From the Pastor's Pen 11/8/22

11/8/2022

Dear Friends,

What a surprise and what an honor that you gave to me on Sunday at Presbyterian Pints! I am overwhelmed and humbled by your generosity – both with the gifts you presented to me and the kind words that many of you shared. I am truly blessed that God called us all to this place at this time, and I am anticipating a wonderful future ahead for God’s church as we continue to partner together in ministry – for a very long time!

I want to let you know that I will be out on study leave and then vacation beginning after church on November 13. I will return to the office on Tuesday, November 29. During that time, you can contact Pam Winstead or any member of the Session if you have need of something. If an emergency arises, please feel free to reach out and I will return your call/text/email as soon as possible.

In the third week of Our Money Story, we talked about the idea of reimagining. I shared a completely silly story about how children have such great imaginations, but that as we grow up, we have a tendency to set aside our imaginations as we are faced with the realities of life.

But God created us with minds that are made to imagine and to dream, especially about how to bring about things like justice and hope for the world. What whould it be like if we were constantly inviting ourselves to reimagine how things could be? How would that change the way that we act in the world? How would that impact things like our economy, issues of justice, or environmental concerns?

We are beginning to see how reimagining how we use our property for ministry is helping our community through the Hand-in-Hand Business Center. But let’s not stop there! Let’s keep reimagining how God might be leading us into the future God has for us.

For those unable to join us in-person, Sunday morning worship is livestreamed on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/GulfShoresFirstPresbyterianChurch. The service airs each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and will be available to watch after that as well.

I have been praying that God would bring the right people to rent space in the Business Center, and that we would be able to at least fill the six regular-sized classroooms-turned-offices by the first of the year. As of right now, we have FOUR of them spoken for, with a FIFTH likely being filled later today. God is GOOD! If you know of someone looking for office space, have them reach out to me and we will see how we can meet their needs.

Don’t forget:

• If you know of those who need a place to park during their visit to Gulf Shores and they would like to use our parking lot, here is the link to share: https://www.premiumparking.com/P2658. You can also pick up postcards at the church to pass on to those who might be interested.
• Keep collecting that loose change and bring it every week to add to the collection! All of the loose change will go toward the ongoing ministry of the church, as we continue to spread the life-changing good news of God’s love.
• Want to help the church just by doing your normal Amazon shopping? Now you can! Just go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/63-0859397 and make all your purchases through this link! Each quarter the church will receive a donation equal to 0.5% of your total purchases. You can also set it up so the Amazon app on your phone automatically purchases through Amazon Smile. For help setting that up, see this link: https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=15576745011.
• The church can now receive donations through Facebook, either by clicking on the “Donate” button on our Facebook Page, or through Fundraisers you can host on your own Facebook page.
• If you have more ideas about how we can creatively fund the ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Gulf Shores, reach out and let me know!
• For safety reasons, at 11:00 a.m. each Sunday, all the doors of the building will be locked EXCEPT the north door that leads into the narthex. If you find yourself running behind, just remember to park up front by that door and enter there.

Thank you for your continued support of the Blessing Box! With the current inflation, we are struggling to keep it filled. Your donations are desperately needed. Keep bringing those non-perishable items to church on Sunday, or dropping them at the box during the week. With rising costs of everything from gas to food, the box is being used very regularly, and your donations are key to helping us bless those who are in need of what our box can offer.

Upcoming Events:

• Stewardship Sunday will be Sunday, November 13.
• After worship on Sunday, November 13, a congregational meeting will be held for the purpose of electing officers for the new year. Please plan now to attend.
• First Sunday of Advent – November 27

Weekly Events:

• Bible Study – Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. both in-person and on Zoom.
  • Join the in-person group in the church Fellowship Hall
  • Join the Zoom meeting at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81951398375?pwd=S0FBSEFxRmhhUWt2QnN3WERUY1dOUT09, entering the meeting ID and password below, if prompted.
  • Meeting ID: 819 5139 8375
  • Passcode: 846358
  • This week’s scriptures: John 21:1-19; Genesis 33:1-17
• Bible Study will be on hiatus beginning next Wednesday, November 16, and will resume Wednesday, November 30.

As always, you are welcome to reach out to me via email, text or phone with any needs or just to chat!

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
 
Rev. Chrisy Ennen
gsfpcpastor@outlook.com, (618) 980-9899
"Let all that you do be done in love.”
I Corinthians 16:14