I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who participated in yesterday’s Worship Service Day!  You contributed resources, you contributed energy, you contributed time–and because of that we were able to truly bless our community!

As I mentioned yesterday, a man who was getting into his car behind one of the apartments asked me if we were from “that church over there.”  I said we were, and he responded by saying, “Wow, you’re really putting your money where your mouth is.  You really do care about this community!”

That was the best thing I could have heard from one of our neighbors!

I also heard that some were saying that this was what our church was like 30 years ago.  I’m so excited to hear that because I have heard great things about what Northminster was like 30 years ago.  I’m excited to hear that you feel like we’re beginning to recapture the energy that this church had when it was alive and vibrant!

And if you are new to Northminster or just checking out our website, we’d love for you to join us!  It’s amazing to see God working through regular people like us–and we’d love for you to be a part of what God is doing here!!

Pastor Markus

P.S. Pictures are vailable — HERE !

This Sunday (June 14) will be an out-of-the-box time of worship for Northminster! Instead of gathering inside the sanctuary this weekend, we’re going to explode out into the neighborhood around us!

At 9:30 a.m. we’re going to put our hands and feet to work, worshiping God by blessing our community. What exactly are we gonna be doing? We’ll clean up the alley between Cole St. and Dubois Dr. We’re going to repair fences, clear weeds, trim vegetation, and paint walls. By the time we finish, it will be a brand new alley!

If you’re not sure what to do with your kids, bring ‘em!  We’ve got a bounce-house and all kinds of fun activities for the kids.

At 12:30 p.m. we’ll finish our work and have lunch together in Congdon Hall to celebrate what God did through us that morning!

If you’re a regular at Northminster, I can’t wait to see you this Sunday!

If you’re not, you’re more than welcome to come give us a hand!

Pastor Markus

P.S. – Plan to arrive by about 9:15 so that we can be ready to work by 9:30…

Below is a short, 4-minute documentary that was just released about our Parish Associate, Nate Landis, and his ministry, Urban Youth Collaborative. It’s a great way to get a sense of what Nate is doing out in the city!

And guess what--there’s even a bit about Northminster and Chelsea Knox, our youth director!

If you’d like to contribute to Urban Youth Collaborative, you can make a check out to Northminster and indicate “UYC” in the memo line. Or you can donate directly to what Nate is doing on the Urban Youth Collaborative website.

Just in case you haven’t heard, yet, the San Diego Weekly Reader reviewed Northminster in their “Sheep and Goats” column last week.  You can still pick up a paper copy almost anywhere.  Or you can read the review online — HERE

Northminster is also now on Twitter!  If you’ve never heard of Twitter, don’t worry about it (you will soon enough!).  If you want to follow Northminster on Twitter — HERE

We recently received the sad news that the “Come Build Hope” trip to Mexico has been cancelled due to the swine flu epidemic.  The following communication was received from the organizers of the trip at Solana Beach Presbyterian

Please pray for the families who now will not be receiving the homes that we would have been building.  No doubt, their disappointment must be overwhelming.

Pray also about going next year.  Last year we had 12 people go on this trip. Wouldn’t it be amazing if twice as many of us went next year?!

Dear SBPC Family;

It is with heavy hearts that we have decided to cancel our 2009 Come Build Hope Memorial Day weekend build. Just ten days ago, a team of us met some of the Mexican families we would be building with and experienced their excitement.

We have prayed and listened carefully to you, our CBH participants, and to governmental agencies in reaching this extremely difficult conclusion. The swine flu outbreak in Mexico, the World Health Organization raising the influenza pandemic alert from 4 to 5, and the Center for Disease Control advisory to avoid all non-essential travel to Mexico contributed to our thought processes and discussions.

We know you join us in grieving for those whose lives and ministry our annual build touches. Please continue in heartfelt prayer support for all CBH ministry participants, including builders and senders, the Mexican families and pastors and Amor Ministries.

We are profoundly grateful for all who have committed their time, effort and financial resources to this vital ministry. Over the next several weeks, we will be refunding the fees to all those who registered for Come Build Hope in 2009. Those interested in financially supporting Amor Ministries can visit www.amor.org.

We look forward with great anticipation to “building hope” with you in Baja on Memorial Day 2010.

John Steel and the 2009 Come Build Hope Leadership Team

There is now a new email address to facilitate contact with our VBS Director.

If you have any questions regarding VBS, don’t hesitate to send an email to northminstervbs@northminstersandiego.com

The Northminster Women’s association would like to invite “everyone and their mothers” to join us in Celebration at their Annual Mothers Day Luncheon on May 9th at 12:00 pm.  It is their desire to make this a most important affair for all who come.  This year they have invited the “Heritage Dancers” to perform at this event.  This is a dance team that is very entertaining and is based on historic American dancing!  Tickets are on sale now through the Northminster Church Office (858) 490-3995.  Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children ages 6 to 12.  Please call and make your reservations early!

Small groups are starting up again on May 3. If you’d like to join one of these groups, click HERE.

Our next round of small groups starts next week–but it’s not too late to sign up!

Small groups are a great way for you to get to know other people and grow in your faith.  Below are a list of days and times that groups meet.  If you want to join a group, you can sign up in church on Sunday, or you can click the following link to sign up online (simply indicate which group you want to join):

Small Groups Sign-Up

Spring 2009 Small Groups

SERMON-BASED GROUPS

Sunday

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM at the Church
Facilitators – Johana Smith and Judy Sperling

5:00 – 6:00 PM at the Church
Facilitators – Markus and Robin Watson

Tuesday

7:00-9:00 PM at the Church
Facilitator – Loreto Remorca

Wednesday

6:00 – 8:00 PM at the home of Isabelle McCutchen in Clairemont
Facilitator – Isabelle McCutchen

Thursday

7:00-9:00 PM at the home of Mark Hammill and Michelle Hickey
Facilitators – Mark Hammill and Michelle Hickey

Friday

9:00-11:00 AM at the Church
Facilitator – Sonja Wieland

Online

If none of these times work for you, there is an online group that corresponds by e-mail. The first meeting will be in person as well as one other time.

TOPICAL GROUPS

Monday

Weight Loss Group
6:30 – 8:00 PM at the Church in the Fireside Room
Facilitator – Rechelle Mojica

On April 13th, Northminster hosted the San Diego Young Life All City Club.

483 kids from all over San Diego attended.  Some of the pictures from that event are in our Photo Gallery.

This event has been held at Northminster in the past. Pictures from those events may be found HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

This summer Northminster is planning a romp through the swamp with our Bayou themed Crocodile Dock, and you’re invited!  We hope you’ll join us for this year’s Vacation Bible School.

Each day children will take part in a fun, Bible learning experience that they can see, hear, touch, and even taste!   Bible point crafts, team-building games, lively Bible songs, video visits from Chadder Chipmunk, and Bible drama adventures are just a few of the fun activities that children will enjoy.

July 27th to July 31st 9 AM to noon

Pre-registration- starts on Sunday April 26th AFTER the worship service.

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED…..AND IT FILLS UP FAST!!!!

• $40 for first child in family, $30 for each additional child
• Potty trained 3 year olds to 5th graders are welcome

Enrollment is limited to 140 children (34 total Preschool age), so please register early to avoid being placed on the wait-list or missing out.  Every child must have a completed registration form and release form turned into the church office.  Scholarships are available; please let us know if there is a need.

Older students (entering 6th grade and above) are invited to apply to be VBS volunteer helpers.  Limited volunteer spaces are available.  Not all applications will be approved. 

Registration and release forms will be posted to this site following pre-registration on the 26th.  Please print out the forms you need, fill out, and return to the church office.

If you would like to see what happened last year, go to our Photo Gallery.

We look forward to seeing you at Crocodile Dock!