Sunday Summary

It was another great Sunday here at CSUMC. Here are some of the highlights:

• Rob and Lorelle Wandell shared about the Handbell festival and how it will benefit Carpenter's place. The festival is This Saturday, April 28th at 4:30 and will be held at Rockford Christian High School. Tickets are $5 and proceeds will go to Carpenter's place. Please see the Wandells or Rob Kennan for tickets.
• We heard the news that Betty Lou Leach is finally home!
• Mary Pulliam of Love In The Name of Christ... Love, INC... here in Rockford brought us information on Love, Inc. Reminding us of how important it is for us to all be involved. Love Inc is a strategy for helping those in need in our Community. It connects people with the love of Christ outside the doors of our congregation. What a great ministry!
• The Choir presented "The Colors of Your Love" as the Offetory Anthem.
• The Scriptures were Acts 9:1-20, and John 21: 1-19.
• Rob shared "It is well with my soul" on the piano we had on loan from hosting the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center's presentation of the renowned pianist Awadagin Pratt.

Pastor Keith's sermon was entitled "Love's Symtoms" and here are some highlights from his words:

• "The Goodness of God is always proven to be a reality in our lives and in our world, even in the face of tragedy like what we witnessed at Virginia Tech."
• The story of Jesus speaking to Peter and asking repeatedly, "Do you love me" is Jesus' way of letting PEter know that he is forgiven for his denial. Three denials become three confessions of love.
• Evidence of Love: On May 2, 1962, a dramatic advertisement appeared in the San Francisco examiner: “I don’t want my husband to die in the gas chamber for a crime he did not commit. I will therefore offer my services for 10 years as a cook, maid, or housekeeper to any leading attorney who will defend him and bring about his vindication.” One of San Francisco’s greatest attorneys, Vincent Hallinan, read or heard about the ad and contacted Gladys Kidd, who had placed it. Her husband, Robert Lee Kidd, was about to be tried for the slaying of an elderly antique dealer. Kidd’s fingerprints had been found on a bloodstained ornate sword in the victim’s shop.
  During the trial, Hallinan proved that the antique dealer had not been killed by the sword, and that Kidd’s fingerprints and blood on the sword got there because Kidd had once toyed with it while playfully dueling with a friend when they were both out shopping. The jury, after 11 hours, found Kidd to be not guilty.
• Evidence of Love: The story of Liviu Librescu, a holocaust survivor who was killed trying to protect his students in the Virginia Tech Tragedy.
• Evidence of Love: Jesus. Alghough he had been denied and betrayed, he did not stop loving the disciples. He came back to forgive them and help them learn how to minister without him.
• Pastor Keith also told this story: A Rabbi once asked his students, “How can you tell when night has ended and the day is about to begin?” The students argued for a while and finally one of them said, “Rabbi, could it be when you look off in the distance and see two trees you are able to tell that one is a fig tree and the other is a palm tree?” The Rabbi answered, “No.”
  So the students argued a bit longer until another brave pupil offered an answer. Rabbi, could it be when you look off in the distance, and seeing two animals, are able to distinguish that one is a sheep and the other is a dog?” Again the Rabbi answered, “No.”Finally, exasperated the students asked, “Rabbi, tell us then, how do you know when the night has ended and the day is about to begin?” The Rabbi looked at each of them in turn and said “It is when you can look upon the face of any man, woman or child and see there a brother or a sister. Because if you cannot do that, no matter what time of day it is, it is still night.”
• Pastor Keith reminded us that feeding God's sheep means showing God's love to all people!

If you missed any of our services this weekend, please join us again this week. Saturday at 5:12, Sundays at 8 and 10:45!

5:12...the Time and Place to be on Saturday Nights!

The 5:12 service this week rocked yet again! We had 40 people worshipping together with songs of praise. We had a special guest from Love, Inc., and the cafe' was busy after the service. How great it was to worship with everyone and share in God's love at this special time!

Please spread the word about the 5:12 and come Rejoice with us!!

Great Concert!

All reports state that the concert at Wesley Willows last night was a great success! Congratulations to the youth and children's choirs for all their hard work and for their willingness to share their gifts with the community. They had a great audience and everyone loved hearing them sing!

Dining with Deborah and Dorcas

I had a wonderful day today with two of our UMW (United Methodist Women) circles. I first stopped in at the Deborah circle for coffee hour. The ladies were so welcoming and it was a wonderful meeting! I shared with them my story of how I came to be a minister and also shared my ideas and excitement about what is going on at CSUMC. Then it was off to lunch at Dorcas Circle...it was a delicious lunch! I shared ideas and stories with those wonderful ladies as well. What a wonderful way to spend the morning! We have amazing UMW groups here at CSUMC! Thanks Ladies!

PRIMETIME PREVIEW!

Tonight in Primetime, there's alot going on! The biggest thing is that the youth and the children's choirs will be heading out to Wesley Willows for a concert. This should be a really special event for the kids AND for the WW residents, so we're all very excited!

There is NO BIBLE IDOL tonight due to the concert!

The Sunday Summary

Sunday was a great day to be in worship here at Court Street. Spring has finally sprung in Rockford and you could feel the warmth inside the sanctuary. The choir was on a "break" this week (they deserved it after all of that fantastic Easter music). Becca brought the message this week. The scriptures were Psalm 150 and John 20:19-31.

Pastor Keith did a neat trick with a glass of water, a paper clip and a piece of paper. Did you know you can get a paperclip to float in a glass of water?? Pastor Keith showed us how (well, he showed us at the 10:45...at 8:00 it didn't quite work out).

Becca's sermon can be read by clicking here.

We had a "mission moment" at each service about Rosecrance and the wonderful work that they do. Please remember to save your pennies for Rosecrance!

Finally, the hard part...

We said goodbye to Julia Schade. Julia has been the Assistant Music Director here at CSUMC for nearly 2 years. She has worked tirelessly to bring quality music to our church and served in the "interim" between Music Directors. She is amazingly talented and has so many gifts. Julia shared her Organ and Drum postlude with us again this week and it was a fitting end for her time here. She received a much deserved standing Ovation. Julia moves on to become the Music Director at Grace United Methodist Church here in Rockford. We will miss her very much and we wish her much success and happiness as she grows and develops in her musical career.

Rejoice Rocks!

The 5:12 service on Saturday was very exciting. We had 50 people in attendance! The Cafe was definately the hightlight of the evening and big thanks go out to Betsy and the Galloway's for all their work in the Cafe.

Here's what one of our youth had to say:

It was INCREDIBLE !!!! We had over 50 people there and we had great music and prayer and great goodies at the END !! All you guys who missed it dont feel bad come back this Saturday because God always gives us a second chance So... here's yours if you want a fun filled LIFE Come here at 5:12!! I promise you will have a BLAST and wont wanna leave!

Couldn't say it better myself...please join us this Saturday at 5:12!