Board Members &
Lay Delegate Info
Moderator:
Rev. Janice Bowker
Vice Moderator: Alan R
Treasurer: Maureen P
Clerk: Gena T
Lay Delegate & Social Media Admin: Marina L
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Next Board Meeting
29th March 2020
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GOD'S ACRE
SHOE DRIVE
UPDATE
We have now bagged .......
1,425 p
airs of shoes, boots, cleats, pumps, trainers, kid's shoes & sandals! AND w
e now have until the end of April to reach our goal of 2,500 pairs; that's just another 43 bags or 1,075 pairs of shoes.
We know you can do it - we know that you're all doing your best to collect shoes & bring them in each week. We have fabulous people helping us.
 Huge thanks to everyone who helped moved the filled bags into the fellowship hall today; we have a truck arriving on Friday morning to make an interim pick up. There's a container waiting for our shoes & it will soon be on its way to folks who need them.
We have such fabulous folks helping us & we are blessed.
Please continue to share our Facebook posts & encourage your family, friends, neighbors, work colleagues, schools, podiatrists, chiropractors, neighborhood community centers, dance schools etc. to get involved with us.
 Through our work with funds2orgs.com, your shoes will help many people around the world, in developing countries AND help God's Acre raise some much needed funds, at the same time.
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Church Calendar
March 2020
8th - Sunday Service
11am
15th - Sunday Service
11am
15th - Potluck (After Service)
22nd - Sunday Service
11am
29th - Sunday Service
11am
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Next Potluck
Sunday - 15th March 2020
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Worship Schedule
Sunday - 3/8/2020
Rev. Janice
Call to Worship:
Rev. Janice
Lighting the Candles:
Rebecca M
1st & 2nd Reading:
Dennis M
3rd Reading:
Gena T
Community Prayer:
Communion:
Rev. Janice
Prayer Station:
Gena T
Eucharistic Server:
Camille E
Usher:
Letty C
Benediction:
Rev. Janice
PPT:
Sandy B
Music
Marina L
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All Church Retreat Day
Saturday 9th May 2020
$45 for the Day
(includes Lunch, Evening Meal, Campfire & All Activities)
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March
No Birthdays Listed
If you have a birthday or anniversary, and it is not listed, please let us know, so that we can add you to the list.
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Don't forget to 'Like' our God's Acre MCC page; then you'll receive our posts in your daily feed
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Just enter the 4 digit code:
7070
when you select your preferred wash
God's Acre will 10% from every wash
TWO GREAT LOCATIONS
3065 SE 24th Street
5199 SW 49th Court
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Yard & Garden Landscape Team
Alan R | Gena T | Keith S
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We recycle:
aluminium cans | printer ink
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plastic bottles
Please help us build a greener church and save our planet too.
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Here we are, once again, in Lent. I must admit that I really love Lent; as you know, it's a time of reflection and a time I treasure, because it always brings me closer to God.
 Thinking of Jesus is not hard, but thinking of His sacrifice is not easy; it's important to us though. We have talked a great deal about baptism so far this year; we always see this as a blessed subject; it's a time of celebration when Jesus was baptized; it was a celebration when the dove landed on Jesus and God spoke from heaven:
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
Then Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil. It's quite difficult to understand why; having just been baptized, surely Jesus was about to begin His ministry. We know that Jesus is a servant leader, who will always obey God. Jesus had to be strong to overcome such temptation; Jesus had to understand sin and how we, as humans, are frail and vulnerable.
Unless Jesus was able to feel, how could He understand us? Jesus had to learn how to resist temptation. It's a choice to resist; temptation is real; fasting for 40 days and nights isn't a picnic either, it's a real thing. Being without food is tiring, as well as weakening to body and mind. We all know how it feels when we are hungry; all we can think of is food!
Without food we are grumpy and miserable; think of that hunger multiplied by 40 days! Jesus didn't succumb to temptation and turn the stones to bread; His words were strong and meaningful: "
Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Jesus refused to be seduced again by the tempter, He knows His father's (God's) love, He doesn't need to have God prove it to Him. The temptations
continued with the devil asking Jesus to bow down & worship him;
Jesus has his own free will and chose to say no.
Jesus is, and always will be, the good example we see.
Temptation is not new, it began in the garden of Eden with
Adam and Eve; they had all they ever wanted but were still not satisfied and wanted more.
We are
tempted all the time;
life itself is a temptation.
I believe it makes us
stronger when we
realize that we have strength to overcome.
Temptation is all around us; every day we are tempted to do something that will take us from our path.
We all have our own inbuilt moral code within us.
We know right from wrong; we
know the boundaries in which we work,
s
o it's no use telling us its ok to do something wrong.
But yet, we s
tart to make excuses to ourself
-
Well it's just once; it
won't matter this time;
need to cheer myself up!
 You cannot run and hide from yourself; you can try to fool yourself, however
you cannot run or hide from God, who sees all!
We all have choices and we make decisions all the time.
We know if it's a bad or a good one.
You only need to go back to your childhood to find out who made the rules in your house.
My mother was the rule maker; she was very fair but I never wanted to get 'that look' from my mother if I had done something wrong.
If rules were not made at home, then rules were made in schools, clubs and churches.
So, even if you have not had a good upbringing, I am sure you still understood about following rules
,
they are there for guidance and help.
Rules help us formulate good practice for our future and give us structure;
so too, does Jesus; He is giving us real structure in this scripture
.
His answers to the tempter are great: "One
does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him." It's seriously good advice.
You know my thoughts on giving something up for Lent;
I prefer to take something on, which is my favorite thing to do.
I just feel that if I give up chocolate, ice cream or any other such thing, is pointless because I can do that any time of the year.
"
No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others.
So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great."
John Chrysostom
(Bishop of Constantinople)
 I am not telling you not to do what you want to do;
I am saying that it's not required a Lenten practice. By all means s
pend time in prayer,
think of others,
give yourself time and space,
give up being grumpy, b
eing selfish, fearful
,
living in the past
,
trying to please everyone,
negative thinking, worry, gossip.
If
you can do any of the above, you will move closer to God.
Open up your heart to God and let God in;
expect the Holy Spirit to come in to your heart.
Enjo
y your Lenten practice this year!
Rev. Janice
Rev. Janice Bowker
Senior Pastor | God's Acre MCC
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In Loving Memory
DeeDee R
Who passed away peacefully Feb 23rd 2020
Loved by so many - You will be deeply missed
Our love & prayers are with Betty Lou and family
May DeeDee rest in peace
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T
his week we ask for the following prayers:
*Continued prayers of thanks, for Rev. Janice; for her constant grace, support, strength & leadership; for all that she gives to God & our church
*Prayers of strength & Peace for Betty Lou
*In remembrance of our dear DeeDee, who passed away last Sunday & is now resting with Jesus
*Pain relief & healing for Marina
*Continued healing, strength & comfort for Nick D, Nick K, KP, Jim, Phil, Diane, Midge, Richie, Hettie, Kaye, Letty, Ann Marie, Megan, Tom & David K
*Travel mercies for Sami & Remi
*Strength for all care givers & their families
*For Rebecca, who is working long hours; keep her strength up God
*Support & answers for Tara, Jakki & the kids
*For the wonderful souls, who have & continue, to support & donate to our shoe drive; we greatly appreciate you all
*For Regina - you know her needs God
*Thanksgiving for Alan's mum, who is recovering after a fall
*Prayers for Lena D's health
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This Week's Reflective Moment
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| Pat Boone - Yield Not To Temptation |
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It's now even easier to donate to God's Acre MCC online; just
Click Here
Thank you all for your generous financial support
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Monthly 50/50 Raffle
3 tickets = $1
21 tickets = $5
Our monthly draw will take place on last Sunday of each month.
Tickets are sold each week before service.
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