4/25/2010

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

It started Easter Sunday with a service of scripture and song. Kathy and Matthew played their guitars and sang during the serving of communion. We also had an unusual and pleasant number of infants and toddlers with their parents at the service.

At Kids’ Church we had several first-time visitors. The kids learned about the Easter story then made a craft that reinforced the story.

Around 55 kids participated in SonRisers that following Wednesday morning. I spent much of the rest of the day preparing things for when I would be out of town for World Conference.

On that Thursday evening Bryce and I flew to Kansas City for World Conference. I was a delegate and Bryce had the opportunity to be a part of Youth Service Corps. He was a page, distributed bulleting, was a message runner, staffed the coat room, and served in a variety of other ways throughout the week.

While we were gone folks here kept the full schedule of activities running. In addition to their regular responsibilities, Gloria presided at Morning Worship and the Mid-Week Service. Earl brought the message during Morning Worship. Tamara took the lead at Pizza Church both Fridays (and set attendance records for our middle school groups both weeks!) and Kids’ Church. These were just a few of the additional responsibilities that many people took on.

On Sunday, April 11, the Baltimore City Health Department offered a flu shot clinic after Morning Worship. They gave over 20 free shots to folks during that time. Also that afternoon, Vonceil was a guest of Crystal at a banquet where she received a Ben Carson Scholarship.

The flight on which Bryce and I returned to Baltimore on April 17 was popular with World Conference attendees. We know that of members of the Power House, Towson, Washington DC, Gatchelville, and Johnson City congregations were all on the plane together.

We had a good sized group of people gather for Morning Worship last Sunday. For the message I reworked the same three points that were in the closing message of World Conference.

During Kids’ Church we continued with our study of 1 Samuel. We learned the story of David and Goliath then played the game “pin the rock on Goliath” (which is always a treat for the kids). This was followed by time with coloring pages.

That evening was our monthly Celebration Service. As a part of the evening together Bryce, Ron, Carol, and I all shared some stories from World Conference. Afterward we had a potluck dinner.

Tamara and Vonceil met together Monday evening to put some finishing details on their plans for the Free Festival portion of the weekend’s 15th Anniversary Celebration. They then spent time the rest of the week working on their individual portions of the plans.

On Tuesday we received a tax rebate check from the City of Baltimore. We’d been working on this for several years and were glad to finally receive it.

85 kids participated in Wednesday’s SonRisers activities. The nursing students arrived shortly thereafter and have volunteered to do a thorough cleaning of the room they’ve been using next week. That evening after the Narcotics Anonymous meeting those at the Mid-Week Service spent quite a bit of time discussing half of one of the chapters of Proverbs.

Larry Norris arrived on Friday morning. He came in for the weekend to help celebrate the 15th Anniversary. We spent much of the day talking about the ministry and touring the neighborhood.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. We had good sessions with Larry throughout the evening.

On Saturday we had our Free Festival as a part of the 15th Anniversary celebrations. We had a moon bounce in the parking lot, free food (hot dogs/macaroni salad/chips/soda/popsicles) in the front room, a variety of activities including a Lego table, Wii bowling, coloring, board games, an a photo display in the main room. Though we don’t have firm numbers, we estimate that over 130 people participate in the event.

Among them were the Carnihans. Tim was the founding pastor of the congregation and his wife, Kristin, was active in leadership here before they were married. They and their children came in for the weekend. I believe this was the first time they’d been here in just over 10 years.

That evening about 50 of us gathered at The Stables in Carroll Park for a dinner. Tamara did a superb job of decorating and we brought in baked ziti and salad from a local restaurant. For dessert we had brownies provided by the bake shop at Vonceil’s school. We at together, Larry provided a keynote, and we honored the Gillilans for their 15+ years of generosity of vision, leadership, and spiritual & temporal support of the ministry.

Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. We have a few extra elements planned in Morning Worship for the 15th Anniversary Celebration. Larry will be bringing the message during the service. In addition, we have a leadership team dessert with Larry on Sunday evening. He flies back to Kansas City on Monday morning. Next Saturday is our Mission Center Conference in Springfield, Virginia. That day is also the early registration deadline for summer camp so we’ll be working throughout the week to get a good portion of our camp paperwork filed by that time.

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

The Gray Family
The Preacher Family
The Thompson Family
The Wilson Family
The Mills Family
The Washington Family
The Davis Family
The Carter 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/