunday morning! Love you much! Pastor Mark

Church Picnic This Sunday!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

This Sunday is our annual church picnic! Yay! Sunday morning we will gather at the church like we alway do - at 11am and enjoy our normal worship time together. Then we will all proceed down to North Lake Park to enjoy our annual picnic together.

This will also be the day we take our annual church group photo. They are always so delightful. Check out the top right hand corner of this newsletter for last year's picture. Don't you just love it! You won't want to miss being in this year's photo too!

So what's the plans for food this year? Same as last year! The church will provide the hamburgs and hotdogs and drinks. Everything else is potluck. Bring your side dishes, casseroles, salads and desserts. There's never a lack of food, right? The church will also provide all the paper plates, eating utensils and cups.

After the fantastic lunch and photo opportunity, we will also play games together. Everyone either plays or cheers the others on. The annual church picnic relays are always a blast for kiddos of all ages!

North Lake Park is located at 268 Rae Avenue, just 1.2 miles and a 4 minute drive from church.

Sunday morning Worship. Brian, Amy and Bessica will be joining Brandi to lead our worship experience this weekend. Here's what we'll be singing together: (1) "Build Your Kingdom Here"; (2) "What A Beautiful Name"; (3) "Cornerstone"; and (4) "King of Kings."

Our sermon Sunday morning is entitled, "Unreasonable Response To A Reasoned Faith." Do you know the reasons why your faith in Christ is real? Is your faith reasonable? Could you explain it to someone who didn't understand or believe as you do? Are you prepared for others to shun your faith in Christ? Are you prepared for others to shun you because of your faith in Christ? We discuss these questions as we study Acts 17:1-15. Want a head start? You can find the sermon notes in your Bible app or you can view them here. 

Singspiration on September 29th. While I've been sitting here typing away at this newsletter, Brandi has been busy behind me getting all the packets ready for our singspiration on the 5th Sunday of this month. Don't you just love her organization. She tells me that 20 different people have said they will be involved! Isn't that wonderful!? If you're one of those twenty folks, look for your packet this Sunday.

Brandi also tells me that the week before Singspiration, she is willing to help with rehearsal on either Tuesday the 24th at 5:30 until needed or Thursday the 26th also at 5:30 until needed or Saturday morning the 28th at 11am. She is one generous lady with her time! Wow! I think I better be reserving my time for me and my ukulele!

I think I will sign off here for this week. Can't wait to celebrate with you all on Sunday! Love you much! Pastor Mark

Ladies Trio Leads Our Worship Sunday

Good Friday morning Church Requel,

Welcome to September!!! Cooler nights. Beautiful, sunny days. And football!!! Anyone excited besides Brandi and me?

This weekend our ladies trio will be leading our worship. I so love it when Brandi, Trish and Missie sing. They blend their harmonies so nicely. And it always seems to me that their hearts are in the right place too!

Here's what we'll be singing on Sunday: (1) "I Came For You" by Planetshakers, (2) "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury, (3) "Jesus" by Chris Tomlin, and (4) "No Longer Slaves" by Bethel.

New Fall Study on Christian Disciplines. Remember this morning at 8 am, Brian Betts continues his new fall study at the church. We are calling it "Spiritual Disciplines For the Christian Life." While the study started last Sunday, it's not too late to join. Brian has books with him if you'd like to join. We encourage you to participate and discover how your Christian life could be so much richer! 

Sermon: "Know Peace." Do you have no peace or do you know peace? Sunday morning we consider Acts 16:31-40, when Paul and Silas were unfairly beaten and imprisoned. As a Roman citizen, Paul had citizenship rights, which were violated. Doesn't sound very peaceful. How did Paul respond? How do we respond when our rights are violated? How do we find peace in unpeaceful situations?

Sometimes my sermon study takes me to unexpected places. This week was one of those times. I concluded that there are times when pursuing peace in our lives isn't very peaceful! It's actually stressful. Confrontational. Working for peace can actually lead us into conflict.

There are times when we think we know a Christian topic really well and then take a hard look at what God's Word actually has to say about it. This is what we will do this Sunday. I hope you all come with Bibles... and minds... wide open! Want a head start? Here are the online sermon notes.

Church Picnic in Two Sundays - Sept. 15th!  

One week from Sunday we will enjoy our annual church picnic at North Lake Park right after our church service. The church will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, and drinks. You bring the side dishes and desserts. We will have an air-conditioned, enclosed pavilion to enjoy our lunch. There will be outside games for the young and young-at-heart. Stay for our annual group photo. This is always a lot of fun!

Singspiration and Breakfast - Sept. 29th!

September is a five-Sunday month. That means that on September 29th we will enjoy our second Singspiration Sunday!

Our entire worship service will be focused on singing and music. This is your opportunity to use your musical talents for the glory of the Lord. Talk to Brandi by Sunday if you'd like to participate. ALSO!!! - Sheri and Dave and Cindy have decided that no Singspiration would be complete without enjoying breakfast together beforehand! Isn't that great? Look for details to come. 

OctoberBlest - The Last Seven Days of October! 

Here is a new one for you! Remember all the joy we experienced this past Spring during the March of Prayer? We (Paul, Jordon, Matt, Me) are hoping that all the churches who participated then will join together for OctoberBlest, beginning Friday, October 25th. We're hoping for seven days of four one-hour prayer and praise services each day through the end of October. 

So what will this be like? Each day for those last 7 days, there will be four worship events at four different churches at four different times:

Come when you can, leave when you must. No pressure to attend all of them. Different place each time. Maybe a lot of folks, maybe a few (what does it matter?) The faithfulness in continuity will unite us and stand before the Lord as Godsfield. 

For those who like to plan their calendars ahead of time, Church Requel will host Tuesday, October 29th at noon.

Community Night Of Worship - November 1st! 

Our week long OctoberBlest will culminate on Friday night, November 1st - "All Saints Day" - with a Community Worship Night. This free admission concert of worship music will take place at Freedom Ridge Church, 2200 Bedford Blvd., Ontario, Ohio at 7pm.

The community night of worship will be led by worship leaders and musicians from Freedom Ridge, Church Requel, Grace Church, North Woodbury Alliance, Gateway Church in Wooster, and Berean Baptist Church. Wow! 

Yes, our own Brandi Walker will be right in the thick of things and will be one of the worship leaders for that night. I've also learned this week that Missie, Trish and Brian will all be participating too! Yay!!!

Are We Blessed Or What? I can't help but feel so blessed to be a part of this church community we call Church Requel. Our small church feels like family. If you doubt this, listen in to a phone call I received this week:

"Pastor Mark, I just wanted you to know that I WILL be at church Sunday. And I'm going to bring my brownies. I've already arranged my ride with Sheri. I'm just NOT going to let my knee keep me from being there. I miss everyone so much."

Yep, that was Juanita! When you see her, let her know how much you've missed her since she's had knee surgery. It will make her day.

We enjoy a relationship that not many people have anymore. Less than one in five people in America attend church weekly. Of that number a larger percentage attend a larger church than ours and thus don't enjoy the level of intimacy we take for granted at Church Requel. I'm also reminded that because we are a smaller church, the burden on each one of us is greater to keep it going and to not take it for granted!

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