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Hello ACC family and friends! The Reopening Taskforce has been meeting regularly and would like to invite you to complete the following survey. Please click here. In line with medical guidance and governmental guidelines, we are prayerfully preparing to restart in-person worship services in September. As we carefully plan the logistics of this experience for our communit...

Matthew 6:25-43 is probably the most well-known passage of the Bible that deals with the problem of anxiety. In these verses, Jesus gives us six reasons not to worry 1) Worry obscures what is most important in life. People tend to worry most over temporal issues finances, deadlines, the opinions of others. Stressing ourselves out over these things can make us forget mat...

If a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound? So goes the age-old metaphysical question. Does the occurrence of an event depend on it being perceived? I will leave it to philosophers to answer that one. But what I do know is that, when it comes to acts of kindness toward others or devotion toward God, no acts are unobserved. In...

Dear ACC Family, It has been wonderful to see the decline in the number of coronavirus cases in New York and to watch the civic and economic life of our city slowly begin to revive. It is encouraging to know that, God willing, the day is approaching when we will again gather physically to worship as a congregation. Last week our elders approved the formation of a "Re-ope...

A hymn I really love is "If thou but suffer God to guide thee" by Georg Neumark (1621-1681). I first learned of this hymn in my early 20's, when I was facing personally challenging times. I often sing it during my morning prayers, especially on days when I want to encourage my heart to trust in the Lord. Unfortunately, this hymn is hard to sing. The lyrics (in its English...

The New Testament teaches that church members need to pray for each other (Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; Jas. 5:16). What are some ways we can pray for our church during this time of coronavirus. Here are 21 ways to consider praying for our church: Pray for the sick, for healing and for patience in affliction. Pray for those who are lonely, that they will find ways to conn...

On Saturday, May 2, Laura and I got the chance to deliver food to different households from Evangel Food Pantry. We had five households connected with our church, and were assigned five additional households from Evangel. When we arrived at the food pantry to pick up the parcels of food, it was extremely busy, with many volunteers sorting, packing, and distributing to pe...

We have probably all heard conspiracy theories related to the present global health crisis. Here are a few alleged schemes I have run across: - COVID-19 is caused by 5G technology. - The coronavirus was developed in a lab either by the Chinese Communist Party or by the U.S. Military. - Big Pharma developed COVID-19 and took out patents so they can make billions selling ...

In my blog posts this week, I am quoting portions from some classic Christian writings on prayer. Today's quote comes from the English mystic Julian of Norwich (1343-1413). A Benedictine nun, Julian is known for her deep spiritual hunger for God. Julian spent much time praying that God would give her three wounds: "the wound of contrition; the wound of loving compassion; ...

In my blog posts this week, I am quoting portions from some classic Christian writings on prayer. Today's quote comes from the writings of Lancelot Andrews (1555-1626), an Anglican bishop who served on the scholarly committee that produced the King James Version of the Bible. In this prayer, Andrews exhibits a deep passion for godliness in both his character and his behav...