Pastor's Newsletter - March 5, 2010
Dear Saint! We are all looking forward to a special celebration tomorrow. While the church is certainly not going to look hugely different than it used to, it will be terrific to be back in the church. Once the carpet went back in and covered up the cement, it just felt like "church" again, and I think you will enjoy how it looks. It's new, it's fresh, the team did a great job in many, many ways. We owe the Reconstruction team a lot, and the owner will be at church tomorrow so we can thank him personally face to face. We have also been blessed by the very hard work of our leadership team that has helped in the reconstruction, making decisions, and doing what we could do ourselves. Because of having the carpet out, we took advantage of the time to fix as many things as we could afford, so while some of those changes may not be obvious, the church is in much better shape because of that extra work. We are going to be getting over $100,000 work of improvements, with us only paying about $30,000, so our money has tripled! A owe a thank you to Ben Franklin and whoever else invented insurance! Of that $30,000, the church has raised about $15,000, and so as of now we will only have to dip into reserves $15,000, for which we thank all of you. We are planning a ribbon-cutting and everything tomorrow, so don't come late! We will gather in the courtyard with refreshments and music, and then all go in to the Sanctuary together so that we all see it for the first time at the same time! The Children's Church group is canceling their usual service, so they can be part of this grand rededication service. There will be our regular potluck afterwards, so just come and be a part of this. WEEKEND SERVICES: 9:30 am Youth & Young Adults-the breakfast is terrific every week, thanks to Hilda, Lesieli, Carmen, Bob Evans, and I'm not sure who else contributes. Then music at 9:45 am, and study at 10:10 am. SS CLASSES-Tom Neslund's class will be back in the North Room at 9:30 am, and Jack Johnson will be back in the Fellowship Hall. The Vietnamese group I believe will be in the Pathfinder Room, and the Lopez class in the Fellowship Hall. March 20 another class will join the Fellowship Hall, led by Ron Reynolds and assisted by Merrill Schmidt, on the Character of God in the 66 books. They are not looking for members to come from other classes, but for people not in a class now who are looking for deeper and better answers to the hardest questions about God in the Bible. DIVINE WORSHIP: Refreshments out on the patio between SS and Church. Ribbon cutting at 10:50 am, grand processional with trumpets and everything! Rededication litany, drama, children's story, and the sermon starts a new series: "UNASHAMED!" Potluck for everybody upstairs in the Fellowship Hall. No Grace Team this week, but the Evangelism Committee will meet right after the Potluck, followed by 'THE GIFT GOES ON" at 4 pm. PATHFINDERS AND ADVENTURERS: The Kite Day in San Diego was cancelled by the Conference due to the threat of rain, so the camping trip has also been cancelled. The regular meetings will be Saturday night, tomorrow night: 6:30 pm for Pathfinders, and 7:00 pm for Adventurers. Sunday is a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach at 2:00 pm. Prices are $9.95 for 11 and under, and $18.95 for 12 and up. EXPERIENCING GOD: Thursday night, 6:30 pm. The room was full Thursday night, but we have 2 books left if anybody wants to join. EQUIPMENT REPORT: We have received some great donations of either money or equipment so far. The monitors should be covered, 2 of the mics, and the projector and laptops (loan from Orangewood). For those of you who pledged, mark the envelope "Local Evangelism". Every pledge meant a lot! God bless, have a great weekend! Pastor Dan
Pastor Dan Smith
951-359-4634 home
951-236-7262 cell
pastordan@gardengrovesda.com
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