This week sermon:
"Being Present"
John 6:24-35
Mark Dingler preaching
So often we expect one thing from God, that we miss the ways that God is working in our lives. Just like the crowd doesn't understand the importance of the miracles of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and walking on water, we do not understand the significance of God in our lives. It is only by taking a moment, slowing down our hearts and minds, that we are able to be present in the moment and see that God is all around us.
Click here for a preview of this Sunday's worship bulletin
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We are starting our back to school drive to help our partner schools International Newcomers Academy and Mary Louise Phillips Elementary School!
There is a HUGE need in particular for new backpacks, shoes, and gently-used school uniforms, but other school supplies are also appreciated!
There are 3 ways to give.
1) Bring these items to the church.
2) Donate through our Amazon Wishlist at https://a.co/33nQjPZ .
3) Donate through shelbygiving.com/ridglea and choose "Back to School Drive" from the dropdown menu.
The back to school drives runs until August 15. Thank you for helping us to follow God's call to love our neighbors!
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This weekend we are thrilled to welcome a Connect Ministries group from Northway Christian Church in Dallas! This group of high school youth will be putting their faith into action through service and justice in ways that are relational, sustainable, and dignity-giving. They will be focusing on hunger relief and working with our partner organizations: Tarrant Area Food Bank, Jubilee Learning Garden, WestAid Pantry with a Purpose, Neighborhood Needs Refugee Garden, Refugee Services of Texas, and the Presbyterian Night Shelter. They will also be making Will Be Fed bags for our neighbors.
For COVID safety and to help protect our vulnerable neighbors, they will all be vaccinated or have a negative test before they arrive, sleep off-site, and wear masks indoors.
Keep this group in your prayers as they serve our community!
If you would like to support Connect Ministries you can do so at:
www.shelbygiving.com/ridglea
Choose "Connect Ministries" from the drop down menu
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Welcome Brenda Wentworth
We are so excited to welcome Brenda Wentworth back into our community! Brenda is re-activating her membership at Ridglea Christian Church after moving back to Fort Worth following a 30+ year career as a theater professor at Saint Cloud State University in Minnesota. Brenda's contact information is in our Shelby Directory, or you can contact the church office if you'd like to reach out and welcome her. Send her a card, say "hi" in church, or give her a call and help to welcome her back!
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Progress continues on construction throughout the church to rebuild after damage from burst pipes in February. After texturing and painting the hallways and rooms, installing new windows in history hall, adding new countertops and a sink the youth room kitchen, and replacing rotting wood on the awning above the office door...the current project is new flooring! The pictures above provide an idea of how the new vinyl flooring looks throuthe the building. We are getting close to having our full building open and usable again!
A huge thank you to Don Lanza, BJ Turner, Gerald & Linda Marcell and all of our property team who has spend countless hours working on this. And another huge thank you to Pam DeVoe, Whitney McLean, and Amy Shackleford for serving on our design team to provide input on paint, flooring, trim, countertops, and more. If you would like to contribute towards these projects, donations can be made at www.shelbygiving.com/ridglea (put "Building Renovations" in the comment section).
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Throughout the pandemic our mission as a church has been to love God and love our neighbors in ways that keep each other safe. This has led us to learn how to be the church and worship in ways that we would have never imagined two years ago. We have learned that God is everywhere, and that nothing can stop us from sharing God's love!
Our Leadership Team met on Sunday after church to discuss updates to our current policies and precautions due to rising COVID numbers in our community. The group determined that while our current precautions are still appropriate, we should encourage people to carefully consider if participating in worship, classes, and meetings via our online options is a better choice - particularly for those who share a home or have regular close contact with individuals who are not vaccinated. To help everyone think through their options for participating in church life, we have put together a consolidated list of our current policies and precautions, as well as our online opportunities for participation.
Click here to read an updated summary of our current COVID precautions and online options
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Staff Updates:
A note from Rev. Allison Lanza: What is a sabbatical?
I will be on Sabbatical August 9 - November 9. This time is an incredible gift and I am so grateful to the church for providing it.
Sometimes people have questions about what a sabbatical is so I wanted to offer some answers to questions you might be wondering!
Ridglea generously offers it's full time pastors a 3 month sabbatical after 5 years of ministry. While all of us would benefit from this type of gift of time, ministry is a unique job. It is not one where you get weekend or holiday breaks. It is more of a calling than a career and so most ministers are "on the clock" 24/7. A sabbatical gives the opportunity to really step away and to reconnect with God's spirit and the call of God inside the pastor.
It is modeled after the biblical mandate of sabbath. The scriptures tell us that stopping is sacred. There is a reason that when the scriptures narrow everything down to just 10 commandments that taking sabbath, stopping is commanded.There is a reason that when Jesus sums up all the laws and the prophets it includes loving your neighbor as yourself (which means also loving your self). The stories in Genesis tell us that even God in creating all that we see and know, made it a priority to also stop and take sabbath on the 7th day.
When we stop we remember that God is God and we are not and that is good. We remember that we can not and should not try to control it all, lead it all and be responsible for it all. We remember that there is more to life and to our value than what we produce. We remember that we are a God’s good beloved creation just as we are. We remember that the world is about more that just us.
When we stop we are able to breath, be renewed, reconnect to the spirit and then start again not burnt out, not exhausted, not at our wits end…When we start again we are ready to let God work in and through us to change this world for love in ways impossible when we are trying to do it all ourselves.
My sabbatical will focus on the scriptures from John 15 that remind us that God is the vine and we are the branches. When we are connected to God we produce good fruit. I will spend my time trying to reconnect to the spirit of God within and around me.
If you need to stop…if you have been going for weeks, months, years with all of it on your shoulders and without a break…If the pressure (internally and externally) is too much. Stop. It is sacred. It is holy. It is not a recommendation but a commandment. And then, while you are still for a moment, watch what God will do.
While I am away please contact Russ, Taylor, Ridglea Elders or the Ridglea Leadership Team with any pastoral or programming needs.
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Church Camp at Disciples Crossing!
Next week is DC Kids! We will have SIX campers from Ridglea there for the week, learning and experiencing God.
Please pray for each of our kids for a great, safe, fun, and worship-filled week! We will have Sadie, Graham, Nellie, Bell, Landry, and Rockelle.
If you would like to send mail/care packages to them, mail using this address:
[Camper's Name]
Disciples Crossing
3693 State Hwy 31 E
Athens, TX 75752
All Ridglea kids will have half of the fee paid by the Pointer Scholarship. When you register, click "invoice the church," and we will partner with you to take care of the payments.
Want to help ensure all Ridglea kids can go to camp no matter their families ability to pay? Donate to the Pointer Scholarship at Ridglea! Visit www.shelbygiving.com/ridglea and choose "Pointer Scholarship" from the drop down menu!
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We originally had scheduled to kayak the Trinity River next Saturday, but with our next Connect Fort Worth group coming next weekend now, we are going to reschedule to a later date in either August or this fall - be on the lookout for the new date in the coming days!
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The Open Door Sunday School Class is studying Bible passages related to the theme "Confident Hope." All are welcome!
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88956846059
Meeting ID: 889 5684 6059
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