Park Place Christian Church of Wichita Falls, Texas - Disciples of Christ
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Newsletter A Word from Rev. Alice Hupp
A Word from Rev. Alice - I first want to say, Thank you so much Park Place for always being a blessing in my life!! You bless me with your love and friendship and you blessed my Christmas season with a wonderful bonus. Thank You, Thank you!! As we serve out our last days of ministry in 2011 we look back and thank God for all the blessings we have had in this year..., seeing the children grow and flourish and ministries grow while also saying good bye to those faithful servants who have gone on to be with the Lord. We sorely miss them but are comforted that they are living the grace and love of the Christ child, in the arms of our Savior. As we look to 2012 we dream and hope for a year of great service, growth and new beginnings! Certainly here at Park Place we will be starting something new. The entire church, as a way of being faithful to each other’s passion for ministry, will be invited to share in various ministries of the church. For those who struggle to commit to a ministry for a long period of time now can do ministry with a shorter “program/ministry” commitment. Our Elder Ministry will now be open to anyone, member or not, in the church who would like to serve on a Pastoral Care team or would like to serve in the worship service on Sunday morning. There will be an intensive training for those who feel a passion for these ministries being overseen by the elders. We are also inviting the church to seek out a particular ministry in one of the events we do throughout the year, to take on that ONE event as your offering of ministry to the church and God and do that one thing well! For example, if you have a passion for the Animal Blessing or you have a passion for our Anniversary Dinner, you would take that one ministry on, plan and prepare for it over the year and have a spectacular event. We will have all offerings on a board complete with descriptions and ask you to prayerfully decide what ministry/project God is calling you to do in 2012. If an event is not adopted, it can be assumed that it was not a passion for our church in this next year. The changes here are made to allow ALL people of the church to be excited about their passion and live it out in the church. This way, no one person is overburdened with so much to do, especially if the event is not their passion. There will be a training event for all those who choose an activity in mid January. More information will be on its way. I can’t wait to see what God will do with Park Place Christian Church this next year!! May God bless us all!! Your Servant in Christ, Rev. Alice Hupp
A Word from Rev. Alice - Well Park Place, it’s a new year and a new opportunity to make meaningful changes in our lives, in our church and in our world! We have the opportunity to reach out beyond ourselves to discover just what we are capable of doing, but the only way to make that happen is to risk. An ad was placed in the early 1900s by the explorer Ernest Shackleton that read: Men wanted for hazardous journey, Low wages, long hours… Ernest was looking for men to help him discover the South Pole. The ad drew 5,000 brave candidates. Shackleton was once asked, Why do you want to go to such a forbidding, ice covered continent? He paused, then replied, The fascination of placing the first footmarks.” We really can understand that, right? Think of those people who have placed footmarks on the history of this country or the world. Remember John Glen and Alan Shepherd? Go further back to Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart or Martin Luther or Columbus. In the Bible we don’t need to go very far before we marvel at Abraham and Sarah or Moses or the Disciples or Paul. Each went out into the world not knowing where their next footstep would take them, but they ventured out anyway. What made them continue the path? Was it to be the first footprints in the world? Was it because they felt a deep desire within to make a difference in the world, to impact the lives of others? If there is any sin that you and I are guilty of, it probably is that we play it too safe when it comes to our faith. Our world has been moved forward by its risk-takers, people who followed their convictions regardless of the odds, regardless of the opposition, regardless of the danger. These are people who live(d) what we can call Extreme Faith. You have to be open to it, to let it flow from deep within. But maybe that is why we are comfortable playing it safe. We won’t get into trouble, be inconvenienced, or have to move out of our comfort zones. Yet Christ called and still calls his followers to go out into a hurting world and make his presence known to the people, through the faithful. If we are to grow this church, grow our families, grow our lives, we must trust and obey. As we begin this new year, we have an opportunity to become new again. We have 50 weeks left and 351 days. What will you do differently this year to make it a new year for you? What will you do to serve God through Park Place Christian Church? Now is the time to say YES to the call of God. In Christ’s Service, Rev. Alice Hupp
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