We welcome the stories of your experiences and events here in Hampton Roads! Let us know what your church, ministry or group is up to!

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New Name on "Horizon"
Sent in by Cara Boerrigter

Chesapeakes' Sunrise Community Church and Lee Memorial Baptist have embarked on an unique mission - to join their two churches together as one church. The venture began almost two years ago, when 9-year-old Sunrise needed another place to worship. The church had rented facilities in five locations and was ready for a permanent home. Members of Lee Memorial, on Gum Road near Chesapeake Square Mall, had been praying for the Lord to provide new life within its' walls. The 26-year-old church had fallen into trying times. Only a handful of faithful attendees remained and Lee Memorial was ready to shut its' doors.

That's when founding members of Lee and Pastors from Sunrise started on their journey. It began with Sunrise using Lee's Auditorium for worship on Christmas Eve 2007. Then the two churches began sharing ministries and Pastors. For a year now leaders from both bodies have been meeting and praying over the details.

This past Spring, suggestions for a new name were made by members during "The Name is Right" campaign. More than 130 different names were submitted. Then, on Sunday, September 27, members from both churches unanimously voted that "Horizon Community Church" will be their new moniker. Lee Memorial founding member and Deacon Tommy Bower says the new name "reflects the point at which one thing stops and another begins." In this case, it's symbolic of the union of both church bodies and their going forward together in ministry.

Both churches have already been sharing resources including small group Bible Studies and Children's, Student, and Women's Ministries. The largest outreach so far between Sunrise and Lee took place this past February, when the churches sheltered and fed over 100 people for one week as part of the Portsmouth Volunteers for the Homeless. Senior Pastor Steve Nethery says that, in addition to discipleship, one focus of Horizon Community Church is "living out Christianity during the week by caring for people in the community." Members are reminded of their calling with the words "Believing Requires Action" boldly posted on the wall next to the front door.

In the coming months, those attending Horizon Community Church will see some changes as their union is legally finalized- the most obvious being new signs bearing the name at they turn into the parking lot. Horizon holds a contemporary service Sundays at 10:00 a.m. and a blended/ traditional service at 11:15 a.m. You can read more about the churches ministries and staff on-line at www.sunrisecc.org.

For more info you can contact: Steve Nethery. Senior Pastor, Sunrise Community Church, 2430 Gum Road, Chesapeake, VA 23321, (757) 284-4557, sneth@cox.net.

@ September 29, 2009

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National Day of Prayer!
By Julie Lucas

As President Barack Obama kept a low profile for the National Day of Prayer and did not offer up the usual traditional observances; Christians all across America were meeting at their local city hall buildings giving glory and honor to God. In the city of Chesapeake inside the city hall chambers met more than fifty residents including the local Girl Scout Troop 719 that lead the entire room in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the singing of the National Anthem. As Mayor Alan Krasnoff opened the ceremony with a proclamation of today’s undertaking the entire room seemed to be in reverent introspection not only for themselves but for their nation.

It is no secret that with the election of Barack Obama and the definite steps away from God, His guidance and His protection, Christians across this nation have begun to mourn the loss of their traditional values. These values have been under attack for quite some time now, but it was only when the majority of our nation made a bold and unprecedented move towards liberalism that some began to feel all hope was lost. As our president showed his affirmation of religious diversity and Christian intolerance at the price of disowning the one true God, I too began to feel disheartened.

But as I stood in the city hall chambers in Chesapeake I was quickly reminded of how committed and incredibly connected we all really are. Those present were from churches and denominations all over Chesapeake showing their one heart and a voice of one accord. As I began to ponder the mind of God, how He will bring unity back to his church and present before Himself a pure and spotless bride, it occurred to me…Barack Obama really is a part of His plan. To openly and unashamedly separate the wheat from the chaff; to bring all those fence sitters down from their perch and force them to choose this day whom they will serve.

Throughout history it has always been the adversity and persecution of His people that made people count the cost and make their decisions based on their complete commitment to their Lord and Savior; even unto death. Although we are currently not threatened with severe persecution or death we are falling very quickly out of favor with our fellow Americans; or at least those who seek to further their own licentious appetites and follow after their own selfish interests. Some are well meaning, wishing that all those who choose to love in a fleshly manner someone of the same sex; they should be given the opportunity to marry and live in peace and harmony with the rest of the country. Some of the same well meaning people who wish that all young girls should have the opportunity to choose whether they should have a baby or not all simply fly in the face of all things God deems as honorable and just. This decree is not something that “we” came up with on our own, we know that this is God’s law; His decree’s stated in His word. We simply are following after God’s own provisions. We also know the personal pain and swath of destruction this kind of behavior brings in a persons life. Sure we Christian conservatives would love for everyone to have the right to choose within the parameters offered up in the biblical texts because we know the blessings that follow, even chase us down and over take us, when we simply follow God’s law. We really want those same blessings for EVERYONE!

But the current moral direction in our nation will only take us down into the narcissistic depths of self love and transgression which leads, interestingly enough, in the opposite direction to which we all want to go….towards happiness, peace and fulfillment. No one gets up in the morning and says, “hey I think I am going to make a complete disaster of my life and end up bitter, unfulfilled and hollow on the inside” but that is exactly what happens when we walk in the ways we think is right instead of the path set before us by God.

As the crowd in the city hall chambers lifted their hands of praise to their God, the music and the spirit of joy descended on a crowd that, although mourning the loss of their traditional values, seemed to be completely at peace with their Maker. They were a group of folks not emboldened by anger or driven to violence, chanting horrible, hate filled words towards their enemies…they were praying heartfelt prayers for their fellow lost Americans; asking for blessings and protection; not harm or destruction. Not one person left angry, bitter or with vengeance on their minds. They truly represented the best God has to offer.

I was also deeply aware of all the other organizations, buildings and churches throughout Hampton Roads open at this same time and offering up these same prayers for the return of Godly direction to our nation. It would seem that this is not the direction that the majority in our nation wants to go, we however will always have peace; that inner peace that surpasses all understanding and sustains us in the vortex of pure chaos spinning (from all outwardly appearances) out of control all around us. It is His hand that guides us and it is to Him we give all honor and glory forever and ever….Amen!

@May 7, 2009

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I Finally Got Invited to a Tea Party!
By Julie Lucas

When you think of a tea party the first thing that comes to mind is little girls dressed up in feather boas and fancy hats serving tea and imaginary cookies to all their stuffed animal friends. When I was a little girl my mother used to buy me a fancy dress and gloves just in case I would ever get invited to one…I never was! I lived in West Virginia not The Hamptons! However, there was nothing imaginary getting served up on Wednesday at the anti-tax rally called Taxed Enough Already (T.E.A) Party. It was a real indication of how disgusted many American’s feel about the current tax system and administration dipping deep into our pockets. There were thousands of these disgruntled American’s showing up at the Virginia Beach and Newport News rallies.

The media outlets such as CNN and MSNBC have not had very positive things to say about the subject or us who support it. Making jokes and calling those attending anti-American radicals; sounds a whole lot like the viewpoints that the right-wingers had about the left-wing anti-war crowd. They really didn’t like it much and neither do we! I really thought being American was all about our freedom to peacefully protest; in fact, doesn’t the first Amendment of the Constitution protect our rights to do just that! (wikipedia.org/First_Amendment) Strangely enough, TEA Party rallies have even made the “watch lists” in the well know terrorist harboring states like Maryland. (Md. Guard Issues Warning to Staff about Local TEA Party Protestors, Southern Maryland Online)

I know, I write about religious issues and how they affect us as a group of folks devoted to Jesus, so why should we care as Christians about the tax code at all? Why should we care about changing it? Why should I, as a Christian, be even remotely concerned?

The tax code, the way it is currently written, ties the hands of our clergy to really speak out on social and political issues that directly affect the flock and our nation. There are those brave ministers who risk losing their tax exempt status [code 501 (c) 3] in order to share with us the important issues that affect our culture. The moral leaders of our society have been burdened with the obligations to financially care for their church and minister to the ethical needs of the congregation without stepping on the toes of the federal government; thus, bringing down upon his congregation, administrators, boards and oversight committees the wrath of lawsuits and public/media humiliation. Sadly, many pastors that report to these boards or committees will not risk the loss of revenue or congregants in order to make some political statement. Thus, our nation sinks further and further into moral decline and the church goes along for the ride.

I really am not one to jump on band wagons, but it seems to be pretty silly to protest something without actually having an answer to the problem. Here is the best one I’ve seen to date; it is the Fair Tax! Fair Tax would eliminate this extreme burden placed upon the clergy, it would free them to speak out on those important moral/political issues and still fulfill the financial obligations of our “tax and spend” government administrations. I would like to add here that although I generally vote Republican and I hold to more conservative viewpoints, it really is irrelevant which party is in control of the White House, Senate or Congress… they just can’t control their spending! They spend and spend and spend and spend! Our nation is in debt so far that our great-great-great grandchildren will inherit this whole mess! Unless Jesus returns first of course, but don’t “bank on it”…sorry for the bad pun!

For many of us as Christians we heed the warning about borrowing money and remaining in debt. We know that it is better to be the lender than the borrower. We can not serve “two masters” (Matthew 6:24). We know that if our mind is on paying off our debts as we are biblically required to do (Romans 13:8) then our mind can not be on serving the Lord completely. And we reasonably deduce that it is far better to serve the Lord than to be overly concerned about paying off our debt. And we do not live in a culture or society that even remotely honors Deuteronomy 15…

At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord's release. (Deuteronomy 15:1-3)

So faced with the fact that we are obligated to our debtors and in the case of our country that would be nations like, oh, say…Japan, China, several Middle Eastern countries and a few other minor league nations; we are now obligated to one nation that saw fit to bomb us (Pearl Harbor in case you have forgotten), one communist nation that kills a large portion of it’s unborn population and several other Muslim nations that support, albeit not openly, terrorist acts against the citizens of the U.S. That leaves us in a very precarious position indeed, don’t you think?

With all that said, the TEA Party is a problem for the government that is not going away and a peaceable outlet that will allow for a very strong change in leadership during the next election. Stay tuned my friends…this thing is just going to get bigger …

@ April 17, 2009