Team Uruguay

Please pray for our presbytery's Team Uruguay as it is sent off by the Harvest congregation in San Marcos on December 20th to serve with Missionaries Jonathan and Margaret Falk and the local church leaders in Rivera.

The team is being lead by Dave and Jane Crum and consists of
Emily Cunningham and Kathleen Winslow from Westminster,
Ben Waggoner from Phoenix,
Jacob Shroeder from San Marcos,
Adrian and Jana Crum from Bayview and Temecula,
Geoff Downey, a Westminster student from the Anaheim URC.

The Team will be doing child evangelism and discipleship as well as preaching and teaching to adults in a schedule that promises to be very full. The team flies south on December 21st and returns on January 5th.

Call to Prayer for Czech English Camp 2010

November Call to Prayer


Jerry & Marilyn Farnik and the Prague Church Plant
1. Thank the Lord for His blessing of the Women Conferences with Susan Hunt this past September –over 200 attended
2. Thank the Lord for His blessing of the Kid’s Club in the public schools – many new children attending this year
3. Jerry’s pastoral ministry at the Modrany church
4. English Classes – 200 students this fall!
5. Preparations for English Camp 2010
6. Use of time and energy – scheduling and rest
7. Jerry & Marilyn’s personal growth in the Lord
8. Jared, Autumn, & Havalind and their school studies

English Camp 2010
Team Members Needed
Teachers, classroom aides, childcare providers, and athletic directors are needed for the 2010 English Camp – July 14-26. You must be reasonably physically fit, willing to put away selfishness, and be strong in the Lord (including membership in an OPC or sister Reformed congregation). For more information on how you can serve please contact Sherry Wagner 619-421-1003 / sherrylwagner@ me.com

English Camp Team 2010
1. Thank the Lord for the opportunity to have another camp
2. Sherry Wagner working on plans for next summer’s camp
3. Securing a location in the Czech Republic for the camp
4. The volunteer teachers and helpers needed for 2010
5. Roger Wagner – preparation of evening messages for campers
6. Funds needed to cover costs of the teaching team and camp
7. Three training sessions for teachers beginning in January
8. The Holy Spirit drawing and preparing hearts of campers

Memorial Service for Dr. Joseph Garrisi Info ...

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The following note was received today from Larry McHargue (RE, Calvary OPC, La Mirada).

God bless,
Mike

*****

A few minutes ago I talked with Anne Garrisi. The memorial service for Joe Garrisi will be at the Sky Rose Chapel at Rose Hills on Sunday, Sept. 27th, at 3:00 PM. The service will begin on time, and it will be concluded before 4:30. A reception will follow, but it will be at another location in the Rose Hills Memorial Park. There is a viewing for Joe on Friday evening. I have sent this message to those in my address book that I thought knew Joe. There are undoubtedly some that I have missed. Anne asked me to send this, and she also requested that those of you who receive this message pass it on to those that you think should know about it.

Larry McHargue

Death of Dr. Joseph Garrisi ...

Dear PSC Friends,

Word was received this Lord's Day morning of the passing into glory of Dr. Joseph Garrisi. Please pray for Anne, his wife of many, many years, and the family (including the Rev. John Garrisi, a member of our Presbytery). Dr. Garrisi has served for many, many years as a ruling elder in various churches.

If I hear any details regarding service arrangements, I'll post them here.

*****
Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 8:46 AM

Subject: HOMEGOING: Joseph A. Garrisi, September 3, 1919 - September 20, 2009

This brief note was received a few minutes ago from the Rev. John Garrisi:

My father just died.

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever," (Revelation 22:1 - 5)

the Rev. John Garrisi

Update on Reagan Pasarilla ...

Dear PSC Elders and Folk,

Just a brief update. Regan, our granddaughter, is doing much, much better. If she continues to improve, we hope to hear she's been released by the end of this week. We were able to webcam with her and her mother from the hospital room and she was looking and sounding well.

Thank you, any and all who prayed with us.

God bless,
Pastor Mike

Pray for Reagan Allen (Pasarillas' granddaughter)

Dear PSC Friends,

Our granddaughter, Reagan Allen (turning 6 in two weeks, oldest child of our Sarah and her husband, Jeremy; they live in Birmingham, AL) has been admitted to the hospital and is currently in ICU due to pneumonia. She also has strep throat, but her pneumonia is the cause of her hospitalization. Please ask the Lord with us to grant healing to her little body, that she won't be fearful, and that she will be kept from further complications. As Jeremy and Sarah cast their care for their little girl (there are two younger siblings) upon the Lord, ask him to grant them much comfort, courage and peace through the work of the great Comforter. Their great Shepherd is caring for them all. Thank you for your prayers on Reagan's and her parent's behalf.

Pastor Mike Pasarilla
Grace OPC, Costa Mesa

Latest update on Dr. Garrisi, from late 9/10/09 ...

Pastor Buchanan took Mom into the hospital this morning. John drove up to be with his mother for a couple of days. Dad remains in a very serious condition. He is still in the ICU, has a yeast infection (possibly in the gall bladder), a blood clot in his leg, serious kidney and liver issues. He has been placed on dialysis to help clear his blood. The dialysis has helped him be a little more coherent today. They will continue it. Tomorrow they plan to go through his artery to place a filter in a blood vessel to catch any blood clot that becomes “thrown”. The doctors have not been able to put him on very much pain medication as it lowers his blood pressure and it is already too low.

Thank you for your prayers. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know the One that does!

Diane for the both of us
(Diane is Rev. John Garrisi's wife)

Update on Dr. Garrisi, 9/8/09 ...

Basically my father is not doing well.

The primary care physician thinks he has an infection. Further, he was put on dialysis yesterday and again today because his kidneys and liver are not functioning properly. CT scans of his head and stomach were done last week. They plan to repeat these again tomorrow (Wednesday) to see if he has had a stroke or if he has some internal damage. Also, they plan to do an echo cardiogram to see how his heart is doing.

My mother talked with the surgeon who said that it takes two days to know if the dialysis helped. That would mean Thursday.

Our comfort is that my father and mother both are in the hands of the God who loves them and has a plan for them that leads to heaven.

the Rev. John Garrisi

Update on Dr. Joe Garrisi from 9/4/09 ...

Here’s an update from late Saturday, 09/04/2009:

I just talked with my brother Mike and mother, both of whom are at the hospital. My father is still in ICU. They were talking about moving him to a regular hospital room today, but that appears not to be so. In fact, they had just talked with a physician who said there are no orders to move up at all. So, it looks like he will remain in the ICU until at least Monday. He is eating. He had lunch today. That is a good sign. He is starting to get coherent in is thinking and speech. There is some talk about needing 24 hour sitters. That means someone who would just sit in the room and watch. This would be needed if he is transferred to a regular room. There is nothing definite about this yet.

Thank you all for your concern and prayers. Please pray for our mother as well. She is exhausted.

Rev. John Garrisi

Latest update on Dr. Garrisi - please pray ...

John Garrisi reports that he just talked with his sister, who is at the hospital along with Mrs. Garrisi, their mother.

His sister says that medically Dr. Garrisi is about the same as yesterday. He might have progressed some. But he is in an extreme amount of pain. His face is grimaced and is asking for someone to help him. The intensive care staff said he is getting some pain medication. However, they do not want to give too much because it can affect his breathing. He had a very bad night and removed some of his IV’s. They put the restraints back on him. Further, my sister said they appear not to know what to do with a patient in this condition. We do not know if this level of pain is normal (we assume not) nor how long it is expected to continue.

We request that you pray to our Father in heaven who is the great physician for our father.

Update on Dr. Garrisi ...

Here’s an update:

The surgery ended around 11:45 AM Monday, August 31. Later that afternoon my father started bleeding from his sternum. The decision was made to send him back to surgery to repair what was wrong. So, as I understand it, they reopened the incision, removed some blood clots and repaired what was bleeding. He was back in intensive care around 6:00 PM Monday. This put him back at least six hours in the recovery schedule. Further, the trauma of two surgeries in one day probably caused some more time setbacks. We saw him Tuesday morning and he was still on the ventilator and did not seem to recognize either my mother or me. The ventilator was removed around 1:00 PM Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon he seemed quite uncomfortable as they started to bring him back to consciousness. He was repeating something that sounded like "Pain" and "Help me." He seemed to recognize both of us a bit once in a while. When we left at 5:00 PM he was still mostly unconscious and the staff had not tried to get him to sit up or walk. The nurse said he would be spending the night in intensive care again. My mother plans to visit again on Wednesday.

Given the above, we don’t think he will be coming home this weekend. He seems to be better than yesterday, but not anywhere near well enough to go to a regular hospital room.

Thank you for your prayers. My father is in the hands of his loving God, who is the good shepherd.

the Rev. John Garrisi

Dr. Joe Garrisi, heart valve surgery ...

Dr. Joe Garrisi, the son of the Rev. John Garrisi has just come out of heart valve replacement surgery. (Monday, Aug 31) The surgeon said that the surgery went well. They replaced his aortic valve that had been leaking. He said that other valves are leaking but he thought that this one was the cause of most of his problems. He will soon be taken to Intensive Care and if everything goes on schedule they will have him walking by tomorrow and he could even go home by this weekend.

Dr. Garrisi turns 90 this Thursday!!

Praise God for his care!!

Diane for the both of us

John Garrisi

Team Haiti # 2

The second installment of our Presbytery's Team Haiti 2009 will depart on August 2 following services at Westminster OPC. Please pray as final preparations are made by the team members, asking the Lord to grant them traveling mercies and safety throughout the trip. Ask the Lord to bless the efforts as they work alongside OPC missionaries Ben and Heather Hopp. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would prepare hearts for the seed that will be sown, all to his glory!

Team Leaders:

Rev BJ Gorrell, Westminster OPC

Marcie Winslow, Calhan CO OPC

Team Members:

Leah Baugh, Escondido OPC

Adrian Crum, Chula Vista, OPC

Louisa Herrmann, Long Beach OPC

Jana Lampkins, Torrance OPC

Joshua Lampkins, Torrance OPC

Christine Lehart, Westminster OPC

Samuel Soliz, Bend OR OPC

Theresa Yen, Anaheim OPC

Latest from Okkens, update on outreach effort ...

Outreach Update

Thanks so for your prayers for our outreach to Okudud. A follow-up report is overdue. (Apologies for my lateness!) The outreach went well. A good sized group gathered to hear us teach through our Gospel for Karamoja materials. This location was suggested to us by our friends from Nakathian [an outreach venue last year] who continue as the leadership of the fellowship in that village. Okudud has an interesting and recent history. Famine or other problems often force people to leave rural Karimoja in search of a better life in the cities. They do not always fare so well and many end up on the streets. This problem has led to resettlement efforts by the Ugandan government. Okudud is partly the result of such an effort just this year. So we had the opportunity to minister to such resettled folks as well as to transplants from other parts of Karamoja. They received us warmly.

There is no established church in Okudud, just residents of varying backgrounds and religious faiths (often nominal only). There were Catholics, Anglicans and Mulokoles (‘saved ones’ – in Uganda, this is the closest term to ‘evangelical’ and usually refers to those of the Pentecostal variety). There were also Muslims and Animists. We presented the gospel in four afternoons to a crowd that averaged 81 in attendance. We distributed 73 copies of our booklet—50 in Karimojong and 23 in English. In attendance was a man named Luka, a village leader whose efforts to gather the people for prayer have been unsuccessful. We gave him five copies of the New Testament in Karimojong, along with one copy of the whole Bible in English. Please pray for a harvest of righteousness in that place and for our efforts to keep in contact with the people there.

Please pray as well for our ministry to yet another village called Lomorimor this coming week. It is a season of hosting visitors from the states and so we have planned outreaches to coincide with their time and ministry with us. They have been coming along and teaching the children of the village.

Prayer Request from the Okkens, re: Outreach Effort

The following prayer request was received from the Okkens on Monday, July 6.

Friends and Family,

Please pray with us this week as Pastor Al and David are doing an outreach in an area called Okukud. This is an area where they have tried to resettle Karimojong that were in Kampala. They were given materials for housing and 'plots' of land. There have been many who have ended up settling there, even others that were not part of the resettlement project.

Today was the first day of outreach. Please pray that hearts would be opened as they hear the Gospel.

Thank you,

David and Sunshine Okken

My Father-in-Law

James Noon is my father-in-law who lives in Mission Viejo. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy for melanoma. Though the therapy has proven successful to date, Jim's eighty-three yer old body is has been struggling with the chemotherapy. He has already received two blood transfusions because of low palate counts. He is currently scheduled to undergo his fourth round of chemo next Monday (6/8). Jeanne, my wife, is waiting for the results of the most recent blood test to see if the palates has high enough to begin this round of treatment. Jim is a Christian, but these treatments are a test to his faith. Please pray for Jeanne and her two sisters, Becky and Beth, as they care for their dad. Jeanne is quite exhausted after staying with her dad over the last week to care for him. Pray the Lord may grant the grace, wisdom, strength, and patience to trust Him to depend on His perfect providence.

Orthodox Presbyterian Church General Assembly II

This past Sunday evening (5/31) the Orthodox Presbyterian Churches of Grand Rapids along with the commissioners of the General Assembly gathered for a joint worship service at a local Christian high school gym. Over 800 people gathered and sang God's praise, heard the Word of God, and were served the Lord's Supper. It was a glorious service and a great encouragement to all who attended.

Today (Monday - June 1) General Assembly unanimously passed the Directory for the Public Worship of God. This document will be sent down to the presbytery for their study and vote.

We still have a number of smaller reports, the Chaplains Report, and three appeals to complete before we adjourn at noon on Wednesday.

The Lord has richly blessed this year's assembly with unity, wisdom, and joy. Please continue in prayer for the assembly as they conclude their work on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Orthodox Presbyterian Church General Assembly

The Seventy-Sixth General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church has run very smoothly through Friday. Reports from the Committees on Foreign Missions, Christian Education, and Home Missions and Church Extension and their work were approved unanimously and much enthusiasm and joy. The Lord has richly blessed the OPC this past year in numerous ways. Work will slow down late Saturday and Monday as three appeals and work on the Amended Proposed Revised Version (Appendix 1) of the Directory of Worship are discussed and decided. Please pray for the continued spirit of wisdom, patience, understanding, and unity.

Second Stated Meeting of Presbytery

Thankful for God's blessing on the second stated meeting of the Presbytery.  It is always an encouragement to see the brothers.  The decision to close the Paso Robles work was a rough "No"-answer to our prayers regarding that ministry.  May God bless Pastor Tim Walker and his family.  At the same time, we praise God for the new mission work in Tucson, AZ.  May God bless Mr. Crum's efforts there.  More great news from Mr. Larson regarding the spread of the Reformed faith in Latin America.  Discipline cases are always difficult, but praise God for his grace in steering us partway through the appeal that was before us.

Steve Parker, Bonita OPC

Please pray for Steve as he tries to cope with the side effects of his pain meds.  He was in the ER on Friday night with nausea, but eventually went home.  He's now only taking Tylenol for pain, and seems to be managing as long as he doesn't move around too much.

Steve Parker, Bonita OPC

Steve Parker is scheduled for his prostate surgery tomorrow.  Please pray for a successful procedure and a quick and complete recovery.

Bayview, Chula Vista

   Pat Postma, wife of Bayview ruling elder Roy Postma, has spent another week plus in the hospital.  She was treated for several ailments (including pneumonia), and was finally released to come home again yesterday (Friday, March 13).  We praise God for his mercy, and for the recovery she has made so far.  Please pray for God's continued blessing — that Pat will return to full strength and activity soon.  Thank you for your many prayers on the Postmas' behalf.  They really appreciate your loving support.

Steve Parker update, Bonita OPC

The Rev. Stephen Parker is scheduled for surgery on April 1. Pray that further tests between now and then do indeed show that the tumor is contained to Steve's prostate, and that the surgery will be effectual in eradicating the disease from his body.

Steve Parker, Bonita OPC

   Please pray for our brother, Stephen Parker, who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.  He found out yesterday that a biopsy was mostly positive.  He will have other tests to see if there is any spreading, and anticipates having surgery sometime before Easter.

   Steve writes, “I intellectually and in my heart see and accept this as God's good providence in my life...it will, I hope, make me a better preacher.”

   Please pray that God will use this trial to sanctify both Steve and his family as well as the congregation.  Pray that the surgery will go well and that there will be no complications.

Bayview, Chula Vista

   Please pray for Bayview member, Dr Laura Hendrickson, author and biblical counselor at IBCD, who is leaving Monday for an intensive speaking trip (through March 3) in the Philippines.

   On the itinerary is a child sexual abuse training seminar at a Reformed Baptist orphanage in the Manila area, two conferences at churches, and a biblical counseling conference for Christian secular mental health professionals.

   Please pray for travel mercies, adequate rest, and good health during the trip, as well as grace to communicate (cross-culturally) the wonder of the Bible's clear and relevant answers to the personal issues that cause so many of life's hurts.

Sovereign Grace, Redlands

As mentioned a few weeks we continue to to have a number of visitors from a shuttered independent church. Six continue to attend regularly with five others attending occasionally. On Sunday afternoon, March 1, we are having a new members' class for those interested in learning more about SGOPC or who wish to join. We already have four committed to attend the class but none of these are amongst the new visitors. Please pray many of these new folks will come to the class and seek to became active, committed, growing members of Sovereign Grace.

An Encouragement to Pray

"The great danger facing all of us... is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel [that] life has no meaning at all -- not these things. The danger is that we may fail to perceive life's greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to tender the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God -- and be content to have it so -- that is the danger: that some day we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with husks and trappings of life and have really missed life itself. For life without God, to one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible. That is what one prays one's friends may be spared -- satisfaction with a life that falls short of the best, that has in it no tingle or thrill that comes from a friendship with the Father." - Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), Sermons

Sovereign Grace, Redlands - Spring Evangelism Outreach

Sovereign Grace will begin its Spring Evangelism Emphasis in March. For three months church members and friends will be praying daily for our outreach efforts. Our focus this spring will be "One-to-One Outreach." Members and friends of Sovereign Grace will be asked to pray for and seek out individuals and families to invite to worships services, Bible studies, Men's Breakfasts, Fellowship Lunches, or other Sovereign Grace activities. Special emphasis will be for our folks to invite their contacts to our Easter worship services. Please pray that our entire congregation will get involved on some level in the Evangelism Emphasis. Please pray as well that the Lord will bless and empower this effort to share the Gospel and to reach out to our friends, family, and neighbors. We will keep you updated as to our progress. Thank you for your prayer support.

A Valentines Day Prayer

   On this Valentines Day,  let us pray for ourselves as officers and for the members of our regional churches, that according to the riches of his glory our heavenly Father may grant us to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in our inner being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith—that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that we all may be filled with all the fullness of God.  (Ephesians 3:16-19

Sovereign Grace, Redlands

Praise and Prayer List from First Stated Meeting

Praises:
1] Many new visitors (8) from an independent church that recently closed in the area
2] Involvement of the congregation remains strong
3] Some visitors getting involved in ministry
4] 2008 Budget year ended with a surplus
5] A new family (2 children) uniting with church

Prayer:
1] Spring Evangelism Emphasis: emphasis on “One-to-One” outreach
2] Lord will continue to give us many new visitors
3] New visitors become supportive members
4] Continued elder visitation routine of members
5] Christina: divorcee, supporting four children, brother and mom very ill out of town
6] John & Johanna Rajca: adopting two foster children
7] Better Jobs: John, Catherine, and Maria
8] Lord's financial provision for the ministry
9] Pastor’s growth in grace, leadership in marriage, and being example before leaders and church

Bayview, Chula Vista

Prayer List for the First Stated Meeting

Praises:

• For God’s blessing upon the family visits being made monthly by teams of elders and deacons

• For two new candidates for the office of deacon

• One of our members, Dr Laura Hendrickson, had a book about ministering to children on the autism specturm published by Moody Press last week; pray that God will use it to bless many families that face this challenge.

• For God’s continued financial provision for the church

• For God’s overwhelming blessing on Covenant Christian School in response to our plea in December for financial help to complete the school year; please continue to pray for or funding and increased student enrollment for next year

• Rejoice with JJ & Alicia (Novinger) Lyons in as they await the birth of the newest addition to their family, Emma (expected June 21).

Petitions: 

• A number of our members have been laid low in recent weeks by various illnesses; please pray for their recovery

• Pray for one of our men who faces painful separations from his children, and the expenses of transporting them back and forth to SF as a result of an unwanted (and unbibilical) divorce

• Pray for opportunities for some of our members who are currently seeking (or trying to change) jobs; pray that God would graciously protect the jobs and incomes of the members of all our churches.

• Pray that God will give us a growing vision and burden for our city, Chula Vista, and that we will develop consistent and effective outreach ministries to our neighbors.

• Ask God to make us more faithful and urgent in prayer.

• Pray for Pastor Roger and Sherry as they travel to Tennessee Thursday through Monday to visit with their son and his family.

Take the plunge; post a prayer list

Dear brothers,

   It was great to see you at the meeting yesterday.  It's nice to finish our business early, but (unhappily) that shortens our time for fellowship, which is all to brief and infrequent as it is.

   There were only a couple of printed prayer lists from churches on display at the meeting yesterday.  How about taking the plunge in using the prayer blog by posting a few praises and petitions for your church, so we can lift one another up before the throne of grace?  I'll start…

An encouragement to pray

   The men who have done mighty things for God have always been mighty in prayer, have well understood the possibilities of prayer, and made most of the possibilities. The Son of God, the first of all and the mightiest of all, has shown us the all-potent and far-reaching possibilities of prayer. Paul was might for God because he knew how to use, and how to get others to use, the mighty spiritual forces of prayer.

*  *  *

   God's house is the house of prayer; God's work is the work of prayer. It is the zeal for God's house and the zeal for God's work that makes God's house glorious and His work abide.

   When the prayer-chambers of saints are closed or are entered casually or coldly, then Church rulers are secular, fleshly, materialised; spiritual character sinks to a low level, and the ministry becomes restrained and enfeebled.

   When prayer falls, the world prevails. When prayer fails the Church loses its Divine characteristics, its Divine power; the Church is swallowed up by a proud ecclesiasticism, and the world scoffs at its obvious impotence.               — E.M. Bounds, The Purpose of Prayer

First Stated Meeting of Presbytery

The 1SM of 2009 is coming up on Friday and Saturday.  Let's:

   1.  Pray that God will bring us to the meeting with an eager sense of anticipation at what he will do in us and through us as we prayerfully deliberate and decide the matters that come before us.  May mutual respect and a desire to work together toward a common goal overcome any petty personal inhibitors that may arise in the course of the meeting.

   2.  Pray for the moderator and the clerks as they serve us through the meeting.

   3.  Thank God for the hospitality of the host church and families; may their efforts go smoothly.

   4.  Ask God to prepare our hearts of a rich time of fellowship in prayer as part of our meeting.

   5.  Ask God to strengthen and extend the witness of the congregations of the regional church as a result of our meeting.

   6.  Seek traveling mercies to and from the meeting for all who attend.

   

Sovereign Grace - Redlands

As mentioned last Monday (January 26) we have been having a number of visitors from a shuttered independent church. This past Sunday (February 1) we had seven of their group in our morning worship service. We give much thanks to God for this gracious blessing. Please keep praying as we continue our followup and that these folks will continue to attend and will become positive participants in our church family.

From our RHM

Dave Crum writes:

I ask you to consider setting aside regular times of prayer, and fasting, for the next four months, beseeching our Lord on behalf of Providence OPC in Paso Robles.  Perhaps our Presbytery will instruct me to communicate to our churches a region wide day of prayer and fasting at our meeting next week.  In the meantime, here are Pastor Walker’s words for your prayers: 

Tim and Irene Walker give thanks for the increased outreach efforts that God has enabled the people of Providence OPC to undertake over the past few months and also for the faithful praying for this mission work by people from around the presbytery.  Please join the members of the congregation in praying that God would bring fruit from the outreach efforts at this critical time.  Ask that God would bring many visitors and that He would enable the mission work to continue by providing more people and adequate financial resources.  Please also pray that God would enable the members of the congregation to continue to trust God at this challenging  time, as they labor diligently and pray fervently.

Please pray for Tim and Irene Walker's health as well.

Bayview, Chula Vista

RE Mrs Postma:  Praise the Lord with us that Pat is back home from the hospital.  After running several tests, the doctors concluded that she has some kind of allergy that was effecting her kidney function.  They have prescribed the appropriate medications, and hopefully Pat will be on her way to a full recovery soon.  Thank you all for your support in prayer.

Bayview, Chula Vista

Please pray for RE Roy Postma's wife, Pat, who is in the hospital undergoing tests.  She has been feeling poorly for a couple of weeks, and there seems to be a problem with her kidneys, though so far they have not found any specific cause.  She will receive results of more tests on Wednesday.  Pray that the Lord will provide an accurate diagnosis and plan of treatment.

Sovereign Grace, Redlands

Recently a small independent congregation disbanded near Redlands. Their "pastor", a retired Bible Presbyterian who now attends SGOPC, recommended to his congregants that they consider attending Sovereign Grace. A number have visited with two couples now coming to worship regularly. Please pray as we follow up with these families that, if it be the Lord's will, many of these folks will call Sovereign Grace their new church home.

Bayview, Chula Vista

Please join us in praying for Covenant Christian School.  Because of a low student enrollment this year, we are facing a serious financial crunch at mid-year.  We sent out an urgent appeal at the end of December, and God has provided wonderfully — far beyond what we (in our weak faith) dared to hope.  But we still need more donations in order to finish the year "in the black."  And beyond that, pray for the Lord's blessing on our efforts at student recruitment for the next academic year.

An experiment in prayer-networking

Dear brothers,

     This blog is an experiment in prayer-networking within our presbytery.  We understand from God's word that prayer is an essential aspect of our ministry, and meeting around the throne of grace is a wonderful privilege of our fellowship in Christ.  

     We regularly share prayer requests and praises from our churches with one another during our stated meetings.  But in between times, unless there is a serious emergency, we hear very little from one another regarding week by week concerns of our churches.  When we pray for each other, we are usually praying "blind" or praying in generalities.

     Accordingly, I want to invite you to use this blog with me to help keep each other current on prayer needs within our churches.  Anyone can read and comment on postings, but I can also set it up to allow specific people to join me in posting requests directly to the website.  If you are interested in participating in this posting feature, send me an email with the address you want me to use in listing you as an "author," and (I think) the software will take care of the rest.  (If you want to delegate official prayer reporting to another member of your church, that is fine, but I'd like to limit the circle of post authors to one per congregation.  That is, this is not a vehicle for the sharing of requests from our general membership.  That I think would quickly get unwieldy.)

     When you post requests or praises, I suggest you simply put your church name in the "title" window (e.g., "Bayview, Chula Vista") so we will know immediately where the post is coming from.  Please keep your requests as brief as possible while giving us enough information to be able to pray intelligently.  Encourage us with brief news concerning answered prayers as well.  (If you have an apt quotation or brief comment to encourage us to pray, please feel free to share that as well.)  You can decide how often to post — weekly or monthly and when there is an urgent need.

     If you have questions or suggestions, let me know.  I know next to nothing about blogging, and am learning as I go.  But I wanted to start something along these lines while the thought is still fresh.  If the Lord wants it to be a blessing and help to us as we try to connect more effectively with each other's ministries, then he will make it work.  If not, then it can go onto the blog ash-heap of history.  Looking forward to praying and praising God with you all for his many mercies.

Sincerely,

Roger