Thursday's Thoughts 03/27/08

Happy Easter!What an incredible Holy Week and Easter celebration!  I am still singing Alleluia because of the Easter miracle --we had so many wonderful people in church this Sunday!  The music was fabulous!  With Gina gifting us with her incredible voice, backed up by our Fairview band (yes it seems we have one!) and Ericka’s angelic flute!  We couldn’t have bought a better service!  And the most amazing thing was that our volunteers pulled it off alone!   And then there was the really special kids time that Judy Armstrong did with our children of the church—she had name tags and had looked up the meanings of most of the kids in church and shared with us all that God knows each of us by name!   That was followed by the decoration of the cross –what was once a vehicle for death and destruction transformed into a symbol of living life!  The kids put the flowers on the cross that Betsy Zafuto lovingly and creatively made of us and brought the cross to life with all the colors of the rainbow as it became a gorgeous flower arrangement and a poignant symbol of Easter Resurrection!    So many of you brought flowers in the name of your loved ones you remember and honor and the church was simply alive with love!  What a day!  Alleluia indeed!

Another exciting thing was that Easter followed Fairview’s biggest week ever in the media!  During the week we were mentioned every day in our local paper: The Daily Pilot–twice on the front page, and we even made news on the local Orange County TV station: KDOC!  Wow!  If you missed it –read about it online in our archives  http://www.ocfairviewchurch.org/community/in-the-news  Something is happening here!   Truly this is the place to be!  Since Easter is a story about resurrection –coming back to life—I see Fairview’s story living into the Easter celebration!  We are definitely coming back to life!  We’ve been steadily regaining momentum and this week was certainly a sign that truly there is new life here!   When the children all crammed in around the cross on Sunday morning, I thought to myself a phrase that Alonzo and I throw around, “Now there’s a problem we like to have!”  When we’re complaining that there isn’t enough space, I think, “Hooray! We need to figure out a way to handle more people! Truly a problem we like to have!” May we always be blessed with too many children to know what to do with!   (Let’s just hope we hire our Sunday School coordinator soon!)

Speaking of hiring…  this Sunday is a day we’ve LONG waited for!   Yes, the music committee has been working hard and all of us have been waiting on pins and needles for the day we can finally say we have a Music Director again!   Well this Sunday, we’ll be welcoming into our community, our brand new Music Director, Sean Burns!  Come out this Sunday and meet Sean!   And let’s celebrate the dedication of the music committee while we’re at it! 

So much going on!  See you Sunday!

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The Wide, Wide World of Theology!

Easter Reflections

And only with OUR SOUL
can we make our 'pilgrimage to God'
and inherit the Easter Gift of ETERNAL LIFE

Helen Steiner Rice

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Christ,

but to give to all who would believe…

Amen.

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Announcements

Innovator Articles are due! 

Last chance to get them into Jeannie before we mail them out next week!

office@ocfairviewchurch.org

Divine on the Vine: Word and Wine on Wednesdays!

Wednesday, April 2^nd  at 7:00pm

Join us for Wine, Juice, Cheese and Goodies! 

We love to study, question, discuss and grow.

Men’s Breakfast, Saturday April 5th

8am at the Chicken Coop

Start the month off with a hefty dose of Fairview Testosterone!

Join the men of Fairview for breakfast, conversation, and fine fellowship!

Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?

Saturday, April 5th

You won’t want to miss this fun evening!

We can’t tell you much…but we can tell you –you’re guaranteed to have a great meal!

Sign up for the Dinner on Sunday

You won’t know where you’re going until an hour or so before the dinner  --and guess what your host won’t know either!

Sign up for fun!   See Fran on the patio this Sunday!

Americans United For Separation of Church and State

Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director, will be speaking!

St Mark Presbyterian Church, April 7^th 6pm

Women’s Group: 7pm on Tuesday, April 8^th

Join the ladies of Fairview to watch and discuss an inspirational video on forgiveness!

We’ll be at Pam Kamps house: 21861 Summerwind, Huntington Beach

Open, Welcoming, and Affirming Celebration!  April 20^th, 2008

Come and celebrate our new status!  This is a perfect Sunday to invite someone to church! Wear bright colors to celebrate!

Bring your friends and family members!

The Church that Reads Together, Grows Together!

Okay…so I made that up, but it must be true!   A new Fairview book club is forming and our first book is:

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

Join us on Tuesday, April 22^nd at 7pm

at Rebecca and Libby’s house: 3007 Fernheath Ln, Costa Mesa

Living Easter,

Sarah