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A Word From Stefanie Regarding the Harvest Festival

Dear Seaside,

Again and again I am amazed by the generosity of this church. When you are asked to give of your time and resources, you respond to the call with a resounding “Yes!” I know this because each October I ask you to bring Halloween Candy for our Harvest Festival…and each October your donations fill my office to the ceiling: Twix, Kit Kat and Skittles as far as the eye can see!

Our Harvest Festival is a wonderful opportunity each year to minister to children and families in our community by simply offering them a fun and safe environment to show of their costumes, play some games, win prizes and even eat dinner together as a family. 

This year’s Harvest Festival was going to be held earlier in the month due to the change in dates for the Country Fair. But after meeting with leaders of the church, staff and members of the Christian Formation Ministry Team, a decision was made to cancel the Harvest Festival altogether for this year. Many of the families that we serve are still dealing with the aftermath of the storm, and as of now the children are not even back to school. Many of them are not yet thinking about Halloween Costumes, Jack-o-Lanterns and candy — they are still thinking about how to get life back to normal. 

Additionally, the Harvest Festival requires a good deal of generosity from the congregation, and at this time, we would rather your focus be on the rescue and recovery efforts of so many who are displaced or have lost so much. The next few months are critical for our area, and we know that relief will be necessary for years to come.

We are already looking forward to next year’s Harvest Festival and are using this opportunity to come up with some new and innovative ideas to make next year’s event the best ever! In the meantime, we hope you will continue to pray for all of these families and the schools as they work to move forward. Thank you for all of your support through the years, it is a blessing to serve with you!

In Christ,

Stefanie Riley

What is your picture of God? How do we understand the eternal nature of God? And what about all of that Trinity talk? In this course we will read two different books that will both reshape our mental image of God as well as offer images of understanding God as the God who has always been in community through the Trinity.

The two required books for this course are: What We Talk About When We Talk About God by Rob Bell and The Trinity by Jason Byassee.

Please Note: There is no pre-requisite for this course, but it is recommended that you take “God of the Possible” first.

Click here to register today!

Seaside’s Christian Artists have begun their 2018-2019 session meeting each Tuesday, at 10:00 AM. Toby Brenizer, retired after teaching art for 38 years, facilitates the class. The Christian Artists group consists of novice and professional artists who invite all who are interested in learning new techniques or improving their skills. Each class will consist of a 15 minute introduction to a technique, followed by almost 2 hours of painting fun and
fellowship. Classes  meet in Room 222 and run through the end of May. A list of suggested supplies is available in the church office. Supplies may be purchased at Walmart or Hobby Lobby. Come join this group for instruction and play in the arts!

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Friends in Christ,

Perhaps you have seen Scott around the church this week. He has been attending a few critical meetings here this week. He will officiate at a wedding this weekend. He will preach on Sunday.  Scott is still not really eating solid food, so you can imagine he is quite weak. Additionally, he and I are caring for his mother, who continues to decline. Today she fell again, even though she is under our care at our home.

Most days, Mary Jane is wearing two hats – the hats of both co-pastors.

We are awaiting more tests for Scott and juggling many roles.

We appreciate so much your care and concern. We will continue to give updates to large groups as we have information to share. And we will provide updates in other ways, as we can.

Please understand that Mary Jane is limited in her ability to work if she is repeatedly answering questions regarding Scott’s condition or Bobbette’s condition. Please help others to understand this as well.

We thank God for the blessings of caring, the outpouring of love, and the level of compassion we feel from all of you.

Mary Jane and Scott