Great time, great food.
Thanks to all who volunteered their time and their resources to make this a success. We served two meals to accommodate the larger crowd this year. We served 160 meals total (including volunteers). Pastor Thom shared a message of God's love and hope for each one of us. There was a raffle and Hannaford gift cards were given out. Each person was greeted and welcomed with a smile. Gift bags were given out to everyone as they left. It was great to see so many smiling faces.

Sonlight Fellowship wanted to mention a special thanks to:

• Reach4Hope - For the crew of volunteers.
  
• Rise Again Outreach - It was great to have the bus on site. Many left with clothes from the bus that they were blessed to have.
• Lakes Region Charter and Shuttle Service - They supplied two vans and two drivers for the afternoon who were VERY accommodating!
  
• Friends of Forgotten Children - For the boxes and boxes of clothing of all types and sizes - what a blessing!
• West Congregational Church - It was a joy to witness their enthusiasm in helping out by providing the goody bags.
• American Legion - For the $50 toward the purchase of turkeys - not to mention allowing us free use of the hall the night before so we could do a great deal of the prep work ahead of time.
• Starbucks Coffee - For supplying all of the coffee. There were folks in attendance who had never been able to afford a Starbucks coffee, and here they were able to enjoy one for free.
• Aspen Family Dentistry For donating a whole case of tooth brushes.
• Hannaford Supermarket - for providing a $15 gift card as well as cups and napkins for the event.

God bless you all!

Examiner.com recently published this article: "Reach 4 Hope ministers to homeless in Concord NH".

The Concord Family Thanksgiving - A free community meal for those who need it most.
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009 from 1 - 3pm at the Loudon American Legion

Every year, Sonlight Christian Fellowship partners with Reach4Hope to provide a free community dinner. What began as a small church gathering of friends turned into much more. To me this represents the heart of Jesus here on earth in our own community. Dozens of generous volunteers and food donors make the Family Thanksgiving possible. Those who cook and serve are in a sense giving thanks to God by giving to others. Thank You Volunteers!

Interested in volunteering? Sign up here.

Please join us if you can make it. Hope to see you there!

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
(Luke 14:12-14)

This morning was a busy time at the Reach van as many took advantage of the limited, yet important assistance we are able to offer. There were success stories from individuals who told of the jobs that they had recently landed. Of course, there are also a lot of friends that continue to struggle to meet every day needs. Some have prospects of a possible apartment to move into. Some are now sharing a home with friends or family. Others are facing another winter with no home to call their own. In all this, Christ is present and continues to hold out the promise of new life to all...

Today I read a short story from Stories For the Heart entitled "Come Home" (written by Max Lucado). It is a tale about a single mother who reaches out in love to a wayward daughter. The theme of the story is summed up in the final 2 sentences: "Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn't matter. Please come home." This is the message of God to us through his Son. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17) "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3)

He is not the harsh God that some would make him out to be. He is the God who cares less about our past than he does our future, a future that he desires to share with us in his Kingdom.

-Pastor Thom

Bill Pelletier and Ron Joy from the Rise Again team joined us with the bus. Rise Again is a partner and a similar outreach that makes stops in apartment complexes throughout central NH. They set out to meet physical and spiritual needs and a have a bus stocked with clothing and bibles. This is a great help because the Reach van is too small to store clothing. Rise Again is scheduled to join us on the 4th Saturday of every month.

Thank you Rise Again!!!!

Today we prayed for people and Adam shared a message on growing stronger with God through tough times and overcoming. He read this passage from Luke 6:20-26 (NIV):

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
I like the Message version of this:
You're blessed when you've lost it all. God's kingdom is there for the finding.
You're blessed when you're ravenously hungry. Then you're ready for the Messianic meal.
You're blessed when the tears flow freely... Joy comes with the morning.
Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!— for even though they don't like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.
Give Away Your Life
But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you'll ever get.
And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it's trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games. There's suffering to be met, and you're going to meet it.
There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

CNN reports:

This may shock you - 1 in 50 children in our nation are homeless.
Read about it here.

New form of shelter called the EDAR given to the homeless in LA.
Watch the video here.

There were many new faces at the outreach Saturday. Carol Clifford gave a message on the street this week and received a standing ovation. Here is a summary from her notes:

"I have some "good news" to give you! I know that lately when we turn on the TV, listen to the radio and read the newspapers, all we get is "bad news."  The good news is that GOD LOVES YOU. His love is so big and can not be measured.  I want to give you a picture (from an old hymn The Love of God)...

   'Imagine that the ocean is filled with ink, and the skies were made of parchment, and every stalk on earth was a quill (pen), and every man a scribe (writer) by trade.  To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.'  
 
The good news is that 'God loved us so much that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life.'  John 3:16.  He 'gave'.  His gift of love is Jesus seen on earth.  The gift of salvation - the gift of love.  Each one of us needs to be loved.  There is a God shaped vacuum in our heart that only Jesus can fill.  We can never earn God's love because it is a gift.  If we do not receive the gift (this was demonstrated with one of the volunteers) it remains with the giver.  I grew up as an abused child, then a abused young woman looking for love in all the wrong places. I had to pay the consequences of my choices.
 
 Without God's gift we live our lives upside-down, with turmoil, strife, no joy, peace or love.  With God's gift we have love, peace and joy.  When I met Jesus, my life then was turned right-side-up.  The Bible says that 'godly sorrow leads to repentance.'  When we come to God sorry for our wrong doing and ask Him to forgive us, He does.  God then changes us. He loves us too much to leave us where we're at. We can not change ourselves, it is God who works in us.  We need to receive God's gift of love - so great a salvation.
 
 We cannot describe God's love, we can only experience it.  'Nothing can separate us from the love of God, neither life, death, powers......in Christ Jesus.'  Romans 8:38-39"
 
This is basically what was shared....
 
Also, the men from her Cell Group (Home church group) worked in the kitchen which was also a huge blessing. They really enjoyed serving.
 

On a bitter cold morning we opened the van and set up tables with clothing, coats, gloves and hats. Some people came to receive gifts...socks, deodorant, soap. Some came to pray with us and hear what all the excitement is about - a message of hope...

"Many of us have grown up with a false idea of who God is and how he feels about us. We picture a god with a big stick just waiting for us to screw up so he can strike. If this coincides with your view of God, I have good news for you. This is NOT the true God of scripture. I am not saying that God doesn’t care whether we mess up our lives or not. In fact, he cares greatly and desires that we get it right. So, how are you doing?

GAL 3:22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

1TIM 4:9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance [10] (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

You see, God isn’t waiting around for us to get it right. Before the earth was created, he chose to send his Son to get it right for us, and then – after living a perfect life – to die in our place, paying for the sins of the whole world. He didn’t die just for those who now believe; as this scripture says, he died for all. He didn’t pick out his favorites. Jesus gave his life for every individual, past, present and future.

In return, he asks for only one thing, that we will accept the reality of his love and forgiveness. BELIEVE in HIM! Believe that he is both Lord and Savior. Believe that he loves you with a timeless love. Believe that his forgiveness is greater than any sin you might perpetrate. He wants us to live our lives in the glory of his presence. But we can enjoy his love only when we believe that he loves us. We can enjoy his forgiveness only when we believe he has forgiven us.

JN 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

We come here, week after week, for the opportunity to share with you the light that he has placed in us. We love because he first loved us. Whatever love, whatever goodness you see in us is merely a reflection of His love, his goodness, greater by far than our own. Believe it!"

- Message given at the Reach van by Pastor Thom Friedrich

Hello Baby Threads,

All of us at Reach4Hope and our friends on the street want to thank you for the wonderful gift bags!

Visit the Baby Threads website here.

God Bless you!


Tom & Carol Picking up the gift bags.

What's the good news about Christmas?
We all have heard something about the birth of Jesus in a manger, but what does that mean to us? What are we celebrating here?

The word Christmas comes from 2 words: Christ and mas.
Mas represents a celebration or festival. Christians celebrate Christ. Catholics call Communion Mass. So we are celebrating the birth of Christ on Christmas, but what is Christ? Well, that would take too long to cover all that Christ means, but here is a brief explanation....
Christ is not Jesus' last name! Christ means anointed One and the Hebrew Messiah. To anoint someone or something is to rub an oil or ointment all over them. The Bible meaning here is Spiritual: Rubbing God all over and permeating a man with Himself.
Jesus read this scripture from the old testament: "The Spirit of God is upon Me, for He has anointed Me.. to preach the good news to the poor, He has sent Me to release the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are oppressed (downtrodden and broken). Luke 4:18 - MSG
Jesus made some bold claims here. He was saying that He was the One that the Jews prophesied about in the Old Testament, sent from God to save the people of the world, "the Christ". He brought the good news of eternal life! He healed people physically and spiritually. He helped the poor and set free those with addictions and depression - that's good news!
It says in Acts 10:38 " How God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with strength, ability and power, how He went about doing good and in particular curing all who were harassed and oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." This is what is meant by the word Immanuel often heard at Christmas - it's about God being here with us. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we are not only forgiven of our sins, our relationship with God is restored! We can have His Holy Spirit living inside us! Jesus came to save us and connect us with God's family. The word Christian in the bible means "little Christs", or little anointed ones. God lives inside those who invite Him in! Celebrate...we can now have a relationship with God. He is here to save us, heal us, protect us, help us break free from addictions and have a relationship with us.

Christmas every day
On Christmas, many who don't even know Christ have experienced the goodness of this Spirit: Love, forgiveness, kindness, generosity. Why do people say "I'll let that go today, it's Christmas."? Imagine every day being like that.. people forgiving, sharing and sacrificial giving, helping children who have no toys, putting on meals for those who are in need...
For those of us on the Reach team, it's like Christmas every time we gather together. No, I'm not talking about the nice traditions we celebrate in our home like the tree or wrapping presents. I'm talking about the Spirit that brings joy, peace and generosity dwelling in us. The Spirit of Love is here, and we can yield to it. We are believers in Christ, celebrating that God is with us! Jesus said that "whenever 2 or more of you who believe are gathered together in My name, I'm there in your midst!"

You can have Christ too!
The good news is that everyone can have this relationship with God through Christ, our God-connection! You don't need to be perfect or sinless - simply choose to follow Jesus. Seek Him in His Word and get around believers who have the Spirit of Christ...and God will "rub off " on you too!

Merry Christmas!

- This message given by Neil at the Reach Van