A Few Changes for This Sunday

We will be making a few 'ONE TIME' adjustments for this Sunday. The beautiful venue that is Stadium High School is in demand and tomorrow we will be sharing the venue with a gymnastics competition. They will be in the gymnasium where our kids usually gather. This Sunday only our kids work will be downstairs in classrooms. We will have people available to point you in the right direction and get you signed in.

Another change is that we will be using the entrance in the front of the building closer to N. 1st St.

And finally, we will need to be out of the venue at 12 noon. The gymnastics competition will be having an awards ceremony in the performing arts center shortly after we are finished. We are typically out of the building around 12 noon any ways, we just need to be more sensitive this Sunday.

By the way, this is the Sunday where we will be talking about sex. Again, the topic will be PG-13 but parents should be aware that this is the subject and they should feel free to lead their children accordingly.

CPR Class

NCC is offering a CPR class Saturday April 16th from 9 to noon at Central Lutheran. There is no cost and child care will not be provided. This is open to everyone (parents, babysitters, concerned citizens, etc...) but we would especially like to see you there if you are a Sunday school teacher and have not already received the training. If you have any questions please email Wes Swarthout. Hope to see you there!

We Need Eggs!

Easter is coming! Now, I know that you know that Easter is not about bunnies and eggs, but do they know that? We are going to take the opportunity to invite the city to a Easter Egg Hunt at Wright Park on Saturday, April 23rd. This will be an excellent chance for us to provide some family fun for the city as well as invite them to our Easter gathering... where we'll let them in on the secret that Easter is not about bunnies and eggs.

We have already received over 2,000 plastic eggs for the event! Thank you all so much! We are hoping to have at least 5,000 eggs for the hunt. We also are asking for pre-wrapped candy to put inside the eggs. (For sanitation reasons we can't have non-wrapped candy) Please consider purchasing some eggs and candy for this amazing opportunity to serve the city!

Here are some websites that sell plastic eggs for next to nothing...

Oriental Trading

US Toy

If you know a better place, go for it! For candy, hard to beat Costco. Thanks!

A Response to Sunday

Dear Church,

I wanted to take a moment to comment on Sunday's gathering. I was pleased to see so many new faces, loved how the worship team lead us, and was surprised by my emotional response to the situation in the Middle-East.

I have spoken often about this family that has moved to a nation that has never had a Christian church in it's entire history. They are in great danger, but like Daniel in the den of lions they are perhaps in the safest place on earth, God's will.

This family has been shocked at the injustices toward women in this nation, especially toward the single mom's who have moved from Somalia to this nation to find work. These women have no voice, no advocate, no intercessor, and most likely never will unless someone steps outside of cultural boundaries and does something. Culturally they are the least of the least and are treated that way.

This is the part that killed me on Sunday, they don't have anyone to help care for their children while they go to work. Therefore, they tie their children together while they head out to work. A little while back the nation had flash floods and many of the children who were tied together drowned.

While trying to communicate this on Sunday a wave of emotions came over me that I have rarely experienced. I was more surprised than anyone that I was overcome like that. However, it was genuine and I pray that we would respond accordingly.

We are asking that you consider donating some money to this family who has rented a home for many of these refugee women and their children. They are hoping to rent another home soon. The children will be cared for in this home and the women will be treated with dignity. Another area of financial need is that this family had to quickly leave the country as civil war has broken out. They saw and heard gun fire and mortar fire. By God's grace they were able to get all their children and team out on time. If you've ever had to by a last minute plane ticket, you know it's not cheap. Money will go to them as well to help cover costs and hopefully also get them back into that nation.

We are a part of God's global Church, woven together for His renown. I love that so many of you carry that in your hearts as a reality. Let's be a part of extending God's Kingdom of justice, peace, righteousness and love to the dark corners of the earth. Will you help?

Thanks for being a great church!

Bo Noonan

Alpha!

Why do we do Alpha?

The Alpha Course is a basic introduction to the Christian faith that has been attended by over 11 million people world wide. The reason we do it here at NCC is that it's a great fit to the vision we have as a church. Our vision is to establish church(es) where people's lives are supernaturally changed by God. Alpha provides an excellent environment for people to hear about Jesus, ask questions about Jesus, and have their lives changed by Jesus.

We really want to encourage all of you who haven't taken the Alpha Course to sign up for the Spring session. The Course is extremely helpful for those who wouldn't call themselves a Christian and for those who may have been a Christian for 20 years.

The Alpha Course is being held at the YMCA Morgan Family Branch on Pearl St. You DO NOT have to be a YMCA member to attend the Alpha Course. Childcare is provided for members and non-members for a small fee. Just check in at the information desk at the main entrance.

Dessert will be served, followed by a short talk, and then a time of discussion where no questions are off limits.

Please consider signing up for the Alpha Course! It begins Wednesday, March 23rd at 6:30 pm.

A Few Thoughts on This Sunday

We are very excited about this new series we are embarking on this Sunday. The topic should prove to live up to the series name: A Series of Uncomfortable Subjects, first up, hell. Some things to consider...

1. Prayerfully consider who you can invite. In my personal experience, every time I ask God to lead me to someone to invite, He does. He wants to build His church and He wants to use you and I. Exciting stuff!

2. Be on time. Here's why. Most visitors are at least on time if not 10 minutes early. They are concerned about finding parking and not sticking out by walking in late. Your role in this is to do the same. Come ready to say hi to someone new, sign your kids in if you have any, have a cup of coffee, and then find your way into the auditorium by 10 am at the latest. We are committed to starting on time and it's a little awkward when we start with hand full of people, mostly visitors, sitting in the auditorium. The visitors get really nervous at that point and begin to wonder if they're it!

3. Find a seat in the lower level and toward the middle of the aisle. This way late people don't have to climb over you to find a seat. It helps to sit close to others, you know, that whole 'they will know we are Christians by our love for one another' thing. We are fully aware that new people may want to sit by themselves and try and figure this whole thing out. One thing we would love them to see is how much love is in the place!

I love this church! Really looking forward to gathering to the Risen Savior with all of you! See you then!

Parent Resource

Just wanted to let you all know that the March NCC Kids resource is available for parents. Visit the NCC Kids site to download the resource.