Have You Been to a Hot Breakfast Yet?

This fall, we began offering Hot Breakfasts twice a month on Sunday mornings in the Great Hall. They happen on the 2nd and 4th weekends of the month from 9:00 - 11:00 am.

You've heard that breakfast is "the most important meal of the day" before, right? You could also say breakfast is the most important meal of the church too. Through breakfast, we can show others the welcome of Jesus Christ.

Food and fellowship on December 8.

Church can be perceived as an uncomfortable place sometimes, but comfort food like pancakes, bacon and eggs can make people feel welcome and part of the body of our faith community. In just the last few months we have witnessed many visitors, including whole families, sit down for a meal and make great connections with fellow churchgoers. This fellowship is priceless and is why we wanted to offer this delicious food at modest prices.

The magic happens in the kitchen!

First-time visitors can come and eat for free. Kids 2 & under are also free. Kids 3-10 eat for $4, youth & adults are $6, and seniors (55+) are $4. The maximum cost for a family of 4 or more is only $20. We accept credit and debit cards too, so you don't have to worry about having the right amount of cash with you. If you don't desire a full breakfast, please enjoy our coffee & donuts (which are available every week) for a freewill offering of your choosing.

If you haven't been to a Hot Breakfast yet, we hope you can come to one of upcoming dates: December 22, January 12 or January 26. Bring your friends!

Volunteers monitor the food stations all morning.

Finally, please know that these breakfasts only happen because of the tremendous work of dedicated volunteers back in the kitchen, and also out in the Great Hall managing hot stations, beverage stations, keeping things clean and greeting guests as they come in. Please consider volunteering yourself at a Hot Breakfast Sunday, and sharing the love and welcome of Christ with others.

A full list of volunteer roles can be found on our website.

Photos and video by Omar Reyes.

Join the fun and volunteer at a Hot Breakfast!

Sunday, June 2 in Pictures

Sunday, June 2, 2013 was a big day at Shepherd of the Valley. We held our first "Hot Breakfast" in the Great Hall from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. and experienced our first band-led worship at 11:00 in the Sanctuary.

Both events were a great success! The vibes and energy in both rooms on Sunday were positive, the food was delicious, and the message and music were especially resonant and worshipful.

Sunday's success was thanks to the hard work of many volunteers - who cooked and served food, set up and cleaned, welcomed and greeted, rehearsed and performed, and invited others to experience Jesus, through their dedication and presence.

Not everything was perfect. Immediately following 11:00 worship, volunteer and staff teams began a series of debrief and planning meetings that will continue in the weeks and months to come. We've heard many great comments regarding both worship and fellowship, and are working hard to make sure each Sunday is better and better. Everything from the volume of the preacher, to traffic flow, to little details like providing sugar-free syrup are being analyzed and considered. If you have an idea - please share it!

Eating breakfast at church or worshiping with a band may not be for you. But they are important first steps to reaching out to new people - as we've learned from our own extensive research and through conversations with growing churches across the country. We are also designing transformations with the many faithful, long time members of SOTV very much in mind. Jesus continually calls us through the Gospels, especially through the Great Commission, to get out of our comfort zones. Please pray for us as we work toward fulfilling this challenging vision, and please continue to share your thoughts and ideas with Pastors Chris and Randy, online, or by filling out a comment card at church.

The next Hot Breakfast will be July 14, but fellowship with coffee and donuts will continue to be offered each week in the Great Hall. Below are pictures from this past weekend. Thank you Patty Zwiefel for capturing them!

A few of the hard workers in the kitchen on Sunday.

Sunday's menu included french toast, bacon, eggs and sausage.

The Great Hall was full of energy and people enjoying food and fellowship.

One of our youngest volunteers, was also one of the busiest!

A/V tech John Pollock (middle) helps the band set up.

 Jan Nicolai gets the elements ready for weekly Holy Communion.

A new multi-camera system allows views of worship to be captured from all angles of the Sanctuary.

A great crowd came out for 11:00 worship.

Omar Reyes and Steve Genrich have everything under control

June is Almost Here!

June brings big things to SOTV and our excitement is building to a crescendo as we begin to implement Our Vision! Since May is a busy time for many of us, we thought a recap and some short updates were in order.

• Our Annual Congregational Meeting is Sunday, June 9 at Noon. Together, we will enjoy a delicious lunch and discuss Our Vision and what's in store for the fall and beyond. Please RSVP at the Welcome Center or online so we can plan enough food.

• Beginning in June, all weekend services will be in the Sanctuary. Worship times remain the same: Saturdays at 5:00 p.m., Sundays at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 a.m.

• Our popular summer "Cabin Worship" returns, Mondays at 7:00 p.m. in the Chapel, beginning on June 3.

• Our band-led worship, The Table, will move from the Great Hall to the Sanctuary at 11:00 a.m. Last week the Table band had a dress rehearsal in the Sanctuary, and everything sounded great, transitions worked smoothly, the band is pumped. Exciting times at SOTV!

• Major technological enhancements are underway over the next few weeks to bring the Sanctuary up to the 21st century including video cameras, video screens, improved sound, and lighting.

Omar Reyes

• This process has been overseen by our new resident tech mastermind, Production Manager Omar Reyes. Three new HD cameras are now installed and look great! They are mounted in different parts of the Sanctuary and will be operated by volunteers. Pretty soon you won't have to squint or crane your neck to see what's going on in the front of the church from the back rows, like a baptism or children's production. We can't wait for you to see these new worship enhancements in action!

• In June, the Great Hall will be transformed into a place for fellowship. Coffee and donuts will remain available for a freewill offering. No more will you have to fear getting trampled in the busy Narthex when reaching for a chocolate-frosted donut.

• In addition, we will have a full, hot breakfast once a month this summer (June 2, July 14, and August 18) and in the fall on dates to be announced. Guests and visitors eat for free! Kids (3-10) & Seniors: $4, Adults $6, Kids 2 and under: free. Fellowship in Christ: priceless! For the first time ever, we will be able to take debit and credit cards in the church. The finalized menu for June 2 includes cinnamon swirl french toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, yogurt, fruit and cereal. Mmmm... are you drooling yet?

With the thrill and excitement of new ministries, comes the realization that things won't stay the way that we're used to. Hey, we get it, change is hard. So we appreciate your willingness to try something new or step out of your comfort zone.

We also really appreciate all of the comments and feedback we've heard over the last couple months, including the comments at our Congregation Dialogues. Please know that we value each and every one of them. If you still have questions, see if Pastor Chris answered them in any of our videos from last week or if they are on our list of Frequently Asked Questions.

We, the pastors and staff of SOTV, are so very honored to serve you. Our goal is to live out Jesus' Great Commission to "go and make disciples." We believe June is a great first step into making our church more welcoming to newcomers and more worshipful for all of us.

Come Sunday, though (or Saturday, or Monday), this is still YOUR church, and we want you to be just as excited as we are. So please come to our Annual Meeting on June 9 to dream along with us, or drop us a line with your thoughts and ideas.

See you in church!