Letter From Frank Fish
January 22, 2021
Hello Friends,
We will host our Zoom Only service tomorrow at 2:30 pm (we will not have an in-person outdoor service until February 6th).
Quick Connect Link via Zoom for Sabbath Service January 23, 2021 at 2:30 pm: (NORMAL TIME).
English Sabbath Service Spanish Translation
Messages tomorrow will be brought by Dan Bates (sermonette) and Jon Garnant (sermon).
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Prayer Update - Juan Melo
Juan continues to improve and thanks to God's intervention did not have to be moved to ICU. The medical team continues to apply specific therapies to maintain and improve his blood oxygen level into normal range. It is hoped he will return home later this coming week. Adela, Kailah and Josiah seem to be over the virus themselves. The Melo family is VERY appreciative of your prayers on their behalf and God's care for them.
General Prayers in our congregations
There are a number of our Bakersfield and Los Angeles members who have recently contracted COVID-19 and are enduring it or have recovered. They have solicited prayer on a personal level as the cases seem to be mild and did not desire that I share with the entire congregation. In addition, there are others with various surgeries and ongoing health challenges, some of these we have announced to the congregation, others wish to involve members on an individual basis. The bottom line is that we need to continue, as I know you do, to ask God to bless our brethren with robust health and energy. And let us pray that everyone is able to remain fully employed.
Web-server for community emails is lagging
I have discovered that the Home Office Webmaster server did not send some recent prayer requests to the entire church community list. The Webmaster is how I have been sending out immediately urgent prayer requests. The Home Office is looking into this challenge. I will continue to send these type of emails directly from my email address until this is solved.
Zoom Services - Audio/Video Disruptions
The technical crew is aware of the audio "clipping" issues last week during the zoom link of the service. It was clearly disruptive and annoying. We are taking two steps to address this challenge.
First, we will provide a contact phone number at the beginning of service to report technical problems. If the signal is too weak or choppy on a collective basis then we need to stop the service and fix the problem. We do not want the church service to be a painful listening experience.
Second, we have arranged for an audio/visual consultant in Pasadena to come to the Rose City site in the coming week. The gear will be set-up as used on a Sabbath, and recommendations for adjustments, improvements and documentation will be sought to create a consistent plan for operation.
Understanding How Bible Principles Intersect with Today's World
We had a good discussion group this past Wednesday with lively participation from the 24 connections. The author of the article used for this discussion offered an approach to meaningful engagement with today's world that seemed instructive. The article stated three pillars of the biblical book of Exodus are embedded in our current society and set a nice stage for the coming spring festivals.
We will strive to use the theme of Understating How Bible Principles Intersect with Today's World once a month on the third Wednesday. As we look ahead, the dates would be February 17, March 17 and April 21.
If you come across a book, article or concept that fits into this theme please let me know.
In the meantime, may God bless your efforts to meaningfully engage in applying Biblical principles in today's world.
Upcoming Services:
It is our hope to add an in-person venue for Bakersfield, perhaps in February. When that happens, we will schedule it the same week as the outdoor service in Pasadena.
January 30, 2021 - Zoom Connection with three 20-minute messages focused on Interpersonal relationships in the family, church and community. Our speakers will be Jonathan Garnant (the younger), John Karlik and Ted Budge. I will moderate a question period of five minutes after each message. We hope to use this format on each of the fifth sabbath months during the year to focus on a topic and build collaboration among the speakers. If you have an idea or theme for future Sabbaths, let me know.
February 6, 2021 Outdoor Services & Zoom
February 13, 2021 Zoom Connection
February 20, 2021 Outdoor Services & Zoom (possible Bakersfield in person)
February 27, 2021 Zoom Connection
March 6, 2021 Outdoor Services & Zoom
March 13, 2021 Zoom Connection
March 20, 2021 Outdoor Services & Zoom - possible Bakersfield in person)
March 26, 2021 (Fri) Passover Service - discussion on options to come.
March 27, 2021 (Sat) Zoom Connection
Night to Be Much Observed
March 28, 2021 (Sat) ULB High Day service
Quick Connect Link via Zoom for Sabbath Service January 23, 2021 at 2:30 pm: (Normal Time)
English Sabbath Service Spanish Translation
See you Sabbath!
Frank Fish
For calls or texts - Mobile: 1-818-332-6141
