THIS WEEK at the POWER HOUSE: June 2010

1/3/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. During Morning Worship we talked about unwrapping, using, and enjoying the gifts of joy, hope, love, and peace that Jesus gives us. With most of the staff out of town, we showed a Veggie Tale video at Kids' Church. Gloria presided over Evening Worship and, during the message time, Robert shared what God has been doing through him while he was away at Graceland University.

We had fewer scheduled activities this week due to the New Years holiday. Women's CORE Group met Monday evening and Narcotics Anonymous met on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday we had our annual inspection from the fire department.

Tamara spent part of the week in Urbana, Illinois, at an Inter-Varsity Fellowship conference. She was able to attend a wide variety of seminars and activities and came home with new insight.

The end of December marked the mid-point in our student's year for earning camp credits; we are as far away from camp 2003 as we are from camp 2004. As if 12/31/2003, 479 kids have attended at least 1 activity at the church since the last camp. Of those, 21 are attending on average of at least once a week, 41 attend twice a month or more, and 85 are attending on at least a monthly basis.

I spent the bulk of the day on Friday putting together the curriculum for our activities for the next six months. I got 5 of the 7 activities roughed in and will work on the other two in the next week or so.

At the first two sessions of Friday night's Pizza Church the groups studied the stories of Simeon and Anna. The third group studied Revelation 2. Revelation 2 begins with the letter to the church at Ephesus. While Tamara was in the Navy she had been there. She told about her trip there and, while the kids were eating pizza, she ran over to her house and brought back pictures and brochures that she got there.

On Saturday Tamara and I took a couple kids with 40+ credits to Friendly's for ice cream. This was the first time that either of them had been there.

Looking ahead to next week we will be back to our regular schedule of activities. This will mark the return of SonRisers and Adult Disciples as well as some of our CORE groups. Next Saturday evening is our monthly Solid Rock Cafe.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following families in the forefront of you prayers:

the Smead family
the Quick family
the Mueller family
the Pelsinski family
the Saffran family
the Hernandez family
the Battle family
the Burley family

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

1/10/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. We celebrated the sacrament of the Lord's Supper during Morning Worship. We had a suicide threat after that service and we were able to get the person to appropriate care at the hospital. A couple of Tamara's friends from her Inter-Varsity Fellowship group came up to help at Kids' Church and participate in Evening Worship. Jenn arrived back from her Christmas break in time for the 6:00 service. We had good participation throughout the day and ended up with over 100 people total for the day.

The resumption of school brought the return of SonRisers. Wednesday morning was bitter cold so the schools allowed the kids to come inside as soon as they got there. This cut into our participation, but we still had 64 kids come and warm up on their way to school.

Wednesday also brought the return of Adult Disciples. We're in the middle of our study of the life of Jesus. We studied the first half of the Sermon on the Mount this week and will finish it up next week.

The building contractor and I played telephone tag this week. We're scheduled to begin work on the new addition in about a month and need to touch base with each other on a few items. Hopefully we'll be able to actually connect next week.

Tamara, who is in the Navy Reserves, is heading to Africa for several weeks as a part of her duty. She's able to take a couple of shoe boxes of supplies for kids in an orphanage near the base there so we've helped add a few items to those boxes.

Friday Night brought Pizza Church. Thankfully, fewer kids than usual were there. We're thankful for those lower numbers because, for the first time in several years, we had a fight break out during the middle school session. The kids wouldn't stop yelling at each other and we got between them just as it was ready to come to blows. Jenn physically removed the girl from the church while I kept the boy inside.

Saturday night brought our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. Bone-chilling cold kept people indoors so we had the smallest group ever for one of our Cafes. Brent and Melissa came down from Westminster to reconnect with the kids he new from camp and to help staff the event.

Looking ahead to next week we will have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we have our monthly priesthood meeting on Thursday evening.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following families in the forefront of you prayers:

the Latham family
the Boozer family
the Woolridge family
the Purnell family
the Fleming family
the Burrs family
the Banks family
the Brannon family

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

1/17/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. During Morning Worship we focused on the kind of personal spiritual growth that happens in us when we're engaged in evangelism. At Kids' Church we learned the story of Joseph then decorated pictures of Joseph's coat with brightly colored pipe cleaners. We engaged in a prayer exercise for those we're committed to trying to reach for Christ this calendar year during of Evening Worship.

Though I don't note it too often, you should know that our three adult CORE groups are alive and well. The young adult group continues to grow and has been a great tool in helping young adults connect to the congregation. The women's group has started working through Christian principles in a 12-step format. The men's group just completed "Every Man's Battle" and "Every Man God's Man" and will soon begin a study in preparation for this summer's Promise Keeper's gathering here in Baltimore.

We had about 75 kids participate in Wednesday's SonRisers activities. On member of the Narcotics Anonymous group celebrated 15 years drug-free that night so they had a packed house. The Adult Disciples group finished their overview of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

On Thursday evening we had our monthly priesthood meeting. We spent the bulk of the time developing lists of things to do and decisions that need to be made between now and the time we move into the new building. Everything from the types of chairs we'll need to order to how many greeters we'll need to have at the doors was put out on the table for consideration. Our assignment for the next few months is to ponder these kind of things so we'll be ready to make wise decisions and plans for when we move.

The building contractor and I finally made contact this week. In doing so, though, we learned of our first and hopefully last construction delay. They will be bringing in the heavy equipment to begin moving dirt a few weeks later than we had originally planned.

We had really good sessions of Pizza Church on Friday night. Kids seemed to be right with us in the lessons, especially the middle school group. It helped make up for last week's fiasco.

During one of the Pizza Church sessions a woman I didn't know knocked on the door, handed me an envelope, and left. In it was a card noting that she would like to come to church but is unable to hear the sermons. She also enclosed a donation to the church.

Speaking of donations, we crossed over our fundraising goal for the building addition this week. We were $450 short of our $10K goal. One person sent a check for that amount last weekend so we could make goal. Before I could announce it to the congregation, some other people did likewise and we ended up exceeding our goal by over $1000.

On Saturday I visited with three girls who were thinking about baptism. Their mother had already had contact with us about this subject so I didn't have to worry about parental consent. That evening we got together and scheduled the baptisms for February 1. Three other people in that household are considering baptism and are looking to doing so around Easter time.

That night one of the first kids to participate in activities at the Power House back in 1995 stopped by the church. He found himself in the middle of a personal spiritual crisis and, though he hadn't been in church in many years, he knew exactly where to turn to for help. We had a long tearful visit. I prayed for him then he offered prayer for the concerns in his life. Afterward he said that he'd started pray again a few weeks ago but knew tonight that God had heard him.

Looking ahead to next week we will have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we will be voting for delegates to our denomination's World Conference on Sunday. We have two confirmations as a part of Morning Worship. After Evening Worship I'll be taking Josh out to Friendly's for the ice cream sundae he earned through participation in church. Don is also scheduled to stop by for a visit next weekend.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following families in the forefront of you prayers:

the Lynn family
the Barrett family
the Mudd family
the James-Anderson family
the Ellis family
the Ayers family
the Crawley family
the Banton family

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

1/24/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday well before our three services. Danny always comes over to the church early in the morning to clean and set up the church. With Robert home from Graceland Danny left him with that responsibility that Sunday. He did a great job. Then, at 10:30, we had our Mission Center conference for the election of delegates to our denomination's World Conference.

During morning worship we had Amy and Betsy's confirmations. They were each baptized quite a while ago; Betsy 17 months ago and Amy just over 2 years ago. Each had shown up at the church for the first time at a baptismal service carrying a towel and a change of clothes. Both humbly asked for water baptism. Through their private Bible studies, each had recognized it as an act of obedience to God. Since that time, they and their families made this congregation their homes. We started talking about confirmation a few weeks ago and celebrated it together Sunday morning. Ron Gillilan came down from the Towson congregation to assist with the confirmations. After the service, Amy's fiancé asked to be baptized at our February 1 baptismal service.

We had a very small gathering at Kids' Church this week. Because of that we were able to give lots of extra personal attention to the kids who were there. We learned the story of Noah then painted rainbow sun catchers.

During evening worship Danny shared an extended testimony about what God has been doing with, to, and through him at work. There have been a series of amazing blessings that are resulting in his starting his own business February 1.

We had 74 kids participate in SonRisers on Wednesday morning. Ten of those kids were new to the church. With that, we now have had over 500 different kids who have come to at least one activity at the church since camp last summer. With several bitter cold Wednesdays in a row some of the kids are starting to get in the habit of hanging out inside the church to warm up rather than getting their food to go. We'll be working on translating this habit into hanging out at the church more often, especially on Friday nights for Pizza Church.

At Wednesday night's Adult Disciples class we continued our study of the life of Jesus by learning about His healings. Afterward, Bernice asked to talk with me privately. She wanted to know if she and her two kids could be baptized. Clearly, the answer was yes. I visited with them at their house the next day and have scheduled them for February 1.

I visited with Joanne Chapman Friday afternoon. She had been surprised by the box of "The Purpose Driven Life" books people from the congregation had collected for her to use in her ministry at the women's prison. That night was her last night of her old materials and she wasn't sure what to do. Now she is set for a couple of months.

I had a message on the machine at church from Betsy. Her husband wanted to get baptized. I called them up and have him on the growing list of people getting baptized on February 1.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. Don was in town on his way back to Princeton. He had his girlfriend Christine with him and a lot of the kids were excited to meet her. During the middle school session one kid's bike was stolen. We had lent him a chain but he didn't secure it correctly so it disappeared. A few of the boys went out to try to hunt it down but they were unsuccessful.

By the end of the week we had our World Conference election results back. Robert and I were the ones from the Power House elected to serve in this capacity.

On Saturday Mike took a couple of our senior high girls to Hampton, Virginia, to participate in the leadership of their worship on Sunday morning. That night we had our monthly Sundae Church.

Looking ahead to next week we will have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, Robert will be flying back to Kansas City and catching a ride up to Graceland University for the spring semester. Edith Gallaher, our area's spiritual formation specialist, will be in the congregation next weekend. We'll also be filling the font and getting the water warm for next Sunday's baptisms.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Karin
Mary
Jennifer
Donna
Tammy
Bobbie
Kurt
Larry

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

1/31/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out with a surprise for Danny early Sunday morning. Robert had come over Saturday night to mop and set up for Sunday's activities. Danny usually does this on Sunday so he was pleasantly surprised to have that work already done.

Throughout the day, we started out with small groups then, by the end of each service, had a normal to full-sized crowd. At 11:00 we had fewer than 20 people at the church but there were nearly 40 by noon. When Kids' Church started at 3:00, Bryce was the only kid there. By 3:05 about only 4 more kids had come. Between 3:07 and 3:10 an additional 20 kids arrived. The same kind of thing happened in the evening as we started out with 11 and ended up with 24. It's usual for us to have some folks drift in late, but this was extreme.

The kid whose bike was stolen from the bike rack during Pizza Church last Friday was in church on Sunday. He let me know that they found his bike and got it back.

Sunday was Robert's last day in Baltimore for a while. After Kids' Church, I took him to the airport to catch his flight to Kansas City. Some friends from school were scheduled to meet him there for the drive up to Lamoni, Iowa. He'll be back in Baltimore mid-May.

Severe weather hit our area. We canceled women's CORE group on Monday and, because there was no school, SonRisers on Wednesday. Our regular schedule resumed Wednesday evening with the Narcotics Anonymous group and Adult Disciples.

We seem to have a lot of people sick right now with everything from viral infections to strained back muscles to cancer and everything in between. Many of us in the congregation don't have the best access to the health care system, either. An extra dose of prayer for health and healing would be much appreciated.

Danny got the font out Thursday evening and Jenn and I filled it after Pizza Church on Friday. With the extremely cold weather and its accompanying frigid water we were unsure as to how long it would take to warm it up. By Saturday morning the top half of the water was warm but the bottom half was still icy. When I came into the church Saturday night, all but the bottom two or three inches were warm. I stirred it up a bit with my hand and added a few drops of bleach. It should be fine by morning.

Edith Gallaher and Tacey Holiday joined us for Pizza Church on Friday. Edith had some ministry opportunities in the area and was staying with the Holidays for a few days. It was great to have them both here. The first two groups at Pizza Church were smaller than normal but the senior high group had a typical crowd.

On Saturday I visited with some of the kids who are scheduled for baptism on Sunday. We practiced going through the procedures together. They all seem quite excited.

Looking ahead to next week we will have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we have eight people scheduled to be baptized Sunday morning. One of those people fell and hurt herself earlier in the week. She thinks she'll be OK in the morning but may postpone for a couple of weeks. There is one person who seems to have told everyone but me that she's getting baptized then, too. There are two people considering baptism during Sunday's Evening Worship that said they would let me know Sunday morning if it was happening this weekend or another time. I got a call Saturday afternoon about another family of three that wants to talk to me on Sunday about getting baptized Sunday night. In other words, I really don't know what's happening on Sunday other than some people are going to be baptized sometime during the day. I'll get dressed in my whites and we'll go from there. This will be fun.

Also, next Saturday Jenn and I will travel to Hampton, Virginia, for the Mission Center Leadership Team meeting. That night we will take a group of kids out to Friendly's for the ice cream sundaes they've earned through church attendance. Tamara is also scheduled to get back from Africa that day.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Beverly
Bernice
Janet
Norman
Myrtle
Jackie
Jerry
Melissa

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

2/7/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. Our service was that of sacrament and praise. After an opening song, prayer, and brief message about baptism and confirmation, we had a season during which 10 people were baptized and confirmed. After each baptism and confirmation the congregation offered up a song of praise. Paige, who was the sixth person baptized that morning, was the 100th person baptized since The Power House opened its doors in 1995. Edith and Mike assisted with the confirmations.

After the last baptism we had another brief message. Edith then shared a word with the congregation and we celebrated the sacrament of the Lord's Supper together.

At Kids' Church we continued with our study of Moses and learned of his encounter with God at the burning bush. The kids made key rings with miniature sandals attached so to help them remember Moses' removing his shoes on that holy ground.

Earl Jamison came up for the evening worship to assist with another confirmation. Tayvia decided on Sunday afternoon to be baptized and confirmed. I visited with her mom and she came to church with a towel and change of clothes. We had an intense experience during her baptism and confirmation. During the prayer and testimony time, most people who shared told of what they witnessed God doing in her or what God was doing in them as Tayvia was baptized.

I ran some statistics this week regarding baptism in this congregation. So far, 105 people have been baptized at The Power House. Of those 105, 61 have attended at least one activity at the church in the past 7 months. 22 others have moved away from the neighborhood and, of them, we are still in regular contact with 7. 20 people who have been baptized and still live within walking distance of the church have not participated in church activities in the last 7 months, though we've been in significant conversation with 10 of them. One of the 105 is now active in another Community of Christ congregation. One person who was baptized here has died.

A series of snow, rain, and ice storms threw off our schedule and attendance patterns throughout the week. The extremely slippery sidewalks kept many folks indoors. The schools had a two-hour delay Wednesday morning. We opened late for SonRisers and only had about 25 kids come. Of those, though was one kid who didn't know school was delayed and was glad to have someplace warm to stay for a couple of hours until he could get into school.

On Wednesday evening our Adult Disciples group studied the miracles of Jesus. On Thursday evening we began rerunning our "Footings" classes for those adults who are new to the congregation or those who were unable to attend last fall.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. Many of the kids who came were cold and soaking wet from the heavy rains. Mike gave rides home to a few of the kids who live the furthest away.

Jenn and I headed out at 5:50 a.m. Saturday to a Mission Center Leadership Team meeting in Hampton, Virginia. We had car trouble on the way down but made it there ok. We got a quick patch up job then headed home. The engine of my van gave us increasing concern on the long drive home. We made it but the engine needs repair before driving anywhere else.

On Saturday night Jenn and I took Rayvon and Anne in Jenn's car to Friendly's for ice cream sundaes. The kids had both gone there with us last year so they knew exactly what they were ordering before we got there.

Looking ahead to next week we will have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we'll be working on a grant proposal to fund painting more murals in the neighborhood this summer. We're also expecting Tamara back from Africa this weekend.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Florence
Angel
Linda
Sarah
Walter
Less
John
Chester

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

2/15/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. At Morning Worship we learned from the story of the good Samaritan. During Kids' Church we continued our study of Moses through the story of the plagues that came over Egypt when Pharaoh refused to free the Israelites. Tamara shared of her experiences she had last month in Africa during Evening Worship.

Throughout the week I was in conversation with architects, lawyers, contractors, and seemingly countless others regarding the building project. As best we can tell at this point, construction should start in late March and go throughout the summer.

On Tuesday morning Onalee and I visited the elementary and middle schools in our neighborhood. Baltimore schools are in the middle of a financial crisis that may result in an additional 1200 layoffs in the next few weeks. (Over 800 school employees have already been laid off). Sunday's paper had noted that 80% of the teachers at our elementary school would lose their jobs if the layoffs took place. The school board was scheduled to make a decision that night so she and I distributed letters of thanks and encouragement to the staff from our congregation.

Wednesday brought the first full day of school on a Wednesday in several weeks. Our SonRisers activities were back on schedule but we had lower than usual participation. That night our Adult Disciples group studied the stories of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and the Last Supper.

Demolition crews began work at the park this week. For about 5 years we've been lobbying to get a dangerous fence that encircled the playground removed. This week it was finally taken down to make way for a new, safe fence. It also appears that they are ready to remove much of the concrete in preparation for the next phases of the playground project.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. None of the kids who attended had gone to school that day because of a rumored (untrue) teacher sick-out. Instead, they had apparently spent the day consuming Valentine candy. Wound up would be an understatement of their condition upon arrival. Once they settled down a bit things went ok and we all lived to tell about it.

Our monthly Solid Rock Cafe was on Saturday night. It was an unusual group in that only about a quarter of the kids who came were also here for Pizza Church this week. Among them were a couple of new girls who, when they saw the offering box on the wall, asked if that was where they could tithe. When I said yes they each put several dollars in.

Looking ahead to next week we will have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we'll have our monthly priesthood meeting this Thursday evening. We'll also be heading down to city hall to get an extension on our building permit and continuing work on grant writing.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Bob
Pop
Chris
Rose
Walter
Sharon
Ray
Joe

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

2/21/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with out three services. The scripture focus during Morning Worship was Psalm 111. During Kids' Church we learned the story of Moses at the Red Sea. We had the literally coolest craft ever as we made blue popsicles with gummy fish in them. In addition, Tamara was able to testify that the Red Sea is not actually the color red since she just returned from that part of the world. We spent time in during evening worship focused on our responsibility to pray for the ministries within the congregation.

This week in our adult CORE groups began organizing trips to the theater to see the movie "The Passion of the Christ" when it comes out next week. Each group is going on a different day. Some have already bought advanced tickets and we have people who don't normally participate in CORE groups joining in for the event.

Onalee and I braved City Hall on Tuesday morning. Our building permit, which we got last February, was about to expire so we needed to get an extension. They've streamlined the process so it only took us just under 2 hours and cost a little over $200. The permit extends to mid-August but says we are not allowed to start construction until every subcontractor's name is added at a cost of an additional $58 per name.

Wednesday brought SonRisers, Narcotics Anonymous, Adult Disciples, and Prayer Circle. Theresa, our oldest active member, had her 75th birthday this week. The people she lives with sent a large cake over to the church for us to share at the end of adult disciples class. As was characteristic of Theresa, she barely took time to enjoy her cake as she was busy serving others by cleaning up and taking out the garbage. We tried to get her to stop but it was no use.

On Thursday night we continued with our Footings classes. That evening also brought the return of senior high girls CORE group at the church while men's CORE group met at my house.

We had our monthly priesthood meeting that night. We had an unusually short agenda and were done in about half the usual time. Tamara brought over a pineapple cake that she had made from a recipe she'd gotten in Africa and we all enjoyed it together afterward.

On Friday afternoon Heidi took three of our senior high kids to the mission center's annual ski retreat. The kids had come up with the money, gotten the permission slips, and set up transportation with Heidi on their own. I sent a disposable camera along with them to record their adventure.

We had small groups at Pizza Church that night. All week long NBC had advertised that Dateline would be talking about the final week of Jesus. Since it started at the same time our senior high session starts we decided to watch it together. When we tuned in, though, they announced that the first hour of the show would be dedicated to talking about the Atkins diet instead. Needless to say, that didn't go well with our thick-crust pizza and Coke. We turned it off, called the lesson a wash, and had some fellowship time together.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. We'll also finish up a grant we've been writing for a summer mural project. Some of our CORE groups will be attending the movie "The Passion of the Christ" later in the week. In addition, we'll have our monthly Sundae Church next Saturday evening.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Sig
Bruce
Diane
Samantha
Chris
Kayla
Anthony
Damon

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

2/21/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. During Morning Worship we talked about standing up to doubt and discouragement. We finished up our series on the life of Moses during Kids' Church. As a part of Evening Worship, Danny shared how God has been working with him to get off clock time and onto God's time.

Throughout the week the crews kept working on removing concrete from the old section of the playground. The number of truckloads of broken concrete removed so far is amazing, especially considering how much more work is left.

About 65 kids participated in SonRisers on Wednesday morning. That evening the Adult Disciples group finished up their study of the life of Jesus by looking at the accounts of Jesus' time on earth after his resurrection as recorded in the four Gospels and the book of Acts.

After Thursday night's "Footings" class Danny, Norman, and I went out to the theater to see "The Passion of the Christ" together. The theater was especially full and they had extra security on staff. Each of us seemed to get quite a lot out of the film.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. All three sessions went quite well. Among those present was a girl we've been trying to get to come to church since we met her at Bible School nearly two years ago. Hopefully we can start building church attendance into her weekly plans.

We spent some time this week putting together a community development grant to paint more murals in the neighborhood this summer. We have just a couple of details to add to the proposal on Sunday night. These grants can be submitted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday and we'll know by the end of May if we'll receive the funding.

Saturday night brought our monthly Sundae Church. Tamara selected the ice cream for this month's gathering and seemed to pick some of their favorites.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we have a potluck dinner after Evening Worship on Sunday. We'll also be turning in our grant during the day on Monday. Next Saturday evening we'll be taking kids who have earned 40+ credits to Friendly's for ice cream sundaes.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Durrell
Aries
Brian
Desmond
Rayvon
Troy
Katelin
Davon

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

3/7/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. We focused on the story of in John 8:1-11 during Morning Worship. At Kids' Church we made F.R.O.G.s reminding us to Fully Rely On God on this leap year day. After Evening Worship we fellowshipped together with a potluck.

First thing Monday morning Onalee and I headed down to the offices of the Baltimore Community Foundation. We turned in a grant application for money to paint murals on the sides of some buildings in Pigtown this summer. We'll know in June if the project will receive funding or not.

About 55 kids participated in SonRisers on Wednesday morning. That evening the Adult Disciples group began a new unit of study focused on some people featured in the Old Testament. This week's study was on the life of Joshua.

Thursday night brought our Footings class on "What is the Church?" Later that evening Tamara took the high school girls through a lesson on sex. It went so well that when one of the girls was offering the opening prayer at Pizza Church the next night she thanked God for what had gone on at girls' group the night before.

We had a noisy group for Pizza Church. Even the high school group was boisterous. They all eventually settled and did their lessons but were loud, not bad --- just loud, during pizza time. We also had two baptism requests at the end of the middle school lesson.

Tom, a 32 year old member of the congregation, had a heart attack this week. We were able to get up to the hospital for a visit. He ended up needing an emergency surgery and will be in the hospital for several more day.

We had something very unusual happen this week. For the first time in years we went an entire week without any new kids coming to church. This is only the 4th time in the history of SonRisers that we didn't have someone new and we usually have someone bring a new friend to at least one service sometime during the week. Let's hope this doesn't happen again for a very long time.

On Saturday Earl, Mike, and I met in Laurel for some preparation support in looking toward Mike's and my upcoming ordinations to the office of Seventy. That evening, Jenn and I took several kids who had recently crossed over 40 credits to Friendly's for their ice cream sundae reward.

Saturday night's preparation time was interrupted by a loud thud. I went outside and found a group of people who had gathered around a man who was lying under a truck. He had attempted to stop his car from being stolen and ended up being dragged several blocks through the neighborhood before being thrown off his car. I called 911 while others covered him with a blanket and kept him talking for the more than 10 minutes it took the paramedics to arrive. The driver abandoned the car and escaped on foot.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, two of our CORE groups will be going to see the movie "The Passion of the Christ" early in the week. We also have our monthly Solid Rock Cafe on Saturday evening.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Justin
Tyler
Michael
Mike
Quentin
Decarlo
Markia
Jordan

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

3/13/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. Some members of the Towson congregation joined us for Morning Worship and assisted with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Ron offered the blessings on the bread and wine and Georgia was one of the communion servers. Also during this service we announced that Shawna has accepted a call to the office of Priest and will begin her course work shortly.

Heather, who lived here last summer, stopped by for services on her way back to school from being at home for spring break. She attended Morning Worship then helped gather kids for Kids' Church. At Kids' Church we learned the story of David and Goliath. The kids made stick puppets of the people in that story.

During the message at Evening Worship we talked about the movie "The Passion of the Christ." A few people in the congregation had seen it and over 20 were planning on seeing it this week. We talked about the need to set aside the reviews both positive and negative and use the heart and brain God gave each one of us as we watch it. We also discussed of the need to talk about the questions it might raise once we've seen it.

The young adult CORE group went to see the movie right after the service. The women's CORE group went on Monday evening. Some others in the congregation went at different times during the week. Individual responses to it were across over the spectrum. By late in the week, though, we were getting quality questions and discussion happening about deeper life topics the movie raised.

Danny and I both had things come up that would keep us from men's CORE group on Thursday. Since I didn't have class on Tuesday evening this week and the church was available we met then instead.

Wednesday morning brought SonRisers. We had about 10 more kids this week than last week.

Our contractor called me on Wednesday morning. He brought me up to date on the status of the project and gave me a new anticipated start date of early April. That evening I met with Brad Bradshaw. He's volunteering to oversee the construction for the congregation and will be the main point person once construction begins.

Wednesday evening the Adult Disciples group studied the book of Ruth. Many in the group had studied this not too long before we started our new curriculum. Since it wasn't a new story to the majority of the class we were able to take the discussion a little deeper than usual.

I met up with Sandy a couple of times this week. She's the realtor who sold Don, Heidi, and me our houses even though she usually deals in high-end properties. She was looking to buy a house just down from the church that was on the auction block. While she was here she was encouraging people to look into home ownership programs available in our neighborhood. She ended up not getting the house but did get some inspiration to talk with people in her network to see about helping increase home ownership in the area.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. Jenn's friend Miranda joined us for the festivities. She's on spring break from her university studies. This wasn't her first trip to Pigtown as she came last spring with the crew from Michigan State University.

We had our monthly Solid Rock Cafe this Saturday evening. It was one of the biggest crowds we've had at Solid Rock in a while. Near the end one of the kids took the jar we use to raise money for our sponsored child in Africa took it around the room and raised an extra $1.25. As the kids were leaving, one of the kids who couldn't come in because he was too young greeted them by coming at them with a pair of sharp scissors over his head. A man who lives across the street saw it coming and got the scissors away from the boy an got them to us.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we'll celebrate a Baby Blessing of one of our member's children as a part of Sunday morning's activities. Thursday evening we'll have this month's priesthood meeting. Next Saturday we'll be participating in the "Big Change" satellite conference from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Raymond
Christian
Jerrell
Bryant
Darius
Kris
Devin
Alyssia

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

3/20/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. During Morning Worship we announced that both Gloria and Danny had accepted calls to the office of Elder. We also celebrated a sacramental blessing of a child as Billy had arranged for his son Zachary's blessing to take place that day. At Kids' Church we learned the story of Daniel and the Lion's den then made pompon lions to reinforce the story. I shared a personal testimony during the message time at Evening Worship.

As you recall from last week's note we had an incident with some scissors on Saturday evening. The rumor mill got to spinning that one and, by Sunday evening, some people thought I had been stabbed by one of the kids. I had to show people that I was well to put that one to rest.

Kids seem to be running later and later in getting to school on Wednesdays. This week we had over a dozen come after we were closed. We close when school starts so they were all hungry and late for first period. That night at Adult Disciples we studied the book of Esther.

On Thursday evening our Footings class addressed the question "How do I worship?" Later that evening we had our monthly priesthood meeting. Much of the agenda focused on solidifying our schedule for spring and summer.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. We all lived to tell about it.

The "Big Change" satellite seminar was all day on Saturday. We had 9 people age 17-67 participate in the event.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we'll be finalizing plans for the week of World Conference to make sure all activities are properly staffed. Next Saturday evening we'll have our monthly Sundae Church.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Amber
Mark
Bradley
Joshua
Mike
Elizabeth
Alan
Arthur

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

4/11/04
It's been a busy few weeks a the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday, March 21, with our three services. Tamara, Jenn, and Erin headed off to the beach for spring break right after morning worship so Shirley and I showed a Veggie Tale for Kids' Church. That evening we had several administrations during Evening Worship.

On that Wednesday we had over 80 kids at SonRisers. That night at Adult Disciples our Foundation class was on Gideon. We had an additional administration as a part of the prayer circle.

For 10 days of the last 3 weeks I was at our denomination's headquarters in Independence, Missouri, for World Conference. Georgia and I flew out together and Robert and I were delegates. Don joined me and Georgia on the return flight.

While there we were able to catch up with several people who have visited our congregation over the years and get some of them scheduled for return trips. During one of the business meetings, Robert got to the podium and presented an amendment to the motion that was on the floor. Both the amendment and the motion eventually carried.

Back in Baltimore Tamara and Jenn took charge of Pizza Church for two weeks. Don was in town the first Friday so he joined them. The second weekend Brent and Troy came down from Westminster to help out. Tamara and Jenn also hosted Sundae Church and Kids' Church.

On the Sunday I was gone Ron brought the message at Morning Worship and Tamara did likewise during Evening Worship. Gloria took over the attendance table at SonRisers and lead that night's prayer circle while Jenn taught Adult Disciples. As a part of the class she included the new Words of Counsel to the church that had been approved that morning at World Conference.

Last Sunday was both Palm Sunday and communion. Since Don had spent the night in Pigtown (our flight didn't get in until after 11 p.m.) he was able to help Vonceil serve communion. At Kids' Church we told the story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem then made 3 dimensional donkey faces out of paper plates. Several of the kids took the scraps from the plates and turned their projects into hats. I gave a review of World Conference during Evening Worship. Only about 5 people forgot to change their clocks to Daylight Saving Time and showed up at the end of the services.

Also during evening worship several people gave powerful testimonies. Patricia shared of her experience with the Words of Counsel. Tammy told of the blessing she had received after being anointed and prayed for two weeks prior. As a result of that, she has chosen to be baptized on April 18.

I got a letter from the Baltimore Community Foundation this week. The group decided to not give us the grant for painting more murals in the neighborhood this summer.

We spent several hours this week distributing fliers door-to-door inviting people to join us for Easter services. By week's end Tamara, Jenn, and I had handed out over 1500 of these invitations.

We learned this week that there is a proposal to bulldoze much of the industrial park that is adjacent to our neighborhood as well as 147 homes. In their place, the state is considering building a new track for horse racing. This track could also accommodate 15,500 slot machines. This would displace about 30 kids who participate in activities here.

In addition to our regular schedule, we had our Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. This was the first time that more people participated in the Good Friday service than in the Maundy Thursday service. Mr. Lee at the American Store provided the grape juice for communion on Thursday.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. We left up the worship center from the Good Friday service and added a discussion of the symbols in it to our lesson on Jesus' death. While we were talking about Jesus offering forgiveness while on the cross, on kid in the middle school group testified about the forgiveness and reconciliation process he and a friend had just gone through.

Our building contractor called this week and quit. Fortunately we hadn't yet given him any money. We're now scrambling to find someone to do the work.

We had our monthly solid Rock Cafe on Saturday. About 20 kids participated. For the first time ever, all the kids left about 5 minutes before it was over. Usually we have to shove them out the door to get them to leave. This was a pleasant surprise for the adults.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition we have our Footings class "What are the Sacraments?" this Thursday evening. I also have a wedding at the church next Saturday morning.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Karen
Tammy
Rick
Silo
Michael
Myrtle
Donna
John

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

4/17/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our Easter activities. As we were gathering for Morning Worship, Mr. Lee from the American Store surprised us by sending one of his employees over to the church with a large supply of Easter candy for the kids. We had offered extra credit to any kid who brought a non-attending parent to church with them to one of the Easter services. Two kids were successful. Some others tried but ended up coming to church alone.

At Kids' Church we told the Easter story through the "Resurrection Eggs" resource. We then made cross wall hangings at craft time. During Evening Worship a woman who we didn't know stopped by and dropped off an envelope with a note thanking me for the sermons and some money for the church in it.

Wednesday brought the return of SonRisers. We had about 65 kids participate in it. That night at Adult Disciples we studied Genesis 1-2. We had an especially fun time going over the text and learning from it.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. During the first session, one girl commented that she thought that anyone who wouldn't get baptized was pretty stupid. Knowing that she hasn't yet been baptized we were all over that. She left with the homework assignment of talking with her mom about baptism.

On Saturday morning we had a wedding at the church. About 35 people gathered for this sacrament. The bride and groom were both long-term residents of Pigtown and the groom was the stepson of one of our members.

Danny and I set up and filled the font on Saturday evening. We have one baptism scheduled for Sunday night and wanted to give the water time to heat up.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition we have both a baptism and a business meeting to discuss Danny, Gloria, and Shawna's priesthood calls on Sunday evening. We're meeting with a potential construction contractor on Wednesday morning. Our monthly priesthood meeting is this Thursday night and our monthly Sundae Church is on Saturday evening. Saturday morning from 9 - 11 is the "Every Man's Challenge" satellite seminar.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Jennifer
Isaiah
Esther
Bob
Pop
Chris
Chester
Florence

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

4/24/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. We had the font set up and filled to get the water heated in time for the baptism scheduled for Sunday night. Upon seeing it and the invitation for baptism in the bulletin, two people at Morning Worship requested to be baptized next Sunday morning. Needless to say, we were more than happy to accommodate that request.

At Kids' Church we learned the story of Peter walking on water. We then took graham crackers and spread blue frosting on them and put candy people on top. Once the kids answered the questions about the story they had just learned they ate them.

During Evening Worship we had a baptism and business meeting. Early in the service Tammie was baptized and confirmed. After that, we had a business meeting to approve Gloria's, Shawna's, and Danny's priesthood calls. Several people testified to each of the calls and all were approved. Danny and Gloria will both be ordained to the office of Elder on Sunday, May 9. Shawna will be going through her preparation materials over the summer and her ordination to the office of Priest will take place sometime this fall.

67 kids participated in SonRisers on Wednesday morning. Later that morning Berny and I had a productive meeting with a contractor who is interested in building the addition. I also did an audit of the books that the satellite company sent us to offer for sale at Saturday's "Every Man's Challenge" seminar. That evening one of the leaders of the Narcotics Anonymous group celebrated 16 years. We studied Genesis 3 & 4 at Adult Disciples.

On Thursday evening we had our monthly priesthood meeting. The bulk of the time was used in bringing everyone up to date on the many things that have happened in the last month and synchronizing our calendars in preparation for May and June.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. Just as church was about to start a lightning storm came through. Usually that would cause a drop in attendance but this time it remained stable. Though the kids who live furthest away didn't make it that night, those who were outside playing sprinted into the church, dried off, and had a good lesson.

Four men participated in the "Every Man's Challenge" satellite seminar. The materials and the presenters were excellent. Afterward we filled the font in preparation for Sunday morning's baptisms.

Saturday afternoon we learned that Pat, the woman who Theresa lives with, died. We stopped by for an initial visit and would ask that you keep Theresa in your prayers.

Saturday evening brought our monthly Sundae Church. We had a couple of 8th graders protest that they couldn't come in for this high school activity. Assuming they pass, they'll be able to come starting in July.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition we have some baptisms scheduled for Sunday morning. Later in the week we have some guests coming in from out of town for next weekend's ordinations. Saturday morning is our Mission Center Leadership Team meeting in Springfield, Virginia. That afternoon we have a Mission Center business meeting for consideration of Mike's and my calls to the office of Seventy. Mike's ordination is that afternoon in Springfield and mine is the following morning here in Pigtown.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Walter
Sarah
Angel
Janet
Debbie
Gary
Tina
Chris

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

5/2/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. During Morning Worship Gary was baptized and confirmed. Earl came up to assist with the confirmation. At Kids' Church we learned of the apostle Paul's missionary journeys. Since by next weekend we will have experienced all 8 of the church's sacraments as a congregation in less than two months, we spent time during Evening Worship taking about how they enrich the body of Christ.

A surprisingly brisk Wednesday morning brought 95 kids into the church for SonRisers. We turned away another 7 who came after we had closed.

Later that morning I presided over Theresa's friend Pat's funeral. Several people from the congregation had been to the funeral home for visiting the night before.

At Adult Disciples we studied the story of Noah. People are always surprised when they read it directly from the Bible to see how much more there is to that story than the way we usually tell it to children.

My parents arrived in town Thursday afternoon. While they are here they will get to be a part of my ordination and Bryce's baptism and confirmation. On Thursday evening the senior high girls' CORE group hosted a surprise birthday party for one of its members.

While that was happening at the church, Amy, Tom, and Thomas Iman stopped by my house. They used to be active in the church and have since moved to Cumberland, Maryland. They were in town for the day for a funeral and came through Pigtown to visit before they went home.

Bob Kyser, our denomination's director of missionary ministries, arrived in town on Friday morning. This is his third trip to the Power House. We were able to catch up with what's been happening here, walk around and see some of the projects (such as the murals and the park improvements), and visit with old friends.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. We studied the sacraments at each of the three sessions. While the kids were eating their pizza they had an open forum with Bob. Bob, Tamara, Jenn, and I ate dinner together afterward.

Bob, Jenn, and I drove to Springfield, Virginia, Saturday morning for our Mission Center Leadership Team meeting. Tamara and Jenn participated in a camp planning meeting from noon - 2:00 p.m. Tamara had brought the girls from the CORE group with her so Bob, Dale Luffman, and I took them to McDonalds while the others were in the meeting.

By 2:00 the rest of my family arrived in Springfield and we participated in the business meeting regarding Mike Barber's and my calls to the office of Seventy. Some of us were able to stay after the meeting to share in Mike's ordination.

On Saturday evening we took two kids who had 40+ credits to Friendly's for ice cream sundaes. Later than night Jenn and I worked on configuring the church to maximize the number of chairs available for Sunday morning's service.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition my ordination is scheduled for Morning Worship on Sunday. Bryce will be baptized and confirmed at Kids' Church and Bob will be sharing some world mission storied during Evening Worship. Bob flies home Monday evening. Saturday night is our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. We'll also be making preparations throughout the week for Danny's and Gloria's ordination to the office of Elder next Sunday morning.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Alan
Damon
Scott
Justin
Quentin
Samantha
Dawn
Ray

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

5/9/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with Morning worship. Because this was a mission center worship that included my ordination, several people from out of town came to worship here. People began arriving around 10:00 and, though the service wasn't scheduled to start until 11:00, the room was already crowded by 10:30. By the time church started we were limited to standing room only.

Apostle Dale Luffman brought an ordination message after which he and Bob Kyser ordained me to the office of Seventy. Following the ordination Bob brought a communion message. My dad presided over the sacrament of communion.

Even though people had visited each other for quite a while before the service, most people stayed after for quite some time for further visiting. One man asked if he could be baptized later that day so we made arrangements for that. A woman who had surgery scheduled for Tuesday asked for and received administration. Most people left by 1:00 so we started filling the font.

We had a small number of kids at Kids' Church this week but we had many adults who returned to celebrate the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. After some songs, dancing, and a scripture lesson, I baptized Bryce and he was confirmed by my dad and Bob. After another song, I baptized and Bob confirmed Ron (the man who asked for baptism after Morning Worship).

During Evening Worship. Bob shared some stories of mission work around the world and how we are all interconnected with it. After that service he joined the young adult CORE group for dinner and sharing time together. By the end of the day we had participated in 5 of the 8 sacraments of the church, some of them more than once.

On Monday Bob, Onalee, my parents and I had brunch together. Bob and I visited for much of the afternoon. He caught an evening flight back to Kansas City.

Over 80 kids participated in SonRisers on Wednesday morning. That evening the Adult Disciples group studied the stories of the Tower of Babel and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Tamara was working on a presentation about homelessness for one of her classes at the University of Maryland. Since I had worked with them in Houston she interviewed me Thursday afternoon about that experience.

Friday brought our three Pizza Church sessions. Among the kids were some who hadn't been to the church in several years. The kids who brought them to church were surprised to hear that the "new" kids had been to camp with us four years ago.

Saturday was Law Day in Carroll Park. Law enforcement agencies set up displays and equipment in the park for public viewing, information, and interaction. We had promoted this activity within the congregation and met up with many church members there.

That night brought our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. We had several kids who were new to the congregation participate.

Late Saturday night Don arrived in town. He's stopped here for a couple of days on his way to North Carolina from Princeton. While he's here he'll be setting up our attendance system for 2004-2005.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition Danny and Gloria will both be ordained to the office of Elder on Sunday morning. We'll have "practice church" Monday evening where Gloria and Danny will get to do their first administrations and serve communion.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Markia
Katelin
Joyce
Wayne
Decarlo
Rayvon
Jackie
PJ

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

5/15/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. 59 people attended this service which included the ordinations of both Danny and Gloria to the office of Elder. After the ordinations we refilled and distributed to each of the elders present the vials of oil that they carry with them.

We had an especially good Kids' Church. "Honor thy father and mother" was the lesson focus for this Mother's Day. Using the five love languages we talked about ways we could honor our moms. We then made key rings as a gifts for each of them.

During Evening Worship Don shared about his upcoming mission trip to Jamaica. He's going there as a part of his studies at Princeton and will be there most of the summer.

I got a call from Rick, our Mission Center President, on Monday. He told me that someone had offered to donate money so that we could paint another mural in the neighborhood this summer. We had shelved our plans for painting one a few of weeks ago when we lost our grant but are excitedly back into the planning process again.

On Monday evening we had what we called, for lack of a better name, "Practice Church." We wanted the opportunity for Gloria and Danny to serve communion and offer administrations in a setting where we could talk through procedures and ask questions rather than in a fully public service. About a dozen people gathered at the church and shared in the sacraments together. Danny, Gloria, and I talked through procedures as we celebrated the sacraments and the whole congregation asked lots of questions. We all learned a lot.

71 kids participated in SonRisers on Wednesday morning. We were sort of surprised at the total because it seemed like there weren't many here until we actually counted our sign-in sheets. That night at Adult Disciples we studied the story of Job.

On Thursday morning Onalee and I went to the airport to pick up Robert. He's home from Graceland University for just under two weeks. Then he'll be flying back to the midwest since he has a job working as a summer tour guide at some of our denomination's historic sites in Nauvoo, Illinois.

We had a good sized crew at Pizza Church this Friday night. Mike and Bonnie both came up for it. Afterward they, Tamara, Jenn, and I talked about some ideas for the upcoming youth camp.

I spent much of the day on Saturday working on camp forms. I handed out a few invitations while I was walking around the neighborhood that evening and hope to hand out the bulk of them on Sunday. After that we'll start hunting down parent signatures on forms so that we can get the kids registered. We'll also be working on raising the nearly $7500 we anticipate spending on camp this year.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition we'll be having a cake after Evening Worship to celebrate Tamara and Jenn's upcoming graduation. I'll be at my sister-in-law's wedding next Saturday so the report will be taking a week off.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Jerrell
Butch
Bobby
Michael
Troy
Jordan
Sylvia
Chris

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

5/30/04
It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday, May 16, with our Morning Worship. In it we talked about being prepared for season changes both in the temporal world and the spirit world. At Kids' Church we learned about things the Bible says we'll find in heaven then made books out of pictures we drew of those things. During Evening Worship Tamara and Jenn shared about their plans for their lives upon graduation from the University of Maryland. After the service we had a graduation cake and time for fellowship together.

Between the services I got a call from Don. He wanted to get some Power House T-shirts for the family he'll be staying with in Jamaica this summer. We decided that the easiest thing for him to do would be to email me how many of each size he wants once he gets there and I would mail them directly to him.

84 kids participated in that Wednesday's SonRisers activities. Immediately afterward Violet took some time to defrost the church's freezer which had gathered several inches of ice all over its interior. Gloria and I went that morning to city hall and became voter registrars. We'll be doing a voter registration drive in the community this summer.

That evening brought our Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Adult Disciples, and Prayer Circle. We studied the story of Jonah at Adult Disciples.

That Thursday afternoon Joe and Diane McNeil arrived from Michigan. They had planned a surprise visit to take part in Jenn's graduation celebration which were scheduled for Friday. They left early Saturday morning.

On Friday evening my family and I flew to Kansas City to celebrate Vonceil's sister's wedding on Saturday. Mike and Jenn staffed Pizza Church on Friday and Jenn and Tamara ran Sundae Church on Saturday. Mike brought the message and Danny presided on Sunday morning. Tamara and Jenn ran Kid's Church. Cindy Ford arrived that afternoon and, during Evening Worship, shared the story of her daughter's recovery from addiction. Gloria presided over that service. Cindy then participated in the young adult CORE group.

Our flight got back to Baltimore at around 11:15 Sunday night. Tamara and Jenn picked us up at the airport and filled us in on the weekend's activities.

Cindy continued her ministry time in the neighborhood by sharing in the women's CORE group on Monday night. She did some visiting in homes and at the hospital in addition to participating in the other scheduled activities through Wednesday.

Before leaving for Michigan on Monday, Jenn finished a new display board for the congregation. We'll be using it in our booths at upcoming events like "Bloomin' on the Boulevard" and "Pigtown Fest."

We took Robert to the airport Tuesday morning. He was flying back to the midwest where he'll be working as a tour guide for the summer at the church's historic sites in Nauvoo, Illinois. He's not scheduled to be home again until Christmas time.

This Wednesday we had 74 kids participate in SonRisers. In the afternoon Tamara had the girls from the teen girls' CORE group get together for an extra practice session. They've been working on a dance number for the talent show at camp and have come up with an excellent routine. Later at Adult Disciples we studied the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Finally that evening we had our monthly priesthood meeting.

Thursday morning Vonceil was in a wreck on the way to school. She's a bit sore but will be fine in a few days. Her car was totaled. Fortunately, Cindy and Tamara were able to come and help out with Onalee that morning while Vonceil and I sorted through some of the chaos. We were able to get things under control and get Cindy to the airport in time for her flight later that morning.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. Tamara and I staffed the sessions. All three groups learned about Pentecost.

I spent quite a bit of the day Saturday tracking down signatures for camp forms. As of this writing we have 18 kids' forms signed and ready to go. If you are interested in being a prayer partner for a kid while they're at camp this year please let me know and I'll get an assignment out to you in the next couple of weeks.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition we'll have a booth at "Bloomin' on the Boulevard," a community block party, throughout the day on Saturday. We'll also be taking some kids to Friendly's that night for the ice cream they've earned.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Venita
Lenny
Bryant
Jerry
Durrell
Raymond
Alyssia
Linda

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

6/5/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our celebration of Pentecost. During Morning Worship we recognized that the Holy Spirit has qualified us to transform the world. At Kids' Church we made flame hats to remember the Spirit coming down as fire. During evening worship we talked about allowing the Spirit to remodel our lives.

We had a smaller group at SonRisers this Wednesday morning. This was due in part, we believe, to a trip to Six Flags that some of the classes were taking that day. That evening at Adult Disciples we learned about some of the characteristics of the early church as reflected in the stories in the book of Acts. Through this we reflected on how those characteristics are working in the church today.

Throughout the week I spent quite a bit of time tracking down signatures for camp forms. I was surprised at how many different parents I was able to visit with on the first or second try. I was able to get signatures for several more kids to go to camp as well as many definite "no" answers. We've had dramatically fewer "I don't know/maybe/come back in a few days" answers this year which has made the process of signature hunting much more pleasant than in years past. At this writing we have 22 kids registered for camp.

We had really good attendance at all three Pizza Church sessions on Friday. This was especially good since about a half-dozen kids who live across the railroad tracks and who usually come weren't there. Earlier this week the police found a body buried along the route those kids take to get to the church. I haven't visited with them yet but that event may have been a factor in their ability to participate in an evening activity.

Steady rain forced the postponement of our neighborhood's annual "Bloomin' on the Boulevard" block party. It's rescheduled for next Saturday. We also didn't go to Friendly's for ice cream on Saturday as the kids who had earned a trip there weren't at Pizza Church to pick up their permission slips.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. Promise Keepers will be here in downtown Baltimore on Friday evening and all day Saturday. We have a few men participating in it. In addition we'll have a booth at "Bloomin' on the Boulevard" throughout the day on Saturday. We'll also be having our monthly Solid Rock Cafe next Saturday evening.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Mike
Jerry
Tyler
Amber
Tom
Anthony
Christian
Norman

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

6/112/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. We started a series this Sunday on 1 Corinthians 13:13 and are looking at how faith, hope, and love are essential in the Kingdom-building process. Shirley and I were the only ones on staff at Kids' Church so we watched a Veggie Tale video. During Evening Worship we talked about the role of faith and the role of works as related in James 2:14-26.

Jenn returned from her trip to Michigan on Monday. Everyone was happy to have her back in town.

I got a note from Don this week. He brought me up to date on his mission trip in Jamaica. I'll be sharing the update with the congregation on Sunday morning.

Around 80 kids participated in SonRisers on Wednesday morning. Among them was Michael who stopped by to let us know that his mom had died. She had been ill for several years. I was able to swing by the funeral home that afternoon and visit with him and his grandmother (who had raised him).

Schools closed early on Wednesday due to heat. The Narcotics Anonymous group that met at the church that afternoon informed me afterward that our air condition wasn't working correctly. We opened up the windows and door and used a fan to get through the rest of the evening's activities.

The Adult Disciples group reviewed the books of Titus, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. During our time together I learned that Brenda and Anthony's mother (Tavon, Tayvia, and Theresa's aunt) had been shot and killed that morning. I caught up with the kids after class and learned that there wouldn't be a viewing or funeral because funds were not available.

Danny met the air conditioning repairman at the church Thursday morning. The repairs they said we needed were minor. The place is a lot cooler but doesn't seem to cool as fast as it used to. We'll take it through Sunday and see how the temperature is.

Friday afternoon Danny, Norman, and I walked downtown to the arena for this year's Promise Keepers gathering. We've gotten spoiled having it so close in recent years. The sessions ended at 10 p.m. then went from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Jenn, Tamara, Kara, Troy and Brent ran Pizza Church Friday night. They had good participation at all three sessions. They also started the distribution of packing lists for camp.

Saturday brought "Bloomin' on the Boulevard." Jenn and Kara staffed our booth which had a display board, fliers, and some kids activities from the Gospel Wagon Suitcase. Gloria was responsible for the Friends of Carroll Park booth.

While at Promise Keepers I ran into Tim Tim, one of the kids who was baptized at the first baptismal service here nearly 9 years ago. He doesn't live in Pigtown any more. He was on the custodial staff at the arena. It was good to see him and to see that he's got a good job.

Saturday night brought our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves and we had no behavior problems.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition we'll be trying to round up the last of the signatures for the camp forms that remain unsigned.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Diane
Brian
Desmond
Bruce
Aries
Shirley
Kayla
Becky

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

6/27/04
It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday, June 13, with our three services. During both Morning Worship and Evening Worship we continued with our series from 1 Corinthians 13:13 with the topic of Hope. At Kids' Church we learned the story of creation then made refrigerator magnet animals.

The next morning Bryce, Onalee, and I drove up to Michigan to spend a week at my parent's house. While there I was able to share some of what God is doing in our congregation during the Wadhams Grove Congregation's Wednesday evening activities.

Jenn taught Adult Disciples and Gloria lead Prayer Circle on Wednesday night. Mike, Jenn, and Tamara took care of an unusually large group of kids at Pizza Church that Friday evening. On Sunday morning, Danny presided then he, Tamara, and Jenn shared testimonies of faith and hope. The group at Kids' Church made cards for Father's Day. During Evening Worship Danny presided and Gloria shared a testimony of faith and hope.

Some of Jenn's family from Michigan came to visit her while I was gone. This was their first trip to Pigtown. They were able to participate in services on Sunday and see some of the sights in the area.

Also while I was away Vonceil was in another car wreck. She's ok and we know that air bags work well. But, her brand new car (less than 600 miles on it) is no more.

This last Wednesday brought the final SonRisers for the school year. Over the course of the school year we documented 397 different kids who participated in this activity at least once.

Wednesday afternoon brought the Narcotics Anonymous meeting. After that at Adult Disciples we continued our study of the life of Moses. This week we learned about the time of the plagues in Egypt.

We had our monthly priesthood meeting Thursday night. The main focus of the discussion surrounded our attempts to discern some of the long-range goals and plans for the congregation.

Friday morning I caught up with Donald. He let me know that he would be accepting the scholarship to participate in Spectacular, a week long event at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. He's the first kid from the Power House who has been able to go.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. This was our final Pizza Church of the attendance year. Starting next week, kids will come to sessions based on what grade they are going into this fall rather than what grade they just finished.

On Saturday we spent some time double checking our camp forms with our lists. At present we have 31 kids registered for camp. That evening we had our monthly Sundae Church for the senior high students.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition the bus will leave for camp on Monday at 2 p.m. and return Saturday afternoon. Wednesday evening's Adult Disciples group will attend a town hall meeting focused on the horse race track and casino that is proposed for our neighborhood. For the first time we'll have Pizza Church in Pigtown for kids who didn't go to camp while camp is going on in Virginia.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Kenny
Larickus
Isaiah
Esther
Rhonda
Ciara
Janet
Jerel

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

7/3/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. During Morning Worship we continued our series on faith, hope, and love by focusing on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. At Kids' Church we learned about the first sin and then made snakes out of foam clay. For Evening Worship Tamara and the senior high girls' CORE group danced to the song "A Maze of Grace" using a routine they had developed themselves for camp. They did an outstanding job. Afterward, Danny gave Tamara money to take the girls out for ice cream cones.

Sunday brought the end of the 2003-2004 attendance year for our kids. All totaled, we had 689 different kids participate in at least one of our activities at the church in the last 12 months. For comparison, last year the number was 627 and the year before was 599. This week we start back at 0.

On Monday we spent a lot of time on the phone with the Department of Social Services. We had been jumping through thier hoops in order to get one of our girls to camp. We had everything that they told us about complete when they announced that she couldn't go because our youth worker reference and registration process did not include fingerprinting.

That afternoon the bus arrived to take people to camp. 24 kids and 4 staff from the Power House participated in camp. The number who attended from here was down, but that rang true throughout the whole mission center. With that we comprised about 1/3 of the camp population, the same as in recent years.

Once the kids settled in I drove back to Baltimore. With the kids gone this week I was able to use the power washer on the church, lay out the Pizza Church and Kids' Church curriculum for the next six months, and keep the scheduled activites going.

We moved Wednesday night's Adult Disciples group down the street to the Montgomery Park building. The Village Center was hosting a town hall meeting regarding the race track and casino that is proposed for our neighborhood. over 250 people from the community attended. The vast majority were furious. The people from the Village Center gave us the information from the state and then took a survey as to the community's thoughts on the project. Based on those results they'll be organizing a stratigy to try to block its construction.

I got reports during the week that camp was going well. On Thursday morning as I was getting ready to take the font down to camp for some baptisms I got a call from the junior camp. They said that one of our girls had injured her leg and needed to go to the hospital. We later learned that she sprained her knee. She was given a knee brace and crutches but refused to go home because even with the sprain she was still having too much fun to do so.

There were 10 baptisms at camp on Thursday night. Among them was Anthony, one of the kids from the Power House. Before the service started, two more of our boys from Pigtown talked to me about getting baptized once they got home. At the service one of our boys offered the opening prayer, another read the scriptures, and a third offered the benediction.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. This was the first time we had Pizza Church while camp was in session. Only two kids came that evening but it was especially important for them that we were here. We put all the leftover pizza in the refrigerator to have with our picnic potluck on Sunday.

Danny did a lot of extra work around the church this week. Among other things, he hung the banner for Bible school, bought and delivered some desperately needed new tables, and replaced the worn out grates on our air ducts.

We picked up the kids from camp on Saturday. I drove down to and had the font and some other equipment we'd sent loaded into my van. After the bus picked up the kids, I place an order for sandwiches at McDonalds and the rest of the adults distributed the pop, chips, and cookies I'd brought down with me that morning. With full bellies at the end of an exhausting week most of the kids fell asleep for the ride home.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. With Independence Day celebrations this Sunday, we'll have communion during Morning Worship and our regular Kids' Church activities. We'll then have a picnic potluck instead of our regular Evening Worship service. After Morning Worship and during the potluck we'll be hosting a voter registration drive. We're scheduled to take the five kids who came to church 90+ times last year to an Orioles game on Tuesday evening. On Thursday we'll make our first treck to Six Flags for kids who came to church 120+ times last year. Saturday will bring our monthly Solid Rock Cafe.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

John
Ron
Mark
Bradley
Aries
Alyssia
Amber
Tammy

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

7/10/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with Morning Worship. As a part of the service I read a poem written by one of our members. It had recently been published in the book "A Treasure of American Poetry" from the American Poets Society. During Kids' Church we talked about praying for our country and its leaders then made red, white, and blue bracelets to help us remember to do so.

In place of Evening Worship we hosted a picnic potluck. Danny brought his grill and fixed hot dogs outside and people brought picnic foods to share. We had a large group gather for it. We had many people who are not regularly a part of the congregation stop by and join us for dinner. People seemed to really relax and truly enjoy the evening together. Afterward, several different groups of people walked to the inner-harbor to watch the fire works.

Throughout the day we registered people to vote. We ended up registering about a half-dozen people to vote.

On Tuesday afternoon I got the final approval to paint a mural on the side of a warehouse on Carey Street. It is about a block from the church. We had general plans in mind but have now started working on specifics. We will incorporate this into our upcoming Bible School activities.

That evening we took the kids who had attended church 90+ times in the last 12 months to an Orioles game. Rick, our mission center president, came up from Washington and joined us. It was a near perfect summer evening for the walk to and from Camden Yards and to watch the game. It would have been more perfect if our team had won.

On Wednesday I charted our plans for Bible School. We now know which activities, lessons, and crafts go on each day. Our theme is "Filled with the Spirit" and there are still some staffing positions available if people are interested in helping.

Also on Wednesday several kids from throughout the mission center who had attended camp went to Six Flags for the day. I believe 3 or 4 kids from Pigtown participated.

Wednesday evening brought Adult Disciples. This was week 3 of 4 in our study of Moses. Both before and after the class people expressed their concerns and stresses over the plans to build a race track and casino here.

On Thursday we took our first trip of the season to Six Flags. Kids earn a trip there by attending church at least 120 times last year. We had 3 high school students and 1 elementary student earn this prize so we took the elementary student this week and will take the high school kids in a couple of weeks.

We had good participation at all three sessions of Pizza Church on Friday. Among those present were a few new kids who came with friends who had just returned from camp. Both the camp veterans and their friends have determined that they are earning enough credits to go to camp next year and decided not to waste any time getting started.

I visited with Bradley and his grandmother about his baptism while I was out walking Saturday evening. We scheduled it for Pizza Church on July 23.

Saturday night brought our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. In the crowd we had a couple of kids who had been waiting for years to be old enough to come. One of them often sat on the steps or watched through the windows hoping to come in and tonight he was finally allowed to participate because he will be starting sixth grade this fall.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we'll be taking the kids who came to church 150+ times last year to New York City to tour the NBC Television Studios. Next weekend is our mission center reunion in Springfield, Virginia.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of you prayers:

Rachael
Molly
Bernice
Shirley
Billy
Tim
Sarah
Troy

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

7/17/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. During Morning Worship we learned about the correlation between love and suffering. Kids' Church focused on guidelines for prayer. We started a series for the summer at Evening Worship looking at the different parts of Section 162 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

This Sunday we also started a program where kids can earn school supplies through participation in Kids' Church. For each week that they come to Kids' Church between now and the start of school we will add one school supply item to their supply bags which they will get the Sunday before school starts. The Towson Congregation's women's group is supplying the funds for the school supplies.

At 7 a.m. Monday Tayvia, Bryce, Tamara and I hit the road to New York City. Tayvia and Bryce had earned a trip to go back stage at the NBC studios. Since we were going that far we made a day of it. We walked through part of Central Park, saw Rockefeller Center, went to Times Square, rode the subways and the Staten Island Ferry, and generally wore ourselves out. We got back to Pigtown about 11 p.m.

The Narcotics Anonymous group met as usual Wednesday afternoon. The Adult Disciples group which met after them finished their four week study of the life of Moses.

I was able to spend some time this week visiting people in their homes. I also finished putting together the lesson plans for two of Shawn's Temple School classes that she'll be taking in preparation for ordination.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. We had good participation throughout the evening. The senior high group caught a case of the giggles and had a hard time reading out loud because of it but otherwise things were fine.

Housing prices have risen dramatically in our area over the past 18 months. Because of this we have several individuals and families in the midst of a housing crisis. We've been trying to help people find new places to live, get extensions on where they are staying, and/or providing other necessities (like food from our quickly emptying pantry) to help. Please help us by being prayerful for these situations.

On Saturday Jenn, Tamara, and I participated in some of the mission center reunion activities in Springfield, Virginia. Jenn and I attended the Mission Center Leadership Team meeting and the three of us had "pots and pans" duty after Saturday evening's meal.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, our high school girls CORE group has accepted an invitation to another congregation to share in their dance ministry and will be going there Sunday morning. Shawna and I will be starting her Temple School course work mid-week. Thursday evening is our monthly priesthood meeting. All three Pizza Church groups will meet together at 7:00 on Friday to share in Mark's baptism (I erroneously called Mark by his brother Bradley's name in last week's report). Next Saturday morning Donald will be the first kid from Pigtown fly out to Graceland University to participate in Spectacular. That night is our monthly Sundae Church with the senior high students.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following families in the forefront of you prayers:

the Smead family
the Conley family
the Nelson family
the Pestridge family
the Moore family
the Mandell family
the Mueller family
the Barrett family

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

7/24/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our three services. Much of our regular crowd wasn't there but about a dozen kids who have been regulars at Pizza Church but who had never been to a Morning Worship walked in a little soaked from the rain. One of the girls in this group had talked with her mother about baptism since last Friday night's Pizza Church session and came down that morning to give me her mom's new phone number so that she could get baptized next Friday night. I talked with her mom later that day and got the approval for her baptism.

Tamara and the high school girls' CORE group were at the Gatchellville, Pennsylvania, congregation for their morning activities. They were invited up there to share in their dance ministry. In addition to dancing the girls shared testimonies.

22 kids came to Kids' Church. We learned about the Bible then made and decorated bookmarks with the books of the New Testament listed in order on them.

We had a full house for Evening Worship. Darlene was up visiting from Florida and joined with us in the service. We continued our exploration of Doctrine and Covenants 162.

We did work this week to get ready to begin painting this year's mural. Jenn bought primer and painting supplies. I got better copies of the Gospel Wagon picture from Bob Kyser and Marge Nelson and worked on some adjustments to them to help it better fit the wall. We also received the donation this week that is allowing this project to happen.

Shawna and I met at the church on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons. We started working through her study materials in preparation for her ordination. Wednesday night's Adult Disciples group reviewed the lives of Elijah and Elisha.

On Thursday morning we went shopping. The women's group from the Towson congregation gave us money to buy school supplies for kids. The kids are earning their supplies this summer through participation in Kids' Church. We were able to get a whole shopping cart full of crayons, markers, glue sticks, colored pencils, and other items.

Thursday night brought our monthly priesthood meeting. We spent a lot of time reviewing recent events and synchronizing upcoming activities. We've been needing to replace our flooring and put a fresh coat of paint on the interior of the building for some time and have been waiting to do it in conjunction with our addition. Since we still don't have a contractor and the flooring is wearing through in some places, Tamara and Jenn are going to explore our options for a more durable floor and bring cost projections back to the group.

We combined the three Pizza Church groups on Friday because we had two kids getting baptized. Since this is a public sacrament we eliminate age restrictions on Pizza Church when we have a baptism as a part of it. We had nearly 50 people there, 20 of whom were adults. The kid behaved extremely well and we had a great celebration for the baptisms. Gloria assisted with one confirmation and Mike Barber assisted with the other. Afterward we had a great time of food and fellowship.

We have another baptism scheduled for Kids' Church one week from Sunday (August 1). After our experience at Pizza Church we had several other kids ask about getting baptized then.

A few senior high kids either didn't know or forgot that the sessions were combined this week. They showed up at 8:00 after the other service was over. We still had a couple slices of pizza left so we had them come in and we re-taught the baptism lesson to them.

Those heading to Spectacular at Graceland University had to be at the airport by 4:00 a.m. Saturday. Donald was going as a participant and Heidi was on staff. We met at my van at 3:45 to make it there on time. We had a couple of things for Donald for his trip. One person gave me some money to give to him as spending money while he's there. We also sent a disposable camera with him.

Saturday night brought our monthly Sundae Church. 10 senior high kids joined us for good ice cream and fellowship.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we'll begin painting the mural after Evening Worship on Sunday. Shawna and I will continue with her Temple School courses Wednesday through Friday afternoons. The young adult group is going on a retreat next weekend and Donald and Heidi will get home from Spectacular next Saturday evening.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following families in the forefront of you prayers:

the Jackson family
the Riddick family
the Erbe family
the Holden family
the King family
the Hansel family
the Banton family
the Wagner family

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

8/1/04
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday with our Morning Worship. One family who recently moved from about a block away to about four miles away from the church was back for the first time since their move. They got up extra early and the five of them walked all the way here.

Troy darted out of the church right after the "Amen" of the closing prayer. A few minutes later he was back to let me know that his mom had just given him the OK to get baptized next Sunday at Kids' Church. This 8th grader been an active part of the congregation since the days back in the old building and he started indicating his desire for baptism at camp earlier this month.

Once most people had left Gloria and I stayed to help provide some support and pray for a member of the congregation who was taking care of her elderly aunt. She's been a primary caregiver for over a year and the doctors didn't expect the aunt to make it through the week. As she shared with us we heard not only of her pain but of many powerful experiences she'd had in providing deep, high quality spiritual guidance to both her aunt and to other family members. Her aunt died a couple of days later and the funeral was on Saturday.

At Kids' Church we had a lesson on stewardship. The craft afterward involved painting. Instead of giving the kids candy as they left, we had them stay a few minutes afterward and have popsicles together.

During Evening Worship we continued with our look at the text of Section 162. After the service Jenn, Tamara, Greg, and I began work on the new mural. We worked from about 7:30 until a little after 11:00 then had about 30 minutes of clean-up. We got the nearby weeds pulled, the background outlined, and most of the priming completed.

I got a call from Mike on Monday evening. He was at Spectacular at Graceland University and called to let me know that Donald, our first kid to attend Spec., had applied to attend school at Graceland once he graduates from high school next spring.

We decided to paint again on Tuesday evening. We gathered at the church but just as we did it started raining so we postponed those plans. We also learned that day that Tammy had her baby. Baby and mom are doing well.

On Wednesday afternoon Shawna and I started back at her classes in preparation for ordination. We met on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons and completed the first of three courses she needs to take.

That evening after the Narcotics Anonymous meeting we had our Adult Disciples class. We studied the life and works of Ezekiel then had our mid-week prayer time together.

Afterward Tamara, Jenn, and I worked some more on the mural. We've had a slightly different crowd walking by and hanging out while we've been working this year's mural than the last two years. Since it's on a much busier corner people seem less interested in standing and visiting for a while. We do, though, still get a lot of comments and questions about what we're doing. We also had the parents of one of our newer kids make a point of coming over to thank the congregation for the many things we do in the community. That night we finished the primer coat and painted about half of the base coat.

I finally got in touch with Jordan's mom on Thursday. We had been trying to get a chance to visit about his desire to be baptized this coming Sunday but had not been able to do so. She was both excited to the brink of tears about his decision to get baptized and was thrilled to have it happen this Sunday.

After Men's Group and Senior High Girls Group on Thursday evening Tamara, Jenn, and I met to review Bible School. We discussed what is already done, what needs to be done, supply needs, and preparation time schedules.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. We had small groups throughout the evening. This was good since I was the only adult on staff that night. The first session just had two kids. One of them was Jordan and the other was Raymond. Raymond asked if I would baptize him this Sunday when Jordan gets baptized. When I told him he needed to talk with his parents about it he told me that he already had. We tried to call home from the church but couldn't get through. His dad called me the next morning and we made the arrangements.

Between the first and second Pizza Church sessions two men who live around the corner from the church stopped by. They had seen our "Register to Vote Here" sign in the window and wondered if they could be registered. As I lead them through the forms they told me that they hadn't voted before but after seeing the convention on TV and hearing that it would be a close race they thought they had better be sure they could vote this November.

The Senior High Pizza Church session finished their study of the book of Acts on Friday. They had been studying the text of the book line by line since Christmas. Over the next few weeks we'll be studying some of the shortest books of the Bible then launch into the Gospel of John this fall.

I was able to visit several people in their homes during the day on Saturday. That evening I filled the font in preparation for Sunday's baptisms.

The flight in from Spec. arrived a little after 10:00 p.m. All who went seemed to have had an especially good time.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we have 3 baptisms scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Kids' Church. That evening Donald and Heidi are to share with the congregation their experiences at Spectacular. Afterward we have a potluck.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following families in the forefront of you prayers:

the Quick family
the Williams family
the Lydick family
the Burley family
the Johnson family
the Smead family
the Marsh family
the Boozer family

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

8/1/04
It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started out Sunday, August 1, with Morning Worship. In it we tied faith, hope, and love to the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and communion. At Kids' Church we had 3 baptisms and confirmations. During Evening Worship Donald and Heidi shared about their experiences at Spectacular. After that service we had a potluck dinner. Each of the three services had a full house crowd.

On Monday morning my family and I flew to Florida for a week's vacation. According to reports, all regularly scheduled activities continued smoothly while we were away. The most exciting thing that happened was a hostage situation a couple of blocks from the church during Evening Worship. Because of it several people who were planning to come to church were not able to leave their houses by order of the police. Also while we were out Karin, Patricia, Jenn, and Tamara continued work on the mural and Jenn and Tamara made further preparations for Bible School.

This Wednesday I headed down to city hall to get yet another 6-month extension on our building permits. While I was there I also turned in some the recent voter registration forms that had come in. That night the Adult Disciples group studied Isaiah.

During the day on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I was able to attend the Willow Creak Association's annual Leadership Summit. It was hosted locally via satellite at a church north of Baltimore. This is the fourth year I've attended this conference and I highly recommend it for everyone who is involved in church leadership in any way.

Friday night brought Pizza Church. We had good attendance and participation at each session. Mike taught the first group and I taught the last two groups.

During the first session we had a visitor stop by. It was an older man whose wedding I was scheduled to do over a year ago but the wedding was cancelled due to bad weather. He and his fiance's current marriage licence was set to expire at midnight so he wondered if I could do a wedding for them that evening. I told them they could come by at 9:00 and we could do it then. I figured it would be a small affair. I figured wrong.

They recruited Woody and Gloria for their wedding party. About a dozen of their neighbors came to celebrate with them. He had a 3 piece suit and she a wedding dress. They brought food for a reception. The ceremony didn't get started until 10:30 p.m. and it was coming up on midnight when I got home.

Saturday was our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. We had a good turnout and good behavior.

Looking ahead to next week we'll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we'll distribute fliers for Bible School on Monday. Bible School will be Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to Noon. We'll also be working on the mural throughout the week as the weather allows in hopes of having it finished up by next weekend. I have a reward trip to Friendly's for Ice Cream scheduled for Wednesday evening and we'll be going to Six Flags with the last three kids who earned a trip there next Saturday. Adult Disciples is cancelled this week.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following families in the forefront of you prayers:

the Nelson family
the Iman family
the Powell family
the Ratcliff family
the Fleming family
the St. Thomas family
the Yancey family
the Ceo family

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org

THIS WEEK at the POWER HOUSE

Saturday, June 26, 2010

6/27/2010

Thursday, June 24, 2010

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