Larry Sessoms
Along with our friends and neighbors, the congregation of PebbleCreek Community Church looks forward to the return of the before times—the currently coined term for pre-COVID, apparently harking back to 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Interesting movies aside, for our church, the beginning of a new year has us looking forward to normalcy. A first step in our process was to conduct our annual meeting, which included the election of a new class of elders, deacons, and trustees and approval of the annual budget. This year, the meeting was conducted via email, another interesting adaptation to the times!
Part of the process of reaching out to our congregation for volunteer leaders is to be sure we reflect the diversity of Christian backgrounds within our congregation and in our PebbleCreek community as a whole. As an unaffiliated community church, our congregation is a combination of the many Christian backgrounds our members and regular attendees bring to us. We try to reflect that diversity in our leadership and in our committees. We are blessed with Pastor Bob Ripley, whose background in Christian education and church leadership has prepared him for us. Pastor Bob and his wife Peggy moved to PebbleCreek when they joined us two years ago. They have proved to be a blessed gift to our congregation.
Preparing the budget for 2021 was interesting, with the big guess being when we will be able to return to our Eagle’s Nest ballroom for Sunday worship services. In the interim, we continue with our Sunday services online at www.churchpcc.org and with Pastor Bob’s Tuesday and Thursday Words of Hope on the website. In December, and again in February, we were able to gain permission from Goodyear to use the Bullard Wash Amphitheater for services, and we are hopeful we will be able to hold services there for Easter if Eagle’s Nest remains closed. Through all of this, we have been blessed with support from our congregation, including our staff: Marsha Lyons, secretary; Syd Mersereau, treasurer; and Donna Giocomo, music director. They have, so to say, kept us going through thick and thin.
We are, of course, a Bible based church. In this context, we continue to offer 15 smaller Bible study groups which meet via Zoom and, in some cases, in backyards. There are seven small groups oriented toward women, two for men, and six for men and women. These are coordinated by our education committee, which has also recently started an initiative, inviting all with an interest to focus on one book of the Bible each month.
The before times are coming. Until then, do join us on the web at www.churchpcc.org, and, with us, look forward to what is to come. Let it be a happy new year!