Confirmation Sunday/National Day of Prayer

This week will be a banner week for St. John. On Saturday and Sunday, we will celebrate with 37 of our students who will be confirming the faith God has given them. Thirty-Seven. Wow. We've had to make some adjustments to the 'typical' schedule that we would normally have for a confirmation weekend, just so everything will be able to flow smoothly Saturday (when the students will share their faith statements/eat brunch by the LWML/take pictures) and Sunday (37 Confirmation Rites spread between 3 services). We're excited as we anticipate a great response from not only these young people but also all those coming to St. John to celebrate with them.

Also this week, we will have an opportunity to participate in the National Day of Prayer (Thursday, May 6th). We will have our sanctuary open throughout the day so that any and all people may pray with one of our pastors and prayer team members, with prayer cards available to help focus your thoughts.

If you're not able to come to our campus, the National Day of Prayer will follow you wherever you are. You will receive a prayer card in your bulletin on Sunday (May 2), and we encourage you to take this to work or even around your neighborhood. Ask those around you if they have any prayer requests that you can write on your card, and then on Thursday hold these individuals up in prayer. You may be surprised what people may say to you...and who they will ask for you to pray for. Bring your card back to St. John on the 9th so that we may continue to pray for these individuals and concerns in the weeks to come.

Progress - at least a bit of it...

Here are three panoramas showing the progress to date (4/22/2010) on the new worship center. Some of the things you don't see is the removal of extraneous water and gas lines, replacement of gas lines to current buildings, and re-routing of plumbing, electrical and gas lines - all to get things in order for the foundation to be laid and the worship center to go up.


This shows the space before any trees were removed and ground was leveled. Although a number of trees had to be removed there are still more than 50 large trees on the north 1/4 our the church's property (the area bounded by Spring Cypress and Huffmeister between the current sanctuary and the gravel parking area east of the Children's Ministry Center.


This shows that same area after trees were removed and ground is being leveled.


This is a view from above - from the parapet above the restrooms in the current sanctuary.

All three of these panoramas are three photos stitched together to make one seamless image. Watch this space for more photos as the construction program continues.

Go!

It's official; the deed has been recorded. The actual construction has begun! The construction fence goes up on Monday. Soon we will see more and more work on the new worship center. What will it be like to walk into the new worship center? What will it be like to have plenty of room for family, friends, and new folks who join us? What will it be like to experience the grace of God in this new place?
We can only imagine and look forward to experiencing these feelings.
In the mean time, however, we rejoice in the grace of God in Christ and thank him that we have an eternal home in heaven, mansions being prepared for us, and an experience of God's salvation that we can only imagine.
We'll post photos in the weeks to come and watch and see this project take shape. May God bless all who work on this project. May he grant protection to all the workers and give us opportunities to share with them and all who come on our campus the love of Christ and the Good News of God's salvation, and the gift of abundant eternal life through faith in Jesus.
-DLB