Posts from 2020

Posts from 2020

In All Circumstances, Give Thanks

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,As is the case with all things in 2020, the Thanksgiving holiday will be different this year.  Even with all that is going on, I had planned to spend time with friends on Thanksgiving Day, eating in the backyard, socially distanced and practicing safe protocols.  But with the recent uptick in cases and the plea from health officials nationwide, we have changed our plans to stay home this weekend and order nice turkey dinners from Mimi’s Cafe in Tustin (thanks…

Pastor’s Letter Nov 2020

“In All Circumstances” “Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16ff) The national news this morning reported that cases of mental health concerns had risen to an alarming rate.  People are feeling isolated, abandoned, alone, uncared for, forgotten, neglected, unloved.  These mental health concerns were across the spectrum of age, with a strong rise in the number of young people affected.  At…

Daylight Savings

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends, We are CANCELING the Trunk or Treat event scheduled for this evening.When we scheduled the event, hospitalizations were on the decline and we had just moved to the more open tier in the state.  But recent news is making us more cautious.  And we prefer to be cautious rather than sorry. Last night the city of Santa Ana sent out a message strongly discouraging gatherings at this time.  Hospitalizations and ICU cases from Coronavirus are currently on the…

Trunk or Treat!

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS! Jesus said, “Let the children come unto Me… Whoever welcomes such a one as this in My name, welcomes Me.”At the end of the weekly zoom gathering with our children, Ms. Sandra always asks if there are any prayer requests.  Every week, one of our children asks to pray that we have a good Halloween this year.  Certainly, COVID-19 has struck us all this year, but it has been especially hard on our children.    So FPCSA is…

New Sermon Series

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Tomorrow we begin a new sermon series titled, “Recapturing the Way.”  In recent years, the Church in the USA has lost credibility, enthusiasm, and a sense of purpose.  We’ve lost our way!  How do we recapture the Way?  Tune in tomorrow at 10A on our FPCSA Facebook page as we begin to explore how we can recapture the Way.  Hope to “see” tomorrow in church!Soli Deo Gloria!

New Director of Youth Ministry!

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends, We are so excited to share with you all that we are hiring an interim Director of Youth Ministry: Nancy Galeana.  Nancy is an excellent choice for interim because she is known to our FPCSA family.  She was a member of the Santa Ana Hispanic Ministry on S. Main St.  She worked here at FPCSA in the late 1990s.  She’s attended special events here throughout the years.  Her sister, Norma, served as a youth leader for…

New series & Hispanic Ministry Growth

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Tomorrow is the first Sunday of the month!  Plan to have bread and cup ready to celebrate the Lord’s Supper during worship.  And if you have a birthday and/or anniversary in September, please write that down in the comments.  We start a new sermon mini-subseries, still connected to the Beyond These Walls theme: The 4 Pillars of the Church.  I’m really looking forward to digging into this topic. Six months ago, our Personnel Committee was interviewing candidates for the Director…

Farewell

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Last Sunday, Xander Montes met with parents and students to annouce that he was stepping down as Director of Youth Integration. While we are sad to hear this news, we are so grateful to God for Xander’s time here at FPCSA.  He’s had an amazing impact on our young people, our staff, and our church family.  He and Vanessa will be missed, but we send them forth in the grace and love of God.  Xander’s last Sunday will…

Transients

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Please find attached the worship materials for our livestream worship service tomorrow, July 19th, at 10A on our church’s facebook page.  Our responsive call to worship is at the end of the Service Order attachment.  The message is titled, “Made to Worship,” and in keeping with the sermon series, we’ll be asking what it means to worship God beyond the walls of the church.  And I’m looking forward to Kyle Short sharing a song titled, “I Am Alive.” On…

COVID Survey

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,The news this morning reported that hospitalizations in Orange County have increased 97% in the last month.  This morning 691 hospitalizations were reported and 236 of those were in the ICU.  Numbers continue to go up.  We miss seeing each other.  We miss worshiping God together in our beautiful sanctuary.  But we value each of you too much to put any of you, our sisters and brothers in Christ, at risk.  If you are having trouble…

New Life!

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,As hospitalizations continue to rise in Orange County (556 today), so we continue to shelter-in-place.  Our Task Force also continues to prepare for return to our campus, but we recognize this will not happen any time in the near future.  If you have not filled out our survey yet, please do so as soon as you can.  Your input is important to us!English:: https://fpcsa.churchcenter.com/people/forms/116832Spanish:: https://fpcsa.churchcenter.com/people/forms/144113 In the midst of this somewhat depressing time in our history, life finds…

COVID Survey

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,How are you holding up?  If you’re anything like me, this stay-at-home thing is getting old!  But the thing is, the CDC recommends staying at home until there is a three-week decline in hospitalizations from COVID-19.  And unfortunately, hospitalizations continue to go up in Orange County.  A few weeks ago, I was complaining that we were almost up to 200 hospitalizations.  Today we are at 394 in the hospital, 147 in ICU.  Nearly 400 hospitalizations.  Hospitalizations in our…

New Sermon Series

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,“Re-Open Churches!”  We hear the battle cry from many here in our state.  But when people say this to me, I say, “The Church never closed.”  Yeah sure, the buildings are closed.  But the Church is so much more than a building made of brick and mortar, wood and stone.  The true Church is the body of believers who both gather together to worship and fellowship as well as go forth to proclaim the good news of…

Congrats Grad!

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends!It’s graduation season!  We honor our graduates!  Thankful for our youth ministry team that delivered care packages to these students. Tricia “Mia” Madrid (great-granddaughter of Gloria; daughter of Angelina Ursua) Samuel Miranda (son of Samuel & Norma Miranda; grandson of Artemio Jimenez & Isabel Damian) Jessica Qi (daughter of Martini Tjen; niece of Jun & Endang Tjen) Crystal Pimentel (youth volunteer intern)Graduations are always an important time to celebrate transitions in life, moving from one chapter to the next.  We thank…

20th Year Anniversary!

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Another difficult week in the life of our community and our nation.  We pray for God’s peace.  In response to the unrest in our country, we are hosting a PRAYER VIGIL in our FPCSA parking lot tonight (6/4) at 6:30 p.m. for the Christian churches in Santa Ana.  Representatives from Templo Calvario, Calvary Santa Ana, New Song, and other Santa Ana churches will be there.  If you would like to come, please park on the street or in…

Pentecost Sunday

Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,In the midst of the news this past week, our country continues to face pain, racial tensions, frustration, and anger.  As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “A riot is the language of the unheard.”  The question we must ask ourselves is this: Are we hearing the voices of those who are angry?  Or are we dismissing them?  And if we are able to hear them, are we seeking the institutional changes to correct the problem? …