The Weekly

Hey family,

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to give you some fantastic news. As of today, our Haiti offering total is around $2,400.00. This doesn’t include a matching fund of $1,000.00 from a local company. So, if all is correct in our figuring, we’ll be giving nearly $3,500.00 to House of Hope in Haiti!! Praise our Lord for His generosity flowing through His people.

News and Notes:
This Upcoming Weekend: Our weekend begins with Work Day at SCC beginning at 8:30 a.m. We’ve got a rather ambitious goal of doing…well, a whole lot of campus improvements, and so we could use your help. If you are planning on going, please email Jeff Morris and let him know at jeff@southway.org. Sunday sees us exploring the Core Value of Focused Excellence in a message entitled “Excellent isn’t just an 80’s catch phrase.”

Also, we’ll be having a special guest speaker at our Young Adult Group at 7 p.m. Sunday night. Amy Vitacolonna is the field director for Redeemed Ministries in Houston that works with Not For Sale, a national and global organization that is dedicated to helping stop human trafficking. This event is open to anyone, whether young or adult.

Lastly regarding this weekend, Spring Forward Sunday is this Sunday March 14th so set your clocks ahead on Saturday night.

KSBJ March 22: I’ll be taping a spot for Enter His Gates, so I appreciate prayer for this. I’ll let you know when (if) it airs.

Reminders:
Prayer1 and Prayer 2: Here’s the scoop on that. During each morning service (8:30 and 11), I’ve asked for some people to be in prayer about the service during the service. What that looks like is like the following (which is NOT in stone, if you have an idea after reading this on how we can be more effective then email me at jason@southway.org.) …..

-Gather in a separate room beginning at the start of each service.
-Pray for the service elements (songs, prayers, sermon, announcements)
-Pray for Sunday School and/or Children’s Church.
-Pray specific prayers that will be given to you through a lead sheet in the room (Lead Sheets will have a rundown of the service along with some hopes the staff have for that specific service).
-Pray for the H.I.T. list people that week listed in your worship folder.

Now, I know what this means: It means for some of us, more time on campus. This is not a substitute for attending a service, but rather, it means us asking you to spend an hour more at the campus.

Please pray about your involvement in prayer 1 and 2 as we look to kick off this ministry on Easter Sunday, April 4th.

Speaking of Easter Sunday…… We will be having two services that day with the “old” seating capacity (think pre-second service) that will enable us to house 300 folks. Think about this: What if we began praying for God to give us 300 people on Easter Sunday? Would you join me in that? While I know it’s not “all about the numbers” think about how many could be impacted by the Gospel that day as a result of God’s working in and through us? Just saying…….

New (Sort of) blog site:
I’ve updated my site, and have my own little home on the world wide web. It’s www.soiledsaints.com. Go on over and take a look, comment on the blog, and let me know what you think.
Love to you my SCC family..

Jason

Hey family,

We simply have a lot to pray for, so I’m going to forego any attempts at wit, humor or introduction.  Let’s get right to it.

Please praise God for….

Adam Sampson’s baptism: What a joy to baptize my brother despite the chilly water!  Adam is a joy to my heart, and like I said on Sunday, is someone I’ve trusted in ministry situations for many years.

Our SCC Choir: If you were there on Sunday, especially during 2^nd service, you heard two sounds:  the choir sang….and the church applauded!  Now, I was changing back into Sunday gear, but heard the song, and the response.  You’ll be seeing more of our choir in the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday.

Elders and Deacons: A lot of what our elders and deacons do is not seen by most of our church family.  But rest assured, Richard, John, Lee, Jeff and Joey are hard at work wearing multiple hats to serve the church in many different ways.  When you see them, thank them.  When you think about them, pray for them.

Please pray for……

This Upcoming Weekend: We’ll be exploring the Core Value of Godly Generosity in a message entitled “Debt Free Living.”  Also, we’ll be having Family Night at 5:30 p.m. so come and join us for some family food, fun, and prayer.

Work Day on March 13: We’ve got a lot of work to do, shall I say, some “spring cleaning” around our campus.  We are gearing up for this, and would greatly enjoy your participation at the upcoming Work Day Saturday morning, March 13^th.  Please contact Jeff Morris for more info on how you can be involved.

Prayer1 and Prayer 2: If you were in service on Sunday, you heard me talk about Prayer 1 and 2.  Here’s the scoop on that.  During each morning service (8:30 and 11), I’ve asked for some people to be in prayer about the service during the service.  What that looks like is like the following (which is NOT in stone, if you have an idea after reading this on how we can be more effective then email me at jason@southway.org.) …..

-Gather in a separate room beginning at the start of each service.

-Pray for the service elements (songs, prayers, sermon, announcements)

-Pray for Sunday School and/or Children’s Church.

-Pray specific prayers that will be given to you through a lead sheet in the room (Lead Sheets will have a rundown of the service along with some hopes the staff have for that specific service).

-Pray for the H.I.T. list people that week listed in your worship folder.

Now, I know what this means:  It means for some of us, more time on campus.  This is not a substitute for attending a service, but rather, it means us asking you to spend an hour more at the campus.

Please pray about your involvement in prayer 1 and 2.

Also, Easter Sunday is April 4, 2010.  We will be having two services that day with the “old” seating capacity (think pre-second service) that will enable us to house 300 folks.  Think about this:  What if we began praying for God to give us 300 people on Easter Sunday?  Would you join me in that?  While I know it’s not “all about the numbers” think about how many could be impacted by the Gospel that day as a result of God’s working in and through us?  Just saying…….

One Last Thing to Pray For:

Many of you know about 89.3 KSBJ, Houston’s largest Christian radio station.  KSBJ has been around for over 30 years, and has grown by leaps and bounds over that time.  Each Sunday, KSBJ has a program called “Enter His Gates,” which is a worship music-themed program played during the morning, as people drive to worship gatherings across the city.

During the program, the music is interspersed by mini-messages from Houston-area pastors, the length of which are between 10-15 minutes.  Well………..

Guess who was invited to record a mini-message to be played on an upcoming Enter His Gates broadcast?

Yep…for whatever reason and honestly God only knows, I’m going on March 22^nd to record a message for Enter His Gates.  Please, please pray for me as I prepare for that day!  And as soon as I know when it’s aired, you will know too!

Love to you my SCC family..

Jason

Hey family,

I have a lot to brag about on you, so let me brag on my SCC family for a few minutes.

-Praying for freedom:  Numerous people stated that they would be praying for the 27 million plus slaves around the world, and I’m quite grateful for that!  Great Job SCC!

-We have 3 new members to SCC:  Lori Hood, Susan Sampson, and Melissa Williams.  Lori is Jess Hankamer’s mom (Jess was baptized late last year) and an art teacher, and Susan is Melissa’s mom.  Melissa is Cairo’s mom (Cairo hangs out in the nursery most weeks, and loves receiving candyJ!) and both Susan and Melissa have been family to me for nearly 10 years.  We are grateful to have them join us!

-Greeters and follow up:  We’ve had some folks respond to the need, and again, gratefulness is the key.  While we still need more, we’re off to a great start!

-Church Under the Bridge:  around 10 of us went to CUB this past Sunday, and I can safely say we were pretty amazed at what we saw happen.  Needless to say, there will be more on this in weeks to come.

Vital Stuff this Week for us to know……

This weekend: we’ll be exploring the Core Value of Prayerful Dependence in a message entitled “essential-ity.”  Also, we will see Adam Sampson get baptized during 2^nd service.  I’m quite proud of him and his decision.  Make sure you support Adam in his decision and let him know that!  Also, our Servolution, Young Adult and Joyful Widows groups will be meeting at normal times.

Manvel Food Pantry:.  The need has not gone away, and our red barrel is ready for your contributions!!  You can drop off some stuff on any Sunday, and at select times during the week.  Call the church office 713.433.0500 to see when you can drop something off during the week.

Prayer Gatherings: I’ll have some good news about Prayer 1 and 2 this coming weekend as an application point of the sermon.  We’ll be asking you to risk a bit with this, and yes, it will mean for some of you spending some more time on campus on a Sunday.  But….I think it’s worth it, and hope that by the end of the day on Sunday, you will too.

Also, Easter Sunday is April 4, 2010.  We will be having two services that day with the “old” seating capacity (think pre-second service) that will enable us to house 300 folks.  Think about this:  What if we began praying for God to give us 300 people on Easter Sunday?  Would you join me in that?  While I know it’s not “all about the numbers” think about how many could be impacted by the Gospel that day as a result of God’s working in and through us?  Just saying…….

Prayer Reminders:

As you pray this week, please pray for Diane Chambers and Theresa Croft along with their family.  They are still hurting and grieving Randy’s loss, as are many of us.  May the God of peace grant them peace through Jesus Christ.

I was reading our prayer requests this week and was struck by how many people are sick and hurting.  Let’s not be afraid to ask our powerful God for His healing touch for friends and family.

Also, pray for our Easter service preparations.  We hope, by God’s grace, to present His gospel to people in a captivating, compelling way that calls them to faith and repentance.

Love to you my SCC family..

Jason

Howdy family!I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day.  Mine was not so great, for it seems as if like last week’s WEEKLY, I put my foot in my mouth.

Last WEEKLY saw me apologize for my “false prophecy” of the Saints losing.  This one will see me apologizing for a joke I made during our announcements.  I basically accused most of the men in the audience that day of forgetting Valentine’s Day in the context of “giving them an opportunity to save face” by purchasing some chocolate covered strawberries from Mark Ellis (which were great I’ve heard.  Mark made me a couple of sugar free ones that were delicious)  and help our benevolence fund at the same time.  A friend came to me and admonished me to consider what I said, for if I was belittling men (even in a joking way) I was actually going against them in their development as servant leaders in their home.

That hit me like a ton o’ bricks.  My friend was right.  And I was wrong.

And I’m sorry to every man I talked to on Sunday from the pulpit.  I will further apologize before my sermon on Sunday.

Vital Stuff this Week for us to know……

This weekend: We’ll be exploring the Core Value of Cultural Engagement.  I find the timing of this sermon to be extremely interesting, considering Rob and John’s messages the past two Sundays.  Plus, we’ll be joining with thousands of churches across the world for “Freedom Sunday,” as we’ll see how to engage our culture in some specific ways that we hope bring true freedom to the 27 million (and growing) slaves around the world.

Servolution on the Road: We’ll be checking out Church Under the Bridge, watching 1000 Hills Ministries in action, and seeing how SCC may partner with them in the future.  CUB starts at 3:30 p.m., so if you are interested, please email me at jason@southway.org before Sunday.

Manvel Food Pantry: While we haven’t mentioned the Food Pantry in our announcements recently, we are still collecting non-perishables for Manvel.  The need has not gone away, and our red barrel is ready for your contributions!!  You can drop off some stuff on any Sunday, and at select times during the week.  Call the church office 713.433.0500 to see when you can drop something off during the week.

Prayer Gatherings: I’ll be laying out the Prayer1 and Prayer 2 dream next week in the WEEKLY.  I do hope you’ll be ready to pray up a storm!

Also, Easter Sunday is April 4, 2010.  We will be having two services that day with the “old” seating capacity (think pre-second service) that will enable us to house 300 folks.  Think about this:  What if we began praying for God to give us 300 people on Easter Sunday?  Would you join me in that?  While I know it’s not “all about the numbers” think about how many could be impacted by the Gospel that day as a result of God’s working in and through us?  Just saying…….

The Big Ask Update

Thanks for responding to the need, as a few of you have moved over to first service.  While I don’t drink coffee, I do know that there is some hot, fresh, coffee for you to help you wake up!!

Prayer Reminders:

Please pray for Gladys Dagg and Margie Marchant.  Gladys will be living with her daughter Mary for a while as she recovers from surgery, and Margie is at WindSong getting her leg strengthened.  In addition, there are a number of requests you can find in your worship folder each Sunday to be praying for.

As you heard from Richard, we’re targeting March 7^th as our day to help Haiti.  Please prayerfully consider how you can add to the support we hope to give for this beleaguered country.

Also, pray for our Easter service preparations.  We hope, by God’s grace, to present His gospel to people in a captivating, compelling way that calls them to faith and repentance.

Love to you my SCC family..

Jason

Howdy family!

As I type this, I’m not feeling too well. I’m more sick than Peyton Manning after Sunday night. (and yes, I was wrong. The Colts lost…..Saints won..)

Vital Stuff this Week for us to know……
This weekend: We’ll be exploring the Core Value of Ministry Courage. After the sermon this past Sunday (thanks Rob!!), I was struck by this thought: “the job is so big…and I’m so small.” I was immediately followed with this thought “And that’s how you’re supposed to feel Jason!” I’m in need of courage to get the job done….which is exactly what we’re talking about this Sunday.

David Hill our Special Guest at Servolution: David is the leader of 1000 Hills Ministries, reaching out to Houston’s homeless in unique creative ways. He and I just got done meeting and talking about how we could partner with them!

Manvel Food Pantry: While we haven’t mentioned the Food Pantry in our announcements recently, we are still collecting non-perishables for Manvel. The need has not gone away, and our red barrel is ready for your contributions!! You can drop off some stuff on any Sunday, and at select times during the week. Call the church office 713.433.0500 to see when you can drop something off during thew eek.

Prayer Gatherings: Due to declining attendance, the men’s prayer breakfast will be on hiatus until the summer. We still are meeting every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Larry’s office for prayer gatherings at SCC. As I mentioned last week, we will soon introduce a new prayer opportunity called Prayer1 and Prayer2. What’s that? Stay tuned for more info in future WEEKLY’s.

Also, Easter Sunday is April 4, 2010. We will be having two services that day with the “old” seating capacity (think pre-second service) that will enable us to house 300 folks. Think about this: What if we began praying for God to give us 300 people on Easter Sunday? Would you join me in that? While I know it’s not “all about the numbers” think about how many could be impacted by the Gospel that day as a result of God’s working in and through us? Just saying…….

The Big Ask (One last time):

176, 170, 175, and 171. What do those numbers mean?

They represent our Sunday morning attendance (this number includes nursery and Children’s Church) for February 7, January 31, 24, and 17th.

A few weeks back, I wrote this:
“Also, we have an interesting (but good ) problem….For two weeks in a row, we have been approaching 75% capacity in our second service. If this persists (and we hope it does), the first thing we will do is add some chairs to increase seating a bit. If the “problem” keeps persisting we’ll ask some long-time SCC’ers to switch over to first service if at all possible. Right now, if we have two services at 75% capacity we can comfortably seat about 185 people (not counting Nursery or Children’s Church). “
Well. We are actually going to reverse the first and second thing I proposed above. I’m going to give the “Big Ask” right here: I am going to ask 10 of you to switch services from late-to-early. If you are a second service guy or gal, I’m needing 10 of you to switch to early service beginning February 14th. If after praying you are good with that, can you email me at jason@southway.org and the first 10 to respond will do it.

SCC Needs:
-Greeters: All you need to do is be a warm, friendly person, hand out worship folders, hold doors open and know where coffee and restrooms are. Email me if you are interested.

-Follow up: Praise God for so many new guests that have visited lately! And since we wish to serve them, following up with them is a must. Following up involves making a short phone call to our guests, asking how we can serve them and what we can pray for regarding their lives. Email me if you are interested.

Prayer Reminders:
Please pray for Margie Marchant. She broke her leg, and is currently rehabbing it. Also, please continue to pray for Gladys Dagg, whom it was great to see in church on Sunday so soon after surgery. While surgery was successful, follow up will be crucial. . In addition, there are a number of requests you can find in your worship folder each Sunday to be praying for.

Also, pray for our Easter service preparations. We hope, by God’s grace, to present His gospel to people in a captivating, compelling way that calls them to faith and repentance.
Love to you my SCC family..

Jason

Last week I bragged about you and rightfully so in this blog.  This week sees no different, as God has seen fit to give me more to brag about regarding our SCC family.

Baptisms:

Way to go Deb and Scott this past Sunday!  I know the water was EXTREMELY cold, but congrats to both of you and to the folks in second service who cheered them on!  Now let’s make sure we look out for and take care of them in the coming days/weeks ahead.

Amazing Things 2.0:

-Last week I wrote this:

“Also, we have an interesting (but good ) problem….For two weeks in a row, we have been approaching 75% capacity in our second service.  If this persists (and we hope it does), the first thing we will do is add some chairs to increase seating a bit.  If the “problem” keeps persisting we’ll ask some long-time SCC’ers to switch over to first service if at all possible.  Right now, if we have two services at 75% capacity we can comfortably seat about 185 people (not counting Nursery or Children’s Church).  “

Well, Sunday saw us hit 75% again in second service.    Now get this:  We were missing nearly 50 regular attendees!  So, if next week sees us again hit 75%, we will add some chairs to our worship center.  And here’s a hint….pray for that to have to happen!

-Alison Reeves reports that the feeding and sharing venture with the homeless went great, and even though there was only 12 who physically went, there were many more who donated food and clothes!!

Our Response to Haiti

As elders, we hope to have a firm response, both quickly and long-term, shortly.  We made some good headway this past Sunday in getting a plan together both for a quick and long term response.

Our Response to Homelessness

Did you know Houston has nearly 30,000 homeless people?  If not, you do now.  Regardless of whether we knew or not, the problem is large.  Hopefully, I’ll be meeting with a dear man who is working faithfully to bring the gospel to Houston’s homeless as he helps to feed-clothe-shelter them.  We may have a very exciting partnership in the works!

Our Response to Needs

We are in need for some people to step up and serve in three crucial ministries:

-Greeters: All you need to do is be a warm, friendly person, hand out worship folders, hold doors open and know where coffee and restrooms are.  Email me if you are interested.

-Follow up: Praise God for so many new guests that have visited lately!  And since we wish to serve them, following up with them is a must.  Following up involves making a short phone call to our guests, asking how we can serve them and what we can pray for regarding their lives.  Email me if you are interested.

-H.I.T. List artist: we have more names to be put up, but no one to put them up in an artsy way?  Fancy yourself one?  You can serve in that way by adding to the list.  Email me and let me know.

Just a Reminder:

Please pray for Peg Kirby and family.  While by God’s grace Peg is okay with nothing “officially” broken, Peg is probably going to be in pain for a while.  In addition, the deck that they were hoping to successfully move is still….needing to be moved.  Pray that God would grant them “deck moving” capabilities as soon as possible.

Also, pray for our Easter service preparations.  We hope, by God’s grace, to present His gospel to people in a captivating, compelling way that calls them to faith and repentance.

Love to you my SCC family..

Jason

Last week I mentioned how I didn’t think this was the way we’d start off the year. However, since I last posted the WEEKLY, God has been up to some amazing things…
Amazing Things:
-I can’t say how proud I was of SCC on Saturday, during Randy’s celebration service. From reports, we had anywhere from 200 to 300 people in our merry little worship center. I’ve heard numerous comments on the day, all positive regarding the music, message, but most of all….the people who served. Within 15 minutes the worship center was transformed into a “family night” cafeteria, and within 45 minutes after we were done eating, there was yet another transformation back to the way we all saw it Sunday morning. Thanks so much to all the people who cooked, set up, tore down and set up again!

-Also, we have an interesting (but good ) problem….For two weeks in a row, we have been approaching 75% capacity in our second service. If this persists (and we hope it does), the first thing we will do is add some chairs to increase seating a bit. If the “problem” keeps persisting we’ll ask some long-time SCC’ers to switch over to first service if at all possible. Right now, if we have two services at 75% capacity we can comfortably seat about 185 people (not counting Nursery or Children’s Church).

-And…..here’s a biggie that I’m very excited about:
Some of our young adults are going to be going out and ministering to the homeless after church on Sunday. Below are the details from a Facebook message via Lisa Brown……
“Instead of spending money on lunch, spend it on things that homeless people need and come enjoy lunch with friends at Alison’s place. Rice, beans, & veggies are on the menu. Feel free to bring other dishes or sides. sides Alison wanted me to tell you that you’re more than welcome to bring side dishes on Sunday, but don’t feel obligated to do so. If you’re tight on time or money, you can just bring your items to donate to the homeless. (But, of course, if you *want* to bring food, then that would be awesome ”

“When you come, bring a few things to donate to the homeless, mostly to feed them and keep them warm. Here are a few suggestions:

General Items:
socks
towels
blankets
pillows
jackets
ponchos
gloves
hats
lotion

Non-perishable, ready-to-eat food items:
bottled water
cereal
granola bars
chips & crackers
beef jerky
nuts
dried fruit”
If you wish to have more info, please call Alison Reeves at 281-748-7982.

Our Response to Haiti
If you are looking for some on-the-scene commentary regarding Haiti, please visit www.houseofhopehaiti.blogspot.com

Also, you can pray for leadership as we discuss how we should respond as SCC. If you are interested in personally responding to the need, please visit one of or both of the following sites:
www.redcross.org
www.churcheshelpingchurches.com

Our Response to Hunger
The coffee company I referenced in Sunday’s sermon, Gobena coffee can be researched by going to www.gobena.org. Each bag of coffee you buy helps feed an orphan for a month.

Our Response to Needs
We are in need for some people to step up and serve in two crucial ministries:

-Greeters: All you need to do is be a warm, friendly person, hand out worship folders, hold doors open and know where coffee and restrooms are. Email me if you are interested.

-Follow up: Praise God for so many new guests that have visited lately! And since we wish to serve them, following up with them is a must. Following up involves making a short phone call to our guests, asking how we can serve them and what we can pray for regarding their lives. Email me if you are interested.

Just a Reminder:
This Sunday, January 24th marks the 10 week countdown for Easter. We’ll be getting more info to you about inviting folks to 4.4.10, and what we hope will prove to be the greatest Easter celebration in our history…..

Whew…I’m tired writing….I’m only guessing how tired you are reading!!

Love to you my SCC family..

Jason

…..thought we’d start off 2010…..

Usually, this blog is an information-based, partially vision-casting type of thing.  My hope for the WEEKLY is to both keep you well-informed AND prayerfully considering God’s designs and delights for our congregation.

This will not be one of those times.

I usually try to keep (as much as I can) emotions from running rampant in this blog.  But there are times in which to state emotion is not only okay, but crucial.  Both y’all and I need to know that I’m not a pastoral cyborg.

I’ll be honest, I’m not doing so good as I type this.  But there are a lot of folks doing worse.  I am exhausted.  It’s been a big run the last few days.  But there are a lot of folks more tired and weary than I.  Consider just in the last week:

-Mrs. Hawk died.  While we and her family knew that this day was coming soon, we still weren’t ready yet to deal with that.

-Randy Chambers:  Randy was here Sunday morning, and in heaven Sunday afternoon.  I’m still staggered by this thought.  None of us were expecting this, and I suspect none of us were ready for it.  For those who may not have heard, Randy’s celebration service (no suits or dark colors per order from DianeJ) will be Saturday, January 16, at 1 p.m. in the worship center at SCC.

-Mrs. Hawk’s funeral:  We were sad, yet celebrating a life marked by God’s activity.  Still, it was a toll for those gathered.

-Other stuff:  between people in the hospital, hopefully caring for Diane and Theresa, and other things, such as the devastation in Haiti, it’s got many of us at a low ebb emotionally, myself greatly included.

Because of all this, we’re going to take a slight detour in our series this weekend.  We are staying “in-series,” just switching dates.  This weekend, we are looking at the Core Value of Serving People in a message titled “The Core of Personal Joy.”  With what we’ve gone through the last seven days, this core value seems quite important to think about, apply personally, and implement corporately.

I’d ask for your prayers.  I’m tired, bruised, and hurting.  And I’m not the primary in any of that.  I can bet that Diane, Theresa, Brittany, Vanessa, Ashley, Alex and DeShawn are much more tired and hurting.  I can bet that people in Haiti who have either lost loved ones or don’t even know their fate are more than I.

So when/if you pray for me….please pray for them.

Love,

Jason

Howdy family!

Happy New Year.  Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions?  Have you broken any New Year’s resolutions?  Well…enough of that.  Let’s jump right into the first WEEKLY of the new year.

Office Hours:

The office is back to normal hours, Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.  After a couple of weeks with limited availability due to holidays, we’re back running full-steam.

A Look Ahead

-Sunday: We are continuing in our new series “The Core” with a look at The Core for Life Change.  Also, we have a special surprise planned that I don’t think you will wish to miss (more further on down).  If one of your resolutions was developing good spiritual habits, then gain two right off the bat by gathering with fellow believers and worshipping God, and finding out how you can “get into the Bible, and get the Bible into you.”

Southway 1.o returns Sunday in Annex C, and if you would like more info about SCC, or would like to refresh yourself about us, please make plans to attend.

Also, we are having our first Family Night of the New Year Sunday at 5:30 p.m.  We’ll eat, pray, play, and learn together.  So bring some food (Grub for the Deep Texas folk), and plan to join us as we gather.

As 2010 Is Here.  So….:

What will be different about this new year in your life?  2010 holds all sorts of possibilities, adventures, trials, and tests for all of us.  But the burning question I have for you is this:  How will you personally leverage your time, your gifts, your abilities, your….well your everything for the glory of God?  What will be different in your life this year as opposed to last year….or the year before….or…well you know where I’m heading with that.  I would urge you to ponder/consider your answer to that question….and we’ll follow up with some thoughts in future weekly’s.

Some Nice and Sad Late Breaking News….:

We will have a special surprise on Sunday.  As many long-time SCC’ers know, Gertrude Wagner has been a stalwart for our church for many years.  Saturday will be her 90th birthday, and some of her family will be coming into celebrate.  So on Sunday morning (Gertrude doesn’t get email…so don’t worry), we’re going to lovingly celebrate her  birthday and surprise her!!  Please, if you get a minute, write a note, grab a card, and bring it with you.  We’ll be doing this during second service.

As I was typing the above paragraph, we received word that Virgil Hawk passed away this morning at 7:50.  She had been in declining health for a number of years, and took a turn for the worse recently.  While this news wasn’t unexpected, it still sends a jolt down our spine.  We praise God that she is now in heaven with Christ, and is no longer suffering…rather she’s worshipping.

As soon as we receive word of funeral plans, we’ll be sure to pass them along to you through email, and phone calls.

See you Sunday!

Jason