DEVOTIONAL

Human Trafficking Awareness Month

2 additional opportunities for our conversation on Hunan Trafficking Awareness.

#1: A week ago today I went to the event at the Capitol, where a traveling art exhibit titled "Faces of Freedom" was beginning their tour of the state to bring awareness of this issue. Each pice of art tells the story of someone rescued out of slavery and where on the path to recovery they are and what organization is helping them with this after care. It is a very powerful exhibit. Well, though a conversation we now have the opportunity to host this exhibit for a couple weeks! As you come to church on Sunday or at our event next week with Attorney General Tim Fox, you will have opportunities to see and experience this exhibit. But allow me if you will, to change you to do something more. Come sometime during the week (or anytime) with a neighbor, co-woker, friend, stranger, or family member and take your time with each piece and the gallery guide and have a conversation. There are also devotionals that go along with the exhibit that can really enhance your experience. Here is a quote that the devotional begins with: "Art at its best draws attention not only to the way things are but also to the way things will be, when the earth is filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. That remains a surprising hope, and perhaps it will be the artists who are best at conveying both the hope and the surprise." N.T.Wright

#2: On Sunday, February 5 during our Adult Sunday School time we will have local Safe House Directors, Rick and Pat, coming to share what this looks like right in our backyard and ways we can pray and become even more aware of the opportunities to end slavery right where we live. Rick and Pat have an amazing heart for some of the hardest work imaginable. Their love for the Lord and these girls will inspire us all. Having Rick and Pat come after AG Tim Fox I think will really bring this issue home in practical ways that we can combat slavery that may seem so far away, right in our own backyard. More than anything else they would love us to keep them in prayer. So, what an opportunity to hear their heart, to hear the hard work that they have been called to and to pray over them. Don't miss out!

THIS SUNDAY!!!!!!!

Annual Family Meeting
Bring a meal to share as we approve the 2017 Budget, vote on new Leadership Team Members, pray over those moving off the Leadership Team and celebrate all that God has done in 2016 while looking forward to 2017! Following the meeting will be a potluck as we share a meal together.
Sunday,January 22, 11:15am - 12:00pm
(followed by a potluck)
Please pray over and review the proposed 2017 budget below.

2017 Budget

YOUTH GROUP
January, 18
7:00-8:30pm
1030 Choteau St
Contact Heather for more
info 406.202.2349

Youth Group service Project @ Intermountain on Friday, Feb. 10 from 5-6pm (Pizza included!) Please let Heather know if you can make it.

Help serve our community by giving out household goods to those in our community that most would rather ignore. You can help serve by helping organizing donations at your leisure, or by volunteering during store hours.

NEXT CURRENT
JANUARY, 28
10:00-11:00AM

Confirmation is a 2 year discipleship program going through survey's of the OT and NT and biblical foundations for our faith. This program is for any youth (6-12 grade) interested. Classes are at church right before Youth Group every Wes. from 6:30-7:00pm. Contact Pastor Seth for more info.

Men's Weekly Prayer Gathering: Tuesdays 6:30-8:00am at Headwaters
This is a weekly drop-in prayer time for men.

Headwaters Women's Prayer Group
A women’s drop-in prayer group meets every Tuesday from noon to 1:00pm
@ Headwaters.

Faces of Freedom
In observance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Headwaters invites you to view the “Faces of Freedom: Voices Calling for the End of Modern Day Slavery” traveling portrait exhibit January 18-Februrary 5. Faces of Freedom raises awareness about the realities and effects of human trafficking and other forms of violent oppression in the world today. The exhibit celebrates human trafficking survivors and presents opportunities to engage people in learning more about this form of modern day slavery.

Check out the first sermon in our new series on the 7 letters from Jesus to the churches. "The Wonder of it All" - Revelation 1:9-20. Looking at the amazing vision of Jesus that he discloses to John and asking the questions, who are we looking at? And who are we listening to?

Sermon Link

Here is a quote I think really sums up the heart of what we are desiring for as we journey on this Vitality Pathway. This is from John Jefferson David's book, Meditation and Communion with God.
"Already the life of the new creation is spilling from the future into the present", and, as Davis says, is “made available to the church for its ministry and mission...Alas, all too often the church today is being run on the natural energies of this age, rather than on the supernatural energy loosed by the resurrection of Jesus and the descent of the Holy Spirit! If we have lost our heavenly imagination, we will be disinclined to access, by faith and prayer, he heavenly energy from above.” And then he asks this piercing question we should continually be asking ourselves:
“Which energy does your church run on?”

Please join us during our adult Sunday school time as we spend the next couple of weeks looking at modern day slavery; explicitly human trafficking. We will be watching videos and discussing a variety of topics as well as using this denominational workbook to help guide our discussion points. This class will culminate in having our state Attorney General Tim Fox come and share with us initiatives and ways we as a faith community can help end human trafficking.
Workbooks are limited so please see Pastor Seth to pick yours up. This is a great opportunity to invite your sphere of influence to join a cause that everyone should be behind.

Children's Church is a new program for children in preschool through second grade. Children's Church starts right after we pray for our kids until the beginning of Sunday school.

Taking time during the week to share Life Together by deepening relationships, sharing a meal (or dessert and coffee), prayer and study. Get plugged in today!
Groups meet at various homes throughout the week and will choose their own study
Contact Pastor Seth to get plugged in today!

Moms & Tots: Saturday, February 4, from 10am-12pm
Are you a mom with babies to preschoolers at home? Are you looking for a fun way to fellowship with other moms? Join us for Moms and Tots. This is a great opportunity to connect with other moms and have your child(ren) make lifelong friends. Call Charity Ware at 461-6305 with any questions.

Human trafficking is a crime that strikes at the very heart of the American promise: freedom. Modern day slavery & forced labor is a challenge to the Church and anyone who would claim to follow Jesus, the One who proclaimed, “God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the captive free!” (Luke 4:16-21).

On February 1, 1865, President Lincoln outlawed slavery in the United States by signing the resolution that would later become the 13^th amendment.

Slavery is far from being history in America, as over 5,000 cases of human trafficking have occurred every year for the last 3 years (according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center). And, those are just cases of slavery within our borders… what of the countries that America trades and does business with?

Estimates of the number of slaves today range from 20-45 million. Modern slavery is a multi-billion dollar industry with estimates of up to $35 billion generated annually. The United Nations estimates that roughly 27 to 30 million individuals are currently caught in the slave trade industry, with approximately 14 million slaves in India alone. These slaves pick our coffee, sew our clothing, manufacture our electronics, and feed the underbelly of society—the sex-slave trade and multi-billion dollar pornography industry.

January is Human Trafficking awareness month. Headwaters Covenant Church is committed to making a difference in our community, our state, and our world. To that end, we will be shining a spotlight on what Jesus’ followers can and should be doing in response to modern day slavery. We will host a series of discussions on Sundays in January, starting on the 8^th, focused on the biblical response to slavery, human relationships, training and tools for identify and helping victims of trafficking, case studies, and culminating in a special evening engagement with our Attorney General, Tim Fox, who will explain his efforts to fight human trafficking in Montana and what the church can do to help.

January 26^th, from 6:30-8 pm at Headwaters Covenant Church (1030 Choteau, Helena), we’d invite any and all concerned community members to come and learn about how the church can help combat the evil of human trafficking. There will be light refreshments, a presentation by Attorney General Tim Fox, and a chance for meaningful dialogue with a question and answer session. Limited child care will be available (space is limited), so please RSVP to Charity Ware (razzw23@gmail.com).

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