12/17/2006

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

It started out with a very full Sunday. As we were finishing setting up for Morning Worship a very drunk man came in. He had witnessed the girl getting hit by the car last week and was quite upset. He also brought a hand drum with him. During the songs he occasionally hit the drum and talked out a few times during the service.

The topic for Morning Worship was Love. As a part of the service, Nate was baptized and confirmed. Danny and Joshua shared responsibilities in lighting the advent candles and Gloria offered a prayer for those in mourning, especially those saddened by the wreck in the neighborhood and for Tamara's family.

Violet brought a folder with her to church to show everyone. In it were awards Josh had received this week from TESST College. There were 7 awards, including the "President's Honor List" and "Student of the Term." He had a 4.0 on his report card.

By 12:30 we had kids lined up ready to see take part in the petting zoo. The animals arrived right on time at 2:30. This brought out a bunch of people from babies in strollers to people in their 70s. We had about 15 animals and we estimate 150-175 people for the 90 minute experience.

At the same time we had our Christmas bake sale. We sold every single item, most within the first 25 minutes of opening.

The people who staffed the event were quite exhausted so we ended up with a small group at Evening Worship. Afterward we set up for SonRisers.

The Women's Group met on Monday night to assemble the Christmas packages for the teachers in our neighborhood schools. While they were doing that Woody came by to work on the large cross he's building for the inside of the church. Also while they were there a member of the Colonial Dames of Maryland stopped by to donate several wreathes they had left over from their greens sale.

81 kids participated in this week's SonRisers activities. That night the Adult Disciples group continued their study of the Gospel of Mark.

The meeting I had originally had scheduled for Thursday had to be postponed a week. This gave us the chance to get a lot of other things cleared off the "To Do" list. I got the Christmas Eve service planned and was able to do some home visits. I was also able to deliver the last of the candles from our candle order. Their delivery had been delayed because they were ordered by coworkers of one member of the church. She had been let go from that job and was not able to return to deliver them herself.

Jenn and Tamara were both out of town on Friday. Fortunately, my parents were in town visiting so my dad helped staff Pizza Church. The kids did an excellent job in their assignments in putting the events of the Christmas story in chronological order.

We learned this week the results of the election for World Conference Delegates. Tamara and I will be delegates while Jenn and Karen will serve as alternates.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our full schedule of activities. In addition we have a baby blessing during Morning Worship on Sunday. I'll be taking our teacher Christmas packages schools this week. I'm meeting with David, our Mission Center President, on Thursday. Throughout the week we'll be distributing invitations to next Sunday's Christmas Eve Service.

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

Bev
Heidi
Jerome
Bobby
McKinsey
Jackie
Christy
Tom

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