PASTOR'S UPDATE JUNE 14, 2024

Greetings Friendship Family,

As Pastor said in the video, he has been away this week in Indiana.  We are grateful for the work that he has done this week representing us at the Southern Baptist Convention gathering in Indianapolis.  

I want to congratulate Pastor Kenneth Curry as he is featured in the Summer Issue of Pathways magazine.  In this issue Pastor Curry tell his story of God’s call to ministry.  This past Sunday, we celebrated Pastor Curry’s 33rd preaching anniversary and this article takes us from there into more of his calling and vocation.  You can go to a virtual version of this article HERE.

I also want to congratulate Pastor & Lady Karima Curry on their 10th Wedding Anniversary!  To God be the glory!  Congratulations on reaching this awesome milestone together. We pray that God will continue to shower blessings upon you and that your lives will continually be filled with joy, laughter and lots of love!

For our devotional, I want to encourage us this month to be famished and fervent. Yes, I am keeping Pastor Curry’s streak of using these adjectives that begin with the letter “F” going.  In the last few videos, Pastor Curry has encouraged us to be: Fruitful and Faithful, Focused and Fearless, Formidable and Flourishing and now I encourage us to be Famished and Fervent!

Now famished isn't a word we use a whole lot these days.  It essentially means to be really hungry or starving.  Fervent is another word that has kind of fallen by the wayside, but it means passionate, eager and enthusiastic. I think of these words when I consider a verse in the Bible found in Matthew 5 verse 6… this is where Jesus says that..
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”

“Hunger and thirst” is a metaphor that doesn’t really resonate today for many of us in our context as it did in Jesus’ day, when food and water were often scarce. Not just that some people were hungry and thirsty, but times when there really was not much food. In our culture, food and water are plentiful, so we miss the urgency Jesus intended. Hungry, thirsty people work hard, urgently, to gain food. To hunger and thirst (or to be famished for righteousness, then, means we should be fervent or urgently pursue righteousness.

In fact, right in the middle of Jesus’ conversation about how we worry about what we will eat or wear in the future in Matthew 6, Jesus says that we ought to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.  To hunger for righteousness is to yearn for God’s rule in our lives. It is to have a thirst for God’s Word. In Scripture, righteousness has several aspects and I want to highlight three of them here. First, there is the personal righteousness, which I just mentioned. This hunger leads us to tackle our sin by the power of the Holy Spirit and become more like Jesus. This is sanctification.

But since our quest for righteousness always falls short, we think next of the righteousness of Jesus, bestowed when we believe in Him. This is justification. Justification confers legal righteousness, so believers can stand before God the Judge on the last day. Justification wipes away all sin and guilt, no matter our level of sanctification.

Third, as disciples we ought to long for social righteousness. As much as we can, we should have a Godly influence in our environments. Hungering for righteousness leads disciples to promote Godly principles and justice in business, education, politics, and more.
So I want to challenge us, do we hunger for righteousness? Are we pursuing holiness? Personally? In society? Or are we satisfied with a little taste of righteousness—a few moments of justice and love?

Do you have a passionless routine, where you fit in and drift along.  How about in worship on Sundays?  Are you famished and fervent? Mature disciples yearn for God’s righteousness and pursue it. So let's commit to being Famished and Fervent.  As we do so we will be Fruitful and Faithful, Focused and Fearless, Formidable and Flourishing for God’s glory alone.

Now let's look at the announcements. 

SIDE BY SIDE COUPLES MINISTRY
The next Side by Side Couples Ministry Class is scheduled for Friday June 14th beginning at 7PM via zoom. The topic for this session is "How We Grow in Marriage" which comes from the Book Building a better Marriage by Pastor Earl and Oneka McClellan. Should you have any questions please contact Deacon Hilton McDaniel (949) 652-1489 or his wife Sheila McDaniel at [email protected]. We pray you are able to join us.  To register and join the study go HERE. 

FATHER'S DAY - JUNE 16th
Grab your children or Grab your dads and come worship with us on Father's Day.  We will be celebrating our fathers at each of our services and giving each of our fathers a special gift.

JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION - JUNE 19th
Please come out and join us at Boisseranc Park for a Juneteenth Celebration presented by the City of Buena Park. This event is free to attend and takes place from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Our Senior Pastor, Kenneth C. Curry, Jr., will be one of the featured speakers.

CHILDREN & YOUTH DAY & BACCALAUREATE SERVICE
Come celebrate our children and youth with us.  Rev. Chrystopher Grundy will be our guest speaker at the 8am Service and Rev. Wayne Gaddis will be our guest speaker at the 11:30am Service.  The attire for the day is our 60th Anniversary T-shirts, so if you need one, you can purchase one in the quad this Sunday or during the week from the church office.

At the 8:00am service on June 23, we will recognize all of our graduates at our annual Baccalaureate Service.  We are collecting the names of all Friendship Members who are graduating from high school or college this year. So, if you are a member of Friendship and are graduating from high school or college or know a student connected to Friendship and that student is graduating from high school or college this year, please let us know by adding their name to the list HERE.

WOMEN'S MINISTRY VIRTUAL FELLOWSHIP
Women of Friendship, please note that the next Virtual Women’s Ministry Monthly Fellowship will be Friday, June 28th, at 7:00 p.m. This is a date change from what had previously been advertised on the church calendar.

The guest speaker is the Rev. Dr. Karen Stewart. Join her and the Women's Ministry as they continue the journey through the book When Women Pray - 10 Women Who Changed The World Through Prayer" by Bishop T.D. Jakes.  Ladies, don't miss your blessing and a time to learn that something powerful happens When Women Pray!  Register today, HERE.

RHEMA MEN'S SUMMIT - JUNE 29th 
Brothers, join us for the RHEMA Men’s Summit 2024, taking place Saturday, June 29th from 9:00am - 2:00pm. The theme is Men Standing & Advancing in God's Power. There will be a continental breakfast, general sessions, breakout sessions, lunch, and giveaways. Admission is only $25. The summit is the ideal place to come out for encouragement and tools to stand and advance the mindset into practice in our quest to be men of great faith. We encourage you to invite a friend. Our goal is 150 men at this event. If each one brings one WE CAN DO IT! To register for this event please go HERE.

ANNUAL MEN’S DAY - JUNE 30th
Also, join us for our Annual Men’s Day, Sunday, June 30th. We continue with the theme, “Men Standing & Advancing in God’s Power." The Wrecking Crew will sing, the Men's Usher Ministry will be in full effect.

60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION COMMEMORATIVE BOOK
Our 60th Anniversary Commemorative book is here. You can pick up your book this weekend or purchase one for only $75.00. Friendship, family, friends, and guests, we need you to support this great milestone. 

NEW WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY
Attention all ladies! We invite you to join our new study, Not What I Signed Up For: Finding the Strength, Purpose, and Faith to Get through a Season You Didn’t Expect, by Nicole Unice. In this 8-week series, we’ll explore the biblical story of Joseph, gaining insights on how God uses life’s challenges to nurture our souls. If you’ve ever felt lost in an unexpected season, this study will provide the spiritual support you need.

This new study starts Wednesday, June 5th, at 7:30 p.m. and will be held online via Zoom. Books can be ordered on Amazon. To register for the class: CLICK HERE 

Facilitators: Rev. Belinda Wright & Rev. Fredia Travis.

CHILDREN'S & YOUTH WORSHIP SERVICES - 1-3 SUNDAYS
Children's Worship happens every 1st - 3rd Sunday during the 11:30 am service only.  All Children from age 3 through the 5th Grade are welcome to join in.  We currently have three groupings; Pre-K - Kindergarten, First - Third Grade, and Fourth & Fifth Grade.

All youth 6th-12th Grade are welcome to join in our Youth Worship Service.  Come out as we continue this series called ROAD SIGNS where we discover how we got the Bible and why we can trust that the Bible truly is the Word of God.  The Youth Praise Team leads praise & worship and there will also be games and fun.  They meet in the Carrington Building Basement.  Young people, JOIN IN!        

SAFETY TEAM
The Friendship Safety Team is currently recruiting new members. We need more women and coverage for the 2nd service.

The prerequisites are:

1. Member in good standing. New Members must complete new member's class to be officially added to the team. However, they are able to serve while attending the class.
2. Ability to serve the entire service. We ask that they show up 30 mins prior to the start of service and stay until the end of service, preferably until all the parishioners leave.
3. Be available for special services/events, as needed.

We also would like to appeal to those in Law Enforcement Officers or Retired LEOs. We would love to you on the team, but we know that many of you want to just worship and leave the job at the job. The Safety team, however, just needs to know who you are and where you (in the service) are in case of an emergency.

If interested please contact Pastor Rodney Friend HERE.

FAITHFUL GIVING
We want to say thank you for your giving and partnership.  YOUR GIVING MATTERS! Your faithful giving allows us to increasingly do the work of ministry for our members AND to everyone the Lord sends to us and sends us to.   Let’s keep giving to make Friendship a productive church!  You may give HERE.

General Church things to remember:

• 2024 CHURCH THEME:

     Advancing and Expanding... for God's Glory Alone
     Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV

• JUNE PRAYER FOCUS:

     Embracing the GRACE of God
     Eph.2:4-5, Titus 3:5, Heb 4:15-16; James 3:17; 1 Peter 1:3

• BIBLE READING

✔ The entire Bible,
✔ The Pentateuch (or the first five books of the Old Testament),
✔ The entire Old Testament,
✔ The Gospels (or the first four books of the New Testament),
✔ The entire New Testament, and
✔ Psalms and Proverbs (3 times)

• WEEKLY HEALTH WALK 

• IN-PERSON EX-HOUR: 

• Adult Class One (Sanctuary): The team teaching in the Sanctuary includes Lady Karima Curry, Pamela Jones, Deacon Demetrius Linebarger, Melanie Porter, Vivian Randolph, & Deacon James Shelby
• Adult Class Two (Carrington Building Room 217): The team teaching in the Carrington Building Room 217 includes Le Shon Archer, Deacon Rick Archer, Karen Ammons, Gwen Matthews, and Carl Randolph.
• Young Adults Class (Carrington Building Rooms 207-208): This class is designed for those aged 18-35.
• VIRTUAL EX HOUR: Virtual Ex-Hour meets weekly on Sundays via ZOOM. Join us for class at 10:00 am via this link HERE.
• YOUTH EX HOUR: Our in-person youth EX-Hour takes place during our designated EX Hour time in the Multipurpose Building. Parents, please encourage your students to join youth teachers for this biblically fun opportunity to learn God’s Word, connect with others, and grow.
• CHILDREN’S EX-HOUR: As stated in previous weeks, our Children’s EX-Hour is back and meets on Sundays at 10am in the Multipurpose Building. Parents, please note you must check in and check out your children weekly for Ex-Hour. 
• MOMMIES WITH BABIES: We have our Mommies with Babies class simultaneously during EX-Hour in the Multipurpose Building. Mommies with two years old and younger children are invited to this EX-HOUR class and are encouraged to bring their children with them! Come for encouragement, community, and growth! Amen!

• WEDNESDAY Prayer Day: Join us each Wednesday for Prayer. We pray at 6:30 am, 12:00 pm, and 6:30 pm. To connect with our prayer services, please follow this link HERE or dial in at +1 (413) 418-4274 and use the PIN 287683504#.

• Friendship FOOD BANK OPEN: The Friendship Food Bank is OPEN with a new drive-thru system where our clients will receive a pre-packaged food box and a bag of groceries.  The Food Bank’s hours of operation are Tuesday - Thursday, 2:30 pm-4:30 pm.  

Look, Friendship, that's all I have today.  I know it’s a lot, but a lot is happening at the Ship.
We appreciate your continued support, Friendship Family!  For more information, contact the church office.

Remember this, God loves you and so do I.

Be encouraged!


Rev. Kenneth C. Curry, Jr.
Your Pastor