Christmas, Bears, Bullet Points

Y'all, 

In a time of economic stress, you know what doesn't cost a thing?  Bullet points.  So lets use 'em.

• Sunday Morning Christmas Spectacular -- Practice for the Christmas concert starts tomorrow, and will actively supplant Sundy Skool for the next couple weeks.  This means that Ms. Tina needs as many of your bright, shining faces as possible.  There are Star Boy spots available, but I'm sorry: Dan already called Lucia.  
• Another Bullet Point!
• Bears/VIKINGS Game -- Ok, when I put this on the calendar, in October, there was a genuine feeling that this could actually be a game worth watching.  Things have changed.  HOWEVER, we're gonna ignore the pop-warner quality of the Bears offence and have fun anyways.  Here are the details:
• Who: All High-Leaguers, and anyone who's met a High-Leaguer.
• Where: the Almquist residence (click the event on the calendar for a map).
• When: 3pm till the game's over (6:30-7:00pm).
• Why: Even if you don't like football, we'll provide snacks, drinks, a taco smörgåsbord, and games to play once the Game gets boring to watch (a.k.a. "halftime")
• Bullet Sub-Points?!  This is too much fun.
• ALSO, I need a head-count so I know how much food to get.  Leave a comment below if you're gonna be there.  Bring your friends, your family, your parole officer (Zac), whomever.    

Ok, that should do it.  Email me any questions you may have.  I'll be at my computer all day writing a 20-page paper on the facial invalidity of Section 48 of Title 18 of the United States Code, so interruptions will be welcomed.

Dave's Favorite Picture of the Early Part of the Afternoon

Dave Out

Special "Reflective Tape" Edition

Y'all,

We're gonna meet at 4pm tonight, instead of the usual 6pm.  People will be decorating the Church for Christmas, and this way parents who want to partake in the decorating won't have to make two trips.  High Leaguers will be posting Coat Drive fliers throughout the neighborhood, so bring your walking shoes and reflective tape.  Ok, see you soon.

Dave Out

Print-off Download Available

Y'all,

Print off the file posted under the downloads section and bring it with you tonight.  That's all you have to do; we'll go over it all together.  See you soon.

Dave Out

Reminder!

Y'all, 


This is a reminder that your Deep Freeze applications need to be turned in to Glady this Sunday: 
      

~~YOUR DEEP FREEZE APPLICATIONS~~ 

~~NEED TO BE TURNED IN TO GLADY THIS SUNDAY~~

See, that wasn't so bad.  Just fill them out, and let them ride to Church in your pockets.  Here is Dave's Favorite Picture of the Early Part of the Afternoon.

Dave Out

Dan's (Usually, but not in this case) The Man

I Knew it!.  Okay, I didn't know it, but I suspected it.

To save you from completely losing faith in your justice system, I looked into one of the cases we talked about last night.  It was the case where a thief broke into a home while the owners were out of town, and got stuck in the garage for a week, surviving off dog food and/or mustard packets.  I think Dan brought it up, but that's neither here/there.  The case is urban legend, as noted at The Stella Awards website (its the Darwin Awards of lawsuits).

Unfortunately, and in Dan's defense, the site showcases a myriad of cases that are both ridiculous and true.  We'l call this one a draw.

Dave Out

Free Will, Moral Deteminism, and Pan Flutes

Y'all,

Tonight's talk will follow closely on the heels of last week's debate.  Last week we queried, "Should Christians vocally proselytize their faith?"  I don't want to brag, but we managed to settle an Age-Old question in under an hour.  And so, recognizing the sheer gravitas of such a brain trust, we owe it to ourselves -- to humanity --  to press onwards.

FOR TONIGHT: (A) Download the material from the downloads section.  It is a 17-miniute audio clip, and you will likely need iTunes to play it.  If you don't have iTunes then you are the last person, and NASA has been searching for you with a big telescope. (B) Print out and read the handout, and ponder the question "Do we have free will?"  Be prepared to discuss it.

Sorry about the late posting; I forgot I needed to upload the handout.  Not like everyone's busy celebrating a Bears victory or anything.  Too soon?

This is how to handle the question, "Do I  need a pan flute?"  It is unrelated to the rest of this article.

Dave Out.

Sundy Skool Emergency

Y'all,

It recently (5 hours ago) came to my attention that I will not be able to be at church tomorrow morning.  Furthermore, both the beloved Shirley and the beloved Larry are out of town.  I frantically searched out replacements, but then struck upon a pretty good idea (okay, it wasn't my idea, but it works).  all Jr. and Sr. High students will attend the adult Bible study instead.

It takes place at the same time, so all you need to do is meander on over.  They may even have donuts; anything's possible.  We're still on for tomorrow evening, and I am so sorry for the last, last minute rescheduling. Hang with the adults, and we'll all critique them when they aren't around.

Happy Halloween.  Remember to put reflective tape on your costumes.

Dave out.

Posting with the Mosting

Y'all:

I thought we, as a group, could partake in making some Christmas miracles.  Take note:

It all starts with you!

Please join us for an Operation Chrismas child packing party! Thurs., Nov. 5th at Soup & Bread night.

Operation Christmas Child boxes bring Christmas joy and hope to children in need around the world. Bring your donations in and place them in the box in the narthex. Join us for a packing party on November 5^th (Soup & Bread night)

Items Needed:

SHOE BOXES      WRAPPING PAPER    

CASH DONATIONS-(EACH BOX COSTS $7 TO SHIP)

TOYS
small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES
pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads, solar calculators, coloring and picture books.

HYGIENE ITEMS
toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth

OTHER
Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries)

A PERSONAL NOTE
In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child may write back.)

DO NOT INCLUDE:
Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; breakable items such as snowglobes

 Donations may be placed in the boxes in the Narthex or brought to church on Thursday the 5th.  Thank you for helping Operation Christmas Child serve children all over the world!

Jericho and You

Y'all

I posted the script for tomorrow in the "Downloads" section to the left.  (For Tempest, who said she couldn't find it last time: its in the column directly to the left and then all the way to the bottom, under Downloads.)  Both links are the same document, but one is a MS Word document, and the other is a PDF file.  One of the two should work, no matter what kind of computer you have.  Further downloading instructions are available under the Post from October 3rd, or shoot me an email.

Unfortunately, I'm gonna have to cancel Youth Group for tomorrow night, since I'm still in the library buried in work.  Buy stock in Mountain Dew, because I am singlehandedly bringing PepsiCo out of this recession.

Also, here is a picture of a rabbit with a pancake on its head.


-Dave

Picture-I-Find-Amusing of the Week!


Y'all,

I need to know who (whom?) will be at Sunday Skool this week.  We have Junior Worship, so we'll be setting up a little something for the young 'uns.

We're doing the story about the Walls of Jericho, which were the fourth most famous walls, after the Chinese one, the one in Berlin, and the your FaceBook page.  Long story short: drink some coffee that morning and bring your A game.  Your B+ game at the very least.

Also, we MIGHT NOT be having Youth Group this Sunday evening.  I've spent the last fifty hours piecing together a very exciting paper on "testamentary capacity, per the disposition of real property" (i.e."how crazy is too crazy to give stuff away?") but I might not be working fast enough.  I will let you know 2moro. See: I don't even have time to spell out whole words.

Ok, recapping: who's coming on Sunday, famous walls of Jericho, and crazy people can give their fortunes to Clem, the pet hedgehog.

-Dave

For Tomorrow Morning!

Y'all,

For tomorrow morning, you're gonna need to download some things.  Here's how to do it. (Maybe make your kid do the rest of this)

1. Look on the left-hand side of this page, at the bottom of that column.
2. Under the "Downloads" section you will see 3 links.  Click on them; they will take you to a site called Media Fire.
3. On the left side of the MediaFire page is a link that says "Click Here To Start Download".  Click that, and save the file to your desktop.

2 of the files are songs (mp3).  You may want to right-click these and open them using iTunes.  Legally speaking, you should delete these songs in the near future, or send the song writers a dollar.  And that's it.  Contact me with any questions you've got.

Fake Right, Look Left

Y'all:

On the left hand side of this page is a spot to drop a vote for tomorrow night's movie. You can pick multiple options, so vote for a back-up. The top vote getter WILL be tomorrow's movie, so you ignore this at your own peril (unless some hacker replaces all the options with Sponge Bob movies, in which case we watch Antiques Roadshow). See you tomorrow.

-Dave

Cominatcha! Pow-wow & Movie Night Combo!

Y'all:

Happy September. Summer's officially over with, and Fall is here. Unless you're wealthy or from Vermont, in which case its Autumn to you. Fancy Vertmonters and their fancy maple syrup. Either way, it's getting colder, and it's only a matter of time until you're pulling out that box of ugly knit sweaters with the reindeer-in-mid-leap on the front of them. Sweaters so ugly they make Bill Cosby cringe.

Ugly sweaters and maple syrup aside, the season brings us the chance to shrug off the chaos of summer, and settle back into that old Youth Group routine. MMMmmmmm... Comfy as an old rocking chair, right? I know.

Towards that end, I invite all parents to come with your kids this Sunday night. No, you won't have to hang out with them. We'll quarantine them. And then we can have a perfectly adult conversation about them, youth group, and any surrounding details. (Note: in pitching this idea to them, replace "quarantine" with "entertain". Who doesn't wanna be entertained, right?)

That's it for now. See you soon, and remember: Sunday, 6pm, "entertainment".

CHIC in Retrospect

Ahh, the wonder of CHIC. The vocal-cord-straining, eardrum-crushing, retina-searing, wonder of CHIC. With volume so high you can still only hear certain noises, and bass levels so low they could fracture a rib.

I don't know what it is, but something about summer concerts cause totally rational people to say things like "Eardrums? We're certainly not gonna need those later."

However, the week was more than just guitar solos and crowd surfing, and so I'm enlisting your help in the accumulation of digital media pertaining to said events (send me your pictures so I can post them). Now, you can do it via snail mail or the Pony Express, or you can email the goods to dsjohnson2 at gmail dot com. If you send them by Pony Express, please let me know so I can see the pony when it comes. I heart ponies.

Moving on. There will not be Y.G. tonight, since Tessa and I decided to see family in MN at the last moment and I'm now oh-so-far away from you. In a related subject, I appreciate all y'alls understanding in my somewhat increased levels of truancy over the last 2 weeks; I'm in a constant state of near-panic getting ready for classes and am continually coming to grips with how little I know about what I need to know. So again, apologies.

Love to all who read this. May your summer end slowly.

-dave

Lock-In Locale

Some have expressed interest in knowing exactly where we are meeting for tomorrow night's lock-in. So...here:is the address and phone:

Evangelical Covenant Church of Elgin

1565 Larkin Avenue

Elgin, IL 60123

phone 847.888.2302

CHIC It Out:

Alrighty. The hours are winding down; it is coming soon. You're not packed, but you thought about it, and that's an important step. Well, here's another important step you can plan on: a lock-in.

That's right! For less than the price of a cup of coffee, you and your friends can be herded into a Church and forced to eat pizza till your gut swells and then be subjected to movies and games until you're ragged from exhaustion and you're actually hungry for pizza again. And when the time finally comes, you'll be set free from the confines of said ecclesiastical structure...and herded onto a bus for ten hours.

Doors close for the Lock-In at 9p.m. sharp! If you want a spot on the bus, you need to be there! Exclamation point!

Also, CHIC-ites will be responsible for three (3) meals not provided for them by the conference, so bring a little dough, or cheddar, or bling or whatever you kids call money ($) to feed the belly. (In Parenthesis.) You may want more for buying t-shirts or CDs. $20 gets you a nice Appalachian shanty.

Hasta la vista para hoy, mi amigos. Via con nachos.

VBS Worknight

MESSAGE FROM JEAN ALMQUIST

Hi,

I am planning a VBS Worknight on Tuesday, July 7th at 7pm.

Here's what will be happening:
We need to finish painting the family signs;
We need to pre-glue part of the abacus craft;
We need to stuff bags with newspaper (if you have newspaper, please bring it-we need to fill about 25 grocery bags).

I would also like the drama team to start going over their scripts together! Dennis, Paul, Curt, Julie...also if you are available Scott, Andrew Zach Shirley (yes, Shirley) Dave, Carolyn. This will be just running through the scripts to find out what questitons you have and how we will be putting this on.

Thanks to everyone for being so willing to help out-it is wonderful to see how the Spirit is actively working to bring this year's VBS to an exciting and fun time for all of us to teach and learn.

Critical Mass (working title)

Due to a relatively regular asking of the question, "Who's coming tonight?" (Tempest) I have ingeniously improvised a way to figure that out without even having to ask it!

BEHOLD: in this web page's right-hand column, all the way at the bottom, you will find a check-in poll. This feature allows -- nay, demands! -- you check in and lets others know of your intent to show up on any given Tuesday evening. (In order for this summer's little program to work, we're gonna need a certain numbers of tushes in the chairs. Using this system permits us (me) to see if we have reached the mass of people critical to hold a decent argument. See the last posting if you're confused about the arguing part.) The deadline for checking in is 3pm on whatever Tuesday is coming next. Check it at 3pm to see who and how many. If so many people are busy that we cannot reach the pre-determined number, we will just plan on doing it next week. Que sera, and all that.

Questions? I shall answer them. Thoughts? I shall ponder them. Fears? I shall jokingly prey upon them until you are sufficiently rattled, or I become bored. See you all Sunday!

Welcome to the Kickoff (Working Title)

School's out. You're staying up later and later, because there are no school nights. You're sleeping later and later, since your alarm has been gutted and sold for scrap metal. You have been on the couch so many hours it now bears your outline; every butt-print is unique.

According to the Sylvan Learning Centers TV commercial, kids lose a full decade of book knowledge over the summer. That means, and you can check my math here, that by September a 10th-grader ends up being the intellectual equal of a grey squirrel (sciurus carolinensis).

So, to keep your brain of dying of atrophy, I have labored (sort of) and over countless (four) books, and thusly developed an aggressive (again, sort of) summer schedule to ward off the further loss of your precious brain cells (general somatic afferent fibers).

"Working Title (working title)" will go like this. You will be divided into two teams (Jets & Sharks, since I love musical theatre). These teams will argue over a prearranged topic (who would win in a fight: a jet or a shark). The argument will proceed according to the Oxford rules of debate, and will be judged by a panel, ranging in size from one (me), to three (me, Pastor Dan, and Rodney). The panel will render it's findings, and surmise a victor. The topics will be both (a) relevant to the modern socio-political-economic-metaphysical ethos, as well as (b) biblical derived.

As always, you can find the date/time information by clicking on the relevant day up there on the Ye Olde Linear Planning Mechanism. Click the "comment" section for questions/ideas/frustrations/etc...

-dave

Moderately Warm Off The Presses!!

Shirley emailed thuis to that vast majority of you, but just to be sure:

The bus leaves Illinois, CHIC-bound, from Elgin Evangelical Covenant Church at 2 A.M. on July 12th. Once again: Bus! Elgin Cov! 2 A.M.! July 12th!

Direct all your questions back at me, I am ready for them. However, I'm not sure the exact return time yet. Other than that though, I'm question-ready.

The Blog! Now Made With Real Cheese!

Alright, this picture comes via a hearty recommendation from Zac. I think we can all appreciate the relevance of such a photo:


Note Sean in the background either (a) crooning a mean Raffi interpretation into a microphone, or (b) mining that left nostril. Either way, I think a reunion tour is in order. (Thank you, Zac.)





And while we're on the subject of Nostalgic Pictures That Make Us Laugh, check out this 1950's comic book cover I found. If it doesn't elicit at least a smirk, you're a very serious person.

Clearly, this was a slow day for Super Boy. No laser-wielding villains or towns threatened by a busted dam upriver. Nope, today Lana's tendency to down Krispy Kremes while in a phone booth is Metropolis's biggest (haha) problem. Kinda makes you root for the dam to break.

Now, switching to a topic that could be considered slightly more important, we have to discuss (e-discuss?) what to do this summer. Since we're losing our time together Sunday mornings -- don't everyone cry at once -- I'd like to add a time during the week to meet up. Ergo, I need y'all to inform me which evening works the best for you. So, (a) vote at the top of the page, then (b) comment below on what you want to do with that time (e.g. book study, Bible study, lessons on relevant issues, debating the literary interpretations of Tolstoy's "War & Peace").

Also, I've not gotten any responses on the paintball excursion. Either most of you are busy this weekend, or you're ignoring me to see if it hurts my feelings. Since you would never do that to me I'm assuming you're booked. If I'm wrong, and am deluged by a wave of texts/calls/emails demanding paintball, we can still go, but otherwise, lets plan to do it some other time.

Lastly, I'm changing my email. The old one is boring, and I couldn't check it from my phone so it had to go. All hail the new email: dsjohnson2@gmail.com. Creative, I know.

Love, peace, and sunburns for the lot of you.

Dave

The Case for Service

We know its a good thing to do good things.

Common sense says that most people who need help like to be helped. As a culture, we love a good charity story: Mother Teresa holding hands with lepers, Angelina Jolie adopting a village of orphans. As a public body, we authorized our government to send 8,153,000,000.00 in aid overseas in the last available fiscal year. Privately, we gave $4,012 per tax-filing-person.

Medically speaking, those who volunteer their time are less likely to suffer from mental health issues. They have lower mortality rates, and report a higher rate of life satisfaction (http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0506_hbr.pdf). In other words: the more people help others, the more they enjoy their own lives. You could even say mankind is physiologically wired to help each other out.

And this should surprise none of us. (It seems that every couple of weeks another study proves true something written in Proverbs a few thousand years ago) It's not exactly a revelation that giving of ourselves is a major part of the Christian faith. When the crippled beggar asks Peter for some money in Acts, what does Peter do? Toss him change? I'd feel pretty good about giving the guy a ten-spot. "Super-spiritual people give paper money," I'd say to myself. Nope, Peter heals the guy. Then he sends him off to use his new-found legs.

A half-dozen or so spots remain for the May 16th Feed My Starving Children service trip. I want those spots filled by the Youth Group. Not so you can lower your mortality rates, or your average instances of mental illness. I want to see you there because its a good thing to do good things.

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday

The toughest part of the Easter season is not giving up sweets for Lent. It's no going to church in the middle of the week, or putting up with member of your extended family who pinch your cheeks and comment on how tall you're getting. It's not even wearing that pastel-colored polo shirt, although, we feel your pain on that one.

Nope, the toughest part is somehow coming to grips with just exactly how much you need this day. The tough part of this season is cutting through the pastel Polo's and the candy eggs and even the church services themselves, and finding yourself with a clear picture of what exactly is taking place here.

Part of the problem -- scratch that: most of the problem -- is that you and I have a really tough time accepting just how badly we need this, because we don't like the truth of just how bad we've been. The truth of how far down the well we've fallen is hard, so we make believe we only need a little boost to get out. We never ask for that mile or so of rope we really need.

As this week ends, succumb to the truth that maybe, just maybe, Christ is already aware of your situation. He knows you need the rope, he's tossed it to you, he's even climbed down to help you climb. Your "falling" days can be old news; Easter is about the ascent.

Palm Sunday, At Hand. (pun intended)

A couple of things.

First, the calendar has some updated event info; of most immediate interest is the Laser Tag after church on this coming Sunday. Some of you might think laser tag has nothing to do with the triumphal entry of our Lord on Passover week. You would be right, is more of a coincidence. Detail are available by clicking the event as found on the calendar above.

Second, we will not have a meeting, since that would be like: Church, game, Church (with games). However, you young 'uns are not getting off easy. The video above is a weirdly animated and darkly themed take on a sort story by Russian author Franz Kafka. (Learn that name; smart people will like to talk about him later in life.) What I want you all, y'all, to do is to watch this weird little cartoon and tell me what you think it means. Kafka, a Christian of astounding creativity, was always concerned with Mankind's plight and their relationship with God. There's your starting point. DON'T come to Church Sunday morning with nothing to say on the matter, or I'll have to look at you in a disappointed way. I'm serious, I'll do it.

All right. Enjoy the remainder of your week, and I'll see you soon!

Happy St. Patricks Day

I thought I'd throw in some preaching from the Emerald Isle this week. It's just an audio clip, but Alistair Begg doesn't need bells and whistles to hit a nail on its head.

Skip ahead to the third minute if you like. Good preaching: what springs to mind? A booming voice from a big pulpit, right? Someone quoting Scripture while holding up a Bible with one hand and pointing at the Bible with their other hand. Or maybe they're pointing at the pews in front of them.

But Good Preaching is really just one thing: relaying the Gospel with conviction. "Preaching", it seems, is as much the job of those in the pews as it is the guy on the stage. Pastor Dan does a fine job on Sunay mornings, but what good is it if we don't do anything with that teaching Monday through Saturday? Not much good at all.

So go ahead: preach something this week.

Rock and Roll Spirituallity

If you haven't already, you really oughta watch the 90-second clip of Rob Bell. If you don' know him, Bell is head pastor of the Mars Hill Bible Church, in Michigan. More than that, he's one of a new genre of younger pastors who are looking at Church in a different way.

Bell got off the ground when he started a church aimed spcecifically at the type of youth who don't look like they go to church. Tattoos, black hoodies, lip piercings, pink mohawks, whatever. Bell wanted to address those who fell through the cracks, and he wanted to do it in a way modern youth would naturally understand.

Sure, his worship bands have raging electric guitar solos, he preaches in black jeans and Pink Floyd t-shirts, but he's keeping the message the same. The youth of today exist in a place that is increasingly secular. They feel their churches are too judgemental, railing against the sins of modern culture without bringing it a relevant, hopeful Gospel. Bell, and others like him, seek to apply that Gospel in this generation's native tongue.

And this is something to be excited about, for if the lost and troubled youth of this modern time are going to have their souls ushered into the Kingdom, it can only be done -- nay, must be done -- by those Christian youth who have found their way.

CHIC Excursions

Welcome! C'mon inside; wipe your shoes and take a load off. Put your feet on the coffee table even, no one minds. This is the 5th Room, and if you can't put your feet up here, well where can you then?

The guys at CHIC unveiled the bands for their '09 concert series. The video is posted above (sorry Andrew, you had your 15 minutes) and the line-up looks good. Third Day, David Crowder Band, FlyLeaf, and more. Should be real good, in that sledgehammer-to-the-eardrums, why-are-my-ears-still-ringing-4-days-later sort of way.

In other news, CHIC has sent out details about different Excursions they're offering all those attending the conference in July (http://www.chic2009.org/excursions/). The trips are all extra, and range from $12 to $73 a person. Take a look a the list (at the above-listed page), and then shoot me a comment on the your thoughts. Obviously, the more we sign up for, the more money you spend. But you all have done such an amazing job fund raising that I think some of these extras might be deserved.

From the vast reaches of the Information Superhighway,
Dave Out

From the Freezing Depths of Deep Freeze '09

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't take a look around sometimes, you could miss it." -Ferris Bueller.

Ah, the musings of Ferris have rarely seemed more pertinent. Deep Freeze '09 was great, so let's ponder it a moment. No, better than ponder, let's have a look-see. A picture, everyone knows, is worth a thousand words. So here's the photographic equivalent of a couple of Tolstoy novels. Enjoy.

I googled "world's best broom ball squad" and this picture came to the top.

Hard to argue with Google.

Tempest points the way to Jesus, who points the way to a boy who looks too young to steer a ship in such inclement weather.

Derek says thumbs up to breakfast.

Jackie, wonder-struck by the sheer beauty that is sub-zero windchill.

David, also struck by the plummeting temperatures, but in a totally different way. Ah, the simple pleasures of being able to actually feel one's toes.

Alex knew the camp food would catch up with him, he just didn't think it would happen so soon after lunch. We are accepting donations for XXXXXXXXXL t-shirts.

Alright, yall. Check the calendar for updates, and note that we're not having any meeting on the 1st of Feb, but we'll definitely be hanging out on the 8th. Also, we're gonna be on the schedule for another Junior Worship, so put some ideas onto some paper and let's brainstorm something fierce.

-Dave

Howzees Toozees

OK, so you are lost. This page has loaded itself onto your computer screen, but you've got no idea what you're looking at. I can deal with that. Just keep reading.

• First off, the first thing you'll see at room 5 is the "Calendar". This will let you view the events we've got scheduled. If you click on an event -- go ahead, try it -- you will see details of that event, as well as a "Map" option that shows you how to get there. Amazing, right? I know.
• Notice the "Followers" column on the right-hand side of the page, This option is for you. If you click on it, it will show everyone else that you're in the loop, and -- best of all-- it will let you input your email address so that EVERY time ANYTHING gets announced you'll be notified via your email Inbox. (You might want to add this page to your Favorites list, so you can find it lightning-quick next time.)
• Posts are the reason you came to the page. If you're set up with the aforementioned email notification, then you likely want to see some update. The can be found directly beneath the "Calendar" and are arranged from most- to least-recent. If you have thoughts or questions, just click the "Comments" section, located beneath each post.
• Above the "Followers" section is a Web Poll. You don't have to be 18, or even a citizen.
• Beneath the posts is a game. If you don't have a job or friends, this is your dream come true.
• Below the "Followers" section is a playlist of songs. You can sample them at will. Most are newer Christian albums or artists. Get lost in the music, man.

That's about it. Welcome to the 21st Century.

Virtual Churchual

Welcome to room 5

After months of technical tinkering, after countless hours spent arranging 1s and 0s, after failed attempt after failed attempt: it is alive.

This site has everything you need. And if it hasn't got it, then at least it knows what you're talking about. The page's live calendar displays the time, location, and description of all scheduled events.

Posts, such as this one, entertain and inform you of any updates or details you need to know. And maybe some things you don't.

There are pictures, games, a weekly web poll, and a place to post thoughts of your own. You can even receive email updates when something new has been posted. This page does everything but wake you up Sunday morning.

Enjoy.