Hi everyone,

We just finished men’s prayer and as I was getting up to leave I had this
thought. Let’s have a call to prayer tomorrow (May 21st, 2021) at 10:00am
and 2:00pm.

Please, whatever you are doing, whatever you are busy with please stop and
pray, even if it’s just for a few minutes. I’d like you to shoot to pray
for at least 15 mins, but whatever you do will be beautiful.

I’d like you to pray for 2 people.

– Marg Thompson (Martha Puffault’s daughter) who has recently had
surgery for cancer and will be starting chemo here very soon. Please pray
for God’s grace and healing touch.
– Linda Sens (Rhonda, Brad and Rick’s mother) who is currently in the
hospital on a ventilator and who has recently had her liver begin to fail.
She needs prayer for a miracle as she battles covid.

Just think, at 10 and 2 there will be a whole handful of us crying out to
God together!

God bless,

Pastor Dave

Good afternoon again.

This weekend we will go back to one service at 10:30 am which you can sign
up for here: grenfellap.com/gathering-registration/

We are still at a 30 person limit for this service so please sign-up as
soon as possible.

God bless and see you this Sunday.

Pastor Dave

Good afternoon family. It’s been so wonderful to feel the warm sun on my
face the last few days. I am so thankful and just can’t believe that in a
few days they are calling for the slight possibility of snow. Well, at
least we will get some moisture which we really really need.

This morning I read from Matthew chapter 9 the following verses:

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their
synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every
disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,
because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers
are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers
into his harvest field.”

When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them. I am the first to admit
that I don’t often feel compassion when I see people who are struggling in
or through life. The addict, the depressed, the sick, the poor, the
lonely, etc… I’ve got great excuses that I use to justify a heart that
can easily move to hardness and apathy when I see them. And there lies the
problem, I don’t think that I actually *see *them. I see the cartoon
character I’ve built in my mind that has all the stereotypical reasons that
they shouldn’t be where they are – mostly to do with them being lazy or
that they somehow made the bed they are sleeping in. Which may have some
truth to it, but I think it is a lot more complicated than that!

Anyway back to seeing them. It’s not always easy to see past the rough
exterior or the painted on smile, especially when we aren’t close to people
or if we don’t know them well. We can develop relationships over time and
get to know people, but there are lots of barriers to this and there is
lots of time involved. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying don’t push
through the barriers or take the time needed to build those relationships –
but what if there was something that could give you a boost on this
journey. Well, I can’t remember if I shared this youtube channel before but
there is a youtube channel called Soft White Underbelly that might fit this
bill.

Now before you go and watch any of his videos (and I really debated whether
or not I would post this) you need to be forewarned that his interviews are
raw and unfiltered and not appropriate for the young or for those not ready
to see real life people struggling with some of the hardest issues in life.
He interviews addicts, prostitutes, mob bosses and everyone in between –
including some people who have done some vile things. His purpose is so
that we can get a glimpse into their humanity and have compassion on them.
Please, please know that I have no intention of sending you somewhere
inappropriate or for you to hear or see something that will trigger you. My
hope is that some of us might be stirred by *seeing *with a little more
reality and compassion the brokenness of our world and the desperate need
people have of Christ. If you think it will offend you or disturb you,
please ignore this and move on. And to be clear I have not watched all of
his videos, not even close. but the ones I have watched have left me
sobered, sombre, more empathetic and painfully aware of *our world’s need
for the loving, redeeming, powerful love of Christ.*

Before you watch any of his videos I suggest you watch his intro video
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA50FoqW-MY. I think this gives a
good framework as to what he is doing. He has a lot of videos! Again, they
are not for children nor are they for the faint of heart. Some of them
contain mature subject matter and I’ve chosen to steer clear of them. I
leave it to your discretion. I will say this though – he does not
glamorize or misrepresent – he basically lets people tell their story AND
this is the world we live in! A world who desperately needs more workers
sent out. If anything we should be motivated to pray! His channel can be
found here: www.youtube.com/channel/UCCvcd0FYi58LwyTQP9LITpA

God bless and have a great week and weekend!

Pastor Dave

*Pastor Mike’s Garage-May 13/2021*

So, I was up at three AM this morning, in pain, again! I’ve been
struggling with a problematic tooth off and on for the last six months, and
let me tell yah it’s getting a bit old! Now I know I won’t get any sympathy
cards or huge bouquets of flowers from anyone going through any serious
illness or real struggle. I guess that’s probably the most frustrating
thing about this scenario is that it amazes me how such a small part of my
body can cause so much pain and discomfort. It affects my sleep, eating,
attitude and general disposition on life when it acts up. It always amazes
me how when the pain subsides how I can go from the pits of despair to
loving life within a matter of hours.

While I was thinking about this scenario this morning my mind went to how
the bible describes the church as a body, each member having different
roles and responsibilities. It’s found in the book of 1 Corinthians 12 and
this tooth is a reminder to me how interconnected we are. A couple of weeks
ago Pastors Dave talked about how we’re a family, and I wholehearted agree!
But we’re more than that, we’re a body. We desperately need each other!
When one suffers, no matter how seemingly insignificant, we all suffer! I
leave you with the aforementioned passage.

“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body.
So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,
some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one
body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has
many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part
of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part
of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am
not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole
body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear,
how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has
put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had
only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can
never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet,
“I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and
least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as
less honourable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully
protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honourable
parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together
such that extra honour and care are given to those parts that have less
dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members
care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and
if one part is honoured, all the parts are glad. All of you together are
Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Pastor Mike

Hi everyone,

Once again our Sunday sign-up is live for this weekend. We’ll be doing the
same thing as last weekend: a regular service at 10:30 am which will have
some worship and a sermon – a maximum of 30 can register for this service.
In addition to this we will hold a fellowship time at 9:00 am. We will sing
a few songs together, pray, share scripture and encourage each other –
because Firm Foundations is running at this same time, this gathering is
limited to 20 people.

You can sign up for both at grenfellap.com/gathering-registration/

After some discussion with some board members, we felt it necessary to
share with you where we are at financially as a church.

This has been a tough year for all of us, some more than others, and we
recognize that for many of you continuing to give has been a sacrifice and
for that we are thankful – incredibly thankful.

As of the end of April, our total giving for the year is about $40,000
dollars and our expenses are about $47,000 dollars. This puts us
approximately $7,000 dollars behind for the year so far. Now, if you
attended the annual meeting, you will know we budgeted for a loss of
$13,000 for the year (which was taking into consideration some of the
challenges we knew COVID would bring to giving and to church attendance and
church life). So a loss is not surprising, but it is perhaps a bit more
than we were anticipating for only four months into the year.

We don’t want you to feel guilted into giving or feel pressure to give, we
simply wanted to communicate where we are at and we trust that God will
continue to provide for all our needs. We also feel like it is responsible
to let you know where we are at.

If you have any questions let me know! We truly do appreciate your faithful
giving and support. You are an amazing church to pastor through a crazy
time in the world!

Blessings,

Pastor Dave