September 2019
Greetings from Pastor Mia
 Now that the storm has passed, a good start to September to all our loved congregation members!
We are very blessed that Dorian did not affect our area, but our closest island neighbors were not so fortunate. They are in our prayers. I believe, and hope, that our congregation can support our sister-congregations in their massive rebuilding work, which they now have ahead. We are part of the same synod as the Bahamian Islands.

During the September lull, between peaceful summer and our upcoming fall season, our church has been going through a renovation, thanks to the Iglesia Christiana folks, which has somewhat affected our services and activities. We are happy to see that the church building is being repaired well and with love. All the outside walls have received a coat of paint, as have the courtyard walls and the fellowship hall. The fellowship hall flooring is being done at the present time, which was delayed due to the flooring not being delivered.

I want to reassure everyone, that the change in ownership of the church building, will not affect our service times, or lessen our activities. Just the opposite, we have planned a busy and rewarding season, if we remember to start everything with prayer.
Thank-you, and please make it a habit to pray for our congregation. 

“ So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!   Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us. .” (Ps. 90:12,14-15)

With great Blessing,
Pastor Mia

Our Church Under Renovation:
Happy Birthday with Blessings!
In Memoriam
Bertta Penttilä



Aino Ukkonen
In your hands, O Lord,
we humbly entrust our sisters.
In this life you embraced them with your tender love;
deliver them now from every evil
and bid them eternal rest.
The old order has passed away:
welcome them into paradise,
where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain,
but fullness of peace and joy
with your Son and the Holy Spirit
forever and ever.

Welcome Teppo!
Teppo Honkanen is a volunteer serving our congregation until mid-November. Teppo has been involved with Maria Congregation in Turku, doing work with youth groups. He has also been involved with “Maata näkyvissä” festival as a coordinator. Teppo is a multi-talented individual, who is a carpenter and car repairman.

We are thankful to have Teppo here. 
Combined Service on August 18th
While the church was closed for vacation, us volunteers gathered together and arranged a worship service filled with music and prayer. Tuomo Karvonen shared what God had brought into his heart.
The songs we chose were not from our familiar hymnal, but instead, were chosen with the intent that we could praise God in a smaller group setting.

After the service, we gathered in the church office to ‘break bread’ In addition to bread there was several kinds of food and little snacks.
It was great to see that people came to the service, and I personally felt the strong presence of God, and the joy of togetherness with the congregation. 

(Text: Otto Manninen)
Greetings from Michael
I hope everyone has enjoyed some time off this summer. Our church has been closed over the past month and some much-needed vacation time has been enjoyed by our Pastor and music director, congregation members, as well as the wonderful musicians who have sang and played to the Glory of God. Music plays a very big part in our church and is a very powerful tool to spread God’s Word. We are all looking forward to a great fall season, and I hope that everyone is ready to give their talents, once again, to our church. We have a good group of new musicians, as well as, our loved, familiar singers, and soloists, who are ready to serve. There will be a variety of different events, from prayer groups, to gospel nights, which everyone is welcome to attend. These events are all to Praise our Lord Jesus Christ, and we hope that they will be filled with the Holy Spirit. We look forward to seeing everyone back here in Florida, and we hope that everyone will attend these prayer and praise events with open hearts.
There will be some time changes to our choir and other music rehearsals. The new times will be announced as soon as possible.
With many blessings,

Michael 
Preschool News
It was a long hot summer at the preschool. We had a one week break in July, but otherwise we were there singing, playing, learning and creating. Now the new school year is well under way and we have welcomed a new group of students to our preschool family. Once again we are filled to capacity and have a waiting list.

September is always a time to make friends, learn school rules, explore and play. Our first week’s theme is “Everyone is Special”. We will talk about our likes and dislikes, what makes us unique, how we are different and how we are the same. We’ll make self-portraits and make finger paint/hand print pictures.

An on-going theme in September and October is “Colors and Shapes”. We learn about mixing primary colors to make secondary colors, study the basic shapes and we’ll paint, cut, paste, sculpt and incorporate colors and shapes into all of our projects. We will study the artist Piet Mondrian and make our own masterpieces in his style- using primary colors, squares and rectangles.

September also means the beginning of the fall season. We will paint fall leaves and apple trees and bake some apple pie. Our final theme in September is “The Five Senses”. The children will do a lot of tasting, touching, listening, smelling and looking. Fun stuff!

This year we are pleased to continue offering a weekly yoga class (taught by Hanna Kiuru) on Tuesdays. We also continue having music classes three times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) with our music instructor, Michael Poutiainen. Thursday is our bible study day and once a month we have chapel with Pastor Mia at the church. 

 God Bless,


Pirjo Komonen Campitelli

The Visit of Kari and Erja Ahlroth
On August 25, we had the pleasure of having our loved friends Kari and Erja Alroth visit our church. Kari gave a wonderful sermon about the sermon on the mount and words from the book of Hebrews. The message was good, and the feeling was warm and relaxed. We were also fortunate to hear Kari’s good singing voice, as he also served as our hymn leader.
Kari and Erja have blessed our congregation many times over the years and continue to do so. We will be counting the days until their next visit, and God willing it will be soon. 
Thank-you Kari & Erja. 
Have a Blessed fall!

“ But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

(Isaiah 40:31)