Worship (Page 2)

“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…

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…

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!

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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? …

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…

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……

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…

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…