Good Friday morning Church Requel!
Lots of planning has been underway this past week in preparation for our upcoming outdoor concert on Saturday, July 24th, 6-8pm on the front lawn of the church. May I tell you some of the challenging and also exciting developments over this past week or so?
A week ago and only a little over two weeks before the concert, we received a cancellation call from the man who was going to provide our sound system for the evening. Our original plan was to use a different sound system than our own. Most of our cables connecting our sound system has been permanently installed beneath the floor of our sanctuary. So we planned to use someone else's system on Saturday and then still have ours ready to go on Sunday morning. However the guy who was going to provide his own system has endured some serious back problems and he had to (sorry) "back out."
I have to admit to you that initially I was bummed out about this. Having endured serious back pain in my past, I completely understood. Still... bummed. This is where having a dedicated leadership team is such a blessing. They met with me last Sunday and approached this development as just another obstacle to overcome. I am so thankful for each of them and for their positive spirit.
We went through all the possibilities and ended up deciding to keep our outdoor concert plans and to use our own sound system. Whatever cables we have buried underneath the floors we would just purchase anew for mobile purposes. On Saturday July 24th we will move everything outdoors. After the concert we will move everything back indoors.
By the way, we will meet to move our equipment outside at noon on that Saturday. So if any of you want to help us out either at noon before the concert, or stick around after the concert to help move our gear back inside, that would be great.
We also decided that because we are a church for our online congregation as well as our in-person congregation, we made the choice to broadcast our concert on YouTube and Facebook Live. This morning I received confirmation from Leanna that she will also participate from afar and manage our online broadcast. So - those of you who live far away - you can watch and listen and comment along! Mark you calendars now!
Have you all been talking to your family and friends about this outdoor concert? Now is the time to get the word out! I've been really pleased that most of the people I have spoken to have told me they would like to come. On Sunday morning we will give you a little flyer that you can hand out or post on a door or window (see above!) Make sure you remind everyone to bring lawn chairs or a blanket to sit upon.
We also are planning to provide free hot dogs, chips and lemonade at the concert. Many thanks to Bryan, who has agreed to bring his Benford 5000 grill! Ha! There is a signup sheet circulating around with all the food items that we need - so check that out on Sunday morning if you wish to help out that way.
Let's not forget why we are doing this concert. Yes we want to celebrate our coming out of Covid. Yes we want to thank God for keeping our church alive. But we also have another important passion - we want to support Reaching Out Homeless Shelter. We consider Angie Henke, the director of Reaching Out, as one of our own. Angie was baptized a few years ago right here at Church Requel. I still watch that video of Angie's testimony whenever I need a pick-me-up. As Covid was becoming a huge problem for us all in March of 2020, Angie and fellow volunteers Jeremy Ward and Jason Knasinksi were nominated as local heroes for the work they do with the homeless in Richland County.
So how does this tie in to the concert? First - let me remind you that the concert is absolutely FREE. Really! No strings attached. Come and sit down and enjoy the concert. A lot of times, when I watch someone else playing music that I like, I find a tip jar and put some money in to show my appreciation. That's what we are going to do. We will have a big round plastic tip jar and you can put money in if you are so inclined. All the proceeds from that TIP jar will go to Reaching Out!
Also - for the next two Sundays, we have opened a special donation designation online for Reaching Out. If you want to make a special one-time donation to them, go to Give.ChurchRequel.org and on the second line where it says "Designation", choose "Reaching Out." Further, as a leadership team, we have made the decision to make an additional donation to Reaching Out on behalf of the entire church!
This Sunday. I know that in this newsletter I have been entirely focused so far on the outdoor concert. But I want you to know we have some very special plans for this Sunday morning as well. The band will lead some of our favorite worship songs including "House of The Lord," "What A Beautiful Name / Tremble," "The Whole Earth," and "Christ Our Glory." Cheryl will share our announcements. Jack will sing a special song, "Let There Be Peace On Earth."
And here... I've really buried the lead... Brandi has agreed to share the message with us Sunday morning. She will continue the Beatitude series we've been in. She will talk about "PeaceMAKERS." You'll have to come or watch online to find out what the capital letters are all about.
Isn't this good news? I'm so excited that Brandi has agreed to do this. I've been encouraging Brandi to speak. I discovered during the stay-at-home Covid days last year, that Brandi was actually quite good in sharing devotionals with us. This will be her first time in the pulpit. I know she's nervous about it, so let's all encourage her the best we can!
I've never been more excited to be a part of Church Requel. How about you? Hope to see you Sunday morning at 11am EDT! - Pastor Mark
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