Circle of gratitude, part 2
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Live gratefully, even through the challenges
Do you sometimes find it easier to be upset or even outraged than to be grateful? When something goes haywire, doesn't it take extra work to find something to be thankful for? It's no surprise. After all, it's so "natural" to be upset but "spiritual" to be grateful. And being spiritual takes extra effort and attention. Join us this Sunday in preparation for
Thanksgiving as we continue to explore the value and practice of gratitude.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and counsel one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:15,16
"Thanksgiving Sunday" is this Sunday, Nov. 24!
Our annual Thanksgiving church service, followed by a glorious luncheon and social time is this Sunday! If you are planning to participate in the luncheon and would like to share a dish, please tell one of the ladies in the Kitchen Ministry.
Spiritual Growth Groups - Sundays and Wednesdays
I'm very grateful to Kelly Woofenden and Frank Rose for leading spiritual growth groups on Sunday mornings at 9:15 and Wednesday nights at 6:30. I hear such good reports from people who are attending!
Concluded: "Sunrise Chapel 101" aka New Church Foundations Small Group
Last Wednesday, we had the 7th and final meeting of this wonderful series. It was such a blessing to get to know each other and to dig into all sorts of topics and questions! THANK YOU, ALL! for your energetic interest in learning.
I will offer this course again in January for anyone interested, including those who missed certain chapters. Let me know if YOU would like to participate and what timing works best for you.
Last Sunday - Report on our Special Guest and Semi-Annual meeting
I think the long-awaited visit from the Executive Director of our denomination, David Frazier was well worth the effort! Not only did he meet with Board members about finances; he also attended our church service on Sunday and participated in our luncheon and Semi-Annual meeting. Stay tuned for more as the Board continues to discuss a few tasks that we agreed to work on.
With love and respect,
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Get Ready for our Path to Bethlehem!
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Thank you to Sammie Alijagic for the new banner pictured here, that will be installed on the church property to welcome all who drive by.
December 7 from 6-8 pm
Also, there will be various promotions coming out in the next few days that you can use to forward, post, or share with friends and neighbors.
Progress report:
We have a live "baby Jesus" and his mother for the manger scene! We have sheep! And we have a donkey with it's own handler. We are still looking for actors for scene 1 - the angel Gabriel and Mary. If you know anyone who might be interested, please let Billie or Elise know ASAP.
Thank you for making cookies for the social time in Friendship Hall! Please continue making them! The sets will start to go up today. Live music for the social time afterward is being arranged!
Thank you to everyone for your love and help. This event is loved and appreciated by many people in the community. It is one very special way we serve people.
I also want to give a shout out to Billie Baty! It was originally her idea to have an event like this on our property, and with lots of help, she has been keeping it alive for at least 14 or 15 years! Thank you, Billie, for your continuous support of the Path to Bethlehem!
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Livestream and Archive Videos of our 11 am
Worship Services
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Thank you to our volunteers in the sound booth every Sunday for helping make our livestream happen. We are finding that it is a long learning curve to get all the sound levels tuned, so thank you for your patience. And please give me input based on your listening experience.
If you subscribe to our YouTube channel, you can get an alert when we go live on Sunday morning. If you bookmark the link in your favorite browser, you can also easily view any available archived service anytime.
There is really no substitute for worshiping together in person with all the nuances of community, personal connection, and interaction, but modern technology does provide a great window into the experience.
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THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITIES AT SUNRISE CHAPEL
9:15 am Spiritual Growth Group, led by Kelly Woofenden
10 am Music rehearsal
11 am Worship Service - Nathan Gladish, preaching
12 noon THANKSGIVING Luncheon extravaganza
MONDAY 11/25/2018
11 am Tai Chi class (Basic)
6:30 pm Bereavement Support Group
WEDNESDAY 11/27/2019
9:30 am Worship Team mtg
6:30 pm Spiritual Growth Group, led by Frank Rose
THURSDAY 11/28/2019
HAPPY THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY!
FRIDAY 11/29/2019
4:30 pm Teen Time at the church
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT SEASON
10 am Music rehearsal
11 am Worship Service - Nathan Gladish, preaching
12 noon Luncheon
Children's Chapel flooring and painting progress!
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Thank you to donors who have provided funds for our Children's Ministry!
The new tile is installed as of Wednesday! The new baseboard is all that's left put up. Then we will purchase some doormats and area rugs, and the place will be ready to host lots of Sunday School activities, and other meetings, groups, and events!!
Thank you to Elise and Claudia, Linda and Margo for helping move this project along. Thank you to Lance and Nikos for your elbow grease in preparing the floor for the tile. And thank you to everyone for your moral and financial support! This work is possible because of generous donations to the Children's Ministry. Without these extra donations, our regular budget would not be able to cover it.
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This Sunday, the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit will be on site at Sunrise Chapel from 10:30-11:00 am for anyone to see!
We will continue to offer tickets for the 2019 JIM CLICK RAFFLE through next Sunday, December 1.
This raffle benefits Tucson charitable organizations. The entire amount of each ticket goes to the charitable organizations.
Purchase one or more chances to win one of three great prizes
If you buy one or more tickets through our Spiritual Growth Foundation, the entire purchase price will help with operational expenses for the Arizona Spiritual Growth Foundation and for Sunrise Chapel. You can buy one chance for $25 or 5 chances for $100.
See Kelly Woofenden or Carol Craft for tickets and more information. Or write to kelly@woofenden.net
You can purchase with cash, or write a check to AZ Spiritual Growth Foundation, or use a credit card, or use PayPal.
Purchase tickets any time this month. You don't have to live in the area to participate. You don't have to be present to win. The ticket stubs will be collected until December 1 and then delivered to the Jim Click Raffle headquarters on December 2.
The public drawing will be held on December 13, 2019. You don't need to be present to win.
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Readings for this Sunday's 11 am
Worship Service
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Joseph Reassures His Brothers
Genesis 50:15-21
And Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, and they said, “Maybe Joseph will hate us and make sure he returns to us all the evil that we repaid him.”
And they gave a command to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave a command before he died, saying, “‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: “Please forgive, please, the transgression of your brothers and their sin because they repaid you evil.”’ So now forgive, please, the transgression of the servants of your father’s God.” And Joseph wept as they spoke to him.
And his brothers also went and fell before him and said, “Look: we will serve as slaves to you.”
And Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because am I in place of God? And you thought evil upon me; God thought it for good, in order to do as at this day, to keep a great people alive. And now don’t be afraid; I will sustain you and your little children.”
And he comforted them and spoke to their heart.
The Beatitudes
Matthew 5:1-10
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.
He said:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The Lord's Supreme Purpose
Secrets of Heaven §6574 - Swedenborg
The words Joseph spoke to his brothers—You thought evil upon me; God thought it for good, in order to do as at this day, to keep a great people alive—are words that contain one of heaven’s secrets...
The Lord himself is present directly with people undergoing trials, and he is present indirectly too, through angels. He puts up resistance, refuting the lies of the hellish spirits and dissipating their malevolence, which brings renewal, hope, and victory to the sufferers. In this way, faith’s truth and charity’s goodness are more deeply implanted and more firmly strengthened in people who possess truth-from-goodness. It is the means by which they receive the gift of spiritual life…
The Lord has a purpose that radiates from him to reign supreme throughout the spiritual world, and that purpose is for absolutely everything that happens, no matter how small, to result in some good.
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Your church home for partnering with the Lord and each other in the practice of cultivating spiritual growth and choosing heavenly joy www.sunrisechapel.org nathan@sunrisechapel.org Office 520-298-1245 |
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