Wednesday, March 5, is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent.  Each year our preparation to celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ on Easter begins with 40 days of preparation through prayer, fasting, acts of penitence and other spiritual disciplines.   Ash Wednesday is the special fast day which begins the season of Lent.  Join Church of the Messiah for this special service, Ash Wednesday night at 7 o’clock for a special Eucharistic service which includes the Imposition of Ashes and Litany of Penitence.  It will be an amazing time of prayerful worship.  Although this is not our usual Wednesday night service, child-care will be provided for the service.

The next Wednesday night, March 12, our regular Wednesday Night Bible Studies resume with the start of our newest Bible Study “A Peek Inside the Devil’s Playbook: A Lenten Bible Study Based on The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis.”  As Fr. Melanson mentioned in his sermon last Sunday, participation in the Wednesday night Bible Study is an excellent discipline to take on throughout the season of Lent.  For anyone wanting to get started with The Screwtape Letters, Fr. Looker has prepared An Introduction to the Devil’s Playbook which you can download to help you get started as well as a Reading Schedule for anyone who wishes to read along (although this is not necessary to participate in the Bible Study).  “The Devil’s Playbook” will be each Wednesday night from March 12 through April 9, beginning at 7 o’clock.  The service includes a time of praise & worship, Bible Study, and intercessory prayer.  Child-care is provided and the service always dismissed prior to 8:30 so that everyone can be home in time to prepare for work and school the next day.

The Most Rev’d John William Holloway, B. A., M.Div., D. D., Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of the Mid-South, passed away early in the morning on Saturday, February 22, 2014 in Griffin, Georgia. He was 59 years old.

Bishop Holloway, a graduate of Valdosta State University and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, served as a United Methodist minister and, later, as an independent charismatic minister prior to entering the priesthood in the ICCEC. He was the founding pastor of  St. Michael and All Angels Charismatic Episcopal Church which eventually acquired the former Methodist Church building in downtown Thomaston, GA.

He served as a number of years as the Canon Missioner for Georgia and, in 1997, was consecrated as a bishop. He first served the Missionary District of Georgia which, under his leadership, became the Diocese of Georgia. Later, Tennessee was added to form the Diocese of the Mid-South. Holloway traveled to several countries in Africa where he was beloved by the church there. His ministry journeys also took him to the Caribbean, Mexico, the Philippines, and to other locations.

In 2007, at the age of 53, Bishop Holloway suffered a debilitating stroke which ended his public ministry but not his ministry of intercession, although, for the most part, he was confined to his bedroom since his illness. During his tenure, over a dozen churches were founded and over three dozen men ordained to the ministry in Georgia and Tennessee. Many times that number were confirmed and ordained during ministry overseas.

Bishop Holloway was known for his biblical and energetic preaching and for his faith. He was an extrovert who loved being with people and was nearly always in the middle of whatever was going on. He remained an avid Georgia Bulldogs and Atlanta Braves fan.

The Holloways have three sons, Jared, Jacob, and Josiah, a daughter, Hannah Grace, and several grandchildren. Elaine Holloway, a Commissioned Minister of Music and Worship, continues to serve in ministry, speaking and ministering, and is a worship leader at Fayetteville’s Church of the Holy Cross.

Cards may be sent to: 107 McEthel Drive, Griffin, GA 30224

Tentative arrangements are as follows: Memorial Service Saturday, March 1, 2014, 11:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of Christ the King, 4881 Highway 34 East, Sharpsburg, Georgia 30277. Church Office: 770-252-2428. Clergy wear white vestments. Celebrant: The Most Reverend Craig Bates, Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal. Memorial Speaker: The Most Reverend Charles Jones, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Southeast.

As Craig and Jill discussed in church today, HERE is the link to the 24 Hour Prayer Vigil for Laren Stafford. Monday, February 3rd, begins the first of Lauren’s major surgeries. This day in particular will reveal what needs to be done, the state of her lung and will begin the important task of cleaning out all of the infection and debris. This is a critical day.

We will cover this surgery with 24 hours of prayer. Please sign up for 1 time slot or many. We will start @ 12:01a to start covering her and the doctors before it even begins.

Throughout the rest of her hospital stay there will be a prayer blog set up. You can sign up for a 30 minute slot clicking this LINK. Even if you cannot take a slot, be sure to keep Lauren and the Stafford family in prayer Monday and all next week!

We have received a warning from Bp. Simpson that someone is calling CEC clergy and parishioners soliciting money “on behalf of the Patriarch’s office” in order to help fund a return flight from the Philippines. THIS IS A SCAM! Do not give this person any financial information. The Patriarch is not in the Philippines and does not need financial aid returning home. We will provide more information as it becomes available.

Last night at the Epiphany Eucharist, Fr. Looker announced the topic for the new, upcoming Bible study!  The title of the series will be “According to the Scriptures”: The Biblical Basis for Our Worship.  The series will run from next Wednesday, January 15th, through February 26th, and will explain why we worship the way we do according to what the Bible teaches.  This is not going to be a newcomers’ class nor will it be a church history class.  This Bible Study will look how we at Church of the Messiah worship the Lord and find in the Holy Scriptures why we do it that way rather than like anybody or everybody else.  Since 2014 is a year dedicated to Evangelism, we all need to able explain what goes on in our Church worship services.  This Bible study will enable you to answer the questions your friends have when you bring them with you to Church and give you the resources to explain–according to the Bible–why we do what we do!  This Bible Study is vital to fulfilling our call in the new year.

Each service will begin at 7 o’clock with a time of praise and worship, followed by the time of Bible study, and concluding with a time of corporate prayer.  Church of the Messiah’s Youth Group meets at the same time as this service and child-care is provided as well.  The services dismiss prior to 8:30 so that everyone can be home in time to prepare for work and school on the next day.

We encourage everyone to begin planning to make this Bible Study a part of their schedule for the next seven weeks.  It will change the way you talk about your church with your friends!

As the whole nation prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving, do not forget that you cannot gives thanks without giving thanks to someone! Since St. James tells us that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights,” (1:17) it is entirely appropriate to come together and give thanks to Almighty God for all the many blessing in our life at the very beginning of this annual national feast. Church of the Messiah will hold its annual Thanksgiving Eve Eucharist tonight starting at seven o’clock. We will be sure that our Thanksgiving is directed towards the one from whom all of our good gift originate. Childcare will be provided and Youth Group will be a part of the service. We hope to see you there.

We had an incredibly amazing weekend at Church of the Messiah over the past few days!  There were people here practically from dawn til dusk on Saturday getting everything ready for the Grand Opening on Sunday and what a success it was!  Glory to God in the highest!  We want to thank everyone who worked so hard over the last several weeks and especially over the last few days to make Sunday so glorious.  It was truly a blessing to everyone present… and there were over one hundred people present. Thanks be to God!

Also, thanks be to God, we have the use of our building 24-7 now, because, if we did not, this week might just break the bank!  We have events going on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and services again on Sunday.  What will it be like when we really get used being here?  Tuesday night starting at six o’clock we have the monthly Ultreya for November.  Wednesday night beginning at seven o’clock we have our first Mid-Week Service in several years!  It will be a time of Praise & Worship, Biblical teaching on “Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land,” and then a time of intercessory prayer which will end by 8:30 so everyone can be home in time for work and school the next day.  Thursday will be a Rector’s Council meeting where Fr. David and the men of the Rector’s Council will meet to pray for God’s wisdom and direction for the future of the Church.  Please pray for the Rector’s Council Thursday night!  The building will not hardly have any time to let dust settle before we are all back on Sunday morning for the last regular Sunday in Ordinary Time (the following Sunday is Christ the King and then it’s Advent!  Do you realize how close Christmas is yet?)!

This week, if you can’t be with us in the flesh, be with us in the spirit and pray with us and for us!  We will be praying for you!

The November Ultreya is this Tuesday night at the Church of the Messiah. (Click HERE for a map).  This is the first time the Ultreya will be held at Church of the Messiah and the congregation is very excited to be able to host the event.  Because of the bounty and generosity of everyone who participated in the Grand Opening Service and Reception on November 10th, we still have a ton of food.  If you would like to bring something to to contribute to the pot-luck, we could use salads or desserts.  There is plenty of ham and turkey and side items!  Dinner will begin at 6pm with the grouping beginning at 7pm.  We will conclude with the Holy Eucharist.  The Ultreya is open to anyone who has attended Tres Arroyos or any other three-day retreat along the lines of Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, Awakenings, Lighthouse Via De Christo, etc…