pastor jim miyabe -...
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eVol. XLVII, No. 2
FEBRUARY 2017
Volume XLVII, No. 2Venice Free Methodist Church
What does God’s Family look like? What are its character qualities? Every biological family has its character qualities. Some are very good and healthy and some
are unhealthy. Unhealthy families are characterized by competition, jealousy, abuse, fear and other factors that detract from relationship building and growth. The Bible has many examples of unhealthy families. Jacob had twelve sons, yet he loved one, Joseph, above the others. He showed his favoritism and the other sons became jealous and eventually did away with him. They sold him to slave traders and told Jacob that he had been killed by a wild animal. (Genesis 37)
Jealousy is just one of many possible unhealthy qualities. Being a member of God’s family is the complete opposite. God’s family is characterized by
love. Each member knows they are loved. This love is based on the fact that Jesus sacrificed His life in order to make it possible for the believer to be part of God’s family. It is an extraordinary and pow-erful love.
When we have been loved like Jesus loves then we become deeply appreciative members of God’s family. And indeed it is a dear privilege. And we become grateful members of God’s family.
To what kind of family do you want to belong? One that is characterized by friction, dis-sention, anger, loneliness, fear, etc.? Or one that is characterized by love? If you will open your heart to the love of Jesus, you can be a member of His Family.
“In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.” Ephesians 1:5, 6
Pastor Jim MiyabeSincerely,
THE FAMILY OF GOD - L♡VE
Youth sharing
“Sound of Music” Sing-along
Youth guest speaker, Pisey S.
Dearest congratulations to Pastor Yongsu Park, of our Japanese language ministry, who has announced his engagement to Ms. Kiyomi Komakura!
Youth attended the conference “Turn Your Campus” at BIOLA University on January 14.
A special showing of the movie, “The Sound of Music” was held on January 21. “Doe a deer, a female deer; ray a drop of golden sun…”
Pastors Jim Miyabe, Nathan Cherney & Linda Akutagawa and Ryan Granucci at-tended the Free Methodist Bishop’s Confer-ence, “E–3” on January 27.
Good to see Lars & Karen Welo, and their two children, on January 8, and David & Ruth Lowe, and their four children, on Jan-uary 29 in our worship services. Both cou-ples are serving in South East Asia. God’s best to them on their new assignments!
Young Adult Ministry, “The Well”, had its kick-off meeting, “Build Your Own Burrito” on January 29. 30 people attended. A fun time was had by all! Weekly Tuesday night meet-ings are also part of the schedule.
Baja Team attended a reunion at Journey of Faith Church on January 29.
THIS MONTH
AWANA CLUB MINISTRY: February 3, 10 & 24 AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed, from 2 Timothy 2:15) meets on Friday nights at 7 p.m. Help your children build a foundation in Christ!
THE “GOD SPOT” MARRIAGE FELLOW-SHIP: February 4 The first Saturday of every month “God Spot” meets as a support to couples committed to marriage. We are following FamilyLife’s “The Art of Marriage–Getting to the Heart of
God’s Design”. For potluck info and to RSVP, contact [email protected]. Childcare provided. Time: 6:30 p.m.
YOUTH FELLOWSHIP EVENTS: February 5, 11, 17-20 & 25 Fellowship nights and other events are fun & inspirational. Make sure your youth is a part of this faith building experience. For more deta i ls o f a l l youth events, emai l [email protected].
PARENTEEN: February 11, March 11 & April 8 Look forward for help on parenting your teenager(s) at 7:00 p.m. at the Cottage. Nancy Nojima will be teaching the material from How We Love by Milan & Kay Yerkovich.
GO LUNCHEON “Reaching out to the World”: February 12 A report of God’s exciting work via our short-term missions teams to Japan, Chaing Mai, Thailand and Baja, Mexico this past year will be held at a pot-luck luncheon starting at Noon. Everyone welcome to attend.
MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers): Feb-ruary 13 & 27 Hey mom! Do you crave a break & real con-versation with other women? Then MOPS is for you. 9:30 a.m. to noon. Please RSVP to [email protected] to reserve your childcare spots today!
DATE NIGHT COMEDY: February 14 Connect with others through laughter on St. Valentine’s Day. We’ll be watching 3 of the funniest Christian comedians. Everyone is invited! Parents! Childcare is provided! 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. See flyer and RSVP! Email Jimmy & Van Doan at [email protected] to RSVP.
YOUTH MID-WINTER RETREAT: February 17-20 Youth will be attending the PCJC event, “RELEVANT”. It is a highlight! A bus will leave here on Friday afternoon, February 17.
Contact [email protected] for all questions.
SENIOR ADULT TO LOOK FOR WHALES: February 18 SAM will go to Point Vicente Interpretive Center and museum and whale watching. Lunch at China Buffet is also on the sched-ule. They have room for only 30. First call gets to go. CONVALESCENT HOME MINISTRY: Feb-ruary 19 Once a month we minister to the residents at the Santa Monica Convalescent Hospital at 2 p.m. Want to participate? Contact Wayne G i n o z a a t 3 1 0 - 9 6 3 - 4 6 8 1 o r [email protected].
ADVANCE NOTICE
SAM POTLUCK SEMINAR: March 25 Guest speaker, Nancy Nojima, will speak on the topic, “How to Eat Real Foods”. A simple approach to healthy nutrition.
SAM TO “PAGEANT OF OUR LORD”: April 8 We have room for 30 at this very special event. Watch this space for more informa-tion to come.
FAMILY CAMP: July 16–21 Are you doing some long range planning? Remember to include our Annual Family Camp at Redwood Christian Park in your plans. You will be blessed!
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL: July 31–Au-gust 4 Vacation Bible School is a huge PLUS for children. Save the dates for a very blessed time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRAYER FOR CHURCH AND COMMUNITY A time of prayer for God’s Spirit to be re-leased in our church and community is being held on the 1st Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the home of Jim & Suzanne Miyabe. Everyone is invited. Also “Call to Pray” will be available every third Saturday from 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. All welcome to attend.
CULVER PALMS MEALS-ON-WHEELS Volunteer drivers are needed to deliver meals to home of people who are incapaci-tated due to age or disability on the West-side. Call 310/559-0666 if you would like to help.
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PLEASE PRAY FOR... ...those who are serving on short-term mis-sions: Sara Kwon (U. of Tenn. with Inter-Varsity); Rob, Denise & Cori Anne Tang
(Thailand with ZOE Ministries). ...those military personnel serving our
country--Keaton Frey and Andrew Sumi-da (Navy), Julie Akiyama and Robert
Sugai (Army).
THIS MONTH
ADVANCED NOTICE
News Briefs
Announcements
WESTCHESTER PLAYA VILLAGE WPV assists seniors with activities like gro-cery shopping, a ride to and from appoint-ments, home visits, etc. Volunteers are sought to make a difference in their lives. Call the church office for info.
FELLOWSHIP LUNCHEON SUNDAY Every 1st Sunday of the month is Fellow-ship Luncheon Sunday. Please join us after the 2nd worship service for a wonderful time of fellowship and for a delicious meal pre-pared by members of the Hospitality Min-istry.
MISS A WORSHIP SERVICE? Did you miss a worship service be-cause you were ill or out of town? You can hear the messages or order a C D f r o m o u r w e b s i t e a t venicechurch.org. You can also ac-c e s s t h i s n e w s l e t t e r ( t h e “Seabreeze”) at our website 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.)
SEABREEZE FORMATTINGWe are in need of a person to for-mat this publication each month. If you have a desire to share the min-istry of our church with our church family and community contact the church office.
MEMORIAL OFFERINGS
In Memory of Mrs. Chieko Armour – Mr. & Mrs. Jay MiyaIn Memory of Mrs. Vicki Granucci – Mr. Tom GranucciChristmas Offering for Mrs. Jane Honda – Mrs. Jacqueline HondaIn Memory of Mr. David Nakano – Mrs. Kiku Kubo, Mr. Allen Kuwanoe, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Maekawa, Mr. & Mrs. Paul M a t-suoka, Mr. & Mrs. Albert Morita, Mr. & Mrs. Ray Nakagama, Mrs. Jane
Nakano & Family, Pham Family, Mrs. Cheri Sakai, Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Sawa, Ms. Henrietta Seto, Mr. & Mrs. Lester Seto, Mr. & Mrs. Hideo Shimoda, Mr. & Mrs. Tad Suzuki, Mrs. Nancy Tahata, Ms. Lorraine Tani, Mr. & Mrs. Toshi Tateishi, Ms. Kay Yashiro. In Memory of Mr. Mas Okumura – Mrs. Frances Okumura
IN SYMPATHY
Our condolences to the family of Mrs. Rosa Odow who passed away on January 2. May God be of much comfort to the family.
Our condolences to the family of Mr. David Nakano who passed away on January 6. May our Lord’s com-fort be with the entire family.
✢
IN SYMPATHY
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• AWANA Nights for February are 3, 10, and 24 • Feb 4 (Sat) 12 PM to 2 PM - Student Leadership Meeting • Feb 4 (Sat) 2:30 PM to 8:00 PM - Hangar 18 - Indoor Rockclimbing ($19
per person to climb...if you'd like, you may round up and pay $20 to help cover staff and drivers, staff and drivers go for free). Meet at church. Actual climb time will be from 3:30 to 5:30PM. Please bring extra money to grab dinner in the South Bay after climbing. All those attending must sign a liability waiver. The link can be found in our newsletter. We need a headcount so please sign up ASAP!
• Feb 5 (Sun) 2 PM to 7 PM - Youth Staff at Midwinter Training at Mission Valley FMC
• Feb 11 (Sat) 7:00 to 9:30 PM - Youth Group - Wayne Sonoda will be speaking on Romans 9-11, and ParenTEEN - Nancy Nojima will start a 3 part series on "How We Love."
• Feb 12 (Sun) 11:45 AM - Missions Luncheon - Hear from the Thailand, Japan and Baja Missions Teams (in the MPR). It is a potluck, so please bring something to share. Invite your family and supporters.
• February 17 to 20 - MIDWINTER Youth Retreat! Please pray for us! • Feb 25 (Sat) 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM - Youth Group – Katie Miya on
Romans 12
Follow us on Instagram: veniceyouth Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/veniceyouth/
Email: [email protected]
Youth Day—RE:treat
Youth Staff Brunch
MEMORIAL OFFERINGS
SeabreezeVENICE FREE METHODIST CHURCH 4871 CENTINELA AVENUE LOS ANGELES, CA 90066
TEMP - RETURN SERVICE REQUESTEDSTAFF E-MAIL ADDRESSES & PHONE NUMBERS:Pastor Jim Miyabe [email protected] (310-822-8094)
Pastor Nathan Cherney (Assistant Pastor): [email protected] (909-230-3777)
Pastor Yongsu Park (Japanese language): [email protected] (310-822-8094)
Linda Akutagawa (Youth Director): [email protected] (310-962-3529)
Ryan Grannucci (Youth Worker): [email protected] (310-415-3642)
Ken Koshimizu (Children’s Ministry Asst. Dir.): [email protected] (310-367-0388)
Emiko Kuwata (Infant/Toddler Director): [email protected] (310-418-7791)
Mariah Maxwell (Music Director): [email protected] (301-908-9046)
Michelle Stultz (Office Administrator): [email protected] (310-822-8094)
Jodi Yokota (Church Administrator): [email protected] (310-822-8094)
Venice Free Methodist Church
Main Office: 310-822-8094 email: [email protected]: 310-821-5474 http://www.venicechurch.org
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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.