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NOTE: Zoom prayer meeting is on
Wednesday, May 20, at 7:00 pm. Follow this link to
join:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82550579565.
The meeting
ID is 825 5057 9565.
 The
Big News . . .
The big news at ABC is that we are open for worship
beginning this Sunday, May 24, AND
we will continue our video worship series. If you feel
comfortable joining with us in worship, you can do so Sunday at
8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 am. And if you feel more
comfortable staying at home and worshiping online, you can
do that as well. We know that everyone has a different
comfort level right now, so we will put no pressure on you
either way. Do what God leads you to do!
Here are some guidelines from this coming Sunday's worship
bulletin. (The bulletin is now online and will be
available from the link at the top left of this page and our
home page!)
What We Are Doing:
We are disinfecting pew sides and back, door handles, and
all other touchable surfaces before and after each service.
We are limiting worship to 45 minutes to give a team
time to clean between services.
We have eliminated the need to “touch” doors. Doors
will be opened for you so you can go safely from your car to
your pew.
We’ve removed frequently touched items such as Bibles,
hymnals, bulletins, offering plates, etc., from the service.
We’re using only every-other-pew and we’ve added a
third service.
What We Ask From You
Please stay home if you are sick. You can worship
with us online.
Please sit only in designated areas and put 6’ between
you and other family units.
Please refrain from hugs, handshakes, or any other
physical form of sharing love.
Please exit after the service so we have time to clean
for the next service.
Please drop your offerings and/or Connection Cards in
the boxes by the exits.
Please be understanding. With no nursery, please
offer families extra grace and love!
If we can help you in any way, or
answer any questions, please let us know. In the
meantime, I'll see you online or in person this Sunday!
Pastor Jack
Wednesday Devotional on Fruit Trees and the Christian
ABC
Graduates!
This has been an unprecedented year in so many ways
and has greatly impacted our graduating seniors. Most of
these courageous young men and women will not have the
opportunity to walk across the stage, shake hands with a
school official and receive their diploma. They completed
their last weeks in high school or at the university in
online classes, away from their teachers and friends. It's
crtainly not what they had expected.
Avondale
Baptist Church wishes to honor these men and women as they
move into the next chapter in their lives. We pray that they
continue to walk with God on His path as they move forward.
Please join us in honoring and praying for them.
Rowdy Sanchez is graduating from Buckeye High
School. He will seek a Bachelor’s of Science degree at Grand
Canyon University. He will study physical therapy and
exercise science. He will also study criminal justice and
hopes to be a police officer in the future.
Ellie Ruppart is graduating from Desert Edge High
School. Ellie is in the top 10% of her class. She plans to
attend Estrella Community College and then on to Grand
Canyon University. She will possibly seek a degree in
Environmental Science.
Connor
Spire is graduating from Agua Fria High School.
Connor will attend Estrella Mountain Community College where
he received a scholarship to play golf. He plans to study
Fire Science.
Jaime
Ramales Pérez II is graduating from Agua Fria High
School. He will attend Northern Arizona University, where he
received the President's Scholarship. He will major in
Mechanical Engineering.
Caitlin
Frank is graduating and was the top student in her
class from Millenium High School. She will attend
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York to study
biological and chemical engineering.
Anna
Chapman will be graduating from Cross Roads Online
High School. She will be attending Western Maricopa
Education Center (West-MEC). She plans to study Automotive
Technology.
Anna
Miller has completed Grad School at Arizona State
University. She has received a Master’s Degree in Real
Estate Development from the W.P. Carey School for Business.
Rebecca Milakovich has graduated from
Grand Canyon University with a Masters of Science in Nursing
with an emphasis in Health Care Informatics.
Please join
the ABC Student Ministry in congratulating our graduating
seniors!
 Do
We Even Want Truth Anymore?
All of the half-truths, partial-truths,
their-side-of-the-truth-only, altered-truth,
misquoted-truth, made-up truth, and outright deception makes
it much harder to find the truth about science, medicine,
history, coronavirus, or almost anything else. So how
do you go about searching for the truth--assuming that you
really want to know it?
Maybe I'm overly critical, but I encourage you to read how I
filter through all of the lies and untruths on the internet
and even on news stations.
Read my thoughts at
www.abcaz.net/blog.
 Be
a hero.
We have partnered with
Vitalant to hold a blood drive at our church on Sunday,
June 28, 2020. When we scheduled this event we had no
way of knowing just how important this blood drive would be
in 2020. We have decided not to reschedule this event and
are instead going to ask you to very seriously consider
giving blood on this day.
The blood drive will be held
in the lower level of our church. We are looking for 30
people to sign up now for this event in June. It is a quick
and easy sign up online. If you are not sure if you can
donate blood I encourage you to check out Vitalant's website
and schedule an appointment to find out. Donating blood
saves lives. Many of us know someone who has benefitted from
receiving donated blood, including several of our own church
members.
If you are looking for a way
to serve others and save lives there is no better way than
to donate your blood. If you need help scheduling an
appointment or have questions please contact
amy@abcaz.net.
If you are not able to donate
blood you can help by letting others know about our blood
drive. Donors do not have to attend or be members of our
church, but I do encourage our membership to be a part of
this act of love and service. Summer is a difficult time for
blood donations and in a pandemic and the need is even
greater. To schedule your own appointment you can go to
bloodhero.com and choose "Locate a Blood Drive" and use our
sponsor code FSBCA. You can then create a donor account and
schedule to give blood on a regular basis at other blood
drives.
 When
We Open . . .
Questions and Answers About Re-Opening our Campus
When will we re-open? We will open on May 24!
How will we re-open? We
will phase in church life a bit at a time, starting with
worship. We will keep worship to 45 minutes in
length so we have time to sanitize the worship center before
the next group arrives. We will use every other
pew with six feet between family units. We will not
have a greeting time, an invitation, or a passing of
the plates. (There will be collection boxes in the
back.) Social distancing will reduce our capacity, so we will offer 3 services, at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 am.)
What else will be different? We will
do all we can to reduce "touching" of surfaces.
Greeters (with gloves) will open doors for us and there will
be additional sanitizing stations. Essentially, you
will not need to touch anything from your car to your pew!
What about a nursery? We will not
open the nursery for about two weeks. We will let you
know!
What Then? Over a 6-8 week period, we
will add other ministries such as Sunday School classes,
evening classes and groups, choirs, and ministries.
Will we still offer online worship? Yes!
We will
offer an online worship alternative. We believe that
some people (especially those who are in high-risk
categories) will want to remain home for a time even after
we open.
Do you have a question? Please
submit them to Pastor Jack
and we will answer them in future editions!
Pastor Jack
 Zoom
Prayer Meeting!
EVERYONE is welcome to participate in our online prayer
meeting, and you will not be called upon to lead in prayer
unless you volunteer. Join us on Wednesday evening,
May 13, from 7:00 to 7:45 pm. We've had all ages
participate, from senior adults to children. It's a
great way to pray and to connect with other members!
Here's this week's link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82550579565.
Meeting ID: 825 5057 9565.
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