Homeless churches
During one of our prayer meetings we prayed for these churches in the NYC area that have recently become homeless due to this new law that stops churches to assemble in public schools. We prayed for the Lord to provide for these churches. Maybe we can do more… It is out duty to support our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Please take action and the time to write to the following leaders in our neighborhood and state. We need to come together and be a voice that is heard.
Pastor Rich Villodas from New Life Church has provided the templates and contact addresses for a stress free and easy way to respond on his blog pasted below.
http://richvillodas.wordpress.com/
Dear New Life Fellowship and friends,
As you know, New York City has barred churches and other religious groups from meeting in public schools and community centers. By February 12, at least 70 churches will be homeless. As a result of this issue, a growing coalition of church leaders and politicians are working to amend a vaguely-worded law that has been used to justify this action. They are asking that NYC encourage their members to send letters to key politicians asking them to support either a City Council resolution encouraging the State Assembly to act on this bill or to vote for the bill being offered by the Assembly.
Although we are not impacted by this decision at New Life Fellowship, the body of Christ in NYC is being impacted, and as a result, it would be a great act of unity to respond accordingly.
Councilman Cabrera (of the Bronx) and his office has taken the lead in mobilizing this endeavor. Below are templates that you can copy, paste and send. We’d love for you to write/call/email your representatives to take action by next week. Your actions can significantly impact this decision.
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To:
The Honorable Christine Quinn
224 West 30th St (Suite 1206)
New York, NY 10001
Re: Churches in Schools, NYC Council Resolution # 1155.
Dear Speaker Quinn,
I urge that you support the effort to allow Churches and Religious Groups equal access to rent spaces from Public Schools. Non-religious groups are allowed to meet in schools for activities central to their missions and religious groups should be allowed do the same. The exclusion of religious groups is discrimination against religious speech.
Speaker Quinn, in light of the impending February 12, 2012 deadline for religious groups to vacate schools, I urge that you provide your full support by expediently authorizing a public hearing on City Council Resolution # 1155, and bringing this vital legislation to the floor for a vote.
New York City has called on churches and religious groups during times of crisis in the past; I now ask that you not turn your back on us. I ask that you stand for the Equal Access.
Sincerely,
Name: _____________________________________________
Affiliation (optional):_________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Phone Number: ______________________________________
E-mail: _____________________________________________
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To:
The Honorable Sheldon Silver
250 Broadway, Suite 2307
New York, NY 10007
212-312-1420
Re: Churches in Schools, NYS Assembly Bill A8800
Dear Speaker Silver,
I urge that you support the effort to allow Churches and Religious Groups equal access to rent spaces from Public Schools. Non-religious groups are allowed to meet in schools for activities central to their missions and religious groups should be allowed do the same. The exclusion of religious groups is discrimination against religious speech.
Speaker Silver, in light of the impending February 12, 2012 deadline for religious groups to vacate schools, I urge that you provide your full support by expediently authorizing a public hearing on NYS Assembly Bill A8800, and bringing this vital legislation to the floor for a vote.
New York has called on churches and religious groups during times of crisis in the past; I now ask that you not turn your back on us. I ask that you stand for the Equal Access.
Sincerely,
Name: _____________________________________________
Affiliation (optional):_________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Phone Number: ______________________________________
E-mail: _____________________________________________
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To:
The Honorable Dean Skelos
55 Front Street
Rockville Centre, NY 11570
Re: Churches in Schools, NYS Senate Bill S6087
Dear Majority Leader Skelos,
I urge that you support the effort to allow Churches and Religious Groups equal access to rent spaces from Public Schools. Non-religious groups are allowed to meet in schools for activities central to their missions and religious groups should be allowed do the same. The exclusion of religious groups is discrimination against religious speech.
Majority Leader Skelos, in light of the impending February 12, 2012 deadline for religious groups to vacate schools, I urge that you provide your full support by expediently introducing NYS Senate Bill S6087, holding a public hearing, and bringing the bill to the floor for a vote.
New York has called on churches and religious groups during times of crisis in the past; I now ask that you not turn your back on us. I ask that you stand for the Equal Access.
Sincerely,
Name: _____________________________________________
Affiliation (optional):_________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Phone Number: ______________________________________
E-mail: _____________________________________________
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To:
The Honorable Michael Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY, 10007
Re: Churches in Schools,
Administrative Section I.Q of Chancellor’s Regulation D-180
Dear Mayor Bloomberg,
I urge that you extend the deadline for religious groups to vacate public schools, and moreover urge you to lift the discriminatory ban imposed by the Department of Education on religious groups renting school spaces for worship. Non-religious groups are allowed to meet in schools for activities central to their missions and religious groups should be allowed do the same. The exclusion of religious groups is discrimination against religious speech.
You have called on churches and religious groups during times of crisis in the past; I now ask that you not turn your back on us. I ask that you stand for the Equal Access.
Sincerely,
Name: _____________________________________________
Affiliation (optional):_________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
___________________________________________________
E-mail: _____________________________________________
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To:
The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
Re: Churches in Schools
NYS Assembly Bill A8800 and NYS Senate Bill S6087
Dear Governor Cuomo,
I urge that you sign NYS Assembly Bill A8800 and NYS Senate Bill S6087 when they come to your desk. These bills would allow Churches and other Religious Groups to rent space from New York State Public Schools. Non-religious groups are allowed to meet in schools for activities central to their missions and religious groups should be allowed do the same. The exclusion of religious groups is discrimination against religious speech.
I hope that you sign this bill with the same earnestness that you did the Marriage Equality bill. I ask that you stand with us for Equal Access.
Sincerely,
Name: _____________________________________________
Affiliation (optional):_________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
___________________________________________________
E-mail: _____________________________________________
Prayers for Alex
There are reasons and places that the Lord puts us, places where He wants us to touch others, lend an ear, send up a prayer.
A sister at our church is a second grade public school teacher. She has been blogging about her life as a teacher and recently I read a post that I wanted to share with you all.
Please Pray for Alex. *His name has been changed on her blog to protect her students identity.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2011
Prayers for Alex: “Tom”
A bright, cheerful, brown eyed, 8 year old in my class this year.
He is one of our greatest helpers in the room.
Interested in history, writing, and helping others.
Always full of smiles and very, VERY, mature for his age.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit his mom in the hospital.
Tom’s mom has been battling cancer for a couple of months now.
What started off as breast cancer has now metastasized to the brain.
She was undergoing chemo however, has become too weak to continue with
treatment.
For the last month or so, she’s been just trying to regain her health so that the treatment
can continue. At this point, she isn’t doing so well and the family is hoping for a miracle.
As I sat in the hospital room, looking at her fragile body, hoping and praying for her recovery,
Tom walked up to his sleeping mom and tapped her nose with his glove covered fingers.
He then looked over at me and said, “This button used to work.”
Right then and there, my heart broke for Tom.
As a 7 year old, I wondered how he was making sense of this whole situation.
Tom’s father already had a conversation with him telling him that mommy may not make it through this.
I wondered if he truly knew what that meant.
Despite the circumstances and his young age, Tom is optimistic.
He is still staying bright and cheerful.
I know for sure that Tom is trying hard to stay strong for his mom.
Right before winter break started last Friday,
Tom wrote in his writing notebook, “If I could have 3 wishes, I would wish for my mom to get better and come out of the hospital so that we can spend Christmas together as a family.”
At a mere 8 years old, Tom has taught me that we must not lose hope in unfortunate circumstances like this one.
Looking at his situation, I am reminded that…
(warning~ I may sound like a hallmark card but this is truly how I feel)
~Life is precious yet fragile. Circumstances can change in an instant.
~Nothing is promised tomorrow. I wonder if we truly grasped the fact that nothing is promised tomorrow, if we would continue to live out our lives chasing after such temporary things?
If you had the opportunity to read this post,
I hope that you can pray for Tom’s mom and his family.
That she may regain her health.
That they may stay strong and not lose hope.
*Unfortunately Alex’s mom lost her battle with cancer and has recently went to be with the Lord. Please keep this family in your prayers and pray Alex will be resilient and strong in Jesus.
Operation Christmas Crystal Time!
I love this time of year, the weather is crisp and the leaves are turning, autumn in New York is such a beautiful time. It symbolizes change and preparation for the new things to come as we wrap up the year and embark into a new year.
It is also a busy and hectic time of year where the weeks just fly by and before we know it- our favorite Christmas carols are being played, shopping malls will be bustling and we all will gain some extra holiday weight. But lets take some time to be thankful for all the things that happened, the family that we will share the holidays with and the love of Christ that is given to us freely.
He calls us to love others and share that love with others. How amazing is it when lovers of Christ come together to spread joy, the gospel and hope to children all around the world.
I really hope that we are encouraged, challenged and inspired to take this call into action this season to give out some of our love, time, money, prayer and get involved in supporting and participating in Operation Christmas Child as well as other causes. If you have made a box or more, don’t forget to keep that child in your prayers. This holiday I hope we all can give out gifts that are everlasting.
Here is a blog entry from the samaritans purse website. I thought is was awesome to see these people so enthusiastically promoting and bringing awareness to this special mission in the cold hard streets of our very own New York.
Visit shoeboxblitz.com to see how they encouraged others to pack shoe boxes!
Merry soon-to-be Christmas Crystal! Lets make it a bold and cheerful one!
-JP
Shine like stars
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.” (Philippians 2:14- 16a)
Fall 2011 Featured Friend: Sarah Yu
On a hot summer day, I was able to interview with Sarah over sushi during her lunch break. You may know her as the girl who sings wonderful offering songs on Sunday worship or maybe the one who works behind the scenes during service. But is that all? Read on to get to know about her more!
- Who has the greatest influence in your life?
Definitely my family & my friends. They shape who I became. My habits & everything that I’m living for. They bring out the best in me.
- What are you passionate about?
Music! I grew up in a musical environment. Both my parents have a musical background. I sang in choir for 10 years but I’ve always loved singing Christian songs in the beginning of my freshmen year in college. (Sarah chooses the songs she can relate to for offering!)
- If you can choose one, what song can you relate to at the moment? Just ONE.
Blessings by Laura Story, the lyrics are powerful!
- What areas do you need improvement?
I’m very stubborn. Sometimes my brother & I would talk about a certain subject and it would go on & on. We were talking about Justin Bieber once and it got so intense because I kept sticking to my own opinion.
- What is something you remember from your childhood?
I remember when I was a flower girl for my aunt’s wedding and my mom wanted my brother & I to slow dance together. She told us she was going to buy us a toy if we slow danced together so we did! I found it so cute and hilarious.
Sarah & her brother!
- So any hobbies?
I love writing. I’m currently writing a movie script! I used to love reading.
- Her 3 Favorites: Sarah’s favorite movie is Cinderella Story. She likes to listen to Mandy Moore, loves her voice. Had a huge celebrity crush on Jake Gyllenhaal!
- What are 3 words to describe yourself:
Compassionate, Cheesy, and I’m a Tomboy (a big fan of the JETS!)
@ bryant park
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I can see myself doing work for an organization for women. Helping women with their self esteem in a Christian environment. I want to build a lifegroup on my own basing it on discussion, book and theme of true beauty. That includes prayer & accountability. I think we tend to forget what true beauty means and the social media has corrupted that meaning.
- When do you feel closest to God?
Definitely when I’m praising him during worship & when I’m praying for others. I really like intercessory prayer.
JAMA ’11 (July 6-9 2011)
written by Sarah Yu
JAMA (Jesus Awakening Movement of America)’s 2011 Conference was at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
The most blessing part of this conference was the last sermon that was made by Dr. John C. Kim. He spoke about the 10 Principles of Ownership and about our identity in Christ. Although the 10 Principles of Ownership was an important part of the sermon, the identity in Christ aspect was the most convicting to me. Many times I had trouble finding myself and determining who I am. But after Dr. Kim preached that we are the children of God, a co-heir apparent with Jesus, Christ ambassadors, and in a royal priesthood, it helped me to realize that I’m not just another sinful human being.
I attended three seminars but the one seminar in my track was about God’s will and it helped me the most. As a college student, I’m still conflicted on my calling and don’t know what God wants me to do for His glory. However, Reverend Steve Choi reinforced that God’s ultimate will is for us to grow in Christ. He reinforced that reading the Bible and developing a heart for God was two of the main ways we had to take in order to know God’s Will.
The only part of the conference that I wasn’t too crazy about was having popular worship bands leading praise and worship. Don’t get me wrong, I loved David Crowder, Amp, and Committed but the way that the other young adults took it in was what I didn’t like. They all ran up to the stage when the praise teams led and it seemed more like a concert than a worship session.
But one night, during a general session, I remember kneeling on my knees and just crying my eyes out because I felt hopeless. The pastor had preached about surrendering and it just broke my heart because it is the one thing I have a hard time doing. I had a deep desire to surrender my life to God but it was just so…hard. After crying, repenting, and confessing to God, I felt as if my burden had been slightly lifted. All this time, I had a hard time opening up to God but He broke me and after confessing, I didn’t feel so burnt out or stressed out anymore.
I would definitely recommend this conference for those in the English ministry. The general sessions were blessing and God’s Word was alive in that Convention Center. The Holy Spirit really worked through the speakers and pastors. The seminars were the most helpful because although it didn’t give us step by step guidance, the speakers were able to relate the topic to what God said in the Bible.
Spring/Summer 2011 Featured Friend- David Chun
There are just some people that just light up a room or put a smile on your face and I think that our featured friend Dave is one of the few that can do that. We are so thrilled to present to you our interview with him…
On a Sunday afternoon Esther sat down with Dave and conducted a fun interview.
Read on and get to know him better!
- What is your daily routine like?
My daily routine would be work, I work at a doctor’s office and I go to LaGuardia for nursing.
- Nickname- My friends called me Plumpy since middle school.
- What do you enjoy/hobbies?
I like watching soccer, I’m a Liverpool fan! I like bowling, I used to bowl seriously but now I play for fun.
I want to learn how to play the piano. (If anyone wants to teach Dave piano please contact him!)
- If you could bring 3 things on a deserted island what would it be?
Hmmm….what would I bring?….tough question…a laptop, a knife to cut things, soap so I can keep clean. I hate being dirty.
- If you could live someone’s life for one day who would it be?
Half of me says park ji sung (a famous soccer player that looks like our brother Sangik) and half of me says Kid Cudi the rapper.
- 3 words to describe yourself…
Happy, sweet, awesome!
- How did you come to Crystal Church?
I took the bus….I’m kidding. My mom came here for morning service and she persuaded me to come so I came.
- Tell us your experience being in the movie Step Up 3. (look for him)
I found the ad on craigslist, it was during the summer and I wanted to make some side cash. It was boring because I stood there doing nothing but doing the ghetto hand. I fell asleep once and the actors made fun of me.
- Ideal vacation
No responsibilities! England, I want to go to a Liverpool game, I love girls with british accents! I would love to explore Europe.
- Ideal woman
Girl with class, passion for something like art or playing the piano she has true passion for and continues doing it. Someone who is good their to mom. Girl that knows how to play sports.
Favorites:
Food: I like everything…gimme one minute I need to think about this.
Sports team/car/place: Favorite car is Mercedes CL 63 AMG, favorite place to hang out is the lower east side, soho.
Movie/book: Saving Private Ryan, Love Actually, Favorite book is Catcher in the Rye.
Artist/singer/rapper/actress: Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, John Mayer, Keri Hilson, Edward Norton, Angelina Jolie
Celebrity Crush: KERI HILSON!
What is your good trait about yourself: One good trait is that I care for people.
The time you feel closest to God: When I am struggling.
Weird fact about you: I was a premature birth.
Favorite song for the moment: Juicy- Biggie Smalls.
Now that you know a little more about him we hope that you can feel a little bit closer to him. If you haven’t spoken to him he’s a super chill friendly guy so feel free to bring up any of the things you have read in this interview. You can check out more of his awesome pictures in our photo gallery on our church website!
2011 Featured Friend – Anna Mok!
Anna Sound
After a long day of work, Anna comes to Queens for her featured friend interview. She also experienced her first beet and goat cheese salad and risotto. Here is our sister Anna Mok, live and uncut.
Koomba (a nickname she gave herself after drinking 5 red bulls) comes after her usual nickname Mookie… feel free to call her by either name.
Anna Redbull
Mookie enjoys watching television, playing volleyball, and playing the guitar.
Her favorite show is Dexter.
Her pet peeve is bad drivers more specifically, “I hate when people text and drive at the same time; when some girls put it in front of the wheel and that just blinds them from seeing the road” she also dislikes bad table manners, they are definite deal breakers.
Her favorite movies are Lucky Number S7n and Shawshank Redemption.
However her celebrity crush Jude Law is not in any of those movies.
She can’t live without her mom, which is great because her favorite food is Korean food. Anna has been a vegetarian for the past 2 months. *Since the interview in October she is no longer a vegetarian and official back to being a meat eater.
If you had to name your greatest accomplishment so far in life, what would you say it was?
“It would be coming back home after a year away at school. Because I was transferring a lot of my credits didn’t transfer over so it was like starting a clean slate. I picked up my grades”
If you could have one extra hour each day to do only one thing, what would you do in that hour?
“Sleep”
If you could open and run any kind of restaurant anywhere, what kind of food would you serve and where?
“It would be a vegetarian restaurant that serves things besides just salad, like wraps and sandwiches. It would be located in the city or Brooklyn.
What are 3 Characteristics you look for in a friend?
“Loyalty, respect, an openmind”
If you could be on a reality show which one would that be?
“Definitely not Jersey Shore, maybe the amazing race”
What is your favorite childhood memory?
“Well when we were young (Andy and Anna) we would take piano lessons. And my brother always goes first. I guess this day he didn’t want to go first and asked me numerous times to go first on this day. I said no each time. He asked me one more time, nicely but I still said No so he uppercutted me and walked away. I cried then, but its funny now.”
Another abusive childhood story…
“In our basement we had 2 twin bed with a gap in between, like they have in hotels. My parents bought a refrigerator so we took the box and put it in between the two beds. We started to wrestle and my brother powerbombed [A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat] me through the box and my head hit the hard floor really hard. We forgot to stuff the box with pillows and I blacked out for a little bit.”
Now that we had a look into Anna’s past lets end our interview with a look into the future.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
“Out of college hopefully and hopefully married by then.”
This means she wants to be married by 26 and wants to date her guy for at least 1-2 years so if you are interested please make your move in 3 years… cause she’s not interested right now.
Jul-Sep 2010 Featured Friend – Andrew Yang!
One Thursday summer afternoon over lunch, Andrew was asked the following:
1. How did you get into drumming?
My dad and my mom were always musically talented, so ever since I was little I would enjoy music. Piano was my first instrument but I began to become interested in the drums through a tryout at my school. I was a natural. Since then I became passionate for drums. I strived to become the best.
2. What are you good at?
I am really good at making peace. I have the desire to help people. That is why I wanted to become a doctor. When I see people in the street with disabilities, I have the desire to help and assist other people.
3. What areas do you need improvement?
I need more improvement in being more humble. I’ve been trying to the do that for the past year. I think its important if we try to be less obsessive of ourselves. We forget the fact that we are hurting other people. I’m trying to be thankful for what I have even though I lack in some areas.
4. Who has had the greatest influence in making the decisions in your life?
My grandma has the greatest influence in making my greatest decisions. When we get a chance we have talks that reflect on our lives. She was always there for me and I’ll never forget everything she’s done for me and every precious moment we spent together.
5. What is your childhood dream?
My childhood dream…aside from everyone else’s boring desire to become like superman or some other fake person in a suit.. was to be like two different people. First my grandma and second Albert Schweitzer.
6. If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
I want to travel to Korea because I’ve never been to Korea. I want to visit Jeju Island.. possibly as a honeymoon spot. haha.
7. What is your biggest fear?
My biggest fear is being alone.
8. How have your life group experiences affected you?
It was a good way to know the other members. I learned about discipleship and it helped me to express my more sensitive self to other people.
9. How has the praise team affected you?
Serving in praise team has made me prideful, it blinded me of what I was doing wrong. Being on the team was more than just playing the instruments, for me it’s about serving, offering and showing humility that I am thankful. I’m closer to God when I’m playing, than praising from the side.
10. What are 3 things you would take if you were stranded on a island?
I would take my brother, food, phone(droid)
11. What are 3 words to describe yourself:
Loving, caring and cute.
12. What are you thankful for?
I am thankful for my family, friends, good health, height, my intellect , musical talents, athletic ability, to be a Christian, and always have a person to turn to.
13. What is your favorite Korean drama?
My favorite drama is “Smile You” and “East of Eden”. LEE MINJUNGG!!
