12/7/2008

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



For those of us on Glyndon Avenue, the day started before dawn. A reckless driver came down our street hitting 8 cars, taking out a street light and street signs, knocked down the fence in the playground, destroyed one of the new park benches, and then plowed through the fence on the other side of the playground. The noise and commotion obviously woke us all up. There are many families on this block who are active in the church. Two of them hand their cars damaged or destroyed by this driver.



We had several people sick and a few out of town making a small Morning Worship that day. Bryce and Onalee were responsible for the Advent reading and lighting of the Advent candle. The message was focused on Isaiah 9:6-7.



At Kids’ Church we made Christmas Cards. The kids were especially wound up and unfocused. It was clear that they had been out of school for four days and had run out of things to do. At least the young adults were able to celebrate a Ravens victory in their group that afternoon.



We had a larger gathering at Evening Worship. Many of the same squirrelly kids cam back. We had a wide variety of prayer requests, mostly from the adults who were present. Most of the kids made it through the service but a few chose to leave early.



Dave, Tamara, and I went to the bank together on Tuesday. With Tamara taking over the responsibilities of the financial officer in January we needed to get the account updated and signatures on file.



Later that day I talked with a woman who, over the years, has sponsored many kids to go to camp. She’s now retired and has a horse farm. She was looking for an opportunity to bring a couple of gentle horses to the neighborhood so the kids could interact with them by meeting, petting, and brushing them.



Nearly 70 kids participated in Wednesday’s SonRisers activities. Sue, the nursing student, was there. It was her last time to come as she has finished her degree. She brought bagels for the adults to share together.



Wednesday evening brought the return of Adult Disciples group. We’d had most of the fall off for Family Bowling so this was our first lesson since August. Once the lesson was over, people expressed that bowling was a good break but that they were glad to get back to some Bible lessons again. Our discussion and prayer time after class went until nearly 10 p.m.



On Thursday we worked on getting the Christmas Eve Service mailing ready. About 10% of our fliers go out in the mail while we distribute 90% door-to-door in the neighborhood. While working on that I was also able to follow-up with a friend in North Carolina who had 18 tickets to Orioles games this spring that he wondered if we might be able to use. We were glad to accept them.



Friday night brought Pizza Church. The first two groups studied the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. The senior high group continued its study of the Gospel of John. We also got the font out of storage in preparation for Sunday’s baptism.



On Saturday night Bryce and I went over and organized the church. With the font, the communion table, and the Advent candles all needing to be in front it took some planning and rearranging to make things look right. We also filled the font while we were rearranging things.



Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have a baptism scheduled during Morning Worship. On Thursday I’m meeting with the Director of Nursing to discuss next semester’s plans in working with the church. Also on Thursday, Diggs-Johnson Middle School’s community development training program will be using the church for some of its activities. On Saturday Jenn, Tamara, and I will be attending an Urban Youth Workers Institute training event near Washington. Next Saturday evening is our monthly Solid Rock Café.



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



The Ghaffar family

The Chafman Family

The Lydick Family

The Rodham Family

The Burley Family

The Stinchcomb Family

The Burrs Family

The Miskimon 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