10-05-2020 Newsletter 牧師家書

Dear Friends at 5C:

The year of 2020 proves to be special in our life-time, there is no lack of drama even as we approach the last quarter of this year. On Thursday night President Trump announced that the First Couple was tested positive of COVID-19. It was like another bomb dropped among a number of national crises we are dealing with. Now it is less than 30 days from the presidential election in November, so we are facing a huge uncertainty in American history. Please pray for President Trump and the First Lady’s recovery. 

For Christians, Let us practice loving one another by respecting other people’s political rights. When I first came to this country some years ago, one Jewish professor told me, “You will certainly lose your friends if you attempt to convert them into your own party.” This is absolutely true in today’s political atmosphere (somewhat poisoned). Nowadays there is so much debate, argument, or even attack or curse among the political discussion, please let us join together to pray for the unity of our country as well as the spiritual awakening in this land.

Last Thursday there were about 20 people holding a private celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival in a park near Grover Beach. Thanks to Annie Shi-Mu for organizing this gathering!  It has been a while since last time our members gathered together in person. We long for the day of ending this pandemic, though this prolonged separation is unexpected, by God’s grace we truly believe that such a hope is already in sight. Please continue to observe public health safety measures recommended by CDC, at least our fight with this malicious virus is still not over at present time.

Please pray for Jackson’s family as he lost his grandma last week.

For church members: Please return the ballot for deacon election of this year no later than Oct 10th.  If you have any questions about this election, please feel free to let Pastor or any deacons know. Your cooperation is highly appreciated. 

Thank you!

Ministry Update:

  1. Virtual prayer meetings at 7:30pm Monday and Thursday
  2. Pastor Chen’s virtual office hours every Friday 10:00-12:00pm
  3. Chinese Sunday school (Pastor Chen) and English Sunday school (Bianca Lin)
  4. Small Group “Goodness” will meet at 7:30pm Friday 10/9 through Zoom
  5. We will continue the sermon series this Sunday 10/11, “Guidance of the Holy Spirit”
  6. The deacon board has already mailed out the notice of deacon election in 2021-2022.
  7. The deacon board will hold the annual leadership meeting on Oct 24 (Saturday).

Prayer Requests:

  1. Pray for the US presidential and general election in November, 2020.
  2. Pray for President Trump and the First Lady’s recovery from COVID-19.
  3. Pray for the Coronavirus outbreak in the US and around the world.
  4. Pray for deacon election of this year: Rachel Ma (worship); Raymond Wu (mission) and Chris Choi (Secretary)
  5. Pray for the physical and spiritual well-being of our church members.
  6. Pray for Crystal’s uncle in South Korea who is still in recovery from kidney cancer surgery
  7. Pray for Samuel Lee’s epidermal inclusion cyst on his back, waiting for surgery date to remove it
  8. Pray for expecting mother- Crystal Cui
  9. Pray for Annie’s sister and Anderson’s brother who suffer Parkinson’s disease.
  10. Pray for Ed Sherman’s son Lane who undergoes treatment for brain cancer.

Look forward to seeing you virtually on Sunday.
Blessings!
Jinchang

親愛的中岸教會朋友們：

事實證明，2020年將是我們一生中很特別的一年，即使在最後一個季度也不乏戲劇性事件登場。上週四晚，特朗普總統宣布他與第一夫人新冠檢測均呈陽性。這個消息就像在已有的眾多危機中﹐又投下了一枚炸彈。現在距11月的大選不到30天，我們正面臨著美國歷史上巨大的不確定性。請為特朗普總統和第一夫人的康復祈禱。

對於基督徒來說，讓我們操練彼此相愛，學習尊重他人的政治權利。若干年前，當我第一次來到這個國家時，一位猶太籍教授告訴我說：“如果你試圖改變朋友的政治黨派，那你勢必會失去他們。”這話放到當今政治氣氛中（有些毒性化），也是相當正確的。如今，政治討論中有如此多的辯論、爭論，甚至是攻擊或詛咒，請讓我們共同為這個國家的團結﹐以及在這片土地上的靈性覺醒而祈禱。

上週四，大約20人在GroverBeach附近的公園舉行了中秋節的聚會。感謝裴師母組織這次聚會！自上次我們大家見面聚會以來已經有一段時間了﹐我們渴望疫情結束的那一天。儘管沒人會預料到有如此長期的分離，但因著上帝的恩典，我們相信這樣的盼望已經顯現跡象。請繼續遵守CDC提出的公共健康安全措施，我們與這種凶惡病毒的鬥爭仍未結束。

請為Jackson弟兄禱告﹐他的外祖母上週去世。

請教會成員注意：請在10月10日之前將今年的執事選舉選票寄回。如果您對這次選舉有任何疑問，請隨時告知牧師或任何執事。非常感謝您的合作。

事工更新:

  1. 線上禱告會於週一和週四晚間 7 點半舉行
  2. 陳牧師辦公時間:每週五上午 10 點-12 點
  3. 中文主日學將由陳牧師帶領,英文主日學由張西齡姐妹带領
  4. 『良善』小組本週五 10/9 有線上聚會
  5. 我們本週日 10/11 將繼續講道“聖靈的引導”系列
  6. 執事會已寄出 2021-2022 年度執事選舉提名通知
  7. 執事會將於週六 10/24 召開年度領袖會議,商討明年事工計劃

禱告事項

  1. 為美國十一月的總統大選
  2. 為美國總統和第一夫人的康復
  3. 為美國及世界各地新冠肺炎的爆發
  4. 為今年的三名執事候選人:馬若曦(崇拜)、胡其健(外宣)、蔡達文(書記)
  5. 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健康
  6. 為崔琳二姑父的腎癌術後恢复和治療
  7. 為李碩俊后背的表皮囊肿祈禱,等待進行手術將其取出
  8. 為待產的崔琳姐妹祈禱
  9. 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
  10. 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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