Update for Sunday, May 30th
Dear Church family and friends,
If you haven’t heard already, we’ve started a new series on our website which will help us “Catch-Up” with one another while we are still spread apart during this pandemic. This first to contribute is Mirjam, who writes about Pentecost and her medical internship. Encouraging and enlightening, her reflection is definitely worth reading: http://www.ibc-giessen.org/catch-up/
We find ourselves at another Sunday: hasn’t this week gone quickly? As usual, our Church service will take place at the FTH facilities at 11am. If you would like to attend, you will need to wear a FFP2 or surgical mask for the entirety of the service and maintain physical distancing.
Those who are ill or unable to take part can keep up-to-speed with the sermon series via Pastor Buddy’s pre-recorded sermon:
Remember that in the coming week there is another Bank Holiday – Fronleichnam – the last one until October!
Many blessings in this upcoming “shorter” week!
Update for Wednesday, May 26th
Dear Church family and friends,
The problem with Bank Holidays is that they sometimes make it feel like time has shifted and that it’s not the weekday that you think it is. Today has been Tuesday. Tomorrow is Wednesday – and at 7pm tomorrow we have our mid-week Bible Study on Zoom. To take part – and give your week some sense of orientation – please get in contact with Pastor Buddy or office@ibc-giessen.de, and a link to the meeting will be sent to you around 10 minutes before it is due to start.
In the meantime, you can take a look at our new series on our website. In our first “Catch-Up” with members of our Church family, Mirjam reflects on Pentecost and her experiences on her medical internship earlier this year. Read what she has to say, here: http://www.ibc-giessen.org/catch-up/
We hope that you had a safe, peaceful Pentecost Bank Holiday weekend, and that you are having a great shortened week!
Dear Church family and friends,
Happy Birthday to Christ’s Church!
That is what we celebrate on Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was sent to be with us and guide us. You can read the whole story in Acts chapter 2 this weekend if you would like to learn more. We even have a Bank Holiday on Monday to continue celebrating and find more moments to be thankful in and for the Spirit.
We will also be meeting together on Sunday, in our service at 11am at the FTH facilities. Whilst we will need to maintain physical distancing and wear FFP2 or surgical masks, we can still gather as a congregation and mark this day as one part of His wider Church.
Of course, the pandemic is still on-going and there may be some who do not feel comfortable meeting in a group just yet. That’s a decision that we can understand and a pre-recording of Pastor Buddy’s sermon on Pentecost has been prepared so that no-one needs to feel left out:
Be safe and blessed in His Spirit this week, and have a brilliant Bank Holiday Monday!
Update for Wednesday, May 19th
Dear Church family and friends,
The winds of change are blowing – and I’m not just talking about the ones outside! With restrictions easing and schools re-opening, our schedules are being re-started and re-shuffled yet again.
If you need a port in this storm, then we invite you to our mid-week Bible Study and Prayer Meeting at 7pm tomorrow (Wednesday 19th May 2021). We will meet and share with others, as well as take encouragement from God’s Word. To join us, you will need to get in contact with Pastor Buddy or office@ibc-giessen.de and you will be sent a link to our Zoom meeting about 10 minutes before it starts.
Should you require any other help, with it be in prayer or otherwise, please don’t hesitate to get in contact – even if things seem to be transitioning back to some sort of normal, that doesn’t mean that you have to struggle alone.
Keep safe – from both the weather and virus! – and be blessed in the rest of your week.
Update for Sunday, May 16th
Dear Church family and friends,
Have you noticed how most recipes call for salt at some point? Even recipes for sweet treats? It’s something of an all-rounder in the kitchen but should be used with caution: too much leaves a bitter taste, too little leaves no taste at all. Similarly, in bread baking, putting salt directly onto the yeast kills it – leaving your bread flat – but having no salt at all means that the yeast can’t activate properly and that all the bread will taste of is yeast. As you can see, salt is a brilliant, but complicated, necessity.
In Pastor Buddy’s continuation through the book of Luke, he talks about the greatness of salt in our Christian living:
Now that food has been mentioned, it’s hard not to miss pot-lucks, coffee and cookies after Church and other culinary based meet-ups that we have at IBC Gießen. We will just have to wait a while longer before those can start up again.
In the meantime, we may continue to meet as a Church at the FTH facilities, at 11am, for our service on Sunday. Even as parts of the restrictions begin to relax on Monday, we will still need to maintain physical distancing and continue wearing our FFP2/surgical masks.
Hopefully, you enjoyed the Ascension Day Bank Holiday yesterday and are using your long weekend wisely, whether that be working, resting, or preparing the for the week ahead. Stay safe and be blessed, whatever you are doing this weekend and upcoming week!
Update Wednesday, May 12th
Dear Church family and friends,
Somehow, it’s the middle of the week again! That means that this evening we’ll have our mid-week Bible Study and Prayer Meeting over Zoom. If you e-mail Pastor Buddy (or office@ibc-giessen.de) he will sent you a link at around 6:50pm for a 7pm start.
This coming Sunday (16th) there will be a mango day in aid of a youth project in Burkina Faso, at the Baptistengemeinde Marburgerstrasse. To purchase some mangoes or mango chips, you will need to register your interest. The contact details can be found at the end of this video. The video is in German. https://youtu.be/CyGibp0pn6k
Last but not least: this Thursday is Ascension Day (Himmelfahrt) and it is a Bank Holiday! Enjoy the long weekend, but don’t forget to re-plan any grocery shopping that you might have otherwise done on that day!
Be blessed!
Update II for Sunday, May 9th – Mother’s Day
Dear Church family and friends,
As promised in our previous post, here is a message from our Pastor Buddy for Mother’s Day tomorrow:
It is for all to watch and feel encouraged by.
Enjoy your day tomorrow – we hope to see some of you in the service at 11am in the FTH facilities – and be blessed in this upcoming week!
Update for Sunday, May 9th
Dear Church family and friends,
As last week, for his pre-recorded sermon Pastor Buddy has a song suggestion:
What do you get by listening to Pastor Buddy’s sermon? An idea of what to expect when you follow Christ! To hear more, please follow this link:
Mother’s Day – which is tomorrow (the second Sunday in May) in Germany, American and other parts of the world – is a day where we can be thankful for the work that mothers do, as well think of our own mothers and those who have been like a mother to us. To mark this occasion there will be a special Mother’s Day video message posted for tomorrow morning.
We will also take some time to honour and be thankful for the mother figures in our lives during our service on Sunday, at 11am in the FTH facilities. If you would like to attend, you are more than welcome to join us – we ask though that the rules are respected regarding physical distancing and wearing a FFP2 or surgical mask.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday – and hope that everyone has a safe, healthy, blessed week!
Update for Wednesday, May 5th
Dear Church family and friends,
As usual, our Bible Study and Prayer Meeting will be taking place via Zoom tomorrow (Wednesday) evening at 7pm. Pastor Buddy will send an invitation link to all those who e-mail him (or office@ibc-giessen.org) to request one.
There’s also still time to register an interest in the Mango Day on Sunday 16th May at the Baptistengemeinde Marburgerstrasse. You will only be able to purchase mangoes or mango chips if you sign up beforehand – you cannot turn up on the day. For more information, please watch this video – it is in German, but the contact details can be found at the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyGibp0pn6k
Be blessed!
Update for Sunday, May 2nd
Dear Church family and friends,
May in Germany is usually filled with Bank Holidays (Feiertage). This year, we will have Ascension Day (Himmelfahrt) on Thursday 13th and Pentecost (Pfingsten) on Sunday 23rd/Monday 24th. Today, it is also a Bank Holiday (Tag der Arbeit) when most choose to carry out home improvements – which is why the announcement for this weekend’s Church activities comes so late.
Tomorrow (2nd May) at IBC Gießen we will be meeting at the same time and place – 11am at the FTH facilities – wearing FFP2 or surgical masks and maintaining physical distance.
Pastor Buddy will continue the series on the book of Luke, and he has already prepared an online sermon for those who are unable to attend:
So that you can have the full experience, Pastor Buddy also suggests that you listen to the following song before and after listening to his sermon:
Another event coming up this month is the Mango Day on Sunday 16th May at the Baptistengemeinde Marburgerstrasse. All earnings from the sales of mangoes and mango chips that day will go toward a youth project in Burkina Faso. If you would like to take part, you will need to register beforehand. For more information, please contact Caleb using the details found at the end of this video. The video itself is in German.
Have a good, safe remainder of this Bank Holiday weekend – we look forward to seeing you tomorrow!
Older information and online sermons are available here:
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