Weekly Word from Pastor Curry: September 18, 2020

Good Day Friendship,

This week my KEYWORD is BLESSED! I feel BLESSED, and I am BLESSED. Kurt Carr has a song entitled “Blessing After Blessing” that says:

I have abbreviated it, but you can hear it HERE. I hope you enjoy it! I am grateful to God for blessing after blessing, and I can’t count them all, so I just say THANK YOU!

Our Virtual Throwback Revival BLESSED me. I really enjoyed the revival, and I pray you did as well! We had a rough start, but it came together! I had heard many of you were skeptical when I first presented it but were ULTIMATELY BLESSED! Praise God! I told you the WORD of God is timeless! Thank you for participating and for spreading the word. Thank you to Rev. Eric Archer and Candace Clark for serving as our HOSTS for the EVENT! We are appreciative to EVERYONE who helped with this event, MEDIA, MUSIC MINISTRY, AUDIO TEAM, EVERYONE!

Ladies, don’t forget that tonight, yes, TONIGHT, Friday, September 18th, is the Women’s Ministry Monthly Fellowship. The guest speaker will be Sis. Patricia Ashley of Dallas, TX. She will share from the topic: Kingdom Women - Having Hope In The Midst Of Chaos! To join this event, please go HERE. We hope to see you there!

I keep being asked, “When will we return to church?” I want to be clear; we are not there yet. I am not comfortable with the information that we have received, and your safety and health are essential to me as your pastor. As you know, Orange County has been downgraded from Purple, which denotes widespread risk with the highest positivity rating, to Red, which denotes substantial risk with a lower positivity rating. This means that certain businesses can re-open indoor operations with limitations, including churches. The new church guideline for Orange County now is a max capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is fewer. This means only 200 of you could attend worship at Friendship based on how we have traditionally executed our IN-PERSON Worship Services. This doesn’t work for us.

Further, many of you are in the at-risk category, and you are concerned. I understand, and I get it. As I have said before, all of this is fluid, and I am doing my best to lead us through! So, for now, things continue at Friendship the way they have been, mainly VIRTUAL!  No matter what,  MINISTRY CONTINUES AT FRIENDSHIP! Virtually and creatively!

MINISTRY IS STILL HAPPENING AT FRIENDSHIP!  Look at what we are doing:

• THIS SUNDAY, the YOUTH will host EX-HOUR LIVE outside at the church, and an11:30am Service WATCH PARTY. They will practice PHYSICAL DISTANCING, of course. Please contact Rev. Jaron Singley or Tonya Brown for more information. 

• Our Grief Class is back and starts on Tuesday, September 22nd. It’s a four-week course designed to help those experiencing grief. This class meets virtually and always gets rave reviews! For more information, go HERE.

• RTNT has two more Wednesday evening sessions. We will study the Book of Revelation on Wednesday, September 23rd, and then we will pick up Titus, Philemon & Jude on Wednesday, September 30th. Please read these three short letters. Also, I am preaching from Revelation chapter four this Sunday!
  
  
• I want to remind you that 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!  The large group, the Open share small groups, and the current step study are offered through the virtual platform.  Included in the large-group will be praise and worship, the reading of the CR principles, and a featured weekly speaker. The open share will resume in the virtual format and will maintain the confidentiality requirements based on CR guidelines. The questions of reflection in the groups will stem from the large-group topic discussed each evening. Sister LeShon Archer will be our first featured speaker in the large-group; she will speak on the topic, “Confession: The need, Power, and Liberty in confessing our sins/weaknesses/shortcomings” (James 5:16a Psalm 32:3-5). To participate in this event, please use the link HERE.

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!

LOOKING AHEAD:

• LEADERSHIP MEETING is coming! Ministry Leaders, our next Leadership Meeting, will take place on Saturday, October 3rd, via ZOOM! Leaders, you will get MORE information, SOON! Please pay attention to your e-mails.

• Did you know we have taken in new members during this COVID19 global pandemic? Yes, we have!  To God be the GLORY! We have taken in about 18 NEW MEMBERS! 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! Look for an e-mail soon with MORE details!

• We are so excited that open enrollment for our Scholarship Ministry is here.  From now until October 14th, we will accept applications for students 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 e-mail Rev. Jaron Singley.

• As schools return, mainly with a virtual format, we want you to know that we are here to support your educational efforts. 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.

• Our next SATURDAY SCIENCE FUN DAY WORKSHOP “Stomp Rockets: Theory, Construction & Launch” will take place on Saturday, October 3, 2020, 11am - 12:30pm. This will be a virtual workshop, structured for 3rd-6th graders, where our children and families can participate right from your own homes.  We do need you to register by September 20th  so that we can prepare workshop kits.  The kits will need to be picked up from the church office beginning Wednesday, September 23rd.  The cost is only $10 per family. The virtual workshop will take place via Zoom.  The Meeting Link will be sent to you after you register.  Please click HERE to register.

We are STILL attempting to support our members with small businesses. Recognizing that this pandemic has been especially difficult for many of you, we would like to promote your business through our website, church app, social media outlets. If you would like for us to feature your small business, please contact Rev. Eric Archer at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you!

Here are our weekly reminders:

• 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 8:00a and 11:30a worship services.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• EX HOUR: Ex Hour meets weekly on Sundays, and we are studying Isaiah beginning this Sunday. Our member, Sister Leshon Archer, helped to write the curriculum with a team of five other individuals. 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.

• 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 want to see your face, greet you, and hear how you are doing. To meet us, follow the link HERE. See you Sunday! 

• 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 7p. 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#‬. ‬The reading plan is available HERE. 

• 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.

Lastly, please note that we will NOT offer flu vaccinations this year at Friendship. Some settings that usually provide flu vaccine, like workplaces, may not offer vaccination this upcoming season because of the challenges with maintaining social distancing. This is our issue. We want to encourage you to follow the CDC guidelines concerning the flu vaccine, which encourages the vaccine and states, “getting a flu vaccine is an essential part of protecting your health and your family’s health this season.”

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