10/13/2007

It's been busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday, September 30, with our three services. During Morning Worship we focused on Mark 16. The group at Kids' Church learned the story of Esther. At Evening Worship Pat let us know that her truck had been stolen this week. After the service Ciara and Theresa stopped by to visit.

Once all this was over we had a priesthood meeting. We updated the calendar for fall and reviewed plans for upcoming events. We then spent quite a bit of time in some intense discussion about an issue the area and how it could play out in the congregation.

Over 90 kids participated in that Wednesday's SonRisers activities. Afterward, one of our neighbors stopped me to ask if I'd seen the hawk that's been hanging around our building. I hadn't, but those who have seen it have found it quite majestic. If this hawk likes the taste of rats or pigeons he may soon become quite overweight.

That afternoon a friend from the Fredrick, Maryland, congregation came by the church to get the font. They had a baptism scheduled and needed a font for the desired location.

That Thursday, for the first time the church had three different activities going on in it over the course of two hours. At 7:00 p.m. the exercise group met in the balcony while the men's group met in the front room. By 8:00 the women's NA group met in the main room and the exercise group had gone home. The men's group left around 8:30 while the NA group continued until 9:00. It was great to see so many different ways of reaching people happening in the building in such a short period of time.

On Friday I headed up to New Jersey for a weekend gathering of High Priests, Seventies, and Evangelists who were from Maine to North Carolina. We had a full weekend of fellowship, discussion, and presentations.

While I was there, Tamara, Jenn, and Robert were in charge of Pizza Church. Gloria presided over Morning Worship and Earl brought the message. Jenn, Tamara, and Vonceil were covered all the bases at Kids' Church. I was home in time for Evening Worship but had scheduled Danny to preside in case I didn't make it back in time.

The young adults continue to have fun with the football games each Sunday. We've had small groups each week but different people each time. It's been a great tool thus far in reconnecting with 18-15 year olds who we haven't seen for a while.

On Tuesday Richard James arrived. He's from Wales and is the new president of our Quorum of Seventy. That evening he and I walked around the neighborhood. Because of record-breaking heat, many people were out on their steps so he was able to meet and visit with several members of the congregation.

Nearly 90 kids participated in Wednesday's SonRisers activities. We also had a few more adults, mostly parents and grandparents of the younger kids, come through and ask about our ministry schedule. When we had a few minutes in the afternoon I took Richard to the Inner Harbor and to the viewing level of "Top of the World."

That evening Earl took Richard to visit the Dundalk congregation while we had our NA meeting and Adult Disciples group. The Adult Disciples finished their study of the book of Hebrews.

On Thursday Richard and I scoped out some missionary opportunities in an area about 1 mile from the church. He participated in Men's group that night then he and I were off to be tourists in Washington, DC. Seeing the monuments at night can be quite amazing.

On Friday Richard and I had lunch with Ron and Carol Gillilan. That evening brought Pizza Church. The kids were a little noisier than usual and took a while to settle in to the lessons. The third group seemed to enjoy learning about Welsh culture the most and stayed about 20 minutes after we normally close to continue visiting with Richard. Afterward, Tamara, Jenn, Richard, and I went to the ESPN Zone for dessert.

On Saturday Bryce and I took Richard to Dundalk for him to spend some time there. We ended up spending much of the rest of the day with Bill and George over high tea.

We had an extra-small group at Solid Rock Cafe on Saturday. Afterward, Scott and Josh stopped by to visit. We learned that Josh had gotten a new job on Friday (which he'll start on Monday) and that he'd passed his driving test today. This has been critical for him in his line of work and will hopefully open some additional opportunities for him as well.

Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have a potluck scheduled for Sunday after Evening Worship. We'll also be working on preparations for the fast-approaching Advent season.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following individuals in the forefront of your prayers:

Amber
Ciara
Bob
Less
Vicky
Theresa
Jenny
Elizabeth

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now"
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org