Happy Monday family!
I pray that you had a safe weekend and that you were able to stay cool despite the sweltering heat that has fallen upon the DMV. Yes, I spent some time in my yard gardening and doing other creative things as usual, but the heat kept me from doing all that I wanted to accomplish. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it immensely.
Allow me to take this opportunity to thank those of you who took part in our first virtual Sligo Connect Meet and Greet, which took place this past Sabbath at 4 pm. As I shared prior to the event, it was not planned as a town hall or business meeting, but an opportunity to connect our Sligo family, enabling us to see each other, an experience that for four months had been denied us by COVID. When I say that it was an incredible hour and a half, I am not exaggerating. By far, it has to be the most heartfelt experience I have been a part of since the doors of Sligo were ordered closed by our governor. The fellowship was so sweet that when the time came for us to say goodbye, no one wanted to leave. As the song says, “There was a sweet, sweet spirit in this place.” For those of you who were not able to participate in this first meet and greet, please do your best to ensure that you are with us when we do it again.
Please don’t forget that this is the final week of Hope When it Hurts with our own pastor Cheryl Bridges. If you have not had the opportunity to tune in each evening at 7:00 p.m., please make every effort to do so before it is too late. Also, why not take this opportunity to invite your family and friends to take part in this special event as well. To connect each night to this outreach event, visit <sligochurch.org>
I am happy to announce that this Sabbath, July 25th commencing at 1:00 p.m., we are planning another Grab and Go food event for our community. As we have learned from the last two events, there are many in our community who because of this current crisis, are in need of a helping hand and we here at Sligo are more than happy to be that hand. If you would like to volunteer to help us distribute food to our community, please contact pastor McFarlane at <dmcfarlane@sligochurch.org>
Believe it or not, our 11th annual Sligo Homecoming is just two weeks away. Although this year will be a virtual experience due to the pandemic, it promises to be no less meaningful. For more information go to <sligochurch.org>Also, please click this link if you would like to take part in the virtual parade of nations.
As always, please take a moment and review the opportunities of how we can continue to do life together while we are apart:
Sligo Church Presents – Hope when It Hurts: Experiencing God’s Peace In Trying Times with Dr. Cheryl Wilson-Bridges. The event takes place July 10 – July 25, every Monday through Saturday, at 7:00 p.m. This Wednesday, July 22, in lieu of Prayer Gathering, we will join Pastor Bridges in her 11th session of the series. To take part in this Sligo outreach event and to invite a friend, go to: <https://Media.sligochurch.org>
Children’s Ministry: Each Sabbath at 10:00 a.m., you can connect your children to one of our 3 weekly Zoom Sabbath School Sessions: Little Friends, Kindergarten or Juniors. The new weekly link is emailed out on Fridays, via our Pathfinder, Adventurer, and Parent (parents of children 14 years old and under) email groups. Parents, if you have not received an email, and would like to be included, please contact Pr. Hazel Marroquin at <hmarroquin@sligochurch.org>
Youth and Young Adults – If you are a youth or young adult and you’re looking for ways to remain connected with other youth and young adults, just click the link to get started on your journey. <sligoyouth@sligochurch.org>
Journey Groups – If you are a member of a Journey group, or would like to be part of a Journey group that will meet through an online platform, such as zoom or Skype, please just click on the link to receive more information. <http://sligochurch.org/journey>
Assistance – If you are aware of a member of the church that has lost his or her means of livelihood as a result of the pandemic and needs assistance, please contact one of the pastors about this. We will certainly do our best to provide them with whatever support we can.
Giving – Thank you for your continued faithfulness during this time of unparalleled crisis. While many of you are continuing to return your tithes and offerings online, others are either mailing their contributions to the church or bringing them directly to the church office, and for this we are eternally grateful. <adventistgiving>
Stay Connected!
Charles A. Tapp
Senior Pastor