Weekly Note from Pastor Allan
January 23, 2026
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Friends,
If you are like me, you are frantically preparing for what could be significant inclement weather this weekend. I hope everyone is able to stay safe, warm, and dry (and with power!). Please be careful, and let us remember in prayer any who do not have the privilege to remain home during the storm. Some are vulnerable and without shelter; others work to serve others, clearing roads or working in other essential jobs to care for the community. Thanks be to God for so many who help to make our lives easier.
Given the forecast for significant inclement weather Saturday evening and Sunday, including the potential for up to a foot of snow and ice, Worship and Sunday School at MBC will be ONLINE-ONLY this week. I will be recording videos from home that will be added to recordings of music from previous worship services so that we have a video of worship that will post by 9:30 AM on Sunday morning. Thank you to Alicia Ford for coordinating all of the technology! Just to be clear, no one will be at church on Sunday morning at 9:30, but we do hope you will consider tuning in on Facebook and/or YouTube as you are able. We are grateful that technology allows us to worship together even when we cannot travel to the church building.
The scripture lesson for Sunday is Matthew 4:12-23. Jesus has returned to Galilee to begin his ministry. The latter half of the lesson is Jesus calling some of the disciples to follow him. Jesus encounters the fishermen brothers Simon (called Peter) and Andrew; Jesus invites them to follow and learn to fish for people. We read that “at once they left their nets and followed him.” There is no training. There is no qualification that they seem to have met. They simply hear the call of Jesus and follow. Often it is the same for us. There are not requirements for following Jesus. Yet, we find ourselves in situations where we figure it out when the time comes. The title of the sermon is “Spontaneous Discipleship”.
The bulletin that would have been printed for worship on Sunday is available on the website at this link - https://www.mechbaptist.org/bulletin. Feel free to follow along, as the video will closely resemble this order of worship. Of course, the PowerPoint will guide you through the video as it normally would for those who are watching on-line. Of course, all other in-person gatherings at church, including the Child Protection Training, will be rescheduled to a later date. I do hope you can join online for worship this Sunday morning. Again, the video will be available by 9:30 AM, the normal time to gather for worship.
In addition, I will be hosting a Churchwide Sunday School class on Zoom from 10:30 - 11:30 AM. Zoom is a platform for video conferencing, allowing us to meet together for fellowship, prayer, and study. Here is information to join that meeting:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83877236393?pwd=etnKRHNc9mExB4lUVxPTaWc6PHn9ep.1
Meeting ID: 838 7723 6393
Passcode: 041313
At 10:30 Sunday morning, just click that link to join the meeting. If you are prompted for a passcode, please enter the 6 digit code. What a blessing that we can still connect with one another on Sunday mornings.
Please continue to be in prayer for the use of the MBC facility as a warm shelter. Please let me know if you would be available to help with that in any way. And, again, we will communicate any schedule updates for future activities as we see the impacts of the weather in the coming days. This includes any committee meetings, Bible Study on Wednesday at 2 PM, and the Ablaze for God event for children and youth scheduled for Saturday, January 31, at 5:00 PM.
Again, our prayers for all in our community this weekend.
Blessings,
Allan
