The Sunday Set-Up for Sunday, July 27

Have you ever found yourself in a situation when you were unprepared for what you needed to do?  You’re on your way to the game and realize you left the tickets at home.  You go to the grocery store and realize you don’t have your shopping list or your wallet or your coupons.  You get home from school and realize you left your homework or your books in your locker.  My natural response in any of these situations is, “I’m an idiot!”
Being unprepared makes me feel like a fool.  And while the consequences in these situations are all relatively insignificant, there are events in our lives that if we find ourselves unprepared for we’ll not just feel like a fool, but we’ll actually be the fool.  Jesus wants us to avoid this.  In fact, he told us the parable of the Ten Virgins so that we would.  
So, don’t be a fool - Come to join us at Church of the Apostles on Sunday at 10am to make sure you’re prepared!

Reading: Matthew 25:1-13

Bulletin: July 27, 2014

Hillary in Rwanda

Hillary Dotson, who is spending the year in Rwanda teaching at Sonrise School, contributed to the Rwanda Team's blog on Sunday. She is in her new city now, settled into her new home, and has already started teaching. 

You can read her blog post on the Apostles-Raleigh in Rwanda blog where the other posts about the trip have been. 

However, Hillary also has a blog that she will be keeping updated during her year in Rwanda. We would encourage you to check in on her blog often as she shares about her life at Sonrise School. 


Hillary's Blog: http://hillaryinrwanda.tumblr.com/

"I have heard the cries of my people..." - Hillary's post that is also on the Rwanda Team blog

"In the midst of sadness and separation...New life" - Hillary's most recent post

Praises and Prayer Requests from Hillary will be updated...check back often to see what the Lord is doing and how you can be praying for Hillary. 

The Sunday Set-Up for July 20, 2014

Life in Rwanda is very different.

People walk along the road with produce piled high on top of their heads. Motorcycles that serve as taxis speed by carrying passengers along. Traffic seems to have less laws and more "etiquette." Goats and pigs walk together with their owners. And those are just a few roadside observations. 

There are many differences between life in Rwanda and the life we know here in the US. And yet, in Kingdom terms, we aren't so different. 

We'll put the Parables series on hold this week to listen to some of our common experiences as people in God's Kingdom, and to hear some fun stories from this year's trip. 

See you Sunday! 

Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Bulletin: July 20, 2014

New Rwanda Blog Post (and updated photos from old ones)

The Rwanda team arrived back home last night safe and sound. There is now a new post on their blog from Curt Blazier. Also, the two previous posts now have photos with them so those links are included below. 

"Healthy Body, Healthy Soul" - by Curt Blazier

"Prayers of Many" (with photos) - by Teresa Kincaid

"Reflections from Jim" (with photos) - by Jim Dotson

More News from the Rwanda Team

Our team will be back on American soil tomorrow (Tuesday), sans Jim and Hillary Dotson (pre-planned!), so please pray for their safe return. 

Here are two more blog posts that were added to the blog yesterday. There seems to be an issue with the photos on Jim's post, so we will see what we can do to fix that soon. 

Jim Dotson's account on his overall experience in Rwanda...from meeting the people of Church of the Apostles in Gikomero, to teaching English to children with Eric Bolash, to seeing the impact that the health center is having on the lives of our brothers and sisters in Rwanda. 
Click Here for Jim's Post






Teresa Kincaid's account on what the Lord has taught her about prayer through a challenge given by Pastor Etienne last year and how she has seen it come to fruition on the trip this year.
Click Here for Teresa's Post

The Sunday Set-Up for July 13, 2014

In Romans chapter 7, Paul expresses beautifully what every Christian experiences in their lives when he states, 'I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing.’ Have you ever experienced that feeling?  We so often know the right thing to do, yet struggle to do it.  Why do we have such a difficult time living lives of obedience to the Lord?  This Sunday, we’re going to consider this question together as we listen to Jesus’ parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32). Please come and join us at 10am for worship and then stay for the picnic at Eastgate Park following the service. We hope to see you there.

Readings: Matthew 21:28-32 and Romans 7:15-25

Bulletin: July 13, 2014

News from Rwanda!

Our team arrived in Rwanda piece by piece and they are now all there together! Finally able to access internet, they updated their blog yesterday and we wanted to pass those posts along to you. You can check in on the blog anytime at http://apostlesinrwanda.blogspot.com/.

I. After some mechanical difficulties out of RDU, the portion of the team that traveled together missed their original connecting flight out of DC. So, they ended up spending Saturday night in Brussels, Belgium. Not a bad gig considering Belgium was playing Argentina in their World Cup game.
Read their Belgium update here.

II. Lee Garret, taking a different route to Rwanda, arrived without a hitch. He had to hold down the fort for a couple of days...
Read Lee's account here.

III. Carrie Alspaugh headed to Rwanda back on July 1st and spent a week working with her friend, Louise King. 
Read Carrie's blog about the community she has experienced in Rwanda.


IV. This post has some photos taken around the diocese. After some passport issues, Eric finally arrived on Tuesday so the whole team is back together again.
Photos from around the Diocese. 

The Sunday Set-Up for July 6, 2014

If you had to chose between justice or mercy, which would you choose? The answer probably depends on your perspective.  If a business associate owed you $20,000, you would expect them to pay you back. And if they couldn't pay you back, you’d likely end up in court - desiring for justice to be served.  However, if you were on the other end of that equation, your tune would likely be very different.  Come join us this Sunday as we continue in our sermon series on the Parables of Jesus. This week we’ll consider Jesus’ radical call to mercy and forgiveness as he tells us the story of the unmerciful servant from Matthew 18:21-35.  

Reading: Matthew 18:21-35

Bulletin: July 6, 2014