We had 198 precious souls gathered to worship here at the church building last Sunday. Several of us gathered to learn sing and learn new songs Sunday afternoon. As was pointed out Sunday evening, this singing time is great because it gives us an opportunity to learn newer songs (or even older ones we’ve never sung) without the pressure of having to do it during a worship assembly. We can collectively make mistakes on a song without having to worry about it putting a damper on our worship. Cliff and the other song leaders do an excellent job of organizing this session. Come out and be a part of it!
I love the warmth and the friendship we share here. Over the past few weeks we’ve had visitors to comment about how welcome they feel. Some may think this is an indication of a special church. I hope its and indication that we’re just doing it right. When we are as welcoming and openhearted as we should be, people notice! Don’t give up on reaching out. Just think about the impact we can make on our community if we all work together to have this kind of friendliness! We won’t have to worry about the image of our church in the community because people will know us for who we are, not just for what we tell them we are.
Having said that, when we have an opportunity to let the community see our best side, we should certainly show it. We interact with the community on several occasions, most notably at events like our fish fry, our Trunk-or-Treat, at the Christmas Parade (which goes down the highway right in front of our building) and through our mother’s day out/preschool program. Because of these kind of interactions and the way you interact with people on a daily basis, Fairview Church of Christ has been nominated for the “Best of 2011” awards published by the Fairview Observer. Also our mother’s day out/preschool has been nominated “Best Childcare Provider.” Finally, members from our congregation have been recognized in the nominations. Reese Tidwell has been nominated “Best Cashier”, Becky Waller has been nominated “Best Waiter/Waitress”, and Christy Hyche has been nominated “Best Teacher.” At this point, the “Best of Fairview” will be determined by the community’s votes. Ballots are published in the week’s edition of The Fairview Observer and will be published in next week’s edition as well. Instructions for voting are printed on the ballot. Voting will end on February 1st. Thanks for conducting yourself in such way that the community has nominated us for these awards. Winning the award would be nice, because it would raise our visibility. But the best way to raise our visibility among the community is to keep on being the best christians we can be and to have the attitude of Jesus as we interact with visitors in our congregation and people in our community. Keep it up! You’re making a difference!
