Good Morning FCC Family!
I hope all of you are holding up well during this heat wave. Remember our sanctuary is air conditioned now! That is an investment that we can all appreciate except for the crazy few who like to sweat when they sing!!
Anyhow, I want to update you on some upcoming events at FCC:
· Baby Dedication this Sunday, July 11.
· Pine Valley Bible Camp is hosting their Community Day this Sunday, July 11, 2-6pm. The event is free and features food and drink, horseback riding, swimming, waterslide, climbing wall and more. It’s a great way to spend time with your family and to learn more about this great ministry.
· VBS begins next week, July 12-16. This is a huge ministry for us and Judy Campbell has been busily organizing everything for next week. She’s doing an awesome job as always. Many of you will be giving of your time and talent to making it a successful outreach for us. I appreciate your commitment and efforts and I encourage you to be in prayer for the week.
· Next Wednesday night (July 14), during VBS week, we have a special opportunity. Pastor James Sai Ruma, who is an EMC Pastor in Myanmar, will be sharing with us in the sanctuary from 6:30-7:30pm. Everyone who is not serving in the VBS ministry is encouraged to attend. I am asking for everyone to make this a priority in your schedule next week. This is a great opportunity to personally connect with our EMC brothers and sisters in Myanmar. Please plan to be there.
· Baptism service, July 18, 6:30pm @ Ralph & Marge Currie’s, 316 West Park Road. Right now, I have 10 youth and adults who want to be baptized!! I will be leading a class on baptism this Sunday morning at 9:30am in the Pastor’s office for those who are planning to be baptized. Everyone must attend this class.
· VBS Celebration, July 18. There will only be 1 service that day @ 10:45am. Sunday School will meet @ 9:30am.
· LCYM Community Block Party, July 23 @ the Y-Zone. This is a youth and family event. All are invited to attend and its free! See the Sunday bulletin or the poster in the Communication Center for more details.
· City Rescue Mission Bike Run is July 24. See Dave Pacifico for more details or to volunteer.
· July 25th is Membership Sunday. New members will be joining the church that morning. Also, the Sr. High & Honduras Mission Teams will be sharing about their Mission Trips in both services.
· July 26-28 is His Hands Ministry. See the Sunday Bulletin for more details. Registration packets are available in the Communication Center. There are separate packets for youth and adults.
· Junior Camp is July 28-30.
Also, mark your calendars for August 29. We will have a Tent Service that day @ 10am (only 1 service and no Sunday School). The service will be followed by our Church Picnic and a concert with the Tom Walker Family and The Colporteurs. This is also Promotion Sunday. All children and youth are to remain in their current grades for Sunday School and all activities (including Alpha Phi) until this date. High School graduates may join the College & Career Class this summer. It meets in the Prayer Room @ 9:30am.
It has been a busy summer so far for me but a very rewarding one as well. The Senior High Mission Trip and Sr. Camp were awesome experiences! It has been a blessing to hear God’s Word from the various speakers and to see their passion and commitment. I have been pleased that our attendance (except for the holiday weekends) has been at or above our weekly average. I know us pastors get accused of being too focused on numbers but those numbers represent people who are worshipping God and being ministered to or are ministering to others—that’s why those numbers are important!
Please continue to make Sunday worship a priority for you and your family. Remember, we have an 8:15am service so you can still make worshipping God a part of your Sundays even if you have family plans for the day. If your on vacation, visit a church nearby. Also, continue to be involved in all the other events. As you can see from above, summer provides us a wonderful opportunity for some exciting ministries.
Most of all, love God and your family and be willing to serve him wherever and whenever.
Have a great day in the Lord!
Pastor Russ