Ramblings--20090630

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

This past Sunday
This past Sunday, I concluded a seven-part series entitled, Foundation for Families. If you missed one or more of the messages, go online to our website (www.clairmonthills.org) to listen, or you can call the church office (404.634.6231) to request free CD’s.

We welcomed two new members on Sunday! Grace Tolentino, daughter of Tim and Melissa and sister of Hope, made her profession of faith in Jesus following Vacation Bible School. She talked to her mom, who prayed with her about the decision. They then came up to discuss her decision with me. I am excited that we will baptize Grace on July 12.

Mike Sigmon, husband of our member Sandy, also joined on Sunday. He has been a pastor for many years and has recently come to the end of a pastorate. He is no stranger to us and wants to join us while he prayerfully considers his future ministry opportunities.

Welcome, Grace and Mike. We are glad to have you both in our fellowship.

Coming Up: Celebrating the U.S.A.!
This Sunday, July 5, will be a time for thanking God for the freedoms we enjoy in our country and praying for all of the challenges we face as a nation. It can be a difficult balance at times to be Christians in our country. We highly value our religious liberty (with the separation of church and state), but we don’t want to give up our right to have appropriate influence in helping to shape our society in a democratic-based republic. How do we deal with some of the most difficult questions that seem to lie right in the middle of these sometimes competing values? This Sunday, I will raise more questions than I will answer in a message entitled, Issues and Ideas, but I hope it will help you think more about both the privileges and responsibilities of following Christ in the United States.

The Men’s Quartet will sing a patriotic song for us, and we will all sing some of our favorite hymns of God and country. I know that many use this time of year for travel, so please be here if you are in town.

Sabbatical Time in July
Don’t forget—during the month of July, we will have our regular Sunday morning activities of study, fellowship, and worship, but we will take a sabbatical on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings. In other words, there will be no activities during those evenings. And most monthly meetings “take off” for the month of July. (Of course, the office will be open as usual.) Since tomorrow (Wednesday) is July 1, remember that we will NOT meet this Wedesday night.

Finances
Even in the midst of a difficult year, we are about parallel to where we were last year at this time, so I thank you for your faithfulness. At this juncture, we have spent more than we have received, as is often the case. (Since December is historically our best month, we normally begin the year, as we did this year, with a surplus, so we are not spending more than we have!) With summer here, though, I want to encourage you to continue your faithfulness in your tithes and offerings and to “catch up” when you return from your travels. As a church, we need to “catch up” our giving with our spending and get ahead as we move into the second half of the year. Our Finance Committee will be bringing us some updates of where we are and where we need to be in August.

Blood Drive
Our Deacon Body is sponsoring a Red Cross Blood Drive for next Thursday, July 9, and I have signed up along with many of you. We still need about a dozen, though, to meet our goal. If you haven’t yet signed up, will you consider it? And since this is designed to be a community project, could you encourage a friend or neighbor to sign up as well? We have spots available from 2:30-7:30 p.m., so sign up Sunday or call the church office at 404.634.6231. Hey, you will not only be helping many in need, but you’ll also get a free t-shirt!

God bless,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor