We had an incredibly amazing weekend at Church of the Messiah over the past few days!  There were people here practically from dawn til dusk on Saturday getting everything ready for the Grand Opening on Sunday and what a success it was!  Glory to God in the highest!  We want to thank everyone who worked so hard over the last several weeks and especially over the last few days to make Sunday so glorious.  It was truly a blessing to everyone present… and there were over one hundred people present. Thanks be to God!

Also, thanks be to God, we have the use of our building 24-7 now, because, if we did not, this week might just break the bank!  We have events going on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and services again on Sunday.  What will it be like when we really get used being here?  Tuesday night starting at six o’clock we have the monthly Ultreya for November.  Wednesday night beginning at seven o’clock we have our first Mid-Week Service in several years!  It will be a time of Praise & Worship, Biblical teaching on “Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land,” and then a time of intercessory prayer which will end by 8:30 so everyone can be home in time for work and school the next day.  Thursday will be a Rector’s Council meeting where Fr. David and the men of the Rector’s Council will meet to pray for God’s wisdom and direction for the future of the Church.  Please pray for the Rector’s Council Thursday night!  The building will not hardly have any time to let dust settle before we are all back on Sunday morning for the last regular Sunday in Ordinary Time (the following Sunday is Christ the King and then it’s Advent!  Do you realize how close Christmas is yet?)!

This week, if you can’t be with us in the flesh, be with us in the spirit and pray with us and for us!  We will be praying for you!

The November Ultreya is this Tuesday night at the Church of the Messiah. (Click HERE for a map).  This is the first time the Ultreya will be held at Church of the Messiah and the congregation is very excited to be able to host the event.  Because of the bounty and generosity of everyone who participated in the Grand Opening Service and Reception on November 10th, we still have a ton of food.  If you would like to bring something to to contribute to the pot-luck, we could use salads or desserts.  There is plenty of ham and turkey and side items!  Dinner will begin at 6pm with the grouping beginning at 7pm.  We will conclude with the Holy Eucharist.  The Ultreya is open to anyone who has attended Tres Arroyos or any other three-day retreat along the lines of Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, Awakenings, Lighthouse Via De Christo, etc…

Up until midnight tonight, November 8, anyone can go onto Amazon.com and download for F a copy of Non Nobis, Domine! a brief history of the early days of the Charismatic Episcopal Church written by retired Bishop Phillip Weeks and Mr. Hugh Kaiser.  The free version is for the Kindle only but you can either download a Kindle reading app for a tablet, smart phone, or PC, or for your Kindle device.  To download your FREE copy of Non Nobis, Domine! simply click HERE before midnight tonight.  Don’t wait to get this free resource!REE

In order to insure that there is adequate parking to accommodate quests and visitors to the Grand Opening of our New Sanctuary and Church Office on November 10th, we are asking that members who are able to do so park in an available overflow lot.  Once you pass Church of the Messiah’s regular parking lot, and Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church’s regular parking lot, there is a very clear and easy to drive dirt road.  This road leads just behind Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church and their playground and opens up into a wide mown grass field which will easily fit twenty to twenty-five cars.  As one parishioner phrased it, “it’s a lot better parking lot than we had at JU!”  On Sunday morning, there will be an usher by the road making sure that no one misses the entrance.  From the parking lot, it is a short walk to the courtyard in between the two churches.  If you feel that you or someone you are with would be unable to make the walk, please, feel free park in the normal lot and everything will be fine.  This is just a precaution to insure that we have plenty of extra parking for our visitors.  Thank you for being flexible and gracious hosts!

As we leave behind Jacksonville University and take possession of our new home, one of the benefits is that we are able to hold mid-week services.  With that blessing in mind, we will return to holding services on Wednesday nights starting on next Wednesday, November 13th.  The service will begin at 7 o’clock and will include a time of praise and worship, a time of Bible-based teaching, and a time of intercessory prayer.  The service will include child-care and our regular Wednesday night Youth Group meetings will be moving into the Church at the same time and meeting in the Youth Room.  We will dismiss by 8:30 so that everyone can be home in time for bed-time and school the next day.

Beginning on Wednesday, November 13th, Fr. Scott Looker will lead a series titled “Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land.”  The study will focus on the period of time after the Jews were released from their seventy years of exile in Babylon but before they were able to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.  As Church of the Messiah sets out from Jacksonville University and begins planning to build on our property on St. Johns’ Bluff, this time in the life of the Children of Israel is especially relevant to where we are as a Church community.  Look for Biblical history and well as pertinent life application.

Be sure to set your DVR’s because, after a long hiatus, Wednesday nights are Church Nights once again at Church of the Messiah!  We’ll see you starting November 13th at 7 o’clock!

In order to get everything finally ready for the big Grand Opening of Our New Sanctuary and Church Office on Sunday, November 10th, we are holding one final FALL WORK DAY this Saturday, November 9th, beginning at 9 o’clock.  On Saturday, there are four specific tasks we need to accomplish:

1. We need to clear out and prepare the Youth Room and New Moms’ Nursery for use and for the Grand Opening.
2. We need to clean up the bushes in between Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church’s parish hall and our own building using hedge-trimmers.
3. We need to prepare Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church’s parish hall for the reception after our Grand Opening service, including setting up tables, laying out table cloths, plates, silverware, and generally getting ready for a fancy soiree, and
4.  If anyone has a working pressure-washer, we would love to pressure wash our sidewalks.

This Tuesday Night, November 5th, beginning at 7 o’clock, Church of the Messiah’s Parish Council will assemble.  The Parish Council is the gathering of ministry leaders in the parish who meet usually every two to three months to co-ordinate the ministries and activities of Church of the Messiah.  The Parish Council will be meeting to discuss the events for the rest of the year, including Saturday’s work day, the Grand Opening on November 10, the start of our Mid-Week Services on November 13, the Thanksgiving Eve Eucharist on November 27, the beginning of Advent and all of our Christmas services and festivities!  The Parish Council consists of: Janice Paysinger, representing Women’s Ministry; Darla Shiell, representing Kids’ Church ministries; Lizz Looker, representing Nursery ministries; Fr. Scott Looker, representing the Youth Group; Fr. Scott Melanson, representing Worship Ministries; Amanda Paysinger, representing the Praise Dancers, Fr. Lon Pardee, representing the Acolytes and Lay-readers; Lisa Christopherson, representing the Altar Guild; Cathie Shimp, representing the Intercessors and prayer teams; James Luck, representing the Ushers; Fr. David Paysinger chairs the meeting as the Rector of Church of the Messiah and Carla Bitancor attends as Parish Secretary.  If you have a question or concern about any of the upcoming events at Church of the Messiah, please contact the relevant ministry head and ask, if they cannot answer the question on their own, to raise the issue at the next Parish Council Meeting.

Saturday night is the end of Daylight Savings Time, so before you go to bed on Saturday night, be sure to set your clocks back one hour.  Rejoice! This is the weekend where you get an extra hour of sleep!  You can show up at our 10 o’clock service and still feel like you have slept in.  If you forget to change your clocks, you can always join the Rector’s Council in prayer an hour before the service!  Either way, we will see you Sunday morning as we celebrate All Saints’ Day!

Every year each church in the CEC in American takes up an offering to support developing churches in Africa.  In years gone by, we did this at Christmas.  Two years ago, the Patriarch’s Council and the United States’ House of Bishops decided in consensus that it was best to move the collection of that offering to the Sunday closest to All Saints’ Day (November 1st).

100% of the money collect goes directly to Africa under the direction of Bishops Bernard Njoroge, Emmanuel Ngarimpatse, and Francis Gogo.  The Patriarch has created vehicles for accountability that are available on CEC Development’s Web-Site.  We encourage all of our members to participate inasmuch as they are able, confident that this money is being responsibly managed and strengthening the churches of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church in Africa.

You may click below to download additional resources:

The Patriarch’s Letter on the All Saints’ Offering

The Accountability Report from the 2012 All Saints’ Offering

This Thursday night, Halloween, from 6:30 to 8:30, Church of the Messiah will host its yearly All Saints Festival.  This is a safe and Christian alternative to wandering about neighborhoods knocking on random doors.  There will be fun and games, free food including a cotton candy machine and bagfuls of candy to give away, and even two different bounce houses!  Everything is free to anyone who wants to come.  Invite your friends; invite your neighbors.

We still need volunteers!  We need adults who will not be supervising their own children who can volunteer to run booths, hand out food and cotton candy, and give away goodies during the night.  Please contact Amanda Paysinger as soon as possible to help coordinate the night.  We look forward to seeing everyone there!