Times of refreshing, joy in community, and relaxed reverence are all in our midst. There are no "have-to's," but rather, our desire is that you would just come and receive when you can because it is so clear that God is moving and present. If you haven't already signed up for any of the retreats or events happening over the next two weeks, take a minute to do so, we'd love to see you there! This Sunday we will be hearing from Rev. Emmy Wilson along with guest worship leader Jenn Crider.
The Movement of God
"Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the [hand of God]." - Charles Spurgeon. As you have seen the wreath grow with ribbons over the past few months, we hope that this has been a reminder of the movement of God in the lives of those around you. We hope that it has drawn you to remember to seek and listen to the Lord. If you have tied a ribbon on the wreath, we will be opening up the opportunity to share your stories with us on November 6th at the Evening Celebration Service.
This Sunday we will get to hear from Hunter Allen and he will be speaking about Paul's second letter to Timothy. The following two Sunday's we will get the privilege of hearing from Rev. Emmy Wilson. If you would like to learn more about Emmy, her passions, or her missional experiences, her bio is here!
Thank You For Giving
Happy North Texas giving day! Although we are not registered, we just want to take the time to continue to thank you for your generosity over the past fiscal year. This has enabled us to continue to help St. Barts grow! If you would like to register for events all the way up until November, follow this link to our website. We are excited to hear from JD Lemming, our youth ministry coordinator, this Sunday preach from John's gospel.
If you would like to continue to contribute into what St. Barts is doing, please consider giving on a monthly basis. You can easily set this up by following this link.
And lastly, we had our Instructed Eucharist service last Sunday, if you missed it don't forget to watch! We added an Instructed Worship Liturgy booklet to our website if you would like to continue to learn more about the what, why's and how's of a Sunday morning. (The link will stay in the newsletter as you can see below).
Women's Retreat Coming Up!
Rachel wanted to come on to let everyone know about the women's retreat coming up in a few weeks with guest speaker Emmy Wilson from the UK. It will be on October 8th from 10am-2pm and will include coffee, lunch, and a time for tea and treats and will cost $20 per person. We will be spending time reflecting on the Queen's life and seeing how we could apply her example to our lives. Come for a time of refreshing as we learn about how we are daughters of the king, our inheritance is in Christ and a time for prayer.
Any St. Barts women who would be available to help set up and tear down would be super helpful! We would also like to invite anyone who enjoys baking, if you would be able to bring one of your favorite cake/cupcake recipes or know of a yummy cake to bring!
Listening Prayer
This is Debbie Popielarczyk, a long time member of All Saints and now St. Barts. Although she is unable to join us in person, she would love to be able to serve our congregation with the gifts she carries. But first she would like to introduce a program called NOVO which encourages and empowers you with new ways of praying using your spiritual authority. It meets once a month for 6 months as well as once a month with your "huddle" group to practice the learned prayer tools.
These are the topics over the 6 month course:
- What is Spiritual Authority?
- Declarative Prayer and Blessing
- Hearing God as the Basis for Spiritual Authority
- Inner Healing as a Key Component to Exercising Spiritual Authority
- Operating as a Royal Priest in the Royal Priesthood
- Physical Healing and the In-breaking of the Kingdom
- Reclaiming Territory and the Reality of the Supernatural Classes begin September 11th so be sure to sign up at pdt.cohort@novo.org.
I personally would like to offer, in a one on one format, anyone from St. Barts who is interested in using these prayer tools to “Listen to God”. If you would like to schedule a time to learn more about this, please contact me at popdeb830@gmail.com or schedule a time to talk through this link.
Alpha Starts Next Tuesday!
This past Tuesday the leaders, hosts and hospitality team got together to begin praying into Alpha for this fall. Not only is Alpha a great time to come experience hospitality, community, talk about the basics of the Christian faith but, ultimately, a place to explore the meaning of life. We would like to encourage as many people as we can to join us in Alpha since it will act as our building block for Connect Groups. If you would like a little more information on Alpha follow this link to our website which includes the questions we will be covering over the next 10 weeks. It's not too late to sign up!
Christ Is The Host And We Are His Guests
This Sunday we will be looking at a different kind of generosity, the kind that Jesus teaches is about in Luke 14. As generosity and hospitality go hand in hand, we learn that when we invite people over it should not be about entertaining them, it should not be about us as the host, but should actually be about listening and serving the guest. What does this mean, then, that "Christ is the host and we are His guests"? And, furthermore, how can we pursue this practically?
You're Not Going to Want to Miss This Sunday!
An update from Cristina, our children's ministry coordinator, as well as some directions for if your child is participating in worship this Sunday! Along with everything the children will have going on, we are also announcing the fall calendar which consists of church-wide events, adult education opportunities, and space for intentional times of communing together as a community. This Sunday we will also be providing an updated volunteer leaflet; if you are interested in volunteering with us for the first time or you would like to participate with us more/in a different way this would be a great Sunday to let us know!