Maineville Lighthouse Church

I was thinking…Pastor Steve

 

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans

and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

James 1: 27 (NIV)

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I was thinking about this section of Scripture awhile back. We had just received a substantial donation that the church needed to designate to someplace in our budget. I have been in other churches that had a Pastoral Discretionary Fund or a Benevolence Fund. I proposed to the Administrative Council that we set up a similar fund within the budget, using the donated monies as the seed for this. It passed, and we have been able to utilize it a few times since. This fund is only for people within the church at the pastor’s discretion, and the amount used may vary according to the need.

 

My mistake was not presenting it to the fellowship. I wanted to keep it as an anonymous resource on an “as needed” basis. The problem with that is there wasn’t a way to let the membership know that this was available or that there was a fund to which they could donate to support people within our congregation. We made a plea last month for donations to build that fund back up and you all answered. This isn’t a fund that we wanted to keep a lot of money in, just enough to help out here and there. But, if you feel that you would like to designate a few dollars once a month to that fund, put Benevolence Fund on the check memo line or, if you are using a church envelop, mark the amount on the envelope. It is very much appreciated and, if we are going by the above, it’s very Scriptural!

 

On a side note: have you taken the time to meet some of the new people attending Maineville Lighthouse Church? I know we get busy and have places to get to after the service, but continue to talk with people before and after, and even, heaven forbid, go to the far side of the church to meet the people over there. Yes, it’s great to visit during our Birthday Luncheon, but we may often end up sitting with people we always sit with. Be daring, be bold, be ready…we will all be sitting at the banqueting table in the future so we may as well get some background information now!

 

As you may know, we will be having services during Holy Week. April 2nd is Palm Sunday. The following Thursday of that week, Eric Minamyer will lead our Holy Thursday Service with a message and Communion. For Good Friday, we will have our Tenebrae Service (also known as the Service of Light) with Virgil Barnes and Debbie Leever as our Readers of Scripture, recalling the arrest, trial, and Crucifixion of Jesus. Both of these services will begin at 7 pm. Then, on Saturday, April 8th at 11 am, the children will have an Easter Story presented by Lisa Triance, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt. Diana Harrison and family will co-ordinate and all children are invited. (Donations of plastic eggs and candy are appreciated.) We will finish the week with a Son Rise Service at 9 am on Resurrection Sunday, followed with a breakfast and fellowship. Afterwards, we will hold our normal worship at 10:45 to Celebrate the Risen Lord. I pray that you can make one of more of these events.

 

That’s enough for now. I’m tired just thinking about it. Just remember to watch out for one another, love one another, and encourage one another. We are a family, and we need to interact and work together…which reminds me of one more thing…just so you can get it on your calendars early, the Spring Clean-Up at the church is May 6th, starting at 10 am. Pray for nice weather. Until then, have a wonderful Easter and God bless.