We’ll be hanging out with our homeless friends in the D, and this time, passing out the bags that we made for them during the Halloween House Party! (For those of you who don’t know, we had a Halloween House Party, and the cover to get in was to bring hygiene items and old sturdy bags to put them in for the homeless. More info on Facebook with the Seven for Selden ministry.)

WE MADE 30 BAGS FOR THIS BBQ ALONE, and have much more to donate to subsequent ones and other ministries that need it (we are looking into places to donate our massive conglomeration of shampoos :).

Everything you need to know about the homeless BBQ can be found here on the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=32024558387

For pictures of what we put together, check here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48718&id=651592943

We’ll be meeting at Kensington in Troy at 12 to carpool. Kensington is located on the Northwest corner of Square Lake & John R. Some of the groups are also meeting up to carpool from their perspective churches. Or if it’s easier to meet us down there, we should be in Detroit around 1:00. Here are you google maps:

Kensington Church - meeting at 12:00 noon

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Second and Selden - meeting at 1:00 pm

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For the last quarterlife service as we know it on Sunday nights, there is an important topic to discuss, and more important questions to answer. As people searching for a community where Jesus is the center, there is a lot of emphasis on serving other people. But why in the world would we do it? Why are we called to do it? Why does Jesus himself spend so much time serving others, and how does he do it?

We’ll be tackling these questions and a bunch more during this last day of core building for our big move in January. Will you be willing to give your life to a different way? That’s the bigger question, and we want your answer, no matter what it is. Service at 6 pm, dinner at 7. Please come and celebrate this important day with us.

A church that moves in the people who make it up instead of inside a building is a difficult entity to attain. Without investing in people, the members often quickly disband; who wants to hang out with people that actually don’t care about you? Without invitation, the group quickly becomes stagnant and clique-ish, and people want nothing to do with it. So what does a church that invests in its members and invites others into mission on a regular basis look like?

Nothin’ that quarterlife has ever looked like. And chances are, like nothin’ you’ve ever seen before.

That’s our invitation. We’re wanting to create a community that doesn’t look like anything around, because we want it to actually look like a community of Jesus followers. Come on out. Service at 6, dinner at 7.

What if church didn’t meet at church? And what if college kids themselves were the church leaders, creating Jesus communities literally in their own backyards? quarterlife will be doing this in January. Learn more this week. Take this as our personal invitation to you again; it’s going to be amazing at the end of four weeks to see the people who are in, and what our commitment together will look like.

And a note to all of you folks who came out for the first time: thank you. We really enjoyed having you, and would really love for you to come back as we talk about the next step for quarterlife’s new year’s resolutions. Service at 6, Dinner at 7 pm again.

And also, for anyone interested, there is flag football at the Oakland University Upper Fields (on campus at OU) starting at 2 pm, and going to 4:30. It was awesome last week to play in the snow and level each other. Message or call Cam Underdown at 248.632.0121 if you have any questions.

It’s the annual quarterlife Halloween House Party. That means good food, good music, and lots of dancing. Lots.

This year, we are also going to be partying to help out some other folks. We have made friends with many people in the Cass Corridor during our monthly homeless BBQs. So for this Halloween Party, in order to give some treats to our friends in the Cass Corridor, we will be collecting many items for Breanne Smith (if you don’t know her, she’s in this room. And she’s awesome). For the last four months, Breanne has been collecting bags (duffel bags, large old purses, backpacks, etc.) and filling them with deodorant, soap, washcloths, toothbrushes, toothpaste, feminine products, and the like (as well as handwritten notes) to give to the people at the homeless barbecues as care packages.

So here’s the deal: bring a bag to the party. Fill that bag with items from the dollar store (if cost is really an issue, you can just bring what you can find. But a full bag for someone would be spectacular). Here is what can go in them (please choose 7 items to fill it with):

• Underwear
• Socks
• Hat
• Gloves
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Shampoo
• Soap
• Razors
• Feminine products
• Floss
• Washcloth
• Nail clippers
• Deodorant
• Q-tips
• Wet wipes
• Hand sanitizer
• Also, any type of bag to put everything in. However, it needs to be durable, easy to carry and preferably not see-through. Backpacks, duffle bags, beach bags, anything really.
• Empty popcans for deposits are great too.

When you do, you will be given an envelope at the door, which may contain one of five cool prizes or cash that quarterlife is giving away. Most of them contain nothing. But to get your hands on one, you have to bring something. Once you have one, you have to trade your envelope at least five times throughout the party (and have the person you traded it to sign it!) We’ll open all the envelopes at the end of the party. It’s going to be sweet.

PRIZES FOR BEST COSTUME AND BIGGEST ENTOURAGE (people who came with you because you invited them).

Here’s directions:

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Invite everyone you know, sport your best costume, and we’ll see you there.

A political alternative

Ever been confronted with the “lesser of two evils” idea? That you should vote for someone because they will do a less bad job than someone else?

While it may seem absurd, it’s the way many people in this country think about our political system: without hope, needing someone who won’t blow up the country. Well, we believe there is something better. Truly. And it doesn’t involve everyone singing kumbayah, either. This discussion is going to be radical to experience.

As usual, you can find us at Kensington Community Church at the corner of Square Lake and John R rds in Troy, MI. Service starts at 6 pm, free dinner for everyone at 7 pm. Come, invite your friends, and share a meal with us.

A new commander in chief

Would Jesus lead an army? Could you see him at the front of a line of soldiers, directing them toward enemies? Would you find him at the ground floor of the Pentagon, directing bomb strikes and troops in the name of peace?

For some of us, that picture doesn’t make any sense. The duties of the president of the US include commanding the army as a general, and the Bible is full of military strikes and battles in the name of God. And as many of you know, tens of millions have been killed in the name of Jesus. What would Jesus do with the duties of the president of the US if he really were to be elected right now?

As usual, you can find us at Kensington Community Church at the corner of Square Lake and John R rds in Troy, MI. Service starts at 6 pm, free dinner for everyone at 7 pm. Come, invite your friends, and share a meal with us.

Before there were kings and presidents

Election 2008 is less than a month away, and quarterlife is taking a stand – Jesus for President, and no one else. We ain’t flip-floppers, mavericks, right-wing fundamentalists or left-wing liberals neither. We’re calling a town meeting this Sunday starting at 6 pm to talk about Jesus’ platform when it comes to politics, and who should be in charge.

And so you could see how committed to change we are, we’re moving dinner until after the service, starting at 7pm. Unfortunately, Chubby’s will not be open for the rest of this semester, but we’ll still have drinks for you. See everyone at 6 pm!

The subject of this email is a political joke for any of you that don’t know. I hope all of you do. This is a really cheesy beginning to this email. If you have read this far, I sincerely thank you. But seriously, come out. It’s going to be an awesome night, and we’re talking about some things that are relevant to this election in particular, some things you might not expect. Invite your friends, and come out.

As usual, you can find us at Kensington Community Church at the corner of Square Lake and John R rds in Troy, MI. Service starts at 6 pm, free dinner for everyone at 7 pm. Come, invite your friends, and share a meal with us.

Listen to the podQast here.

Kensington teaching pastors Dave and Ann Wilson team up for a message on dating, relationships, and the war that ensues. Listen and get the answer to who really wears the fatigues.

Check back here every week, or subscribe via iTunes to catch our weekly messages in a take-it-home-with-you format.

direct download

http://kccquarterlifeou.com/wp-content/uploads/080424_wilson_manvswoman.mp3

Listen to the podQast here.

Chris Zarbaugh was the guest speaker this week to offer some insight on one of the biggest spiritual and world issues out there: the coexistence of Christians and Muslims. Listen as he explains some of the doctrine, the similarities, the histories, the eerie similarities and the growing need for respect.

Check back here every week, or subscribe via iTunes to catch our weekly messages in a take-it-home-with-you format.

direct download

http://kccquarterlifeou.com/wp-content/uploads/080508_zarbaugh_christians_vs_muslims.mp3