Posts by Lance (Page 3)
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? …
Care Packages
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Even in the midst of shelter-in-place, the church continues to serve. We are so grateful for our partnerships! The PW of Trabuco Presbyterian Church put together with care packages for the children of our partners, La Semilla Learning Center, as well as the children of FPCSA. Then our Director of Children’s Ministry, Ms. Sandra, and the Director of La Semilla, Ms. Paula, hand-delivered them to our families… Ms. Sandra writes, “Special thanks to Mrs. Jill and…
Our New Intern
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,How are you all holding up? Hopefully you are surviving the stay at home orders. If you are struggling to put food on the table, please let me know. Simply reply to this email.We’ve mentioned on several occasions that we are in uncharted waters, living in unprecedented times. This is highlighted this week by the fact that we have a seminary intern from Princeton starting on Monday, May 18th. Let me introduce you to Carlos Acosta……
Mother’s Day & Updates
Dear FPCSA family & friends, This Sunday is. . . . . MOTHER’S DAY!For the past few years, we have taken time in the worship service to invite people to speak about their moms, give tribute, or share memories. This Sunday will be a little different. But here is the solution. Write a tribute to your mom, copy it, and when the service starts, paste it into the comments. I will read it during our worship time together. If you have…
Family First Sunday
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Two things I ask of you this Sunday, May 3rd. First, it’s a family first Sunday, so before you join the live-stream service on the FPCSantaAna Facebook page, be sure to have Bread & Cup ready; we will be celebrating the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper together. Second, if you have a Birthday or Anniversary in the month of May, please let us know in the comments section of the live-stream, so we can celebrate you!As many churches are doing in our…
QUARANTINE: 40 DAYS TO TRANSFORMATION.
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends, The other night I was talking to my girlfriend, Sofía, when she off-handedly said, “The idea of quarantine is a Biblical concept.” I responded with the height of intellect: “Huh?!?” I’ve studied the Hebrew and I’ve studied the Greek. I don’t remember seeing the word “quarantine” anywhere. She explained, “The Spanish word for quarantine is cuarentena, which comes from the Spanish word for forty: cuarenta. And forty is an important number in the Bible. No?” I continued to…
Connections
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Yesterday I received my USA stimulus financial payment. This morning I sent the full amount to FPCSA.I’m not telling you this so you’ll think I’m some great philanthropist. Quite the contrary. Because I am still employed, I do not feel comfortable profiting from the economic crisis in which we find ourselves. Churches across the country are feeling the domino effect of this crisis. Since most church budgets are based on the faithful giving of members and friends,…
We are family
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends, We started a month ago into uncharted waters. And now we are in Holy Week in uncharted waters. I was scheduled to be in Moloka’i this week. That trip was initially postponed and now has been cancelled. Sofia had planned to fly from Colombia to here on Monday, April 4th. That trip has been postponed indefinitely. Life has certainly changed! And if someone had told me a month ago we would be doing a Zoom Maundy Thursday service, I would…
Vision Test
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends, The vision of our church family is to see people connect with Jesus Christ and with one another. That vision is being put to the test in our current situation. Suddenly connecting with each other is much different. It’s not necessarily harder or easier. It’s just different. Please, if you are feeling disconnected at all, please contact me by replying to this email or texting me: 714) 788-1920. Your church staff is doing the best they can…