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News & Announcements for Sunday, October 1, 2023
Posted on Sep 28, 2023 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News | 0
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JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:00-10:00. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
MISSION FOCUS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
Our focus for the month of October is Christmas Food Boxes. Peanut butter, canned meats, canned fruits, soups, and jelly or jam are always a good idea. Since we are closer to the delivery date, mid-December, we can now add packaged foods such as mac and cheese, pasta, and pancake mix. Of course, spaghetti sauce and syrup are welcome too! When buying something for yourself, consider getting two and bringing one for this worthy mission. Donations can be placed in the receptacle in the narthex. Thank you for your support!
DISASTER RELIEF DONATIONS
When disaster strikes locally or abroad (such as the Maui wildfire or Hurricane Idalia, and you would like to contribute to the recovery efforts through the work of the church, you may do so by putting “Disaster” in the memo field or by going to https://epc.org/donate/emergencyrelief/. Relief funds are distributed through local EPC churches in the impacted communities so the aid goes to those who need it most.
DOWNLOAD THE CHURCH CENTER APP
Scan the QR code with the camera on your smartphone to download our app! In the app are the church calendar, small group and volunteer opportunities, the online church directory, and more.
YOUTH MINISTRY SCHEDULE CHANGE
Please note that the youth group will not meet on Sunday, October 8 or 15. We are meeting today, October 1 and will resume on October 22.
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News & Announcements for Sunday, Sept 24, 2023
Posted on Sep 20, 2023 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News | 0
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NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:00-10:00. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING – TODAY, following Worship
The Session has called a Congregational Meeting for Sunday, September 24, immediately following worship, for the purpose of electing three members of the congregation to the Nominating Committee.
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – THURSDAY, 9/28, 10:00AM
The Women’s Book Club will meet next Thursday, September 28 at 10:00am, at Northminster. This month’s book is A Painted House by John Grisham.
MISSION FOCUS FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER
Our focus for the month of August is Neighbors Helping Neighbors. NHN has a selective food warehouse that provides “guests” with the opportunity to shop for their groceries; it’s open the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Saturdays from 8:00-10:30 am. If you would like to donate funds to help Neighbors Helping Neighbors, please specify “NHN” on your check memo line. See the newsletter for more information. Thank you for your support!
DISASTER RELIEF DONATIONS
When disaster strikes locally or abroad (such as the Maui wildfire or Hurricane Idalia, and you would like to contribute to the recovery efforts through the work of the church, you may do so by putting “Disaster” in the memo/note field of your donation, or by going to https://epc.org/donate/emergencyrelief/. Relief funds are distributed through local EPC churches in the impacted communities so the aid goes to those who need it most.
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News & Announcements for Sunday, Sept 17, 2023
Posted on Sep 13, 2023 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News | 0
NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS – Sunday, Sept 17, 2023
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:00-10:00. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
GLEANING FOR THE WORLD – WEDNESDAY, 8:30AM
Please join us in the parking lot of the church for carpooling. We will return to the church around 11:30 am.
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – NEXT THURSDAY, 9/28, 10:00AM
The Women’s Book Club will meet next Thursday, September 28 at 10:00am. Location TBD. This month’s book is A Painted House by John Grisham.
MISSION FOCUS FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER
Our focus for the month of August is Neighbors Helping Neighbors. NHN has a selective food warehouse that provides “guests” with the opportunity to shop for their groceries; it’s open the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Saturdays from 8:00-10:30 am. If you would like to donate funds to help Neighbors Helping Neighbors, please specify “NHN” on your check memo line. See the newsletter for more information. Thank you for your support!
DISASTER RELIEF DONATIONS
When disaster strikes locally or abroad (such as the Maui wildfire or Hurricane Idalia, and you would like to contribute to the recovery efforts through the work of the church, you may do so by putting “Disaster” in the memo/note field of your donation, or by going to https://epc.org/donate/emergencyrelief/. Relief funds are distributed through local EPC churches in the impacted communities so the aid goes to those who need it most.
Read more...
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September 2023 Pastor’s Corner — Restructure, Recast, Release
Posted on Aug 31, 2023 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, Ministry, Missions, Pastor's Corner | 0
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“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
— Is. 43:19
If you weren’t able to join us for the Rally Day & Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, August 27, I wanted to share with you what God has been doing in and through the Session over the past several months. At the Annual Meeting in February, we looked at the challenges we are facing as a church and anticipated some of what we thought God might be leading us toward in the months to come. That work is ongoing, but the picture is beginning to come into better focus. While there is concern about the future of Northminster, God is making a way for us to follow as He continues to use Northminster to “experience and share the love of God in order to transform our homes, our community, and our world.” As we said in February, that work involves Restructuring, Recasting, and Releasing.
Restructuring
As a church, we are facing a very pragmatic problem: As a congregation whose worship attendance currently averages in the low- to mid-30s, we are not able to find enough people willing and qualified to serve as Ruling Elders on the Session. This has led the Session to ask, just what is an Elder supposed to be and do? Does the way our Elders currently function match what Scripture says and what the EPC Book of Order describes? With the help of the leadership of the New River Presbytery, we have worked hard to answer those questions. We’ve learned that the primary work of an elder is that of “under-shepherd” (1 Peter 5:1-5), but our elders have more often functioned as committee chairs. The duties and responsibilities of managing committees prevents our elders from being shepherds (see Acts 6:1-6 for how the early church addressed this same problem) — and that has only been compounded as we’ve combined committees due to the lack of willing and qualified elder candidates over the years.
In order to address these issues, we are going to reduce the number of elders seated on Session to three. This means that the elders will no longer be able to serve as chairs of the various committees, which will free them to serve as shepherds. While we have extensive examples and descriptions of what this might look like, there’s a lot of it we’re going to figure out as we go along. But the only way this works is if we recast the work of the various committees.
Recasting
Our “committees” will be recasted as “ministry teams.” While initially this might sound like a new name for the same thing, it actually represents a culture shift. A committee is a group of people who are responsible for taking action on a particular matter; it “does the work” on behalf of the organization. A ministry team, however, is committed to take action on the vision entrusted to it through the experience of Christian Fellowship, and the discipleship of its members. Ministry teams are exceptionally flexible, dynamic means of aligning people for effective ministry, while providing ongoing encouragement to each person. A ministry team invites the congregation to join and participate in the work of the Kingdom of God. Instead of having “chairs,” we will have team leaders, which do not have to be (and will not be able to be) the seated elders on Session. The elders will exist to resource and support (shepherd) the ministry teams. The ministry teams will help equip and release the church for mission and ministry.
Releasing
In the Great Commission, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:18-20) He has released his disciples to do the work of the Kingdom of God. It is a work every believer is called and released to do, and it doesn’t require a committee approving it beforehand. We want to be a church that is equipping, releasing and sending disciples into our homes, community and world in order to transform them through experiencing and sharing God’s love. We believe that the Holy Spirit is already at work in and around us, and is inviting us to join Him in that work today. For Northminster to continue to impact our community for the Kingdom of God, we need to embrace our calling as disciples of Jesus to “go.”
I imagine you’re feeling something similar to what I’m feeling right now: a little bit of excitement, and a little bit of anxiety as well. This is a pretty big shift in how we understand ourselves as a church as well as how to go about the work of the church. I imagine it’s not too different from what the early explorers felt when they set out from the “old world” to discover the “new.” They knew where they were headed, had a pretty good idea of what they were looking for, but also knew they’d be figuring out most of it as they went along. God has given us a strong vision for the future of Northminster, and we have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to look like, but we also know we’re going to be figuring out much of it as we go along. As we head into both the known and unknown of our future, we can step out boldly, trusting fully in the very last words Jesus spoke in the book of Matthew:
“Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matt. 28:18-20
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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August 2023 Pastor’s Corner — Faith & Prayer
Posted on Jul 31, 2023 by David Garrison in Christian Living, General, HomePage, Pastor's Corner, Prayers, Spiritual Growth | 0
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Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” — Matt. 17:19–20
And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” — Mark 9:28–29
Sometimes you come across something in the Bible that seems small and innocuous at first, but over time you realize what you thought was little is actually a lot bigger. Jesus is really good at doing that when he is teaching us things. In this case, the little thing I came across was a small difference in how Matthew and Mark relate the healing of an epileptic, demon-possessed boy. This scene takes places immediately after the transfiguration of Jesus. The disciples were not able to cast the demon out, and the Pharisees mocked them for it. Jesus, of course, was able. After Jesus and the disciples entered the privacy of the house they were staying in, they asked Jesus why they weren’t able to drive the demon out. That’s where the difference in the stories comes in, as well as the revelation the Holy Spirit impressed upon me.
As you can see above, Jesus gives a different answer in Matthew compared to Mark. But it’s not actually a different answer, and that’s the part that’s stuck with me for the past few days. What did the disciples need to drive the demon out, more faith or more prayer? Yes. You see, faith and prayer are intrinsically linked together. As William Hendriksen writes, “Where there is little faith, there is little prayer. Conversely, where there is an abundance of genuine, persevering faith, there is also fervent, unrelenting prayer.” When our faith lags, our trust in God erodes. If we aren’t trusting in God, then why would we pray, for is not prayer itself an act and expression of trust? The more deeply I trust in God, the stronger my faith will be, the more constant will then be my prayers.
It is hard, sometimes, to know how our walk with the Lord is going. If someone were to ask you, “how strong is your faith today?” how would you know what to say? It’s such a subjective question. We can often think our faith in God is strong, when we aren’t actually trusting in Him very much at all. However, being asked, “how is your prayer life going?” is much more concrete and objective. As the Holy Spirit has needled at me about this, I’ve come to see a strong and direct correlation between my prayer life and my trust in God. I encourage you to look at your prayer life as well. Are you trusting in the Lord as much as you say or think you are? Does your prayer life reflect that trust and faith? There’s no time like right now to pray!
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. — 1 Th. 5:16–19
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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