He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

Matthew 13:31-22

This past Saturday was a hoot…

We arrived to find a voter rally/march on the front steps of City Hall and the Grater Hartford Chapter of Jack and Jill Foundation with us.

The former was a slight inconvenience, the latter was a blessing.

“In January 1938, Marion Stubbs Thomas organized a group of twenty-one mothers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the idea of establishing a social and cultural union for their children. Jack and Jill aims to prepare its members with a valuable adulthood by ingraining leadership qualities.”

Jack and Jill Foundation History

Pre-pandemic, we were contacted by the organization asking if they might join our work as a means of forming the lives of their children. This is how the Kingdom spreads. We started with only two twelve gallon tubs and five gallons of coffee.

…and God has extended our work a little further… In mid-December I will be taking a week intensive national training as an Addiction Recovery Coach so as to be better able to help our friends navigate to freedom. Our leader, Julia Skjerli, will be taking a course as well and has arranged for me to assist her in leading a Christmas service/carol sing in a secured detox center.

“Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”

Zachariah 4:10

Last Week’s Update…stay connected!

Logistics

Served: ~75
Last week's leaders: Bryan, Cynthia
Next week's leaders: Bryan
Next week's preacher: Bryan

Gifts

Last week's: hand warmers, socks (and socks and socks), hats
Next week's: hygiene

Looking Ahead

excited to have Wintonbury Ladies with us in two weeks!

Service

It was a day of surprises for sure! Donna, the local coordinator with the Hartford Chapter of Jack and Jill Foundation Inc met us at storage. The group serves with us yearly and somehow things had gotten a bit crossed. Isn’t that like God though? Remember when his people cried out in hunger in the wilderness so he sent so many quail that it was coming out of their mouths while they complained?! (see Numbers 11:31-35)

They came with THOUSANDS of socks so everyone got three pairs and they brought the rest back with them as we have plenty. They also brought and left hundreds of hand warmers, and best of all, their kids so that they could server together as a family.

We were on the grass next to City Hall due to a voter’s rally and march but that didn’t stop things at all. Cynthia preached a powerful message on forgiveness and reconciliation…powerful because she has just lived it out having been reconciled and reunited with her then ex husband/then fiancee who passed last week after a long battle with illness. God is our healer and nothing, nothing is beyond his ability to redeem.

The folks who are coming through is changing as it does each year with weather and seasons. There is almost a migration of sorts like the “snow birds” who high-tail it down to Arizona or Florida.

We had a great crowd and no distractions at all. God’s peace does not only exist on the steps but in the grass as well!

Community Church updates!

We had a powerful service yesterday at River Ridge in Avon! The Holy Spirit was very evident as seen in the the unity of the Body of Believers. We had a new friend join us with her daughter and granddaughter. As I preached on the parable of the 10 virgins, she had the glow of Christ on her, and I knew she was part of the Catholic Renewal that took place in the 70’s so I asked her…

“Yes, yes I was”

Most every single elderly Catholic I have ever met in a nursing home was part of that blessing on the church. It is always refreshing to me. At 93 years old, the Spirit has never left her…and as always is the case, she took communion, because she is after the Bridegroom before the Bride

The Brookdale Community Church

The Clairbridge Community Church @ Brookdale

The Clairbridge Community Church @ Brookdale/Chatfield

The Farmington Station Community Church

The Gables Community Church

The River Ridge Community Church

The West Hartford Health and Rehab Community Church

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Bryan
Street Church Administrator & Volunteer Coordinator
(860) 578-2961 TEXT ONLY
bryan@thestreetchurch.org