Off to the Races!

This past Sunday was our broadening service and in a certain sense we are off and running. We had the best music we've been able to sing yet. Our music program is developing and it was good for us and our visitors that it has improved and the improvement was quite obvious. Our Christian Education work also began this week and we are hoping to grow the program both in numbers and scope. Lastly, it was also great to see our church name, "Ascension," in print on the bulletins for the first time. Now that Ascension Church has it's greatest definition yet, we will be developing interactive ministries aimed and sharing the Gospel with our neighbors in Forest Hills and the surrounding communities.

We did encounter something of an adventure however, and that was the weather. Last Saturday it rained all day, heavy at times, though temperatures were unseasonably mild. Overnight the New York City area experiences a cataclysmic drop in temperature. When I awoke Sunday morning, we had a coat of ice over a bed of solid ice from the previous day's rainfall. These factors, combined with fiercely strong winds made for dangerous driving conditions and an overall nasty outdoor experience. Undoubtedly, some of the people we invited to our broadening service were inhibited by the weather, but... Praise the Lord, we still had a pretty good turn out of visitors and launch community alike. God's providence is wonderful considering that even the parking lot of the school from whom we rent was glazed with ice making even the trip from the car to the building a measure of faith.

Saturday evening, I took the boys from the church to see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Though a rather lengthy film (2 hours; 19 minutes), it was quite well done and true to the C.S. Lewis classic (did any of you know he preferred to be known as Jack?). I'm not going to write a movie review, but I would recommend the film if you haven't already seen it.

Prayer Concerns: Please continue to pray for Ascension Church. We are on a tight budget and have some big plans for the near term. I am looking at Presbytery licensure (the pre-call phase of ordination) and it appears that I will need to do everything short of raise the dead to get licensed in is Presbytery. On top of my increasingly busy schedule with church activities, licensure reports, forms, tests, etc. will need to be squeezed into my schedule. My financial picture hasn't gained much focus in the new year. After July, my Redeemer Fellows stipend (75% of my current income) will disappear as the internship program I am in closes and my regular work begins. Consequently, I need to think ahead and continue to request additional financial support. If any of you are considering increased support or new support, please send checks made out to Redeemer Presbyterian Church (my name on the memo line) to my address: 83-44 Lefferts Blvd. Apt. 3C; Kew Gardens, NY 11415. I am thankful to those of you who have pledged support and am trusting God to meet my needs.

Until next week, may God continue to richly bless you.