The River Church Community

Dear friends,

By now, you have likely received information about lay-offs affecting our staff team (link to article).  Many of you have expressed concern, love, and prayers.  And for that we are all very thankful.  It goes without saying that this is a painful time.  In the coming days and weeks, you will hear more about what these changes mean, how we will move forward, and how you can participate in the process of change.  But, for the moment, I’d like to say a word about leaning into God in the midst of tumult.

We are, in general, an activist culture.  We like to analyze and solve problems.  We feel safer when we’re in control, when we’re steering the ship.  But, the events of Holy Week (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter) call us to another posture – a posture in which we surrender to Jesus journey to the cross.  That Jesus went to the cross means that we don’t need to be in denial about our pain.  Jesus is familiar with all of our suffering; we can pour out our hearts to him.  It also means that we need not succumb to despair in our darkness.  Though our Fridays are dark and disorienting, we trust that Sunday brings the hope of new life.  So, let’s lean into Jesus in these days.  He is our strength and our hope.  

Peace,

Brad Wong,
Lead Pastor

PS.  Numerous people have asked me if the events of Holy Week will be designed with our seeking friends in mind.  So, I wanted to provide some direction.  We are designing our Easter celebration very much with the seeker in mind.  Of course, the message will be appropriate for Christ-followers, too.  But, we are trying to be very thoughtful about matters such as language, application to message, and hospitality so that newcomers hear the gospel message with as few distractions as possible.  I am praying that God give  many of us the opportunity to invite family and friends for this occasion.  Our Good Friday service is not necessarily designed with the seeker in mind.  The service will feature the sharing of numerous River members who will offer reflections on the last words of Jesus on the cross.  The sharing of stories can be very powerful for seekers; but, I am not asking any of the people sharing to craft their language with the seeker in mind. 

Hello River,

We announced several major staffing changes this week.  You can read about them here.

This Sunday we will be having a congregational meeting to dialogue about our plans to formalize a Governing Board for the church.  For more information and to RSVP, please visit the event page.  (If you are a small group leader, you've already heard this information on March 14.)

BudgetWatchers is beginning the Monday after Easter, April 13th.  We will be doing a 4-week study of Matt Bell's Money, Purpose, Joy.  This is a great chance to start (or continue) exploring ways to make our financial lives reflect our deepest values.  Checkout this page for more information or contact me at .

David is beginning a 10 week men's book club based on Dallas Willard's Hearing God: "Because my passion is to help men bond with God’s heart I thought it time we begin to develop what it means to live in communion with God. This group is really about building our personal relationship with our Creator and through that we’ll learn how to hear the healing words we need within. The closer we walk with Him the easier it becomes to know His mind and to hear His voice."  For more information, see the event page here.

Our monthly all-church intercessory prayer time for April will be held next Tuesday, April 7 from 7pm - 8:30pm.  Contact for more information.

Check out the website for a post about Andy Woodruff's son Luke shipping off to Iraq.

Peace,

Dave

Last Sunday was our quarterly "Loving San Jose" event!  No announcements.