Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Almost there!

The installation of the new stained glass represents the last contracted job of the church remodel. A few finishing touches do remain, such as replacing the outside sign and eliminating interference in the sound system, but major construction is now complete. The work itself took about three months and involved over 70 volunteers, and the Sanctuary Improvement Team had been meeting since April of last year to plan the remodeling. That team was Kirk Sherrell, Bob Shaw, Tom Hight, Katrina Mendenhall, Jeremy McAninch, Leon Rennells, and Jean Imholte. An East Hills Alliance trustee, Leon co-chaired the construction team along with Pastor Nick.

"We're real close," Leon said. "Nick was hoping it would happen overnight in a massive labor push, but unfortunately, that doesn't happen when you have contractors. Hopefully, it will serve the goals that we set for it."

Some of those goals had to to with basic upkeep. The roof in particular needed work to prevent leaks from damaging the church. Others were for convenience, such as plumbing in a sink at the coffee area. Beyond that, the team wanted to make the building more welcoming by improving its appearance, to increase the usefulness of the platform area, and to open new possibilities for the entire space by switching from pews to chairs.

Katrina had a big hand in the design and color selection of the sanctuary, although expert opinion, the consensus of the team, and feedback from the church body all factored in.

"Even myself, I was uneasy about how some of the colors would match," Leon said. "What's funny is that there's about five colors of beige in there, but when you look at it, it's hard to tell they're different. That was deliberate."

The new platform extends about three feet farther and is much more accessible. By removing the steps from the back and adding acoustical panels, we ended up with a much better site for a real drum set than we had before. The main speaker has been replaced and eight stage lights added. We have not yet figured out how much to use the new lighting in typical services, but it will definitely improve mime and drama performance.

One less obvious upgrade I personally appreciate is the balcony temperature control. Before work started, the loft was always hotter than the outside air during a Saturday night service, but with better insulation and a new air conditioner, we can now keep it cool in the summer. So you can expect to be more comfortable whether you are standing up front, sitting on one of the new chairs, or in the balcony.

Ultimately, though, the real goal is not to have a comfortable building for ourselves to spend time in, but one that helps us reach out to the lost and draw them into the love of Christ. We can reap a small reward now by looking around and seeing the improvements, but the real value will be in the lives of people who find it that much easier to start or strengthen a relationship with Christ because their surroundings make them feel welcome.

"There were so many times that we planned for something and it didn't work out per plan. It seemed like a mistake. And the way we resolved that mistake turned out to be God's will and was even better than we planned. God used it as a way to show His power. That was the neatest thing, to see God at work. God just put the right people in the right places. And he did provide the manpower. It was a God thing all around."

All-Star Camp coming June 23-27

East Hills has changed the format and location of our 2008 summer children's outreach. Rather than a traditional vacation Bible school held at the church itself, we are hosting the All-Star Camp at Barnes Elementary School, 9:00 to noon on June 23 through 27. This is a free event, open to kids entering first through fifth grades whether they attend EHA or not.

VBS was split into five sites, with each child cycling through one site per day and seeing a different staff member at each one. Instead, All-Star Camp is broken into three tracks: soccer under Pastor Caleb Cox, cheer under Becca Reid, and arts under Rene Rennells. Pastor Ann Hight is the overall camp director. Each kid chooses a track at the beginning of the camp and spends each day under the supervision of that track's leadership team, hopefully allowing the kids and adults to build trust and relationships.

"Each of the tracks has really competent, talented staff that seem like a great fit," Ann said. "It has been amazing to watch the people who are going to be involved step into the right spots. We are looking at every activity from two directions: first, the kids from the North Kelso community who we don't know yet, and second, our Kidville citizens. We want this to be a positive and fun summer experience for both like previous VBSs have been. I believe we can do both well with the level of staff that we have seen step forward."

Even so, the departure from past summer ministry, both in what we do and where we do it, is a big undertaking. This is our first time running such a program away from East Hills. Barnes has a great deal to offer: not only do they have more and better indoor and outdoor facilities, they will serve lunch, and kids from the neighborhood can walk there much more easily. We expect about 125 kids, double what we have had in the past.

Each day will have its own theme, such as never quitting. During a break in activities, the speakers will relate the theme of the day to Biblical values, leading up to a salvation message on Thursday with an opportunity for the kids to respond. Friday will feature an exhibition soccer match with cheer and drama performances and hotdogs for the kids and their families. For those not interested in athletics, the arts track will include drama, cooking, and interesting and unusual crafts leading up to their own presentation on the last day.

"We are definitely out at the edge of our experience," Ann said. "All-Star Camp has been one of the most gratifying and encouraging programs that I've ever been part of. I am absolutely delighted to be a part of this."

About 30 people are already involved, but both large and small positions remain available. If you are interested in participating, contact Ann. One way everyone can help is to pray that the leaders will be able to form meaningful relationships with the kids. For church kids who want to attend, pre-registration is highly encouraged. The forms will be available in Kidville next week and through Barnes itself.

A Testimony in Hard Times

My name is Alyssa Hansen, mother of the sole baby boy attending East Hills Alliance. I have only been attending for about two years now, and have had a lot of life changes happen in that time. Most importantly, my fiance and I had a baby boy last October and it's been a roller coaster since. We both work full time, and I attend LCC 4-5 days a week. Between his student loan payments, two car payments, rent, utilities, tuition, etc...it's been a long year. One of my goals, since starting to attend East Hills regularly, has been to tithe on a regular basis. I have been faithful to this commitment, and have seen some major blessings. I wanted to attach a blog that I wrote about something that happened to us last week, just so that you know how blessed I feel to be attending East Hills and also to give praise to God by sharing this story:

"No matter what you’re going through..."

"...heaven's watching over you."
So, I got home from work yesterday, and it had been a pretty good day. It was busy at work and I had made good money. Which was good considering that Chris and I are getting a combined (maybe) 40 hours a week and super struggling with money. I know everyone is going through the same thing, so it's hard to complain too much. But, I've been at Sharis for over three years now and all of a sudden I have Saturdays, Sundays and another weekday off every week. Normally I'd be stoked to have the weekends off, but when you waitress it's the only time you can make really decent money.

But, the point of this blog wasn't to gripe about my schedule. I came home from work yesterday and the first thing Chris said was, "You should check out that card we got in the mail." I went over to the mail pile and found a blue envelope, no return address with a card inside that said, "No matter what you're going through, heaven's watching over you." It was a beautiful card, no signature...and had five 20 dollar bills inside. I instantly got goosebumps, because this kind of stuff doesn't happen everyday and it seriously felt like something way bigger had just said, "See, I told you it would be okay."

I have been attending a church that I really like for almost two years now. It's called East Hills Alliance and it's in Kelso. There are great people and great music. The head pastor is named Nick Stumbo and he's young and puts together simple, concise messages that really get to the point. Anyways, in the past two years, even if I slipped in attendance, I tried really hard to tithe every week, (give 10% of my income to the church). It's a touchy subject with some people, understandably, and I know that it's one of the reasons that a lot of people stay away from the church. But I don't think of it as greed on the church's part. For me, when broken down to it's simplest form, God gave it to me and it's my way of thanking him for always providing. In the last two years, since I've been tithing, so many things have happened as a direct result. Sometimes it was just the right amount of money at just the right time. One time it was Chris getting hired for a second job on the spot. Getting this house, and the way that it all came together I know was a direct result of having faith and trusting God.

And it's funny because last week the check that I wrote was literally $25 of my last $50 in my bank account. But I know that it's just as important to tithe when you're broke as it is to tithe when you're in a time of plenty. It's all about the trust that you'll be taken care of, and for me that's a hard thing, to basically put my faith in something out of my control....and even harder, trying to convince Chris that I know what I'm doing. But it's paid off every time.

So yeah, take it as you will. And if you are, or know of, the person who sent us the $100. You paid the remainder of our P.U.D. bill, and we thank you so, so much. You've also renewed my spirit and assured me that I'm putting my faith in all the right places. The card had no signature. I am holding onto it until I am in a place where I can help someone else, and I'm going to use that card.

I also wanted to share that God is working through me at my workplace, Sharis, and I have co-workers attending with me on and off. I know that God is softening hearts around me and I just keep sharing stories like this with them so that they might know that God is waiting to bless their lives as well.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Red, White, and True-Blue

Red, White, and True-Blue is an evening event that celebrates the value of friendship between women. It will be held July 2nd, Wednesday, from 6:00to 8:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Themed for the July 4th holiday, there will be food, conversation, prizes, and more. It promises to be an evening of relaxed fun with lots of laughter guaranteed. It is a great way to start your holiday weekend a little bit early. Ladies, watch for more details in coming weeks and be thinking of a true-blue friend you can invite!

Summer Kidville News

Kidville classes have had a successful run during this school year. Dedicated teachers and helpers have taught and tended kids in a variety of ways in Noah’s Park & Ride (newborn through age three), Fun Factory (age three through kindergarten), and Uptown (first through fifth grades). During the Spring quarter we added KidSpace, a special class just for fifth-graders. Directed by Tary and Chris Jenkins, this practical program was designed to help kids transition confidently in to middle school and into church youth group by equipping them in the basic beliefs of their Christian faith.

Currently we are gearing up for our summer Kidville programs. We want to give our regular teaching staff the summer off, but we also want to offer a quality program for all kids, both Saturday night and Sunday morning. Nearly 70 slots need to be filled to staff each class for the entire summer. We are currently over halfway to our goal and it looks like we will be able to run the summer program at the level we would like. If you have not yet seen what areas of service are available in the Kidville area for this summer, please check out the flyer in the Welcome Center. Your help is needed, even if you do not consider yourself a teacher. And if your kids are part of this program, we strongly encourage you to help out a few times this summer. I believe you will find joy and satisfaction in sharing your love of Jesus with our wonderful Kidville Citizens.

Next weekend for Father’s Day kids will have a unique opportunity to get together in the Fellowship Hall during regular class times and create a gift for someone special in their life. The design team is Ed and Candy Sanders; I know kids will have fun and parents will be delighted! Be sure your child is part of this end-of-the-year event.