Worship Update 3/13

Jay's Devotion

Wanting To Love

Sunset just went through some incredibly tough cuts. We lost some dear, dear people; competent people, people who do amazing things here for this community. I went from panic, to angry, to numb, to grief, to questioning, to trying to be strong, to looking for God's Hand in this, and everything in between.

My heart is so torn. Whatever we do, whatever decisions we make in light of these cuts, what I want as we move forward is to be able to trace all of it back to decisions made because of love for God, love for our church, and love of people. What will make me lose sleep at night is if I can't make connections of decisions to those things.

Though the last couple of weeks have been tough, we are really only at the base of this hill. The climb now, what we do now, the decisions we make now and the direction we go, the way we restructure and the way we communicate through this, is absolutely CRUCIAL.

If you are reading this and are from Sunset you might wonder how in the world, in light of these layoffs and salary reductions, how are we currently having construction being done in our building?? I want to assure you that what is being finished right now at Sunset are things that have already been paid for and designated by members in our congregation with the Building Fund. The Building Fund is separate from our Operating Fund. Sunset cannot legally move funds designated toward our building and put them into the Operating Fund. We had a number of Capital Campaigns to raise the money that is currently in our Building Fund. Although our last Campaign officially ended last December, there are people attending Sunset who were not part of those campaigns or who may not fully understand how we can be finishing our facilities in the midst of budget reductions and staff layoffs.

If you have any questions about this, wonder about the process, or have concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. If I don't know the answer, I will ask people that know and get you the info as quickly as possible.

And please pray for the leadership at Sunset over the next days, weeks, months, as we lead through this and lock arms with the people of this church to seek God's will for what comes next. Pray also for the people affected by the staff layoffs/reductions in hours. Let's ask that God would meet their needs and guide them as they seek direction for their next steps.

Easter Is Coming Fast
It’s April 12th and the planning has already begun. We’re excited about the services and about what God will do in the hearts of those who come that day! The service times for this year are:

Saturday, April 11th, 4 & 6:30pm
Sunday, April 12th, 9 & 11am (no Sunday evening service)

Except for the 6:30pm service on Saturday, all services will be a blend of the style you would normally find in our 9 & 11am services. The 6:30pm service on Saturday will be an “11am” style.

Jay is still looking for short prayers that you have written (or will write) to God. He’d like authentic and heartfelt prayers that come from a place of desperation and longing for deliverance; or, they reflect how God met you in that place of desperation and share the joy and the hope that He brought. We want the community that comes that day to hear real life and see that other people (even people in church) know what it means to be desperate and that there’s hope in a God who meets us in the midst of desperation.

If you are interested in serving in this way, please shoot Jay or Janet an email jaymckenney@sunsetpres.org or janetfraser@sunsetpres.org.

Opportunities To Serve

IMMEDIATE Student and/or Family Opportunity
On March 8th we began a sermon series titled “God’s Design for the Next Generation” and we’d love to have students or families do the prelude each weekend. If you are willing to serve in this way OR could recommend a musician/artist in our church family, please contact janetfraser@sunsetpres.org.

Are You Musical??
We are always on the lookout for talented musicians with a heart to serve on the team. Whether you play the electric guitar or the Swedish bagpipes, we want to hear you play!

Come April 5th, 1pm in the Sanctuary. Please rsvp to Tyler at tylerbraun@sunsetpres.org asap and we will get you more info on how you can prepare.

1 Dish Dinners
We are looking for people who would be willing to prepare a 1 dish dinner once a month for the team working behind the scenes at the 5pm gathering. Drop off the dish Sunday a.m. when you come to church, we’ll cook it, clean it and be very thankful to grab a bite to eat on the run. For more information or to volunteer to cook please contact carriepeeples@sunsetpres.org.

Ushers Needed!
We are in need of ushers to serve once-a-month during the 9am, 11am or 5pm gathering each week. Let Gene Barrett (Baarrett@aol.com) know which gathering you’d prefer to serve in.

Upcoming Events

April 12 – Easter
Services times: Saturday 4 & 6:30pm, Sunday 9 & 11am – no Sunday night service
all services the same except Saturday, 6:30pm which will be an “11am” style