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Volume XLIV, No. 8Venice - Santa Monica Free Methodist Church
Do you have a hurt, habit or hang up that is getting in your way? Maybe it is something that happened to you many years ago, some way in how you think of yourself or some-thing painful from your past. If you are a normal person, you have something. We all have something that is getting in our way. Maybe it was an incident in your past that was hurtful, a mistake that was made, or some demeaning message that still rings in our ears. Whatever the hurt, habit or hang up, you do not have to let it negatively impact your life today. You can be freed from its acrid influence. Through Jesus Christ, you can be released from the negativity in your past. Hurts, habits and hang ups have a long “shelf life”. They stick around, they come out now and then and they con-stantly remind us of our misfortune, limitations and/or error prone nature. Those hurts, bad habits and hang ups can impact us for the rest of our lives. They have staying power! We have already altered our lives because of them. We do not take opportunities, hold ourselves back, and disqualify ourselves because of them. We consider ourselves “damaged goods”, unable, incapa-ble and undeserving of good. We have let our hurts, bad habits and hang ups negatively affect our lives. Are you ready for a solution? Jesus can change your life. You do not have to be ruled by the nega-tivity you have experienced. You can be liberated to pursue a life that is fulfilling and fruitful. This month our Sunday Worship Service message series will be introducing this concept through the “Celebrate Recovery” program. And then the message series will be followed by growth group op-portunities. This combination of events can be the forum in which God can begin a new work with you. The Holy Bible says that Jesus can make us new. “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) I invite you to claim the promise of the Holy Bi-ble and experience the new life that Jesus offers.
Pastor Jim MiyabeSincerely,
Seab
reez
eVol XLIV, No. 8
AUGUST2014
HURTS, HABITS AND HANG-UPS!
Mission trip to Mephibosheth Training Center in Ghana, Africa
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g NEWS BRIEFS
Congratulations to Nozomu & Mifumi Nakajima on the birth of their third child, a girl, Briella Naka-jima, on July 9. Briella weighed in at 8 lbs., 6 ozs. Mother and daughter are doing well!
Good to see Rev. John Katagi in our worship services on July 6. Rev. John shared about his minis-try with JEMS-South American and the opportunities for service.
Children’s Ministry ministered at Sunrise Senior Living Facility on July 19. It was very well received. Thanks to all who served!
Our best to Alan, Peter & Drew Oda who were commissioned on July 20 in our worship services to minister in Japan (August 4–15). They will be returning to the earthquake/tsunami affected areas.
Our thanks to Patrick Mendoza for his ten years of paid ministry on our youth staff. He was acknowledged and thanked in our worship services on July 20. God bless you Patrick!
Thanks to Courtney Hongo who made the arrangements for our Family Camp t-shirts.
130 of our church family attended the PCJC Family Camp July 27–August 2. We pray that it was a bless-ing to each person.
Good to see Eric & Joan Christensen in our worship services on July 27. They shared with us of their work overseas.
Welcome back to our team who ministered at the Mephibosheth Training Center in Ghana, Africa (July 8–24). Ministering were Ashley Ariyasu, Mat-thew Ariyasu, Sarah Chang, Jennifer Chew, Serena Jo Hodges, Sydney Hongo, Kyle Koshimizu, Kevin Saka-moto and Kurt Weber. Adults–-Linda Akutagawa, Reg & Mayme Ariyasu, Charissa Endow, Melissa Tong and Randy Yumori. They served alongside the Holi-ness Youth Choir and returned on July 24.
THIS MONTH
TIRE OUT THE TYKES (TOTTS): August 5, 12, 19 & 26TOTTS hosts activities and input for mothers with young children. They meet on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. and have a combination of time here at the church and excursions. If you are interested in participating please contact Leslie Hudson at [email protected].
SENIOR ADULT POTLUCK LUNCH-EON: August 16Your eyes will be the focus of our next meeting. Dr. Randall Yumori of Pacific Eye Care will be the featured speaker. Everyone is invited to attend so that you can take care of your eyesight. Please call the church office with potluck choice or sign up in the narthex. Starts at 11:30 a.m.
CONVALESCENT HOSPITAL MIN-ISTRY: August 17Once a month we minister at Santa Monica Convales-cent Hospital at 2 p.m. Want to participate? Contact
W a y n e G i n o z a a t 3 1 0 - 9 6 3 - 4 6 8 1 o r [email protected].
BAPTISM SERVICE PLANNED: August 17A special service of baptism will be held at Dockweiler Beach starting at 3:00 p.m. All people who are led to be baptized please contact one of our staff members. Baptism instruction class will be held on Sunday, August 10 at 11:30 a.m.
ADVANCE NOTICE
ALL CHURCH LABOR DAY PICNIC: September 1Everyone is welcome to attend our annual picnic at Veterans Park in Culver City (corner of Culver Blvd and Overland Ave.). We play softball in the morning and eat, relax and play in the afternoon.
MEN’S RETREAT: September 5–7Calling all men to attend our Men’s Retreat. Our theme is “Rise Up” and will feature speaker, Pastor Fraser Venter of the Cucamonga Christian Fellowship and Mr. David Gaulton leading worship. It will be held at Alpine Camp & Conference Center. You can register at www.venicechurch.org/forms/Men’s-Retreat, or call the church office. Cost: $199.
MOPS STARTS: September 8Mothers of PreSchoolers (MOPS) Ministry will meet on the second and fourth Tuesday mornings of each month and will be a blessing to all mothers of chil-d r e n a g e s 0 - p r e s c h o o l . E m a i l [email protected] for more details.
AWANA STARTS IN SEPTEMBER!You can look forward to the new season for the AWANA Ministry. We meet on three of four Friday nights each month. Your children will have a great time and learn from the Bible. Call the church office to sign up your elementary age children.
WALK FOR ZOE: November 15You can make a difference in the effort to stop human trafficking. ZOE International serves to prevent and rescue children from sexual slavery. Contact ZOE to join us in supporting the fight to give children a safe and healthy childhood.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FELLOWSHIP LUNCHEON SUNDAY: First SundayEvery 1st Sunday of the month is Fellowship Luncheon Sunday. Please join us after the 2nd worship service for a wonderful time of fellowship and for a delicious meal prepared by members of the Hospitality Minis-try.
News Briefs
THIS MONTH
SHORT-TERM MISSION: Please pray for many who are or will be serving on short-term mission teams: InterVarsity’s Los An-
geles Urban Summer Immersion Pro-ject–Jeremy Tuggy; Alan, Peter & An-drew Oda (Japan: August 4-15); Sara
Fong (U. of Tenn.: August); Rob, Denise, Stephanie & Cori Anne Tang (Thailand with ZOE Ministries); ZOE Ministries in Thailand-–Wayne Ginoza, Lori Kam &
Ralph Yep (November).MILITARY PERSONNEL: Please continue to prayer for Geoffrey West (Marines) and Robert Sugai (Army) who are serving our
county in the military.
ADVANCED NOTICE
Announcements
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COLLEGE FELLOWSHIP MINISTRY: Every Sunday “Teleios” meets at 12 p.m. All collegians/young adults are invited!
YOUTH MINISTRY FELLOWSHIPEmail [email protected] for info regarding Youth Ministry fellowship events.
GOD TIME:Scripture, meditation & prayer from 7 p.m.-8 p.m. every Tuesday at the church.
SUNDAY MORNING SCHEDULE Our two English Worship Services start at 8:45 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. The Japanese language Worship Service starts at 10:15 a.m. English language Sunday school is held at 8:45 a.m. & 10:15 a.m. Japanese language Sunday school is at 8:45 a.m. Call the church office for more specific information on the youth and children’s schedule.
MISS A WORSHIP SERVICE?Did you miss a worship service because you were ill or out of town? You can hear the messages from our website venicechurch.org or order a CD. You can also
access this newsletter (the “Seabreeze”) at our web-site and much, much more! (Please let Michelle Stultz in the church office know if you access the Seabreeze off the web and don’t need one mailed to your home.)
IN SYMPATHY
Our condolences to Teresa Wang in the passing of her father, Mr. Rudolph Chin Wang, on July 7. May God’s comfort be with the entire family.
IN SYMPATHY
♱
Kyle: I sat next to Albert during church. He was truly praising God. Sometimes, he was on his
knees. Other times he was raising his hands. He was dancing and singing. He didn’t care how he looked…. He only cared about praising God. I
need to not worry about how I look, but remember that what matters most of all is worshipping God.
Kurt: During the first day the therapists were do-ing assessments I stayed with a little boy that was a handful. Somehow, God gave me patience to
stay with him and work with him. I think God sees us (me) this way too. We are often annoy-ing at best and difficult and don’t listen to God; yet he still loves us and is so patient with us.
This little boy convicted me see how God needs to be with me.
GHANA MISSIONREFECTIONS AUGUST YOUTH Events
• Aug 6, 2014 (Wed), 6:30pm to 9:30pm, Bowling at AMF El Dorado Lanes - 8731 Lincoln Blvd., Westchester, CA 90045. Please get dropped off and picked up at the lanes.
• Aug 9, 2014 (Sat), 5:30pm to 8:30pm - Volun-teer Youth Staff Appreciation - Come show your appreciation to our wonderful volunteer staff and say a BIG THANK YOU to Pat Mendoza for his years of service. Kyle Koshimizu is our contact person for this event.
• Aug 10, 2014 (Sun), 10:00am - PROMOTION SUNDAY - Promotion Sunday is when we will move up to our next grade in our Sunday School classes.
• Aug 13, 2014 (Wed), 12:00pm to 3:30pm -Wednesday Hangout - Hang out and fellowship at the Youth Minis-tries House! Bring lunch/snacks or money to buy food from across the street at Centinela Cafe!
• Aug 17, 2014 (Sun), 3:00pm to 5:00pm -Beach Baptisms -Dockweiler Beach (Lifeguard Tower to be determined) Baptisms will be conducted during church service as well as at the beach! Praise the Lord!!! Please let us know if you are interested in be-ing baptized!
• Aug 22, 2014 (Fri), 6:00pm to Aug 23, 2014 (Sat), 9:30am - Kick-Off Family Dinner and Hun-ger Games Lock-In - Kick off the new school year with a Potluck Fam-ily Dinner followed by a parent orientation and all-youth lock-in…parents can go home before we lock the doors! ;)
Venice Youth Shutterfly Page: https://venicechurchyouthgroup.shutterfly.com/
Email: [email protected]
SeabreezeVENICE - SANTA MONICA FREE METHODIST CHURCH 4871 CENTINELA AVENUELOS ANGELES, CA 90066
TEMP - RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
STAFF E-MAIL ADDRESSES & PHONE NUMBERS:Pastor Jim Miyabe [email protected] (310/822-8094)
Pastor Gen Hashimoto (Japanese Language) [email protected] (310/822-8094)
Linda Akutagawa (Youth Co-Director): [email protected] (310/962-3529)
Audrey Hodges (CM Director)[email protected] (310/822-8094)
Ken Koshimizu (CM Assistant Director) [email protected] (310/822-8094)
Emiko Kuwata (Infant/Toddler Director)[email protected] (310/418-7791)
Aimee Snyder (Youth Co-Director) [email protected] (310/822-8094)
Michelle Stultz (Office Administrator) [email protected] (310/822-8094)
Jodi Yokota (Bookkeeper)[email protected] (310/822-8094)
Venice-Santa Monica Free Methodist Church
Main Office: 310-822-8094 email: [email protected]: 310-821-5474 http://www.venicechurch.org
NONPROFITU.S. POSTAGE
PAIDVENICE, CA
PERMIT NO. 214
CHECK OUT OUR CHURCH WEBSITE:
We’ve got a new online location at:
http://www.venicechurch.org It has our news and events! This newsletter, “Seabreeze,” is also here. Let us know if you receive the Seabreeze off the web and
don’t need one mailed to your home. Also, Pastor Jim’s sermons are available there via Podcast or through its media player. Venice Youth (6th-12th grade ministry) has a new e-mail address! [email protected]
