Dear Friends at 5C:
One week into the year of 2021, the riot broke out on the Capitol Hill. It seems that the turmoil beginning in 2020 continues to smash our society into this new year. This may indicate that we are nowhere near the end of social uprisings. Let us fervently pray for our country, especially for political leaders who will have the wisdom from the above to resolve their difference, rather than stirring up the controversy for their political gains. I believe that the following saying is true: A country who abandons their faith finds no blessings from God, a people who turn away from the gospel find no peace in their land.
Praise the Lord that many church members actively participate in these small group meetings in the last two months. I thank God for our leaders who enthusiastically embrace the idea of a small group. Since November of 2020, our church has launched a few small groups. Now six small groups in total are regularly meeting through Zoom. In addition, a group of English-speaking brothers and sisters holds a monthly prayer meeting for fellowship and prayers. So far we have heard some good reports from these group meetings. If you are interested in joining one of our small groups, please contact Pastor Chen or Fengling Li who is our fellowship deacon.
The vaccine rollout seems very slow in the first month. But the government is taking necessary steps to speed up the process. Now all tiers in Phase 1A are eligible for vaccination, probably in a matter of weeks the vaccines may become available for groups in Phase 1B. We are so glad that few people in our church have already taken mRNA vaccines. Hopefully more of us may take the vaccines in the coming months, so the day of returning to the church compound comes near. During the deacons meeting on Sunday, Raymond and Bianca volunteered to keep us informed about the vaccination progress. Please take extra caution due to the ever-growing infections in our neighborhood, even though you take the vaccine, it may still take a few weeks for a person to develop the fully induced immune protection.
Ministry Update:
- Church prayer meeting (in Chinese) is scheduled at 7:30pm every Thursday
- Pastor Chen’s virtual office hours is scheduled at 10:00am-12:00pm every Friday
- Small group “Grace Garden” will meet at 6:00pm Tuesday 1/12 through Zoom
- Small group “Goodness” will meet at 7:30pm Wednesday 1/13 through Zoom
- Small group “Peace” will meet at 7:30pm on Friday 1/15 through Zoom
- Small group “Love” will meet at 7:30pm on Sunday 1/17 through Zoom
- Chinese Sunday school (Joseph Ma) and English Sunday school (Chris Choi)
- We will start a new sermon series this Sunday 1/17 on “the Book of Galatians”
- Our church will hold a special program to celebrate Chinese New Year on 2/14
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the peaceful transition and reconciliation after this divisive election
- Pray for the Coronavirus outbreak in the US and around the world.
- Pray for the physical and spiritual well-being of our church members.
- Pray for new small groups formed recently in our church
- Pray for expecting mother- Crystal Cui
- Pray for Lydia Anderson’s resurgent brain tumor.
- Pray for Annie’s sister and Anderson’s brother for Parkinson’s disease, Ed Sherman’s son Lane for brain tumor.
Look forward to seeing you virtually on Sunday.
Blessings!
親愛的中岸教會朋友們:
2021 年第一週,美國國會爆發大規模的騷亂。看來 2020 年的社會動盪已經延續到了新的一年。這也表明我們離社會動蕩的結束還很遠。讓我們繼續虔誠地為這個國家祈禱,尤其是為政治領導人祈禱, 他們可有從天上來的智慧解決分歧,而不是為了自己的政治利益而挑起爭議。我相信這個說法是正確的:一個放棄信仰的國家得不到上帝的祝福,一個背棄福音的百姓在自己的土地上得不到和平。
感謝主,最近兩個月有許多人積極參加小組聚會。感謝上帝,我們的領袖們對於成立小組充滿了熱情。自 2020 年 11 月以來,我們的教會成立了數個小組,現在總共有六個小組定期通過 Zoom 聚會。此外,一群講英語的弟兄姊妹每月舉行一次禱告會。迄今為止,我們已經從這些小組聚會上收穫了很好的反饋。如果您有興趣加入其中,請聯繫陳牧師或負責團契的執事李鳳玲姐妹。
第一個月的疫苗接種似乎進展的非常緩慢。但是政府正在採取必要的步驟來加快這一進程。現在,1A 階段的所有級別都可以接種疫苗,大概在幾週內 1B 階段的人群即可接種。我們感到非常高興的是,教會中已有幾位接種了 mRNA 疫苗。希望在接下來的幾個月中可以有更多的人接種疫苗。因此,回歸教堂的日子就快到了。在週日的執事會議上,胡其健弟兄和張西齡姐妹主動承擔定期向會眾報告疫苗接種的進展情況。由於 SLO縣感染人數不斷增加,請大家格外小心。即使您已接種疫苗,也仍可能需要數週的時間,才能使身體產生免疫力。
事工更新:
- 中文禱告會將於每週四晚間 7 點半舉行
- 陳牧師辦公時間為每週五上午 10 點至 12 點
- 『恩典花園』小組 1 月 12 日週二晚間 6 點線上聚會
- 『良善』小組 1 月 13 日週三晚間 7 點半線上聚會
- 『和平』小組 1 月 15 日週五晚間 7 點半線上聚會
- 『仁愛』小組 1 月 17 日週日晚間 7 點半線上聚會
- 本週中文主日學將由馬新波弟兄帶領,英文主日學由蔡達文弟兄带領
- 下主日 1 月 17 日我們將開啟全新講道系列『加拉太書』
- 教會將於 2 月 14 日舉行春節特別崇拜
禱告事項
- 為此次美國分裂選舉後的和平过渡及和解
- 為美國及世界各地的新冠肺炎的爆發
- 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健康
- 為教會新組建的各個小組
- 為待產的崔琳姐妹祈禱
- 為馮慶芳姐妹復發性腦瘤及後續的治療祈禱
- 為裴師母姐姐和林恩深弟兄的哥哥祈禱,他們正在遭受帕金森的困擾;為 Ed Sherman 的兒子 Lane 祈禱,他正在接受腦瘤治療
期待週日線上見
主僕 陳金昌