Greetings from Pastor Rob

Saint Patrick's Day Greetings!

I know that holiday is a few days ahead, but happy St Paddy's Day anyway (that guy's cousin is Paddy O' Furniture...). I'm sure you'll see lots of green this weekend. They still dye the Chicago River green every March 17 (eco-friendly dye, we are assured). There'll be corned beef on sale. Like many holidays, folks have commercialized or taken any original meaning out of the day (green beer??). Saint Patrick was a missionary who brought the good news to the tribes in what we now call Ireland. He was taken captive from Roman Britain at the age of 16 and enslaved in Ireland as a shepherd for about 6 years. He escaped, went back to his family, pursued religious training and then willingly went BACK to Ireland to serve as a church-planting missionary. He's known as The Apostle of Ireland. Chew on that while you're eating corned beef and cabbage!

Congratulations to our own Riverside School District for earning the State Award for Educational Excellence! This is given to just the 25 top-performing districts in the state. The Washington office for Public Instruction looks at such metrics as attendance, kindergarten readiness, 8th grade math levels, career and technical participation and more. Way to go, Dr. Ken Russell and all those involved in the RSD schools! 

What's Goin' On...

*This Sunday is our quarterly Potluck! Woohoo! If your last name begins with A-J, please bring a main dish and dessert. If K-Z, please bring a main dish and salad. Comfort food's a-comin'. 

*Showers of Blessings is looking for booties and hats for infants; please place in the bins back by the nursery. They're also looking for a free-standing shelf unit for storage tubs. See Lora H.

*Security Team Meeting NEXT Sunday, March 22 after the service. This is for any current team members and anyone else interested. See Doug C. for any questions.  

*Tuesday, April 7 from 9-11am, there'll be a Senior Forum Gathering in the fellowship hall. This will be a discussion about cruising. Hot drinks and donuts will be served. 

*Friday, April 17 is our annual Church Talent Show. Each act is in the 5-minute or less category (unless you clear it with Gary D). It's a lot of fun and a great family event. Put it on the calendar and talk to Gary about what you'll do!

*April 24-26 is the Women's Retreat up at Riverview Bible Camp. Cost is just $100 for the stay and food. 30 bucks gets you a day pass for Saturday. Sign-up is coming soon. 

This Sunday...

Ambassadors for Christ, grades 5-12, meets upstairs at 9. Ace is in the fellowship hall at the same time. Rick will be looking at Pictures of the Church from scripture. What does it mean that we're the body and Christ is the head? Or that He's the vine and we're the branches? Or even the Groom and the Bride? Check it out. And in the service, we'll worship, hear about Christ Kitchen and I'll continue the series in 1 Corinthians. This week it's about unity... something the church at Corinth struggled with. Do you have a favorite teacher? They did, and they tended to argue about it. Read 1 For 1:10-17 and 1 For 3:1-6 for a primer.

See you Sunday?

Pastor Rob

p.s. "I have that dreaded furniture disease. That's when your chest is falling into your drawers."