I have noticed a trend over the last decade or more. A trend in which Christians have been pulling away from gathering together regularly on Sunday mornings.
AGM 2020 Announcement
This is going to be a more focused and shorter letter this week. I’ve asked the Pastoral Team to be preparing their reports for the AGM so their writing time is focused on that. As a result this letter is just from me and will be mostly about the upcoming AGM.
In case you didn’t see the notice, we will be holding our AGM on June 7, 2020. The time has not yet been determined, but given the current personal distancing requirements, we will be holding the meeting entirely online.
'I will build my church' - Jesus
. . . But when I began to pray, Jesus reminded me of a simple truth that he taught me a long time ago. It is a simple truth about the church. You see Jesus commanded us – all of us – to make disciples. Jesus never commanded us to build ‘the church’. He commanded us to make disciples. In fact, Jesus laid the responsibility of building the church squarely on his own shoulders, not on ours. In effect, Jesus said, “If you make disciples, I will build my church.”
Hillcrest Cares
Greetings to the Hillcrest Family,
We’re all settling into some new routines and it is no different for the Hillcrest Staff. We’re sending out a newsletter each week. The pastoral staff sends out a letter every two weeks to keep us all updated on what is happening at Hillcrest and Pastor Steve sends out his own letter in the other weeks as an encouragement and exhortation for us all.
On with the updates!
A season of disorientation
Life has its seasons.
There are times when life just makes sense. When “all is right with the world” and we experience a satisfaction with our work, our family, our relationships, or in our personal life. We wish that we could push pause and live in these moments forever. Joy comes easily. Laughter bubbles up with little effort. All is right with the world. We might call this a season of orientation.
Then there are times when life makes no sense. Our experience in the world is difficult and our thoughts are drawn toward deep questions about life. Why is this happening to me? What is going on with the world? And in these times, we long to “go back” to the way it was.
INFINITELY MORE… A word of encouragement from Pastor Steve
Hello All!
I hope that you are doing well this week and that you sense the presence of the Lord in your hearts today. The pastors, staff and I are thinking about you every day. We miss your smiles and laughter and the joy of being with you all. For me personally, I am finding the adjustment difficult as I enjoy Sunday mornings so much. It is truly the highlight of the week for me and I am looking forward to the day when this trial is over, and we can be together again!