The Lighthouse - April 20, 2015

The Future of the Church?  A Second Thought

Last week, I wrote to you about the common phrase we say in church about the kids and youth: "They are the future of our church." I questioned whether they are merely the future or just as much a part of the present as of the future. Since then, I've been thinking about who exactly is the future of the church. First, I thought of everyone will be at church this next Sunday and the following Sunday and the Sunday after that. Those of us who are here now and will be tomorrow are a part of the present and the future. I then thought about those who may not be here in the coming years because of moving to another place or inheriting the promise of the Resurrection. Even we who will not be here in a few years' time are a part of the future because the groundwork we are laying now and because of the gifts we give that may not be used until after we are gone.


Then I thought about another group of people who make up the future of our church: those who are not here yet. They are the folks in our community who are not a part of our present but may be a part of our future, if only we invite them to come and see the wonders of God and we welcome them with open arms into our church. The future of our church lies as much in those that we invite and welcome here as it does in those of us who are already here. When you walk through your neighborhood, when you go to a Little League game, when you shop at the grocery store, when you pass cars on the road on the way to church on Sunday morning, you are seeing the future of the church. What kind of future we have here at Port Church depends on how we invite and welcome them here. The future of the church depends on how we live out the call make disciples of Jesus Christ as we go through our lives. May we have the fire to say to the future of our church: "Come and see. Come and see that the Lord is good!"

Blessings on the journey,
Jim

Worship This Week:
Living with Truth

Who am I? What defines who I truly am - my thoughts, my actions, my hopes, my mistakes, my triumphs? Would other people like me if they knew who I really am? What if I don't like what I see when I like at myself? If God knows everything I have done, what does God really think of me?

These questions are difficult ones to wrestle with, yet they are important to how we understand ourselves as children of God and as followers of Jesus. This week in worship, we will look at Peter - a man who made his fair share of mistakes and wandered from his calling to be the Rock of the Church - as he encountered the resurrected Jesus. Join us as we discover what it means to live with the truth of who we truly are.

Register for Summer Camp!

In order to receive support from the church for registration costs, all registrations for summer camp at Overlook are due this Sunday.

Imagine No Malaria!

Did you know that malaria, a disease that kills about one person in Africa every minute, is preventable? The United Methodist Church has committed to raising $75 million to fight malaria by distributing mosquito nets, cleaning up stagnant water, and educating how to prevent this disease through our Imagine No Malaria Initiative. Our denomination has saved hundreds of thousands of lives so far but there are hundreds of thousands more to save each year. Our conference has set a goal of raising $1 million dollars to save 100,000 lives as a part of this effort.

Our confirmation class has taken on a project to raise money to support Imagine No Malaria. They set a goal of $150 or 15 lives, but they hope to raise even more and save even more lives.They will have a lemonade stand at Gayle's  Quick Stop at the corner of Port Road and Hwy 340 this Sunday from 2 to 4 pm. Come out to sip a cup and save a life!

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Living in Community

• Thanks to the Trustees, the youth, and everyone who came out on Saturday for our clean-up day. A special thanks for the bagged lunches for the workers!
• Thank you for everyone who supported our AVA Walk team. Through your generosity, they raised $1,430 for this vital ministry!
• Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the repair of our stained glass window.  We have raised $850 so far!
• A special thanks goes out to Dianna and Amie for all of their hard work to keep our church office running smoothly!

Upcoming Events

April 22 - 6 pm - Youth Group
April 26 - District Youth Retreat Registration Deadline
April 26 - Overlook Registration Deadline
May 2-3 - District Youth Retreat
May 5 - 7 pm - SPRC Meeting

Mark Your Calendar

Youth Dodge-ball Tournament - May 17
Praise in the Park - May 31, 10 am
RENEW Youth Mission - June 14-19
Vacation Bible School 2015 - June 29 - July 3