Dear Friends:
I hope your Christmas and New Year’s celebrations were blessed and joyful. After a few missed weeks of news (because of the holidays and my general delinquency), there is a quite a bit of news to share:
1. THIS SUNDAY: The year is new. We have new life because Jesus became human to save us from our sin. What do we do now? We live the way God planned for us to live because He knows best. Join us this Sunday at 10:00 am at the Rock for Week 2 of “Life Under Construction.” We’ll be looking at the Second Commandment. Grab your stone tablets and the whole family and come learn with us.
2. POTLUCK NEXT SUNDAY!! Plan to stay for lunch next Sunday, January 17. We’re planning a potluck lunch to begin right after worship. We’ve never really done a full potluck at the Rock so it is kind of a fun experiment. Here are the instructions:
* If your last name begins with A through M, please bring a main dish to share. We’ll have lots of power strips available if you want to plug in a crock pot or something to keep things warm during church.
* If your last name begins with N through Z, please bring a salad or side dish and a dessert to share.
* The Rock will provide drinks and plates/cups/napkins/utensils.
* Please bring along an appropriate serving spoon, ladle, tongs, forks, spatula, etc. to serve your dish as the Rock hasn’t accumulated any of those items yet.
* Bring whatever you would like. Dishes with cream of mushroom soup, green jello salads and deviled eggs are welcomed and encouraged.
* If your last name begins with A through Z and for any reason it isn’t possible or convenient for you to bring food, stay for lunch anyway and celebrate with us. I’m sure there will be enough to go around and we’d love to have you.
3. COMMITMENT CELEBRATION ON SUNDAY ON JANUARY 17: Since the end of November, we’ve been asking everyone at the Rock to review the vision and plans and prayerfully consider how to be involved in helping us move forward. It’s all about having and sharing a “Firm Place to Stand.” On the Sunday after this one, we’ll be celebrating and praying over all the commitments we have received. We’d love for everyone to celebrate their commitments with us on the 17th. As noted above, we’ll top off the celebration with food!
4. YOU COULD BE THE TOP DOG: We have raised enough funds for the initial application fee for a comfort dog and we have a caregiver and handlers lined up for the dog (praise God!). The one thing we still need is a Top Dog. The Top Dog is the person who handles scheduling and administrative things for the Comfort Dog. You don’t have to take the dog to events or take care of the dog.
5. ACCESS THE ROCK: What’s the Rock all about? What’s a Lutheran? How can I get involved at the Rock? Why does the Rock do the things it does? Get answers to these questions and more on Sunday, January 24 from 11:30 to 1:30 or so. You can visit with Pastor Mike and some of the leaders at the Rock to learn more about being part of the Rock. I think there will be pizza. Interested? Contact Pastor Mike at [email protected].
6. PARKING LOT: The parking lot south of the Rock is mostly done, but we’ll have to wait until spring for the driveway to be finished and for all the gaps and rough spots around the edges to be cleaned up. Please feel free to park there, but be careful of the snow/ice and the gaps and curb drop-offs around the outside.
7. ROCKER ROOM HELP: We need some volunteers to help supervise the Rocker Room during Sunday gatherings. Could you help for a Sunday or two? There is a sign-up sheet in the Rocker Room.
8. BLUE VALLEY PANTRY: The January item for the pantry is soap and shampoo. Drop some bottles and bars in the box in the fellowship area any time this month.
Blessings on your weekend.