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"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2 Life in the body of Christ is a beautiful, messy, sacred thing. The church is made up of people from every walk of lifewith different stories, personalities, and perspectives. While that diversity is part of God's design and gift to our church, it can also lead to tension and h...

As we come to the close of Lent, we want to encourage ACC to spend some concerted time together in prayer and fasting. Our Maundy Thursday service will begin at 7 PM. Let's set aside 18 hours that day to fast and pray, each in our own places, as we prepare to come together Thursday evening for worship. God's people have long observed times of prayer and fasting, recogniz...

Wow! What an incredible installation service this past week. I am deeply grateful to everyone who helped make it possible. It was a beautiful time of worship and fellowship, made even more special as we shared a meal together. Thank you for your warm and heartfelt welcome! As I step into this new season as your pastor, I do so with both humility and anticipation. Our road...

At Astoria Community Church (ACC), we believe that all people deserve to be treated with dignity, decency, and respect. After all they are created in God's image and created for His purpose (Gen. 1:27, Gal. 6:10, Eph. 2:10). We also believe that everyone at ACC is entitled to a safe place to worship and serve. So we are committed to protecting everyone in our church and mi...

The primary focus of Advent is on the second coming of Christ, who will arrive in glory on the last day to consummate the kingdom of God. That is the special note of Adventits orientation toward the promised future. The other seasons in the church calendar follow the events in the historical life of Christhis incarnation (Christmas), the manifestation to the Gentiles (Epip...

Advent is the beginning of the church year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and ...

Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope o...

What does an advent wreath symbolize? A wreath is from ancient times a sign of victory. The circle of the wreath reminds us of God himself, his eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end--as well as everlasting life--the eternal victory we have over death through Jesus Christ. The evergreens that make up the wreath speak of God's faithfulness to his people-...

From the Fall of 2018 through the Spring 2019, a group of us (some of the Diaconate team plus David Ellis) from ACC attended City to City's City Lab: The Biblical Calling to Engage in Community Renewal. After the initial bi-monthly trainings, there have been ongoing training gatherings 2-3 times per year up to the present. Al Santino, City to City Community Engagement Di...

I want to share just a snippet of how God has been faithful to meet my needs. We often read "God will meet all your needs according to his riches in glory" (Philippians 4:19) But that verse starts with AND. What preceded it was Paul being thankful for the Philippian church sharing with him in the matter of giving AND receiving. (Philippians 4:10, 15, 19) Very early on G...