Dear church members,

Unfortunately, Pastor Janice has come down with symptoms of either the flu or COVID, and won’t be able to speak at church this week. She is trying to schedule a test to confirm the diagnosis.

We have decided to cancel Sunday service on Jan. 9, given the rising COVID rates and the lack of time we have to make other arrangements.

Please join us in prayer for Pastor Janice’s well-being, as well as the health of all the other people in our community who have tested positive or are struggling with symptoms.

Thanks for understanding, and we hope you stay safe and healthy.

Anna Almendrala
church council moderator

 

Dear church member,

After receiving a few more reports about positive COVID cases among our church members and seeing the number of holiday cases in Los Angeles County, we believe that the safest way to continue worshipping together is to transition to online-only services for a few weeks.

What this means: Services will continue to be livestreamed on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/WestHollywoodUCC, every Sunday at 11 a.m. Pastor Janice, liturgists, the worship team and the tech team will continue to meet in the sanctuary in order to conduct the service.

We don’t know when in-person services will resume, but we will keep communicating with you about what we’re seeing in the public health reports and what this could mean for our church.

If you have any questions or concerns, or want help navigating to the Facebook page, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the church at office@wehoucc.org or me at annaalmendrala@gmail.com.

Thank you so much,

Anna Almendrala
church council moderator

 

Knowledge Is Not Enough

by Kenneth L. Samuel | published on Jan 4, 2022

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. – James 4:17 (NLT)
The story is told of a young pastor who was called to serve a prominent church. After the new pastor’s first sermon, the congregation was overjoyed. “We have an outstanding preacher!” everyone exclaimed.

The next Sunday the young preacher stood to preach, he read the same Scripture and delivered the same sermon he’d preached the previous Sunday. The reception of the congregation was rather cool this time. Congregants said that he’d probably gotten a bit confused, given all the excitement of his new pastorate.

The following Sunday the young pastor stood to preach, he read the same Scripture and preached the same sermon he’d preached the previous two Sundays. At that, the members urged a few of the church officers to meet with the new pastor immediately.

“We like the sermon you’ve been preaching Reverend, but we’ve heard it three Sundays in a row now. When are we going to hear a new sermon?”

The young pastor responded: “I’m glad you like the sermon I’ve been preaching. When our church starts living that sermon, I’ll move on to a new one.”

It’s often said that when people know better, they do better. But we all know better than that. People know a lot of important things that never get applied to their everyday lives. Our heads are filled with amazing principles that many of us hardly ever put into practice.

The demand for more knowledge, new information and novel sermons may actually do more to message our vanity than it does to improve our character.

Prayer
Lord, in seeking your face, help me to face the truth of what you’ve already revealed. Amen.

About the Author
Kenneth L. Samuel is Pastor of Victory for the World Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia.