Worship:Proper 6c, 6.16.13

Our worship service centers on Luke 7:36-8:1. How will Jesus respond to a woman that intrudes a dinner among among the “faithful”?

Worship leaders include: Ah Char Ngwa, Amanda Rone, Karen Choir, Paula Hitchens, Wint Wint Zaw, and the Church Staff. The service concludes with the commissioning of Tim Reddish and the Passport Youth Campers/Mentors.

Worship: Proper 5c, 6.9.13

Our worship service centers on Luke 7:11-17, Jesus encounter with the mourning widow/mother. Will we receive redemption when it is presented to us? The highlight of the service is Allison Dupler’s Baptism.  Worship leaders include Nathan Hatfield, our newest member, Molly Huffstetler, Way Snah, Bill Blanton, and the church staff.

Worship: Proper 4c, 6.2.13

Our worship service centers on Luke 7:1-10. What would it take to surprise Jesus? Worship leaders include Monica Iang, Molly Huffstetler, Bawi Lian Ceu, Linda Southworth, and the Church Staff.

(Note: The service was longer than most at TBC. Thus, the commissioning at the conclusion of the service was cut off in the recording)

Hello and Goodbye.

Dear Church Family:

We’re rounding the corner and preparing to shift into a new season together. Looking back, it has been quite a year. Our congregation tends to defy “church growth” logic and actually gains momentum in the winter season. The momentum that is built will often peak in late spring and then we finally get back into a similar rhythm with sister congregations. We, like so many others, can expect our attendance numbers to diminish a bit on Sunday mornings and that will remain the case over the course of the summer season.  The month of September always feels like a reunion to me as the family comes back together to share the stories of our many adventures.

I share this with you because I feel it is important for us keep our eyes open to see what God is doing among us. Yes, our worship attendance will diminish over the summer. It can be a bit jarring at first but it is actually a very good thing. A good portion of us will take small stretches of time for sabbath rest with our family and friends. The change of pace will be welcomed and the time away will be life-giving. We need rest. We need quiet moments to listen.

I would also suggest that we are called to leave the church this summer. Many of us will literally be sent out of the church to be The Church.  At least five of us will be sent to Millboro Springs (VA), deep into the Alleghenies, to share the love of Christ with inner-city school children. Six of us will be sent to Singapore and Malaysia for two weeks of worship, reunion, and exploration. One of us will facilitate ministry in Wingate (NC) throughout the summer where hundreds of teenagers will meet God in unexpected ways. Seventeen of us will travel to that very camp for a week and will inevitably walk away transformed. We can anticipate that at least five of us will travel to Eagle Eyrie for a week of music training, worship, and laughter.

Three of us will travel to Poland where musical and relational gifts will be used to cross language barriers and reflect the love of Christ. One, possibly two, of us will spend a month in Zimbabwe where we will serve alongside extraordinary believers in making clean water available, education possible, and medicine accessible. Two of us will spend weeks in “Asia” to use  gifts in service to Christ and take one step closer into vocational call. One of us will spend the entire summer and several of us will spend a week in Hell’s Kitchen (NY) nurturing and developing faith with a large group of inner-city children. One of us will travel to Atlanta for a week, offering musical accompaniment to a youth choir. God has put a song in their hearts and Betty will help them share it. The list goes on and on….

I don’t know about you but I don’t think there is anything more beautiful than a church willing to pour itself out and give itself away. The vast majority of those we are sending will be working directly with sister congregations. The love of Christ shines at it’s brightest when we serve and worship together with The Church. Let us commit to continue to embrace the role God has for us as an equipping and sending congregation. When we are here this summer, let us commit to being fully here. When we are gone this summer, let us commit to use the time away to seek out God’s call in our individual and collective lives together.

You are loved and appreciated.

Yours in Christ,

Sterling W. Severns

Pastor

 

 

Worship: Ascension Sunday, 5.12.13

Our Ascension Sunday Service, also Mother’s Day, focuses on the Ascension of Jesus. Worship Leaders include Rebekah and Peter Hoffpauir, Way Ku and Way Thaw Htoo, Bya Wann, Brynne Severns, Julie Sisson, Kathy McGraw, and the Church Staff.

Worship, Easter 6c: 5.5.13

Rev. Dan Schumacher leads us during the Sixth Sunday of the Easter Season. The central passage is John 14:23-29. Worship leaders include Molly Huffstetler, Older Children’s Choir, Ah Char and Ah Dee, Ja Htoi and Ja Tu, Bobby McGraw, Joseph Perdue, Sanctuary Choir, and Church Staff. Rev Schumacher’s sermon it entitled, “The Substance of Peace”.

Summer Sunday School for Children, K-5 and Youth, 6-12

On June 30 we will hold Sunday School Promotion Sunday when the children will be promoted into new classes based on their ages.

In July our regular schedule for children’s and youth Sunday School will change.  All of the children and youth will meet in the Blue Room for a special Lectionary study project.

  • Each week we will meet and study the lectionary passage for the following week in order to construct the story with Legos.
  • We will be studying the passages in Luke from Chapter 10- Chapter 13 and spending time together to create various scenes from the passages with Legos.
  • The resulting creations will then appear on bulletin covers and in the worship services.
  • Regular Children’s and Youth Sunday school will resume on Sept 1, 2013.