2/15/2009

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



It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. During the service we continued our review of the Beatitudes. Afterward, Joyce and I visited for a while. She decided to get baptized and we set the date for Sunday, February 22.



Shortly after getting home I got a knock on the door. Shirley had given Theresa a coat to replace the one she had that no longer zipped up. She had gotten home and panicked that she’d left her money in the pocket of her old one. We got her back to the church, found her money, and calmed her down.



We had a good sized group at Kids’ Church. Apparently, some of them had been playing in an overgrown lot or something before hand as one little boy took off his shoes and all sorts of weeds and burrs covered the floor below him. The kids had chips instead of candy for snacks, helping us reduce the leftover inventory from the “Big Game” party the week before.



We had a few kids at Kids’ Church who historically participated in Pizza Church who we hadn’t seen in a while. They told us that the AME Church, which they attend with their mom on Sunday mornings, was now doing youth activities on Friday nights so they had been going there instead.



People came into evening worship with lots of things to share and pray about together. We had a couple of people who we haven’t seen in a long time come and participate in the service.



Tuesday night was the monthly Citizens of Pigtown meeting at the church. Fortunately, the day was unseasonably warm so the room wasn’t too cold with the furnace not working. We’d set up for the meeting on Sunday so there was minimal work for us that night.



Wednesday started out with the phone ringing at 6:24 a.m. Patricia was sick and called to let us know she wouldn’t be at SonRisers. 60+ kids participated in the breakfast that morning. One neighbor came by during the activities to angrily complain about it.



We did have quite a few leftover donuts so I took a couple dozen over to the elementary school. The secretaries were giddy over the gift.



As soon as I got back to the church from the school, a parent who had come by earlier with his son was back. He needed someone to talk to and to pray over him.



Smitty came over to the church to work on some projects. He reorganized the food pantry and took the covers off the furniture in the front room to take them home to wash. While he was there the furnace repairmen came. They let us know what was wrong and what parts we would need. Unfortunately, the manufacturer of our system went out of business several years ago and parts are no longer available. They rigged things so we could get a few weeks worth of heat out of the system until we can get it replaced.



Wednesday’s NA group had an extra large meeting. They needed to have a group conscience afterward so they arranged to stay late.



During the NA meeting I met with Marjorie and Kim. We discussed plans for the March 8 health fair and made sure we were all on the same page with what needed to be done.



Joyce and Smitty joined Adult Disciples on Wednesday evening. During the class we finished the Gospel of Matthew then studied 1 Timothy. Smitty had brought back a few of the furniture covers, but the ones that were especially dirty were soaking in a solution that they use at the fire department to get clothes clean after fighting fires.



Before going home that night I discovered that the toilet in the men’s bathroom was broken. I’m pretty sure it’s something that someone here can fix.



Around noon on Thursday I met with the HVAC salesman. Our system perplexed him as he’d never seen one quite like it. He took all kinds of measurements and said he’d need to do more research to figure out how to replace it. He called on Saturday morning to ask some more questions and said hopes to have a quote for us by the first of next week.



On Thursday night we had our priesthood meeting. A good portion of our discussion revolved around what we need to do to get some kids to IYF and Spectacular this summer.



Friday night brought Pizza Church. You could tell that the kids in the first group had been celebrating Valentines Day with lots of sugary candy before their arrival. One kid at the second group brought several friends who hadn’t been to church here before. Oddly, no one at the third group ate any pizza.



Saturday night brought our monthly Solid Rock Café. Sarah surprised us by bringing Dance Dance Revolution for the Nintendo Wii. No one did very well with it but we had a bunch of fun.



Looking ahead to next week we have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, on Sunday Tamara and Jenn will be at the Springfield, Virginia, congregation celebrating and supporting Jenn Maser’s ordination. We should be getting firm estimates on the furnace replacement costs early in the week. Thursday evening is our monthly Family Bowling Night. Next Saturday I have the Mission Center Pastors Gathering in Stafford, Virginia. That evening we’ll be filling the font in preparation for a baptism the following day.



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



The McCombs Family

The Faison Family

The Lucas Family

The Murdock Family

The Wilson Family

The Johnson Family

The Morin Family

The Ludwig 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