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A Note from Pastor Brett
Lately my mind has been on the topic of prayer. I have been reading a book by Paul Miller and he makes the point that praying for one another as believers, as well as for others, should be as normal for us as going for lunch or coffee with someone. What he means by this is that when we are spending time with people, we should be praying with them. I’ll be honest I was convicted of this; I am not as intentional in this as I should be, nor have I held it in the right importance. I am not proud of that, but I can clearly see paths forward where God is encouraging me to be more intentional both in my own home, but also in my relationship with others. The reality in the western world is we treat prayer as a “higher spiritual” reality. That to pray out loud, or to pray for someone you are with is something you need to “arrive at”. But the reality is prayer is a discipline not unlike reading the word, we have to be intentional at it and it becomes something that is easier, and more normal the more we do it. Often, we can complicate prayer, or turn it into something that’s about us. But in its most simple form it’s about us connecting with God. Recognizing first who he is, his greatness, then recognizing not only our need for him, but also the places where we need his help and direction. I have often heard from people that praying out loud, or praying with other people is hard and intimidating. As someone who did not grow up in the church, I totally understand that feeling. I remember praying with my youth pastor and looking back on it now, it makes me cringe a little bit. But he always encouraged me to pray what was on my heart, and to read scripture about how Jesus taught us to pray, and so because of that I grew in the discipline of prayer. I want to commit myself to being more intentional in prayer. It’s something as a leadership/ministry leadership team we are going to talk about this weekend. It’s something I want our ministries to talk about, and more than that, each of us in the church to consider. How might we grow in prayer? How might you grow in the discipline of prayer? How might you grow in being intentional in praying for others both privately and in person? It has been very encouraging to see the church rally behind praying through the process of hiring a new lead pastor, and I know that all of you are looking forward to Brad coming. I want to thank all of you for the way you supported the Elders and their leadership as well as your heart and passion to pray and trust the Lord in this process. It’s exciting, and though it will be a little while before Brad is here yet, it’s encouraging to see the way the Lord led his people. This week: This Sunday we have Micah Motz here to preach, he is continuing our series on Romans and will finish off Chapter 5. Pastor Brett will lead in worship and Ben Dyck and Ken Reinke will host the service. We will also have a mission’s moment from Karen Vandenburg about El Buen Samaritano. We are looking forward to gathering and worshiping together. Hope to see you there. |
Update from Karen Vandenberg
Things are full-steam ahead at El Buen Samaritano, the senior’s home in Mexico – all 24 beds are full, and the staff are working hard to care for each of our resident’s specific physical, emotional and spiritual needs. The main challenge, as usual, is a lack of staff, partly due to increasing minimum wage and our inability to keep up due to decreasing donations. Group visits have slowed to nearly a stop since Covid and we hope to change that - it is such an encouragement to Juan and the team when they are reminded that they are loved and cared for by the whole Church family! We also have a goal of doubling our monthly support to hire enough staff, pay them a good wage and sign them up for medical benefits as an incentive to stay. You can help with financial gifts by visiting the EFCC website here. If you would like to continue the conversation, give us a call! Scott (403-894-4435) or Karen (403-892-5915) |
Upcoming Events
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Youth: no event this weekFriday, March 8, 2024 See you March 15 for Kindle! |
Good Friday ServiceFriday, March 29, 2024 For more infomation visit: http://taberefc.ca/events/good-friday-service--230/2024-03-29
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Staying Connected
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Taber, Alberta Canada T1G 1S6 |