4/6/2008

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



It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. Both Danny and Gary were out with different illnesses so Robert was responsible for setting things up. Onalee was sick so with Vonceil home with her Jenn took over the sound board. With three different family groups having had a loved one die in the past week, we opened the service with Gloria offering prayer for those who mourn.



Even with all of that, things seemed to go fairly well. Three people who came at Easter returned. We also had a few folks come by who we hadn’t seen for quite a while. The scripture message focused on John 20:19-23.



Kids’ Church started out much better than it did the previous week. We were able to use our new camera and printer with the kids to include their photograph in their craft project. By the end of the session, though, behavior had disintegrated a bit and it took some work to clear the building.



Immediately afterward, Tamara, Jenn, and I walked to Burger King with Denira for a milkshake. Several kids had earned them through their participation in church but she was the only one who had her permission slip.



Part of the prayer time during Evening Worship focused on the upcoming camp. Jenn and Tamara are directing the Junior High and Senior High camps respectively. Locally we’re in the early process of determining which of our kids will be invited to participate. We’re also pushing to raise a few thousand dollars in order to be able to send kids.



Gloria led the Friends of Carroll Park meeting on Tuesday evening at the AME Church. Meanwhile, I met for some counseling with a kid who needed some new coping skills to help with his situation at home.



Nearly 80 kids participate in Wednesday’s SonRisers activities. Patricia had jury duty so Josh took her place at the registration table. That night the Adult Disciples group finished its study of 2 Peter.



I met up with Stella, Frankie, and Julia on Tuesday. Julia needed assistance getting to the store to get her check cashed. Her children (Stella and Frankie) were both sick and unable to push her in her wheelchair to the store and back.



While I was walking home from that I notice what looked like graffiti on our “Gospel Wagon” mural. From a distance I thought someone had taken a black marker and drawn a line across it. Once I got closer I saw that the renters in the upstairs apartment had gotten cable installed. The installer ran the cable right through the heads of some of the kids in the mural. Had they run the cable about 4 inches higher it would not have defaced the artwork in any way.



At men’s group that night I got a call from Gloria. She was out of town and had gotten a call that her house alarm had gone off. I went over and made sure the house was secure. Charlie and Danny kept the discussion going while I stepped out.



Friday night brought Pizza Church. The first group was unusually large while the other two groups were fairly normal sized. Earlier we had discovered some mice in the building so between sessions we cleaned out the food they’d gotten into. They destroyed about on garbage bag full of individual packages of chips.



I caught the Amtrak to Wilmington on Saturday. Bill Brian and I had been trying to meet together to discuss missionary issues for some time and finally found a date and time when we could squeeze in a few hours together. Somewhere along the way I lost my return ticket and had to get a new one at the last minute.



Jenn, Katilyn, and I went out to Friendly’s for ice cream Saturday evening. Katilyn had earned a trip there through her attendance at the church. She had never been there before. Just as we started to eat, Tamara came in and joined us.



Looking ahead to next week we’ll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we have several different meetings going on. On Tuesday the Citizens of Pigtown have their monthly meeting at the church and we also have our priesthood meeting. On Thursday I’m meeting with a student from a local seminary so he can interview me for a paper he’s writing on approaches to pastoral care. That afternoon leaders of several community organizations are meeting with the director of Community/Public Health for the School of Nursing from the University of Maryland in hopes of better coordinating health care in the neighborhood. Saturday is our monthly Solid Rock Café.



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



Vicky

Elizabeth

Violet

Carlo

Destiny

Hannah

Darrin

Desmond



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