"Faith Notes"
Dear Faith Family: March 18th, 2010
Excerpt from Isaiah 43: 1 - 7
"But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you . . . "
Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson
I was deep in a hard time. Sad and angry, overwhelmed and feeling sorry for myself. I could see no way out or even forward. I felt like a Halloween pumpkin on Election Day; excitement all over, just empty inside.
By some odd grace I found my way to a place called "The Spiritual Life Center" run by an older Maryknoll nun. Sister Katherine explained the drill. My job was to pray the Scriptures. She would give me two a day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, vitamins for my soul. "And," she said, with a gentle smile, "If you fall asleep, it's okay; you're probably exhausted."
My Scriptural vitamin for that first morning was this very passage, Isaiah 43: 1 - 7. As I headed off, Sr. Katherine called, "Oh, and you might try putting your name in where it says 'Jacob' and '
For the first time in a long time, I felt as if I could breathe again. No clear way forward had been revealed, no ready answer had been given, none but this: "You are precious in my sight, honored, and I love you," and that was enough. Enough to open the road out of exile toward home.
Prayer -Sometimes, Lord, we can get so busy trying to do for others that we forget to let you do for us or be God for us. We forget that we too are precious. Tell us again. Remind us. And then grant us grace to live as people precious in your sight. Amen.
Prayers, Joys, & Concerns:
In our Thoughts and Prayers: Eleanor Miller; Becky & Jay Rosenberger's grandson, Nickolas Cecchi and their daughter, Angie Cecchi; Ken and
We remember Rich Webb,
March Birthdays: March 21st Lacasta Jungling and Susan Huffman's 30th Birthday, March 24th
March Anniversaries: March 18th Ben and Monna Tarbell
Calendar Week of March 21st – 28th, 2010
(Today) Sun. March 21st - Food Pantry Sunday – Please bring one perishable item to church
Sunday Morning Worship services 8:15am & 10:15am, Sunday School 9:15am, Puppets 4pm, SNL 5-7pm
Mon. March 22nd - Cub Scouts 4-5:30pm, Scouts 6-7pm, Christian Nurture mtg. 6pm, Board mtg. 7pm
Tues. March 23rd – T.O.P.S. 8-11:30am, Learn/Ring Bells 7pm
Wed. March 24th- Puppets/Youth Chimes 2-4:30pm, Lenten Study Creative Praying 6pm,
Thurs. March 25th - Lenten Study- Creative Praying 10am, CWF Highland Park CC Easter Tea 11:30am, Den 1 Cub Scouts 5-6pm, Tiger Scouts 6-7:15pm, Daisys 5:30-6:30pm, MBQ 6:30pm, Choir 7pm
Sun. March 28th – Palm Sunday Worship Services 8:15am & 10:15am, Sunday School 9:15am,
Pastor Ken's Retirement Open House 3-5pm, SNL 5-7pm
Announcements:
Volunteers Needed: Pastor Ken needs 8 readers for the Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service on April 1st. Please send Pastor Ken an email at revkbriggsacc@msn.com.
Easter Flowers –It's time to order Easter flowers in honor of our loved ones that will adorn our worship center on Easter. Out of respect for those who have allergies to the aroma of Easter Lilies, this year we are ordering blooming spring bulb plants for Easter -Tulips, Daffodils and Hyacinths. Each plant is $10.00.
Call 967-4382 with any questions or if you want to place an order. Orders are due Palm Sunday March 28th.
Sunday Night Live Youth Dinners – Thanks to everyone who's volunteered so far to prepare meals for our SNL youth. If you'd like to volunteer to prepare meals for the youth group on any Sunday in April or May, please see Pastor Natalie, email peace.weaver@live.com or call 991-2359. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Salvation Army Casseroles- WE'RE DOING GREAT! So far we have donated over 80 casseroles!
Please pick one or more aluminum casserole pans and a recipe sheet. After baked, cover tightly with tin foil, & place in the church freezer. There is plenty of room in the freezer at this time. Don't forget the plastic grocery bags. There's a tall box by the Food Pantry grocery cart that these bags may be deposited into.
Summer Camp Sunday – April 18th Come and hear Bert Burns from the
A new Altoona Christian Church Cookbook is being planned. The first one was done in 1990, so its time for a new one!! Please gather your favorite recipes and bring them to church or email to guenever@msn.com. There's a basket on the table in the Narthex for your recipes. If you would like to work on this project, please contact Carol Brown at guenever@msn.com or at church.
More information to come....
God's Coffee House - Volunteers are needed to bring snacks on Sunday mornings. Snacks such as pretzels, animal crackers and wrapped breakfast bars are encouraged, but quick breads and cookies are certainly acceptable. Following the 10:15 service, would the person who brought the snacks please clean up the table? Thanks to everyone for volunteering. If you feel you're unable to bring snacks for God's Coffee House, your financial support is greatly appreciated. There's a sign-up sheet on God's coffee House's table.
Upcoming Lenten services:
- Creative Praying: Join us during the Season of Lent as we encounter God through our imaginations. Our goal is not to create masterpieces, but to enjoy the experience of color, texture, and God's presence! There will be two sessions offered per week to accommodate your schedules, Wednesday evenings at 6pm or on Thursday mornings at 10am throughout Lent.
- Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service on Thursday, April 1st at 7pm
Volunteers Needed: Pastor Ken needs 8 readers for the Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service.
Please send Pastor Ken an email at revkbriggsacc@msn.com or talk to him after the church service.
What is a Tenebrae Service? - The word 'tenebrae' is Latin for shadows. The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of the events, and it is left unfinished, because the story isn't over until Easter Day.
To All Friends and Families of
Take a look at what is needed in order to make our Easter Miracle Breakfast a success!!!
8 lbs each red grapes & white grapes
5 large pineapples
1 flat of strawberries
4 cantaloupes
30 doz. Med. Eggs
We used donated coffee cakes etc. in place of 12 packages of Rhoades frozen cinnamon rolls.
6 gal Orange Juice
3 gal milk
Approximately 15-18 pounds of boneless ham (cut/chopped up)
25 packages of pork links (Little Sizzlers)
10 men (at least) for cooking, cutting, set-up, and dish washing.
***These amounts will serve approximately 100 guests.
***Need donations of food supplies listed above. Clipboards will be sent around during both services to sign up to volunteer for the breakfast and to donate food supplies. Thank you in advance for all your generosity for this year's Easter Miracle Breakfast!
Please let Len or the church office know by March 28th (Palm Sunday) if you are donating any food supplies.
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Announcing:
2010 Altoona Christian Church Youth Spring Show,
"The Lord's Prayer"
with music, dance, drama, and pageantry
on Fri. April 30th & Sat. May 1st 7pm
There's no charge for the performance, but a free will offering is appreciated. Refreshments will follow in the fellowship hall. These are such great kids! Please plan to attend one of the performances to show support for all of their work.
Paulette, Shelly, Natalie and Georgia
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"PHILIA" is Greek for "Love of Friends" It's the name of a small group fellowship with friends from Altoona Christian Church. The group meets one day out of each month to join together for fellowship and fun. Join us Friday April 16th 7pm at the Latin King restaurant for dinner 2200 Hubbell Ave
Scrapbooking - The next scrapbooking event will be April 10th beginning at 9am in the Fellowship Hall. This is a great time to work on any hobbies you might have from card making, knitting, and beading to actual scrapbooking as it is fellowship time too. You can come and go so if you can't be there right at 9am, come later. We'll stay until we are tired which is usually around 1:30-2pm. If you want to stay later, you are welcome and we might stay there with you. If you have never scrapbooked before, but are thinking it would be fun to learn, bring some pictures, scissors and adhesive and we'll get you started. If you just need to sort your photos and put into books, but don't want to scrapbook, here's your time for motivation. Come and join us and if you know of someone else in the area who would like to scrapbook, bring them along or tell them to come join us.
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2010
Since
In keeping with that faithful generosity, Week of Compassion has striven to be efficient, effective, and transparent in helping coordinate the ways that Disciple contributions have made a difference in the lives of the people of
The situation in
· The death toll from the earthquake stands at approximately 230,000
· An estimated 1.2 million Haitians are homeless
· and long term rebuilding costs are estimated at $13.2 billion
Through denominational partners like CONASPEH, we have been able to respond to emergency needs of communities in Port-Au-Prince and beyond; through ecumenical partnerships with Social Services of Dominican Churches (SSID), Church World Service, and ACT Alliance, 2,000 Haitian families in a border settlement on the Haiti side of the Haiti/DR border have received food, shelter, and health resources; our partnership with Church World Service has also provided immense assistance to vulnerable children and people with disabilities, as we have coordinated efforts with Service Chretien d'Haiti, ChristianAid (UK), the Ecumenical Foundation for Peace and Justice (COPJ) and House of Hope.
THANK YOU for what you have done. THANK YOU for your courageous compassion. Our work continues, and we will keep you updated as the ways we respond continue to evolve in response to the situation on the ground.
Week of Compassion
As of March 15, 2010, Week of Compassion has provided:
· $55,000 to DOM for
· $115,067.84 to CWS for
· $100,000 to ACT
· $5,000 to IMA World Health for medicine boxes for
· $10,000 to Church Extension for
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Carla and I will be returning from our vacation this weekend, and look forward to Sundays' worship service. Pastor Natalie is available as always for your pastoral concerns.
Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service will be an impressive, meditative service of the recreating the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of the events of that day. I need 8 people… youth or adults… to volunteer to do a reading for that service. Please e-mail me at RevKBriggsACC@msn.com if you would be moved to volunteer to help with this service on April 1st at 7pm.
The Good Friday service on April 2nd 7pm will be another opportunity of meditation. If you would like to help lead this service you may also send me an e-mail. The Bell Choir will be an important part of this service.
Easter morning will be a grand celebration. The 8:15am service will be an inspiring time of worship. The Miracle Breakfast beginning at 9am will be a celebrative time of breaking bread and eggs together. I expect over 30 members of my family to be here to worship with us. I look forward to this time of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life to each of us. The Easter Egg Hunt starts at 9:15am. Kids… remember to bring your Easter egg baskets!
Until then… Keep Dancing In the Spirit,
Pastor Ken
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