3/14/2010

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

It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. The group from Michigan included a praise band so they lead the congregation in worship that morning. I brought the communion message and Tamara and Jenn (who accompanied the group as the trip pastor) served the emblems. We also had a couple of first time visitors at the service as well as a few people who made their first trip back to church since the snow storms.

After the service Tamara provided lunch for our guests. As they finished up the nursing students began arriving to set up for the health fair so everyone joined in the work.

Just before the fair started Sarah pulled up in the van. She dropped off the five kids from this congregation that had taken part in the mission center’s annual Hunger Challenge in Springfield, Virginia. Each of the participants seemed to have had a great experience there and felt empowered that the event had raised several thousand dollars in relief aid for Haiti.

About 75 people participated in the health fair that afternoon. It was a good experience for the nursing students, the congregation, the community, and the Michigan group.

Afterward we ordered pizza. Danny came over to the church to visit with people and share his story with the group while they were eating. We also played games and visited until it was time for bed.

On Monday the group spent several hours working at Diggs-Johnson Middle School. They worked with the kids to encourage them in preparation for the next day’s state standardized testing. Later that afternoon and evening they visited the Inner Harbor.

I got word on Monday that everything is set for Donald’s graduation from Graceland University in May. I’ll be going out to support him at commencements.

Tuesday sent the group from Michigan to Carroll Park for some spring landscaping. Gloria arranged for the city to provide mulch, rakes, gloves, wheel barrows, and the like. Upon completion of the project they were given a tour of the historic mansion in the park. Afterward they cleaned up and we went out to Ron and Carol Gillilan’s house for dinner.

88 kids participated in Wednesday’s SonRisers activities. Some were able to reconnect with the group from Michigan who also participated. Later that morning the group walked over to Paul’s Place to help with their activities. About half of the group worked in the lunch area (Paul’s Place serves about 350 hot lunches each day) while others worked in another room with Marjorie’s nurse station.

After an afternoon of seeing other tourist locations in Baltimore, the group gathered at the church to join our Mid-Week Service. During this time together we took the opportunity to review and reflect on the week as well as engage in prayer for the community.

Through this week’s activities we crossed over the 600 mark in the number of kids that have participated in at least one church activity so far this year. We are 2/3 of the way through our year at this point.

Jenn and I took the group from Michigan to the train station on Thursday morning so they could ride the rails to Washington, DC, for a day of sightseeing. While they were gone, Jenn finished a project she had planned to do before moving back to Michigan but hadn’t quite finished when she moved. I had an interview with a student from the University of Maryland who was working of a project for her masters degree in history. She was looking at ways that local museums and historic sites (like the mansion in Carroll Park and the B&O Railroad museum, both in Pigtown) could better connect with the daily lives of people in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Though it was close to midnight when we picked them up at the train station, the group headed back to Michigan on Friday morning. They arrived safely that evening.

I ran out to the store to grab a few craft supplies we needed for Kids’ Church this Sunday. What I though would be a quick and easy trip turned into a wild goose chase in which the goose won. Fortunately, the Brians are coming down this Sunday and agreed to come up with a replacement project.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. During the sessions we learned that Davon had been accepted to Mervo High School when he starts 9th grade in the fall. This is the school at which Vonceil teaches and three of our current senior high students already attend.

It was off to Virginia early Saturday morning for a Pastors Gathering in Stafford. We met together until about 3:30 that afternoon. They had some leftover food at the event so we brought it back to Baltimore for the congregation.

While I was in Virginia, Vonceil and the kids went over to the church to get a few things ready for morning and to set up for Solid Rock Café. When they got there they discovered that the building had quite a substantial leak from the day’s rain.

About a dozen kids came to the Solid Rock Café Saturday evening. They were quite excited to have the raw vegetables from the pastors meeting to go with their donuts.

Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, Sunday night is our monthly Priesthood Meeting. On Monday I’m in training all day at St. Mary’s Seminary. Brian McLaren is the presenter. Americorps is using the church on Thursday evening for a community development meeting.

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

The Smith Family
The Harrispod Family
The Singer Family
The Williams Family
The Lee Family
The Jones Family
The Rakes Family
The Burris 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
http://thisweekatthepowerhouse.blogspot.com/