The trip will go from Sunday 06/09/2024 thru Friday 06/14/2024
We will host information meetings in Fellowship Hall right after church every Sunday in October. You will have an opportunity to sign up for the trip at these meetings by paying your deposit.
· Deadline to sign up: Sunday November 5th.
· Deposit of $50 per person due Sunday November 5th
· Total Cost: $500 per person
· Starting in January, and on the third Sunday of the month through May, we will meet as a group right after church in the Fellowship Hall for about 30-45 minutes to share updates and get better acquainted. These meetings will be held on January 21, February 18, March 17, April 21, and May 19.
We will either rent several vans or drive separately. A decision will be made on this once we know how many are going on the trip. Red Bird Mission is about 3 ½ hours away.
o This is a Work Camp, so mostly home repair projects for area residents. Homes with elderly persons, children, disabled, low income, and emergencies are the focus.
o There are also limited opportunities to:
§ Serve in the Craft Store
§ Serve in the Community Store
§ Serve in the Senior Center
§ Serve in Outreach
Accommodations are provided on the Red Bird campus in climate-controlled cabins.
Meals are served Sunday evening through Friday morning.
You are here because you have decided to possibly try the Sabbath. That is great.
It is good to remember that this is not something we have to do, but it is a useful practice in helping us remember who we are, who God is and how we can trust Him. So as you step into practicing the Sabbath, be sure to give yourself grace and to have fun with it.
Look at it as an experiment.
The first thing you will want to do is to set a time period where you will try the Sabbath. As with any practice, you will want to start where you are, not where you want to be. You don't start bench pressing 200 lbs your first day in the gym, you start with an empty barbell and work your way up. So maybe a whole day does not seem feasible. Start with 4 hours or half a day.
But also commit to doing your Sabbath every week for at least a couple of months. This will get you through the initial uncomfortable period, into the blessing an joy that Sabbath can become.
Here is a video of a pastor from Portland describing his family's practice. There might be things from his practice you want to incorporate, you might want to do something totally different. But it is a good place to start the conversation.
So how do you build your own Ritual? Practicing the Way, a website that is focused around Spiritual Disciplines like this gives us this guide.
If you read the wider Sabbath literature, some of which is as old as the New Testament itself, you discover there are 12 common activities that fill up a traditional Sabbath.
1. Lighting the candles
2. Blessing the children
3. Eating a Sabbath meal
4. Expressing gratitude
5. Singing
6. Worshiping with your church
7. Walking
8. Napping
9. Making love to your spouse
10. Reading, especially Scripture
11. Spending time alone with God
12. Spending time with family and friends in conversation and celebration
This is not a “to-do list,” but more like 12 best practices that you are invited to grow into over time as your heart desires. They recommend you pick at least 3 to start with.
Now that you know when to do it, and what to do, go for it.
For more thoughts on this, check out these resources:
Sabbath by Dan Allender
Sabbath by Abraham Heschel
A Conversation between John Mark Comer and Andy Crouch
Baptism at BCC
We're so excited that you are interested in baptism! Baptism in an important part of the salvation process. It is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and also serves as a symbol of your own death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). It signifies your death to sin and its hold over you and the new life that you now life for God. But there is a sense in which baptism is more than a picture or an outward symbol of an inner transformation; it is more than a public act testifying to faith. In a real sense a death and burial takes place and a new life is begun (Romans 6:3-4). Baptism is when you make a clear and final break from your old life of sin and disobedience and begin a new life of forgiveness and submission to Jesus as Lord. It is a serious event. To help you both learn more & prepare for baptism, we have a couple resources we've made available.
We have put together a quick & easy-to-read booklet that provides information about baptism as well as answering many of the most common questions about baptism. You can read that here.
In addition to the booklet, Nathan Hardesty, BCC's Senior Minister, has created a 30-minute Online Baptism Class that you can view any time. You can watch it below.
If you are ready to get baptized, have questions not answered in the resources given, or simply want to talk to someone about baptism, you can email or call the church office.
