Not Your Typical Church Service

Tonight's church service was definitely not run-of-the-mill. After some pretty touching worship music, pastor John let loose with a new ministry series called "Modern Family" (yes, the styling theme was patterned after this Modern Family). It was funny! Well, the content wasn't necessarily funny, but some of the video "props" and comments that he employed were hysterical.



It was refreshing to begin to shift our focus back to the family, where it belongs. Our generation (I'm speaking to Gen X'ers, specifically) is largely responsible for the dis-integration of the modern family, through the advent of technology. Think about it; have you ever sent a text message to your child to come downstairs for dinner? Imagine being in the same house- not more than 50 linear feet away, yet we're willing to broadcast a string of bits to space and back, before we actually make the effort to walk down the hall and speak to them (guilty).

A study conducted by Nielsen a few years ago indicated that there are now more television screens in the average American home, than there are people. Add in arcade quality gaming consoles, ubiquitous Internet connectivity and an interactive touch screen on everything from your phone, to your refrigerator, and it's no surprise that humanity is becoming trapped in a series of tubes (RIP, Sen. Ted Stevens). Very sad.

Let's make it a point to bring back family dinners, game night and watching movies together. Let's go for walks and have talks about the things that really matter.



Prior to delivering the message, a couple of people who are heavily invested in City Vibe, joined pastor John on stage. As the congregation was instructed to prepare their tithes and offerings, the men began to talk a little bit about City Vibe, and the programs that were under way to tangibly reach out to the homeless. One of the ingenious ways of doing this was through the creativity of a simple aluminum burner. For only a few cents' worth of denatured alcohol, or methanol, the recipient is able to boil water in the single serving "pot", or heat up the beverage or meal of their choice. In fact, a cup of coffee was prepared within a couple of minutes on stage, as part of the demonstration.

After services were over, I simply had to get a closer look at these primitive "stoves". I'm a techie by nature, so I wanted to "kick the tires" and see how they worked. The recycled aluminum burner (similar to this design) was crafted with a special pressure-jig, allowing for rapid, relative mass-production. In fact, I was told by one of the men, that he had built over 800 such burners, targeted at helping the homeless in our local communities. I was impressed. This is truly family helping family, in the name of Jesus Christ.



The kits displayed are useful for hiking, fishing and camping trips, and of course for giving someone less fortunate a source of heat, a simple meal, or warm cup of coffee. Each kit sells for $15, and includes the following items:

1 - alcohol stove
1 - 4 oz. fuel bottle
1 - 1 oz. measuring cup (1 oz. yields approximately 10 minutes' burn time)
1 - wind screen
1 - cook pot
1 - pot holder
1 - twist lock plastic container

All proceeds from these kits are reinvested into the City Vibe project. To find out more information about these kits, or to donate items and render your services, contact Craig (craig.oviatt AT wsfc.org), Dennis, or Linda (cityvibe AT wsfc.org).

Good Night