IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER VIA EMAIL WEEKLY, ALONG WITH OUR COMMUNITY COMMUNICATIONS, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO MELISSA: office@mountvernonsda.com & REQUEST TO BE ADDED TO OUR EMAIL LIST.

November 27, 2020

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope this finds you cozy at home, ready to welcome the Sabbath hour upon us.

Here is what you want to know 🙂

  • Sabbath School: 10am
    • Adult Sabbath School will remain in the Fireside Room. We will be doing a hybrid of the Quarterly. Please join us!
    • Children/Youth classes!
      • Beginners – Kindergarten
      • Juniors
      • Earliteen – Youth
    • Please self-screen per Covid guidelines BEFORE LEAVING HOME
    • Please arrive in plenty of time to check in your kid(s) before class starts!

Sabbath Service (Livestream AND In Person): 11am Pastor Don Bryan will be sharing the sermon. Please join us in person (following COVID-19 protocols* we have marked off the pews with flowers to allow for seating to comply for social distancing. Please only sit in rows with flowers on them. Leave at least six feet from all sides between you and other groups that are not from your household. Or join via our livestream on YouTube or Facebook or directly on our Homepage. Church Service Online!

  • Tithes & Offerings
    • You can give online via our website here:  Giving. There is also a mobile app: iPhone/iPad users: ‎Adventist Giving on the App Store; Google Play: AdventistGiving. 
      • When giving online, you have the opportunity to choose where you want your monies to go.
    • In the Foyer we also have our Little Church for Children’s Ministries, as well as a lockbox for tithes and offerings collected on site. Use an Offering/Tithe envelope to specify a specific ministry if desired. All loose offerings will remain for our local church.
  • Worship on Wednesdays! Don’t miss out on something great!
    • 5-6pm Bible Study
    • 6pm Simple Supper – Suspended from Nov. 16 – Dec. 14 Per State Mandates
    • 6:30-7:30pm Recovery Meeting
    • 7-8pm Prayer Meeting

Kids/youth ministries

  • Children’s Church December 5 – Concurrent with Worship service in Sanctuary at 11am
  • Youth Night Friday December 18, 6-8pm – Youth 12+, please join us!
  • NEXT GEN Night Saturday December 19, 6-8pm – Kids ages 8-11 years, please join us!

*If you are not feeling well, PLEASE STAY HOME. This includes any symptoms related to COVID-19. Attendees are to pre-screen themselves prior to arriving on location: No one with a temperature 100.4+ may attend the service. Individuals with a household member that has been diagnosed with COVID-19 may not attend the service. Masks are now REQUIRED BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE SERVICE per Governor Jay Inslee. Our Washington Conference has asked that we comply with these orders.

** Pending latest recommendations from Skagit County/Washington State

Upcoming

We have some dates for you to put on your calendar:

  • Nov. 28 – “The Chosen” Watch Party Season 1, Episodes 1-4
  • Dec. 5 – Maureen O. three-part series on Nature Declares the Glory of God
  • Dec. 6 (Sunday) 3pm – Women’s Sock Exchange – Cancelled or postponed…stay tuned
  • Dec. 12 – “The Chosen” Watch Party Season 1, Episodes 5-8
  • Dec. 19 – Christmas Brunch 10am / Christmas Carols and More 11am

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving week? It would be so easy to write about warm, fuzzy, feel-good thanksgiving thoughts and times. Imagine a Hallmark movie where things start out cute and fun, progresses to slightly difficult and uncomfortable, culminating in a “how will we ever resolve this?!” to end with a very happy ending. There’s comfort in knowing that the outcome is a happy ending, and I think that is why those types of movies are so popular. Are we any different in our Christian lives? We want the happy ending, and to even gloss over the middle part of hardships, trials and wilderness experiences where sometimes we feel like we can’t even hear God’s voice. But as we all know, deep down in our hearts, those times of trial are absolutely necessary to our walk as Christians, to deepen our faith, reinforce our dependence, and release outcomes to the very capable hands of God, our Father, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Recently I have been struggling mightily with God in this season of my life. I had fallen into a trap of hopelessness and exhaustion, where my depression became so deep that I frequently found myself unable to do life. Nothing quite like a day where everyone is supposed to be grateful, to really put me in check and put me face to face with what is true:  God is good. Period. God is Sovereign. God has seen the End from the Beginning. Nothing is impossible for Him. He has reminded me that all He is asking of me is to TRUST Him for the outcome, regardless of how I am feeling. 

I am so grateful for a wonderful husband and family, who seek to understand my struggles and support me through my hardest times. I am grateful for Godly friendships, with friends who pray for me, with me and listen as I struggle through. I am grateful for a church family that continues to support me and my family in our Christian walk. 

Lastly, I want to legitimize depression. It is real, it can happen to anyone. I encourage anyone struggling to get help. I work with my primary care doctor, a counselor and take medication and try to incorporate as much healthy self-care as possible. Don’t try to walk this path alone. Reach out for help. God made us a family so that we can help each other.

Proverbs 27:9-10 “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.”

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”

Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Can’t wait to see you tomorrow! Remember, we are one Sabbath closer to Jesus coming back!

Smiles,
Melissa Baskett
Admin Assistant
Mount Vernon SDA Church
360-416-0443 / office@mountvernonsda.com
www.mountvernonsda.com