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Come celebrate Pentecost this Sunday, as we serve communion at both the 9:30 am Traditional and 11:00 am Contemporary Worship Services!
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MESSAGE FROM PASTOR JON
Dear Friends and Members of Ark and Dove,
I was so pleased to welcome new members last Sunday. One of the things we emphasize to all inquirers and new members of Ark and Dove is spiritual gifts. We strongly believe that God's Spirit gives us all certain talents and abilities for ministry. We have a spiritual gifts inventory to help you identify those abilities and put them to work at Ark and Dove. (Please contact me if you would like to take the inventory.) God has put a creative Spirit within us to pursue God's dream for this world!
This Sunday we celebrate the giving of this Spirit in worship. Pentecost Sunday is a special celebration that reaffirms God's living and active Spirit in and among us. It is the occasion that we remember God's Spirit is upon the people of God. From the book of Numbers, we are told that God's Spirit not only rested upon Moses but on all the elders. In the book of Joel, the Holy Spirit is said to be upon all generations. And in the book of Acts, the Spirit descends not only on the Jews of Jerusalem, but also upon people of all nations. God sends the Holy Spirit to all of us!
This is why Pentecost is such a celebration: God's Spirit is poured out upon us all, inspiring us to live and work in the world in faith, hope, and love. We are all uniquely gifted to bring God's goodness to this church, this community, and this world. Pentecost is a reminder that we all have the power and ability to pray well, take on leadership at Ark and Dove, and fully participate in mission and ministry.
To that end, I invite you to an interest meeting regarding
Vacation Bible School after the 11 am worship service.
VBS is a great way for us to put our time and talents to work for our community.
I invite you to join us this Sunday to reaffirm the Spirit in you and to recall those special gifts God has given you for the sake of the world.
Peace,
Pastor Jon
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VERSES AND PRAYER
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied.
- Numbers 11:25
I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.
- Ezekiel 37:14
Spirit of God: Fall afresh upon us this day. Mold us and make us a people who glorify you in everything we do. Blow upon us, give us courage to be prophets of justice, compassion, and peace. Breathe upon us, ignite in us those abilities to pursue your good work in our world. Illuminate us, give us new dreams, clarity, and understanding to know you and your ways. Rest upon us, let us know of your comforts and your peace. Amen.
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Transformations: The Capital Savings Fund Campaign
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TRANSFORMATIONS
Our Facilities and the Environment Not only does our church home provide support for individual transformations, but, as a congregation, we take an active role in ensuring our building and grounds promote positive environmental stewardship. Through participation in the RiverWise Congregations Program and the Anne Arundel Watershed Stewards Academy, we received a grant for the design and installation of a rain garden, which treats storm-water runoff from our property.
Working with BG&E, we changed most of our lighting to more efficient fluorescent bulbs and added automatic timers. We also switched our energy provider to one that relies fully on renewable sources. These changes have reduced our electrical expenses, as well as our overall carbon footprint. As we move forward, we will continue to offer environmental education for members and implement organic practices in the maintenance of our property. This is just another reason we hope you will support Transformations with your pledge of support on Sunday, June 11th.
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Many opportunities await you!
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CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES
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CALLING ALL GRADUATES
The Deacons want to celebrate all those who have achieved educational milestones this year. If you or someone close to you recently graduated from high school, undergrad or grad school, please let us know admin@arkanddove.org. Graduates will be included in the prayer list and formally acknowledged in an upcoming church bulletin.
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. - Deuteronomy 31:8
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DEACONS FUND One of the annual special offerings at Ark & Dove is the Deacons Fund offering, which we accept any time during the year. If you receive offering envelopes there is a pink one in the box for this offering. The Deacons Fund enables us to help our church households through situations that arise during the year and require more than we have available in the annual ministry and mission budget. Hosting a large memorial service is one example, but often the circumstances require privacy and therefore are not known to most of the congregation. The Board of Deacons is grateful for your contributions. (Greg Makar, glmakar@juno.com, Moderator of Deacons)
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RENEW! The Green VBS is coming to Ark and Dove
July 9 through July 13, in the evenings. Please see Pastor Jon (jgnelson1985@gmail.com) or Christina Nelson (christinajoy87@gmail.com) if you are interested in helping out this summer. Registration is now open! Register
HERE! Please join them in the Marshall Room on June 4th after the 11:00 service to find out how you can be involved!
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FIELD DAY AND SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL
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FIELD DAY! June 11th is the last Sunday for regular Sunday School and Godly Play. We will hold our annual
Field Day for PreK through 5th graders on June 18th, so make sure your children where their play clothes to church when they come that Sunday. We will start our
Summer Sunday School sessions on June 25th. This is a combined class of preschool through the fifth grade which will run through August 27th.
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SUMMER TEACHERS AND SERVICE LEARNING CREDITS
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SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL AND VBS TEACHERS Adult volunteers are needed as teachers for Summer Sunday School.
Please pray and consider signing up as a teacher for one Sunday or several Sundays. Kim Champagne
(kim.champagne@gmail.com) will provide all the materials, including a lesson plan, a video and a craft; hopefully we will attract middle and high school youth as our assistants. Speaking of...
SERVICE LEARNING CREDITS Attention all Middle School and High School Students! Are you interested in earning service learning credit over the summer?
Do you like being helpful in a place where you are really needed? The Christian Education Ministry needs your help in the nursery, Summer Sunday School and Vacation Bible School this summer. Please contact Kim Champagne (
kim.champagne@gmail.com)
to find out how you can help out and earn credit for helping!
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JOIN THE FRONT-DOOR GREETER TEAM The Greeter Team is seeking new greeters for both Sunday worship services. Greeting is easy but important. Everyone arriving for worship - from the first-time visitor to the charter member - deserves a warm, friendly greeting, and the front-door greeter is normally the first person to provide it. Visitors may also arrive with questions about where to go or where to take their children, so we count on the greeter to provide the Christian hospitality and service we value. Greeting is also a great opportunity to meet other members and visitors and learn names. We start greeting about 15 minutes before worship begins. If you want to sign up or just learn more, please contact Greg Makar (301-483-8255,
GLMakar@juno.com
).
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WORSHIP EQUIPPING TEAM Do you have 30 minutes available once every month or two? That's all it takes to be a member of the Worship Equipping Team! Team members prepare the Bible, Banners, and Bulletins before worship (at a time of your choosing, usually Friday evening or Saturday) to help make sure that we are prepared for worship on Sunday morning. A brief training/team meeting will be held on Monday, 6/5 at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary. If you are interested, or if you are interested in helping to make worship happen in other ways (lay reading, communion preparation, etc), please contact Ryan Stavely (ryan@stavely.org, 410-980-2307).
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Stephen Minister Training
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STEPHEN MINISTRY
You are invited to an information meeting, Sunday, June 4th after each service in the Marshall Room. Unable to attend, but still interested in learning more? Please reach out to one of your Stephen Leaders to set up a time to meet one-on-one. In God's love, Stephen Leaders, Laurie Barrow, barrowfl@aol.com, 443-306-1149 and Kelly Burnett, kellyb327@aol.com, 410-320-7845.
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REFUGEE WELCOMING MINISTRY
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...show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels...
-Hebrews 13:1-2
Do you know how someone becomes a refugee? According to the UN Refugee Office (UNHCR), "a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group." In 2015 there were 21.3 million refugees worldwide, with half of them being children. Most flee to a neighboring country, where they often live in camps in pretty miserable conditions for many years. We will be showing a movie this summer called Salam Neighbor that focuses on one of these camps.
Refugees are a vulnerable population. After UNHCR accepts their application and they receive refugee status, the UNHCR office works with refugees to end their displaced existence by voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement in a third country. Only the most vulnerable individuals are approved to go to a third country. These can include women and children, victims of torture or violence, religious minorities, LGBT refugees, or people who need medical care that they cannot receive in their country of origin or the country to which they fled. Then, of course, they must be vetted by that country. Refugees are the most vetted people entering the U.S.
We are looking for leaders and participants in our refugee welcoming ministry. If you want to get involved, please contact Mission Elder Christine Caufield-Noll at ccnmission@outlook.com or 410-960-2479.
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VOYAGERS MEN'S FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST
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VOYAGERS MEN'S FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST You are invited to a hearty breakfast for the next Men's Group meeting at the Crofton Nautilus Diner TOMORROW at
8 a.m. on June 3rd. Ed Barrett will give a short talk about his involvement (and fortunate survival) in the War in Afghanistan, which has become America's longest war in history. Ed and I got together last week and floated some ideas on activities for the Voyagers in the future. We'd like to share some of those ideas at the meeting and get your input. And if anyone wants to join us as a co-leader, we would welcome you! Looking forward to seeing you on the 3rd! R.S.V.P. Paul Doughty (padough@verizon.net)
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PRAYER CONCERNS
Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:
PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT
for Vaughn Brown; Hillary and Paul Ferrell's daughter, Lila; Bob Johns; Josh Ederheimer's father, Stanley; John Boswell; Frances Keyes; Joan Berry's son, Brian Flom; Doug Walcutt's aunt, Vicky Goodnough; Donna Anderson's mother, Martha; Joshua Anthis; Christy Yeager's mother, Linda Jordan; Barbara Reynolds mother, Ruth Campbell; Chip Burnett; Dot Forloines and her brother Jack; Henry Duncan; Helene Marchand-Stancil and Helene's mother, Mimi; Judy Cooper's sister, Barb Eardley; Mary Benson; Mary Stum's sister, Barbara Kendig; Ellen Makar's father, Don Erickson; the Howe family and Scott Howe's father, Ron; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Cindy and Dave Oquist's son, Chris; Pat Stanton's Aunt Evelyn; Amy Stavely's aunt; the Hoxie family; Catherine Chambers' sister-in-law, Tonia McLendon; Steve and Brandi Downs; Dot Forloines daughter, Patty Tucker; and Dick and Carol Baily.
THE LOVE AND PRAYERS OF THE CONGREGATION
go out to the Griggs and Pullen family on the death of Paula Griggs' nephew, Ray Pullen, Jr.
PRAYERS OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING
the Solano family have moved into their new home.
If you have prayer concerns or blessings that you would like to share, please contact Deacon Sue Hanburger at avongypsygal@gmail.com, and she will add your concern to the prayer partners email chain.
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