PIG ROAST AND CELEBRATION CEREMONY AT PRAISE

Trinity Martial Arts Club (the karate class that not only meets at Praise, but is a ministry of our church) would like to invite the entire congregation to its first annual celebration ceremony and pig roast on Saturday, August 1, 2009. This is the culminating event for many hard working youth and adults who will have just finished a week of training at Christian Karate Camp. The camp, which takes place July 27^th – 31^st, will serve as a concentrated time that students will go through intense study as they work toward their next belt ranks. Saturday’s picnic will be when the students will perform a small demonstration for family and friends (all of Praise is invited) and hold a special awards ceremony where some students will receive their hard-earned promotions. The demonstration and promotion ceremony will last approximately 45 minutes. Please plan on arriving at 11am. Demonstration and awards ceremony will begin at 11:15. Lunch will be served at Noon. Note that there is no fee for attending this celebration. However, we are asking that all families bring a large side dish to share (salad, side, or dessert). Furthermore, we will need people to RSVP so that we know how much meat to prepare and the quantity of drinks to have on hand. RSVP cards will be inserted into every member’s mailbox at Praise in July.

EXERCISING PRAYER

Last month on June 1^st we held a special “prayer & praise” service here at our church. We had a strong attendance and participants participated in three different prayer exercises as one of the vehicles used to bring us closer to God that night. First, the congregation was asked to speak prayers aloud during the regular prayer time. Everyone was given opportunity to praise God in prayer and also offer up special petitions and requests to the Lord. Second, during another portion of the service we split up into small groups of two or three. Each person listened to their prayer partners and then prayed for them in the small group. Third, everyone was asked to spend some alone time with God as they prayed silently without anyone else around. Of course this was something new for us at Praise, and yet, I still received a lot of very positive feedback from the participants.

Prayer isn’t always an easy exercise, but just like physical exercises, you will become stronger with practice. Often people feel as if they don’t know what to say when praying. God doesn’t judge our prayers on whether or not they are filled with eloquent and flowery speech. He only cares that our prayers are sincere and from the heart. Praying alone and with others are both wonderful exercises for building spiritual strength. Please make use of both types on a regular basis. Praying with others and for others (aloud with them present) can also be an exercise that will also strengthen our relationships with each other here on Earth. There’s a saying that goes, “families that pray together stay together.” And while there are never any guarantees about our Earthly relationships and that we will have family members with us always, we can be assured that God works through prayer to strengthen those relationships with one another.

If you weren’t here during our special Monday night service, I invite you to try the following exercise with your spouse, a family member, a friend, or a trusted mentor: First, ask another to pray with you. If they feel uncomfortable praying, you can begin by just offering to pray for them (until they begin to feel more comfortable and eventually want to join in). This person should be someone you can trust . Remember that another’s prayer requests are always confidential. Second, find a quiet and private place to pray with your prayer partner. Third, share with each other some ups and downs or highs and lows of your life. Ask your partner, “how can I pray for you,” or “what can I pray about for you?” Pray for their blessings and struggles, and then ask them if they would mind praying for you.

If you’re not sure how to begin praying, you may want to use the A.C.T.S. method of prayer. Just remember the word, “acts” (Like the Book of the Bible) and then use each letter in the word to represent a category of prayer:

A – Adoration = Praise God for who He is and what He has done.

C – Confession = Confess your sins before your Lord.

T – Thanksgiving = Tell God how thankful you are, and what you’re thankful for.

S – Supplication = Ask your Heavenly Father to grant your requests according to His holy will.

It may not happen overnight, but with regular practice and faithful exercising of your prayer life, your prayers will become stronger and you’ll soon be able to pray with greater ease than you ever thought possible. This is a sign that your relationship with God is growing stronger and that you are walking closer to your Lord than ever before. Let’s praise God for the opportunity we have with Him in prayer!

SR HIGH NATIONAL YOUTH GATHERING TRIP ANNOUNCED

It only comes around every three years. Therefore, we need to begin planning and preparing ourselves now. 2010 is the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is a huge event where last time there were 35,000 + youth in attendance. And believe it or not, New Orleans in 2010 is suppose to be even bigger! Registration opens in the fall, but I want everyone now to mark July 17^th – 21^st 2010 on your calendar. The gathering will be open to all those entering 10^th, 11^th, or 12^th grades in Fall of ’10. Those older may go as chaperones. Ages 18 – 21 may serve as volunteers. Unfortunately, the cost expectation for this event is high. Therefore, we need to begin plans to raise money now. Our goal next year will be to raise $1,400 per person to attend this event. In 2009 we are sending 13 Sr. High on our mission trip. If this many people attend the National Youth Gathering, this would mean that we would need to raise 18,200.00 total! Now you know why I’m encouraging our Senior High youth to begin fundraising now. Our current 9^th graders and above need to be focused on this event very soon.

We will send in the initial deposit of $275.00 on October 1, 2009. If you’ll be entering 7^th, 8^th, or 9^th grades next year, don’t feel completely left out. Although you can’t attend the National Youth Gathering in 2010, you will be able to attend the 2013 gathering with Praise. And know that we have a trip planned in 2010 for you too. The Jr. high trip is a Spring Break event in the Spring of 2010. More details will follow.

KEEPING UP (or getting caught up)

Pastor Brown is now tweeting and on Facebook. For those on the internet and engaged in social networking, you may be familiar with these terms. For those of you who are not, just know that this is one of the latest ways that we are working hard to remain in contact with the “younger generation” at Praise.

WEBSITE CHANGES AT www.PraiseLC.org

You’ll note a lot of changes to our website last month at www.PraiseLC.org We thank the staff at Tri-Pillar Publishing for donating their web design services and listing all of our website content on our site. Tri-Pillar is donating their services to Praise and has offered to continue to take care of our website needs at no cost to our church. Also, we want to thank Paul Griswold, who is continuing to host our website on his server. Between all our hard working volunteers, Praise is not having to pay anything for either of our sites (note that we also have information at www.PraiseLutheranChurch.org)

Our current project for the website is to display a list of “Frequently Asked Questions” or FAQ for our visitors to get to know us a little better. We need your help. If you can help us brainstorm questions that we need to be answering for our visitors, we would appreciate your input. Remember, not all of our visitors have stepped foot inside our doors. Many Praise visitors have only “visited us” via our website on the World Wide Web. If you can help to compile lists of helpful information for these prospective members, please forward it in writing to Pastor Brown at your earliest convenience.

Also, if you go to the www.PraiseLC.org website, you will undoubtedly notice that some pages are completely blank. This does not look good to our guests… and for that matter, it doesn’t look good to our members either. Therefore, if you are a part of a ministry at Praise, please check the website to ensure that your group or organization’s web page is full of appropriate text and pictures (and an emphasis on pictures). If you see that the ministry that you’re involved with has an insufficient web page on our site, please help by supplying Pastor Brown with the appropriate content ASAP. Each ministry is responsible for supplying material for their own web page.

ADDITIONAL YOUTH GROUP EVENTS FOR JULY

YOUTH CONFERENCE

July 15^th – 20^th Pastor Brown will be at the National Youth Workers Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. This trip will not only be a great way for Pastor Brown to learn about better ways he can serve our youth, but it will also be instrumental in preparations for our Sr. High trip to New Orleans in 2010 during the LCMS National Youth Gathering. More details about the National Youth Gathering for the Sr. High will follow in upcoming issues of the Pulse.

JR HIGH CAMP

August 2^nd – 6^th the Junior High will be camping at a Christian music festival at Six Flags Amusement park in Darien Lake, New York. The trip that will cost less than one hundred dollars per person. With fundraising opportunities, I don’t anticipate financial matters to be a concern for anyone. Please register through me, Pastor Brown, ASAP so that we can be as informed as possible and make the most accurate advance preparations and plans for our trip.

MOVIN’ UP

Attention Praisers who will next year be entering 3^nd, 6^th, 9^th grades, and college: This is the time of year that we want to congratulate you on wrapping up your current school grade and begin focusing on moving into your next grade level. The same holds true with youth group. Beginning June 1^st, we made the switch from your previous youth group to your new group. From this point forward, please join in with the youth groups of the grade you will be entering Fall of 2009.

THRIVENT NIGHT AT TINCAPS BALLGAME

Time has passed so quickly. It hardly seems as if a year has gone by already. And yet, this month will be my one year anniversary of being installed as your assistant pastor here at Praise. And it was at the TinCaps (then Wizards) game for Thrivent Night that I first met many of you for the first time. It was a night that I will always remember. It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship between a congregation and one of its pastors.

Once again we have the opportunity to meet at the baseball stadium (now a brand new facility downtown) and celebrate together. This year the Thrivent game will be Saturday, August 15^th at 7:05pm as the TinCaps meet the Dayton Dragons. Tickets are only $7 per person and should be paid for by August 2^nd if you’d like to accompany us that night. Know that $1 from each ticket sold will be donated to “Kids Against Hunger.” Just leave the check, payable to Praise Lutheran Church, in Pastor Brown’s mailbox by the close of 2^nd service on August 2^nd. Write “baseball” on the memo portion of your check. Also, plan on meeting at 5:30 for a tailgate party. A sign-up sheet with all the food items needed will be made available in August.