4/4/2010

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

It started Sunday with Morning Worship. We had a good crowd that day ready to celebrate Palm Sunday. It included some people we hadn’t seen in over a year.

Several new kids participated in Kids’ Church. We learned the Palm Sunday story and had a craft in which the kids made foam palm leaves with the word “Hosanna” on them. Onalee and I needed to step out a few minutes early because Bryce had a band concert that afternoon. Tamara, Sarah, and Kathy were all there so I wasn’t missed too much.

Patricia had addressed some of the Easter postcards to friends who live outside the neighborhood. They somehow got misplaced when she got to church so I took some over to her house so she could address them again.

I got a call on Monday offering us several free tickets to a Baltimore Blast soccer game. I sent out messages to everyone I knew in the area to see if anyone was interested and available. In the end, no one went.

Gloria met with the folks from the health department on Monday. They were checking out the building in preparation for their using it for flu shots on April 11.

With city schools on spring break we didn’t have SonRisers on Wednesday morning. The nursing students met at the building since their break was a couple weeks ago.

While they were in session Damon, Fred, and I distributed about 1400 Easter postcards door to door in the neighborhood. We did that and had lunch together in just under 3 hours.

That afternoon was dedicated to paperwork. The city utility tax refund I’d applied for in July needed further information by April 1 (they let me know on March 30) so I completed that packet of materials. We also printed and prepared the April edition of “Kids’ Church News.”

That evening after the NA Meeting was our Mid-Week Service. Rachel came to it for the first time.

On Thursday morning I distributed Easter postcards to a couple of blocks that we’d not done the previous day. Between the mailings and the distribution, we sent out over 1900 of these cards.

That evening was our annual Last Supper Service. We read the Maundy Thursday scriptures together around a candle-lit table. We shared in communion and engaged in some other activities to better connect us to the story.

The weather was exceptionally nice the last half of the week. This afforded us the opportunity to get out at night, walk around, and visit with people who were emerging from their houses after a long winter.

We opened the church from Noon – 3:00 p.m. on Friday. A few people came in for varying periods of time to read, reflect, and pray. We had set up a large worship center to assist people in their time.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. The first group was small but the second was large and had many first time Pizza Church participants. The third group included a couple of just-barely-too-old young adults who stopped by to say hello. All three groups sat around the Good Friday worship center and discussed Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

Saturday evening Tamara and I hosted a Personal Solid Rock Café for a couple of 5th grade boys who had earned it through participation in other church activities. Afterward, Tamara set up the worship center for Easter morning.

Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, the Krufts are scheduled to provide music during communion at our 11:00 a.m. Easter service. By week’s end Bryce and I will head out to Missouri for World Conference (I’m serving as a delegate and Bryce will be working there all week through Youth Service Corps). We’ll also be trying to get more plans for our upcoming 15th Anniversary Celebration implemented.

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

The Roberts Family
The Farmer Family
The Harris Family
The Giraldo Family
The Cunningham Family
The Barees Family
The Hawkins Family
The King 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/