4/26/2008

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



It started out Sunday with a wide variety of activities. Several people from the congregation participated in the closing activities of the Healing Workshop, which were being held at the Dundalk Congregation. Tamara was among them but left there in time to be back in Pigtown for Morning Worship.



Dark clouds were rolling in as people gathered for Morning Worship. When Danny opened his invocation with the phrase “Father in Heaven,” the first thunder of the day seemed to reply. Torrents of water rained down during the service sometimes drowning out the message from the story of Thomas. We had a couple of first time visitors at the service.



We’d been having some problems with the sound system and tried to figure out exactly the source (the sound board, cords, the MP3 player, etc.) between services. Tamara and I made some adjustments to make things a little better but were not successful in isolating the problem.



After learning the parable of the talents at Kids’ Church, the kids made dirt cake and buried butterscotch candies (like gold coins) in it. They seemed to enjoy themselves a bit too much and wouldn’t leave. This was especially true of the oldest kids. After much herding we finally got them out the door. Just as the doors latched closed, the clouds opened once again and drenched them in rain while they tried to huddle under our canopy. Had they left when they were supposed to they would have easily gotten home without getting wet.



As the rain let up and the kids ran home, Ron Gillilan stopped by the church on his way to taking Becky Savage to the airport (she had spent the weekend at the Healing Workshop). We were able to show her the facilities, do a quick walk through the neighborhood, and visit for a few minutes before they continued on to the airport.



Among the participants at Evening Worship was a young woman who was one of our core kids when she was in middle school and high school. She was scheduled to go off to Job Corps this week so we were able to offer her a blessing for this endeavor during the service. Afterward, Jenn presented her with a large package of school supplies and some personal gifts to equip and encourage her.



Several of us on the congregation’s leadership team were involved in a series of meetings this Monday through Wednesday. Some were held at the church and others were held at the Laurel Congregation.



110 kids plus an unusually high number of adults participated in Wednesday’s SonRisers activities. That evening well over 100 more people came to the Narcotics Anonymous meeting to celebrate one of their member’s 20th anniversary of being clean and sober. By the time these activities and the Adult Disciples class were over we had set a new one-day participation record for the congregation. Just over 240 different individuals came through the doors of the church that day.



On Thursday afternoon I met with the women sponsoring the baby shower we were hosting in the building this Saturday. Later that afternoon I chatted on line with Don as our new web site gets closer to its launch. There are some things I need to do at this end so that he’ll be able to complete it.



Charlie and I were the only ones at Men’s Group on Thursday. The members of the Exercise Group which meets at the same time chose to walk together through the park for their exercise. There was a new participant in Thursday’s NA meeting who seemed to add some new vitality to the group. Afterward, I met with a church member who was seeking some guidance.



Throughout the week I received several inquiries from others about using the church facilities for community meetings. With the new building two years old people in the neighborhood are starting to see its value to the community in new ways.



Friday night brought Pizza Church. We had a tough time getting the kids to focus and eventually threw in the towel and served the pizza. Joshua stopped by during one of the sessions to pick up a letter saying he participated in church so that he could play on another church’s softball team. In observing what was happening with the kids, he mentioned that it wasn’t like that when he was of Pizza Church age. I cited several exampled that contradicted his memory.



Just a couple of kids participated in Sundae Church on Saturday evening. Those there helped clear the chairs and tables off the floor so that it could be mopped. It wasn’t too difficult as most of the chairs had been stacked by the people who held their baby shower at the church earlier in the day.



Looking ahead to next week we’ll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we’ll be taking some kids who have come to church at least 20 times this year out for milkshakes. Next Saturday is our Mission Center Conference in Springfield, Virginia. Earl is scheduled to be ordained to the office of Evangelist during this conference.



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



Debbie

Brenda

Michael

Amber

Monica

Alyssia

Theresa

Raymond



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