Weekly Word from Pastor Curry: June 5, 2020
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Hey there Friendship,
I pray this communication finds each of you doing well this weekend! It has been a long week, and I am grateful to God for His sustaining power. I am equally grateful that the protests have grown more peaceful as the week has progressed. As I said Sunday, I believe we have a right to protest, and we need to protest against the sinful racist atrocities that have taken place in these United States of America for centuries. Beloved, systemic racism is REAL! Systemic Racism is the process by which racism rears its ugly head in our society through various institutions such as employment, housing, the justice system, the prison system, and poverty, just to name a few. The struggle is real.
I want you to know that I attended the Yorba Linda Protest on Tuesday evening, and I was blessed by doing so. I saw a unified community calling for justice in all areas of society and an end to racist policies that negatively affect African-Americans. While some distractors attempted to discourage protestors, the overall event was executed well and was extremely meaningful. I found the call to take a knee for 8 minutes, 46 seconds to be remarkably powerful. This is the time given in a criminal complaint that the officer held his knee on George Floyd’s neck — as a way to honor Floyd. POWERFUL.
If you can attend one of the protests, I encourage you to do so. Additionally, I encourage parents to take their children to the protest. I believe these peaceful protests highlight the responsibility and opportunity we have to make our voices heard and our grievances known. We are at a critical point in our history in these United States of America, and we have an opportunity to right the historical scars of racism that have not been allowed to heal. These scars can not heal until they are acknowledged, and true healing requires a thorough treatment plan. Let’s pray that we do not miss an opportunity!
Speaking of prayer, TONIGHT is our for our MONTHLY Churchwide Prayer Hour. We pray TONIGHT, June 5th, from 7:30p to 8:30p on our church prayer line HERE.
I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday, June 7th. I am excited that the Deacon Ministry will be with us in Worship on Sunday. They will lead us in devotion and encourage our hearts. Also, Sunday is the First Sunday, so celebrate the Lord’s Table together. For more information on preparing your communion elements, please go HERE. Lastly, on Sunday, we will host a New Member’s Reception for all New Members who have never attended one. This is a virtual meeting, and to connect to the meeting, please go HERE.
Here are my updates for you this week:
While we are not exactly sure when we can gather back together on campus for worship, we are making plans to gather for our Church Picnic. I do not have all the particulars just yet, but I simply want to put it in your head and your hearts that it is coming. All of the current public health information encourages us to have outdoor events, so we are planning the picnic. Stay tuned for more information!
That’s all I have this week!
Continue to pray. Continue to take care of one another. Continue to be the church!
Serving you and grateful,
Rev. Kenneth C. Curry, Jr.
Senior Pastor
I pray this communication finds each of you doing well this weekend! It has been a long week, and I am grateful to God for His sustaining power. I am equally grateful that the protests have grown more peaceful as the week has progressed. As I said Sunday, I believe we have a right to protest, and we need to protest against the sinful racist atrocities that have taken place in these United States of America for centuries. Beloved, systemic racism is REAL! Systemic Racism is the process by which racism rears its ugly head in our society through various institutions such as employment, housing, the justice system, the prison system, and poverty, just to name a few. The struggle is real.
I want you to know that I attended the Yorba Linda Protest on Tuesday evening, and I was blessed by doing so. I saw a unified community calling for justice in all areas of society and an end to racist policies that negatively affect African-Americans. While some distractors attempted to discourage protestors, the overall event was executed well and was extremely meaningful. I found the call to take a knee for 8 minutes, 46 seconds to be remarkably powerful. This is the time given in a criminal complaint that the officer held his knee on George Floyd’s neck — as a way to honor Floyd. POWERFUL.
If you can attend one of the protests, I encourage you to do so. Additionally, I encourage parents to take their children to the protest. I believe these peaceful protests highlight the responsibility and opportunity we have to make our voices heard and our grievances known. We are at a critical point in our history in these United States of America, and we have an opportunity to right the historical scars of racism that have not been allowed to heal. These scars can not heal until they are acknowledged, and true healing requires a thorough treatment plan. Let’s pray that we do not miss an opportunity!
Speaking of prayer, TONIGHT is our for our MONTHLY Churchwide Prayer Hour. We pray TONIGHT, June 5th, from 7:30p to 8:30p on our church prayer line HERE.
I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday, June 7th. I am excited that the Deacon Ministry will be with us in Worship on Sunday. They will lead us in devotion and encourage our hearts. Also, Sunday is the First Sunday, so celebrate the Lord’s Table together. For more information on preparing your communion elements, please go HERE. Lastly, on Sunday, we will host a New Member’s Reception for all New Members who have never attended one. This is a virtual meeting, and to connect to the meeting, please go HERE.
Here are my updates for you this week:
- Friendship Family Prayer Hour: Join us TONIGHT for our MONTHLY Churchwide Prayer Hour. We pray TONIGHT from 7:30p to 8:30p. To connect with our prayer service TONIGHT, please follow this link HERE or dial in at +1 (413) 418-4274 and use the PIN 287683504#. SEE YOU TONIGHT!
- EX HOUR: Ex Hour starts a new study on Proverbs this Sunday, June 7th. We have Ex Hour books if you would like to follow along better and study on your own. You can pick up a book Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. Remember EX Hour takes place every Sunday through the video conference app, Google Meet. Join us for class on Sundays at 10:15a by opening our church app, clicking “ATTEND” and choosing EX Hour. A Google account is not required, but if you access on a mobile device, you may need to download the Google Hangouts: Meet app. You can also join on your computer by visiting wearefriendship.church/exhour and following the instructions listed.
- WEDNESDAY Prayer Day: Join us each Wednesday for Prayer. We pray at 6:30a, 12p, and 6:30p. To connect with our prayer services, please follow this link HERE or dial in at +1 (413) 418-4274 and use the PIN 287683504#.
- RTNT Bible Study with Pastor Curry: After prayer on Wednesday evenings, please join me for RTNT Bible Study at 7pm. To connect with me for Bible Study, please follow this link HERE or dial in at +1 302-455-8997 and use the PIN: 906 944 250#. I hope you are keeping up with your reading and your SOAP journaling. The reading plan is available HERE.
- COVID Membership Assistance Fund: We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for the COVID Membership Assistance Grant. If you are experiencing financial distress due to COVID19, we invite you to apply for one of our $500 assistance grants. We only have thirty of these grants available, and they are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. The guidelines are available HERE, and the application is available HERE.
- FBC FOOD BANK RE-OPENING: The FBC Food Bank will reopen Tuesday, June 16th, with a new drive-thru system where our clients will receive a pre-packaged food box and bag of groceries. The Food Bank hours of operation will be Tuesday - Thursday 2-4:30pm. Members of Friendship are encouraged to participate. Our Food Bank needs volunteers to assist with set-up, preparation of grocery bags, placement of food items in car trunks, and to assist with traffic control. Morning and afternoon hours are available. Training is provided. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Rev. Patrick Christian at [email protected] at your earliest convenience.
- FATHER’S DAY VIDEOS: For Father’s Day, June 21st, we want to create a special Father’s Day video. There are two ways to participate. First, if you are a father, we invite you to submit a video introducing yourself and saying, “I thank God for being a father because…” For those wishing to honor their fathers, we invite you to submit a video introducing yourself, saying your father’s name, and saying, “I thank God for my father because…” Please limit your video to 30 seconds or less and email it to [email protected]. Remember, record your video with your camera turned sideways (landscape). 😊
While we are not exactly sure when we can gather back together on campus for worship, we are making plans to gather for our Church Picnic. I do not have all the particulars just yet, but I simply want to put it in your head and your hearts that it is coming. All of the current public health information encourages us to have outdoor events, so we are planning the picnic. Stay tuned for more information!
That’s all I have this week!
Continue to pray. Continue to take care of one another. Continue to be the church!
Serving you and grateful,
Rev. Kenneth C. Curry, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Posted in COVID-19