2/24/2008

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



It started on Sunday with Morning Worship. Dave Brock, Presiding Evangelist for the denomination, was the speaker. Four members of the Towson Congregation joined with us in worship. As a part of the message, Dave shared stories from around the world that exemplified the church and its members being sanctuaries of peace. Afterward, he and I joined the friends from Towson for lunch at Italianos.



We had more kids participate in Kids’ Church on Sunday than we’ve had in a couple of years. In fact, we had nearly as many first time visitors at this service as we normally would have for total attendance. Dave shared a story from Africa and the kids made a craft.



After Kids’ Church Dave and I were walking around the neighborhood and I was showing him some things he had heard about earlier in the weekend. My cell phone rang and it was Jenn. She had found one kid who was complaining that his knee hurt during church sitting on the steps of a house crying. Several other boys had tried to carry him home but were unsuccessful. I got my van and Dave and I got him home safely. We heard later in the week that it was broken. The boy told us it was from playing football, but all the others described a game that they had been playing before church that was the more likely culprit. It seems some of them had stacked some abandoned mattresses that they had found and were playing a game of jumping out a second story window onto them.



By the time we got back from that adventure it was nearly time for Evening Worship. We had a potluck dinner scheduled afterward so people came in carrying food. One woman brought a cake even though she couldn’t stay for church or dinner. During the service we had a variety of prayers, prayer requests, and testimonies. We also had several young adults who haven’t been to a service in a while participate. Dave shared one final story with us as a part of the service.



Dave flew back to Missouri on Monday morning. Later that afternoon while I was setting up for a neighborhood Land Use Committee meeting, a truck arrived to deliver the roofing materials. That evening I opened for the group and Danny secured the building afterward.



Also, while at McDonalds for supper that night Bradley came up and said hello. He’s about 12 years old and was there eating with a few friends. I hadn’t seen him since his grandmother died last Easter. I learned he’s living with his dad and that he’s within walking distance of the church again. I encouraged him to come to Pizza Church and bring his friends from McDonalds with him.



The contractors began working on the roof on Tuesday. That evening Gloria led Exercise Group. There seems to be a different group for that activity each time it meets.



Over 70 kids participated in the SonRisers activities on Wednesday morning. As the last of the kids were leaving the roofers arrived. They finished the job by mid-afternoon so we made our final payment on the project. The evening’s Adult Disciples group finished its study of the book of Judges.



When we set up for the community group on Monday we discovered a new breed of dust bunnies and skid marks on the floor of the front room. I took a little time on Thursday morning to get the mess under control. Later that morning I designed and ordered the marketing materials for Easter.



An ice storm hit overnight that night closing schools on Friday. Because of people being a bit off schedule we had small sessions of Pizza Church that evening. During the high school session we had a new spin put on the book of Acts. We read the story of people putting sick people along the path where Peter would walk in hopes that his shadow would pass over them and they would be healed. One kids exclaimed that this was so “gangsta,” which was a new way for the rest of us to view the situation.



The topic of conversation for the last several Sundae Church sessions has revolved around football. We’ve been wondering where the conversation would go now that football season is over. This week we had spirited discussions about camp. This included their likes, dislikes, what they got away with, and funny stories from their experiences. It seemed as if everyone talked loudly at the same time for the whole session.



Looking ahead to next week we’ll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, Dave Anderson and I will be attending a couple of lectures by N.T. Wright at St. Mary’s Seminary on Tuesday evening. Dave is spending the night so that he can be a part of our SonRisers activities on Wednesday morning.



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



Carol

Harry

Katzen

Justin

Mykell

Heather

Sissy

Mark



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