Weekly Invite – 19 May 2019
Welcome to Starnberg Fellowship!
Announcements:
Church Leadership Team: This Sunday, we will be holding a brief meeting for the Church Leadership Team elections. The meeting will start at 17:15 after the worship service. Standing for election are (in alphabetical order) Tanya Hain, Alastair Hayward, Sharon Page and Will Powell. The existing leadership team (CLT) has met with the new candidates and we warmly endorse them and look forward to expanding the team with some new perspectives and impetus. Please note that there isn’t a limit to the number of people in the CLT – it’s not a question of choosing 5 out of 6 for example. All the candidates are qualified and eligible. Pastor John is working on expanding the areas of involvement in ministry at Starnberg Fellowship to give all an opportunity to serve. Please keep Pastor John and our Church Leadership Team in your prayers.
The Sunday, Philipp Meinecke will be preaching on “Why Revival Tarries—and why we can’t wait another day.” Scripture verses we will be focusing on are Nehemiah 8:1-12. To say that we live in interesting times is probably the understatement of the year. Unlike many a generation before, we are facing a cultural shift that is both fast-paced and directed at multiple fronts that it is hard to pin down its immediate and long-term effects. The Church – particularly in Western Europe – isn’t just declining because of its scandals or its chasing after cultural relevance, but more so because of its inability to transfer true, genuine and biblical faith to the next generation. The percentages of biblical illiteracy among generations x,y, and z are more than alarming. According to recent studies, the proportion of young adults (16-29) with no religious affiliation are staggering. A few generations ago, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. wrote:”There was a time when the church was very powerful – in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.” Jesus’ words, “upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18, KJV) sound fictional, impotent, and unrealistic. Still, against the backdrop of this dark canvas God desires to paint a marvelous painting brim with hope. This Sunday, we will discover together what it takes for you and me (personally) and for us as a church (corporately) to turn things around. We will look at a passage of Scripture that will help us discover how God used ordinary people in similar circumstances to bring about the changes we desperately need today to effect lasting change. -Philipp Meinecke
Prayer and Bible Study Group on Tuesdays. Join us as we alternate between Bible study and focused prayer. Meetings are at the Powells’ in Pasing. Please contact us for the address.
The Curry Club! Sunday, 2 June following worship. Bring your favorite curry (vegetarian or non-veg) to share with 8-10 people! Volunteers needed to help host the event. Please let Sharon Page or Shirin know. Thanks.
Join us for our next Coffee and Conversation Morning on Wednesday, 5 June from 10:00-12:00 here at Christuskirche. Children are welcome!
Youth Sunday and Movie Night is 26 May and the youth will be leading worship! Please contact Sarah or Stephanie for more information or if you’d like to be part of the service.
Annual Church Retreat: 5 July to 7 July in Berchtesgaden. Our speaker will be Stuart Bell. After serving in a number of churches in Wales, Stuart became Rector in the university town of Aberystwyth in 1988 where he faithfully preached the Gospel to generations of students and townspeople alike for over 25 years. Although a Sais (Englishman) Stuart learnt Welsh in order to minister to the local people. He also has a fantastic memory for names, making an effort to remember the names of all the students coming through each year. Today he lives with his wife Pru (a magistrate for 21 years) above Borth on the Welsh coast. Although officially retired, he continues to serve as a minister as well as regularly leading guided tours of Israel. For our Saturday night Talent event, see Shirin.
