1/17/2010

It’s been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with several things happening before church. First, I was greeted by a neighbor who is behind on rent wondering if we could help her from being evicted. Next came a Mission Center teleconference for the purpose of sustaining our new Mission Center President. About 10 people participated in it. As the teleconference progressed, the rest of the congregation gathered for Morning Worship.

The teleconference went a bit overtime so we started a Morning Worship a few minutes late. The scripture for the message was the story of twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple. Afterward we loaded the keyboard the Charlotte had lent us for the Christmas season into Earl’s van so he could return it to her.

During Kids’ Church we continued our study of the book of Joshua. For the craft, the kids each glued 12 rocks together as a representation of the practice of the Israelites in raising monuments to remember things God had done.

That evening was our monthly Priesthood Meeting. The bulk of our time was focused on the calendar, event planning, and looking at some issues we’ll be facing in a few months.

Monday night Tamara and Vonceil took a person from the congregation shopping. Between the snowstorm and some people being sick, we hadn’t been able to take this person out to spend the gift card they’d received through donations made to the church at Christmas time.

Attendance was back up a bit at Wednesday’s SonRisers activities. Throughout much of the day I had a series of calls and emails to coordinate meetings in the weeks to come. This ranged from a group looking at the possibility of a mission trip to the area to meetings with my supervisors to scheduling with the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

I also met with the woman from the Census Bureau to review plans and procedures for testing and hiring workers from our area. She gave me information to distribute to people I knew might be interested in this employment. Some people I knew at the NA meeting and at the Mid-Week Service were happy to hear of this opportunity.

Knowing there are lots of people in need of work, we used many means of communicating with people about the job opportunities. This included phone calls, personal visits, email, and Facebook. We’re hoping that people will be hired and get some relief from economic stressors.

The first of the employment tests were administered on Friday. The turnout was disappointing, but the word was just starting to get out.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. The first two groups each started their own new video-based lessons that will continue for several weeks this winter. The senior high group continued with its study of the Gospel of Matthew.

Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition we have a webcast from our denomination’s headquarters on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. That evening is our monthly Celebration Service which this month will include a pizza supper. The Census Bureau will administer tests at the church on Wednesday and Friday. We have several additional meetings this week, including with Bill, our new Mission Center President, and Marjorie from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. Next Saturday night is our monthly Sundae Church.

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

The Davis Family
The Pearson Family
The Saffran Family
The Bookhultz Family
The Purnell Family
The Ceo Family
The Butler Family
The Pettis Family

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