On August 13, sometime during the night, the Echo Lake office was broken into

and turned upside down by an intruder.

The damage was extensive and took many hours to clean up.

Police were not notified.

Fortunately, the masked vandal was apprehended and removed from the property.

Many thanks to all who helped clean up after this unexpected visitor!

He has not returned… yet…

Carol and Chris Colie are moving this week- and we’d like to lend them a hand.

If you can help them move on Saturday morning, Sept. 4 (that’s this Saturday), we’d love to have the help!

Meet at the church parking lot at 9:30 and we’ll head up together.

Any questions, drop us a line!

That’s what we’ll be talking about this Sunday in worship- we all have those times when we have to cope with something we had not planned on- what does the Bible have to say about this?

Come join us for worship, let’s see if we can learn about this together!

If you haven’t seen it, check out the AIM paper from Friday, Aug 6. Someone sent in a “Thumbs Up” to our VBS 2010 staff- Great job everyone, thanks for doing such a great job!

(and thank you to whoever sent in that thank you…)

There are so many people who have supported us during this difficult time, and you have to know how very thankful I am for all your love and caring.

I’d especially like to thank Vaughn Young, one of our deacons, and Pastor Jose Marquez of the Kingdom Culture Center for their willingness to use their gifts and teach at our worship services with very little notice. Thank you for allowing God to use you in a powerful way.

Thank you for all the prayer, all the cards and notes, the food, but most important, thank you for your love that we share in Christ. I thank God for Echo Lake every single day.

Bless you!

Brian

This question is often asked when we hold a baptism- so here’s a very brief answer:

• We baptize each other because Jesus was baptized. You can read Matthew 3:13-17 about it.
• We baptize each other because Jesus told us to. You can read his words in Matthew 28:16-20.
• In baptism, we see an illustration of what has happened to us through God’s grace. Read about it in Romans 6:3-4.

If you have any questions about baptism, please contact me at the church, I’d love to talk with you more about it!

Thanking God for our new lives,

Brian

Please join us for a very special time as we baptize some of our young people and have a barbecue in celebration! We will gather at Jill and Ray Canty’s home from 4:00 to 7:00. (Call the church office for directions.) This is a pot-luck party, so bring a dish or dessert to share with others.

RSVP to the church office by Thursday if you plan to attend so that we can plan for the food. If you have any questions, please drop us a line!

We hope to see you there, and by the way, if you are interested in showing your faith in baptism, please let Brian know!

God bless, see you this weekend!

We are going to continue our wonderful tradition of celebrating baptism at the home of Jill and Ray Canty on Saturday, August 7 at 4:00 to 7:00 pm.

If you would like to be baptized, or would just like more information, please contact Brian at church. There will also be an insert this Sunday where you can indicate your interest.

This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our new life in Christ, don’t miss it!

I hate it when I forget something… and I forgot to tell you all about our Food Drive this week!

We held a food drive during VBS this again- the children and families brought in a lot of food, and we want to add to that this Sunday before we bring it over to St. Joe’s Food Pantry.

If you are able to bring in canned goods, cereal and other non-perishable food items, bring it by the church any time this week or on Sunday. Thanks for helping us share with those around us.

It is hard to believe that a week ago we were right in the middle of a great VBS week- We want to thank everyone who made it such a wonderful experience: thank you to all the volunteers and staff who gave so much of themselves, thank you to all the children and their families for coming to be with us, and a huge thank you to God for answering our prayers for the week.

We hope to see you next year, keep an eye out for those dates!