2/22/2009

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



It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. We knew that Tamara and Jenn would be in Springfield for an ordination, the Jamisons were providing ministry in Frederick, and a couple of other regular participants were sick so we anticipated a smaller group. However, the Livingstons came over from Dundalk, one person brought some members of her family, some young adults were home on break, and some neighbors we haven’t seen in over a year showed up. In the end, we had slightly above average attendance at the service.



During the service we continued our study of the Beatitudes. Afterward, Russ came up and asked to be baptized. He’ll be a part of the baptism service next Sunday morning.



We had a good group at Kids’ Church that afternoon. Jenn, Tamara, and Sarah all made it back from Springfield in time to staff the afternoon’s activities. Afterward, Tamara set up the printer to be used for her job as financial officer.



We had a small group at Evening Worship. Among them were Tammie and Tabitha. We hadn’t seen them at church activities in quite some time so it was great to reconnect with them.



Over sixty kids participated in Wednesday’s SonRisers activities. That afternoon’s NA meeting was significantly smaller than usual. The Adult Disciples group began its study of the book of Romans that evening.



A group from Morgan State University is forming a neighborhood team to help combat smoking in Pigtown. They sought representatives from various community organizations and we were invited to participate. Unfortunately, their meetings are on Wednesday evenings. However, Marjorie volunteered to represent the church’s health interests for us in that group. They met for the first time this Wednesday and Marjorie reported back to me afterward.



When I got to the church on Thursday to open for that night’s NA group we had a message on the machine. The message said that both of the people who co-chair the meeting were unable to be there. We posted a sign to cancel the meeting.



Later that evening was our monthly Family Bowling Night. The vast majority of people there were ones who are not active in the church so it had a greater than usual outreach element. Among those there were Tammie and Tabitha. Rick, Tammie’s husband and Tabitha’s father, was among the crowd. The whole family seemed especially interested in becoming more active in church activities throughout the week.



Mid-week I spent some time visiting with the parents of some of the kids we’ve invited to go to IYF and Spectacular. Some of the parents signed the letters of intent and some wanted some more time to think about it. We’ll hopefully have this done in the next few days.



On Friday we finally got the quote for the new furnace. It was for much more money than we have. I contacted Dave, our Mission Center President, about the situation and we started exploring options. Hopefully, we’ll have sufficient information by Wednesday so that we can make informed decisions at the business meeting we have scheduled that night.



Friday night brought Pizza Church. The first two sessions seemed like a total waste. The third group was great. That group finished their study of the Gospel of John. We celebrated with Oreo cookies for dessert.



Early Saturday morning Ron brought Georgia here so she and I could go to the pastors gathering together. We had a good time visiting during our travels to and from Stafford, Virginia.



That evening Danny and I set up the font in preparation for Sunday morning’s baptism service. It’s a chilly night so the heater will need to work extra hard to get the water warm.



Looking ahead to next week we have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, I have a staff meeting on Wednesday in Springfield, Virginia. On Wednesday night we’ll have a business meeting to make some decisions about the furnace situation. Thursday night is Men’s Group. Next Saturday is our monthly Sundae Church. We’ll also be working with the nursing students in coordinating plans for the health fair.



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



The Buchanan Family

The Hayes Family

The Stallings Family

The King Family

The Meyers Family

The Bolaski Family

The Daggett Family

The Martin 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