On any given Tuesday morning people start gathering at the First Assembly of God Church in Dinuba, and by 9:00 a.m. the social hall is filled. Pastors Don Hall and Roland De LaCerda welcome the people and share the gospel message for the day; then volunteers begin to hand out loaves of bread—it’s all part of the Bread of Life Ministry.
“I wonder what kind of presents will be under the tree this Christmas!” As a little boy, this was a question that energized me during this season as the big day approached. There were many things I enjoyed about Christmas, including the story of the Baby whose birthday was to be remembered on that day, but I have to admit the thing that excited me most about the holiday when I was a child was the prospect of receiving presents.
For more than 30 years, the Reedley Mennonite Brethren Church has been presenting spectacular Christmas concerts, and this year is no different, as they will be presenting A Christmas To Remember December 17 and 18.
The Declaration of Independence states that we have all been endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, “that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The right to pursue happiness is one that Americans have passionately claimed, and as a result we have a society that puts a great deal of emphasis on entertainment, personal fulfillment and any number of other avenues that are meant to carry us toward this illusive goal.
Although it may seem hard to believe, a hunger crisis has been unfolding right here in Fresno County—the breadbasket of California, or as we who live in Reedley like to say, “The World’s Fruit Basket.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quick Facts about Fresno County, 22.1% of the population was under the poverty level in 2008 compared to 13.3% in all of California.
The Grand Weaver, by Ravi Zacharias, is a very well written book on Christian spiritual growth. Ravi Zacharias has his own international weekly radio program and is president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. He and his wife live in Atlanta Georgia.<
An amazing and multitalented artist has devoted his life to bringing change to the hearts of the California Central Valley and well beyond. His name is Rick Alonzo, and he has been incorporating his talents of painting, martial arts and gymnastic skills to preach the gospel of Christ as well as hope, love and racial reconciliation to places such as schools, inner cities, juvenile halls and Christian crusades since 1992.
For the last few years The First Congregational Church of Fresno, also known as the Big Red Church, has been presenting Halloween on Van Ness, Thrills and Chills Scary Music Concert—a fun night of Halloween music for the community and a way to help raise money for the restoration of their pipe organ.
The third church to be organized in Reedley in the 1800s was the First Methodist Episcopal in 1890. The congregation first met in the home of Charles Gummow, but was able to open the doors of a new church building on the corner of 13th & F streets in 1892.
I had a funny dream last night in which the pastor of Redeemer's Church in Reedley and I were making a movie together. It featured some guy with a backpack that had mushrooms and a hamburger in it. Were this dream to be analyzed by a psychologist, I have no idea what he would learn about me.
