What the heart wants!

Message from Pastor Mori 

Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church The Weekly Newsletter    Message from Pastor Mori Greetings in Christ! Have you ever heard a statement similar to this? "Well, I would love to be able to go to church, but it's hard for me especially at this time." There are many reasons why, but the biggest reason is COVID-19. The next reason is that the world is too hurt, to the point that we are not surprised by the news about gun violence or looting. People are disappointed, the violence that plagues our city,and our summer nights have been overshadowed by violence that has brought destruction.  However, I think this is the time to pray for our city and our world and this is the time to be a church together. Jesus valued the church greatly. In Hebrews 10:25, the author of Hebrews gives us a tremendous reminder of the importance of church attendance: "not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another–and all the more as you see the day approaching."   Paul gave a reminder in the following verse that also serves as a reminder about the body of Christ. Eph. 3:18 …may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height [of the love of Christ]. The phrase "with all the saints" is very interesting. Paul is reminding the church at Ephesus that this process of growing in Christ is not something we can do on our own, or even just within the context of our own families. While we must grow in Christ, we need to be reminded that the love Christ wants us to grow in is one in which we learn in the context and environment of the church or the body of Christ! As a church, we are connected to one another and as a church, we take care and pray for each other.  I would like to encourage you to make church attendance (Zoom Live) a regular and consistent part of your life. We could not meet in person, but we can meet on Zoom. Through zoom worship, You will become a stronger Christian and build up peace as a faithful family.  I believe that we have the capacity to recover and the ability to heal wounds as a church. But the healing will only happen when we open our minds and become united as a church.    This is time for prayer: Pray for the peace, as a church, as a faithful community. Peace be with you, peace be with Ravenswood Fellowship, and Peace be with Chicago!    Blessings  MORI    Give on PayPal Give on PayPal Community Info & Links Garden Project on Saturday, Aug 15  The gardening team would like to keep working on the pond. We will plant new flowers and plants and clean up some broken branches, too. If you can, please come to the church front garden on Saturday, August 15th between 8:30-11:00.   Please bring gardening gloves, trimmer, and/or clipper if you have them.  If you have any questions, please contact  Yuko Darcy  Young People Bible Study - Class of 2024 farewell  Sun Aug 16, 9:00 AM Zoom link  Young People Bible Study invite you to have a chance to congregate and bless the class of 2024. Please stop by between 9:00-9:45 AM, and say goodbye to our class of 2024 and bless their academic year !!  Upper Room Delivery  We will send the Upper Room meditation book to our shut-ins this week, we have a few extra copies(Large print version only) if you like a copy, please feel free stop by the church office.  NIC Prayer Book  Don't worry about anything? That's pretty hard to do these days! In addition to the effects of the pandemic, the economy, and whether the rising momentum against racism will produce change, we all have experienced personal concerns with family, friends, transitions, and lost celebrations. Yet it is when we pray that we are able to pour our hearts and minds out to God. Click here to view the book, and download PDF or place a print-on-demand order through Amazon. The Hope Project People say this is a hard situation. It is very true, but the church never loses hope in Christian history. Jesus Christ gives us hope as he defeats death and sin. Please send your children's art drawing or grandchildren's art drawing to show hope to our neighborhood. We will exhibit the drawings outside of the church. Please look at the poster for the information. The due date is Sunday, Sep 13. More information, please email Pastor Mori email  Backpack Blessings Aug 29 Saturday 10:30 AM This academic year is tough for both students and parents as they need to take online classes. Also, it is a hard situation for teachers and school staff. As a church, we want to bless and support our students and parents and teachers and school staff.    Meet outside the church on the Hermitage side to receive this blessing. We will be doing this blessing with Berry United Methodist Church. (Rev. Matthew Krings) Please look at the poster for the information.  We will have a chance to pray and bless the backpacks. We plan to give a mini sanitizer to all students who come. If you have any question, please email Pastor Mori email  September Japanese Garden Prayer Saturday, Sep 05, 9:00-9:30AM We invite you to the second Japanese Garden prayer gathering to pray for peace and justice. This time we will pray with handbell ringing and listen to Japanese traditional music. I hope you join the prayer so we can start a beautiful fall season with peaceful prayer. We have limited the prayer to fifteen people due to garden capacity, so please sign-up here.  The poster is here.  United Voices of Children "Kids Above All" Back to School Drive Donation  It is time for the Back to School Backpack Drive! School supplies are an expense that many of our families have difficulty affording. The Back to School Drive is underway and our kids need your help to make sure they are ready to learn--no matter where and how they do it! Please look at the flyer. You can purchase and send school supplies from Kids Above All's Amazon Wishlist. Check it out! The donation box in the office, Tue-Fri 10:00-3:00  Church Office Secretary Team Going Out Wednesday, Aug,19 1:00-3:00 PM  Church Office has a ministry meeting outside of the church. 1:00-3:00 PM. if you need to meet the church secretary team, please visit in the morning. Thanks for your understanding.   After Covid-19 Updates. Read about the Phases for Re-Opening here. Is that document too long? Read the summary version here.                                                                                      Links for Worship.  Join Zoom worship by going to this link at 10:30 AM on Sunday: https://zoom.us/j/806489040. Or call in at 1-312-626-6799 (Meeting ID: 806 489 040).  Let's boost our worship! Please sign-up for Worship liturgist and Bible Reader. Sign-up here August Bible Scripture here, Worship Liturgy here. Young People's Bible Study. Ages 12-18 are invited to join the Zoom discussion of Jesus stories at 9 AM on Sunday mornings. Join the Zoom call here (Meeting ID: 828 2305 3546, One-tap mobile+13126266799) Want prayer? During our Prayers of the People, we will read your prayer requests. Submit your prayer requests here.  Download. Get your bulletin here. Having trouble? Try logging off and logging back on to Zoom during the video. Or simply log off and call in.  Missed last week? Check out the Facebook Live video on our page here. Youtube Link here Give on PayPal Our mailing address is: 4511 North Hermitage Ave. Chicago, IL 60640 Contact us at: ravfelumc@yahoo.com (773) 561-2610 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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