Recently, I've been asking our Alexa device to play Christian songs that influenced my faith as a teenager. I've listened to contemporary Christian artists like Rich Mullins and Third Day as well as rap (GRITS) and pop punk (MXPX). One of my favorites was a singer/song writer named Chris Rice. I've always loved Chris' sincerity and his apparent thirst to be in a deeper relationship with God.
This morning as I was making my kids breakfast and lunch I asked Alexa to play Rice's album, Deep Enough to Dream. The song "Hallelujah's" came on and I was instantly brought back to a time where I'd listen to the song daily as I sought to connect with the living God in all aspects of my life.
These are the opening lines:
A purple sky to close the day
I wade the surf where dolphins play
The taste of salt, the dance of waves
And my soul wells up with hallelujahs
April 9 @ 6:30 p.m. | Maundy Thursday Potluck Dinner and Service
April 10 @ 6:30 p.m. | Good Friday Service
Invitation to Racial Righteousness
On March 27-28 there is a discipleship class being held at Access Covenant Church on the west side of Houston. The work shop will be Friday evening and all day on Saturday.
Baptism and Dedication Information Meeting
On March 29 from 11:30 to Noon, Pastor Coby is having an information meeting to help people learn more about the sacrament of baptism and the celebration of baby dedication.
As we reflect on the lectionary texts this year I want to encourage you to read the texts we do not cover during our Sunday morning gatherings at home.
March 1, 2020
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
March 8, 2020
Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-17 or Matthew 17:1-9
Hello, Church Family!
In just a few short weeks we enter in to the season of Lent. While a season of reflecting on the heavy events that led to Jesus' death and resurrection, it is also a rich season of practicing being present and intentionally pressing in to the practices that draw us in to deeper communion with God and with each other. We feast, we fast, we pray, we meditate, and we celebrate. We hope you plan to join us for the special times of fellowship as we journey together this Lenten season. Mark your calendars for our Fat Tuesday Pancake Dinner, Feb. 25th and to begin Lent with our Ash Wednesday service, Feb 26th.
In a few weeks we will have the opportunity to sit under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Dieula Previlon. Based out of the Dallas area, Pastor Dieula is a Pastor of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Covenant Church, a licensed professional counselor (LPC), a life coach, a motivational speaker, a preacher, and an entrepreneur. She is also the founder of Elevateher International Ministries: Empowering Women to Find Life. Please join us for worship on February 23.
February 25 @ 6:30 p.m | Fat Tuesday Pancake Dinner
February 26 @ 6:30 p.m. | Ash Wednesday Service
April 9 @ 6:30 p.m. | Maundy Thursday Potluck Dinner and Service
April 10 @ 6:30 p.m. | Good Friday Service
As we reflect on the lectionary texts this year I want to encourage you to read the texts we do not cover during our Sunday morning gatherings at home.
February 16, 2020
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 119:1-8
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Matthew 5:21-37
February 23, 2020
Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 2 or Psalm 99
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9
Dear Church Family,
This past Sunday we held our annual meeting to reflect on where we have seen God at work in 2019 and to talk about where God is leading us in 2020 and beyond. At the meeting, elders shared that we believe we need to do four things for us to clarify our identity and direction as a church community:
- We need to reframe our mission.
- We need to recast vision.
- We need to rearticulate our values.
- We need to change our church name.
For those of you who were not able to attend the meeting, I'd like to unpack how we prayerfully came to that decision.
Last July the elders began engaging in active listening so that we could better understand who we are and where we want to go as a church family. We listened to over 60 people to gather stories and comments. From those conversations, we generated a narrative of our current shared reality. In November we gathered with over 40 people from our community to process the narrative and get more feedback.
Since November, the elders have been working to name our deep longings as a community and to identify several high-level priorities that can help us move towards our deep longings. The deep longings we identified are as follows: to have deeper roots in the Trinitarian Christian faith, stronger bonds of connection with one another, and to actively engage in compassion and justice locally and globally. If you came to the group listening night I'm sure those three deep longings are not a surprise to you.
Hello, Church Family!
Just a reminder that this Sunday, directly following our morning worship service, we are going to have our annual meeting for all people who call Ecclesia Clear Lake home. This is an important meeting where elders will reflect on where we saw God at work in our community in 2019 and where we think God is leading us in 2020. We plan to address the next two steps of the listening exercise (emerging futures/deep longings and priorities that help us move towards our deep longings). The meeting should take about 45 minutes. We have childcare for 5 years and younger.
In a few weeks we will have the opportunity to sit under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Dieula Previlon. Based out of the Dallas area, Pastor Dieula is a Pastor of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Covenant Church, a licensed professional counselor (LPC), a life coach, a motivational speaker, a preacher, and an entrepreneur. She is also the founder of Elevateher International Ministries: Empowering Women to Find Life. Please join us for worship on February 23.