PASTOR'S UPDATE NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Happy Friday Friendship Family, 

This is our mid-month update and check-in where I seek to connect with you and provide updates and reminders about church announcements and upcoming events! 

November has already been a thankful and busy month for us! Remember, November reminds us that we have a responsibility to respond to God with gratitude and thanksgiving for all He has done and continues to do!  And remember beloved we can have thankful hearts toward God even when we do not like our current circumstances or season of our life! Gratitude is not situational, it is relational. It is based on our relationship with a faithful God!

By way of review, we started the month with a great in-person prayer time on Friday, November 2nd! It was a really good time of connecting with God in community! Thank you to all those who came out and offered prayers on behalf of the Friendship Church Family! 

I still believe that prayer still works and that if we are to do what God has called us to do we must remained firmly rooted in prayer! Amen! Remember our prayer focus this month is Expressing thankfulness to CHRIST.
PRAYER STILL WORKS!

Then on Sunday, November 4th we celebrated the First Sunday with a High Church, Old School, Throwback Worship Sunday!  It was amazing! We had devotion, communion, we dedicated and presented four Mothers of the church.  The ladies wore their hats as a homage to the Black Church tradition of Church Ladies in hats!  Did you know that there is an entire Church Ladies Hat Exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture in DC?  
I digress… LOL. I just wanted you to know that the Black Church has a long history with HATITUDE!

Anyway it was a great first Sunday Worship and we started a short series in Philippians.
Our first sermon from chapter one was entitled as Confidence to Carry On from Philippians 1: 3-18 ESV.  The second sermon, which I delivered this past Sunday was from chapter 2 of Philippians and it was entitled Confidently Lean Into Christ’s Conversion from Philippians 2:12-18 ESV.  (Yep, we will continue in Philippians 3 this week, be sure to come to church) LOL!
 
Then on On, Thursday, November 9th we a great Community Health Forum in collaboration with the Association of Black Cardiologists and Orange County churches and pastors. It was a great event and I appreciate all those who came out, participated and served! Thank you to the Friendship staff for their steadfastness! 

Then, on Sunday, we had a great Health Fair presented by our own Friendship Health Ministry and the Association of Black Cardiologists! It was great! Thank you Friendship Health Ministry! You are AMAZING!  We health screenings, health education, healthy snacks, and medical providers to help answer health-related questions.  I got my blood pressure checked, carotided arteries checked, thyroid checked, and my cholesterol checked!  All were in NORMAL range! Praise the Lord!  What about you? When was the last time you’ve seen a doctor?

Again, it’s been a busy MONTH! 

Now we are getting ready to celebrate THANKSGIVING!  Let me wish each of you an early HAPPY THANKSGIVING! May you have a wonderful time of reflective gratitude, family sharing, and hopefully some relaxation!

Here are this week's announcements...
Note: we made the pictures a bit smaller, please tap or click on them to enlarge.

THANKSGIVING FOOD BASKET GIVEAWAY
As we prepare for the Thanksgiving Holiday, I want to remind you of two things related to Thanksgiving!  First, we will have our annual Thanksgiving Food Basket Give-a-way on tomorrow, Saturday, November 18th, beginning at 11 am. We will distribute BASKETS on a First Come, First Served Basis.  So if you or someone you know needs a Thanksgiving Food Basket, you are encouraged to show up Saturday, November 18th beginning at 10 am.

THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE
Secondly, we are bringing back our THANKGIVING EVE SERVICE on Wednesday, November 22nd, at 7:30pm. We pray you will join us!

2024 CHURCH CALENDAR
Attention Ministry Leaders. We are busy planning the 2024 Church Calendar. All ministry dates and event dates for the 2024 Church Calendar are due by Monday, November 20th. Please send your calendar additions to Leigha Carrington in Membership Services by then. Also, if you need a calendar guide, please get in touch with Leigha for that as well. You may reach her at her email HERE

MINISTRY ELECTIONS
Also, ministry leaders remember ministry elections need to take place by November 20th as well and sent to the church office, that is Leigha Carrington, as soon as possible. If you will not meet the deadline, please advise your Governance Committee Liason.

"DENT THE DEFICIT"
Friendship! We continue to need your partnership to close the gap and raise the budget by the year’s end, and make a “Dent in the Deficit!”  

This is not merely about reaching the budget but about our walk of faith.  Returning a whole tithe articulates faith in God’s Word.  Now, if you do not feel you can return a whole tithe at this time, would you consider increasing your contribution by $25 per week until the end of the year? Or Give $200 more by the end of the year?  If every one of us would do so, we would clear the deficit and meet our 2023 budget.

If we go into the new year with a deficit, it makes it that much harder for us to do excellent ministry. I am confident that all things are possible together and with God, and the best is still yet to come! That’s what the Voices of Joy reminded us this past Sunday!  To give, go HERE.

FUTURE NOW INITIATIVE
Also, please continue to pray for the Future NOW Initiative. God is up to something!

Plans are being reviewed and we are making progress!  Prayerfully, we can start sometime in November. Pray!

On the pledge form, please indicate your planned pledge amount and your frequency of giving. Again, if you have the printed form, please put your total pledge amount on the KICK STARTER LINE. Then tell us, on that form, whether you will give your pledge over 12 months or 15 months. Lastly, please tell us the frequency of your giving, whether you will give weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly (as a one-time gift). Also, the form is available online HERE.  


General Church things to remember:

• 2023 CHURCH THEME:

      Resilient Faith
      Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV

• PRAYER FOCUS:

     November - Expressing Thankfulness to Christ
     Duet 20:4; 1 Cor 15:57; Prov. 21:31; I John 5:4

• BIBLE READING

     We invite everyone to consider reading God’s Word this year! As of today, you have  44 days to complete a Bible reading plan, including today. At Friendship, we encourage every member to read one of six Bible reading plans in the year. Consider starting a Bible reading plan! The plans include:
✔️ The entire Bible,
✔️ The Pentateuch (or the first five books of the Old Testament),
✔️ The entire Old Testament,
✔️ The Gospels (or the first four books of the New Testament),
✔️ The entire New Testament, and
✔️ Psalms and Proverbs (3 times)
Plans have been printed and you may pick up a copy in the foyer of the Carrington Building.

• WEEKLY HEALTH WALK 

      Remember,  Health Care Ministry is sponsoring a weekly Health Walk every Saturday  from 7:00 am to 7:35 am led by Rev. Aubrey Craig and Sister Sandra Jones. This is a 30-minute walk. The walking group will meet on the corner of Bastanchury Road and Rose Drive.  If you want to participate, show up with water and energy snacks. Water and snacks will not be provided. For more information, please call Sister Sandra Jones at  909-438-7217.

• IN-PERSON EX-HOUR: 

      We invite you to stay after the first service or come earlier for the second service to attend EX-Hour in person. Remember, we have two adult classes meeting in person on campus and a Young Adult Class. They meet as follows:

• Adult Class One (Sanctuary): The team teaching in the Sanctuary includes Lady Karima Curry, Pamela Jones, Deacon Demetrius Linebarger, Melanie Porter, Vivian Randolph, & Deacon James Shelby
• Adult Class Two (Carrington Building Room 217): The team teaching in the Carrington Building Room 217 includes Le Shon Archer, Deacon Rick Archer, Karen Ammons, Gwen Matthews, and Rev. Phil Yoder
• Young Adults Class (Carrington Building Rooms 207-208): This class is designed for those aged 18-35.
• EX HOUR: Virtual Ex-Hour meets weekly on Sundays via ZOOM. Join us for class at 10:00 am via this link HERE.
• YOUTH EX HOUR: Our in-person youth EX-Hour takes place during our designated EX Hour time in the Multipurpose Building. Parents, please encourage your students to join youth teachers for this biblically fun opportunity to learn God’s Word, connect with others, and grow.
• CHILDREN’S EX-HOUR: As stated in previous weeks, our Children’s EX-Hour is back and meets on Sundays at 10 am in the Multipurpose Building. Parents, please note you must check in and check out your children weekly for Ex-Hour.  
• MOMMIES WITH BABIES: We have our Mommies with Babies class simultaneously during EX-Hour in the Multipurpose Building. Mommies with two years old and younger children are invited to this EX-HOUR class and are encouraged to bring their children with them! Come for encouragement, community, and growth! Amen!
• WEDNESDAY Prayer Day: Join us each Wednesday for Prayer. We pray at 6:30 am, 12:00 pm, and 6:30 pm. To connect with our prayer services, please follow this link HERE or dial in at +1 (413) 418-4274 and use the PIN 287683504#. 
• FBC FOOD BANK OPEN: The FBC Food Bank is OPEN with a new drive-thru system where our clients will receive a pre-packaged food box and a bag of groceries.  The Food Bank’s hours of operation are Tuesday - Thursday, 2:30 pm-4:30 pm.  

Well that’s it!

I love you Friendship, But God Loves you BEST

I look forward to worship with you SUNDAY. We will be in Philippians Chapter 3!

In His Service,

Rev. Kenneth C. Curry, Jr.
Your Pastor