Good Friday morning Church Requel!
After the Covid year we have all endured, how many of you would like a FRESH START? That will be the topic of our sermon - "From Failure To Fresh Start." The one thing we ALL have in common is failure. I'm so thankful that God doesn't leave us to our failures, no matter how many or how massive. He gives us - each and every one - a fresh start in life. This Sunday we'll talk about five possible causes for failure (five out of so many more possibilities!) and then we will consider 4 steps to get a fresh start in life.
I'm betting that everyone you know - family and friends alike - could really benefit from Sunday's worship service and our talk on Fresh Start. Why not share the streaming link with them? You and they can watch the stream in two ways - Facebook and YouTube.
For Facebook, just share our FB page and tell them to tune in at 11am EDT Sunday. Here is the link for our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/ChurchRequel
For YouTube, here is the link for this coming Sunday morning - https://youtu.be/GQ2nQhw2wPk If you click on the link now, you'll have the option to set a reminder. This is really cool! Your device will remind you or your friends to join early enough to catch the whole service.
I want to also say a big THANK YOU to Leanna Perdue, who manages our online stream each Sunday morning. She is the one who makes sure that your comments and prayer requests are added into the stream. Also this Sunday, Leanna and her husband, Mike, will be reading our Scripture for us!
FRESH START back to Church too! For those of you in Mansfield (I have to say that now since so many worship with us in other parts of the world), but for those of you nearby - consider joining us in person. More and more of you are coming back. Speaking as one member of the team, who has worshiped primarily by looking into a camera over this past year, it is so wonderful to see you all worshiping in person with us.
Also - I believe your coming and worshiping enthusiastically aids those who watch online. It's one thing to see those worship leaders on the platform worshiping enthusiastically, it's another thing entirely to be able to see those in the pews worshipping just as enthusiastically. We could say in this sense that we all are worship leaders!!!
Stepping Up To Feed The Hungry. Over the past couple of weeks, we've received both good news and sobering news when it comes to the topic of hunger in America. The latest news tells us that with the most recent stimulus checks, the percentage of Americans going hungry has dropped. Even so, the percentage of families with children who are hungry remains above 11%.
We so appreciate Don Angel, who is stepping up to lead our food bank and meal ministries. We will learn more in the coming weeks, but here is what he told me this past week: (1) First off, thanks to all of you who have been so generous with your donations! This past week we received several additional large donations from many of you for our food pantry. (2) On Saturday, June 16th, we will be taking our turn at the Neighborhood Meal here at the Point of Grace. Volunteers should show up at 4pm. We begin serving at 5pm. We are usually finished by 6:30pm. (3) On Monday, June 18th, we will serve at the downtown lunch ministry and provide lunch for 50 to 100 folks who are hungry. More details to come about this opportunity to serve.
Thank you all for BOTH volunteering your time AND for your generous donations of needed supplies and food and finances. We can only do what we do because of your generosity!
Our Worship Songs For Mothers Day Sunday. Here are the songs we will be singing: "Open Up The Heavens" by Meredith Andrews; "Faithful Now" by Vertical Worship; "Praise Your Name" by Corey Voss; "Death Was Arrested" by North Point Worship; "Truth Be Told" by Matthew West; and "Stand In Your Love" by Josh Baldwin.
I so look forward to worshiping with all of you this Sunday morning! It has become my favorite time of the week - the only time I have the opportunity to connect with many of you. I know you feel the same as many of you are coming early and staying late. I LOVE IT! Let's keep the party going!
Love you all much, Pastor Mark
