McGrath Community Church Mission Work – Update August 25, 2015

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. And since we got no place to go….well, you know the rest of the song! I woke up the other morning and the thermometer said 30.9…and no, that is not the local radio station’s spot on the FM dial! Folks, it is getting COLD up here! They say snow by the end of October or early November! By December we will be able to walk on water…meaning the river will be frozen by then! Christie says bring it on. But I have to say that I think she is slipping a little. It has been a cool, off and on rain this past week, and I have seen her putting on a sweatshirt and wrapping up in a blanket. May not need that doctor visit after all! (Only those who know Christie will understand that one)

Parsonage Update

The church met last Friday and part of the discussion was the status of the parsonage. The kitchen has been finished with the exception of the wall cabinets being hung; the stone for the oil stove (for heat) has been finished; some of the moulding in the living area has been installed; and some of the tile has been laid in the bathroom. An estimated date for completion and ready to start furnishing is November 1. Again, this is ONLY AN ESTIMATED date. Lots can happen between now and then.

I am in the process of setting up “Lists” (similar to wedding/baby registries) online at Wal-Mart, Target, and Fred Meyer. The Wal-Mart list has been setup and you can access it by:

1. Go to www.walmart.com

2. Click on Lists at the top of the page

3. In the Pop-up box select Find A List

4. Type in mason (last name box) and Alaska (state box)

5. Select McGrath Community Church Parsonage – this will open the list

I am working on Target, but it will be similar to the Wal-Mart. If you wish to order from Target before the List is setup, please feel free to use the items on the Wal-Mart List as a guide. The list may vary from store to store because you have to actually select items and add them to the list. If you would like to help with the furnishings we are asking that you donate cash so the items can be ordered and shipped together to save on the freight cost. Check back often to see what is still needed. I will update the blog later this week with the link to Target.

If you would prefer to make a donation, make your check payable to McGrath Community Church and note on the check “Parsonage Furnishings”. The check can be mailed to McGrath Community Church. P.O. Box 82. McGrath, AK 99627. You will receive a year-end statement for your contribution.

Ministry Update

Worship this past Sunday was awesome. It was a rainy, cool, gray morning but the Son was in the house! The worship music was focused on grace. Christie did a beautiful version of Larnelle Harris’ song, “Were It Not For Grace” after the message.

We looked at the meeting between the religious leaders and Jesus in John 8, as they brought the adulterous woman before Him in Part 4 of the current series, “Life Interrupted”. This is one of my favorite “life interruptions” by Jesus because it shows the love, compassion, and justice of Jesus all in the same story. This passage is such a beautiful display of Grace.

The series is going to wrap up this Sunday August 30. In part 5 of the series I will share personally how God has interrupted my life. Please be in prayer for our time of worship.

Special Ladies Event

The Ladies Event scheduled for this past weekend had to be rescheduled. We are working on a new date.

The event will be a painting party. There will be wooden cross and Mason jar door-hangers available to paint. We are very excited about this outreach to the ladies of McGrath.

K4G (Kids 4 God) Update

The weekly Bible Club is called “K4G”, Kids 4 God! It will be held one day a week after school, which just so happens to be right next to the church. Trying to focus on a high-energy hour to hour and a half program to really get them fired up about Jesus! We are still working on the logistics for our meeting. The kids get out of school at different times, so there is roughly a 30-40 minute span from when the young kids get out and the older kids get out. Because many of the kids ride the bus we are trying to make our time end about the time the parents get off work. We may have to schedule our start of the meetings after the first of the year.

If anyone would like to help fund the “K4G” Club we would appreciate it very much. The things we need most are snack items, powder drink mixes, maybe hard candy for prizes, and maybe kick balls, soccer balls (all deflated of course). I am looking for an earth ball. It is a very BIG ball that the kids can play with outside. If you feel led to help us please send them via postal service, Priority Mail to Mike Mason, P.O. Box 133, McGrath, AK 99627.

Lucy and her calf update

Moose season starts next week and the excitement is getting crazy around here. We saw Lucy one time last week. The baby seems to be growing very well. He, or she, was just leaping all around the neighbor’s yard next door. Of course Lucy was finishing off the garden she started working on a week or so ago.

At the Bluegrass Festival back in July, we met a man they call here, The Moose Whisperer! They say this guy is so good he does not even have to get out of his truck! We have been learning all kinds of neat stuff about moose, moose hunting, and moose stories. We have a friend whose mom can smell a moose. They said when they were young and went moose hunting, they would be riding down the river and mom would say, “Stop, did you smell that?” And she would be right…MOOSE! They also said that one night their grandparents were camping by a lake. Grandpa was snoring as usual and grandma heard something in the water. She woke grandpa up and told him there was something out by the water. He woke up, looked out the tent and saw a bull moose right at the water’s edge. One shot and it was down. Grandpa called up the moose with his snoring!

Church Outing


Christie fixing her dawg!

The weather began to break as church was ending. Someone made the suggestion for a picnic. Several of us loaded up the boats and headed down the Kuskokwim River to a favorite spot of the locals. We started up a good fire and roasted some awesome moose dawgs…jalopena and cheese stuff moose dawgs! Whoa, what a treat. And what is a campfire with without Smores…with the marshmellows that are square and made for smore making!

On the way back my little buddy who lives next door tried his best to stay awake. But finally fell asleep standing up!

Piper the Wonder Dog

My buddy

Parting Thoughts

My devotion this morning came from Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Highest”. Matthew 3:11, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.” Chambers made a couple of comments that I had to let “soak” for a few minutes.

“Repentance does not bring a sense of sin, but a sense of unworthiness. When I repent, I realize that I am utterly helpless; I know all through me that I am not worthy even to bear His shoes.”

“I indeed was this and that; but He came, and a marvelous thing happened. Get to the margin where He does everything. He does things no one else can do!”

Continue to pray for us as we share the love and message of Jesus Christ! Our newsletter was delayed waiting for some decisions to be made about the ministry here. I am in the process of completing it as I write this update. There are some exciting ministry opportunities to announce so keep a watch on your mail! If you are not on our newsletter mailing list please send me your information, including email address if you prefer it emailed, to me at [email protected].