On Sunday, May 20, the church will once again gather to celebrate Pentecost with a joint worship service at 10:30 am, followed by a shared meal and our annual meeting at 12:00 pm.
During our joint worship, Pastor David will be offering a sermon that reflects upon all of the growth and learning that we have done on this interim journey together these past two years. We will also be extending the right hand of fellowship to five new members. During the Annual Meeting, as always, we will recognize our Faithful Servant and scholarship recipients. This year, we will also celebrate the work of New Alternatives. For many years, New Alternatives provided social and spiritual support to NSBC’s senior community and outreach to the wider neighborhood through a variety of gatherings and outings. We look forward to doing this important work and celebrating the presence of the Holy Spirit among us on May 20!
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On Sunday, May 13, at 12:30 pm, the men of the Spanish Language congregation invite everyone in the church to join in a special, themed Mother's Day celebration. Come for games, lunch, and other entertainment!
El domingo 13 de mayo a las 12:30 pm, los hombres de la congregación hispana les invitan a todos de la iglesia a juntarnos por una celebración especial del Día de la Madre. Habrán juegos, actividades, y un almuerzo rico! On Friday, April 20, we will gather in Howel Hall for dinner and a movie. We will meet at 6:00 pm to eat, and then we will watch All Saints, a movie about a small church in Iowa that is transformed when a group of Karen refugees comes to their town. We shall see how the story compares to the journey of the Karen Fellowship at NSBC.
Join us for an evening of good food and good conversation! Popcorn will be provided. It is unfortunate when a pastor or denomination will advocate that their “brand” is better or superior to the other ones. Or even more, that their tradition is the only correct one. In developing a more expansive way of cultivating our spirituality, we need to be open to see where the Spirit is leading before dismissing it or demonizing other traditions/brands of Christianity. Having spent time in Pentecostal, Baptist, and other traditions, I have found my own spirituality deepened by multiple Christian traditions.
One author who has personally exposed me to other spiritualities is Richard J. Foster. I first read Foster while taking a class at the Christian University that I attended. The class was called The Life of Prayer, and one of the text books was called Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. Foster also outlines other contemporary traditions in a book called, Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith along with the workbook, A Spiritual Formation Workbook: Small Group Resources for Nurturing Christian Faith. In these two books, Foster outlines different Christian Traditions. The first Christian Tradition he describes is “Discovering a Life of Intimacy with God: The Contemplative Tradition”; the second one is “Discovering a Life of Purity and Virtue: The Holiness Tradition”; the third one is “Discovering a Life of Empowerment Through the Spirit: The Charismatic Tradition”; the fourth one is “Discovering a Life of Justice and Compassion: The Social Justice Tradition”; the fifth one is “Discovering a Life Founded upon the Word: The Evangelical Tradition”; and the last one “Discovering a Practical Strategy for Spiritual Growth: The Spiritual Formation Group”. Which of these traditions would you claim? Like many in the Baptist faith, I follow the Evangelical and Social Justice Traditions, but I also draw deeply on the Pentecostal/Charismatic tradition in which I was brought up. The Pentecostal/Charismatic traditions hold that the role of the Spirit is vital in the life of the believer. They look to Acts 1:8, which says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” After the baptism of the believer in water, there is another subsequent experience called the In-filling of the Spirit or the Baptism the Spirit. The early Christian leaders in the book of Acts laid hands on the believers, and they all were filled with the Spirit. As the apostle Paul says, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same Spirit is with us as the Counselor, the Parakletos. As a young person, my pastor Gabriel Wil- continued next page Page 2 lis prayed for me to received the Spirit. Nothing immediately happened, I didn’t feel anything, but then God began to open my spiritual eyes to see visions and dreams. I was not aware of the Spiritual realm until my pastor prayed for me to receive the power of the Spirit. The In-Filling of the Spirit is for every believer. May this Easter season awaken within your heart a desire and passion to study the Word of God and apply it to your heart like never before. Who knows where the Spirit may lead us? Blessed Easter! Join us bright and early Easter Sunday for breakfast at 8:15 am. At 10:00, we will celebrate baptisms in the sanctuary, followed by worship. At 11:30, the children are invited to join will our annual Easter egg hunt on the front lawn.
By Rev. Kathryn Ray
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” -Revelation 7:9-10 There was a time in my early twenties when I worshipped at a little Moravian church. At the very front of the sanctuary in this little church appeared the Moravian seal, which features a lamb trotting along confidently, carrying a banner. The words wrapping around the outside of the seal read: “Our lamb has conquered. Let us follow him.” When I first saw the seal, I was unsettled. I was familiar with the symbolic language of Jesus as the lamb, and I was familiar with the idea of Jesus conquering the forces of death, but I wasn’t terribly comfortable with either one. Join NSBC and our neighbors at this interfaith storytelling event, sponsored by the Edgewater Community Religious Association.
By Madison McClendon
In English worship this Lenten season, more than one preacher has reminded us of a truth: when asking why Jesus had to die, the answer is often simpler than complex theories of the atonement would have you believe. The truth is that Jesus was human. And so he died, in the same way you and me and all other humans will die eventually. So the question, for me, is deeper than why Jesus died, the question is why he died the way he did. He was killed before he could live to the point that many of us hope and pray for, to die surrounded by loved ones and family, connected to others who will grieve us but can celebrate with us a long life. He died in pain, where for many of us what we desire most from our death is an easy struggle. This was a question that bothered the writers of the Gospels, too, and anyone who believed as we do that Jesus is God. If God is so powerful, why would Jesus die the way he did? At the end of March, we will be commemorating the week of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. All are welcome at the following events:
PALM SUNDAY/DOMINGO DE RAMOS.... On March 25, all the congregations will gather in front of the church at 10:00 am (weather permitting) to sing and wave palm branches as we mark Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We will then process into our spaces of worship. GOOD FRIDAY...We will gather to recall the suffering of Christ and lift up the suffering of our world at the Good Friday service on March 30 at 7:30 pm. The Karen/English service will be in the sanctuary, and Spanish service will be in Howel Hall. SÁBADO DE GLORIA...On Holy Saturday, March 31, the Hispanic congregation will have a prayer vigil/retreat. It will be a day of music, games and activities, prayer, and reflections. Simple meals will be provided. EASTER BAPTISMS...We will be having a baptismal service this Easter, which will take place on Sunday, April 1 at 10:00 am. NSBC will serve as a Launching Congregation for the Young Adult Initiative, sponsored by Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary’s Innovation Hub. The purpose of the Initiative is to develop new ministries aimed at adults between 18 and 35. During the spring, Sam Hartman-Pickerill and Pastor Kathryn will participate in a “Religious and Spiritual Lives of Young Adults” course, in which we will be guided through a process to design new young adult ministries. In July, we will be eligible to receive a grant from the Lilly Endowment to fund a new ministry initiative. Over the next two years, we will then participate in a monthly peer coaching group to support that ministry initiative.
To begin this process, we are conducting an all-church survey. The purpose of the survey is learn more about the passions, visions, and frustrations of our church participants. This will help us identify the strengths and resources we have for new ministries, as well as existing obstacles. This information will help us not only develop new ministries, but also achieve deeper understanding of our existing programs and relationships. |
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