Weekly news & updates
March 31, 2020
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Pastoral Prayer: Prayers of the People
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Hello friends,
We continue in our practices of prayer for one another and those in need during this crisis and scattering of the church. How are you doing?
This Sunday as we gather virtually in worship, will you add your perspective to the pastoral prayer?
Please take a moment & send me one of the following:
1. a need you, your family, neighborhood or community is experiencing OR
2. something for which you are giving thanks OR
3. a sentence prayer that you are praying these days
Thank you for adding your voice.
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Everyone is invited to join us via Zoom for
Front Porch,
Wednesday, April 1, at 7:00 pm
. We will be continuing our conversation from Vintage Saints and Sinners: 25 Christians Who Transformed My Life, by Karen Wright Marsh. Just click on the link below and join us for fellowship and encouragement.
Join Zoom Meeting:
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Sunday, April 5
Join us for worship:online
10:00 a.m. - "When Kingdoms Collide"
Scripture text - Mark 11:1-11
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Maundy Thursday, April 9, 2020
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You and your family can participate in this special service of remembrance from your home. Maundy Thursday reminds us of the night Jesus gathered his disciples in an upper room and established his table, what we call the Lord’s Supper.
The elements of bread and wine/juice are symbols of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. Communion is not a means of salvation, rather, it is a testament of a believer’s faith in the atoning work of the cross. All who confess faith in Christ are welcome at his table. We invite you and your family to prepare your own elements and join us for this sacred meal at
7:00 pm
.
How to take the Lord’s Supper online:
1. Prepare grape juice or wine
2. Prepare bread or baked crackers
- Unleavened bread is the best expression of the "bread" element. Unleavened bread simply is bread baked without a rising agent, but you can select any bread or cracker of your choice.
3. Be ready at home with your elements
- Our pastors will direct you through the service of communion. All you need to do is follow along online individually, as a family.
4. Share with us
- After the service, let us know what the service meant to you. Send along a picture is you like.
Scripture references for personal use:
Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
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Good Friday, April 10, 2020
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Good Friday worship with Greenbrier Baptist Church
at 7 PM - Look for an email with more information!
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Photos of the People in Social Distance Gathering & Worship & Service
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We loved seeing pictures of many of you gathered in worship! Please keep the pictures coming! Send us pictures of your online gatherings, your family serving socially distantly or worshipping in your homes! The above collages were from Sunday, March 22.
Thankful Christ is going before, beside, behind us.
A HUGE SHOUT OUT to JIM BLOCH for his diligent and persistent work to get the livestream & facebook in order.
Share what's happening in your homes and neighborhoods to our collective view of the church in Covid-19 exile. We want to see! Email your pictures to
bblake@memorialbaptistchurch.org.
Brooke Holloway Blake
Associate Pastor
Memorial Baptist Church
3455 N Glebe Rd
Arlington, VA 22207
703-538-7000
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We're meeting for MBCyouth Sunday School at 11:15AM on Sunday morning, April 5! I hope you'll take the opportunity to connect, pray together, share highs and lows and hear a Bible study from your teachers.
Hope to see you there! Let me know if you have troubles logging on...703.206.8839
Gather with Us Via Zoom
Wednesdays
:
Sundays
:
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All On-site Activities Canceled at Memorial
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All on-site activities at MBC are canceled until further notice. On Sunday, April 5 we will have one online worship service at 10:00 am. Only the staff will be present. Everyone is invited to stream the service at home from our website. We are blessed to have this capability, and this is an important time for all of us to use it. Sunday School Classes are invited to consider online options for getting together for study and fellowship.
We will continue to track the developments of this health crisis, and will re-evaluate our approach week by week. This will require some significant adjustments for us, but these are unique circumstances.
Arlington Requires Compliance with Governor’s Stay at Home Order
- Newsroom
Click
here
for more information on Arlington's compliance regarding the stay home order
Arlington c
ounty leaders are telling all Arlingtonians to do their part to protect the community and stay home to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Be safe, be careful, and be informed
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Opportunities for Contributions
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There are some easy ways to continue to faithfully give to the Lord and support our church in the midst of this crisis. As you know, our ministry needs and administrative costs continue even when we are not meeting together. On our church's website, there is a tab on the home page labelled "Giving". From there you will see the options of using PayPal or setting up a direct bill pay with your bank. Or, of course, you can mail your offering to the church.
Natalie will be sending out information this week about how to get setup with a direct debit from your bank to ours or download the form below and mail it to Natalie's attention at 3455 N. Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22207. We encourage and appreciate your financial faithfulness while we are scattered rather than gathered.
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At least once a week, youth will receive "Social Distance Goodness Challenges" to complete in their homes and at social distances. Youth are encouraged to find ways to do good during this time of social distance! Youth can join the challenge at any time and do any of the challenges as many times as they want or whenever they want. At the end of the social distancing, we'll have a Together-Again Gathering/Celebration in which prizes will be awarded.
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Matthew 19:14
At Memorial Baptist Church, we value children of all ages; from babies to 5th grade. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
I wanted to take the time again to send out some more resources for you to continue to engage your children with meaningful activities during the week and today as an adendum to our church services. Some of those resources are as follows:
If you were tuned into the service last Sunday, I discussed about heroes and all the different people around us that kind of go unnoticed as being heroes. We talked about grocery store workers specifically and their continued dedication to providing food for us, which is something we really take for granted. I challenge all of your children to write a kind note and or draw a fun picture to give to a grocery store worker the next time your family visits the grocery store. Let's all come together and spread some joy and hope to those people that work hard for us to provide such an essential thing as food.
Lastly, we had an opportunity to meet via Zoom this past Wednesday in song and fellowship with our joyful noise and missions group. We plan on participating again this coming Wednesday @ 5 P.M. If your child may be interested in joining us, we'd be happy to have them. Reach out to me and I can send you along the link for the meeting. Thank you Jessica Brewer for organizing!
Once again, do not hesitate to reach out to me for any help with family acitivites, teaching ideas, or words of encouragement! We all can be our best when we help and support one another.
Have a fantastic week!
Sincerely,
Ryan J. Huber
Children's Minister
Toy Drive - Postponed
For more information on the children's activities, please contact
Ryan Huber
.
For more information on the children's choirs, please contact Jessica Brewer
here
or Lisa Flowers
here
.
All on-site children's events are canceled until further notice!
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Guest Column by Jerry Hill
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My brother Jerry is an attorney and real estate developer who lives in Kansas City. He wrote the following column for the newsletter of his church, Second Baptist of Liberty, Missouri. With his permission I want to share his words with you:
Beulah Jenkins has been on my mind a lot this week.
A little background: Miss Jenkins was an older woman who lived alone across the street from the church, my dad pastored when I was just a boy. She was single, having never married. Back at that time, she would have been considered a “spinster.” I remember two things about Miss Jenkins. First, she was a very tall, very thin, and very classy woman. Second, when we had our weekly potluck dinners on Wednesday nights, she ate more than anyone there—perhaps more than any two people there. Really. She ate like she hadn’t all week. (As I think back on it now, maybe she hadn’t.)
Back to the story: My dad had the habit of about once a month having everyone in the worship service stand-up and shake hands with all of those around us. As a young kid, I hated doing that. Shaking hands with all of these people and saying something appropriate to them—yuck! Every time he would have the congregation do this, I would complain about it on the way home that he should stop doing this ridiculous ritual.
One week after we had endured the handshaking ordeal, I started my complaints as soon as we were in the car. My dad cut me off and said, “let me tell you what Beulah Jenkins said to me today as she left the church.” I probably gave that grunt that all kids learn at an early age, and he continued. He recounted that she said, “Brother Hill, I do so like it when you have us shake hands. You see, usually, that is the only time I ever touch another person.” Her words impacted me so much that I still remember them more than five decades later. This nice woman who I saw several times a week never touched anyone except when we shake hands at church. I touched people all the time. My friends on the playground, my siblings (either playing or fighting), and, of course, my parents. The hugs and kisses, the pats on the back, the holding hands that I regularly experienced every day, Miss Jenkins never had. She was alone. No contact. No touching. No hugs. No kisses. I couldn’t imagine living like that. I never complained again about the handshaking ritual.
So, Beulah Jenkins has been on my mind this week. In these days of social distancing, voluntary quarantines, isolation, and not touching others, my mind keeps returning to Miss Jenkins. Hers was a life of social distancing. She had none of the tools to stay connected that we have today – email, Facebook, video conferencing, etc. She was truly alone.
The trial of the Coronavirus will eventually pass. I don’t know how soon, but if we are smart and if we work together, we will get through this. And maybe when we do, we will have more empathy for those around us who are living in isolation every day. Those that are isolated because no one is near them physically and those that are alone even when they are in a crowded room. And maybe, just maybe, our community, having gone through a time when we were isolated, will be better able to connect with each other and with those that live in the shadows every day.
Beulah Jenkins has been on my mind a lot this week.
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The mulch spreading and weeding has been postponed until mid to late June.
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How do we stay in touch with everyone?
Gratefully, there are lots of choices. Our phones still work. Email still functions. We can use Facetime, Skype, Zoom, and lots of other options to stay in touch, to check on folks, and to touch base with friends. Did you know that some of our Sunday School classes and home groups are figuring out creative ways to gather online. We don’t have to live in isolation from one another. MBC staff and deacons will be making extra effort to stay in touch with our church family, to identify needs, and to continue our ministry of prayer and support.
Stay safe, stay careful, stay informed!
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King's Kids will have a virtual rehearsal with Lisa Flowers on Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. Check your email for the Zoom invitation. Contact Lisa if you didn't receive the invite.
The Sanctuary Choir will have a virtual rehearsal this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Check your email for the invitation.
The "In His Own Words" Easter Musical Presentation is postponed until further notice!
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Men's Retreat Rescheduled
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The Men's Retreat at Capon Springs has been rescheduled to October 23 and 24.
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Home Groups and Gatherings
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Home Gatherings and Groups
There are five home groups including Food and Fellowship/Special Interest Group; Home Bible Study Group; Prayer and Share Group; and two Sunday Supper Groups. You are invited to participate in any of the groups or perhaps you might be interested in hosting a group. Please contact the church office at 703-538-7000 for more information.
Name:____________________________
Email Address:_____________________
# of Adults:________________________
¨
Interested in joining a new home group
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Interested in hosting a group
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Interested in joining an existing group
¨
Sunday Supper Group (Peter & Bridget)
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Sunday Supper Group (Drew & Suzanne)
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Food and Fellowship/Special Interest Group - Cooking (Cindy
& Michelle)
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Home Bible Study Group (Karen & Colleen)
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Prayer and Share Group (Nancy & Charlotte)
Upcoming Dates
* Sunday Supper Group (Peter and Bridget) Sign up now for this group for a Sunday supper and devotion time!
* Sunday Supper Group: (2nd Group is now forming) (Drew and Suzanne)
* Food and Fellowship (Cindy and Michelle) Check out the "Sign-up Genius" for detailed information regarding meeting places, dates and times.
Next meeting TBD
* Home Bible Study Group (Karen and Colleen).
Next meeting TBD.
* Prayer and Share Group (Nancy and Charlotte).
Next meeting TBD.
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There will not be any activities at church and no in-person meetings or activities until further notice.
All on-site activities are canceled until further notice!
Tuesday, March 31, 7:00 p.m.
- Tuesday evening Bible study class ZOOM meeting
Wednesday, April 1
4:30 p.m. - King's Kids virtual rehearsal via Zoom
5:00 p.m. - Songs and fellowship with Ryan via Zoom
7:00 p.m. - Front Porch with Drew via Zoom
Saturday, April 4
11:00 a.m. - Sanctuary Choir Virtual Rehearsal
Sunday, April 5
10:00 a.m. - combined worship service via MBC website and Facebook. Only Staff members will be present.
11:45 a.m. - MBC Youth Sunday School via Zoom
Thursday, April 9 - Maundy Thursday
7:00. - 8:00 p.m. - Maundy Thursday worship
Friday, April 10 - Good Friday
7:00 - 8:00 p.m. - Good Friday worship at Greenbrier Baptist Church. Watch for details to be sent out next week.
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Year to date as of February 29, 2020:
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Budget: 678,321
Revenues: 96,073.18
Expenses: 104,719.82
Global Missions Plan (GMP) Update:
Budget: 60,000
Revenues: 8,644.75
Expenses: 7,483.62
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Scripture Reading for the Week
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Sunday March 11:1-11
Monday 1 Kings 17:17-24
Tuesday Psalm 143
Wednesday 2 Kings 4:18-37
Thursday Jeremiah 32:1-9, 36-41
Friday Psalm 31:9-16
Saturday Job 13:13-19
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