Services: Sundays 10:00 a.m. Wednesdays: Service 6:00 p.m. Soaking Prayer: First Wednesday of the month and by appointment

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1 Church Office: THE SOLID ROCK CHURCH Mailing Address: 3601 Cypress Gardens Rd Cypress Gardens Rd., Suite Q PO Box 926 Suite C Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven, FL Winter Haven, FL (863) Weekly Epistle Services: Sundays 10:00 a.m. Wednesdays: Service 6:00 p.m. Soaking Prayer: First Wednesday of the month and by appointment Morality and Holiness Sowing and reaping Holiness is a harvest. True, it is 'the fruit (or 'harvest') of the Spirit', in that the Spirit is himself the chief farmer who produces a good crop of Christian qualities in the believer's life. But we have our part to play. We are to 'walk by the Spirit' and 'sow to the Spirit' (Gal. 5:16; 6:8), following his promptings and disciplining ourselves, if we would reap the harvest of holiness. Many Christians are surprised that they are not noticeably growing in holiness. Is it that we are neglecting to cultivate the field of our character? 'Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap' (Gal. 6:7). --From "The Message of 2 Timothy" (The Bible Speaks Today series: London and Downers Grove: IVP, 1973), p. 56 The Rocket 48 1

2 The Season is: ORDINARY TIME Sun., 8/9/09 (Proper 14) 2 Sam , 15, 31-33; Psalm 130; Eph.4:25-5:2; John 6: Wed. 8/12/09 (St. Mary the Virgin) Is. 61: 10-11; Psalm 34; Gal. 4:4-7; Lk 1:46-55 For those of you who didn t get the final results of Fr. Andy s imprisonment for MDA, you will be pleased to know that our Rector raised more money than any other prisoner. Thanks to all who contributed, and to Andy, well done! The Rocket 48 2

3 Beloved in the Lord, In case any of you did not receive the Special Report by Bishop Chuck Murphy covering the events of the recent Anglican Church in North America Assembly held in Bedford, Texas last week, I am forwarding it to you with this post. Hopefully, Chuck's report will answer many of your questions and perhaps allay some of your concerns as they pertain to Anglican Mission's relationship with the ACNA. My overall impression of the Assembly was positive. Of course it was not without it bumps. However, it was pleasing to observe more than 30 bishops in the College of Bishops (who did not hide the fact that there are distinct doctrinal and discipline differences between them) agreeing to work together in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration to bring a unified, orthodox witness to North America. Furthermore, it was nothing short of miraculous to watch the Assembly ratify ACNA's Constitution and Canons with so little debate from the delegates. Although few would label me as "high church", I truly enjoyed all four traditional Eucharists I attended, culminating in a truly glorious time of worship on Wednesday evening as +Bob Duncan was installed as ACNA's first archbishop. I ask your prayers for Bob as he steers this new ship, for at times he will likely be heading into high winds and heavy seas. It was especially edifying to listen to the presentations by Rick Warren and Todd Hunter who reminded us to stay focused on the work of missions. Rick exhorted his audience to discover, through prayer and discernment, what God is blessing and then to get on board with that blessing, that we might carry His blessing to others through evangelism and discipleship. And with great conviction, Todd shared his new-found love for the rich heritage passed on to Body of Christ by our Anglican fathers. He encouraged us to draw upon "the tools of our tradition" while serving as cooperative friends of Jesus to lead the last, the lost, and the least into a saving relationship with our Lord. As an aside, I did discover something of what Hell must be like, for the temperature and humidity in Bedford were insufferable all week long--and that coming from someone who resides in Florida! The Rocket 48 3

4 To end on a serious note, if any of you desire more information about the Assembly or Anglican Mission's role in supporting the ACNA, please receive this message as an invitation to contact me by mail or phone. I will attempt to answer your questions or find someone who can. Thanking God for who you are in Him, I remain-- Yours in Christ Jesus, +John The Rt. Rev'd E. John Miller, III Missionary Bishop The Anglican Mission in the Americas Prince of Peace Church 6895 Murrell Road Melbourne, FL Dear Don, News from the Mbindas (The following letter was forwarded to us from Don Kennon. ) Greetings in the beloved name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for your call. This indeed reminds me how much you care about us and the GSO Ministry that you are supporting. During that time I was in Dodoma (The place my birth) due to family matters. Mariam is not well for over a week now. She is suffering from Malaria the disease which is quite common in tropical countries. Her condition was truly worse and she narrowly survived from death. Thank God she is much better although still weak. Our son Tumaini is about to complete his first year in University. He is doing his degree in Computer Science and Engineering. It is a four year program. So far he is doing very well. The second academic year starts in early September, But our financial situation is not sound, only God knows. The GSO is in Gods safe hands. And as I mentioned to you earlier, we are done with the finishing of the Dining Hall and Kitchen Building, and is marvelous. For the time being, my mind is focused on the second phase of our development program, and a priority is for the Water and Electricity Projects. We have no money, but money belongs to God, and in God we trust. The Rocket 48 4

5 Our works have been badly affected by the world s unstable/poor economy. And as a result we are experiencing a terrible financial drought. I have been applying for Financial Aid to other Funding Agencies but the responses haven t been good. And in addition, this year Tanzania was hit hard by drought. The food stuffs in the market are very costly and not affordable to the majority. Therefore, people will be starving to death. What about the GSO? I have purchased some of the food stuffs that can take us for several months. In order to put ourselves on the safe side, we certainly need to purchase some more food stuffs. But we are running out of money. I am highly asking for your prayer support and assistance. God bless you and your undertakings. Yours in Christ, The Rev. Dr. Robert Mbinda THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GSO The Rocket 48 5

6 "Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip." Will Rogers BEANIE WEANIE SUPPER and KARAOKE SOCIAL Mark your calendars now for a really fun social event here at TSRC. Saturday, October 3 rd, 6-10 p.m., there will be a beanie weenie supper served, followed by an evening of karaoke. This is going to be lots of fun, so don t miss out. Throughout the evening there will be door prizes given, and there will be a Silent Auction on some very nice items. Tickets for this event will go on sale Labor Day Weekend at a cost of $10.00 per ticket. Money raised at this social will benefit The Mission. Show up, have a good meal, enjoy the music (we have some good singers here at TSRC, and you re probably one of them), take home a door prize, bid on your favorite auction item, and help The Mission provide services for the needy. BIBLE TRIVIA: Did you know the word holy is used 91 times in the book of Leviticus. The Rocket 48 6

7 Grocery Day, November 21 st. TSRC is planning a grocery giveaway for Saturday, November 21 st. We plan to give away a minimum of 100 bags of groceries. If you would like to donate a bag of groceries ($25), or a partial bag of groceries for the giveaway, please see Tina Hanson, Marilyn Hanson, Bill and Joan Johnson, or Yvonne Plummer. Start your fall cleaning now, but don t throw away things you no longer need. Donate them to TSRC for a November 7 th garage sale. Or if you prefer, you can rent a table for $25 and sell your items yourself at the sale. Proceeds to benefit Street Angels. The Rocket 48 7

8 Fall Carecell Groups Forming Inquirer s Class (date to be announced) October 3 rd Beanie Weenie Supper and Karaoke October 4 th Adult Christian Education 9:00 a.m., Church Office, led by Joe Plummer November 21 st Grocery Day Til Next Week, The Rocket 48 8