A Trip Of A Lifetime

An ambitious project to establish a human colony on Mars has received applications from tens of thousands of people.  The Dutch non-profit organization, Mars One, is aiming to send a crew to the Red Planet in 2022; arriving seven months later in 2023.  Because it is likely there will be some physiological changes to the human body, it’s a one-way excursion only.  This hasn’t deterred more than78,000 people from applying to become some of Mars’ first immigrants.

According to the Mars One organization, life on Mars isn’t expected to be a picnic.  The daily routine would involve construction work, maintenance of the settlement systems, and research into Mars’ climate and geological history.  All of this is expected to be done in an inhospitable environment, with unbreathable air and an average temperature around -58 degrees Fahrenheit.

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CENTRAL HAPPENINGS & NEWS

This Week (3/9-15):

Tuesday @ 7:00 PM  Prayer Meeting with Pastor Mike – The Poor & Mournful          

Sabbath @ 9:00 AM  Morning Manna with TBA

Sabbath @ 9:30 AM  Central Study Hour with Pastor Doug & Children/Youth Sabbath School Classes                                                                      

Sabbath @ 10:50 AM  Worship Service with Pastor Chris - Four Responses, Two Destinies

ANNOUNCING 2014 Spring Youth & Family Restoration Weekend!  Central’s Family Life Ministries presents Restoring God’s Image In Us: Empowering Youth, Singles, Couples, & Parents With Tools to Live a Christ-like Life, April 11 to 13 @ Leoni Meadows Christian Retreat Center, 6100 Leoni Rd, Grizzly Flats, CA.  Keynote speaker will be Pastor Arthur Branner.  Joining him for breakout seminars: Adam & Tariq Patel, Timothy Lawson, and Virna Santos, President of Beholding His Love Ministry.

Seminar presentations include: Overcoming Addiction, Spiritualism, What It Means To Be Equally Yoked, Tools For Dealing With Peer Pressure, Principles Of Wise Financial Panning, Safeguarding Your Family From Internet Dangers, Strengthening Your Marriage, Parenting Strategies, and more!  To register, please call Central church office @ (916) 457-6511 or Central Family Life Ministry Leader, Tyra Taylor @ (916) 230-3938.  Hurry, as places will fill up quickly!

James4 in Concert: Mark your calendars for March 22 @ 4 PM.  Come out and listen to this inspirational quartet from Weimar College performing right here at Central. 

Hell & Mr. Fudge: Mark your calendars and plan to join us in the Camellia Room for a special viewing of the acclaimed film Hell & Mr. Fudge, Saturday, March 29 @ 7 PM. This is an event open to the public so please bring a friend or family member. Following the film one of the producers will be hosting a Q&A session.  Childcare and light refreshments provided.

Covered & Kept Ministries: Join author and speaker Karen Johnson, whose story of a life-shattering tragedy that God turned into a triumph has helped thousands, as she presents The Gift: The Restarting Of A Life on Sunday, March 30 @ 2:00 PM right here at Central Church.  For more information visit www.CoveredandKept.com

Prayer Meeting Started! Join us each Tuesday evening @ 7 PM in the church chapel as we take a closer look at Jesus’ practical instruction for everyday Christian living found in Matthew 5 through 7.  Tell a friend, and we look forward to seeing you there! 

Winter Sanctuary Help: Looking for a worthy cause to donate your time and resources to?  Central’s homeless ministry is looking for assistance from March 16 to 20.  Call Buddy Harper if you can help (916) 676-6632.

New happenings will be featured each week.

BULLETIN BOARD - An assortment of happenings, announcements, and resources from around the Seventh-day Adventist Church

News & Announcements

Adventist Book Center News! The NCC Executive Committee met last Wednesday and voted to take back ownership and operation of the Adventist Book Centers in our territory from Pacific Press.  More details from the meeting will be in next week’s newsletter.

Amazing Facts is looking for volunteers to improve our reach and service to those who need to hear about Jesus. You can make a big difference in several key departments and some work can even be performed from home! If the Lord is calling you, please contact Nikki Smith at (916) 209-7220 or email nsmith@amazingfacts.org. 

13th Annual Prayer Retreat: Plan now to be a part of this year’s prayer retreat at Leoni Meadows from March 14 to 16, 2014.  Joseph Kidder, a professor of Christian ministry at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, will be the guest presenter.  To register for this event call (530) 312-3831 or visit www.ncc.adventist.org/prayerministries

Building Bridges: Big City Evangelism Convention is calling all physicians, dentists, eye specialists, and other medical professionals and lay workers to serve the undeserved from April 23 to 27, 2014.  Call (623) 329-0078 or visit www.BigCityEvangelism.com.  This event is sponsored by ASI Pacific Union.

Upcoming Camp Meeting Schedules: Soquel July 17 to 26; Redwood July 24 to August 2; Tahoe July 28 to August 2.

GYC INTERmission Trip For Youth & Young Adults: Join us August 17 to 31, 2014 in Lakeport, CA as we share Christ through health evangelism, canvassing, and Vacation Bible School.  For more info go to www.gycweb.org/intermission. 

More and new programs will be featured each week.

Resources

March Is Music Month at the Adventist Book Center. Receive up to 20% off hymnals and songbooks. To learn more click here.

Would you like to see and study the Sabbath school lessons from 1888? Sabbath school lessons from 1888 to 2004 have been made available online by the GC Archives and Statistics Department. You may want to bookmark this resource. 

Share REAL Magazine. In the United States, there are more than 2.7 million children with a parent in prison. You can also help these children without leaving your home. Real Magazine is raising $15,000 to print and mail 8,000 copies of the magazine to children in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. MORE

The Great Controversy: With prophecy fulfilling right before our very eyes we need to reacquaint ourselves with this powerful volume.  Pick up a copy at the local Adventist Book Center or to listen go online here. 

Kids View: The Adventist Review has a children’s counterpart – Kids View. To learn more go to http://kidsviewmag.org

More and new programs will be featured each week.

ABOUT CENTRAL HAPPENINGS

Dear friend,

We would like to warmly welcome you to Central Happenings – a weekly e-newsletter from your pastoral staff to inform, update, and keep in touch.

It was George Bernard Shaw who once quipped, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”  Ask anyone and they will tell you how true this is.  Healthy communication is a prerequisite to healthy relationships, and no less for the church family.

We plan to make Central Happenings a pithy and relevant read with the obvious goal to simply communicate.  You can expect each edition to contain:

Pastor’s Blog - a refreshing Biblical insight from your pastors.

Central News & Happenings – important info on news and events taking place at Central.

Bulletin Board – includes various news, resources, programs, and/or initiatives taking place in the Seventh-day Adventist Church locally and around the world that may impact you.

We trust you’ll find Central Happenings (not to be confused with The Central Connection put together by Central’s Communication Department) another great resource that will allow you to stay in touch with your church family.  As your pastoral staff we look forward to continuing to reach out to you, including through this new way, as we seek to press together for the work at hand and in preparation for the soon return of Jesus.

Your Pastoral Staff