Pastor's DeskA Heart Filled with ThankfulnessPastor Marlene Ciranowicz
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July 2020
I know that some of you have not heard from us in a while because of
the Covid 19 virus but I am thrilled to tell you we reopened on June 14
after being closed for 12 weeks. It was such a surreal situation. But, I am
also happy to share with you that no one in our immediate church family
contacted the virus. We are very thankful for that!
For those of you who came the first Sunday it certainly was different,
wasn’t it? But it was so good to be together again. We have taken great
pains to be safe as you know if you received the letter that went out with
instructions on what to expect. I want to thank the ushers and Christian
Education for their efforts in our grand reopening. And I want to thank the
children. You all were so good throughout the whole service. I know it
must have been hard for you to not be in the Children’s Center or your
Sunday school class.
The first Sunday was a praise service. People had so much to praise God
for during the past twelve weeks, I didn’t get a chance to preach! But there
is something else to be thankful for. Because of the sudden need to find a
way to keep a connection going with the congregation, Ron Hirst, stepped
forward. With his technical skills, he video tapes the sermon and also plays
the organ so we can have music for each broadcast. We did not miss a
Sunday as March 17 we closed and March 22 we were already up and
running on the website.
If you aren’t aware, you can see the weekly video on our website
(memorialparkbaptist.com) or you can go through YouTube typing in name,
city, and state of the church; the first circle that comes up is a small picture
of the outside of our church, click on that and you will be on the website;
access to the weekly video is on the home page. We will continue to
broadcast every week now even though we are officially open. Something
we were not able to do before the virus showed up.
There is always something to praise God for even in the darkest times
and we certainly were walking through the shadow of death. A lot of things
took place during the shut down. Our semi-retired pastor, Steve Reynolds
read a short Facebook posting in our first service reminding us that now
may be the time for the church to come alive. It is time to get our head out
of the sand and become aware of the reality all around us. Perhaps, as
Mordecai challenged Esther with his famous statement, “And who knows
but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:
14), we have come to be where we are for such a time as this!
The news networks reported so many times how one person, including
children, did make a difference because they were moved to get involved.
Just last week I saw on the news that a 9 year-old girl had made and sold
bracelets to help. So far she has raised over $8,000 and that’s a child! What
can each of us do to make our world better? Don’t fall for Satan’s
discouraging ways taunting us that we cannot make a difference. We can
and you know why? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
Let us seize the opportunities that God has laid before us to do good
things! (Galatians 6:10).
Can’t wait to see you Sunday and if not in church on our website!
Blessings,
See you Sunday and remember to bring a friend!
Blessings,
Pastor Marlene
I know that some of you have not heard from us in a while because of
the Covid 19 virus but I am thrilled to tell you we reopened on June 14
after being closed for 12 weeks. It was such a surreal situation. But, I am
also happy to share with you that no one in our immediate church family
contacted the virus. We are very thankful for that!
For those of you who came the first Sunday it certainly was different,
wasn’t it? But it was so good to be together again. We have taken great
pains to be safe as you know if you received the letter that went out with
instructions on what to expect. I want to thank the ushers and Christian
Education for their efforts in our grand reopening. And I want to thank the
children. You all were so good throughout the whole service. I know it
must have been hard for you to not be in the Children’s Center or your
Sunday school class.
The first Sunday was a praise service. People had so much to praise God
for during the past twelve weeks, I didn’t get a chance to preach! But there
is something else to be thankful for. Because of the sudden need to find a
way to keep a connection going with the congregation, Ron Hirst, stepped
forward. With his technical skills, he video tapes the sermon and also plays
the organ so we can have music for each broadcast. We did not miss a
Sunday as March 17 we closed and March 22 we were already up and
running on the website.
If you aren’t aware, you can see the weekly video on our website
(memorialparkbaptist.com) or you can go through YouTube typing in name,
city, and state of the church; the first circle that comes up is a small picture
of the outside of our church, click on that and you will be on the website;
access to the weekly video is on the home page. We will continue to
broadcast every week now even though we are officially open. Something
we were not able to do before the virus showed up.
There is always something to praise God for even in the darkest times
and we certainly were walking through the shadow of death. A lot of things
took place during the shut down. Our semi-retired pastor, Steve Reynolds
read a short Facebook posting in our first service reminding us that now
may be the time for the church to come alive. It is time to get our head out
of the sand and become aware of the reality all around us. Perhaps, as
Mordecai challenged Esther with his famous statement, “And who knows
but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:
14), we have come to be where we are for such a time as this!
The news networks reported so many times how one person, including
children, did make a difference because they were moved to get involved.
Just last week I saw on the news that a 9 year-old girl had made and sold
bracelets to help. So far she has raised over $8,000 and that’s a child! What
can each of us do to make our world better? Don’t fall for Satan’s
discouraging ways taunting us that we cannot make a difference. We can
and you know why? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
Let us seize the opportunities that God has laid before us to do good
things! (Galatians 6:10).
Can’t wait to see you Sunday and if not in church on our website!
Blessings,
See you Sunday and remember to bring a friend!
Blessings,
Pastor Marlene