Thank you for worshipping with us today.  Maybe you have never thought about it, but one of our greatest gifts is the gift of friendship.  The great revivalist, Charles Albert Tindley said, “I see another package on a limb higher.  It is marked Friendship for the Friendless.  Do you know the value of friendship?  If not, it is because you have never been friendless in this world”.  It is our Christian responsibility to make friends; go out of our ways and reach out to love one another as we wish to be loved.  It’s more than a good idea, it’s scripture.  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  (Matthew 22:35-39)

This afternoon at 3:00 PM, the Good Samaritan Club will celebrate its Annual Day in worship.  Reverend Wayne B. Quick will preach. You are encouraged to join us in what promises to be an afternoon of praise and celebration.

On Tuesday, March 31, at 6:30 PM, Sunday School Exposition will explore the nuggets of the coming lesson.  

Our weekly Prayer Meeting will convene at 7:30 PM on Tuesday.  You are missing a blessing and some of God’s glory if you miss Prayer Meeting.  It’s one of the church’s best kept secrets; Prayer (really, really) changes things!

Our Lenten Season will continue on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 7:00 PM.  Reverend Isaac A. Fox will provide leadership to our study of the Fifth Utterance from the Cross found in John 9:28, “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.  KJV).  This series of lessons is proving to be one of the greatest we have had!!

Organization Meetings This Week

Among the club and ministry meetings that are scheduled for this week are:

* The Craft Class meets Wednesday  at 10:00 A.M..
* The Hope and Happiness Club will meet on Wednesday at 1:00 PM.
* The Christian Reading Ministry meets on Thursday at 10:00 A.M.
* The Deaconess Board meets Saturday at 11:00 AM
* The South Carolina Club will meet on Saturday at 12:00 Noon
* The Friendship Council will meet on Saturday at 1:00 PM

Next Sunday, April 5, 2009, is Palm Sunday.  To celebrate the magnificence of the day, our Sunday School and Fine Arts Ministry will collaborate and lead us in worship at the 10:45 AM service.  The focus of worship will be the Events that Led to the Crucifixion, told with scripture, pantomime and song.  It’s going to be special and you don’t want to miss it.  We will have our 7:30 AM service, as usual, but you might want to plan to stay through to witness this unique and exceptional worship experience. 

The Deaconess Board is sponsoring its Annual Pre-Easter Prayer Breakfast on Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 8:30 AM.  The reservations are $10.00.  Please see any Deaconess to get your reservations.

The Family Life Center Staff has scheduled a Licensing Class for cooks for our Family Life Center.  Cooks, whose license expires this year, or new cooks need to take this class.  The class will be held Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 10:00 AM. It will last for about one and one-half hours.  There is no fee for the class; however, you must cook here in our kitchen.  If you are interested, please call the office or see Trustee Olean Baylor to have your name added to the list by April 17^th.

Sister Sonya Clyburn and the Women’s Day Youth Committee cordially invite you to join them in a Celebration Banquet where we will present the young ladies who have completed the course, “Empowering Girls of Toady to Become Ladies of Tomorrow”.  The banquet will be May 15, 2009, at 7:00 PM.  Reservations for this festive evening are $25.00; donations of sponsorship ($10.00) are also being accepted.  You can find members of the Women’s Day Youth Committee in the cafeteria.