Join us tonight 5:30pm-7:30pm for a come-and-go Fall Gathering. Each parish will hold a gathering at separate locations. Stay the whole time, or pop in to show off your costume! We will have fun games for kiddos from our Family Ministry team, a fun Family photo opt for kids and adults, music, and more. Bring your own dinner, camp chair or picnic blanket. While we want this to be a fun and enjoyable event, we also want to stay safe and be considerate of others. We have planned for all activities to be outdoors and highly encourage social distancing. Masks are required except when eating and drinking. Bathrooms are available indoors. Looking forward to seeing those costumes! To register for a parish gathering, click on one of the links below:
Oak Meadow Fall Gathering // Hunters Creek Club House // Click here to register
MacTerrace Fall Gathering // Northeast Baptist Church // Click here to register
Midtown Fall Gathering // Impact Guild // Click here to register
Devotional
Wednesday is Coming
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a pretty big election next week. Spend any time on social media or watching cable news and you will likely see pundits on both sides of the aisle telling you the world will effectively end if their side doesn’t win. Maybe you feel that way too. But, as Christians, our hope is not in who is President of the United States or who holds the majority in Congress, but instead it is in the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Author and Creator of the Universe. He alone is worthy of our confidence and hope. Our posture should reflect this whether our side “wins” or “loses”. Easier said than done though, right?
How do we ensure our confidence is in Jesus when the world is shouting otherwise? We pray. We pray for our own hearts and minds. We pray for the Church. We pray for the candidate we voted for and we pray even more for the one we didn’t. We silence the noise of social media, cable news, and hateful rhetoric from both sides of the aisle. We allow space for the Holy Spirit to work in us and form us to be a more complete reflection of Jesus. If we spend some time doing this over the next few days, I suspect that when we wake up Wednesday morning, even if we feel disappointed or ecstatic, we are unable to feel hopeless or boastful. Why? Because our faith is placed in the One who never changes. He isn’t surprised by the election results or the broken promises that will inevitably follow. And, regardless of who wins, our call as Christians doesn’t change. To be honest, I see Wednesday as an opportunity for a new beginning for the church to live into our calling as a people who don’t trust in chariots or horses, but in the name of the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7).
So, over the next few days, when you are tempted to scroll social media endlessly or become anxious about the possibility of the election not going your way, stop what you are doing and pray. Pray that God will give you the eyes to see politics the way He does. Pray that he will remove fear or anger if you “lose”. Pray that you will be a peacemaker and bridge builder between friends and family who don’t see eye to eye. Pray for humility and the ability to see the goodness and humanity in those who voted differently than you.
Pray. Because Wednesday is coming.
-Terri Pease
In-Person Service Information
There is still space available for this Sunday’s in-person service at Aggie Park at 10am. If you’d like to join us in-person this Sunday, November 1st, you can register by clicking here. We have indoor and outdoor seating options available with safety protocols put in place to help keep us all safe. Please review our safety protocols prior to attending by clicking here. Doors will open at 9:40am in order to allow for enough time to usher everyone to their seats in time for the service. We will still be live-streaming our service on Sunday at 10am on Facebook, YouTube and our website. We hope you will join us in what ever way you feel most comfortable and safe.
Church Chats
If you didn’t get a chance to hear yesterday’s Church Chat as we discussed how we can pray as we approach Tuesday’s election, you can still listen to it by clicking here. Join us every Thursday morning on Facebook Live at 10am forChurch Chat. We will have some pastors from our church community gather to discuss topics and questions sent to us from you, our church family. To submit questions, email questions@theparksa.org.
Prayer Request
If we can pray for you, please contact your parish pastor directly or you can submit a prayer request by clicking here. We have a prayer team who will join you in prayer.
Wednesday Night Worship & Prayer
Join us Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM on Facebook Live or YouTube Live for a time of worship and prayer. We look forward to interacting in real time as we re-center our hearts on what God is doing.
Stay in Contact
If you are experiencing any hardships during this time, we want to be there to support you. If you have questions or needs we can help with, email us at info@theparksa.org or you can click here to submit a request. If you are able to offer assistance to others you can click here.