Don’t forget that tonight we “spring forward,” so before you go to bed tonight set your clocks ahead one hour. If not, you will be an hour late to Church. If you’re somebody who is late as it is, you might miss the whole thing except that this Sunday we are having our Potluck Sunday and Annual Meeting right after our service. Go to bed early to make up for that hour of sleep you are going to lose and we will see you Sunday morning!
Category: Uncategorized
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Daylight Savings Time Begins Tonight
Don’t forget that tonight we “spring forward,” so before you go to bed tonight set your clocks ahead one hour. If not, you will be an hour late to Church. If you’re somebody who is late as it is, you might miss the whole thing except that this Sunday we are having our Potluck Sunday and Annual Meeting right after our service. Go to bed early to make up for that hour of sleep you are going to lose and we will see you Sunday morning!
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Annual Meeting and Potluck THIS Sunday!
This Sunday, March 8th, Church of the Messiah will have its Annual Meeting where we will give our yearly financial reports to the congregation. We will show how we fared in terms of actual spending compared to the 2014 budget and present the 2015 budget as well. The year we will also be having a Potluck Dinner the same date. This will make it easier for families will small children (or adults with large appetites) to stay after church for the meeting. We will serve up the meal between the service and the meeting so children can have their meals and no one will be grumpy. The church will provide the smoked turkey, so bring side items, desserts and drinks for everyone to share. When you arrive at church on Sunday, bring your dishes into the kitchen and head into the service. It’s going to be a great day filled with the Good News first and the great food and great reports!
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“Lent with Lewis: Letters to Malcolm” Begins Tonight!
Starting tonight, Wednesday, February 25, Church of the Messiah will lead a four-part Bible study series on the C. S. Lewis classic Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. This will be the second Bible study in our “Lent with Lewis” series after the success of last year’s A Peek Inside the Devil’s Playbook: A Lenten Bible Study Based on The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer is a collection of letters written by Lewis to his friend Malcolm on the subject of prayer. During the course of the study, we will address topics including private prayer, corporate prayer, using pre-written prayers, supplication, the Eucharist, and much more. The book can be purchased through all on-line provided as well as at local book-sellers and is available in electronic formats as well, however having read the book in advance is not necessary for the Bible study.
Our 2nd annual Lent with Lewis Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer begins February 25 and runs through March 18 beginning at 7 o’clock every Wednesday night. The service ends prior to 8:30 each night so that everyone has time to return home in time for work and school the next day. Everyone is welcome and childcare is provided. We look forward to growing with you this Lent through studying prayer together.
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Prayers for “The 21”
An Icon of The 21 Martyrs after the Coptic style of writing icons. After Fr. Melanson’s prayer prior to to the Eucharist yesterday, many asked about the getting a copy of his text. For those unfamiliar, last Sunday marked one week since ISIS terrorists martyred 21 Coptics Christians who were working in Libya. Coptic Christians, or simply Copts, are Egyptian Christian who trace their ancestry all the way back to the first century with St. Mark the Evangelist. The passage which Fr. Melanson read was written by American author Ann Voskamp and is as follows:
Lord God, it’s been 7 days now since the world first saw The 21,
Since their sacrifice stirred us to live like they kneeled,
to withstand like they stood fast
to be bold like they believed,
to love like they died — Christ-like.It’s been Sunday to Sunday, 7 days to let their martyrdom
fan into flame a wildfire of Gospel-love in the Kingdom,
To let the way they turned to You in the end,
Cause us to return to our First Love now,
To let the way they actually died for their faith
Fuel us to actually live ours.Lord, it’s been 7 days since the 21 died
for being People of the Cross:
Cause us to wake and live like people of the Cross now.
As they did not recant of their love of Christ,
let us repent of our lukewarm love for Christ.As they kneeled on those shores and sacrificed their lives to You,`
let waves of revival make our lives living sacrifices to You —
And let the blood of the committed martyrs
be the seed of a revived, committed church.In the name of Jesus’ —
the only One who has ever Loved us to death,
And back to the Real and Forever life.The website 21Martyrs.com contains the names of all 21 martyrs as well as a call to commit to pray at 7:03 each day for the next 40 days.
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Men’s Breakfast Tomorrow Morning!
The men of Church of the Messiah are coming together this Saturday morning, February 21st, for our bi-monthly Men’s Breakfast. Starting at 8 o’clock at Church of the Messiah, John Cunningham and his Merry Men will be up early in the cold preparing all the wonderful breakfast “fixings” that make for a great manly meal as well as a great time of fellowship with the other men of the parish. After the meal we will spend time discussing ideas for future events for Men’s Ministry and what we would like to do together both for fellowship and ministry outreach. Bring your appetites and good ideas. To RSVP or for more information, contact John Cunningham. There is no cost for the meal, however we will accept donations to offset the cost of the meal. If there is any money left over after expense have been covered, leftover money will go into the men’s ministry fund for future events. We look forward to seeing you bright and early Saturday morning!
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Next Wednesday Begins Our Lenten Bible Study
Beginning Wednesday, February 25, Church of the Messiah will lead a four-part Bible study series through the season of Lent. Continuing with the success of last year’s A Peek Inside the Devil’s Playbook: A Lenten Bible Study Based on The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, we will host our 2nd annual “Lent with Lewis” and focus on another classic work by the 20th century apologist C. S. Lewis. In 2015 we will be studying Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, a collection of letters written by Lewis to his friend Malcolm on the subject of prayer. During the course of the study, we will address topics including private prayer, corporate prayer, using pre-written prayers, supplication, the Eucharist, and much more. The book can be purchased through all on-line provided as well as at local book-sellers and is available in electronic formats as well, however having read the book in advance is not necessary for the Bible study.
Our 2nd annual Lent with Lewis Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer begins February 25 and runs through March 18 beginning at 7 o’clock every Wednesday night. The service ends prior to 8:30 each night so that everyone has time to return home in time for work and school the next day. Everyone is welcome and childcare is provided. We look forward to growing with you this Lent through studying prayer together.
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This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday
This Wednesday, February 18th, begins the season of Lent with the yearly celebration of Ash Wednesday. Lent is the period of 40 days which both commemorates Our Lord’s 40 days in the wilderness fasting and praying before He began His public ministry and helps us to prepare to celebrate the coming feast of Easter by fasting and praying in similar ways. Ash Wednesday is the special celebration where we take time to remember that the Christian walk is called to be one of prayer, fasting, and penitence. We will gather together at 7 o’clock and participate in the imposition of ashes, the litany of penitence, and then partake of the Holy Eucharist as a way to begin a Holy Lent. We invite everyone to join us this Wednesday, beginning at 7 o’clock for our Ash Wednesday Service.
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“Wild About You” Brunch is Tomorrow!
Don’t forget that tomorrow morning, February 7th, beginning at 10 o’clock, Church of the Messiah’s Women’s Ministry will hold their “Wild About You” Brunch. The brunch will be at the home of Cathie Shimp (click HERE for a map). Ladies, be sure to wear a wild, animal print, and bring your favorite love Scripture. The brunch will include wonderful food, fellowship, music, vision, and ministry! For more information, call Cathie Shimp at 904-610-2599. Of course, if you have nothing animal print, they will have tables of extra so that you can come anyway and find your animal apparel when you arrive!
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“Converting the Conversation” Continues Wednesday Night
Fr. Looker’s Bible study Converting the Conversation continues this Wednesday night, February 4th, with a study of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series of movies. Converting the Conversation has taken several of the highest grossing movies of all time and discussed how to reshape conversations about those movies into conversations about Jesus Christ. We have already discussed Frozen as well as the Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe franchises, all of which happen to be owned by Disney. On February 4th, we will be discussing The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (#8 and #18 respectively). If you know Fr. Looker, you know Tolkien is one of his passions, so this session of this Bible study should be one of the highlights of the entire series! Converting the Conversation equips those who attend to better witness to their families, friends, and co-workers using conversations about wildly popular movies as springboards to begin conversations about the Gospel.
The services begin at seven o’clock each night and childcare is provided. We promise to finish by 8:30 every night so that everyone can be home in time to prepare for work and get their little ones ready for school the next morning. These services are open to everyone so be sure to invite your friends. We look forward to seeing everyone together this Wednesday night!
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“Wild About You” Women’s Ministry Brunch This Saturday
This Saturday, February 7th, at 10 o’clock, Church of the Messiah’s Women’s Ministry will hold their “Wild About You Brunch.” The brunch will be at the home of Cathie (and Earl) Shimp (click HERE for a map). Ladies, be sure to wear a wild, animal print, and bring your favorite love Scripture. The brunch will include wonderful food, fellowship, music, vision, and ministry! For more information, call the parish office at 904-721-4199 or Cathie Shimp at 904-610-2599.
