Church in a Park

We've had a couple of gatherings at a local park. Nothing earth shattering, just a picnic, music, fellowship and a bit of Bible story.

Living Room Gathering - Feb 2016

Had a great gathering of thirteen saints in our home. Shared a meal of beef stew, rolls and we topped it off with a birthday cake for Suzie. Happy Birthday sis. After the meal we did some bible discovery around John 15. Lot's of discussion and questions. We rounded out the evening with songs of praise to God. Thanks to every one who came. Our next gathering will probably be a picnic in the spring.

Coffee, Conversation and Mission

For the past nearly two years, I've been getting together for coffee and fellowship with another brother. In that time we have shared our frustrations and hopes for the local church. After much prayer and discussion we've formed a ministry partnership and are currently preparing for our first endeavor (more about that in another post). It's amazing what can happen just by sharing some time over coffee. Nothing complicated, just friends and open hearts to what the Spirit is saying to his people. 

Rick Thompson visit

We are planning on having Rick Thompson visit with us this Sunday. He is one of those traveling folks who go around encouraging house churches. We met him at a conference in MA and asked him to come by for a visit.
You can check out his blog at: http://inthefootstepsoftychicus.blogspot.com/
He has worked with his own hands and has a good reputation among other churches.

Missionary Night

Last Sunday night we had a visit from a brother seeking to leave his employment as a Software architect to become a missionary. He won't be in a grass hut in some distant land, but right here in the USA. He will be supporting bible translators in the field with his IT skills. We didn't get a slide show but we did get to watch a video from Youtube. I would like ask anyone reading this to pause right now and pray for Steve, Glenda, Stephan and Evan, that God would grant them grace and guidance in their endeavor to publish the word of God. You can check out his blog at http://www.moitozo.com /wycliffe/home.

This opened up a whole discussion around the concept of mission; as in what is my mission and how do I carry it out? The conversation only got started before we ran out of night. To be continued....

Summer of Love

The Summer of Love at Honey Run Campground on Worthley Pond in Peru Maine was a must do event. The mix of folks attending was pretty eclectic. We had folks who were living in a structured community (Church Community international), an unstructured community (Weiman Community) and those not living together but seeking to foster community (Alt-Church). A lot of time was spent just being together and sharing stories. Here as an overview of the weekend:

Friday - Everyone had arrived and settled in by late Friday afternoon. After supper we went right to work on the important task of roasting marshmallows and talking around the campfire until around 11 pm.

Saturday - During the day people were swimming, hiking, attending the blueberry festival, napping, hanging out at camp. After supper we had an awesome wild Blueberry dessert made from foraged berries and scrounging. We had a blast singing under the group cover. I laughed myself to tears with Mikes reggae rendition of "I've been working on the railroad".

Sunday - Breakfast in the rain - broke camp in the rain - goodbyes in the rain.

We're looking forward to next ye

Seder

We gathered together to celebrate a Christian Seder. We reclined on the floor because we were free and ate our meal while retelling the story of our deliverance from the is evil world. This was a time to proclaim liberty and freedom through the grace of God in Jesus the Messiah. Bitter herbs to remind us of the bitterness of sin and charoset to remind us of the sweetness of salvation. Next year in the New Jerusalem.
Come Lord Jesus.

Meeting Report 3-30-08

Two couples, four kids and brunch with Jesus. Not much small talk, mostly big talk about what was on our hearts. After meeting all this time on a sporadic basis we felt that most were looking for a change. We decided to float meetings on Sundays that rotate around the fellowship. I'll let you know how that goes. Communion was unleavened bread and a good bottle of wine. We sang a Capella praise, giving thanks to God to glorify His name.

Meeting Report 3-15-08

We met for a pot-luck supper at 5:30 pm. We started with the song "God and Man at Table are Sat Down". God did sit down at table with us. We ate and and talked about what was on our hearts then we went to prayer and song. Fellowship and worship with the saints, at table with God, there is no better place to be.

01/26/2008 Meeting Report

We met at the Tougas' on this cold January morning for breakfast and fellowship. We had some great sharing around the ideas of freedom, priesthood and gifts. Each shared their heart regarding where they felt God was directing them. We gather to encourage one another in our walk, to challenge one another and to urge one another on to good works. It's awesome and scary to watch God work by His Spirit among us. We have no vision except what God reveals, no direction except His leading and no plans except His word.

10/06/2007 Meeting Report

Lunch at Bob and Cyndi's was accompanied by pleasant weather tasty food and good fellowship. Much time was spent discussing what subject areas we wanted to explore together in the scriptures over the coming months. We did a little do-wap praising of God (you had to be there) and we spent a good amount of time bringing needs to the Father in prayer.

09/22/07 Meeting Report

We had a different kind of meeting. Come to think of it, since we don't follow a particular agenda, every meeting is different. We thought it would be a good idea to combine the mundane work we all have to do with the more important things like fellowship, so we had a work-bee. We painted a fence and repaired a couple doors at Damien's house. Afterward we had some awesome potato leek soup, herb bread and assorted crackers. We got tired, laughed and talked about where to have the next work-bee.
Our sharing included things such as helping immigrants, getting into scripture and things we've done for a living. We figured that together we accomplished in a couple hours what would have taken all day for one person to do. This allowed us to share a meal and fellowship while taking care of those tedious chores.

Meeting Report 09/01/07

We went to Bradbury Mountain for what Damien referred to as a "Mountaintop Experience". Renee has some pictures and her thoughts here http://www.tougas.net/node/1115.
We did a lot of talking and walking. We broke bread at the summit and shared our feelings and thoughts about what things Christians do when the gather. Sharing needs, Communion and the Lord's day were some to the topics we discussed. It was a great day for laughter and sharing. I have to confess that every time we get together, my heart hungers for more of Christ and his people. The kids were a great blessing to all. There was a wrestling incident that involved tickling and piling on an Innocent adult. It's great to not send children off to some basement room for "proper instruction" but rather for them to learn the love and fellowship of Christ in a bright, airy, sunny place.

Meeting Report 8-12-07

Eight of us had brunch at the Tougas' house. Each brought food to share. We began with the bread and wine, during which we reflected on various images of Christ and His people. The Vine and Branches, Shepherd and Sheep etc.. There was a lot of laughter and camaraderie around the table as we broke bread in Jesus name.
The table was cleared and the kids went to play outside, while the adults got into some deeper sharing. We met Tim from Mexico ME who shared his own desire to meet simply in the Lords name. We talked a lot about money. How to spend it, give it and earn it in the light of the kingdom and in the Spirit of Christ. Renee shared a song the Lord laid on her heart. It ministered the presence of God to all. We had no set format for the meeting. We just let it unfold as we and the Spirit wished.
We are planning the next meeting for Sept. 2nd at a place yet to be determined.

Meeting Report 08/04/07

Renee has already done a great job with a report on this meeting see her post http://tougas.net/node/1090.

I'll only add that we were indeed an intimate group and enjoyed the conversation greatly. We are having a hard time with finding words to describe what it is we are doing. For now we are kind of stuck on "House Church". Though I'm not really happy with it.

Meeting report - 6/30/7

We had a "meating" at the Tougas' home with some 11 or so folks from a couple of house-churches. We started with sharing wine and bread and moved on to some serious eating. The kids (15 of them) had fun playing together outside in the garden. The weather was pleasant so we shared our meal outside. Each family was given a cup for communion and we passed around a loaf of sweet challah bread. The fare was vegetarian, though not be design. After eating the brothers kind of gravitated to the garage where we shared our thoughts on church as well as our personal stories of our adventures in Christ. We moved into the house for a more formal gathering in the living room.
We shared music, read scripture and prayed for those in need. It was great to ask questions of others doing house-church and to swap stories. We are just starting this journey together. Not sure where it will lead but excited by the possibilities.