Skip to main content

August Newsletter

 Friends of Shalom,

"Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." -Psalm 127:1

In the work of church planting we get to learn this lesson over and over. There are many moments where it's easy to wonder, "Is this going to work? Will people come?" God often brings me to the edge of my faith and wondering. And then... He works! He shows me that He is building Shalom Anglican. Here are some ways I've seen him build his house over the last month.

Shalom Update

  • A local business owner saw our sign and contacted me. We had a great meeting over coffee and a few weeks later he showed up on Sunday morning. Later I learned that it had been years since he's been to church. He's excited to keep coming! 
  • We were asked by the school we rent from if we were able to clean up the grounds around the building. I put it before our church and not only did we have 10+ volunteers but one even volunteered to lead the project! It's encouraging to see that enthusiasm.
  • People are connecting outside of official church events. I'm hearing about families getting together for meals and coffee. Community is forming!
  • A strong Christian couple recently committed to be a part of our church plant. I can see how their presence is blessing our core group.
  • One young man agreed to help me with our website! 
  • People are inviting people and they're sticking around!
Prayer Requests
  • Pray for our second round of men's and women's book groups. For the month of August we're reading Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.
  • Pray for a family that was a part of our church the last 3 months who are moving to California. We will miss them, but really enjoyed journeying together even though it was a short time.
  • Pray for me as I have to tackle some administrative tasks (not my favorite thing to do)!
  • Pray for our catechism class beginning this fall. This will be a key step in forming our church and eventually forming a church council to help guide us into the future. 
As always, thanks so much for your prayers and support!

For the Shalom of Kitsap,

Rob and Beth


                                                                            We're official! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June Newsletter

My wife and I have been building a garden… well, mostly my wife ;)  I underestimated how much work it would be.  We had to get stones out of the soil, lay down Beth's Garden mulch, then build a fence to keep the deer out. After that there was ordering dirt, wheelbarrowing the dirt, building planters, filling the boxes, and finally planting. This got me thinking about the work of ministry and specifically the balance between working hard, but then trusting God with the growth. In our garden we are working hard, but after we do our work we can’t make the plants grow. That’s outside of our realm. This partnership we have with God that began in Eden is a hard one. It seems like we’d rather just work hard and make it all up to us… or throw our hands up and just “let go and let God” to do it all.  But neither is how it all works. We do work hard. We do build. At the same time, only God brings the growth!  We see this in a wonderful text in Paul’s first letter to Corinth. T...
Post a Comment
Read more

December Newsletter

 Friends of Shalom, As we are in the midst of Advent, I'm reminded of how it's a season of tension. On the one hand we are looking forward to Christmas, to remembering our Lord's birth and all the beauty of the story.  But on the other hand we are longing for his final coming when he will make all wrongs right.  In Advent we're invited to be honest about our longings for freedom from cancer, oppression, sin, war, depression, and all the brokenness of the world while at the same time putting our hope in Jesus the shoot from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1-11).  But this is how we always live isn't it? We live in the in-between and in a perpetual Advent of sorts! As Karl Barth said, " What other time or season can or will the Church ever have but that of Advent?" So we live in the tension. And as a church planter I also live in the tension. I live with a heart of gratitude for all that God has done and is doing in our church while at the same time longing fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

May Newsletter

 Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Palm Sunday begins outside with the liturgy of the Palms . This is our Eastertide acclamation and how we begin each service through Pentecost (June 8th). It's meant to orient us to the reality of our resurrected Lord who is reigning now. Easter isn't simply one special Sunday, but a whole season of being drenched in the joy and glory of Jesus' victory over his own death and now ours as well! If you find yourself drifting from the power of the resurrection that we celebrated on Easter, here is a link to my message on Easter Sunday to stir up hope once again! I have to say, this last month was simply AMAZING! God has been so good to us. Here are some highlights. Updates: We held our first Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil) and it was a rich time of worship that culminated in a Taco Potluck on Saturday night with most of our church joining in! Through these three services as well as Easter Sund...
Post a Comment
Read more