Relay for Life 2015

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Kenna

It’s that time of year again when actionchurch begins their final preparations for convergence on the annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life. This year the marathon event will be held at the York County Vocational School on South Queen Street. For over 24 hours on June 19^th and 20^th we plan to Love God, Love People and Take Action in some amazing ways. The following is a list of serving opportunities:

Set Up and Tear Down – In case you really miss carrying heavy things (now that we don’t have to unload/load a truck each week) please feel free to come out to the field at 8:00 a.m. and unload equipment and begin set up. Equally (and perhaps even MORE) important we need volunteers at the field at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday to begin tear down.

Shaved Ice – As a church we provide FREE (donations accepted for American Cancer Society) shaved ice throughout the event. As you can imagine it is a pretty busy place on a hot day. We need volunteers who don’t mind getting wet/sticky and who can still provide service with a smile.

Walkers – This is a marathon – after all! We need plenty of people in actionchurch T-shirts on the track, walking, running (or crawling) around the track logging laps CONTINUOUSLY throughout the 24 hour event. ** actionkidz – we especially need all of you between the hours of 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. We are counting on you to be the representatives on the track as the adults serve at the Survivor Banquet.

Survivor Banquet– All hands on deck for this portion of the event! We need ALL actionkidz to walk the track. We need our actionteens to serve beverages. We need volunteers to set up tables, decorate, deliver food, prepare plates, serve food, bus tables, seat survivors, empty garbage…..Let’s just say that if you are within a 10 mile radius of Vo-Tech while wearing an actionchurch T-shirt – we will find you and commandeer your services. Fair warning.

Coffee Hut– We provide FREE coffee ALL NIGHT LONG for anyone and everyone who happens to be awake in the wee hours of the morning. We need volunteers to make and serve the coffee. It is helpful if you are a night owl, with a good personality…..and you like coffee.

Kids Action Area– Throughout the event we staff an area complete with bounce houses, crafts, games and fun stuff for the kiddos! We need loving, nurturing adults who can supervise all the craziness that kids can dish out. This is a great area for you if you happen to have kids…..or you just like to act like a kid!

Breakfast – Beginning around 5:30 a.m. we begin to fire up the grills in preparation for serving a hot breakfast to all the participants of the event. Rub the sleepy dust out of your eyes! We need people to help set up, people to cook and people to serve…..then – you guessed it – people to clean up after breakfast is over.

We also have a list of items that we need donated to make this event successful. Stop by the RFL 2015 table Sunday morning OR email info@actionchurch.com for more details.

Relay for Life 2015

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Kenna

Chair: Noun – A seat with a back support, usually for one person. Most chairs have four legs or feet.…… And – it just so happens that our 250+ brand new actionchurch chairs also happen to have comfy red cushions. Bonus!

You did it! One by one, or in groups of 10, sometimes by a big donation or maybe from the change you saved by not stopping at Starbucks – you did it! actionchurch now has enough chairs to stuff in “the Box” and we are so close to opening the doors in North York we are literally sweating!

But now – we are going to ask you NOT to sit on one of those chairs that you just sacrificed your caffeine habit for. We are going to ask you to give that chair to someone else. We want you to find 250 people who have never stepped foot in a church (let alone actionchurch) and invite them to join us on Sunday May 31^stfor the inaugural opening of AC for North York We are going to ask you to STAND in the back of the room and let someone else be the first person to SIT on that comfy red cushion.

Even better than that…..we are going to ask you NOT to SIT DOWN at all.

actionchurch has never been about sitting. The people I call friends at actionchurch have never sat around, wrung their hands and waited for someone else to do something. Our church has never been about the one hour a week when we gather together on a Sunday morning. Even our small groups are about action in some form or another. Actionchurch itself is about……well……ACTION.

I am so excited that the very first action we are going to take as a church from our new home in North York is to go back out into the community. We are going to move in and then turn right back around and move most of our equipment (minus the chairs) back out! Seriously. The plan is to serve cancer survivors and their families……without sitting……for over 24 hours straight.

We won’t need the chairs – but we will need everyone who has ever been a part of actionchurch to join us on June 19^th and 20^th for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life as we walk….(sometimes run around frantically)…..stumble, lift, carry, serve, minister to, and love over FOUR HUNDRED people in our community who are facing one of the most difficult battles of their lives.

You can bring your tent, you can bring your own camp chair – but honestly – the only things you really need are your actionT, a good pair of sneakers and a heart for serving others.

“O Lord, you examine me and know. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives.” Psalm 139:2 (NET Bible)

“Unselfie”

Posted on November 17, 2014 by donrecord

If you missed your chance to snap an “unselfie” at church Sunday, here is the list of items needed to serve our community this holiday season. Please bring them this Sunday 11/23.

Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:4)

Everything.

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Kenna

“*Some Assembly Required” has been the longest running sermon series on record at actionchurch for a reason. I’m pretty sure it was designed especially for me. I may have actually been partially responsible for this never-ending series.

I pretty sure this is an excerpt from the weekly leadership meeting minutes:

Don: “Kenna still looks confused.”
Steve: “You might have to preach it another week.”
Josiah: “I hope she get’s it soon…I’ve got some great slides planned fro the next series!”

I’ve been faithfully following along each week. I’ve been dedicated to reading the book of Joshua over and over. I even have my allen wrench laying right where I can see it each day. And it’s taken me THIS LONG to really understand that I can trust God to give me anything I need to do whatever He asks. Friends and fellow “assemblers”- that means ANYTHING! Or maybe more importantly – EVERYTHING – Intangibles included.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve needed strength and courage. God offered it to me. I’ve needed wisdom and guidance. God delivered it to me. I’ve needed encouragement and support. God provided it for me. In each and every situation that God was asking me to face – He included, in the box, those non-material, intangible, unquantifiable “things” that I needed.

You see – all along I was only thinking in the sense of material objects. I knew God wanted to give me “good stuff”, and that He wanted me to work for those things. But, while I was focused on IKEA bookshelves, God had something MUCH greater on the drafting table.

Everything is in the box…everything.

Measure Twice – Cut Once

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Kenna

“Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

My husband got this crazy idea 15 years ago that we should build our own house. I must be even crazier because I went along with it! We did our research, put down a hefty chunk of money and one morning we ended up with a tractor trailer load of logs and an 80 pound tome of blueprints.

GAME ON!

We went to a weekend seminar where we learned all about constructing a log home. They even allowed me to use power tools! Believe it or not – it is kind of like building with a life size set of Lincoln Logs. How hard could that be – right? We left feeling confident that we could handle the job. We measured twice (or seven or eight times….because that’s just how my husband is) and cut once. Aaaaand the VERY first course was not even close to being right!

So – we called in some experts. We paid the company that we bought the logs from to come out and give us a little help getting re-started. They gave us some on the job training and we were off and running again…..for a while….until we got to the corners, and the windows, and the peak – and then we would call them in and get their advice and expertise to keep us going.

And whenever we had questions or concerns we had that incredibly LARGE stack of blueprints that we would refer to OFTEN. By the end of the construction process those blueprints were worn and faded and dog eared and crinkled on the edges, but the plans never changed. The lines and words on the pages remained the same no matter how often we referred to them.

Building our own home was an unbelievable amount of work. Even now, fifteen years later when I think about it – I’m not sure how we ever pulled it off. And because we worked our proverbial butts off in the process we value it so very , very much! I am so incredibly thankful for our home – it is one of the biggest blessings in my life.

You know where I’m going with this right? (I am pretty predictable with my illustrations) All of God’s blessings arrive – SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED – BUT they also come with the same kind of support system as my Lincoln Log house.

Sunday mornings are like the weekend seminars when we get helpful tips and advice to get us started. Then we go out into our daily lives and try to apply what we learned. Our small groups are like the experts that we turn to when the going gets rough and we need some additional support. They are designed to lift us up and give us that extra boost that we need to keep going. And always – whenever in doubt – refer back to the ultimate construction manual – our blueprint for life – any answer you need can be found in God’s word. Make sure your bible is dog-eared and crinkled on the edges.
The words on the pages will always remain the same.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Psalm 32:8