5/31/2009

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



It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. This Sunday marked 11 years to the day since the Sunday Vonceil, Bryce, and I arrived in Pigtown. The topic for the morning’s message was the Great Commission.



We continued with the Great Commission theme during Kids’ Church. We had a small group of kids and made a “fishers of people” craft.



We had a small gathering for Evening Worship. Once that was over I performed a small, private wedding for a couple.



On Sunday and Monday Tamara continued participation in the conference she was attending. It was in downtown Baltimore so it was unusually convenient to participate.



We had some Orioles tickets remaining. On Monday Violet and Josh walked down to the game. For Memorial Day everyone who attended the game received a free camouflage baseball cap. They visited a friend in the hospital on their walk way home.



70 kids and a few adults participated in Wednesday’s SonRisers activities. That night the Adult Disciples group studied Acts 1-7.



We had to spend some time working with legal services at headquarters this week. We’ve been trying for over a year to get the church’s name updated on the account with the gas and electric company. Doing so would allow us to have our bills be tax exempt. Hopefully, the final fax has been sent.



On Thursday I met with the directors of kids activities from Paul’s Place, a neighborhood development and service center. They run a summer program and have a couple of days where they need larger facilities. We’re trying to coordinate schedules to see if we can help accommodate their needs.



While out and about on the streets this week I was able to catch up with some folks I hadn’t seen at church in a long time. Among them was Jerry. He was active in church when he was in elementary and middle school but his family moved to the other end of the neighborhood shortly thereafter. At age 22 he’s been working for the city for four years now. He’s also gotten his CDL so he can broaden his work skills and make himself more valuable to the city in hopes of avoiding loosing his job in times of cutbacks.



Friday night brought Pizza Church. Tamara finished up the series she’s been teaching with the first group. The other two groups learned about Pentecost.



Throughout the week several of us have been helping coordinate care for Theresa. Marjorie, Gloria, and I have all been to the hospital to get a better understanding of what is happening and to make sure she ends up in the best possible situation. By the end of the week we were all getting the same message from all the caregivers. It looks like she’ll be moved to a hospice setting early next week.



On Saturday we invited a bunch of our young adults to help use up our free Orioles tickets which expire Sunday. Several responded and we had a great time at the game together despite the Orioles loss.



As you read this some of you may note that this marks the 11th year that you’ve been receiving “THIS WEEK at the POWER HOUSE.” A few of you go back even further to when this Saturday night habit of mine started in Houston as the newsletter called “Saturday under the FreeWAY.” Thanks for sticking with this and keeping the ministries in your prayers all these years.



Looking ahead to next week we have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, I’ll be meeting with Marjorie on Thursday to review last semester and look toward fall. We’ll be spending time this week putting the finishing touches on the calendar for summer and then begin implementing our summer schedule. We’re also hoping to be able to help Theresa get acclimated to her hospice environment.



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



The Pestridge Family

The Mandell Family

The Moore Family

The Quick Family

The Marsh Family

The Smead Family

The Bookhultz Family

The Saffran 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