On Sunday, September 8th, we celebrated 9 baptisms and re-affirmations of faith. We also welcomed 7 new people as members of The Gathering. (Pictures attached)) One person, Elizabeth Rundle (mother of 4 and wife of Mike Rundle whose van broke down en route to The Gathering from New York) came forward out of the grateful thanks to God for the many ways that she and her family have been blessed through the ministries of The Gathering. Mike and Elizabeth are meeting with Pastor Carrie weekly to work on conflict management and budgeting in order to stabilize their family situation. With the help of Ken Heaton from Easter Seals of Miami Valley, Mike is going for a job interview this week.
On Sunday evening, we welcomed 20 people to our monthly
Wesley Love Feast. We brought our folding chairs, bug spray and bottled water
out into the Gathering Community garden and formed a circle to lift up our
praise and testimonies to God, prayers for our community and to collect an
offering for the poor. In addition to the many people who rode by on bikes or
drove past, one man named Tom who lives behind the church decided to leave his
front porch and “go and see what these people were doing.” As a result, Tom met 20 new friends and is
looking forward to coming to The Gathering for the first time this Sunday.
On Thursday, September 5th, Pastor Carrie
received a check through the Middletown Community Foundation in the amount of
$20,000 for the purchase of a 2010 Ford F350 12-passenger van. The van is a
gift from the Patrick family and will help us provide transportation to The
Gathering on Sunday mornings, our Celebrate Recovery service, Threads Clothing
ministry, Seedlings children’s ministry, and assist people with transportation
to job interviews. Additional donations through the community foundation will
pay for insurance for the year and a sign for the van. The van will be unveiled
on Sunday, September 15th. (Pictures to follow)
As The Gathering moves into the final quarter of the year,
we are looking forward to a new class called Faith and Finances which was
presented by the Chalmers Institute. This class is a Biblical financial
management class that is specifically geared to those at or below the poverty
level. Beginning in October, Pastor Carrie will offer a 6-week sermon series
called, “It’s All His” that teaches biblical principles for money management
and giving. Following that series, we will hold support and mentoring groups
that will help couples and families stabilize their finances and increase their
giving to The Gathering in 2014.
We continue to thank all of you who support us with your
prayers and giving as we watch God perform miracles every day at The Gathering.
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