Announcements
WANTED: Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines in uniform to participate in the Church of the Open Door’s Veterans Day Program on Sunday, November 13, during the morning service. If you can volunteer, please contact Don Graf at (443) 605-8800.
CCS BOOK FAIR WEEK: starts tomorrow and runs through Friday, October 14th, from 3:10 pm - 4:00 pm in the Library. On Grandparents Day (10/14), the Book Fair will open following the morning program and close at 4:00 pm.
LADIES FALL FELLOWSHIP: will be on Friday, November 4, at 6:30 pm in the Great Room. Ladies can choose to bring an appetizer or dessert, or pay $5.00. Please sign-up at the Welcome Desk.
EMAIL ADDRESSES: If you are interested in receiving updates and alerts from the Church, please provide your email address to the Church office by calling 410-876-3838, ext. 303, or you may email it to mail@opendoorchurch.org.
PARENTS IN NEED OF NURSERY SERVICES: If you have an infant or toddler (up through 36 months) and would like to utilize the nursery services for Wednesday evenings, please register your child/children through our Church website or scan the QR code on the right. Thanks for helping us to determine our staffing needs as we work to get our Wednesday nursery back up and running again.
From My Heart
Through the decades, the Lord has blessed the Church of the Open Door in so many ways. Dr. Smith and I were together last Monday, and we spoke about the many areas and avenues of God’s blessings upon our lives and the church in the last 44 years. In 44 years, the church has only known two Senior Pastors! Dr. Smith was here for 17 years, and I have been here for 27 years. We both rejoiced in the Lord for what we have been allowed to do by God’s grace.
It is very rare that a pastor spends many successful years of ministry in a church, resigns, and goes somewhere else -that church calls a new pastor- and the former pastor and the new pastor become the best of friends! As a matter of fact, I cannot think of another instance where that has happened. But it has been the case with Dr. Smith and me! I just wanted to share that with you this morning, I am not sure why, but I just wanted to pass that along, in case you did not already know it!
Let me share something else since I am in the sharing mood! It looks like Covid has forever changed “church.” Between Covid-19 still running rampant and giving folks an excuse to stay away from church; it seems that churches everywhere are really struggling. Our finances have taken a severe hit this summer. We were doing well, especially since we were able to pay off the mortgage on the classrooms and the Great Room addition to the Gym.
But, the late summer months of July, August, and September has seen our giving drop sharply. We have also seen a sharp rise in our folks getting sick with the virus, bringing pneumonia and several other debilitating issues. I would like to ask those of you who are able, to consider making a one-time special offering to help us get back to where we need to be financially. We are not in any kind of “danger zone,” but we could easily get there should some major expense happen to come up! Could I ask you to pray about what you and your family might be able to give? I know times are tough and everyone is struggling to make ends meet, so if you are not in a position right now to give above your tithe, that is fine, we can all appreciate that! But if you can help with an offering it will certainly be appreciated. This is all I will say about it - no pressure, I am not trying to guilt anyone! If you can help, please do at your convenience.
The Lord always provides for us and He will continue to provide for His church. I do not doubt that for even a minute! Have a great day!
Pastor Norris