Pausing to Preach

Sorry for the brief post this week. I'm preaching at Ascension this week, and I was really caught up in my preparation this evening. I'm preaching on 2 John this week and it will be an uncharacteristically two point sermon (typically I make three points). It's a challenging passage.

I promise to write a much longer entry next Thursday. I might have much more to say about things by then anyway.

Check in here next week. God-bless.

Changing Seasons

Well, we're half way thought August and summer is fading fast. The sun is now setting before 8:00. Sure it's still pretty hot and humid out there, but Football camps have started, television networks are pitching their fall programs, and Back-to-School sales are in full swing.

We've got some exciting things taking shape for the Fall at Ascension Church. Some of our regular activities will resume after a Summer break, though fresh and new, but new ministries are taking shape as Autumn approaches.

Stay tuned to this site for updates on some of the exciting things we're working on. I'll have some longer entries in the coming weeks as things develop.

Weather Woes

From time to time, I have to cover major events in New York City, particularly when they make the national media spotlight. This week, it's the weather here.

If you've watched the evening news, you may be aware that a tornado touched down in Brooklyn yesterday. According to the National Weather Service, this urban twister packed winds possibly as strong as 130 mph.

I know this site is supposed to be about Queens, but both my parents are from Brooklyn and of the five boroughs of NYC, Brooklyn runs a close second place in my heart. Besides, it was an historic event as it is the first recorded tornado in Brooklyn since records have been kept.

Queens was not immune from the weather woes yesterday either. I woke up to loud claps of thunder and saw blinding rain outside my window. The winds were strong here too (not 130 mph, but strong). By the time I went out to my car, around 7:15 am, the rain was over but the damage was done. In God's providence, I found a parking spot closer to home than I typically do. I say this because the place where I park six days out of seven, was a lake with water up to the doors on the cars that were parked there. Thankfully, I didn't have to wade through the asphalt swamp to get to my car, but had this happened any other day, I would have.

Though the rain cleared out of the metropolitan area by 8:30, flooded subway tunnels and highways, made getting around, well, an inconvenient truth.

I won't make the eschatological connections regarding the weather that some friends of mine would. The only thing I have to say about this waether and the prospect that the forecast calls for more of the same is this: "Whata you kiddin' me?"

I promise I'll have some updates for you in the near term about how our plans for the Fall season are shaping up. We will be firming up what looks to be a busy Autumn in the life of Ascension Church very soon.

Home, Home Again...

I like to be here when I can.

The visit to Mississippi was great, but it's back to work here in Queens.

With all my talk of my sojourn in the south last week, I forgot to mention what a great report I hears about our VBS. It was well attended and there was lots of available help from visiting Churches, many of whom had never experienced ministry in a New York City context. Everyone with whom I spoke regarding VBS expressed excitement and encouragement on the top of their list of observations about VBS. Exhaustion was also on people's lists, though that should be obvious.

My boss Michael was off last week, though with the continuing saga surrounding his father's health concerns, I wouldn't call last week much of a vacation for him. With time off behind both of us, planning for the fall is the next big project. Please pray for Ascension Church as we move rapidly into the weeks and months ahead. I would also ask for your continued prayers for Michael's father George and for the whole family as they move through this difficult time.

To change tones a bit, I got this picture of my niece Dorothy by e-mail and I really wanted to post it. She's nearly two months old now and the best picture I've posted of her to this point featured me more prominently than it showed Dorothy. I think it's high time she got her own picture on my blog. Here she is!

I pray God's richest blessings for you in the week to come until I see you on the blogwaves next Thursday.