Last Two4Two of 2011

Here is a sneak peak at the final Two4Two slideshow of the season. Thanks to all of the volunteers who do so much to make our Wednesday nights a time of coming together, eating, playing, learning, and worshiping!

Two4Two Slideshow!

Hot off the presses (if you're reading this on Tuesday, October 25th)! Thanks to Beth Kilgore for taking so many excellent pics.

Two4Two Slides!

Here is this week's slideshow (it's a mishmash of pics from the past two weeks).

Grandview is a great place to be.

I haven't made the time to post these this past week. So, here is a sneak REVIEW of one of the Two4Two's slideshows from over a week ago. ">

Here is this week's Two4Two slideshow. Hope you enjoy.

Our current sermon series is an attempt to look at what Christ-shaped love really is. We talked last week about what it means to love those closest to us. This week we will look at Jesus' definition of "neighbor" within the context of his command to love our neighbors. Next week we will ask ourselves what it means to love our enemies.

September 14th is the beginning of this semester's Two4Two program. We will be looking mainly at two symbols that add depth to our understanding of ourselves, life, the church, and the world: baptism and communion.

If you want to know more about the questions different generations of Christians have asked scripture, this class if for you. Jason Bembry (PhD in Old Testament from Harvard) will teach the first class on Wednesday, September 14th @ 7pm in the Virginia Street Room.

Want to see some old pictures from Two4Two? Catch a sneak preview of tomorrow night's slideshow.

Chasing After

I'll be mentioning Jeb Corliss in the sermon Sunday, but only in passing. If you watch this video you'll a) be amazed, b) have a fuller image in mind when I mention him. If you have extra time, read Ecclesiastes 2 before watching the video (or, shoot, just read the whole book, it isn't long).

Church Picnic on Sunday

The annual church picnic takes place this week at the Appalachian Christian Camp (5-8pm). We will swim, hang out together, and celebrate the ministries of Ruth Davis, Theresa Garbe and Ryan Bader.

Play Group is Back!

Grandview's Tuesday Morning Playgroup is back. The gang meets from 9am-Noon in Grand Central Station. You'll get the chance to meet other parents while your children make new friends.

August is Here (with vengeance!)

I'm determined to get some blogging in. If you're a facebook person, please know you can join the Grandview facebook page and get updates there as well.

Here are the updates.

Youth Minister Search:
We've narrowed the field to 5 at this point. The search team, led by Caroline Neal, has done a wonderful job. We've been overwhelmed by the number of good candidates. We are on target right now to be able to announce a candidate by the end of the month (but we make no promises). Stay tuned.

Worship Service Changes:
This past Sunday was the first Sunday of "the switch." The traditional service has returned to the original sanctuary. The service went well. The spirit was excellent. The singing was wonderful. We have things to tweak still, but I'm pleased with the feel of the service. If I were taller we would have fewer things to tweak!


The Sermon Series:
Now we move into the book of Ecclesiastes. I love this book. Paul Helphinstine, from Harrison Christian Church, and I are working on this series together. It's helpful to have someone struggling through the same texts!


Softball Team:
Lorna Crouch sent me this picture of the softball team. They did pretty well this year. The season is over. We have a trophy (for what place I don't know!), but I wanted you to see the picture.

Taking Shape

Earlier this week the worship ministry team made a first attempt at placing the new chairs in the original sanctuary. I thought you might enjoy a peak at it. The room looked good. This configuration of chairs allowed for 164 seats (plus the choir loft). More could be added if necessary. This is setup allows for generous space between the rows and easy access to the middle seats.

The organ and the piano would be placed at the front of the room.

The cross (a joint venture between Roger Allman and Betty Taber) looks wonderful and the room has a warm feel to it.

This is how it looks from the front. There is more to be done, but we're getting there.

Time to Blog Again

I haven't been blogging at all since the end of Two4Two. I've decided to try to preview the sermons on Saturdays.

We continue tomorrow with our Unthinking Series. This week's sermon is called "The Church Has Lost that New Church Smell" and is designed to help us rethink the importance of the church. In our contemporary world the church is seen by many as just another volunteer organization (one with HUGE flaws). The Apostle Paul saw the church in a very different light.
The sermon notes are done and ready. Here they are, just in case you're interested.

JustOne WeekTen Slideshow

Well ... we're wrapping things up for the Spring session of Two4Two. A big thank you goes out to all of the many, many volunteers who made things run so smoothly. This was, I think, our best attended season of Two4Two.

Special thanks to our staff, Anna Jones kicked it off and then had to tend to newly born Eli and Bethany Lundgren stepped in and kept things rolling smoothly. Thanks, also, to Ryan Bader for his leadership.

JustOne WeekNine Slideshow

This isn't the in-house version that we will be using tonight, but it will have to do for the blog.

JustOne Video Series: Erin Layton

Here is the video from Erin Layton, Emmanuel recruiter and member of Grandview.

Just1 Series - Erin Layton from CrossEyed Productions on Vimeo.

JustOne Video Series: Michael Sweeney

I'm running way behind on these. I really like how Micah Ridley and Alan Stengel have handled these. Here is the president of Emmanuel speaking about his path to the ministry he now stewards.

Just1 Series - Mike Sweeney from CrossEyed Productions on Vimeo.

JustONe WeekSix Slideshow

My photographer was on Spring Break this week, so you'll have to suffer through my photos (but at least you get Tom Root's music).

JustOne Video Series: Adrian Fehl

Here's the video we made with Adrian Fehl, longtime friend and missionary to Ethiopia.

Just1 Series - Adrian Fehl from CrossEyed Productions on Vimeo.

JustOne Video Series: Heather Hoover

I'm finally getting these videos up on the blog. The idea behind this series is to encourage our youth to consider their calling as they imagine their futures. We're looking at a series of ministries within the church and church related institutions.

Last fall our Christian colleges asked us to spend a Sunday asking youth to consider vocations. We decided to spend the Spring semester of Two4Two on it.

Special thanks to Micah Ridley and Alan Stengel at Milligan for making these videos. They've been great to work with. And, of course, special thanks to Heather for being willing to share this way.

Just1 Series - Dr. Heather Hoover from CrossEyed Productions on Vimeo.

Four Wheel Drive?

If you haven't seen this video yet, it's fantastic. Not being from the farm, I haven't seen how it looks when four horses have to work together.

Feel free to leave a title for this video in the comments section. If I were naming this video I would call it "The Four Horsemen of the Snowpocalypse."