Weekly Word from Pastor Curry: October 2, 2020

Greetings My Beloved Friendship Family,

I want to begin by expressing my shear GRATITUDE to every one of you! You all are AMAZING! Absolutely AMAZING! Lady Karima and I appreciate you more than you will ever know! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! 

The Pastoral Anniversary Celebration on Sunday blew my mind! I had a WONDERFUL time and so enjoyed seeing those that came out to participate. I know we had the stated goal of 100 cars! It was simply amazing! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

• Thank you for your generosity.
• Thank you for sticking with the church through thick and thin.
• Thank you for inviting your friends and family.
• Thank you for serving.
• Thank you for making the shift to VIRTUAL ministry!
• Thank you for supporting me.
• Thank you for the banana pudding.

I am also thankful for the opportunity to serve Friendship in this season of her history. Yes, even in the middle of this global pandemic. I am grateful for what God has done and is doing here at Friendship! Yes, we are a local church with a global footprint! I still believe we are seeing God’s gracious hand of favor in various aspects of the ministry here at Friendship, and because of this, I am encouraged to see what the end will be! Friendship, may we be the church that lives out the Word of God, faithfully, fruitfully, and fully.  

A very special thank you to the Guardian Angels, the Friendship Staff, Deacon James Shelby, Deaconess Melissa Hunter, And Rev. Eric Archer! May God bless you for your faithfulness!

I invite you to join me TONIGHT, Friday, October 2nd,  for our Monthly Family Prayer Service beginning at 7:30pm-8:30pm via Google Meet. To connect with this prayer service, please follow this link HERE or dial in at +1 (413) 418-4274 and use the PIN 287683504#. I look forward to praying with you, TONIGHT!

Tomorrow, Saturday, October 3rd, is our LEADERSHIP MEETING for all Ministry Leaders. This meeting will take place via ZOOM! Leaders, you should have received an email with the link to join us for this meeting. See you tomorrow!

While we have LEADERSHIP MEETING, our Children’s and Youth Ministry will host their SATURDAY SCIENCE FUN DAY WORKSHOP “Stomp Rockets: Theory, Construction & Launch” from 11am - 12:30pm. This will be a virtual workshop via Zoom, structured for 3rd-6th graders, where our children and families can participate right from your own homes.  You should have received the Zoom link already. If you have not, please contact Rev. Jaron Singley at [email protected].

Then, I look forward to seeing you Sunday, October 4th, at 9am for our next DRIVE-IN Service. There is STILL time to register for this weekend’s Drive-in Service. Registration is required to fulfill the state requirement for contact tracing if that were ever to become necessary. You can register and RSVP by going HERE. Please note we will only have one service at 9am but will re-broadcast that service at 11:30am.

I want to WELCOME all of our NEW MEMBERS. I am also excited to announce that we are launching a virtual New Members Class that will kick-off on Sunday, October 4th, at 3pm! You should have received an invitation to join us for this class. This class is for ALL new members who have not had the opportunity to participate in the NEW MEMBERS CLASS in the past. If you need more information or have not received the link to join this class, please contact Rev. Eric Archer at [email protected].

Please remember  MINISTRY CONTINUES AT FRIENDSHIP! Virtually and creatively! TECHNOLOGY IS THE KEY to remain viable virtually yet creatively. You’ve heard me say in the last few weeks we are moving several things to  ZOOM; today, I want to explain what’s going on and discuss the importance of technology here at Friendship. I have invited our technology EXPERT, Rev. Eric Archer, who serves as our Executive Director of Worship, Strategy, and Engagement, to help me explain this! Please see the end of our video as he talks about the various tools we have available to keep us connected here at Friendship, such as our church app and church website. Also, Rev. Eric discusses live streaming, YouTube, RightNow Media, and Amazon Smile. It’s a great discussion.

Please remain connected and remain engaged! If you need to know what opportunities are available to you, please go to www.wearefriendship.church/events. There you will see all we offer every week!

Things to remember:

• CELEBRATE RECOVERY meets every Thursday at 7pm via ZOOM! Celebrate Recovery offers an opportunity to worship our God and stay connected as we surrender our hurts, habits, and hang-ups to the Lord! Each week we have praise and worship, the reading of the CR principles, and a featured weekly speaker. The open share takes place virtually and maintains the confidentiality requirements based on CR guidelines. To participate in this event, please use the link HERE.

• We are so excited that open enrollment for our Scholarship Ministry is here.  Until October 14th, we will accept students’ applications to join the ministry for this academic year. The Scholarship Ministry is for all students K-5th  and 6th -12th. Our Scholarship Ministry is designed to nurture Friendship’s students to be the best scholars they can be. Our prayer is that our students will be a meaningful part of the Friendship Village that is a catalyst for faithful ministry and service. This year, registration has moved on-line to our website. Please go to www.wearefriendship.church/scholarship to access the application.  We need all new and returning students to complete the on-line application.  More information about our “Virtual Kick-Off Meeting” in mid-October will be coming soon. If you have any questions, please email Rev. Jaron Singley.

• Our College and Career Prep Initiative (CCPI) has produced an excellent and comprehensive one-stop virtual academic and education assistance resource for parents and families of  K- through 12 and college-bound students. Click HERE to access our Google Classroom.  Feel free to share with others.

• Phone Line for Worship: For our members who may have a tough time connecting to our worship service on-line for whatever reason, we are now offering a way for those members to dial in and listen to service over the phone. To access the service via telephone, members and guests need to dial 1 216-930-8774‬ and enter the PIN: 464 267 559‬#. It is live for both the 9:00a and 11:30a worship services.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• EX HOUR: Ex Hour meets weekly on Sundays, and we are studying Isaiah beginning this Sunday. This study will continue through the end of November. Remember, EX Hour takes place every Sunday through the video conference app, Google Meet. Join us for class on Sundays at 10:15a via this link HERE. Also, there is a YOUTH EX HOUR: Our youth Ex Hour takes place during our designated EX Hour time. Parents, please encourage your students to join youth teachers for this biblically fun opportunity to learn God’s Word, connect with others, and grow. To join Youth Ex Hour, follow the link HERE. Please note EX Hour will move to ZOOM on Sunday, October 11th.

• AT THE DOOR WITH THE CURRYS: Remember this virtual experience after each worship service on Sundays. It is a time for Lady Karima and me to connect with you just like we would at church on Sunday. We are NOT meeting this Sunday because of the Drive-In Worship Service. 

• 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#. 

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• FBC FOOD BANK OPEN: The FBC Food Bank is OPEN 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 are Tuesday - Thursday 2:30p-4:30p.  We also need ADDITIONAL volunteers for the food pantry; if you are available, please contact Rev. Patrick Christian at [email protected].

• COVID Membership Assistance Fund: We are STILL 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. The guidelines are available HERE, and the application is available HERE.

We are STILL attempting to support our members with small businesses. If you would like us to feature your small business, please contact Rev. Eric Archer at [email protected].

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, Stay Connected!  Remember to PRAY, not PANIC, take PRECAUTIONS, and be PATIENT.

Serving you gratefully,

Rev. Kenneth C. Curry, Jr.
Senior Pastor