This past Sunday, our Elementary Sunday School classes moved across the parking lot from Burkhart Hall to the new Kids' Building, bringing them into the same place as our Pre-K and Kindergarten classes. What a joyful space this is now! We're grateful to be able to better serve our families with young children through this combined location and recent renovations, including deep cleaning, new furniture and countertops, and newly-painted walls and cabinets. We’ve added new TVs and are still looking forward to new whiteboards and tables being installed soon. Join us in praising God for these gifts!

THIS WEEK'S MESSAGE

While we often cannot change our circumstances, Scripture often speaks of finding joy in the midst of them. This week we will explore one of the passages that speaks of a joy available to us, regardless of level of difficulty that we're facing. We'll discover Paul's source of joy that was so deep, it couldn't be shaken.

NEWS AND EVENTS

Please note that the Bridges office will be closed on Mon., Sept. 2, in observance of Labor Day.

The Circle of Friends women's Bible study will begin meeting again on September 11! Join them on Wednesdays in the Family Center Room 524, 10:15am - 12:00pm, to study The Jordan River Rules - Joshua 1-6 by Robert J. Morgan. The book and study guide are $25, which is due on first day. Questions? Contact Kay Tokar (408-857-9409), Robbi Rosowski (408-379-6144), or Nancy Hastain (tnhastain@aol.com).

Our neighbors down the street, the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer, have invited us to their annual Mediterranean Festival, Sept. 7-8 on their campus (380 Magdalena Ave). They'll enjoy food, games, music, live entertainment, a raffle, and more!

All are invited to our Annual Celebration on Sun., Sept 22! Bridges members will begin the morning with a ministry meeting at 9:00am, then everyone is invited to our worship service at 10:45am and potluck at 12:00pm. Join us as we celebrate our blessings and reflect on the past ministry year. We’ll be treated once again by the amazing Kona Ice! More info coming soon.

Dr. John Houlette, one of our Bridges mission partners, will lead a workshop entitled “How is Your Margin Level? Learning to Grow in Resilience through Soul Care” on Fri., Sept. 27, 7:00-9:00pm in the Family Center. Please bring a dessert to share and come learn from Dr. Houlette, who has served for 42 years in Japan with WorldVenture and A3 (formerly Asian Access), offering Christian leader care, training, counseling, mentoring, and education.

Our next Lunch with a Mission will be on Sun., Sept. 29, in the Family Center right after the worship service. Our guest speaker will be one of our mission partners, Dr. John Houlette, who will also lead a workshop on Fri., Sept. 27 (see the announcement above for details about Dr. Houlette and his workshop). Keep an eye out for a sign up coming soon!

Save the date for our next Membership Intro Meeting on Sun., Oct. 6, at 12:15pm, and hear about the meaning of membership at Bridges! Look out for details coming soon.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Join MUCH Hope as they serve local homeless at a shelter in San Jose by providing monthly dinners. Lots of help is needed whether it's for 30 minutes or 2 hours! Volunteer to drop off supplies at Bridges, or help cook in the Bridges kitchen on a designated Sunday. For questions, email sujana.panthulu@gmail.com.

Bridges’ Deaconess and Deacon Boards are recruiting volunteers to join in the important mission of hearing the word and doing what it says (James 1:22) along with the combined need for faith and action (James 2:16). Our Deaconesses continually support the Bridges family in ways both seen and behind the scenes, and we hope to grow the Deacon Board to similarly serve and also partner with the Deaconesses on joint projects. Have you been looking for ways to serve with other dedicated people? Whether you’d like to send an encouraging note, visit someone in the hospital, give a ride, or something else that excites you, only sign up when you are available and in areas where you want to contribute. For details, contact Board Chairs Sujana Panthulu (sujana.panthulu@gmail.com) or Tom Hansen (twhansen@yahoo.com).

There is always room for you to serve in the Children's Ministry. Please consider joining the team of people pouring into the children of Bridges in our nursery, preschool, and elementary classes. For more info, contact one of our ministry leaders below:

   Nursery - Liliya Gor (liliya@bridges.church)

   Preschool - Kathy Spillar (kathy@brides.church)

   Elementary - Alba Kellejian (alba@bridges.church)

We’d love for each person to find a place to use their God-given gifts within our Bridges family. Prayerfully consider how God would like you to serve, and then fill out our online form. Thank you for helping build our church!

STAY CONNECTED

Do you have a question about this week's sermon? We want to hear it! To see our pastors answer past sermon questions, click HERE.

Our Bridges family prays together three different times each week: twice on Wednesday via Zoom, and once on Sunday mornings before our worship service. We'd love to have you join us.

Need help picking up groceries, setting up tech tools or equipment, running errands, etc.? We have a team of people who are ready and willing to help. If you're able and willing to help others, join our team!

These are our current year-to-date giving figures: Actual is $1,744,281; budgeted is $1,850,000; shortfall is $105,719. These figures reflect contributions for the church year, which runs Sept. 1 - Aug. 31.

625 Magdalena Ave, Los Altos, CA 94024

650 948 5698

To unsubscribe from this weekly email, click "Update Profile" below.

To unsubscribe from all Bridges emails, click "Unsubscribe".

Need help? Email jason@bridges.church.