Weekly News – Feb. 17th, 2013
What’s Happening This Week
Join us next Sunday, February 24th at 11am as we continue our series, “The Upsidedown Kingdom: A journey through the teaching of Jesus.” Our lead pastor Timothy Lloyd will be looking at Matthew 5:8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”. Don’t forget that if you’ve missed any sermons, you can catch up with our podcasts or sermon videos.
Congregational Vision Meeting Update – If you didn’t get a copy of the email Tim sent out on Monday about the future of our congregation, please read about the announcement and download the PDF describing our 2013 Vision. With the realization that our growing church has a MUCH larger geographic reach than originally anticipated, we are in the process of transitioning our congregation’s name to “Eastside Church” in order to better embrace this more inclusive vision God clearly has for our future.
Showing of Traces of the Trade on Sat. February 23rd at 7:00pm – Mark your calendars for our next documentary showing. We will be showing “Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North” as we seek to engage & understand issues of the slave trade & structural sin. There will be a time of discussion to follow. You can learn more at our website.
Coffee with the Pastors, Feb. 24th from 4-6pm – Are you interested in taking the next step with Eastside Church? Join us for Coffee With the Pastors. Here you will learn from our pastoral leadership about Eastside Church, our denominational tribe, & ways you can get plugged in at Oakhurst. Those who participate will be given the opportunity to officially become a Covenant Member of Eastside Church in worship the following Sunday morning (March 3rd at 11am). If you plan to attend, please RSVP to tim@eastsideatl.org. Childcare is available upon request.
Pre-service prayer – 10am every Sunday before church we have an informal time of prayer in the prayer corner. This is a time when we intentionally pray for the church, its growth, and existence. Consider joining in this time of prayer for the church and centering before worship.
Growth groups (small groups) are the way we connect more intimately with each other at Oakhurst. If you’re interested in learning more about joining a Growth Group please contact Trent Lloyd – trent@eastsideatl.org. We’re also currently seeking to start a men’s growth group. If you’re interested in being part of this, please email Trent.
Ways to Connect, Grow, & Serve Together
New Women’s Bible Study – on Tuesdays from 9:30-11:30am at the church – Starts on Mar. 5tht & continues through the end of April. They’re study to TBD – stay tuned. Childcare is provided. RSVP with Roxanne Melendez at roxanniemarie@hotmail.com by February 26th.
Save the Date! March 23 at 2pm – For Eastside Church’s 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Oakhurst Garden (Wylde Center). All are welcome!
Save the Date! – Eastside Church’s Summer Camp 2013 will be held June 17-21, 2013. We will offer a half day and full day option, so mark your calendars and invite a friend! More details, including theme, volunteer opportunities, and registration, will follow soon!
Give & Take Bucket – this is a sustained food drive at the church for those inside and outside our congregation. The goal is to have a place where anyone can take food & anyone can give. If you’re having a hard time with groceries one week or know some who is, please take some food! If you have a surplus, please leave some for others!
Buy your coffee, chocolate, & tea at church! – As we endeavor to take small steps toward justice we’re selling fair trade products in the lobby after church from Equal Exchange. Buying here supports Oakhurst Chuch, the Co-op, & UMCOR! Stop by the info table to buy some today & get in the habit of buying your chocolate & coffee at church!
We always need help on Thursday evenings from 6:30-7:30 to clean the church in preparation for worship. There is a sign up sheet at the information table for those able to contribute. This is an easy way to serve as well as to get connected with others in the church.
Join our online community at Eastside Church Community Builder. Create an account by signing up at www.eastsideatl.org in the upper right corner. This account allows you to give online, request to join a small group, view service opportunities & more.
Did the service prompt any thoughts or questions for you? We believe that transformation happens in community and we’d like to keep the conversation going whether it’s about the music, confession, the artwork, sermon, or anything else. You can engage in a conversation by commenting on the sermon blog post at ww.eastsideatl.org/sermons, by commenting on the sermon post on our Facebook page, via email – questions@eastsideatl.org (we’ll post for you as a blog post), or by replying @eastsideumc on Twitter.