The Church of the Messiah

The November Ultreya for North Florida will be Tuesday, November 10th, beginning at 6:30 in the evening with a covered-dish potluck meal.  If you have previously attended a Tres Arroyos weekend you are welcomed and encouraged to attend as part of your “fourth day walk.”  As always, we will conclude the evening with the Holy Eucharist.  The Ultreya will be hosted at Church of the Messiah (click HERE for a map and directions) and is open to anyone who has attended a Tres Arroyos weekend or similar 3-day weekend retreat (Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, Lighthouse Via de Christo, etc…).  We look forward to seeing everyone Tuesday night.

For anyone who may not have heard, Frankie Dobbs, the youngest brother of Cyndy Melanson went to be with the Lord on Saturday, October 24th.  There will be a visitation tonight, Friday, October 30, from six to eight o’clock, and the funeral will be Saturday, October 31, beginning at eleven o’clock.  Both services will be held at St. John’s Family Funeral Home (Click HERE for a map).  In lieu of flowers, donations to assist the family can be directed to St. Johns Family Funeral Home.

Rest eternal grant to Frankie, O Lord:
And let light perpetual shine upon him.

May his soul, and the souls of the the faithful departed,
Through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

This Saturday, October 31st, Church of the Messiah will host their third annual All Saints’ Festival.  Every year on All Saints’ Eve, Church of the Messiah hosts the celebration for the local community and parishioners alike.  This year there will be two different bounce houses, games, food, cotton candy, and, of course, lots and lots of candy.  Church of the Messiah has been preparing for this celebration all month, so be sure to come by and have a great time this Halloween, beginning at 4 o’clock and running until 6 o’clock.  If you would like to volunteer, please contact Lizz Looker.

The All Saints’ Day Missions and Development Offering is less than two weeks away!  The year we will collect the offering on All Saints’ Day, November 1st.

The CEC Missions & Development Offering seeks to empower local leaders to provide for themselves. This year we have had great success with cattle fatten project, coffee grinding, banana plantation and a guest House in Sudan.  See more details at the ICCEC Missions Web Site.

The first is to deal with the immediate needs of mercy and clean water. We designate 20% of funds from every donation to meet immediate needs and raise funds for clean water to stop the diseases stealing the children’s future.

The second is to build for the future.   80% of funds are designated to build for the future by building income producing micro-businesses that will allow the churches in Africa to support themselves, and decide their own future.

Immediate Response- Mercy and Clean Water
Faced with emergencies such as diseases, hunger, conflict, corruption we must provide those funds and tools that allow people to make it to tomorrow, while at the same time, working to make tomorrow better.  To that end we provide 20% of the funds raised to mercy missions and raise funds for clean water.

Lasting Change- Micro Businesses  Development project are about the long term change of the culture and environment.  To create local income producing businesses that allow the local churches to raise funds to build churches, schools, orphanages, clinics.  This allows the future of the churches to no longer be at the dependent on donors.  This builds stability into the future of the church in Africa.

Recent Project includes a Hostel in Southern Sudan, Cattle Fatten in Kenya and Tanzania, Carpentry and Furniture business in Rwanda and Burundi, a Banana Orchard and Coffee grinding and sales.

Please consider supporting these development and mercy projects and prayerfully consider your donations this All Saints’ Day, November 1st.

The October Ultreya for North Florida will be Tuesday, October 13th, beginning at 6:30 in the evening with a covered-dish potluck meal.  If you have previously attended a Tres Arroyos weekend you are welcomed and encouraged to attend as part of your “fourth day walk.”  As always, we will conclude the evening with the Holy Eucharist.  The Ultreya will be hosted at Church of the Messiah (click HERE for a map and directions) and is open to anyone who has attended a Tres Arroyos weekend or similar 3-day weekend retreat (Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, Lighthouse Via de Christo, etc…).  We look forward to seeing everyone Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, October 6th, Bp. David Simpson, whose episcopal oversight includes the Bahamas, issued this appeal to clergy of the Diocese of Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin:

Although our sister parish, Church of the Nativity, in Nassau, Bahamas, was not struck by the recent hurricane, other parts of the nation most certainly were. In response to this humanitarian crisis, the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection and the Diocese of Florida are undertaking a Hurricane Relief Fund to assist the people of the Bahamas in restoring their lives and property in the aftermath of the storm.

At the Cathedral, we will be collecting items as well as cash. Outside the Cathedral, however, given transportation issues, it seems best to appeal for financial contributions. We will then take all such cash contributions and purchase supplies locally to be sent to the Bahamas. We will be working with Fr. Bowleg in this regard to ensure that our contributions are received properly and distributed wisely.

If you are inclined to join in this effort, you can make your checks out to the Diocese of Florida, clearly earmarked “Bahamas Hurricane Relief”.

Worshipers at Church of the Nativity, CEC, in Nassau, Bahamas.

For those wishing to send checks directly to the Diocese of Florida, the address is 6701 SW 25th St, Miramar, FL 33023.   Alternatively those withing to make donations make make checks payable to Church of the Messiah, clearly marked “Bahamas Hurricane Relief” and we will send those donations out next week.

This Saturday morning, at 10 o’clock, Fr. Terry Gensemer, International Director of CEC For Life, will lead the local pro-life community in a Liturgy for the PreBorn.  The Liturgy will be held in the public right-of-way in front of A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville (Click HERE for a Map).  The service is being held in conjunction with Jacksonville’s Fall 40 Days for Life campaign.  The Liturgy for the PreBorn is a service similar to a prayers at the time of death for the many preborn children who will face death in abortion clinics in Jacksonville and all over America each day.  A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville is one clinic in Jacksonville where abortions are performed six days a week so people will be praying at the same time women and children could be going into the clinic to have abortions.  The following morning, Fr. Gensemer will preach at Church of the Messiah’s 10 o’clock service.

Fr. Terry Gensemer, the International Director for CEC For Life, will visit Church of the Messiah October 3-4.   During his time at Church of  the Messiah, Fr. Gensemer will lead a Liturgy for the Pre-Born outside of one of Jacksonville’s most notorious abortion clinics as part of the annual 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign.  Sunday morning, Fr. Gensemer will preach and celebrate the Holy Eucharist at Church of the Messiah’s regular services beginning at 10 o’clock.

In addition to leading CEC For Life and sitting on the Patriarch’s Council, Fr. Gensemer is a Board Member of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, a Pastoral Care Associate for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, and the Pastoral Director for the Society of Centurions, an organization which hosts healing retreats for those who have left the abortion industry.  Fr. Gensemer’s tireless work for the Pro-Life cause has taken him to five different continents and countless churches across the world.  On this trip, Fr. Gensemer will be joined by his wife Patti.

Be sure to mark your calendars because October 3-4 are going to be an exciting weekend.  There is never a dull moment with Fr. Terry and Patti Gensemer around.  Be sure to join us for each of these powerful events.

This Sunday, September 20th, 40 Days for Life will hold a Kickoff Rally to begin their annual fall campaign.  The Kickoff Rally begins at 4:45 and will include a preview of this year’s Fall Campaign, testimonies from Dr. Pete and Patricia Kuhlman on the importance of prayer in the Campaign, and prayer in front of one of Jacksonville’s abortion clinics.  This year, Fr. Scott Looker has been asked to open the rally in prayer.   The Kickoff Rally will take place in the parking lot of the pro-life Women’s Help Center.  Please park at Prince of Peace Roman-Catholic Church (Click HERE for a map).

For those unfamiliar with it, “40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion. The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion.”

This year Church of the Messiah’s Women’s Ministry will be joining Christian Healing Ministries at the Captivate 2015 Conference.  If you are going to attend Captivate 2015, please have $85 ready by this Sunday.   Captivate is CHM’s annual conference and the focus of this event is worship, teaching, and ministry.  The conference runs October 1st through 3rd and will begin Thursday evening, will have sessions all day Friday, and conclude Saturday afternoon.  You can click HERE for last year’s schedule. For all the information on the conference, you may click HERE. Church of the Messiah will be reserving one room at the Hyatt Regency as a women’s hospitality lounge during the conference. If you would like to stay at the hotel, visit Christian Healing Ministry’s website.