Loving the Poor

Proverbs 14:31
He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,
but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
This Sunday PCC will talk about what God's word says about the poor. Our Street Church celebrates 8 years of ministry this year. Here's some words from a family who cook meals for our Street Church gatherings:

We wanted to share briefly with you how serving in this ministry has been such a blessing for our whole family. We have watched God open our children's eyes and soften their hearts toward people, especially those in need. They love to help cook when we have the opportunity. It becomes a family effort. We pray over the food as we prepare it. We talk about Jesus' compassion - how He sees through the sickness, the dirt, the anger and despair - how He sees the heart, how He loves. We talk about the dirt in our own lives, our brokenness, our need for grace and compassion from a God who adores us - all of us. It's so much more than cooking to meet a need for that week. So much more than a check box on a list of serving to-do's. We're watching God mold our kids (right along with us), break their hearts for people many would rather forget about, grow compassion in them, help them to see
beyond themselves, and realize the joy of serving. Thank you for this ministry, Tony. Thank you for your vision, your heart, your dedication in leading Street Church for so many years. Thank you for letting us participate in this way. Many times we've prayed that God would help our tiny 1920's Wedgewood oven make it through another dinner (ha!) and just like the loaves and fishes, He provides!



What a testimony to how God can use us. Every Christ follower is called to love the poor. How are you serving?

InnerChange

This Sunday we have a special guest speaker joining us for our Street Church Team lunch (Sunday 1/25 12:30pm). His name is Matt Miles, he actually interned with PCC back in 1999. He now serves with Innerchange in San Francisco and has a great heart and ability to serve with the poor- seeing God's Kingdom come. This video here describes a little bit of what InnerChange is all about. If you are interested in hearing about innerChange and/or learning how this can help you be more effective in ministry please join us and RSVP to me at tonyg@peninsulacovenant.com

Christmas Day

This year Wendy and I wanted to do Christmas differently. We really trimmed down our gift giving. For so many reasons (spiritual satisfaction, living on one income, avoiding materialism) we wanted a simple Christmas that focused on Jesus. I'm very convicted of my own materialistic tendencies. I confess I love to get and buy stuff, and I know that this Christmas I had to make some intentional choices to downsize the gift giving, so I can implement this more in my whole lifestyle. I told a lot of my family not to worry about gifts, and I really think it helped prevent the stress of the season from overtaking us.

For my daughter, our morning started out singing songs and making our way to our living room where she received three wrapped gifts (books) from us. With out so much time gathered around gifts (that she'll quickly forget about and not want anyway) we were able to spend more of our time simply being together as a family, playing, eating, etc. We gave her this one specially,created Dora book from Shutterfly, and it was so hilarious her reaction.

Wendy and I decided not to exchange gifts and to find other ways to express our love and appreciation. We really felt like we truly did get that this season. After our Dora book reading session, we made our way to our friend Jenni Ingram's house for what we fondly called, "WAFFLE BALLS!" They were out of this breakfast world. So good. It's actually called Aebleskiver, a Danish delicacy. They are like waffle donut holes. My daughter ate 2. I ate 11.
Too bad the gym was closed today.
After our waffle balls we took a nice, long, family nap. Then made our way to my in-laws for some more celebrating.
Overall, We enjoyed great times with family and friends in California and Chicago this Christmas 2008. We had times of intentional conversation and prayer. We were able to serve together and have time to reflect, read, and pray. I have to share this, though! Here's one gift I did get that had a positive effect on me!
Compassion International is a well-known organization that I love, and have sponsored a child with them for about ten years. It's a great way to give and help children in poverty. This was one gift that fit just right and felt good that it wasn't about ME! And since this is my 1st Christmas in California (since we are usually in Chicago) I was able to join our Street Church family to celebrate tonight, another great gift.Ending the day with my friends on the street was one of Christmas' true blessings! To be outside in the cold, simply celebrating with others by eating together and singing was a real gift. It was such a special way to for me to feel that the true celebration of Christmas wasn't lost in my busyness or the typical holiday commercialism. Thank you God for coming into our lives. Thank you Jesus for coming into our cold and broken world, being a homeless king, and choosing humility. We worship you and thank you.

PCC's Thanksgiving Lunch

50ish volunteers who serve over 200ish people can be a challenge. I simply call it Beautiful Chaos. It was beautiful amidst the craziness. The craziness had nothing to do with organization (because this year we had the best of our 6 years) but simply due to the amount of people. There were a lot. But like I said, organization was not an issue. It was top notch this year-another reason I am thankful. The servers were lead by an amazing duo who took it to a new level, the kitchen's always been under control by the same woman (and her family) that has done it every year, we had a "dispatcher" this year coordinating the driving, greeting was led by one of the warmest people around, set-up was perfect, and clean-up happened..somehow the whole time. The most exciting part was the people who came. God's kingdom was represented. It's been a great day. Thanks God.

Street Church update

“..and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.”
Isaiah 58:10

Hello Street Church Family! In this blog:

-1-website coming
-2-Need extra help this month
-3-Thanksgiving heads up
-4-Next meetings—mark your calendar
-5-Needs

So thankful for all you do in serving and giving your time to our friends at Street Church!
Our PCC High School Students served our Street Church brothers and sisters last night for a special meal! I am so thankful to see God moving and blessing on the streets. I have been so encouraged by reading Isaiah 58 lately. I dare you to read about the fasting and praying that God asks of us. It’s humbling and inspiring.



1-GREAT NEWS!!

We will launch a website in September specifically for Street Church. It will be an interactive site used for those on the street to find help and food, as well as information for you as leaders and servers in the ministry.

We will have stories, hopefully videos, and pictures of what God is doing. Please pray for this project that God uses it to bring many people to himself and also for those creating it and taking the photos to see JESUS through the least of these.

2-Need more coverage on Tuesday and Thursday nights
I will be gone for almost all of the Tuesdays this month. I need some rest from a very busy summer and I am vacationing, as well. I will also be in Dallas to participate in a conference (with Ruby Jacques, and some others from PCC), specifically on compassion and justice—and preparing for a class that we are offering on that very topic this fall!!

So, I would really appreciate lots of coverage on the street in my absence!

Also—our Thursday team is in need of more leaders to befriend, talk, and pray. We always lose a lot of help after summer when our interns and college students return back home. And the summer months are easier and warmer, but we always anticipate needing helping when winter comes. Please pray about joining us from 9-10:30pm behind café barrone on any Tuesday or Thursday night.


3-THANKSGIVING LUNCH IS APPROACHING

Please consider participating in our fifth annual Thanksgiving Lunch for the whole church body and our friends from the street! November 22nd at 11:30am in the fellowship hall!! We need lots of gifted people to make this amazing experience happen.

4-NEXT STREET CHURCH LUNCH MEETING
10/21-Lunch 12:30-(Thanksgiving planning)
11/18-Thanksgiving lunch pre-prep meeting



5- WE NEED SOME DRIVERS THIS MONTH on Tuesdays IN AUGUST AND A MEAL FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18TH. If you are able to take care of these needs—please contact Kirsten at 364.3604

Thanks!

Happy August to you all!
tony

Update for our Street Church

Hello all. In Jeremiah 22:16, God fondly remembers the reign of King Josiah because he took care of the poor and needy. God says, “Isn’t that what it means to know me?” I love this because God says that to know him means to know his heart and his heart is for the poor and needy! That’s what we are about on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Much thanks to all of you who served on Thanksgiving, too. Those that went were raving about the food!

In this edition:
1-Great news: another church partnership, music, and resumes
2-Storage, donations, and Christmas gifts
3-Tuesday cooker schedule
4-Still looking for Thursday servers and leaders
5-Next lunch meeting January 12
*********************************

1-It is getting very cold out on the street, but that won’t stop the church from gathering. We had a fantastic night last night where lots of coats and scarves were given out. Our serving team is growing with all ages of people showing love and hospitality out there. And we are very excited to have music now! Colin, a gifted musician from Central Peninsula Church, has joined us and wants to use his music to bless our friends. They loved it last night We also have Andrea who works at the Maple Street Shelter in RWC who has joined us and offering to help write resumes for those looking for jobs! I have also met with the new young adults pastor at CPC and he is praying about how we can partner together to be externally focused!

2-Gloria Ambrosini has been generously giving a storage for all the sock and coat donations and we finally have a liaison who has stepped up to help coordinate what’s in the storage to the street. Welcome Jodi Brison to our team! Contact her at jodi210@hotmail.com if you want to help/donate or be involved with our special Christmas gift give-out on Dec 19th! (See below #3)

3-This month: December Tuesdays cooking/picking up

5-Eileen Clark/Nikki Forshee
12-Mary Hanlon/Kim Learned
19-Mary Sleeper/Nikki Forshee—this is our special night we’ll be caroling and giving out gift bags, too! Email jodi210@hotmail.com for info, to donate, or get involved. Or just come make cookies and sing with us at 9pm!
26-Esther Strathdee/Kim learned

Thursdays Ruby Jacques has the list if you need more info!

We are looking into the New Year, and if you know anyone who can cook or give of their time, please let me know. Cooks, if you plan on continuing in the New Year, let me know!

4-Please pray for our Thursday team. Our leaders, The Jacques need to retire from their weekly duties (they have served for over 2 years) and would like to train up a team of people to serve and facilitate Thursday nights starting the first of the year. If you or anyone you know can help, please let us know.

5-Next team lunch meeting is January 12th. 12:30pm-2 in the fireside room! Hope to see you all there for lunch, prayer, training, and connecting new people to our ministry. Invite your friends, neighbors, and care group members.



God bless you all as you celebrate Jesus this season!

Grateful for all of you,

Tony