SERVICE: SUNDAYS AT 8:00AM & 11:30AM

PASTOR’S WEEKLY UPDATE DECEMBER 23, 2022

PLEASE READ THOROUGHLY
SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS WRITTEN HERE ARE NOT IN THE VIDEO
Merry Christmas, Friendship Family…

I pray you are well this week and ready for Christmas! As I begin, let me say, from my wife, Lady Karima, and our family, Merry Christmas to each of you! We pray that you have a blessed Christmas with friends and family as you reflect on God’s love for you in sending His Son to live among us and within us. 

Did you know Christmas is about worship? It is! Christ is the greatest gift, and worship is the only proper response. After all, worship was the response of every actor in the very first Christmas narrative.

Matthew 2:10-11 states,
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, 
and they fell down and worshiped him. 
Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense, and myrrh.
Yes, there it is; the wise men worshiped Him! Therefore, we should worship Him and worship because of Him! I look forward to seeing you this Sunday for Worship. As previously announced, we will have one service at 10:30am. This short 75-minute service will emphasize our commitment to worshiping Christ as King!

No long annoucements this week. Just a few reminders…

END-OF-YEAR SERVICE PLANS
  • We will have a Watch Night Service on Saturday, December 31st, at 10:30pm. This will be about a 90-minute service. 

  • Then on Sunday, January 1st, we will have in-person service at, yes, you guessed, 10:30am. This will be a 75-minute service.

  • All services from Christmas through the beginning of the New Year are at 10:30! 

  • Please NOTE we will not have EX-HOUR on Sunday, December 25th, or Sunday, January 1st. 

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS & CLOSURE
We are open the last week of the year, but if you need to come to the church, please call first to be sure we are available. Also, please note the church office is closed Friday, December 23rd, and Monday, December 26th, and we will be closed Monday, January 2nd. 

FOOD BANK HOURS:
Our Food Bank remains open through the end of the year with its regular hours Tuesday - Thursday, 2:30pm-4:30pm. So if you or someone you know needs food, please stop by or encourage them to do so!

FINANCIAL SUPPORT
We have just ONE more Sunday to meet our 2022 budget, which is within our reach! 

Friendship, thank you for your generous financial support of your church. You are amazingly faithful and generous. This fourth quarter push campaign helps to ensure we finish 2022 strong financially! Please remain faithful to your church and continue your financial support. Your generous contributions have assisted us in maintaining a high level of ministry here at Friendship. Currently, we are behind by about $100,000. Finishing strong will help us this year and position us greatly for next year as we anticipate greater in-person ministry opportunities! Please know we are constantly investing in the ministry here at Friendship! We are making progress!

If you have questions or concerns regarding your year-end gifts, don’t hesitate to contact our Interim Finance Manager, Jim Hopkins, in the church office or at [email protected].

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR ESSAY WRITING CONTEST:
The Friendship Silver Eagles Ministry calls for students in the 3rd grade through 12th grade to participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Writing Contest.

Students are encouraged to research and learn about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, accomplishments, and how he worked to help improve people’s lives, and write an essay that explains how Dr. King’s life inspires the legacy you would like to make on our community and
world.

An interested participant can find details for the Essay Contest HERE. The essay submission deadline is Thursday, January 5, 2023, at 4:00pm. By this date and time, all essays should be emailed to Rosa Kelson at [email protected] or placed in the Silver Eagles Ministry mailbox in the Carrington Building.

HEALTH SURVEY:
I am excited to announce that our church is a part of a Health Equity and Advocacy Collective known as HEAAL (Health Equity for African Americans League). Our goal at HEAAL is to identify the social determinants of health outcomes within the Black American community in Orange County. Here is a like to the HEAAL website.

The Orange County Heath Offices has granted HEAAL, a collective of churches and community organizations, $200K to do this work. Additionally, several of our collective members have received $10K in participation grants. So, yes, here at Friendship, we have received a participation grant. 

To do this, we aim to survey 3500 Black American Orange County residents and individuals who work or worship in Orange County. We hope to hit our goal of 3500 participants by the end of February 2023. Beloved, we want to equip the black community in OC with information, services, and tools to remove adverse effects on our health which sets us up for poor outcomes when significant illnesses/pandemics (like COVID-19) occur.

Here is the LINK to the survey. I am asking that you complete the survey ASAP.  

In addition to the survey, which we will deliver in various ways (electronic/digital) and pen and paper surveys, we will also seek to have forums, town halls, and other community events designed to gain the most complete and comprehensive picture possible. Thanks in advance for your participation! Don’t delay taking the survey TODAY.

TRANSFORMATION MINISTRIES CONFERENCE 2022
We will host the 2023 Transformation Ministries Conference on February 2nd and 3rd, and I am happy to serve as a speaker again this year. The 2023 Transformation Ministries Conference is built around the theme: PRESENCE. Of course, we are talking about God’s presence. 

We will need volunteers to serve. If you are available, please contact Sharon Preston in the church office HERE. If you would like to attend, it is FREE to attend. We need you to register, however. To register, go to tmchurches.org/tmc-2023 and select “I need to add my name to my church’s registration,” then follow the prompts. Then enter Friendship Baptist Church for the church name and enter our church address which is 17145 Bastanchury Road, Yorba Linda, CA 92886. Then enter your contact information under Attendee Information. Let me know if you have a problem by emailing me HERE.

General Church things to remember:

  • 2022 CHURCH THEME: 
United & Unashamed: God’s People United in Mission, Ministry, & Mandate
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 ESV; Romans 1:16-17 ESV

  • DECEMBER PRAYER FOCUS: 
Praying that Friendship is Grateful for our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ
Lk. 12:8-9; Jn. 8:12; Rom. 5:1, 8:1; Gal. 3:26; Eph.1: 7-10; Phil. 4:19.

  • SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow us on our social media pages for upcoming content. For Facebook, that’s @FriendshipBaptistChurch. For Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, it’s @wearefriendshipchurch

  • BIBLE READING
If you have completed a reading plan this year, you can report your progress to Lady Karima at [email protected]. Please send your name and which plan you completed by Saturday, December 31st. We will celebrate all participants at our State of the Church service in January. 

  • WEDNESDAY Prayer Day: Join us each Wednesday for Prayer. We pray at 6:30am, 12pm, and 6:30pm. To connect with our prayer services, please follow this link HERE or dial +1 (413) 418-4274 and use the PIN 287683504#. 

  • COVID RECOVERY KITS:
    We still have Covid Recovery Kits through Providence Health and the Yorba Linda Rotary Club. These kits help individuals who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and are recovering at home. Each kit includes a pulse oximeter to monitor breathing, a thermometer, a box of masks, and a package of sanitizing wipes in a small canvas bag. If you or someone in your family could benefit from one of these kits, please call the church office and arrange to get one. 

  • COVID Membership Assistance Fund: 
We are STILL accepting COVID Membership Assistance Grant applications. If you are experiencing financial distress due to COVID-19, we invite you to apply for one of our $500 assistance grants. The guidelines are available HERE, and the application is available HERE.

  • LOST & FOUND
Have you lost your favorite Bible, glasses, or a personal item while here at the church? If so, please contact the church office at 714-528-0990 or stop by on the 1st floor of the Carrington Building Monday-Friday between 9:00am-5:30pm or Sunday between 10:00am-2:00pm. There is a collection on the blue counter under the TV monitor.


Well, that’s all I have, and that’s enough! See you Sunday for Christmas Worship!

God loves you, and so do I! 

Merry Christmas!


In His Service,
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/lK6ri-mjKfB2sIhmcqg2Hi5NyudCSRNzgARr3Mf2K6eUJbquKsJKTjRH8bwIsoC_hqMxDcBGgvz_iM-bLMT8GRoG7ZyW8HAgJwXEgcNgXaSzgCXTwPnItGvBjZf7eqWKVIIalN7w
Rev. Kenneth C. Curry, Jr.
Your Pastor
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