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 MCC
New Sign
Did you notice that we now have a new sign? Did you see it when you parked your car yesterday?
 Alan (or Mr. Greenjeans, as we like to call him!) worked very hard on Friday, both at the shoe pick up & putting up the new sign; we hope you all like it.
It will certainly help more folks know where we are. It's a very attractive addition to our building. If you didn't notice it, take a look at the newsletter header photo - you'll see it there AND on our Facebook page too.
Thank you to Phillips Graphics for a fabulous job.
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GOD'S ACRE
SHOE DRIVE
UPDATE
What a week it was; a rather large truck arrived last Friday to collect 56 bags of shoes from us; it's an interim pick up, as our shoes were urgently needed to help complete a shipping container, which is due to set sail this week, to help many people in developing countries, such as
Haiti, the Caribbean& Africa.
We have bagged
1,450
p
airs of shoes, boots, cleats, pumps, trainers, kid's shoes & sandals! AND w
e have plenty more waiting to be bagged; we have until the end of April to reach our goal of 2,500 pairs; that's just another 42 bags or 1,050 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.
 Thanks to Gena, Joe & Wayne who all helped bag some more shoes on Sunday before church. The shoes keep coming & we
are blessed by all who donate.
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
15th - Sunday Service
11am
15th - Potluck (After Service)
St. Patrick's Day Theme
22nd - Sunday Service
11am
29th - Sunday Service
11am
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Next Potluck
Sunday - 15th March 2020
St. Patrick's Day
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Worship Schedule
Sunday - 3/15/2020
Rev. Janice
Call to Worship:
Rev. Janice
Lighting the Candles:
Rebecca M
1st & 2nd Reading:
Camille E
3rd Reading:
Donald McB
Community Prayer:
Communion:
Rev. Janice
Prayer Station:
Donald McB
Eucharistic Server:
Camille E
Usher:
Gena T
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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Yard & Garden Landscape Team
Alan R | Gena T | Keith S
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John 3:1-17
Yesterday I was hypothesizing that, if Jesus were walking the earth today, He would probably be a member of an MCC church, because he was radical, like so many MCC'ers are.
YOU are in the right place, at the right time, in a relevant church. MCC churches are a breath of fresh air!
As we looked at the scripture, we hear that Nicodemus was not sure what Jesus was talking about when He was talking about 'being born again'! Jesus told him that he needed to be born by the spirit before he could go into the kingdom. Jesus puts this very succinctly; we need to be baptized by water AND also by the Holy Spirit.
As you know, I am always talking about the Holy Spirit! I love to talk about how the Spirit works in us, changes us and heals us. We need to be 'born again' by the Spirit, not just by saying that we follow Jesus.
 The disciples were Jesus followers, then it happened .... they were 'born again' by the Holy Spirit that came down at Pentecost.
Not only did they receive the Spirit, they received the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The scripture is also telling us that: 'Only God's Spirit gives us new life.
The Holy Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don't know where it comes from, or where it is going'.
It causes me such sadness that more people weren't here for our midweek service of healing and reflection;
the Holy Spirit is always present.
I don't even want to call it a breeze, or a wind, I want to call a sirocco - which is a hot, Mediterranean wind.
 Everybody felt the Spirit that night and it moved us all. We can be spectators and watch everyone else receiving the Spirit; we can sit back and see it changing their lives, OR we can be part of it. I urge you to come, see and experience the Holy Spirit. Come along and b
e open to that possibility.
The Holy Spirit also shows up during services, but we have more time to go deeper during a midweek service; we have no time limit.
Jesus tries to explain how the things of Heaven work; Jesus says how on earth, one can believe what is going on in heaven even if you don't know what is going on earth! No one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from there. The Son of God must be lifted up and w
e need to lift the Son of God up in our own lives. We see Jesus and know that we are saved by His sacrifice; Jesus died for our sins, even the sins we may have not yet committed.
None of us should close our eyes to Christ, or turn away from His gospel. We should value Jesus as our savior; Jesus saved me and He saves you all too. He is our savior and we are saved every day.
 You know what I say: it's not once saved and that's it, you get your "golden ticket to heaven". It's a process or, in other words, salvation is not yet complete in any of us. The most appropriate description of the present state is that 'we are being saved'.
"Lord I'm not what I ought to be, I'm not what I am going to be, but praise the Lord I am not what I was".
We are set free from the penalty of sin.
In sanctification, we are set free from the power of sin; in glorification, we are set free from the pollution of sin.
This is a continual renewal until it's complete and, I guess it will only be complete when Jesus comes back ,or we go to heaven. Salvation is not complete - it's a commencement of the beginning.
 We are saved by God's grace through faith. Faith can simply be trusting in God; as I keep saying to you, we have to trust and obey God; that's what faith is. The apostle James said, "I will show you my faith by what I do" 2:18. In other words, he will show his faith by the way he lives his life.
The process began and continued by faith; faith is not a single step, but many steps, a walk, a journey of life. God wants us to know the right way to live; Jesus taught us, is still teaching us, always showing us the way. We have communion each week and we remember Jesus; we all receive from the table as equals.
We have God's attention; what are we going to do with that? Are we going to be blessed by it? We need to take stock of what we have and be thankful for it; we should be grateful to God every day; gratitude is a small word but it's an enormous gesture to God. An attitude of Gratitude is a great big thank you to God.
If you want to work on anything this Lent, see how much gratitude you can get into a day. Can you even imagine how grateful the recipients of all our shoes will be? Have you ever received a gift from someone you don't know? Who decided to send you a random gift? It's a humbling experience.
I will set you all challenge - from now, until the end of Lent, that whatever you come across each day that you will say thank you to God. Do this as many times in a day as you can, and see how it will change your attitude. It's a wonderful thing to take on for Lent.
 Take on Gratitude - it's so pleasing to God's heart. Gratitude is gentle but has lasting effects on the people around you. Remember, a person may not always remember what you said to them, but they will remember how you made them feel. So, this Lent let us try to show our gratitude to all we meet, Amen.
Rev. Janice
Rev. Janice Bowker
Senior Pastor | God's Acre MCC
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T
his week we ask for the following prayers:
*Thanks for Rev. Janice; for her hard work, guidance, leadership & strength; for all that she gives to God
*Continued prayers of strength & Peace for Betty Lou
*Strength & discernment for Tara, Jakki & the kids
*Pain relief & healing for Marina
*Prayers for Elaine, who is sick with a cold
*Continued healing, strength & comfort for Nick D, Nick K, KP, Jim, Phil, Diane, Midge, Richie, Hettie, Kaye, Letty, Ann Marie, Megan, Tom & David K
*For the world battling Coronavirus; please keep everyone safe
*Travel mercies for Angie & Chris
*Prayers for Trinity MCC, Gainesville, who were broken into last week; may their repairs be made swiftly & thanks for speedy recovery of their church van & apprehension of the offender
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This Week's Reflective Moment
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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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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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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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