In this Issue

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Jesus Wept In this article, Pastor Scott Daniels addresses the questions that surround suffering and tragedy and how God suffers alongside his creation.

Happenings is a magazine publication of First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena (PazNaz). It is designed to highlight the Church’s ministries and activities. For a complete overview of PazNaz, beliefs, and ministries, please visit the website at www.paznaz.org. HAPPENINGS Issue #61—April 2010 The Magazine of PazNaz 3700 East Sierra Madre Boulevard Pasadena, California 91107 626.351.9631 Fax: 626.351.5160 www.paznaz.org

PazNaz News In His Image: Special Needs Ministries Early Childhood Ministries Compassionate Ministries An Article from the Pastor Student Ministries Chinese Ministries Pasadena PrimeTime Women’s Ministries Children’s Ministries Worship and Celebration Arts

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PazNaz

Missionary Chapters

Schendel Chapter Thursday, April 15, 10:00 am PazNaz Campus Room 249, Reed Hall Program: Is there a Dr. in the house? Pat Grannis - 626.802.8051 Joanie Gary - 626.590.8920

Prescott/Ragains Chapter Tuesday, April 13, 6:00 pm Gilmore Hall, South Program: TBD Potluck Reservations: Margaret Street 626.584.0815

Missionaries Are Coming To PazNaz Sunday, May 16

6:00 pm in Gilmore Hall

Come hear Ron and Dianna Gilbert speak and share stories about being

global missionaries with the Church of the Nazarene in the Eurasia Region.

News

Ron and Dianna Gilbert

Welcome New

PazNaz Members

Children’s Classes Sundays at 9:15 am and 10:30 am Inclusion Classes Students have the opportunity to participate in a classroom with their peers. Based on availability of volunteers, someone will be assigned to children or youth who need assistance. Contact Pastor Julie Keith for inclusion placement.

Special Education Classroom Rooms 122 & 123, Arms Hall These classrooms use an adapted Bible curriculum for special needs children. Participants learn in a safe and supportive environment geared towards their own special needs.

Oasis Adult Ministry Sundays at 9:15 am Wednesdays at 7:00 pm Room 115, Lower Sanctuary Oasis is a time of fellowship, Bible study, and connection for teens and adults with special needs. Please come, bring a friend, and study the parables of Jesus.

Mosaic Adult Ministry Sundays at 10:30 am Room 115, Lower Sanctuary Mosaic is a class for teens and young adults with moderate to severe special needs. Come worship with old friends and make new ones. For more information about this class contact Pastor Julie.

New PazNaz Members! On Sunday, March 14, PazNaz welcomed a number of people into membership at the church. In His Image is proud to have 8 of the new members come from the Oasis Special Needs Adult Ministry. Congratulations to John Richards, Mark Asayama, Keith Tremae, Joel Goodwin, Meghan Jaramillo, and Vera Richards, all pictured above. Walk Now for Autism On April 25, PazNaz’s Special Needs Ministry, In His Image, will be at the Rose Bowl during the Walk Now for Autism sponsored by Autism Speaks. There will be thousands of people at this event walking, raising support, and providing resources for families who have a child or loved one with autism. In His Image will be there as a vendor but will also have a prayer booth to provide a place of support and prayer for these families. Please be in prayer for this great day of outreach. If you would like more information about this event or would like to be involved on that day please contact Angie and Drew Diamond at angdiamond@yahoo.com or 626.577.5758.

Pastor Julie Keith Email: jkeith@paznaz.org Phone: 626.351.2485

In His Image: Special Needs Ministries

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Parent Connections and Sibshops Saturday, April 10, at 6:15 pm You are invited to be a part of the Parent Connections support group and Sibshops on April 10. Sibshops is located in Room 122, Arms Hall, and Parent Connections in Room 247, Reed Hall. Special needs childcare is available in Room 123, Arms Hall. For more information or to RSVP for childcare, contact Rubina Haroutonian at rubinah@paznaz.org or 626.351.2478.

Save the Date PazNaz's Special Needs Ministry will be hosting the 2010 Joni and Friends Disability Ministry Summit on May 7 and 8. Registration for this event is now open. Please go to their website at www.joniandfriends.org/summit to register. Contact Pastor Julie Keith for more information about this great conference.

Easter Sunday Schedule On Easter Sunday, April 4, the In His Image children’s classes and Mosaic class will meet only during the 10:30 am service in Rooms 122, 123, and 115, Arms Hall. The Oasis class will not be meeting on Easter Sunday.

Names from left to right: John Richards, Mark Asayama, Keith Tremae, Joel Goodwin, Meghan Jaramillo, and Vera Richards.

Come be a Craft Team Member and prepare crafts for all of Early Childhood’s children in MOPS, Toddler Time, Bible Explorers and Sunday school. Contact Pastor Eleanor Blosser or Debbie Hammock at 626.351.2475 to find out how you can be a part of this wonderful ministry.

Cara Pirir has been a Terrific Toddler Class volunteer. She writes: I was born in Bakersfield and was raised in Fresno, CA. My mom prayed with me to receive Christ when I was 8-years-old. I had the opportunity to be a part of many service projects and mission trips as a youth and young adult. In college, I naturally gravitated toward social work and eventually got my Master's degree. I met my husband, Jonathan, through a mutual friend I had met while working for Center for Student Missions in Los Angeles. School was what brought me to Southern California, and Jonathan is what made me stay. He got connected to PazNaz several years before we met. We came back to PazNaz about a year and a half ago. At that time, our only son was starting on his journey in special needs services. He is now three years old and expecting a baby sister in July. I quit my job in foster care and adoptions to help my son after he was diagnosed with autism. I first started volunteering in our son's nursery class just in case he needed me, but I've since found enjoyment just being with all the little toddlers and their big personalities.

Thank you, Cara, and God bless you for following God’s leading in your life. You have been a faithful Sunday school volunteer.

- Pastor Eleanor Blosser

Pastor Eleanor Blosser Email: eblosser@paznaz.org Phone: 626.351.2469

Early Childhood Ministries

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Child Dedications Coming in April The next Child Dedication will be Sunday, April 11. Contact Pastor Eleanor if you would like to have your child dedicated to the Lord. This month, Kyler James Waters will be dedicated.

Nursery News - It’s a Girl! Ivy Elizabeth Miller was born on February 11 to Jon and Skye Miller; Grandparents: Gary & Karen Burruss

Bible Explorers on Wednesdays Come to Bible Explorers where children (3 years–Kindergarten) learn to help others through Bible stories, singing, crafts, and games! Bring your friends Wednesdays to Room 227, Arms Hall, at 7:00 pm. Flashlights and pith helmets provided.

Upcoming Calendar Dates: April 3–Eggs-travaganza from 11:00 am-1:00 pm

April 4–Easter Sunday Services (identical) 8:00 & 10:30 am; Baptism service 9:30 am. Early Childhood classes will be held for all services except the 6:30 am Sunrise Service.

April 10–Kid’s Night Out, registration and payment due by Wednesday, April 7.

May 1–Kid’s Night Out, registration and payment due by Wednesday, April 28.

June 5–Kid’s Night Out, registration and payment due by Wednesday, June 2.

C A R A P I R I R Volunteer of the Month

Cara and Jonathan Pirir with Luke.

Ministry Opportunities: Sundays • Worship Hour Assistant (once or twice a month rotation, 10:15 am to noon) • Morning Set Up (8:45-9:00 am) • Morning Greeter/Scanner (9:00-10:15 am or 10:15-10:45 am)

Various Times • 3 Craft Team Helpers (for all craft preparations, childcare available) • Photographer (update children’s pictures, camera provided)

T H E N E W

homeless, provides a hot breakfast and an uplifting devotional to more than 600 individuals in Pasadena each mon th . Add i t i ona l l y , Compassionate Ministries is steering community development ini t iat ives through strategic partnerships. These initiatives include the Compassion Creates Change Community Workday. This year’s workday is scheduled on Saturday, May 22. Teams will make minor repairs at the sites of six non-profits.

I’m writing to ask each of you if you would support Compassionate Ministr ies by attending the upcoming Celebration-Auction and participating in the Community Workday . T icke ts fo r the Celebration-Auction will be sold during April (on the patio on Sundays and through the office of Compass iona te M in is t r i es ) . Volunteer registration for the Community Workday will take place from April 25 – May 8.

The Compassionate Ministries of PazNaz will host its second annual “Compassion Creates Change” Celebration-Auction on Thursday evening, May 6. This event underwrites a large portion of the Helping Hands community food bank operations, Church in the Park’s ministry to the homeless in Pasadena, and many other annual c o m m u n i t y o u t r e a c h a n d development initiatives. For more than two decades, Compassionate Ministries has been devoted to providing support and assistance to the poor and marginalized in the City. Today, its relief assistance programs, community development partnerships, and justice ministries are creating positive change throughout Pasadena, Los Angeles, and beyond U.S. borders.

The Helping Hands Food Bank is serving more than 600 families (thousands of people) in San Gabriel Valley each month. Church in the Park, a ministry to the

You can a lso suppor t Compassionate Ministries by contributing a new item (a product or service) to the Celebration-Auction. Artists, would you donate an original piece from your portfolio? Please submit donations for the auction-fundraiser to the office of Compassionate Ministries by April 23. You have something to give and contribute; through service and sharing resources, you can use your strengths to build a better community.

Thank you for your support and contribution. Together, compassion can create change for this community and the world.

- Pastor Selena Holston

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Compassionate Ministries

Pastor Selena Holston Email: sholston@paznaz.org Phone: 626.351.2417

An Article from the Pastor...

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The back-to-back passing of Brad Godshall and Jessie Mastan has made this a very heart-breaking time for PazNaz. It is always hard to lose a brother or sister in Christ sooner than anyone would expect. But the opportunity the Body of Christ has had to walk with the Godshalls and Mastans through the ups and downs of Brad’s and Jessie’s long battles with cancer has drawn the community close to them and has given the church the opportunity to truly weep with them as they weep. This has been a blessing.

Pastor T. Scott Daniels Email: sdaniels@paznaz.org Phone: 626.351.2414

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Whenever people die so young and with so much life in them there are naturally lots and lots of questions that emerge. Both Jessie and Brad were lifted up in prayer quite literally around the world. I would be hard pressed to name two other people whose lives drew so many diverse groups of believers and communities together in the unity of prayer.

I’m not sure how to answer all the questions about how God acted in each of their circumstances. In both cases there were many times when God’s hand was clear. But there are still many questions about healing that remain. Where is God in this kind of suffering?

There is a text in the Bible that has been helpful for me in these kinds of circumstances. It is a passage that is well-known for having the shortest verse in the Bible: John 11:32-44 the raising of Lazarus. While Jesus was teaching word came to him that his friend Lazarus had fallen ill. Jesus delayed going to him and instead continued teaching. When he arrived in Bethany he was immediately told that Lazarus was not only dead but he had already been in the tomb for four days. When he arrives, Martha and Mary make the same statement to Jesus.

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (11:21).

I love the fact that Mary and Martha have the boldness to ask Jesus this very hard and direct question. It is encouraging to me to believe that God is okay with our tough questions. Personally, I would really like to know why God did not answer our prayers regarding Brad and Jessie with physical healing. In fact, I don’t want to just ask these questions, I want to SHOUT these questions!

The questions people have in

suffering always takes me back to the book of Job. Poor Job loses everything and has no idea why. His friends are absolutely no help. In fact, I believe much of the point of the book of Job is to reveal the stupid things that people usually say to their friends when they are suffering. Job’s friends say terrible things like: What sin must you have committed? Why didn’t you have enough faith? Why do you think God is punishing you?

But it is clear in the text that Job had done no wrong. Life – the hard side of life – was happening to Job not because of his sin or his lack of faith, but because suffering is simply a part of life.

Yet Job still wants some answers from God. After thirty-seven tortuous chapters, God finally answers Job. But rather than giving him answers to the question of suffering he gives Job a tour of the universe. In the vastness of God’s creation and creative abilities, Job’s questions are overwhelmed: not answered, but overwhelmed.

So I think it is significant that when Mary asks her question of Jesus she does not get an answer. Instead she gets the shortest verse in the Bible.

Jesus wept (11:35). In two words the mystery of God is

revealed. God is a sufferer. It is the very nature of God to suffer with his creation. The season of Lent always points the faithful back to the greatest mystery of the Christian faith. If we want to find God, we must always look first to the cross of suffering. For where there is suffering, pain, and need, Jesus is there weeping with us.

And so as the Body of Christ experiences the deep pain felt by the Godshalls and Mastans at this time, we have this deep assurance. God suffers with us.

But of course the story doesn’t end there.

Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go” (11:41-44).

The end of the story is that death does not get the last word in the life of Lazarus. Christians believe that the raising of Lazarus is a sign – a first-fruit – of what God’s redemptive and recreating power can and will accomplish when all things are made new. For those who believe, death is not the ultimate victor. God’s life giving love wins.

I wish in these moments I had better answers to the issues of suffering. I have studied theology a long time and I seem to keep coming up with more questions than answers. But I know that God is not only okay with but invites us to shout (if necessary) our hard questions to him. I don’t know if we will always get the answers we are looking for, but I know that we get his presence in our pain. But most of all, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).

This is Brad’s hope. This is Jessie’s hope. This is our hope.

- Pastor Scott Daniels

In two words the mystery of God is revealed. God is a sufferer. It is the very

nature of God to suffer with his creation.

Ice Cream Fundraiser at PazNaz’s Eggs-travaganza Saturday, April 3, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm Students will be Serving All-U-Can-Eat Ice Cream from Fosselman's to raise money for their Mission Trip to Guatemala this Summer. To find out more, please contact the Student Ministries Office. LA NYI YouthFest 2010 April 9-10 at PazNaz Students from Nazarene churches all over Los Angeles will gather on campus to compete in sports, share their musical talent and fellowship with each other. All PazNaz students are welcome and encouraged to participate. The cost is $25 per student.

Weekly Activities Sundays Student Worship - 9:15-10:15 am Room 134, Meguiar Youth Center

College Class - 9:15-10:15 am Room 302, Upper Sanctuary The first Sunday of the month only Wednesdays Evening Activities - 7:00-8:15 pm Sr. High Room 134, Meguiar Youth Center Jr. High Room 132, Meguiar Youth Center

Student Ministries

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Pastor Keegan Lenker Email: klenker@paznaz.org Phone: 626.351.2436

I grew up in Southern Idaho. If you have no clue what that means allow me to enlighten you a bit. There was a lot of open land. My family had a lot of farmland and there were smells of sugar beets in the air and most people looked like me.

The first mission trip I ever led students on as a youth pastor occurred in the summer of 2003. In order to take students to San Francisco to work in the Tenderloin District, I was required to visit the locations with the organization.

Remember, I grew up in a small town in Southern Idaho and anything associated with the city scared the living daylights out of me.

The cheapest plane ticket I could find landed in Oakland, so this small town boy had to figure out how to navigate himself from Oakland to the city site in San Francisco. I knew I had to take the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) System, but didn’t want to stand out for fear of looking clueless. But what are you supposed to think when you see a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid walking feebly around with a backpack?

After I figured out the route and got off the BART system, I found myself in unfamiliar territory and realized that no one looked like me. This was a first for me, and I was sure that I’d certainly find trouble.

Eventually, I made my way to the site and met Wynter, the City Director in San Francisco. The weird thing is she was blonde-haired and blue-eyed and stood out just like me. Now there

were two of us. After realizing we weren’t taking a

car to the locations but walking through neighborhoods my mama would have forbidden, I asked Wynter about her mindset, knowing she stood out too. What she said revolutionized me forever. “Keegan, it’s all in how you view these people. They are people, just like we are, in need of giving and receiving love.” I think, in that moment, God transformed how I looked at people.

If you take away all the categories that you place people in: races, social classes, ages, degrees, politics, places you live or don’t live, all you have left is your humanity. That’s something everyone shares and I wish it spoke louder than the above mentioned categories.

If you could recognize the humanity in others, then you’d begin to see they are just like you. If I could get beyond my false assumptions of entitlement and see another’s need for giving and receiving love, I’m convinced the Kingdom of God would look more like the kingdom God intended.

Forgive me God for the times I refuse to reveal my own humanity and intentionally blind myself to another’s need to give and receive love. May the Kingdom be different because of me. May the Kingdom be different because of us. May the Kingdom be more like what God intended than what we’ve made it.

- Pastor Keegan Lenker

REVEALING OUR COMMUNAL

Pastor Darwin Ng Email: dng@paznaz.org Phone: 626.351.2461

In April and May, PazNaz’s Chinese and Youth Ministries will work together to reach out to the Cantonese families and their English speaking youth in the West San Gabriel Valley. How many Chinese families are out there? If you live in the West San Gabriel Valley, you’d say they’re everywhere, but let me give you some numbers to confirm what you may already know.

According to the 2000 Census, Los Angeles County has more than 400,000 Chinese Americans. The majority live in the San Gabriel Valley, which is known for having cities with a Chinese American ethnic majority. The following cities are in the West San Gabriel Valley and have a very strong Chinese presence:

Monterey Park - 41.2% (24,758) San Marino - 40.6% (5,260) Arcadia - 34.0% (18,041)

San Gabriel - 33.6% (13,376) Alhambra - 33.1% (28,437) Rosemead - 29.3% (15,678) Temple City - 27.9% (9,322)

These numbers have been increasing and the 2010 Census will definitely shed new light on the growth of the Chinese community in this area. What you are seeing in the West San Gabriel area and the Rowland Heights/Diamond Bar area is a unique phenomenon that isn't found anywhere else in the U.S. The concentration of Chinese in this part of the Los Angeles Basin in number and

as a percentage of the total population is only rivaled by Vancouver, Toronto, and their suburbs, the two largest cities in Canada. These are the numbers according to the 2001 Canadian Census:

Vancouver / surrounding suburbs: Richmond – 39.1% (64,270)

Vancouver – 29.5% (161,110) Burnaby – 25.8% (50,135)

Toronto / surrounding suburbs: Toronto – 10.4% (259,710) Markham – 23.8% (62,355)

Richmond Hill – 21.8% (28,760)

In the school districts of the following cities, the concentration of Chinese is even higher. In Arcadia, Asians represent 65% of the total student population. Chinese students comprise 80% of that total number. Likewise, San Marino and Temple City each have a 60% Asian population with a similar percentage of Chinese. This concentration provides PazNaz with a golden opportunity to reach out to these immigrant families and their school age children.

On four Saturdays in April and May, PazNaz Chinese and Youth Ministries will join hands to sponsor seminars reaching out to Chinese parents and youth.

There are four seminars in Cantonese targeting parents of middle schoolers. I have invited two family counselors to present topics of interest to these parents.

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Chinese Ministries

– April 17 Building Up A Pre-Teen’s Self-Esteem (Speaker: Agnes Ip) – April 24 Adolescent Developmental

Stages and Changes: What‘s ahead and how to prepare yourself and adolescents to have a “smoother” transition. (Annette Jewik)

– May 1 How to Communicate with Your Teens and How to Get Them to Stay Connected. (Annette Jewik)

– May 8 Learning Styles & Multi-Generational Issues (Agnes Ip)

There will be a parallel program for

the youth. The topics include:

• Body Image • How to be Safe on a High School

Campus • What is the Role of a Teen in a

Hurting World? The Chinese place high value on

education. One of the main goals of immigration is to provide children with a golden opportunity for the best education. Helping their children be successful in this new world is critical for these Chinese immigrant families. Help me get the word out by inviting your Cantonese neighbors and their children to come to these seminars so that PazNaz will have the opportunity to serve them, and usher them into the Kingdom of God.

- Pastor Darwin Ng

Reaching Out to the Community C hinese

Parents of Birth through Teens Wednesday Evenings, 7:00-8:30pm in Room 249, Reed Hall

Two Different Sessions Wednesdays, April 14 - June 2

Positive Parenting in the Christian Home

with Jan Morris

Parents of Preschool/Elementary Wednesday Mornings, 9:15-11:45 am in Gilmore Hall, South

Director of Women’s Ministries: Debbie Daniels

Email: ddaniels@paznaz.org

Phone: 626.351.2429

Women’s Ministries

Pastor Ridge Ireland Email: rireland@paznaz.org Phone: 626.351.2427

Pasadena PrimeTime

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Pasadena PrimeTime’s March Event Update

The “Pageant of Our Lord” was the highlight event for Pasadena PrimeTime this past March. Fifty PrimeTimers went to Rolling Hills Covenant Church to experience the beautiful music and see the living masterpieces of art portrayed during the performance. Before returning to Pasadena, the group enjoyed lunch at the HomeTown Buffet.

If you are age 55 or better, you are encouraged to come to future PrimeTime events. Make sure to invite a friend and join with the rest of the PazNaz seniors in any of the following activities. New folks are always welcome!

Upcoming Activities and Dates: Pizza & Old Time Pictures Thursday, June 17, at 6:30 pm Come fellowship with others and reminisce about yesteryear. The cost is only $8.00, or $3.00 if you bring a school age picture of yourself. “The Hasty Heart” Saturday, July 17, at 12:15 pm Sign up now for this very popular activity at Glendale Centre Theatre. The cost is $19.00 and seats are filling up fast. There are only 10 spaces left for this activity, so make sure you contact the PrimeTime office today to get your seat.

Annual BBQ Thursday, August 5, at 6:30 pm The Annual BBQ is a big hit every year. Make sure you sign up now for this delicious dinner served in Gilmore Hall on the PazNaz campus. The cost is only $12.00 and this year the dinner features special guest, Keely Milliken. This list has just a few activities that Pasadena PrimeTimers participate in each year. To keep more up to date on all the things this ministry does, check out the PrimeTime events on the PazNaz website. Just go to www.paznaz.org, click on Ministries, then click on Pasadena PrimeTime.

Starting In April! Women in the Word Starting April 13 Tuesdays at 9:30 am and 7:00 pm Join in as this group of women come together for praise and worship, group discussions, and teaching. For the spring, Barbara Daniels will be leading a study in Philippians about joy.

Wee Ones in the Word (W.O.W.) Starting April 13, Tuesdays at 9:30 am On Tuesday mornings, PazNaz also offers a free kid’s program called Wee Ones in the Word. Contact Debbie Hammock at 626.351.2475 to RSVP. Children with special needs are welcome. Girlfriend to Girlfriend Starting April 14 Wednesdays at 7:00 pm You won’t want to miss the return of Girlfriend to Girlfriend on Wednesday nights in the spring as Debbie Daniels walks the class through the book The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley. Stay tuned for more details and for when you can purchase your book from the Women’s Ministries

Pastor Nicole Johnson Email: njohnson@paznaz.org Phone: 626.351.2487

Children’s Ministries Food-Fight Night (Grades 1-4) Saturday, April 17, 5:00-7:00 pm Room 102, Lower Sanctuary Come hungry and prepare to get messy because the night will be packed with slimy food games guaranteed to make you smile.

Goo-On-You (Grades 5-6) Saturday, April 24, 5:00-7:00 pm Room 102, Lower Sanctuary Pier 56-ers are guaranteed to love this night of gooey games. Dress for a mess because all the games will involve slippery slimy gooey fun.

Wednesday Nights Return April 14, 7:00-8:30 pm Room 102, Lower Sanctuary Hey PazNaz Kidz! You don’t want to miss the crazy games, exciting scripture lessons, and action packed activities every Wednesday night for grades 1-6!

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April Birthday Bash Sunday, April 25, 2:00-3:30 pm Room 102, Lower Sanctuary If your child’s birthday is in April and they are in grades 1-6, they are invited to a special Birthday Party at PazNaz. Hopefully the whole family can come! There will be ice cream, games, face painting, balloon animals, and much more! They won't want to miss this exciting celebration. If your child would like to attend, please RSVP to Pastor Nicole by Thursday, April 22.