Be Intentional: Living Life Purposefully

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1 A monthly newsletter sharing the blessings, news and vision of Lockport Alliance Church Be Intentional: Living Life Purposefully A Study in 2 Thessalonians Our Word of the Year for 2019, intentional, is about doing things with intent. It s about doing things on purpose and for a purpose. Do you live that way? All too often we settle for living reactively instead of proactively. I m certainly guilty of that. You probably are, too. The apostle Paul wrote two letters to the young church in the city of Thessalonica. In those two letters 1 & 2 Thessalonians in the New Testament he encourages them to live life purposefully. They were facing the mounting pressure of persecution and they had some questions about the timing of the Second Coming of Christ. How should they live in light of these challenges? Should they just hang on till Jesus comes back? Or did God want something more from them? 2 Thessalonians will be the basis of our next sermon series beginning March 3. Be Intentional: Living Life Purposefully will help you to be more on purpose about how you live your life. The promised return of Jesus Christ should never be an excuse for idle living rather, it s an incentive to use the time we have left to be about the work of His ministry. Today, more than 2,000 after these letters were written, we are that much closer to the Second Coming of Christ, and we have even more incentive to live our lives purposefully. Don t waste your life be intentional! Join us for this new series beginning March 3. By: Kevin R. Robbins Code Blue As you may know, for these cold bitter days the homeless, as well as those in dire situations who find themselves without heat, have a place to go to escape the elements. Code Blue held at the Salvation Army on Walnut St. in Lockport opens their doors on nights expected to be 15 degrees and below. With so many days of bitter cold upon us we are in desperate need of additional volunteers to help. 2 people are required for each shift: 8pm-midnight midnight-4am 4am-8am. The shelter opens at 8 in the evening and closes at 8 in the morning the next day. Volunteer responsibilities include signing people in, locking the doors at the appropriate time, and being present to talk with and minister to anyone staying at the shelter. If you would kindly consider volunteering during these situations please go to for more information and to sign up to serve. Someone will call you and be glad to walk through the process and answer any questions you may have. Our desire is to come together and serve this community well. We thank you for your grace and support for being there to call on.

2 Join the Young at Heart Page 2

3 Join us for the 11th Annual LAC Saturday, April 13 from 2:00-3:30 pm Join us for games, activities, refreshments, prizes and a good old-fashioned egg hunt! Free and Open to any Child 2-10! Don t worry about the weather - The entire event is indoors Page 3

4 Elders Meeting Highlights Highlights from the February 18 th elders meeting: The elders reviewed the list of wins of the week for January that were shared at weekly staff meetings. The weather was crazy in January but God was clearly at work. Pastor Kevin announced the upcoming sermon series to highlight our WOTY, intentional. Be Intentional: Living Life Purposefully will be a study in the New Testament book of 2 Thessalonians. It will begin on March 3. Pastor Kevin shared feedback from our recent missions conference that was provided by the Ministry Board at their February meeting. The weather was certainly a factor but there was good input on the things within our control as well. That feedback will be included in our planning for next year s missions conference. The elders particularly commended Judy Button for sharing her story that included the death of her parents, Alliance missionaries Ed and Ruth Thompson, in Viet Nam in 1968, on February 10. It was a powerful and poignant story, and the entire church appreciated Judy and her sister, Laurel Watkins, sharing that story publicly. The elders reported on their ministry check-ins with the various ministries that each of them helps to oversee, based on the church organizational chart (org chart). The elders were informed of a lawsuit filed against the church by a LifeTouch church directory photographer. She fell in the church parking lot in April 2017 and is seeking damages against the church. That matter has been handed over to our church insurance provider, who will assign an attorney to handle our case. The elders would appreciate the congregation s prayers for this issue, particularly that we can respond in a Christlike manner in all things and that there will be a swift resolution to the matter. Todd Richards mentioned a New York state March for Life scheduled for June 3 in Albany, a response to the recent passage of Senate bill S2796, the Reproductive Health Act. Pastor Kevin will contact the other churches in LEMA to see if there is any interest in sending a delegation from Lockport to Albany for the march. Pastor Kevin shared a letter that was recently sent to Anne Lenhart on behalf of the church, thanking her for the donation of the church-owned house at 411 High Street many years ago. That house has been a wonderful tool for ministry over the years, and its recent sale will help provide for some necessary capital improvements on our church campus. The elders discussed several items of a pastoral care/discipleship nature and spent time in prayer for one another and for numerous needs in the LAC family. Several recommendations for help from the church Benevolent Fund were also discussed and acted upon. There was no new update on the current status of the church van with the DMV. It remains grounded until the title issue can be resolved by our attorney. Attendance reports: Average Sunday morning worship attendance in January was 283 (high 305, low 256); average LIFE Hour attendance in January was 107 (high 114, low 102). Services had to be canceled on January 20 due to the fierce winter storm. The elders reviewed the upcoming calendar of events for March, April and May and made changes where necessary. Page 4

5 March & April Birthdays March & April Anniversaries Birthdays for the month of March. Mark Deleel 1 Dick Fox 1 Hannah Shortridge 1 Helen Bil 3 Steven Saraf 5 Isabella Zastrow 5 Jewel Myers 6 Scott Deluca 7 Dave Lewis 7 Taylor Ottaviano 7 Chris Brown 8 Ken Kirkman 8 Bryan Copperthite 9 Noah Colburn 10 Naomi Moore 10 Harry (Bud) Weist 12 Dale Means 13 Mandie Stahl 14 Carolyn Berner 15 Carol Forth 15 Eli Bancroft 17 Eva Hulse 17 Nina LaGreca 17 Alexa Bulmer 18 Beverly Farnham 21 Espen Pittler 21 Lindsay Quay 23 Chic Bigelow 26 Nicholl Brewer 26 Matthew Rheam 27 Christian Richards 27 Ethan Saraf 28 Christine Blowers 29 Diane Fox 30 Walt Keller 30 Melissa Mayers 30 Tom Lattimer 30 April. Deb Bulmer 1 Julie Bulmer 1 Billie Parker 1 Clarissa Blowers 2 Sally Conley 2 Ed Gawell 9 Mike Gendrue 9 Samantha Hughes 9 David McLaughlin 9 Charlotte Venesky 10 Brendan Gawell 12 Brooke LaGreca 12 Joey Quay 12 Todd Richards 13 Robert Hensal 14 Cindy Walker 16 David Westcott 18 Carrisa Hallock 19 Angelo LaGreca 21 Shara Venesky 21 Jason Donner 22 Michael Donner 22 Phil Graczyk 22 Amelia Konstanty 22 Savannah Raetz 22 Katie Richards 22 Randall Shortridge, Jr. 23 Oliver Walling 23 Rhoda J. Young 25 Allie Morrow 27 Rebecca Zastrow 29 Happy Anniversary for the month of March... Charles & Eleanor Kephart 23 Dick & Diane Fox 24 Ron & Debbi Handley 30 April. Vince & Marian Wik 4 Dick & Sally Conley 11 Don & Gale Blendowski 12 Dennis & Jewel Myers 18 Bill & Sharon Richardson 25 Mark & Linda Deleel 29 Roger & Rhodesa Peace 29 March Events 1 Youth Overnight 3 Deadline for Haiti Mission Trip 3 Men s Event at Golf Dome 5 GriefShare begins 6 Christianity Explored 6 Deadline for Reach Application 9 Plan to Protect Training 9 Pastries at Panera 16 YAH to the Aerospace Museum 17 Newcomers Reception 23 Celebration of Life for Leota Wayson District Conference 31 Children s Volunteer Luncheon Page 5

6 Prayer Teams Prayer teams meet every Sunday during the worship service to pray for the worship service, the ministries of LAC and other needs. If you would like to be a part of this very important and rewarding ministry, call the church office, ( ). March Prayer teams: 3 Team 6 10 Team 7 17 Team 8 24 Team 9 31 Team 1 Financial Update February 17, 2019 GREAT COMMISSION FUND 2019 Goal $ 65,000 Goal to Date $ 8,750 Received to Date $ 7,757 GENERAL FUND 2019 Goal $400,272 Goal to Date $ 53,883 Received to Date $ 47,821 Expenses to Date $ 41,750 Top Ten Prayer Requests Pray about LAC s Word of the Year for 2019: [Intentional] Pray for a strong start financially to the new year after an encouraging year in Pray for our church vision sermon series in January. Pray for a new School of Prayer concept Wednesday nights on January 9, 16, 23 & 30. Pray for our next scheduled Christianity Explored (CE) course in February. Pray for our missions conference February 3-10 with Alan (Philip) Clason (France) and our own Judy Button (February 10) and an even stronger year of giving to the Great Commission Fund in Pray for wisdom for the elders in shaping vision, strategy and decisions for Pray for our children s ministries outreach: the winter months are often a peak time for AWANA on Wednesday nights; 11 th annual Egg-Stravaganza outreach TBA. Pray for continued traction and impact through men s and women s ministry events. Pray for our outreach to our community and for conversion growth (salvations) leading up to Easter weekend April Attention Ministry Leaders Please be sure to check your box. New items are added each week. Ministry Leaders have mailboxes located in the foyer. If you have any correspondence for ministry leaders you are encouraged to leave it in their mailboxes. Ministry Positions 2019 Elders Mike Gendrue Dave McLaughlin Dave Rheam *Todd Richards (Chairman) NYS Trustees Alex Banks Kevin Robbins Mike Gendrue Deacons * Ken Moore, Jr. (Chairman) Ray Kline, Sr. Bob Davidson Steve Saraf *Ministry Board Secretary Christine Blowers *Treasurer/Missions Treasurer Denise Walker *Assistant Treasurer Lynda Rose * Deaconess/Women s Representative Beth Hensal * Youth Ministry Representative Alex Banks Facilities Team *Walt Keller (Chairman) Chic Bigelow Craig Blowers Paul Buri David McLaughlin Adam Raetz Mike Revekant Josh Smith Jason Walling *Min. Board Members at Large Kim Davidson Chris Brown *Children s Coordinator Michelle Gendrue Great Commission Women President Marcia Keller Deaconesses Nora Bruning (Chairperson) Beth Hensal Darcee Hughes Lynda Rose Arlene Sluyter 2019 Nominating Committee Bevin Lambert Howard Bruning Ken Kirkman Beth Hensal * Serves on the Ministry Board Page 6