It was a beautiful day inside and out on Sunday!
But before I get to that, let me just mention that Amy Fotherby, our Director of Welcome! and Integration at Harvest, was married on Saturday to Kevin Passafiume. It was a real blessing to be at the ceremony and reception and celebrate with them. God was glorified in how everything came off, I’d say.
As for that beautiful Sunday God provided, it was fun to start the service off with that video of the kids wishing their moms a Happy Mother’s Day. If you missed it that’s because you weren’t in the worship centre on time! Ha! But I’ve included it here in the blog so the moms can see their little cuties again.
The worship was powerful and passionate. I’m sensing a freedom in worship each week that just draws me in. I have the worship music rockin’ my iPod all the time, but getting together with the church to sing these songs to the Lord is just something else entirely. Love it!
We also heard Pastor Todd bring a strong word from Hebrews 12:1-3. The message was “Faith endures” and our time together in worship ended with a time of seeking God for endurance so that we would not grow weary or fainthearted. It was so cool to see all those small group leaders up front ready to pray for us to have greater endurance in the midst of the often-difficult circumstances of life.
And I’m taking some time this week to think about who is in my “cloud of witnesses.” Who are the ones I’m looking to as my examples of enduring faith? You should take sometime to do that too.
The worship aside, because it was Mother’s Day, we also launched our effort to raise funds for the Barrie Pregnancy Resource Centre though their annual Baby Bottle Drive. The BPRC is one of our partner ministries here in town that we actually had the privilege of founding in 2007. Now dozens of churches and many individuals in Barrie and Simcoe County support the ongoing work of the BPRC. So fill those baby bottles you picked up on Sunday and bring them back full on Father’s Day. If you didn’t get one, they will be available again this Sunday in the lobby.
Some big things are coming up in the next few weeks! On Tuesday, May 22 we’ll be getting together as the church to pray for the special celebration weekend with Pastor James MacDonald and Meredith Andrews. That happens May 26 and 27. If you don’t have your concert tickets, get them before we sell out. And plan on inviting friends and family to come to the three celebration services planned for that weekend.
Have a super week!