Weekly Word from Pastor Curry: June 12, 2020
Good Day Friendship,
I pray this communication finds each of you doing well this week as we close the week!
I am grateful to reach out to you every week. I will be honest, this is a lot of work, but I love staying connected with you. If I haven’t said it lately, I miss you all. Several of you have come up to the church this week to pick up Ex Hour books, and that has been the highlight of my week. It was great to see you and hear your stories of how you persevere through this time! Thank you for your encouragement! I needed it.
Remember the staff is back in the office, but we ask that you call before you come up. Help me keep the staff safe. Speaking of the staff, I want to send a quick shout out to all the staff for their dedicated and diligent work efforts. Please know you are appreciated. This is a difficult context, but you are doing a GREAT job!
Sunday, I was featured in the worship service of Friends Church-Yorba Linda with Pastor Matthew Cork. HERE is a link to that service so you can watch it. Thank you for the many calls, texts, and emails, encouraging me in this. Stepping into this place to be a voice for justice, racial equality, and the demolishing of systemic racism had been different for me, but your support has been tremendous!
Now, businesses and activities continue to open up through the State of California. As a reminder, we have NOT set a regathering date here at Friendship. We are researching, reviewing, listening, and learning about best practices for regathering. I am sitting in on various webinars and conversations on this subject almost daily. My team is working on learning what works and what does not. We know many of you need a community that is not virtual. We hear you. Our priority, again, is your safety. As stated last week, we are working to have the church picnic because all of the current public health information encourages outdoor events, so we are planning the picnic. It will look very different from past picnics, prioritizing physical distancing, sanitary procedures, and personal safety/responsibility, but it will be VERY fun. Please stay tuned for more information but save the date, July 18th, at Craig Park!
Here are my updates for you this week:
Ongoing Reminders:
I look forward to seeing you Sunday for Worship. Radiance will join us and provide music. How exciting! Also, Lady Karima and I celebrate six years of marriage on Sunday. Yay! Happy Anniversary Karima!
That’s it beloved, 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 week as we close the week!
I am grateful to reach out to you every week. I will be honest, this is a lot of work, but I love staying connected with you. If I haven’t said it lately, I miss you all. Several of you have come up to the church this week to pick up Ex Hour books, and that has been the highlight of my week. It was great to see you and hear your stories of how you persevere through this time! Thank you for your encouragement! I needed it.
Remember the staff is back in the office, but we ask that you call before you come up. Help me keep the staff safe. Speaking of the staff, I want to send a quick shout out to all the staff for their dedicated and diligent work efforts. Please know you are appreciated. This is a difficult context, but you are doing a GREAT job!
Sunday, I was featured in the worship service of Friends Church-Yorba Linda with Pastor Matthew Cork. HERE is a link to that service so you can watch it. Thank you for the many calls, texts, and emails, encouraging me in this. Stepping into this place to be a voice for justice, racial equality, and the demolishing of systemic racism had been different for me, but your support has been tremendous!
Now, businesses and activities continue to open up through the State of California. As a reminder, we have NOT set a regathering date here at Friendship. We are researching, reviewing, listening, and learning about best practices for regathering. I am sitting in on various webinars and conversations on this subject almost daily. My team is working on learning what works and what does not. We know many of you need a community that is not virtual. We hear you. Our priority, again, is your safety. As stated last week, we are working to have the church picnic because all of the current public health information encourages outdoor events, so we are planning the picnic. It will look very different from past picnics, prioritizing physical distancing, sanitary procedures, and personal safety/responsibility, but it will be VERY fun. Please stay tuned for more information but save the date, July 18th, at Craig Park!
Here are my updates for you this week:
- 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). 😊 WE NEED YOUR VIDEOS BY SUNDAY, JUNE 15th TO BE INCLUDED FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 21st
- 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.
- UNITY MARCH: Tomorrow, Saturday, June 13th, I will be marching in solidarity with Christ Our Redeemer Church of Irvine, Rock Harbor Church, Arise Church, various police departments and others on the matter of injustice in this country. You and the rest of the Friendship Family are invited to join me in a socially distant protest beginning at 10:00am in Irvine. You can find more information on the flyer HERE and I hope you can join me.
Ongoing Reminders:
- 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.
I look forward to seeing you Sunday for Worship. Radiance will join us and provide music. How exciting! Also, Lady Karima and I celebrate six years of marriage on Sunday. Yay! Happy Anniversary Karima!
That’s it beloved, 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