5/1/2010

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

It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. Larry Norris was the speaker at this service in which we celebrated our 15th anniversary as a congregation and looked to the future. Folks from the Towson Congregation and some people who were instrumental in the early days of the church (like the Carnahans and Ms. Suzy) joined in the celebration.

As a special element of the service, Vonceil put together a 10+ minute music and photo show that traced the group’s history. This was well received, especially by the young adults who could watch themselves grow up on screen.

The Jamisons brought in more household supplies for people who might want them. They’re downsizing in preparation for a move and the supplies they’ve brought in have been both a treat and a blessing for folks, especially those trying to establish themselves in their first apartments.

After Tamara, Larry, and I had lunch together we came back and set up for Kids’ Church. Among the kids who came were six who were first time visitors to the church. Larry led the lesson for the day.

Afterward Sarah stayed to tutor one of our high school students in biology. While they were doing that I was trying to get some things to print in the front room. I think that I need to have a funeral for the printer. It came with us from Texas so it’s coming up on 13 years old. Unfortunately, the computer it’s hooked up to is about 11 years old and doesn’t have a port that will connect it to a modern computer. I need to take some time to copy the files on to 3.5 inch floppy disks then send those disks to school with Vonceil where there’s a computer in the lab that can still read them. She can then write a CD for us so we can transfer the materials to the new computer.

Larry met with those available from the leadership team that evening. We held the informal session at Friendly’s so we could enjoy some ice cream together. His flight home was early Monday morning so the kids and I took him to the airport before they went to school.

We got lots of good feedback about the weekend via Facebook. At least three people (one teen and two young adults) talked about their experiences at the anniversary celebration in their statuses. Positive public feedback from that crew is a treasure.

Overnight Sunday there was a shooting in the neighborhood. The TV news actually reported on it. They said the victim was at the Shock-Trauma unit of the hospital. Neighbors said that when they came out of the house to see what was happening the victim was under a white sheet. We won’t ever know the whole story.

I learned on Tuesday that Donald, who plays on the baseball team for Graceland University, pitched a no-hitter. He and I chatted about it just a bit on the computer. With his graduation coming in just a couple of weeks it was a great way to end his college baseball career.

About 100 kids participated in Wednesday’s SonRisers activities. Half our staff was out that morning but we made it through just fine. By this time of year the kids know the procedures quite well so they needed minimal instruction.

I got a chance to visit with the mother of one of our 5th graders for a few minutes there. With the closure of the neighborhood’s middle school she’s become extremely frustrated in trying to find a school with open enrollment that will take her daughter and is reasonably close by.

Afterward we opened the church for the nursing students. This was their last meeting for the semester. The University is looking to use the church for a site again next fall.

During the day on Wednesday my primary focus was on camp. Saturday was the deadline for the early registration discount so I wanted to get as many of the forms filled out and signed by that deadline as possible. It’s a delicate balance this year as our fundraising for camperships is down dramatically from years past. We’ve got to get as many as possible in early so we can stretch our money further yet we’re still working to raise funds so we can’t go too far beyond what our account has at present.

The NA group stayed after its scheduled meeting time for a planning session. In a couple of weeks they, along with two other NA groups, are using the church for an all day Saturday marathon (noon – 8:00 p.m.). Their plans are coming along well and they’ve started to promote the event. They left the building a few minutes after the Mid-Week Service group arrived.

We hit the pavement on Thursday tracking down parents to get the required signatures on camp forms. We also printed and assembled the May edition of “Kids’ Church News” so it could go in Friday’s mail.

While running copies on Thursday I learned that Saturday is the last day our local Staples store will be open. This is devastating to me. The store is just a few blocks from the church and it’s not unusual to be there multiple times each week. (We’re one of their top 20 customers.) We know the staff there by name and the store has donated thousands of dollars worth of supplies to us. They’ve also been a key player in our annual school supply distribution event. Fortunately all the employees have been offered jobs at other stores (though some walk to work so this might not work well for them). We’ll now have to drive out to the county just to make copies much less keep up with supplies.

Charlotte rode up with her friend on Friday morning to drop off her keyboard. She is graciously letting us use it for Sunday night’s Arundel Singers concert.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. The first two groups read John 21:1-14. We reviewed Easter before doing so. We have a lot of newer kids and quite a few had no idea what Easter was about and were quite skeptical of the whole story. Tamara led the senior high group with a video-based lesson. The group really opened up and shared a lot about how they cope with the trauma they experience on a daily basis.

As of Friday night the data base was telling us that we’ve had 700 different kids come to at least one activity so far since July (not including Bible School, festivals, and the like). We haven’t seen numbers this high in a several years and have potential to break our old record of 730 from 2004-05.

We had our Mission Center Conference on Saturday in Springfield, Virginia. On the way home I stopped in at Staples to pick up some supplies for the last time. The manager gave us a couple more bulletin boards and then took my phone numbers. As they finish packing the store this week she’ll call me if there are any odds-and-ends that they can donate.

Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. Bill Brian and company will be coming down to worship and work with the group for Morning Worship and Kids’ Church on Sunday. Tamara is scheduled to share in the Washington, DC, congregation Sunday morning. In addition, the Arundel Singers will be here Sunday evening for their spring concert. We’ll continue working on camp forms and funding throughout the week. I’ll be attending a leadership training event during the day on Friday. Next Saturday evening is our monthly Solid Rock Café. Charlotte and I will be trying to connect sometime mid-week to return her keyboard.

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

The Wyatt Family
The Watts Family
The Jones Family
The Tull Family
The Beo Family
The Brinkmeyer Family
The Sullivan Family
The Jones 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/