Sabbatical week 10

Renee and I had two very special pastoral calls to make this week. First, we visited Jacob and Shayla to see their new baby, Joshua. I had the privilege of officiating their wedding and now I have the special privilege of dedicating little Joshua to the Lord this coming Easter Sunday.

We also said one final farewell to John and Vernadean. This faithful couple has been part of the Springfield Church since 1955. They are moving to Nampa to be closer to family. They have been such a blessing and encouragement to Renee and I these past seven years and they will be missed.

For Sunday morning worship we attended Salem First Church of the Nazarene.

It was a youth service where youth pastor Joshua Lindsey gave an informative message on media frenzy and how we are all impacted by the cultural influences of the media. Their quizzing team concluded the service with a moving drama.

After church, we were in the mood for seafood, where Micah was fascinated by the live lobsters.

Caleb not so much.

But he was very much into his order of crab legs.

Micah stuck with mac and cheese.

On Wednesday afternoon, we visited the Cottage Grove Church of the Nazarene.

We came to say hi to our friend Pastor Cindy (she’s the one looking right at us), where each Wednesday for about the last five years, they’ve been serving a community meal.

In Springfield, we started a community dinner in November 2008 (we serve anywhere from 70 to as many as 100 people weekly) and we wanted to come to Cottage Grove Church to learn more about their ministry.

This is Jessie and her son James (she joked about the whole Jessie / James thing). She has been the cook for the meals for the last 3 years. The night we were there, we had potato and ham soup, cornbread, carrots, and brownies. Each of the kids also gets a cookie. Jessie told us that she plans meals for a weekly minimum of 40 people, but often finds that isn’t enough so she always has some kind of back up plan so that everyone who comes gets a meal.

I love this plaque they have hanging on the wall. I believe that if God’s people are to pray this prayer as Jesus taught, that God’s people will also be the primary means by which this prayer is answered, which is exactly what the Cottage Grove Church is doing.

Pastor Cindy giving us a tour of the sanctuary.

Adjacent to the sanctuary is a clothing room that is available to anyone who has need.

This is Don and Jen with two of their six children. They oversee the clothing room ministry and were such a delight to chat with.

We’ve known Jerry and Cindy for nine years now and have come to very much love and appreciate them. God is using them to make a difference in Cottage Grove.