2021 | Re-Entry Newsletter Update

from the Desk of the Pastor

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Re-Entry for "In-Person" Worship Services

Sunday, August 1, 2021

Sunday School: 9:00am Worship Service: 10:00am

Sunday, August 1st – Re-Entry for In-Person Worship services. Church School will begin at 9:00am and Worship Service at 10:00am. We will have mask wearing required for entering the sanctuary and other areas. Also social distancing will be adhered to in the sanctuary. We have made the following changes for re-entry:

• Purchased Two 2,500 square foot coverage Medify Air Purifiers in the Sanctuary. These will remove 99,9% of harmful particles.

• Purchased Two Thermometer and Hand Sanitizer Stands to check temperature of everyone entering sanctuary

We will continue our virtual services on Facebook – Please remember that Sunday School will be at 9:00am and worship service at 10:00am beginning August 1st, 2021. The recorded services can be viewed here.

Please continue to pray for our members who are dealing currently with illness and health issues. The prayers of the righteous availeth much!

Continue to pray for our nation, state and city and for the hearts of those to change their positions of authority in law enforcement. We also pray for our President and Vice President.

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Sunday Service: June 27, 2021

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Virtual Seminar (Ruth Tyson, Kasman Delgado, La-Shia Ranson)

Education Department Presents: "Keep It Mental"

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Communion

Sunday, July 11, 2021 (10:00am-12:00pm)

Communion will be served as always in the Church Parking Lot Sunday June 6th from 10:00am to 12:00pm.

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62nd Church Anniversary

Sunday, July 11, 2021

We’re Still Here - Church: Pressing Toward the Mark - Phillipians 3:13-14

Our 62nd Church Anniversary is Sunday, July 11th. The Rev. Dr. Darrell L. Armstrong will be here in person to bring the message at our Sunday service at 9am. We are asking each member for an offering contribution of $62.00 for our church anniverary. The service can be viewed like our others on Facebook livestream.

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California State Baptist Convention

"2021 Virtual Annual Session & Congress of Christian Education"

Tuesday, July 20, 2021 (9:00am - 7:00pm)

This virtual session is set for Tuesday, July 20th from 9:00am to 7:00pm and can be viewed via Zoom, on CSBC Inc.’s website, and all social media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: Registration IS required for the Congress of Christian Education Workshop Classes. Please advise members to register for classes by using the ZOOM links that are available NOW (information listed below).

ALSO NOTE: Registration IS NOT required for the President and Dean’s Perspectives, General Sessions or the Panel Discussion. Members are able to join in the sessions with the ZOOM link that will be accessible on Tuesday, July 20th, 2021.

*Zoom info was sent by email. If you haven't received it, please contact Pastor Dandridge.

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Church Zoom Council Meeting

Wednesday, July 21, 2021 (7:00pm)

We will have a church council meeting on Wednesday, July 21st, 2021 at 7pm. The main discussion will be about church in person service re-entry on August 1st. Let’s be prepared to discuss options for the church re-opening. Please contact me concerning any additional agenda items.

Zoom info was sent by email. If you haven't received it, please contact Pastor Dandridge.

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Church Improvement Updates

The installation of new flooring in the vestibule, fellowship hall and kitchen area is currently in process. We will also be installing new cabinets in the fellowship hall as part of the project.

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Health & Community

Exercise - Fitness Class

Our weekly exercise/fitness class will begin on Saturday, August 7th at 10am. The cost will be $10.00 a month for each individual or $4.00 per each weekly session. The leader will a trained fitness professional. Please let me know if you plan to take part in this opportunity by emailing to me at holylightmbc@gmail.com. This is open to all ages.

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GR Housing Subsidy Program (lacounty.gov)

If you’re experiencing homelessness, you may be referred to the General Relief Housing Subsidy Case Management Program by your Eligibility Worker, GROW Case Manager, Social Worker, or SSI Advocate at any of our 14 General Relief District offices. You may also walk-in to see a General Relief Housing Case Manager. If this worker is not available, DPSS can schedule an appointment for you. Learn more> https://dpss.lacounty.gov/en/cash/gr/housing.html

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Sunday Message

"There’s Something About That Name" - Phillippians 2:5-11

2021 | Re-Opening Update Newsletter

from the Desk of the Pastor

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We are planning for an in person church re-opening on Sunday August 1st. The Church Service time will be 10:00am. Church School will be at 9:00am. There will be a mailing sent to each member with details on the re-opening of the church. We will continue our live stream of the service after the re-opening.

In person worship Services will continue to be live streamed on the Holy Light face book page at approximately 9:00am. For our current virtual services, we have incorporated a plan to check the temperature and have a health check form be completed before anyone enters the sanctuary. If you attend a worship service in person please wear a mask while in the sanctuary and please social distance during the service. We thank our Holy Light Ushers for their work in providing their services in this area.

Please continue to pray for our members who are dealing currently with illness and health issues. The prayers of the righteous availeth much!

Continue to pray for our nation, state and city and for the hearts of those to change their positions of authority in law enforcement. We also pray for our President and Vice President.

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Sunday Service: May 9, 2021

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Communion

Sunday, June 6, 2021 (10:00am-12:00pm)

Communion will be served as always in the Church Parking Lot Sunday June 6th from 10:00am to 12:00pm.

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Bible Study via Zoom

Wednesday, May 26, June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 & July 7, 2021 (7:00pm)

Zoom information was sent to you via email. If you haven't received it, please contact Pastor Dandridge.

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Live Stream on Facebook "Keeping it Mental 101 Workshop"

Saturday, June 12, 2021 (12:00pm - 1:30pm)

Keeping it Mental 101 Workshop Panel on Saturday June 12th at 12:00pm - 1:30pm at Holy Light MBC to be live streamed on Holy Light Facebook page.

Topics to be discussed:

• Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress

• Current Update on Response to Pandemic

• Vaccine Receivers vs Those who have Not received Vaccine

• Challenges to Face Moving Forward- Controlling those Challenges

• Assisting Children in Facing Challenges

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Church Improvement

The church porcelain flooring will be installed in the month of June. Once that is completed then we will begin to look into replacing the church sanctuary door.

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Health & Community

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Exercise - Fitness Class

We want to see if there is interest in losing some of those COVID pounds. Seeking to see if there is interest in taking part in a Saturday morning exercise class at Holy Light with a fitness professional. If you are interested please send an email to the church holylightmbc@gmail.com or call the church and leave a message 323 754-2885. All ages are welcome.

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Financial Assistance for Older Adults

Home Safe helps older adults at risk of becoming homeless with:

• Security & utility deposits

• Rental assistance & move-in expenses

• Backed rent & past due bills

• Legal fees, reunification services & more

If you got an eviction notice or are behind on your rent, call (213) 610-1589 or email APSHomesafe@wdacs.lacounty.gov by June 15th. Website: https://wdacs.lacounty.gov/stories/housing-stability-for-older-adults-at-risk-of-homelessness-through-home-safe/

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Sunday, May 23, 2021

Sermon Subject: All For One and One For All - Christian Unity - Ephesians 4: 1-6

A Unity of Calling

All believers are the called of God. Our calling is our responsibility to respond to what we have become in Christ. Every believer has been called to be Jesus' disciple and to serve in the body of Christ.

All are called of God.

Thematically, Ephesians 4 moves from one's calling to unity to one's calling to ministry (all are called to ministry = part of the one hope of your calling). Christ has given many gifts of grace for ministry (diversity) which come together in one common goal of maturity in Christ.

A Unity of Common Life and Source

The unity of the Spirit is created through our union in Christ Jesus. The word "together" appears so frequently and in such innovative ways in this letter that it deserves special mention. The prefix, "with" or "together" is joined to a number of key words to express our joint life and the impossibility of life outside of this unity. This stands against the spirit of individuality so common in our country today. You know, "do your own thing, go your own way."

A Unity of Ministry

Our unity is a unity or oneness that exist not in spite of diversity, but because of it. It is the wonderful differences themselves which, when properly equipped, contribute to the function of the body and out of this function, attain an even deeper unity of maturity. Only as each part does its work can the body grow.

A Unity of Purpose

The purpose is maturity in Christ, being conformed to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The ultimate goal is Christ-likeness, or spiritual maturity according to the standard of Christ. This is the primary goal of the equipping and the unity desired. The more we possess His character and mind, the more we will experience the unity of the Spirit.

2021 | April

from the Desk of the Pastor

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In person worship Services continue to be temporarily cancelled. We have no definite re-opening date but it appears it will at least not be until the Summer/Fall of 2021. There will be a meeting to discuss a possible re-opening of the church next month. An update on reopening will be provided in the next newsletter.

For our virtual services, we have incorporated a plan to check the temperature and have a health check form be completed before anyone enters the sanctuary. If you attend a worship service in person please wear a mask while in the sanctuary and please social distance during the service We thank our Holy Light Ushers for their work in providing their services in this area.

Please note that on the Holy Light MBC Facebook account there is a live service at 9:00am every Sunday morning. The recording of the services are on the Holy Light face book page as well as the Holy Light website holylightmbc.org.

Please continue to pray for our members who are dealing currently with illness and health issues. The prayers of the righteous availeth much!

Continue to pray for our nation, state and city and for the hearts of those to change their positions of authority in law enforcement. We also pray for our President-Elect and Vice President-Elect as they ready themselves to take on a big challenge in our nation.

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Sunday Service: April 18, 2021

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Communion

Sunday, May 2, 2021 (10:00am-12:00pm)

Communion will be served as always in the Church Parking Lot Sunday May 2nd from 10:00am to 12:00pm.

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Bible Study via Zoom (8 Weeks)

Wednesday, May 19, 26, June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, July 7, 2021 (7:00pm)

We just finished our 8 week Bible Study/Sunday school on March 21st. We will resume our recurring bible study on Wednesday, May 19th at 7pm. We will cover our weekly Sunday school lesson and also have a weekly discussion from the book “Praying with Purpose”.

Zoom information was sent to you via email. If you haven't received it, please contact Pastor Dandridge.

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Church Council Meeting

May 12, 2021 (7:00 pm)

We will have a church council meeting on May 12, 2021 at 7pm. The main discussion will be about church in person service re-opening. The state of California is having a full re-opening date of June 15, 2021. Let’s be prepared to discuss options for the church re-opening. Please contact me concerning any additional agenda items.

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Church Improvement

We are in the process of making a vendor decision on the replacement of flooring in the church vestibule and fellowship. The work should hopefully begin prior to the summer.

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Health & Community

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Proverbs 21:15 – When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers

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Sunday April 18th

Sermon Subject: What Happened After Midnight

Not an Easy Road

Perhaps it was inevitable that a man who had been zealous against Christ before his conversion would be equally zealous for Christ afterward. Armed with nothing more than the gospel of Jesus, he spearheaded the Christian movement through Turkey into Greece and on to Rome, the capital of the Empire and the greatest city in the world. He was, it seems, a force of nature. A man possessed by one great idea (“this one thing I do”), he proceeded to preach Christ wherever his name had not been preached so that those who had never heard might come to saving faith.

When he mentions being in prison frequently, he perhaps did so with a bit of a wry smile because it was while he and Silas were in prison in Philippi that God worked a wonderful miracle on his behalf. The story told in Acts 16 goes like this. After casting an evil spirit out of a slave girl, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison for what we today would probably call disrupting the peace. The two men were beaten, thrown in jail, put under close guard, and placed in the inner cell with their feet bound in stocks.

So what do you do when you have been arrested, beaten, imprisoned, placed under guard, with your feet bound in stocks, for nothing more than preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ?

If you are Paul and Silas and it’s midnight, you start praying and singing hymns of praise to God. Acts 16:25 says that the other prisoners were listening to them. No doubt these two strangers looked like a mess after being severely beaten. The fact that they were in stocks and under close guard told the other prisoners that Paul and Silas were not ordinary criminals. So I ask again, what do you do at midnight?

Go where you’re sent, Stay where you’re put, Give what you’ve got.

I. Go Where You’re Sent.

There was nothing easy about being accused of disturbing the peace, being publicly disgraced, derided, maligned and vilified. Nor was it pleasant to be beaten or thrown in prison alongside men who were truly criminals. Certainly having your legs in stocks not only meant you could hardly move, it also meant you would have great difficulty lying down. So what do you do in that situation?

It all depends on your theology. If you don’t believe in the sovereignty of God, then you’ll probably be bitter and angry and very discouraged. If you don’t believe in a God who numbers the hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30), then you may think that something terrible has happened to you. But if you believe in the sovereignty of God, then you know that nothing can happen to you by accident. In that case, your reaction is likely to be quite different.

You pray and sing hymns at midnight.

II. Stay Where You’re Put.

That just means that you go and serve the Lord wherever you happen to be, even though it may not have been your first choice. That’s why Paul and Silas were singing at midnight. They knew that God had sent them to the jail to bear witness for their faith. As Paul and Silas sang and the prisoners listened, they had no idea of the earthquake that was about to set them free (vv. 26-28). Nor did they know that soon they would lead the Philippian jailer and his whole family to the Lord (vv. 29-34). That was all hidden to them. As far as they knew, they would stay in prison a few days or a few weeks or a few months, and then they would go on trial. After that, no one could say what might happen.

III. Give What You’ve Got.

Evidently Paul and Silas weren’t trying to be quiet in the jail. Evidently they prayed and sang loud enough that a crowd of prisoners listened to them, amazed that two men in stocks, having been beaten and roughed up, no doubt a sight to behold, would seem so cheerful and full of faith. In jail!. At Midnight!

When God calls, we can always find excuses to make: “Not me, Lord.” “Go ask someone else.” “I’m busy.” “I’m happy right where I am.” For all of us, the issue is not our personal desires but our response when the call comes. In the truly tough stuff of life, we rarely get a choice in advance, which is probably a good idea because if we did, we would be sorely tempted to run the other direction. But it is in moments like this that we discover our theology.

I wonder what Paul and Silas prayed at midnight? I wonder if it was something like what Paul wrote several years later in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.

Lord, you are so good. Your mercies endure forever. We thank you that you know what you are doing in every situation. We are glad about that because many times we are clueless. We rest our weary souls on you, the Rock of Our Salvation.

Give us confidence to believe that the God who started a good work in us will bring it to completion, and even today is bringing it to completion. Grant us grace to say “Here I am” when you call us to bear witness at midnight. Help us to stand fast, never moved, trusting in you, now and forevermore, until the day comes when we see Jesus face to face. Amen.

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Sunday School Answer

Lesson 6 (Answer): Justification By Faith (Romans 5:1-11) - April 11, 2021

XWORD_SS_JustificationByFaith_Romans5_1-.

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