Church Matters March 2013 Edition

Transcription

1 Church Matters March 2013 Edition East Glenville Community Church

2 It was good to go home! Not many take a winter vacation to Minnesota, but when you go to see children and grandchildren and longtime friends, the weather isn t that much of a factor. It was also good to come home. For the present, this is our home, and while we don t have biological children and grandchildren here, we do have one or two spiritual children and a wonderful family made up of brothers and sisters in Christ. Of course, the family here is just a small part of our family. Our family is really quite large. There are millions living all over the world, and millions more who have gone home to be with our Father and Elder Brother. Some day the rest of us will join them in our family home, called Heaven. There s no other family quite like our family. I wish everyone were in it. It s open to everyone, but not everyone is interested in being a part. If they only knew what they are missing! Actually, our Father is a King. He s the greatest King, and He rules the entire universe. When we go home, we will rule with Him. When we see Him, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. The old order of things will be gone. He has told us that He will make everything new. You can count on it because His words are trustworthy and true. I can hardly wait to go. Our Elder Brother said He is coming for us soon. My heart says, Come, Lord Jesus. Pastor Cliff

3 During this time of transition, the Elder Board is closely following the ongoing search for our new Senior Pastor. The pastoral search process was initiated in October when the pastoral search committee organized itself, planned the search, and then developed a congregational survey to solicit feedback from the congregation. The results of the survey were compiled over the holiday season and used to develop a profile of the qualifications and characteristics that the congregation would like to see in our new Senior Pastor. The Elder Board reviewed and approved this profile document in January. The pastoral search committee is now in the process of obtaining a list of interested candidates by: (1) using the search process available through the 4C s; (2) notifying seminaries and other organizations of the open position; and (3) following up on several potential candidates recommended by word of mouth. Initial evaluation of interested candidates is being performed by reviewing the candidate s resumes and other information to determine if the candidates meet the minimum qualifications for the position. Once initial evaluations are complete and a sufficient pool of potential candidates has been identified, the search committee will focus on further narrowing the list by performing initial interviews, evaluating the candidate s preaching abilities, checking references, and evaluating other aspects of the candidate s qualifications. The search committee expects that the list of candidates will ultimately be narrowed down to a list of 3-5 prime candidates who best align with our pastoral profile and the needs of our church. The committee will then select one of the prime candidates and recommend to the Elder Board that the selected candidate come to EGCC to visit and worship with the congregation. The candidate s visit to EGCC will be your opportunity to get to know the candidate and his family before we vote as a congregation to formally call the candidate to be our new Senior Pastor. These are exciting times to be involved with the pastoral search process. Please continue to pray for our search committee as they continue to work on our behalf pray that they will have an extra measure of God s grace, stamina, and wisdom as the effort continues. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 God bless, Don Kraines

4 The choir is looking for people who would like to join the Easter Celebration Choir on March 31. We will be singing a wonderful new Easter anthem by Keith and Kristyn Getty. CD's will be available for you to listen to ahead of time to become familiar with the song. If you're interested please contact Sandie in the office or at Easter Sonrise Service ~6:00 a.m. at Lakeridge Farm Reminder - bring chairs & blankets If it is raining, the Sunrise Service will be moved to our Sanctuary. If in doubt, drive to Lakeridge Farm 1st. Any questions the morning of, please call Nate at After the Easter Sonrise Service join us back at the church (around 7am) for a Pancake Breakfast.

5 Let no one caught in sin Remain inside the lie of inward shame But fix our eyes upon the cross And run to Him who showed great love And bled for us Freely You've bled for us Christ is risen from the dead Trampling over death by death Come awake come awake Come and rise up from the grave Christ is risen from the dead We are one with Him again Come awake come awake Come and rise up from the grave Beneath the weight of all our sin You bowed to none but heaven's will No scheme of hell no scoffer's crown No burden great can hold You down In strength You reign Forever let Your church proclaim O death where is your sting O hell where is your victory O church come stand in the light The glory of God has defeated the night Singing O death where is your sting O hell where is your victory O church come stand in the light Our God is not dead He's alive He's alive CCLI Song # Matt Maher Mia Fieldes 2009 Thankyou Music For use solely with the SongSelect Terms of Use. All rights reserved. CCLI License #

6 East Glenville Christian Preschool March 9th, 10:00am - 12:00pm We have openings in our 3-year-old class, our four-year-old afternoon class and the Tuesday enhanced class. Call or us at egcc.preschool@verizon.net We will be having our Annual Garage Sale on April 19th and 20th. Donations gladly accepted! For more information, please contact Linda Wachtel at Thank you!

7 Roller Skating at Rollarama Mark your calendars for Sunday March 17th, 4:30-6:30pm EGCC Families and Friends please join us for a private event with Christian music! $6 per person Adults and kids welcome 2710 Hamburg St., Schenectady Contact Susan Perregaux with questions Learn how our VBS children and families have served others.. At EGCC's week long VBS program "SKY" in June 2012 a collection was taken to support Wheels of Hope, and International Rotary project which provides polio survivors in Nigeria with wheelchairs made in Africa from bicycle parts. VBS children, families and volunteers contributed funds and facilitate and bake sale to raise $1200 for this charity. That amount will purchase 8 wheelchairs and change the lives of 8 people. It took some time to process the funding and EGCC mailed a donation check to Wheels of Hope in January Following is a response from the Rotary Club: What a wonderful surprise to open the mail and find the thoughtful and generous donation to Wheels of Hope from your Vacation Bible School. We just sent Nigeria $5000 about two weeks ago. Your donation puts us a long way towards the next $5000. Many thanks. Thanks to you and thanks to the participants and generous donors from the Vacation Bible School who have made 8 polio survivors in Jos Nigeria very happy. For more information about this charity visit

8 EGCC Christian Education Update The Board of Christian Education strives to connect young ones and adults to the body of Christ. It is our goal to provide programs that nurture spiritual growth and transformation as we prepare hearts to receive Jesus Christ as Savior, to disciple people once they have made a commitment to Christ, and to encourage people to serve and to be living examples of God s love and grace in their communities. Sunday School is foundational - it is supportive - it is far-reaching. We look forward to seeing you in class! Pre-School - 1 st Grade Using selections from Genesis, the Gospels, Acts and 2 Timothy our 2 and 3 year olds will be learning Jesus loves us, how he shows his love and how we love Jesus. Our 4 and 5 year olds will look at selections from the Gospels and Acts to learn of Jesus love, the First Easter and about telling others about Jesus the Savior. 2 nd - 12 th Grade These grade levels will be diving into Luke, John, Acts, Romans and 1 Corinthians to learn about foundational biblical principles like: God will forgive us when we sin and answers us when we pray; Jesus wants us to follow his example of serving others; Jesus died to take the punishment for our sins and; Jesus is alive, he has saved us and has changed our lives completely; Angels protect and help God s people; and how to prepare ourselves to tell others about Jesus.

9 Adult Sunday School One aspect of the recently developed senior pastor job description was that he be able to build bridges to the local community. Bridge building is our responsibility as well. This nine week course will discuss how we might practically develop new bridges to Bridge Building reach those in spiritual and physical need in our neighborhoods and communities. We will be using the early church and a book entitled "The Church of Irresistible Influence" as our guide for this conversation. This class, facilitated by Will Gideon, will begin on April 7 and will meet in classroom B. Membership Class Taught by Assistant Pastor Phil Sears, this class will begin on April 7 th. Please refer to his article for more information regarding this class. Return of the 20 s and 30 s Class Thanks to the precedent set for this class by its first facilitators, Steve and Camille Levy and to the graciousness of Greg and Susie Bandy (who will be the new facilitators), the 20 s and 30 s class is set to begin again this coming April 7 th! The Christian Education Board seeks to continue this class due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback provided to them by the class s previous participants. This class will continue to serve EGCC attendees who are high school graduates up through their 30 s. The primary focus of this class is to encourage and empower the future leaders of our ever-growing, ever-evolving church. Additionally, this class will concentrate on relationship building and fellowship, all whilst engaging members to grow in their faith and knowledge of Christ. This is a unique type of class for EGCC in that it is a discussion based class that focuses on issues as they relate to Christian Life. In the past, the attendees have worked together to provide breakfast for the group (utilizing a weekly sign-up sheet), which has provided a convenient and tasty breakfast for attendees! This class is run in a discussion format and there is often a video integrated into the lessons. We encourage all of you to please pray for the new facilitators of this class (Greg and Susie Bandy) and also to lift up all of the young adults in the church for whom this class is intended. We would love to see a huge turnout! Additionally, we are looking for name suggestions for this class. Please stay tuned to both and Facebook for an upcoming contest to Name that Class, where we will be asking church

10 Attention Readers! The next gathering of our book group is going to be on Friday evening, March 15th at 7pm at the home of Melisa Olson. We will be discussing the historical fiction novel, "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford. Ford, an award-winning short-story writer, has set his debut novel in Seattle during the internment of Japanese Americans throughout the period of World War II. The author deftly switches the narrative from 1986 to the 1940's, as the readers are taken on a remarkable journey. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet looks at the best and worst of human relationships, the choices we make along the way, and reminds us that there is always room----and time---for forgiveness and redemption. This is a story that you'll remember long after the last page has been turned. There are plenty of copies of this book to be found at local libraries. All women are more than welcome to join us at any time. Please call Melisa at to RSVP or with any questions.

11 There will be a Women's Craft Night on March 7th at 7:00. We will meet at 19 Laury Lane and work on a fun Spring craft, enjoy some treats and conversation and start planning for the future. I hope to see many of you "crafty" women on the 7th. Please RSVP to Colleen Switts at Community Outreach Collection Healthy Schenectady families offers home-based services to expectant and new parents, beginning prenatally or shortly after the baby is born till the child is 5 or enters preschool or head start. Health Schenectady Families is a comprehensive prevention program that focuses on the safety of the children while supporting the family. It offers weekly home visits until the baby is at least 6 months old, helps parents develop strong positive relationships with their children, promotes optimal child heath, assesses children for development delays and makes referrals. It also works with parents to achiever family self-sufficiency, find solutions to everyday problems and establishes connections with needed community resources. The participants are visited by Family Support Workers (FSW s) who also promote literacy from birth. At one point this part of the program was funded and they were able to provide one book a month for each child starting at birth. The books used are cardboard books such as ABC s, Good night Moon, The Little Engine That Could are just a few. Our church would like to show our support of this program and express the importance of Family by helping to purchase some of these much needed books. All books should be new and can be placed in the Giving Chest. This collection will run throughout the month of March. For a complete list of books, please visit the board above the Giving Chest in the Hall of Missions.

12 Scripture Memory Program Jesus said: I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me (John 14:6). The question is; how do we follow Jesus way and truth when we are inclined by nature to do the opposite? As a follower of Jesus, you can t help but be changed when you memorize scripture, meditate on it, and ask God to change you and empower you, so that your life more closley reflects the truth of God s word that you are hiding in your heart. As Christians, we are called to grow in our relationship with Jesus, which will in turn help us grow in our relationship with others. If we make it a practice to memorize His word, our relationship with him and others will deepen and mature and glorify God. With that idea in mind, starting March 3 rd the whole church will be encouraged to set their hearts and minds on things above, by memorizing Colossians 3:1-17 together. The goal is to learn one new verse a week. How awesome it would be if our whole church could recite this verse together! And more importantly, the fruit it will bear in our community if our lives reflect our beliefs. As verse 16 says: Let the world of Christ dwell in you richly.

13 Rules For Holy Living Colossians 3: 1-17 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips, Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices, And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

14 March 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 7pm Family Cafe 8:30am Men s Ministry Breakfast Ignite 6:30 p.m. Care Group Meetings Ignite 6:30 p.m. SPARK RollerSkating 4:30-6:30pm Ignite 6:30 p.m. Care Groups Ignite 6:30 p.m. Sonrise Service 6:00 a.m No Sunday School or Youth Group 6:45pm Lose It For Life 6:45pm Lose It For Life Camp Turf Training 7-8:30pm Board Meetings 7 p.m. Elder Meeting 7 p.m. 6pm Wed Night Program 6pm Wed Night Program 6pm Wed Night Program 6pm Wed Night Program 7pm Women s Craft Night 7pm Youth Basketball 7pm Youth Basketball 7pm Maundy Thursday No Basketball 7pm Book Group Church Matters Deadline Office Closed 7pm Youth Basketball 10am- 12pm Preschool Open House

15 Palm Sunday Worship Maundy Thursday Communion Service Easter Sonrise Service (Lakeridge Farms) Easter Worship Celebration March 24, 10:30 am March 28, 7:00 pm March 31, 6:00 am March 31, 10:30 am Looking Ahead to April Apr. 1 6:45pm Lose it for Life 7pm Camp Turf Training Apr. 2 Youth Frisbee Apr. 3 No Wed Night Program Apr. 3-5 Camp Turf Apr. 6 8:30am Men s Breakfast Apr. 8 Care Group Meeting Apr. 9 7pm Board Meetings Apr. 12 Family Movie Night Save the Date! Church Camping Trip When : August 9th - 11th Where: Sacandaga Bible Conference Contact: Cindi Phillips (I have registration forms) Cost: $25 per night - $15 day use per family - $10 for individual Saturday night concert If you need camping equipment let me know.

16 East Glenville Community Church 335 Saratoga Road Glenville, NY ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Church Matters March 2013 Edition Check out Church Matters on the EGCC Information EGCC Staff Sunday School: 9:00 am Worship Service: 10:30 am Location: 335 Saratoga Rd Glenville, NY Phone: Fax: egcc.office@verizon.net Web: Office Hours: Monday Friday 9am 2 pm Rev. Cliff Christensen Interim Senior Pastor Rev. Phil Sears Assistant Pastor Nathan Caldwell Youth Director Sandie Wanamaker Director of Worship Ministries egcc.music@verizon.net Susan Perregaux Director of Children s Ministries Gina Vendetti Administrative Assistant egcc.office@verizon.net Non Profit Org U.S. Postage Paid Burnt Hills, NY Permit No. 5