New Life Church Weekly Update

September 8, 2023

New This Week

• Shower Ministry Needs
• United Christian Women (UCW) Meeting, September 11
• Aslan Update
• Candlelight Recovery Vigil, Friday, September 15
• Blood Drive, September 24

Shower Ministry Needs

-Men’s M-sized underwear (NEW AND IN PACKAGES ONLY)

-Men’s S, M, 2X, 3X t-shirts or casual shirts (not dress shirts)

-Men’s shoes/sandals sizes 10-14

-Men’s denim pants and cargo shorts only, sizes 28, 30, 32, 34, 44

-Men’s socks (NEW AND IN PACKAGES ONLY)

-Men’s belts of all sizes

-Women’s 2X, 3X casual shirts/dresses

-Women’s size 9, and 10 underwear (NEW AND IN PACKAGES ONLY)

-Baseball-type hats

*Please make sure donated items are lightly worn & and free from stains*

Thank you!

Aslan Update

Mike and Debbie Loomis

Aslan turned 10 months old over the weekend! 

He now weighs nearly 20 lbs and he is crawling all over the place. 

While he still aspirates liquids (they go into his lungs), he is now able to ‘eat’ things like baby food. 

In addition, he will be having eye surgery, probably within the next few weeks. 

Thank you for your continuing concern and prayers. We cannot fully express how much your care for him and our family means to us. 

United Christian Women

TWO IMPORTANT UCW MEETINGS—

Monday, September 11, 2023, and

Monday, October 9, 2023

11:00 am - 12:00 pm in Lenox Hall

Purpose: Pre-event planning meeting for the November 4th UCW-sponsored “Portrait of a Bride…” special event.

For any questions: contact Linda Gillen 941-661-9988 or gooddecision@msn.com.

Candlelight Recovery Vigil

Today Matters will be participating in the Candlelight Recovery Vigil sponsored by Charlotte Behavioral Health Care on Friday, September 15th and all are invited to join!

National Recovery Month is a national observance held every September to educate Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with a mental and/or substance use disorder to live a healthy and rewarding life. This vigil is to increase the awareness and understanding of mental and substance use disorders, to celebrate those people in recovery as well as their family members, and to highlight community resources available for a successful recovery.

We have a short presentation where community members share their inspiring stories of recovery, along with honor beads, rock painting, a basket raffle, and candles for the vigil.

FREE T-shirts to first 100 walkers • FREE refreshments & snacks • Honor Beads • Raffle Prizes • FREE Mental Health Screening • FREE Narcan & Community Information tables.

Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs

No registration is necessary; we hope to see you there!

Bargain Boutique

The Bargain Boutique re-opened September 6 for sales and donations. We are looking forward to seeing old friends who shop with us and welcoming new shoppers.

As the old saying goes 'we are loaded for bear'...but not exactly! We do have beautiful art work, unbelievable fashionable clothing, (gently used and new), kitchenware. The list goes on. And oh, the jewelry!

See you soon,

The Ladies of the Bargain Boutique

Today Matters

Briyin Butgereit

Today Matters Speaker Series has a special guest this month that is a topic that is very near and dear to our hearts. Have you heard of equine therapy?? Before moving to Florida, Kathy B. had horses in Michigan and boarded them at a ranch that did equine therapy and she often got to participate in the therapy sessions with corporations and companies looking to help their leadership teams find unity. Also, she got to witness the benefit of equine therapy for those living with mental health issues. It can be truly life changing. When we needed to move to Florida, she donated her horse to an equine therapy facility that is now using him for working with disabled children.

We hope you will join us on Saturday, September 16th at 4:00 pm in the Life Center as we

welcome Carla Benefield and Sampson from Horsepower for Healing. They are located right

here in Punta Gorda and are offering much needed equine therapy to many groups and

individuals here in Charlotte County. Horsepower for Healing’s mission is to offer mental relief,

tools to resolve conflict and spiritual empowerment through the hope and healing of horses.

We hope you will join us and come hear how this type of therapy is so beneficial for so many!

Challenge to Read

Myrt Creigh

Since the early 90’s I’ve had a deep fascination with the book of Revelation. I shared with you earlier this month how my son and I were enamored with the Left Behind series. Several times over the years in Bible classes, I led discussions on the book of Revelation. I say lead because I cannot sincerely say teach because I myself was limited in knowledge and insight in Revelation study.

Here it is almost 30 years later when there are so many wonderful resources. It never ceases to amaze how God nurtures writers to awaken the clarity of scripture. I’ve just read Ron Rhodes’s book, The End Times in Chronological Order. The title, sadly, is bland but the author’s writing is definitely not. If you have a genuine interest in this topic, I guarantee you will find this book eye-opening and, oddly, enjoyable.  

Have we forgotten the words of Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15-18? Believe it or not, that is actually why the Father put us here…

Scholarship Committee Update

Thank You! – Our scholarship recipients send their gratitude and appreciation. As you read segments of their expressions of gratitude, please consider giving a donation to the scholarship fund through the Birthday Box. Birthday Boxes are located in the Life Center foyer, the foyer of the Sanctuary, and in the church office lobby.

Jillian O’Connell – Thank you New Life Church for supporting me in my last 18 years. You all have prayed for me, donated money for me to go on mission trips for the past seven years, and now you are supporting me through all the expenses of college. It’s amazing what our church has done for me and other high school graduates here. I appreciate the opportunity to accept this scholarship money, and I plan to use it well and get a greater education.

Dedicate a Hymnal

We are offering you the opportunity to dedicate hymnals in memory or in honor of loved ones. Each hymnal will have a nameplate with the name of the person who is being honored or remembered as well as the name of the donor (if you so desire). 

Hymnals (Our Great Redeemer’s Praise) are available for a suggested donation of $35 each.

Simply fill out the form below and mail/drop off a check for the number of hymnals you are donating. Please fill out a separate form for each hymnal you would like to donate in memory/honor.

A Note from the Staffing Committee

We want to wish David well in his new adventure in Wilson, North Carolina. If anyone would like to send a card and a love gift to David, they may send it to the church office and we will make sure that he receives them.  

Hospital Visitation, Prayer Available

We want to know when you are having surgery or are in the hospital! We are available to pray with you before surgery and visit you in the hospital, rehab, etc.

Contact us through email: prayerteam@newlifeforall.church or call/text Pastor Bob, Minister of Pastoral Care (941) 585-9576.

Church Name Tags

When you come to the church campus, please wear your New Life Church name tag. If you do not have a church name tag, you can order one HERE.