Common Groundz

Sunday, August 17 - Send

2008-08-17T20:58:00.002-05:00

This is the fifth in our series of discussions focussing on the acronym “BELLS”. Many of the ideas have been taken from the book “Exiles” by Michael Frost. Some are also from the website http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/ which is the website of the church group that Michael Frost is a part of. The fifth letter of “BELLS” is “S” which stands for “Send”.

We aim to follow Jesus by living incarnationally, continuing with the work that he started.
Luke 4: 18 - 19 - "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has annointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (NIV)
Jesus sends us in "The Great Commission" - Matt. 28: 16 - 20.

"Sent. We will see our daily life as an expression of our sent-ness by God into this world. Earlier we looked at the dualism that has beset the mainstream church, a dualism that assumes that our life outside church is irrelevant to the extension of God’s kingdom. We looked at being apprentice-children and doing the work of God through things such as truth-telling, building, healing, and naming. At smallboatbigsea we are committed to looking out for ways in which our daily lives can be expressions of our “sent-ness”, our mission as agents of God’s grace on this planet. This will include acts of hospitality and the just stewardship of our resources, as well as working for justice and striving for global peace. A great framework for thinking of our sent-ness can be found in the text that Jesus used to describe his own sense of being sent to the world. In Luke 4: 18 – 19 Jesus outlines his ministry to include: sharing the gospel (“good news to the poor”), attacking the consequences of poverty (“release to the captives”), overcoming disability and illness (“recovery of sight to the blind”) defeating the causes of poverty (“liberation to those who are oppressed”), and celebration and reconciliation (“proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour”)." (Frost, 151)

From the website: "SENT – We are ambassadors who bear God's image in the world. We remind ourselves regularly that we are sent to participate in God’s activity in the world."

In Chapter 8, Frost talks about how our work is part of being sent. "Exiles will be devoted to their work, knowing that they can be called by God to work in a factory or a law firm or a school or the home every bit as much as someone can be called by God to minister as a priest or pastor." (177) Frost then goes on to say that we are God's "apprentice-children". As children used to learn by working alongside their parent, we learn by working alongside God. And we do this through a variety of vocations. "Our personal sense of mission involves what we do for a living just as much as what we do for our church activities.""Our primary motivation as exiles is to do our work as an expression of our relationship with God."

Frost refers to our work as "The Shadow of God’s work" (184). Frost identifies four areas that he says are the work of God.

1. Creating/building (189) - God is a creator. When we are involved in creating, we are following in the example of God. This could be anything from creating art to poetry to creating solutions to problems, to creating children.

2. Naming/Renaming (191) - In Gen. 2:19 - 20, God delegates the task of "naming" to people. Naming can include research (naming information not previously named); naming our children; renaming with positive attributes and names. "When you proclaim something is beautiful, you name it."

3. Truth-telling (195) - "To teach is to unearth the truth, to guide others in the right path.” “Many exiles will find themselves running organic, fair-trade coffee shops, or environmentally sound offices, or other social aware businesses in the interests of truth-telling."

4. Healing (197) - God is in the healing business. "Whatever we do, we bring healing to our world when we direct people to Jesus by the goodness, integrity, and compassion that we display in our daily lives. In this way we become “little Jesuses” apprentice-children to our Master-Father, God." (199)

Frost: "The primary reason for our vocation is to complete the work of our Master-Father."

From the website: We believe that our lives are expressions of God’s mission in the world through us. This final section of our gathering gives someone the opportunity to share what they do in their day-to-day lives. This could be their jobs, their leisure pursuits, or the friends and family they spend time with. After the person has shared, others in the group comment on how they see them imaging God in their lives. It can be very encouraging to hear this feedback, especially when people point out God’s mission in your life in ways you never imagined. It might be that you have a heart for the persecuted church and you wish to share news or prayer points associated with this.

"BELLS Everyday - Looking for ways in which our daily routines are expressions of God’s calling on our lives and recognising the ways in which we have been SENT to do his work."

Maynard, Tamar, Sam and Lauren, we thank you for bringing a more complete picture and representation of Christ to our church. We thank you for allowing God to use you here in Arborg and in this church. Now we commission you to go to Red Deer and continue to live Christ’s presence, to live his love among the people of Red Deer, to bring a more complete picture of God to the people of Red Deer. Please also pray for us as we continue to be God’s presence in Arborg.

Sunday, August 10 - Learning

2008-08-17T20:51:00.002-05:00

This is the fourth in our series of discussions focussing on the acronym “BELLS”. Many of the ideas have been taken from the book “Exiles” by Michael Frost. Some are also from the website http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/ which is the website of the church group that Michael Frost is a part of. The fourth letter of “BELLS” is “L” which stands for “Learn”.

LEARN – "We desire to take on the image of God and to participate in his plan. We seek out knowledge about God to help us to do this. At our meetings we gather around the Scriptures and learn together, discussing issues that confront our world."

From the book Exiles: "Learn. We will read from the Gospels each week and remain diligent in learning more about Jesus. Of course, we encourage our members to read the whole Bible and to have a regular rhythm of biblical study. But in our attempts to be a Jesus-centred collective, we emphasize a weekly exploration of the Gospel stories about him."

What is your learning style? How does this affect how we "do church" Sunday mornings?

Ineffective learning – We have some warnings against ineffective learning.

John 5: 31 – 40 – You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

The learning does not go to the heart. Saying that we believe and follow the Bible but not accepting its truths.

II Timothy 3: 6 – 9 – always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.

I Corinthians 8: 1 – 3 – Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up… The man who loves God is known by God.

Learning without the heart being in the right place is not learning at all.

Matthew 11: 29 – Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

We learn first and foremost from Jesus.

II Timothy 3: 10 – 17 – You however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings…. Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of… holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

We learn from each other. We need to be open and vulnerable so that others can learn from us.

BELLS Everyday - "LEARNing to develop a discipline of studying the Scriptures or reading other literature that gives insight into the nature of God."

Sunday, July 27 - Listen

2008-07-27T19:24:00.000-05:00

This is the third in our series of discussions focussing on the acronym “BELLS”. Many of the ideas have been taken from the book “Exiles” by Michael Frost. Some are also from the website http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/ which is the website of the church group that Michael Frost is a part of. The third letter of “BELLS” is “L” which stands for “Listen”.

Someone once asked Mother Teresa, “What do you say to God when you pray? She replied, “Nothing I just listen.” The person then went on to ask “What does God say to you when you pray?” She replied, “Nothing, He listens too”. Sometimes it seems the art of listening is in short supply. We are always so busy doing or talking, we don’t have much time for listening.

Listening may refer to hearing what someone is saying. It can also include obeying someone. And finally, it can mean to wait for a sound. You don’t hear it now, but you are “listening” in hopes of hearing it.

From the website:
Someone once said that listening to a person is a powerful expression of our love for them. In our silence-starved world, we want to model the value of listening to God as an expression of our love and worship.

Past listening - Since the time of creation until now, God has been and is speaking to humans. Beginning with Adam and Eve in the garden, God spoke to them. At that time it seems God spoke in an audible voice as we might speak to each other. He also spoke audibly to Samuel, who, once he knew it was the voice of God, responded with “Speak for your servant is listening.” (I Sam. 3) God also spoke through the book of the law (Nehemiah 8) and through the prophets (Heb. 1: 1 – 3) And in the greatest communication of all time, God spoke through the incarnation in Jesus, both in his words and in his life.

God still speaks in the present. “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1 -3) We need to listen for the voice of God. Sometimes it is helpful to be completely silent before God, sometimes music can help us to hear his voice. In John 10, we have the picture of a shepherd with his sheep. The sheep hear and recognize the shepherd’s voice. We must learn to recognize the voice of God.

From the website:
L is for Listening
LISTENING – We believe that God is capable of speaking to us. We do not confine him to any particular medium, but we try to be attentive to his voice, wherever and whenever it speaks.
We acknowledge that some among us hear God speak in unique, prophetic ways. Some others share God’s heart for justice and peace in this world. Others still can bring a song or a word to us to encourage us. We want everyone to be engaged and participating in our gathering. The fullness of the heart of God and our corporate life is revealed as people listen to the Lord and respond as he prompts us to share. So after we eat there will be a time of silence (or accompanied by soft music) while people still themselves and respond to God’s promptings. This will be followed by a time of sharing.

From the book: Listen. We will commit ourselves weekly to listening to the promptings of God in our lives. Again, this will take different forms for different people. Some of us are very spiritually intuitive and hear from God in visions, pictures, and other ecstatic experiences. Others of us make our weekly commitment to search out God’s voice in less spectacular ways. We will ensure a weekly time of solitude to listen to God. We will take a prayer walk, find time alone in a special place, use prayer beads, and so on.

Questions to think about: How has God spoken to you in the past? Does God speak today? How does he speak? How will we hear God’s voice? How will we recognize it?
How can we be ready to listen to God?

Sunday, July 20 - Eat

2008-07-27T18:48:00.002-05:00

This is the second in our series of discussions focussing on the acronym “BELLS”. Many of the ideas have been taken from the book “Exiles” by Michael Frost. Some are also from the website http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/ which is the website of the church group that Michael Frost is a part of. The second letter of “BELLS” is “E” which stands for “Eating”.

Food is mentioned in the Bible in many different contexts beginning with Eve eating the forbidden fruit in Genesis to the end of Revelation where it talks about “on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And many times in between in many different contexts. Jesus did several miracles concerning food, including the first recorded miracle where he turned water into wine.

Chapter 7 of Frosts book is entitled “Exiles at the Table. The Promise: We will be generous and practice hospitality. He begins by saying that “Eating is an opportunity to bring God and his grace into our everyday world”. (159)

In this chapter Frost looks at the lives of Joseph, Daniel, and Paul to teach us some lessons about eating. According to Frost the story of Joseph “Teaches us to fashion an empire that is concerned with the fair and wise distribution of food” (166). Frost goes on to say that in a world where so many people are dying of hunger we must be concerned with the equitable and responsible distribution of resources.

Frost says that the Vegetarian Daniel “reminds us to eat in such a way as to be as healthy and vital as we possibly can so that our lifestyles will glorify God”. (166) He also says “Exiles will enjoy a good, healthy diet. They will eat in moderation, not stoically denying themselves all gastronomic pleasures, but enjoying delicious, fresh, tasty food just as God intended.” (163)

Frost notes that Paul and the “Missional Table” “Instructs us to be responsible in our freedom and to share food with those who don’t know our Lord and Savior”. (166) Paul, contrary to the religious custom of the day, ate with Gentiles. It seems Paul would rather eat “questionable meat” with unbelievers than to isolate himself from the people around him.

In Chapter 2 of Frost’s book he also talks about “Jesus the Exile”. He talks about how Jesus ate and drank with people. He was known as a glutton, and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. (Mt. 11:19). He accepted a “sinner” women washing his feet in perfume at a dinner table. He invited himself to the home of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. Jesus’ first recorded miracle was changing the water to wine at a wedding feast. And in parting, Jesus commanded his followers to eat and drink in remembrance of Him.

Frost goes on to say that people tend to open up over food and drinks. And yet too many Christians are so busy with the “church” that there is no time to eat and drink with non-Christians and on their terms. Frost insists that we make sure we find the time to eat and drink with others.

Frost does not however encourage excessive eating. He says, “Only when pleasures are balanced in a rhythm of freedom and responsibility can we enjoy them all the more for what they’re worth. When I give into gluttony, the beauty of godly feasting is lost because each meal blurs into the previous one. The undisciplined and uncontrolled search for pleasure makes that which is potentially sacred ordinary and mundane. By denying ourselves, we heighten the importance and the wonder of the experience”. (168) John Piper says that “God is glorified in us when we aim our behaviour at being most satisfied in him. We may do this by grateful eating or by grateful fasting.” (170)

In summary, Frost notes that: Like Paul, We should eat communally with both fellow believers and unbelieving friends; Like Daniel, we should eat responsibly and healthily to demonstrate the inherent goodness of life in God; Like Joseph, we should work at ensuring that the poor, the marginalized, the dispossessed, and victims of an unjust global economy have enough to eat. (171) “Every church should be a Matthew’s Party, a table for tax collectors and “sinners” to feast with the exile Jesus and his friends.” (176)

From the website little boat big sea:
EATING – Sharing food has always been central to a shared life of community. We want to place worship and communion back where it began: as a providore’s delight in the middle of the shared table. We meet weekly to share in a community meal. We bring food to share with everyone and visitors and guests eat freely. But instead of saying a hurried grace we will break a loaf of bread and drink wine/juice at the beginning of the meal. This way we will be acknowledging Christ’s presence at our table and our allegiance to him. (According to the website, they had communion once per month)

The Eating Challenge:
From the book The Exiles: “We will eat with other members of our community at least three times each week. In our community we all eat together every Sunday night… Also, we are divided into groups of three that meet weekly for mutual accountability, discipleship, and nurture. Those smaller cells usually meet over a meal or coffee… we eat one more meal with someone else in our collective” (150).

From the website: Eat (anything from a cup of coffee to a full meal) with someone that you don’t live with at least once every week.

Sunday July 13 - Bless

2008-07-23T22:27:00.000-05:00

This is the first in a series of discussions that will look at the acronym BELLS. This is an acronym that we have been using in our Sunday morning gatherings to provide a structure for our meetings. Many of the thoughts have been taken from the book “Exiles” by Michael Frost. Some are also from the website http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/ which is the website of the church group that Michael Frost is a part of.

The “B” in the acronym is for “Bless”. According to the website mentioned earlier, the Hebrew for blessing means to “empower to strength”. We need to seek God’s blessing and pass that blessing on to others. “A blessing is like a prophetic announcement and a prayer rolled into one. We say and gesture to someone what we would like God to do in their life, knowing that the one who blesses is listening too.”

The Bible has many references to blessing. God blesses people (Gen.1:21 – 23; Ps. 29:11; Rom. 10:12). People bless each other (Gen. 24:60; Gen. 27). People who walk in God’s ways are blessed (Ps. 1:1; 32:2; 40:4; Is. 30:18; James 1:12; Rev. 1:3; 22:7;22:14, etc.). The beatitudes list those Jesus calls blessed (Mat.5:3 – 12).

We bless God. The website above encourages us to: “Begin with a time of blessing God for the goodness that has been shown during your day” and includes a simple prayer of blessing to God.

From the website, “Relationship with and belief in God are essential to blessing. When we bless, we ask for goodness, and we ask from the source of all goodness, we ask God. To bless is a small ritual wherein the blessing is transferred through the words that we pronounce and the gestures that we make, such as uplifted arms or actual laying-on of hands. A Blessing is for the enhancement of the receiver. To bless is to envision something good for the other. Even Jesus, when he pronounced the Beatitudes, envisioned a goodness that would give comfort and hope to future believers. The power to bless is awesome. It is the vision of divine enhancement, of a people resting in the palm of God’s hand. That is the hallmark of a blessing.

From the book, “Exiles”: “Bless. We will bless at least one other member of our community every day. This will take different forms. We might simply send an e-mail expressing our affirmation. We might write a letter, deliver a gift, say a word of encouragement. It might sound difficult, but you’d be surprised how easy it is once you’ve got into the hang of it. And it’s marvellous to be in a community of such support and consideration.”

The website mentions 3 ways people may bless each other, particularly referring to the morning service: (1) You can read a written blessing to someone (from the Bible or from another source); (2) Ask someone where they would like to see God’s blessing in their life, and then say a short prayer for them; (3) Bless someone by pointing out ways you see God using them, positive qualities in their lives, gifts and skills they have, or general words of encouragement.

For some examples of blessings you may wish to use see: http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/21/

Numbers 6:22 – 26: The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: " ' "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." ' (NIV)

Retreat dates

2008-07-12T11:37:00.003-05:00

A few conflict of times has come to my attention regarding the August 22 - 24 dates for retreat. I am wondering whether people would prefer to keep it at that date, or change it to either September 19 - 21 or 26 - 28. Please let me know ASAP what you would prefer.
Gloria

Coffee Time

2008-07-08T17:57:00.003-05:00

Hi all,
Just a note about Friday Coffee Times. I will try to have coffee ready Fridays from 2 - 4PM for anyone who wishes to come. Bring friends, family, whoever. This Friday I may be a little late because I have an appointment just before 2PM.
Gloria

Sunday, July 6, 2008 - Practicing the presence of God

2008-07-08T17:24:00.002-05:00

A review of Sunday's service:
Many of the ideas from this service were taken from Exiles by Michael Frost.
1. We live as exiles in this world - John 17:16
2. Christ lived among us and showed us how to live incarnationally - John 1:10 - 14; Phil. 2: 5 - 8. In the Incarnation God showed us his face in a way that it is possible for us to understand it. Ronald Rolheiser in The Holy Longing describes how a God who is too big for us to understand and imagine, put on a human body so that we could experience him with our senses. This too is how we bring Christ to others. We must live him in our every day lives so that those around us can see him too.
3. In order to "live incarnationally"; that is to bring Jesus to those around us, we must practice the presence of God. Brother Lawrence sees this as being more important than devotions. "I gave up all devotions and prayers that were not required and I devote myself exclusively to remaining always in his holy presence." (Frost, p. 65)
Brother Lawrence (Frost pp. 66 - 69) describes 5 skills to practice the presence of God
1. Seek God's presence: Guard your heart with extreme care to retain purity. We will sin, the important thing is to quickly confess our sins. Psalm 51: 10 - 12. Challenge: Confess sins regularly.
2. See God's presence: Keep the Soul's gaze fixed on God by Faith. We can see God in every aspect of live. Psalm 141: 8. Challenge: Look for God's presence every day.
3. Live God's presence: Do all for the love of God. Colossians 3: 23 - 24. Both the secular and the sacred can be done for God. Challenge: Do all your work for the love of God.
4. Speak in the presence of God: Offer short prayers to God. Ephesians 6:18. We can have short conversations with God throughout the day. Challenge: Talk to God about everything.
5. Treasure God's presence: Value the Presence of God. God seeks us to have relationship with us. Psalm 139: 1 - 18. Challenge: Seeking the presence of God is a priority.
Frost (69 - 70) added 6 skills of his own which he called Demonstrating the Presence of Christ by encouraging the following practices: hospitality, generosity, justice, environmental stewardship, mission.

The benediction was found at: http://panainstitute.blogspot.com/2008/05/fumitaka-matsuoka-gtu-graduates-of.html
Gloria Dueck

Calendar

2008-07-08T17:10:00.001-05:00

Please note the attached calendar. I have inserted birthdays of regular attenders. There were a few birthdays I didn't have. Feel free to insert your birthday if it is not inserted or let me know and I will insert it for you. The same goes for events you wish to post. Gloria

Prayer Request

2008-07-07T16:31:00.002-05:00

Just wondering if we could ask you all to pray for us on our upcomming vacation. I (carissa) am a very nervouse flyer and am unsure how this trip will go with Alliana. Please pray for protection, peace, and the making of good memories. Thanks! We'll miss you all! See you when we get back!

Upcoming

2008-07-04T21:38:00.002-05:00

Mark your calendars for August 22 - 24 for the church retreat. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions please contact Gloria Dueck.

Father's Day, Sunday June 15th

2008-06-08T13:51:00.000-05:00

Come celebrate the Father's in your life with a fabulous Father's Day brunch at the ConneXion! This comming Sunday, the 15th we will be hosting a special brunch in honour of our dad's! Bring a bit of your favourite Father's favourite food to share and come enjoy a sampling of other dad's delights like steak and eggs. There will also be a Father's day themed kids craft and lesson durring the main session as well as some other small surprises for Dad's! Everyone welcome!

Tuesday, June 17th

Two of our regular attenders to the Sunday ConneXion will be heading to Hungary this summer on short term missions. In order to support their efforts everyone is invited to a work night at the property across from the hospital (Peter and Trudy's property) on Tuesday, June 17th starting at 6:30 pm. Funds are already raised based on the amount of work we'll do, so all that's required is your time and effort! The work involved is mostly yard work so please dress appropriately. A bon-fire with smores, marshmellows and smokies will be held afterwards! All are welcome!

Reggie McNeal after dinner mint at The Forgotten Ways

2008-06-07T22:33:00.000-05:00

Hi all,
I never (almost) listen to sermons online, but this one resonates with what we are trying to do, I think. I visit The Forgotten Ways frequently, and activated this link to a Reggie McNeal "after dinner mint" while I did some other surfing and blogging. It was captivating, Mary started listening as well, and next thing we knew 45 minutes had passed. We agreed this would be worth linking at Common Groundz. Enjoy, and be moved. If the link does not work for you the address is http://www.theforgottenways.org/blog/2008/06/08/444/

Henry and Mary

Vision Meeting

2008-05-26T12:43:00.001-05:00

Everyone who wishes to find a place to connect and is interested in the future of the Common Groundz is invitee to attend a visionary meeting and work session at the Common Groundz this Tuesday the 27th. The meeting will begin around 8:30 with an opportunity to do some work on the building before and after. Come in work clothes and with any ideas you have for the building and it's use in this town. We will be discussing how to move ahead with our ideas for the building among other agenda items.

-Carissa

Brainstorming

2008-05-20T23:08:00.001-05:00

For those of you who were unable to attend our last meeting or who are new to our blog, here is some of the brainstorming ideas we have come up with for our new building. If you are interested in any of these, have other ideas for the building, or have ideas about how to incorporate these various uses please post a comment!

1) Coffee Shop
-to provide employment in the community
-to serve soup/sandwhiches (lighter, healthy fare)
-To serve ice cream in the summer
-Would include many comfy couches
-Have a relaxing and relational atmosphere

2) A youth drop-in
-Have some activites. Perhaps pool table, Foose-Ball, etc.
-Have you gaming nights
-located with the movie corner and not directly in the more quiet coffee shop area

3) Movie Corner
-An area with a big screen TV to play movies (perhaps comedy on Monday nights, sports on Saturdays, family movies on Sunday nights, gaming on one night or something like that)
-This would be located in a seperate area than the more quiet coffee shop area

4) Music
-also located with the movie corner/youth drop-in.
-A stage for new local bands to play mini concerts
-Live Jazz/coffee house live music

5) A Library of sorts
-A place for a book club to meet
_ a place for discussion/debate forums to meet
-A quiet place to read books and drink coffee like at a Chapters

6) An internet Cafe

7) A children's Play place
- an area for hosting birthday parties
-An enclosed area for children to play while mom's sit and drink coffee
-A child friendly tea shop of sorts

8) A place to build relationships with Christ and the community

9) An area for all the counselling resources in town.

10) Rental space for the community

Remember, please post a comment and let us know what you think!

-Carissa

Update

2008-05-11T22:44:00.001-05:00

Thought it was time for a blog update for those of you who may read the blog but don't always (or ever) attend for whatever reason.

We now meet in the building that used to be the Craft Post in Arborg. For now we meet only in the East side but in the future will be using the entire building.

We meet from 10-12 every Sunday with a pot-luck brunch from 10-11 and a service from 11-12.
Everyone is welcome and you may come for only the brunch or only the service if you wish. If you don't have time to bring food or feel uncomfortable cooking don't worry to much...we always have more than enough.

A children's craft/Sunday school activity runs during the service. Mary Friesen is running the children's ministry for the month of May.

We are currently going through the Alpha video series during our service. During the service we also have a time of blessing, worship, sharing, and prayer.

Our Sunday morning gatherings are now called "The ConneXion" with the intention that the Coffee Shop/public building and everyday use will be called "Common Groundz"

-Carissa

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T22:23:00.000-05:00

This Mother's Day the men at The ConneXion prepared a delicious brunch for the rest of us! They pulled out the pancake grills, the waffle irons, and the sausage grills and prepared a beautiful breakfast! We also enjoyed some other special events in honour of Mother's Day including roses for the ladies and special cards filled with Tim Horton's gift certificates made by the kids during their craft time and given to their moms!

Peter hard at work!

A small sample of the spread

Everyone eating in our new building

And Below are pictures of Mother's with their children. Happy mother's day!

ConneXion logo

2008-04-21T18:18:00.000-05:00

Well, I now know what the password is. Heh. I got a little confused, it seems.

Anyway, here's the ConneXion logo. I can compile a bigger one if needed.
I'll work on a Common Groundz one this week and hopefully have something to show for it on sunday. :D

Jer

Sunday ConneXion April 13th

2008-04-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

The ConneXion will meet at Peter and Trudy's this Sunday, April 13th

Leader: Peter
Singing: Ernest
Children's: Carissa

All ConneXion's in the month of April will be held at Peter and Trudy's unless otherwise posted.

-Carissa

sunday, March 16th

2008-03-10T21:13:00.000-05:00

For those of you who were away this past Sunday here is an update on our next get together.

Kids program: Maynard
Music: Ernest
Leader: Gloria

Thank you to all those who have so far responded to our need for craft supplies for the kids program. Thank you especially to Susan Plett for donating a large box of spectacular supplies for our use! If anyone else would like to donate now would also be an awesome time to buy supplies from Craft Post as most items are more than 60% off their original price and they are still carrying a large amount of excellent craft products.

Carissa

Time change reminder

2008-03-07T12:04:00.000-06:00

Next Sunday be at church one hour early. As in come at the regular time, but remember the time has changed:)

Children's Minsitry

2008-03-05T09:57:00.001-06:00

We are running a little low on craft supplies for the kids program. Would anyone like to pitch in by either donating money or supplies?

Here is a list of great craft supplies we could use:
Felt - large and small pieces, with a variety of cut outs and colours.
Fabric paints or paints that come with writing tips
Markers
A large box to carry craft supplies and Children's ministry materials in
Colourful paper
Craft scissors
Styrofoam balls
Beads
Foam stickies (letters and shapes that have peel off backs for decorating projects)
yarn
Wooden objects such as wooden dowels, clothes pins, etc.
Glue sticks
Pretty much anything you find in a craft store!

Here is what we still have:
Some foam stickies in the shapes of hearts, stars, teddy bears, and some letters
Several white glue squirters (not stick glue)
Some buttons
A few leftover door hangers
And then whatever anyone has at home that week that they donate. I've been using our crayons, pencil crayons, scissors, bible, construction paper, white paper, etc.

Carissa

Sunday March 2nd

2008-02-24T20:05:00.001-06:00

Our get together on Sunday March 2nd, and on the following Sundays in March, will be held at Stan and Liz Plett's. The exception to this will be Sunday March 9th when the gathering will be held at Maynard and Tamar's. All gatherings will start at our usual time of 10 am for brunch, with service beginning around 11.

Leadership for March 2nd includes:
Josh F. and Jenelle P. for singing
Jenelle P. for Children's church
Henry for the service

Leadership for March 9th includes:
Adrian for singing
Gloria for the service

Also, you can look forward to a special get together on Maudy Thursday as well as a gathering on Easter Sunday.

Sunday, February 24 Connection

2008-02-22T13:42:00.000-06:00

Hi,
Our Sunday connection will be happening at Mary and Henry's place at 10am. The format will be similar to our usual community brunch event. If you want to do some thinking and meditation in preparation for that time you can check out: http://liturgy.slu.edu/3LentA022408/reflections.html
Look forward to seeing you there!

A letter from our Friends

2008-02-21T22:56:00.000-06:00

Stan P. asked me (Carissa) to post this note from Evan Schellenberg for the group. Evan and Mel, if you're reading this, we miss you and love you too!

"Hi, thanks for the note. Life is moving along out here. Mel and I often talk about Yadda Yadda. That is by far the thing we miss most about Manitoba. About a week ago, Mel and I were doing devotions and God kinda spoke to us both while we were reading. It has been tough for us since moving to Calgary. We have had to deal with some major setbacks due to employment, not to mention being away from family and friends.This is a tough city to live in; it's very greedy. We have, however, found some good friends here too. God just reaffirmed to us that His calling for us is somewhere else, we may be here for a while yet, or might move on soon (to who knows where). It was really refreshing to know that God does want us here; especially because we don't really want to be. We just need to learn what God needs to teach us in this proving ground before He shows us the next step of the way. Until that time, we need to just love the people that we meet and learn to give of ourselves, especially to other Believers. We both felt like we will only find fulfillment once we are obeying God in those respects. I know this is all stuff we "knew" before, but it is a totally different thing when it finally sinks in and hits home. We appreciate the continued prayers and we continue to pray for you all as you go through an exciting time in Yadda Yadda. We know that God is and will do great things through the group for the community. I will speak for myself here, (although I think Mel would say the same) and say that of all the places we have gone, and the bodies of Believers we have been able to spend time with, Yadda Yadda feels like our home church. We really were touched by everyone involved and feel blessed to have been there for as long as we were. Thanks again for the note. With communication being so easy, it is a shame I don't use it more often. Stan, you can feel free to share this with the group next time you meet. We are praying for you and we love and miss you lots."

Kids Stuff

2008-02-10T12:41:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, Here is some extra activities for the kids this week as well as some family fun. These all go along with our theme this week which was Honor.

Parents: Use these ideas to help build your child's faith, quiz them on what they are learning, an encourage your child to become a lifelong follower of Jesus Christ.

Theme Verse: "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:10

Key Word: Honor: To show sincere respect for someone

Steppin Out: One day this week, have your family bake goodies (a cake, cookies, brownies, etc. maybe on the Valentine's theme?) for another family on your block or in you area. Design a greeting card signed by all family members to present with the baked treats.

Fun at Home: Using paper and markers or crayons, have each family member draw a stick figure comic strip showing a way to honor and show love to someone else. Put the comic strips together to create your own family comic book.

Quick Pick: Write each family member's name on a separate slip of paper. Place papers into a bag or basket. Each family member chooses one slip of paper. The name of the person on the slip of paper will be the person that he or she will honor for the rest of the day. If someone picks his or her own name, he or she will choose another slip of paper until they choose a name other than their own. Repeat each day of the week.

Have fun!

Carissa

Music

2008-02-01T20:08:00.000-06:00

If anyone has any songs they would like to suggest for our praise and worship times on Sunday mornings I would love to see them posted here.

Here are a few options for letting me know what you would like to be singing:

1) Write a post with the title of the song in the title window, label the post "music" and either:
a) Write out the lyrics in your post, and maybe add the reason you chose it if it has a special meaning for you
b) Provide a link to a website with lyrics and music for that song (include your reason for chosing it as well if you wish)
c) Explain which song and the reason you chose it

OR

2) Add a comment to this post with the name of the song you would like to sing, any other comments, and a web address for lyrics and music if possible.

Thanks!

Ernest

Changes

2008-01-31T08:45:00.000-06:00

Just another housekeeping type comment:

If you make changes to anything on the blog (ex. a previous post, the header, settings, etc) please publish a post stating the changes you made and why just so everyone is aware. Thanks!

Carissa

Prayer Requests

2008-01-31T08:36:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to remind everyone...as we did with the youth last night...that you can post your prayer requests here as a means of letting people know what you need prayer for. In the labels portion of a post simply type "Prayer Requests" and it will get filed under that if anyone wants to look back on previous requests. Also, when a request is answered or updated, please post again to let us know and label the post "Prayers Answered" with a link (If you do not know how how to link see instructions below) in that post to your previous request post so that we can easily check back and see the way God is moving in our midst. Thanks!

P.S. If you do not have access to posting on this blog but would still like to share a prayer request with the group you can leave it in the comment section of any post.

Instructions on linking to previous posts:

Go to www.commongroundz.blogspot.com

Find your previous post. Click on that post so ONLY that post and no others appear on the screen.

Copy the address in the address bar at the top of your screen

Sign into the blog the regular way

In the post portion type out "Link to previous request" and highlight it with your curser. Go to the top of the post box where you see something that looks like an oval with a green circle underneath. If you move your curser over it it will say "Link"

Click on this box and in the URL window paste the address that you previously copied.

Carissa

You have stolen my heart...

2008-01-31T08:25:00.000-06:00

First a blessing to each of the youth who were at our house last night. We felt refreshed after hanging out with such passionate and open people. Thank you for bringing a lot of laughter into our home and for being willing to share your thoughts and ideas. It was a real blessing to us to spend some time bonding with you.

Second, for those who were unable to make it last night, here is an update on our discussion. We have decided that there are enough official, programmed youth groups in the area and to start another weekly traditional youth group doesn't make sense. However, those who attended felt they could still use a smaller, more informal group where they could discuss more serious topics they were struggling with, ask for prayer, and hang out with other believers. We are going to try and attempt to make this "informal formal" thing work for awhile by simply planning random times, perhaps after church on Sundays or some evenings like last night to get together to debate, discuss, and deal with stuff. Any youth who feels they are wanting to have a prayer time, discuss a certain topic, or just get some support can feel free to post a message on this blog or let Ernest and I know and something will be set up. Ernest and I have also made our home open to drop-ins and phone calls whenever people feel the need.

That pretty much sums up the evening. Thanks again to everyone who attended. And to those who couldn't make it...we missed you!

Carissa

Youth

2008-01-28T22:07:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder...

We are wanting to have a discussion with the youth on how to make this church yours, how you want to be involved, and what sort of programming, events, activities, etc. you would like to see geared towards your interests,etc. Basically we just want to make sure that you feel 100 percent part of this new church process. We're looking for your feedback on where to take this church and it's youth in the future.

If you consider yourself a youth or are someone just passionate about youth and want to be involved in the discussion you are invited to our house this Wednesday evening at 8:00.

(note: Alliana will be asleep so please just come right on in without ringing the bell)

See you there!

Ernest and Carissa

Housekeeping

2008-01-27T22:32:00.000-06:00

Just a few things:

1) I've added a few touches to the blog for cosmetic purposes and just for fun. As you all have the password you can feel free to change any of them and of course they can also all be changed when we change the name of our group. Don't worry I won't be offended if you feel something should be different!

2) Under "Our Aroma" I have left a place for our mission statement. Maybe this is something some people would like to start considering and writing up some ideas that we can consider together and put in that place.

3) As comments are added to Henry's post about name suggestions I will add them to the poll at the bottom of the page so you can submit a vote right on the blog if you like.

4)If you have your own blog and would like to add it to "Other kinds of grinds" please feel free. Or post it in a comment to this post and I'll add it for you.

5) If you leave a post in the main section here, please sign it with your name so we know who posted.

Thanks!

Carissa

Welcome to our new home!

2008-01-27T16:45:00.000-06:00

The previous blog has been discontinued in the interest of improved functionality. The information Carissa sent you will allow more people to post on the front page of this blog, facilitating more efficient and seamless communication.
The purpose of this post is to collect the discussion on new names for our group. Please make your contributions to this discussion as comments on this post.
Thanks all for a wonderful first event this morning, and we look forward to your thoughts on a new name for our new venture.