03-15-2021 Newsletter 牧師家書

Dear Friends at 5C:

March 15 marked a whole year since our church moved to online service. Life can be very challenging during the pandemic for both the young and the old. The church is also struggling to meet the spiritual needs of her members. Praise the Lord that our members demonstrate great resilience to the hardship by faithfully attending online service. In addition, people are enthusiastic about joining newly formed small groups. Hopefully, we all come out of the pandemic with a much stronger faith in God. Now as vaccines are successfully rolling out across the country, we are seeing the hope of ending this pandemic, just like the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks to Brother Anderson Lin’s message on Sunday! It is well delivered. Anderson’s preaching is very dynamic, not only does he look like his father, but also he preaches like his father. This message is consistent with our recent sermon series, that is, how to live out our faith in midst of challenges in the 21st century. I believe that God speaks to us through this series of sermons in order to move us into a deeper relationship with him. I thank God for those who are committed to the good work of Christ in this church.

We enjoyed a short trip to SLO last weekend, and it is great to see some of the brothers and sisters in person. Especially, we tasted the freedom when interacting with some fully vaccinated members. It is our prayer that God continues to protect our church families in the midst of the pandemic. Meanwhile, we encourage our members to receive vaccines as soon as it becomes available to you. By doing so, we will make returning to the church become a real possibility for all of our people. Our church is expected to resume in-person service in May or June, depending on the progress of the SLONaz remodeling project. At Sunday’s deacons monthly meeting, a church-wide BBQ is planned in the summer, and Brother Tim Wang will lead the effort.

Ministry Update:

  1. Church prayer meeting (in Chinese) is scheduled at 7:30pm every Thursday
  2. Pastor Chen’s virtual office hours is scheduled 10:00am-12:00pm evert Friday
  3. Small group “Peace” will meet at 7:30pm Friday 3/19 through Zoom
  4. Chinese Sunday school (Catherine Li) and English Sunday school (Stephen Casey)
  5. Pastor Ray continues the Genesis series on Sunday 3/21
  6. Our church will hold the Good Friday service at 7:30pm on Friday, 4/2
  7. Our church will hold the Easter service at 11:00am on Sunday, 4/4

Prayer Requests:

  1. Pray for the Coronavirus outbreak in the US and around the world
  2. Pray for physical and spiritual well-being of our church members
  3. Pray for small groups formed recently in our church
  4. Pray for Raymond Wu’s surgery to heal his back pain on March 23.
  5. Pray for Lim’s family for their funeral arrangement for Brother Beng Lim
  6. Pray for Lydia Anderson’s resurgent brain tumor
  7. 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!
Jinchang

親愛的中岸教會朋友們:
3 月 15 日標誌著教會開始在線崇拜已經一年了。在疫情期間,不論年輕或是年長,人們的生活都可能充滿著挑戰。教會也努力地滿足所有成員的屬靈需求。感謝主,我們的成員堅持參加在線崇拜,在困難中展現出極大的忍耐。此外,人們也非常熱衷加入新成立的小組。希望我們所有人在走出疫情之後,都信心倍增。現在,隨著疫苗在全國范圍內的普及,我們也看到了疫情即將結束的曙光。

感謝週日林恩深弟兄的講道!林恩深弟兄的講道非常有活力,不僅他長的像他的父親,而且他的講道也很像他的父親。主日信息很與最近的講道系列十分吻合,就是如何在 21 世紀的挑戰中活出基督的信仰。我相信,上帝通過這一系列的講道在對我們說話,目的是使我們與祂建立更深層次的關繫。我為那些致力於在這個教會裡為基督做善工的人而感謝主。

上週末我們很享受往返 SLO 的短途旅行,很高興見到一些主內弟兄姐妹。特別是與一些接種了疫苗的朋友互動,使我們重新嘗到了自由的滋味。祈禱上帝在疫情期間繼續保護教會的每個家庭。同時,鼓勵大家,如果可以,請盡快接種疫苗。這樣,我們重返教堂將真正成為可能。根據拿撒勒人教會裝修項目的進度,教會堂預計將在 5 月或 6 月恢復在教會的崇拜。在週日舉行的執事會議上,夏日燒烤計劃也提上了日程,汪天來弟兄將負責該事宜。

事工更新:
1. 中文禱告會將於每週四晚間 7 點半舉行
2. 陳牧師每週辦公時間週五上午 10 點-12 點
3. 『和平』小組 3 月 10 日週五晚間 7 點半線上聚會
4. 本週中文主日學將由李嘉琳帶領,英文主日學由 Stephen Casey 帶領
5. 本主日 3 月 21 日裴牧師繼續創世紀講道系列
6. 教會將於 4 月 2 日週五晚間 7 點半舉行耶穌受難日聚會
7. 復活節崇拜於 4 月 4 日上午 11 點舉行

禱告事項
1. 為美國及世界各地的新冠肺炎的爆發
2. 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健康
3. 為教會新組建的各個小組
4. 求主通過 3 月 23 日的手術治愈胡其健弟兄的背痛
5. 為林家人準備林明源弟兄的葬禮祈禱
6. 為馮慶芳姐妹復發性腦瘤及後續的治療祈禱
7. 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

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