What a fabulous time it was for 4Sixteen just two weeks ago! For those who don't know, or couldn't make it, it was the 4Sixteen Oscar Party! A spectacular time together celebrating movies!
Pow! Wham! Zap! Our Superhero Party was this past Saturday. All manner of great and creative costume designs appeared, from classics like The Incredible Hulk and The Flash, to newer heroes like The Incredibles, villains like Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and even obscure heroes like Sailor Moon and Quailman! With so many great costumes, what could be better? Well, how about the girls' lovely food? That's right, this event was the inverse of last year's Guys cook for the Girls event. (We guys will have to figure out a way to one-up you ladies!) But until then, you know what that means! A new photo slide show! Check it out below.
Many things in this life are fleeting. You hold moments for short periods of time. Once you consider something, it's in the past. It takes hard work for something to have longevity.
This past weekend, during our first-ever Retreat, 4Sixteen hit its anniversary. That's right, one year ago this week we didn't exist as a ministry.
One year anniversaries are important as a source of encouragement, they aren't big and impressive like ten years, twenty-five years, fifty years, etc. However, they serve to demonstrate just how much work was placed on an endeavor and how much dedication it took to take it through this year. I must admit that we have come a long way in this year. Looking back at the calendar, there are literally dozens of activities, weeks of classes, and thousands of memories. We have hundreds of photos, some videos, many friends, and quite the positive and optimistic outlook. One year took us from uncertain promise to thoughtful perseverance.
There aren't many ways to commemorate an anniversary, I mean, we've really seen it all. However, this one is one of my most favorites. I put together a photographic slide show of the major events we've experienced throughout the year, set to music. It is embedded at the bottom of the article and the direct link is here.
When you put about a hundred or so photos together to three and a half minutes of music, you do see the year in a new perspective. The immense amount of events, the incredible dedication and perseverance of our group, and the love we share for God and each other is palpable. What's equally interesting is the amount of material that didn't make it in. The New Year's Eve Party, the various locations we held Family Circles, bits of classes like Worship Wednesdays, service projects, and many more events serve as testament of our vitality and success.
4Sixteen was founded on the principle that everyone in God's church has a purpose. Everyone has a talent they can share and everyone can use edification through fellowship and outreach. We take our name from Ephesians 4:16. Go ahead, look it up. Here's the link. Our purpose is outlined in our mission statement: Praise, Service, Fellowship. Three simple statements that guide what we do. I truly believe we have been successful this year of accomplishing that, and more.
So what now? Being around for a year is pretty good, but knowing us, we can do better. Let's make this ministry last five years, ten years, forever! Let's take the lessons we've learned and take them to the next level. We've been learning about martyrs, let's be martyrs. Let's serve our community, our brothers and sisters, in ways we've never done before. Let's enjoy each other and love each other more and more. Let's continue to be the amazing ministry that we are!
So, from the bottom of my heart, I praise God and thank him for the marvelous blessing he has given me and this ministry, for letting me be a part of something so great. I equally thank my colleagues in the leadership team, and our elders for supporting us and letting us exist. But I especially want to thank all of you, our members. Without your conscious decision to follow the Lord and be in this ministry and make it what it is and share your unique talents, we wouldn't survive this year, let alone celebrate it. I'm sure I also speak for the rest of the leadership team when I say these things, for they praise and thank the Lord just the same.
I look forward to the next year and others after that to see what amazing experiences God has in store for us. I look forward to sharing in each other's talents, stories, and love. I look forward to growing our relationships among each other and with our new friends, brothers, and sisters. Thank you for being so amazing, I love you all.
-Gaby
There were too many…I forgot the rest! If you remember any of the other rules from the weekend, please post them in the comments!
Today is a special two-part edition of Weekend Recap, the column that summarizes what’s happening. Now that the Spring semester has begun, I find that I have lots of free time on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This week, I decided to create this special two-part edition.
Today, I have a video for you to look at and enjoy. It’s a photo slide show of the hit event that occurred this past Saturday. I didn’t include a complete collection of images, to keep the length down, so today’s slide show features the impeccable photography of our very own Terri!
Check out the slide show after the jump!
Hey there! Hi there! Ho there! It’s Friday, so you know what that means? Yep! It’s time for Weekend Recap! The Friday column that condenses the latest events into a yummy, bite-sized snack.
This week, it’s all about the photos here, as we reminisce about our launch party! So, to get your attention, here’s a picture of a rabbit taking a bath that has nothing to do with our column!
Adorable!
Here we go!
Hi there people of the internet!
It's time for what will be a regular feature on this blog: Weekend Recap! A Friday series that summarizes everything that's happened that week and teases the next week!
So, here we go!
This week, we've had quite a lot of activity around 4Sixteen. On the 12th, we had our first work day! That's right, our room looks so nice now! We've also had the beginning of our regularly scheduled classes, starting Sunday the 5th! Be sure to come Sunday mornings as Jeff provides a quality lesson!
These past two weeks (I'm covering two weeks because this column didn't exist last week!) have marked the beginning of regular blog content for you to look at and read. Jeff kindly started us off, introducing his column: Ask Jeff. Jack introduced himself too and his "no boundaries" column. Allison introduced her column on Monday, titled Favorite Things. Diana continued, introducing herself to the blog with a lovely "Happy Thursday!" post. And I introduced my column today titled "Hey! Isn't that Interesting?"
We've also begun our fair share of discussions! Jeff needs some questions for his Ask Jeff column, so send him questions! You can do that by commenting on his posts or by sending him an e-mail to 4Sixteen@mesachurch.org just make sure you put "Ask Jeff" in the subject line! Another discussion involves officer names for members of the 4Sixteen Facebook group. Just go to this post and suggest funny officer names for yourself or others by commenting! Finally, check out the discussion board on our Facebook group! We want to hear what you would like to do for the month of December! (It's kinda plain at the moment!)
So that's what's been going on this week! Coming up: on the 19th (that's this Sunday!) is our next work day! Plan to stay and help us out! Also, don't forget our launch party on the 26th! Do you have your invite yet? If not, come see any of the authors here!
Next week, there will be a new poll, look for that too! Also read today's posts, Jack and I have two thought-provoking pieces for you today!
If you need to contact us, there are four ways to do it: 1) Leave a comment! It's quick and easy, and we read all of them! 2) Message us through Facebook! 3) Send us an e-mail at 4Sixteen@mesachurch.org (Be sure to put what or for who it's for in the subject line!) and 4) Talk to us in person! We don't bite! Really! Except maybe Jeff…
So that's this week's Weekend Recap! See you next week!
