Saturday September 22nd

Greetings PCF family. I have a couple of announcements and reminders about the services tomorrow.

I will be leading worship at the 10:00 am service for the Esic congregation, everyone is invited. The sermon topic for that service is, "The Solution for Everything is Prayer!"

A reminder that the Praise Community Fellowship service will be preceded by our family spaghetti dinner starting at 5:00.  All are invited to attend this fellowship meal.  Please remember that we are asking everyone to bring in some or all of the following items as a donation to the Food Pantry one of our mission projects.

The items needed are:  fruit juices, crackers, chicken-beef broth, mandarin oranges, canned peaches, beets, and spinach.

Our service will immediately follow the dinner starting at 6:30. The RTP choir will be singing for the first time this season. The sermon Topic for this service will be "Undercover CEO"

I hope you can join us tomorrow at 10:00am, 5:00pm and or 6:30 or all three. 

As a special request: please pray that the Holy Spirit will move powerfully tomorrow at both services. Thank you. Sincerely, Kent 

Family Dinner

Hi Everyone

 

It's time again to join together to "break bread" and share fellowship. In this case it is spaghetti with a home made sauce by chef Gary featuring fresh tomatoes, herbs and spices from the garden of Walt and Mary Ann Williams. (meat and meatless)

 

Sept 23 is the date, 5:00 pm is the time. Those whose last name begins with A-M bring a dessert and those with N-Z bring a salad. French garlic bread and beverages will round out the delectable dinner. PLEASE bring your item by 4:45 so we may serve at 5:00 pm. Remember, our service starts at 6:30! If you wish to help set up and take down please be at the church by 4 pm.

 

Again, it is necessary to let me know if you are coming and the number in your group so as to insure the pot luck items are balanced and the purchases are adequate. This will be the ONLY email sent out so if you plan on attending reply NOW before you forget. gary.daniel@sbcglobal.net

 

Also, as you may have read the GLEN-ED food pantry is running very short on supplies for our homeless and needy. We ask that you bring several canned or non-refrigerated packaged food items that will be collected at the door. 

 

This is an excellent opportunity to invite that friend that you have been meaning to invite to our wonderful Praise Community Fellowship.

 

Bless you all and pass the cookies!

Gary

September 14th 2012

Very Important Announcements for Praise Community Fellowship Family

The Fellowship board met last night and after discussion decided that beginning in October we will be going to an every Sunday evening service at 6:30. We continue to see God blessing us by bringing more and more new faces into our services and we look forward to this new step in our direction to glorify God.

As many of you know by the emails and this blog I have said that there has been an ongoing dialogue with the Esic board regarding a possible merger of our two congregations. I feel it is very important to let everyone in the PCF family know exactly what we have been discussing and what possibilities lie before both congregations. Therefore, after our next service on the 23rd of September there will be a 15-20 minute presentation and a question and answer session regarding these talks. There will representation from the Esic board and together we will look at where we believe God is leading us. I want to stress that nothing has been decided regarding this possible merger. We are still exploring the possibility through much prayer and discussion.

Also, I want to make it known that future talks are open to anyone who would like to join us in this conversation. I will be posting future meeting dates on this blog and on the calendar so that anyone interested has a chance to participate in this exciting possibility.

I will be providing the sermon at the Esic Sunday morning service at 10:00am on the 23rd of September. This will be my first sermon in front of their congregation and I would love to see many of my PCF family in the congregation. By the way my sermon Sunday morning will be different than my Sunday evening sermon for those of you who may be wondering. 

• Amber Boyles Pellock has designed two nice banners that we will be putting up on the Esic property to advertise our services. She has also had portable yard signs with the same design that can be placed in your yard that will also let more people know about our church and our services. There will be more information Sunday the 23rd for those of you interested in being one of our advertisers.
• Vickie Gabriel will be having a youth group meeting on Sunday the 16th at 4:00. The topic will be on fear. Please check the calendar for more details.
• We have a position available o the Fellowship Board as secretary. If you are interested please contact one of the board members found on the website.

No More parking on the grass or the street soon!

The Esic congregation continues to bless us with open arms and actions. Members of the Esic board approached us last week and announced that they will be extending their paved parking lot so as to accommodate our growing congregation. They are taking bids on the project which will begin soon. Please reach out and thank them for their continued love and support.

As I look back over the past 7 months it is very easy for me to see how God has been leading us and blessing us. As long as we keep focused on His direction and His plans we will continue to experience His blessings. Pray for continued guidance for our church and for Esic Church who has been a shining example of what Christianity put into practice looks like. We are all part of very exciting times.  All of you part of the Praise Community Fellowship have been called here for a reason. It is not by accident. God has you here for a specific plan that is unfolding right before your eyes.  Be blessed. Very Sincerely and with Love, Kent Schuette

Kent can be contacted on cell 618-334-3575

Monday Sept. 10th

Money Back Guarantee

Not one person asked for their money back last night!  What a service. Diane Dietz thank you for driving down from Springfield to add your beautiful voice to our service. Liz, what can I say, you were filled with the Spirit with your rendition of Redeemer.
Brad, thank you for your poem and for bringing in some of the Edwardsville Firefighters for the 9/11 tribute.

Thank you everyone for helping to make Praise Community Fellowship such a joyful experience.

• We need your input:  The Fellowship board will be meeting this Thursday at 7:00pm in the Esic Fellowship Hall. What is everyones input on having service every Sunday? You can attend the meeting or you can email me with feedback.  
• Talks continue with the Esic congregation regarding a possible merger of the two groups. This will also be discussed at the Fellowship Board meeting.

Raise the Praise Choir Practice has begun on Monday nights at 7:00 at Esic church.  You still have time to join us if you would like to experience Raise The Praise from a whole new perspective. If interested email Bonni at bonni@bonni burns.com to get a packet of music and CD or just show up Monday (tonight) at 7:00pm in the sanctuary.

• Sunday School and Traditional Service opportunities.

Esic has a more traditional service every Sunday morning at 10:00am. They also offer and adult and children's Sunday school program at 9:00 am. We are all invited to be a part of these services.

God has a plan for your life!   Keep the Spirit Alive.

  Sincerely, Kent Schuette

Wednesday Sept. 5th

This coming Sunday the sermon topic will be:

God has to work IN you before He can work Through you!

I hope you can join us this Sunday which will be a communion Sunday and a time for celebration of our growing little church.

Diane Dietz will be coming all the way from Springfield Il. to join our Praise singers for some wonderful inspiring music.
Come and experience the Holy Spirit and the living God and find out what God may have in store for your life.

I am very excited about where God is leading us. Come experience the love and the energy of Praise Community Fellowship this Sunday evening at 6:30.

Sincerely, Kent Schuette

Labor Day

We are excited about our next service this coming Sunday at 6:30 in our beautiful little sanctuary on Esic Drive.  I hope you can join our fellowship as we sing, pray, and lift our voices to the Lord. We will also be sharing communion at this service. 

News:

Meetings continue with Esic Church regarding the possibility of a merger of the two congregations. These are exciting times as we seek God's will for our future. 

As most of you are aware we have a  significant number of Esic Church members participating in our evening services. PCF also has more and more members joining the Sunday morning services with Esic Church. Their Sunday morning schedule is as follows: Adult and children's Sunday school at 9:00 am and their worship service begins at 10:00 am. We are all invited to be part of their service as they continue to welcome us with open, loving arms.  Since Pastor Barry Harris has retired, myself, Gary Dollar, Jane Mckinney, Larry Busch, and Gale Dollar will be sharing the pastoral role for Sunday morning services. My first sermon will be on the 23rd of Sept. at their 10:00 am service.

There is an event coming that I hope many of you will consider attending. Below is the announcement:

African Vision of Hope's annual Gala and Auction will be held Thurs, Oct 25 at Windows Off Washington in downtown St. Louis.  Tickets are $75.00 each.  Please come enjoy a wonderful evening where 100% of the proceeds will go directly to African Vision of Hope.  Please see Darlene Azar, 659-0975 orazardaa@sbcglobal.net, if you would like to attend.  We are trying to get several tables filled. 

We are blessed to have Bob and Judi Bertels, the founders of African Vision of Hope, as members of our evening fellowship. I plan on having Judi Speak to our group soon.  Did you get that Judi?

Bonni and I will be attending. The Raise the Praise choir will also be doing a benefit concert for this ministry in March of next year, details to announced later.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone next Sunday. Sincerely, and with Love, Kent

The Wandering Hebrews Now and Then

THEN:  

On January 9th 2012 I sent the following email after meeting at Jim and Sue Ebersoldt's home.

Last night’s fellowship group aka "The Flash Mob church" was a gathering inspired by the Holy Spirit. People thru the ages have been brought together by Gods calling for many reasons. One story that comes to mind when I think about our new beginning are the Hebrew people who left Egypt and started a journey to the promised land.

I like that analogy for our group because that is exactly where we find ourselves at this moment in time. We have stepped out in faith into the unknown on a journey that promises to be exciting.  Yet, we are not sure exactly where it is we are going. One of the lessons to be learned from the Hebrews flight from Egypt on their journey to the promised land is: Listen closely to Gods prompting and direction. Pray for guidance, be patient, and watch and listen closely for the opportunities that God will show us. It was the straying from God's directions that kept the Hebrews from entering the promised land for 40 years. 

Let me share with you something I have learned over the years about praying and listening for God's direction and this is very important. " Do not have a pre conceived idea of what God wants this group to do or become!"

God's ways are not mans ways. God will, through all of us, bring into focus what our mission will be. It could be something that we have not even considered and may be something that we least expect. Whatever it is you can rest assured that it will bring huge blessings to many as long as we do our part by staying close to God’s word and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We will talk about all his more as we move forward. In the mean time we will continue to gather to sing, worship, fellowship and listen for Gods direction. 

To everyone who attended Last night. Blessings to you, be uplifted and excited. Let love, compassion, forgiveness and healing fill all of your hearts and dominate your life. And most important, talk with God every day and ask Him for direction. He really does hear and answer, but we must keep an open mind and willing heart to know His direction.

Love, Kent

NOW, 7 months later: 

We have come amazingly far since then. We are all part of a miracle unfolding. We have been accepted with open arms by the members of Esic Church. Our Sunday night meetings are at capacity in the sanctuary. We are experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit and the life changing power that comes when we come with love and gratitude in our hearts. We are finding a strong family bond amongst those who come to our worship services. There is happiness, joy, and a feeling of hope and love with everyone I speak with. 

So now we come to another critical time in our growth. Where do you want to go from here?  Remember we as Christians are here to serve!  We are to take the light, the love, the compassion, the hope and the healing that Jesus has blessed us with into this hurting world.  Each and every one of us has a ministry. We have more and more people coming to our services for the the love and hope, and release that we are all experiencing. 

I have requests for Sunday school opportunities. I have requests to do services every Sunday instead of only on the 2nd and 4th Sundays. I have those wondering where are we going to put  ore people as our group continues to grow.  So my question to all of you is this, "What is your vision, and how can you help build that vision?"

This is exciting!  God is moving among us, "The Wandering Hebrews."  

Last Sunday I made a public commitment to this ministry, that I would dedicate all my time, energy, and ability to the ministry of Jesus and to Praise Community Fellowship. I symbolized that commitment by being baptized by Pastor Barry Harris, Esic's retired pastor. 

As I mentioned in an earlier email this past week I will begin helping Esic on Sunday mornings by preaching on a rotating schedule and by conducting a bible study class. There are opportunities opening up for all of us to help make our ministry a beacon of hope and light. The Holy Spirit is moving in this church.  Big things are happening. We are creating a movement!  

My VISION:  Our church is going to be so wonderful, so filled with loving, compassionate, forgiving and non-judgemental people and so Spirit filled, that we will have a waiting line of broken people trying to get into our services to be touched by the Holy Spirit. That we will have a facility that provides needed services to the community seven days a week always with the top priority being bringing people into a close personal relationship with Jesus.  

We are not even one year old and think of how far we have come and all we have accomplished with the help the Holy Spirit and the generosity of Esic Church. There is an energy brewing and it is a very wonderful spirit filled energy. Come be a part of this ministry. All are welcome. 

Start dreaming big dreams because with God, all things are possible!.   

Sincerely and with love, Kent Schuette.       Call me 618-334-3575