Roseberry's Leaderboard

Indiana Jones? No, that's Fr. David at Joppa in Israel, leading a Holy Land pilgrimage.

Fr. Clint

Fr. David and Fran left for Israel Monday with a group of 30 pilgrims. Over the next 10 days they will explore the land where Jesus lived and ministered, culminating in a journey down the pathway Jesus took to Golgotha, the place where he died for our sins. Having taken this pilgrimage four years ago, I can say it is a spiritually moving experience. Please be in prayer for those on the trip: that they will travel safely, and be open to the work God wants to do in them as they explore the land of the Bible.

In Fr. David’s absence, I wanted to update you on the progress we are making in Family Ministry at Christ Church. Over the last several months we have been working hard to create one ministry from three departments: the Nursery, Children’s Ministry and Youth Ministry. One of the most challenging and exciting parts of this work has been the creation of a unified plan of ministry. We started with a question: “What type of disciples do we want to graduate from our program?” From there, we’re building a pathway to form fully committed disciples of Christ who have a love of scripture, a passion for worship, a heart to serve, and an appreciation for the community of the church.

But while we’re planning for the future, exciting ministry is happening right now! Last Friday, around 50 4th and 5th graders were joined by 20 adult chaperones (including Fr. Jeff!) for the annual GAP45 Rock Climbing outing. The GAP ministry is growing by leaps and bounds as our older children are being discipled each Wednesday night.

Fr. Jeff Rawn joins the GAP45 rock climbing fun.

We’ve had a great response for the Youth Winter Retreat at Pine Cove February 17-19. There is still space available if your 6th-12th grader would like to sign up. Finally, our next Parenting Seminar is coming up soon! Dr. Ken Wilgus and I will discuss how you can restore margins (and sanity!) to the life of your family. More information can be found here.

We have a wide variety of families at Christ Church: two parents, single parents, grandparents raising grandkids, etc. Whatever your family looks like, we’re here for you! Let us know how we can support you as you raise young disciples who love Jesus!

Have a great week! ‘See you Sunday,

Fr. Clint+

What a fantastic time we had in worship this past weekend! We baptized nine people – 5 children and 4 adults – in the sanctuary services. Beyond that, we had a great response to our Kids in Need outreach.

The wall in Fellowship Hall was nearly empty after the 11 a.m. service. If you weren’t able to pick up a school supply list for a child last weekend, you’ll still have the opportunity to do so this weekend. If you would like to volunteer to help serve lunch to children at Boyd Elementary School on July 18-22, please contact Marsha Kostus. There are still a couple of volunteer spots to be filled. Both of these are fun opportunities to make a big impact in the life of Kids in Need in our community this summer.

It’s hard to believe that we’re at the halfway point of summer! I’ve already heard families starting to talk about the getting ready for school activities, which will start in early August. As you are thinking about your kids starting a new venture, maybe you should think about starting something new yourself! Small Groups are a great way to dig deeper in your Christian walk while getting to know your Christian brothers and sisters on a deeper level. If you’re interested in getting involved in a small group, please contact Melissa Smrekar.

And please be in prayer for our Middle School students as they head to camp this weekend. 50 students and 10 adult sponsors will load on a bus Friday evening for a great week at Jonathan Creek in Kentucky. Pray that God will give them an openness to hear his voice and allow him to do his work in their lives while they’re at camp.

Finally, Fr. David shared a bit of news with us this week.
Check out the announcement that sent him (and Fran) packing »

Have a great week. Stay cool…and we’ll see you this weekend in worship,

Fr. Clint+

One of the traditions that Fran and I have as we drive home from vacation is to reassess our lives, our home, our goals and our priorities. This year was no different. As we drove home from Florida in mid-June, we asked the question about what God might be calling us to do.

Strangely enough we both had the same sense, that He was calling us to make a move. Part of this was motivated by desires to carry less of a mortgage, but part of it was a God-inspired message to travel a bit lighter.

I suggested to Fran that she go out with a realtor friend and just look at different homes. A friend of our daughter-in-law, Stacy, heard that we were looking at real estate, and by the end of the first day, we had an offer on our home. Within a day or two we had found another home, made an offer on it, and, God willing, we will close on our new home on the 18th, and start moving!

We are both very excited about it. There are many remarkable things about this house, but most remarkable has been the way we have felt led by God throughout the process. The last three weeks have been a whirlwind of travel and vacation and conferences, but it has all shown me more of God’s great grace over us all.

I’ll look forward to seeing you soon. Until then, if you have any boxes…

In Christ,

David+

http://www.nickpage.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/longestweek-timetable2.pdf

Dear Friends,

After months of information and weeks of prayer, we have finally come to the end of the pledge phase of the Renew for Our Future campaign. Click here to see a short video announcement the grand total!

In Christ,
David+

Thanks to all who pledged!