THIS WEEK

Bubbling up from the suggestion of a worshipper one Sunday, responding to the needs of the earthquake in Haiti, Rolling Hills began collecting shoes for the Soles for Souls project. The last Sunday slated for collections, feet came into play with the Bible story of the woman washing and annointing Jesus feet and plans to offer annointing to the feet of worship attendees. I was reminded of the story of another church that surprised it's Sunday gathered to give up their own shoes on the spot in order to donate them to those without any! And you responded that day and the days to follow!
 
See and read more about Soles for Souls here:
 
http://www.soles4souls.org/about/history.html
 
and see about the Haiti project here:
 
 http://www.barefoot4haiti.com/
 
and THANK YOU again for being such a church with a servant's heart!

LAST WEEK

Q and A

People often ask me questions. Here’s one from over the weekend from Mindy Hensen.  It is a timely reminder after the St. Valentine's Day sermon, which you can download or listen to when it is posted at:  http://www.rhcc4.org/sermonmanager.php.

QUESTION: I have often heard people say, "Bless God".  I think it is even in the Psalms. (I thought I heard it in the reading on Sunday's "Hour of Power" on TV.)   How can WE bless GOD? I always think of God blessing us; we don't have the power to bless God. Can you clear up the confusion?

ANSWER: Well, Mindy, the short answer is ... "Bless the LORD" is a synonym for "praise the LORD," "sing to the LORD," "extol the LORD," as found in the prayer book of the Bible, Psalms. It is another way to express your love for God in praise! And technically, all the phrases above are directions or commands; our response is actually then to pray/say to God, "Praise you, LORD; bless you, LORD; I love you, LORD!"

The long answer as to the unique differences of each phrase may have to wait until a sermon!

TWO WEEKS AGO

Human Aftershocks

At first, I couldn't believe my eyes as I read the headline and article:

"Human Predators Stalk Haiti's Vulnerable Kids"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100128/wl_time/02880419533791953494195716000

... and then I remembered reading about a program that CROP had been involved with long before the earthquake:

"CWS began collaborating with partner Ecumenical Foundation for Peace and Justice in 1992. FOPJ, based in Port-au-Prince, has been assisting some 100 children in the Carrefour-Feuilles and La Saline neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince through its House of Hope program. These children had been pulled into the worst forms of child domestic work, including situations in which parents have given their children to live and work for someone else (often because the parents lack the resources required to support the child). Many of the children experience abuse and exploitation bordering on enslavement. FOPJ has been providing education and enrichment opportunities for the children and has worked to end this and other forms of child exploitation. It also has been providing guidance and support to employer families in order to minimize abuse and improve the environment for the children."

CROP/Church World Service has been making inroads in ministry in Haiti, and will continue to assist, restore, and rebuild with past ministry partners, as well as future ones. Please pray for this particular ministry, as well as be generous as you support the CROP Walk March 7th!

THREE WEEKS AGO

Rolling Hills Provides Missional Service for Haiti Victim in Austin

It was an honor for Rolling Hills members to serve as Parking Lot Shepherds for the funeral of the Rev. Clinton Rabb, head of the national program of volunteer missions for the United Methodist Church. Rev. Rabb died of injuries from the collapse of the Hotel Montana in the devastating earthquake in Haiti. He had just arrived at the hotel for a meeting with Haitian church leaders to discuss future plans for ministry and missions.

See the print and video news stories broadcast Sunday 1/24 covering the funeral service held at University United Methodist Church:

http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/?SecID=278&ArID=264786

http://www.news8austin.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=76236

Just another way to get involved personally with ministry to the people hurt by the tragedy. We encourage you to find those ways, too, in the healing days ahead.