MORGAN CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE

May 15th, 2025

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Greetings Morgan Church of the Nazarene!

      What a privilege it is to be your pastor! This past Sunday I shared with all of you my annual report for our previous fiscal year; it was my sixth report as pastor here. I praise God for all the things He has done and is doing through the ministry of this church. And God is not done with us yet! He still calls us to participate in his work of bringing life and redemption. Let's be full participants in that work!

      There are many ways we can participate in the work that God is doing here. Among them, one way is through our giving. In some ways our giving is a private matter - it is a matter of expressing gratitude to God for his provision in our lives, as well as a statement of our trust in Him to care for us as we give to the church. And on the other hand, our giving is a way to partner with God and with each other in the work. Our giving allows us to continue to resource our ministries with curriculums and supplies. Our giving allows us to maintain our facilities. And our giving provides for those employed by the church. Have a prayerful conversation with God about giving as participation in God's mission. Have a prayerful conversation with God about other ways you could participate in His mission.

     It's happening! We will have a new sewer-line put in at the end of this month! That means we are running out of time to raise the $10,000 to replace it. We currently have around $3500 designated for our "Flush Fund," so we have some work to do before it is completed!

     On Tuesday I met with our church board for our first meeting of this fiscal year. We had a great time of prayer together. We placed our "board books" on the altar in the sanctuary while we prayed. We offered all we do as a board to the Lord as an offering of worship. It is His church, and so the business of the church is His business. We have a difficult task of being good stewards of the church, its people, and its ministries while also being responsible for the financial stewardship of the church. In light of our current financial situation (see the finance report or my pastor's report for more information), the board approved a temporary budget  (through Sept 30) that included reduced hours and/or compensation for all church employees. We are trusting God to provide during this interim period in hopes that further cuts will not need to be made. I have attached the Combined Annual Reports to this email, which includes The Pastors Report, Finance Report, and other reports from our board members and staff this past year.

     The church board is also excited about the possibility of changing our Sunday morning schedule to have our worship service first, and then a discipleship hour (Sunday School), between our English and Spanish services. This would provide opportunities for discipleship for our whole church, as well as get us all in the building together. We see this as a step forward in light of being a multicultural church with services in two languages. No specific plan has been made, no date set for a change - we wanted to invite the whole congregation into the conversation before making a significant change. What do you think?

      

This Sunday, 

9:30am -   Sunday School

10:45am - Worship Service

                  Kids will go to children's church.

1:00pm -   Worship Service in Spanish; Servicio de Adorar en Espanol

 

Prayer: again, from Psalm 23. May it become our reality.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

 

Announcements: (For more details, see the bulletin, check out our Facebook page, or just ask!)

"Flush Fund" - We need to replace the sewer line under our gym/kitchen/bathrooms. Our kitchen and bathrooms are essential for the ministry we do here, so this replacement is a necessity. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to cover the cost of the replacement. Replacement is happening at the end of this month - please consider giving to this fund.

Baby Bottle Campaign: Support the pregnancy resource center by picking up a baby bottle and filling it with change. Return on Father's Day

Mosaic: We will be doing a combined, multi-generational Sunday school in the months of June and July. Each week we will hear the testimony (story) of some of our own people. This will be a great time of encouragement, inspiration, and getting to know one another better. Be prayerfully considering sharing your own story as part of Mosaic. See Stacey Fajardo with questions.

Youth Camp: June 6-9

Kids Camp: July 21-25

Annual Reports for the Church: Our Annual Reports will be published on our website early next week and attached to next week's weekly email.

 

Summer Ministry @ Landmark - We will be loving the community at Landmark again this summer. Beginning June 4, we will be going on Wednesday evenings (6:30pm - 8pm) until July 9. July 16-18 will be a "Bible Camp" for all ages at Landmark. Be praying how you might participate! 

We also feel compelled to soak the community and the ministry in prayer. Will you join us in prayer for the community at Landmark, for our church, and the ministry there this summer? 

30 Days of Prayer - For the 30 days leading up to June 4 (Our first Wednesday at Landmark), we want people to fast and pray for Landmark. Let us join together in prayer. Sign up in the foyer.

Corporate Prayer - Join us on Wednesday at 6:15pm for prayer.

 

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Kent