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Wednesday 12pm - 5pm Sunday 9:30am - 2pm

Shaffer Chapel A.M.E, 15146 Vine Avenue, Harvey, IL (2026)

11/06/2024

In this election God was looking for someone who would.... Act Justly - Someone who treat people fairly and respectfully.
Love Mercy - Someone to be kind to others.
Walk Humbly with God - Someone to live in humble fellowship with God.
Fear God - Live in a way that pleases God.
Serve God - Love and serve God with all your heart, soul and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. Obey God - Live in obedience to God's commands and decrees.
God is still looking for that person. However, we have seen someone who has been elected who does not have nor live by any of these requirements.
However, God requirement for us is to pray for this person. So, let us pray that God will turn the President elect, heart towards God. And know that if he doesn't turn God will deal with him in his own place and time. Remember, what Revelation 21:8 says, "....all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Let us continue to pray and trust God to do what only God can do.

11/06/2024

In this election God was looking for someone who would ....Act Justly - Someone who treat people fairly and respectfully.
Love Mercy - Someone to be kind to others.
Walk Humbly with God - Someone to live in humble fellowship with God.
Fear God - Live in a way that pleases God.
Serve God - Love and serve God with all your heart, soul and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. Obey God - Live in obedience to God's commands and decrees.
God is still looking for that person. However, we have seen someone who has been elected who does not have nor live by any of these requirements.
However, God requirement for us is to pray for this person. So, let us pray that God will turn the President elect, heart towards God. And know that if he doesn't turn God will deal with him in his own place and time. Remember, what Revelation 21:8 says, "....all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Let us continue to pray and trust God to do what only God can do.

11/06/2024

In this election God is looking for someone who will.... Act Justly - Someone who treat people fairly and respectfully.
Love Mercey - Someone to be kind to others.
Walk Humbly with God - Someone to live in humble fellowship with God.
Fear God - Live in a way that pleases God.
Serve God - Love and serve God with all your heart, soul and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. Obey God - Live in obedience to God's commands and decrees.
God is still looking for that person. However, we have seen someone who has been elected who does not have nor live by any of these requirements.
However, God requirement for us is to pray for this person. So, let us pray that God will turn the President elect, heart towards God. And know that if he doesn't turn God will deal with him in his own place and time. Remember, what Revelation 21:8 says, "....all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Let us continue to pray and trust God to do what only God can do.

03/12/2024

Hello. It is official. Signed at 9:14 PM. It was even on TV. Mine really turned blue. Don't forget that tomorrow starts the new Facebook rule (aka... new name, META) where they can use your photos. Don't forget the deadline is today!!!
I do not authorize META, Facebook or any entity associated with Facebook to use my photos, information, messages or posts, past or future.
With this statement, I notify Facebook that
it is strictly prohibited to disclose, copy, distribute or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. Violation of privacy may be punishable by law.
Here's how to do it:
Hold your finger anywhere in this message and “copy” will appear. Click “copy”. Then go to your page, create a new post and place your finger anywhere in the empty field. “Paste” will appear and click Paste.
This will bypass the system….
He who does nothing consents.

02/13/2024

Valentine Day and Ash Wednesday
On Valentine Day love will be in the air, but this Valentine Day is also Ash Wednesday. Many are wondering, what am I going to do? Do I celebrate Valentine or Ash Wednesday?
Well, I am here to tell you, you can do both.
I was on my page when I saw Rev. Dr. Wanda Cheryl Henry-Jenkins article on, “LOVE. According to Rev. Wanda, “We have lost sight of our call to fulfill the first and great commandments of God, which are, "To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all our might. And the second, Love your neighbor as yourself. People need more than respect, people need love. Love that is encouraging. Love that is genuine. Love that is intentional. Valentine's Day is not just for husbands, wives, and sweethearts. It is for everyone! Love! Love! Love is a gift from God. Love is the key to joy, peace, and hope. We are the Church, the children of God.
So, as we celebrate God’s love, we can still celebrate Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. I know that Ash Wednesday is a day of Obligation for many people, but you can still do both. Neither Ash Wednesday nor Valentine Day is mentioned in the Bible.
Non the less, Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer. Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the forehead. The ashes symbolize the dust from which God made us. As the ashes are applied to a person’s forehead, these words are spoken, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The ashes are made from palm branches, taken from the previous year’s Palm Sunday Worship.
Since, Agape love is the love of God, let us celebrate Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday, by doing something for the least of these, bringing them to receive the ashes and taking them to lunch or do some kind of random kindness to someone. Everyone, even non-Christians are welcome to receive the ashes.
Therefore, let us celebrate Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday first, by acknowledging our need for repentance and our need for the love and forgiveness shown to us in Jesus Christ. Secondly, let us therefore, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, observe Lent, by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, and by practicing works of love, to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

11/13/2023

We Remember our Soldiers

* * *

O Christ, our God:

We lift our voices to you in prayer today, to remember our veterans, and honor their valor and bravery. Representing every walk of life, men and women alike, and across the generations, these honorable souls answered the call to serve in a righteous cause, to protect their country and people in times of war.

Lord, we ask you to place your graceful blessing upon them for the selfless service they gave – and often the supreme sacrifice they endured – on behalf of us all: to preserve our liberty, ensure our security, and vindicate our way of life in this great country.

With grateful hearts, we ask you to remember the bright souls of those who gave their lives, and to place your protective hand on those who continue to serve. We ask for your blessing on our veterans and all their loved ones, under the power of the Holy Cross: the sign of God’s supreme sacrificial love, which you gave to humankind.

As we pray for our veterans, Lord, we are painfully aware of the bitter calamity that war represents for all involved. It was during World War I when your Armenian children faced the threat of annihilation; and the burden of war still weighs upon their descendants today.

We pray for that day when every conflict will end; when the vulnerable are no longer threatened by aggression; when the meek are no longer subject to attack. With faith in the saving power of your Resurrection, and the promise of your Second Coming, we await the day when your Peace and Mercy will flow unimpeded over the entire earth.

For you are the King of Peace, Lord Jesus, and to you we give glory and honor, forever. Amen.

* * *

Above: A World War I memorial known as the “Brooding Soldier,” in St. Julien, Belgium. The statue memorializes Canadian troops who died in the first gas attacks of the war, in that disastrous year of 1915.

11/10/2023

Dedication/Blessing Service for Church Sign and Memorial Bench for Bro. James Minor Sr.
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Attending were Mrs. Cecelia Minor, daughter Gladys McDonald and sons, Charles Minor and James Minor Jr.

12/15/2021

A Prayer for Joy

Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the joy that entered the world when Your Only Begotten Son, Jesus was born. Thank You for becoming Emmanuel, God with us. Lord, the world is filled with so much hatred, and so much evil that it is hard to feel joy and to live joyful lives. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of You Holy Spirit and remind us that You are the Most Sovereign God, who upholds heaven and earth and everything therein. Help us to be obedient to Your word, which says, “Count it all joy when we face various trials because we know the testing of our faith produces patience….” (James 1:2)
Lord, help us to always remember the good news of Jesus’ birth has the power to bring us great joy this Christmas season and every day of our life. Jesus, the incarnate son of God, is the origin and strength of this joy for each of us and allows us to remain and make his word our own: Jesus said, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15: 11) We rejoice with joy unspeakable. Lord, give us the courage and the will to pass Your joy to others. Thank You God! AMEN!

12/15/2021

Advent Joy
The third Sunday of Advent is joy. We light the pink as a symbol of joy which reflects the joy of our salvation in Jesus Christ and is called Joyful Sunday. We are not just speaking of the joy we have when everything is going well in our life, and we are happy. This joy is more than a happy emotion, it is a state of being that is found in God.
During Advent, we joyfully look forward to our celebration of Jesus’ birth. We look back at the blessed event and rejoice in a promise fulfilled, a Savior born. But in the years and centuries before Christ’s birth, God’s people waited in joyful expectation, for a Savior promised, but had not yet come. Their joy was not based on the knowledge of what God had already done through his Son Jesus Christ, but their joy was an outpouring of their faith in what God had promised He would do.

When we read our Bibles, in both the Old and New Testament, we see how God called His people to joyfulness. The Bible is clear that joy comes from God (Neh. 8:9-10), and our joy is a product of what God has done and continues to do. It is totally detached from our circumstances. It is gladness flowing out of the fountain of God’s faithfulness and mercy. The prophet Isaiah declared, “Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering” (Isaiah 49:13). When the angel Gabriel told Mary that a special child would be born to her, she was filled with joy. She sang, "My soul magnifies the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. (Luke 1:46-55)
Today, our joy is found in, the Lord Jesus Christ as we look back and remember His birth, we also look forward to His return. As we celebrate Jesus’ birth this Advent season, we need to remember that the joy we have in Christ is not just for the Advent season, nor does it depends on our current situation. Our joy is a response to what God has already done and continues to do, just like the ancient Israelites.
So, biblical joy is what God calls us to, and it is a joy that endures no matter our circumstances. Have YOU experienced that kind of joy? If not, will YOU respond to God’s gift of joy today?
Rev. Josie Smith

12/06/2021

Prayer for Peace - St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy; and where there is darkness, light. Father, grant that we may not seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned, and in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen!

12/06/2021

Peace- the Second Sunday in Advent
In Jeremiah Chapter 6, Jeremiah a true prophet of God, was warning the children of Benjamin to flee Jerusalem because judgment was coming upon the city. However, the king and the priests opposed Jeremiah because they did not want to hear his message. So, the false prophets, who also claimed to speak for God, contradicted Jeremiah’s message. Jeremiah proclaimed judgment and destruction when Babylon conquered Jerusalem. But the false prophets said the opposite. They proclaimed a bright future for Jerusalem. In other words, “Don’s listen to Jeremiah. You are going to be fine! They announced that Jerusalem could look forward to peace, not war. In response to their false claim, Jeremiah declared, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious, ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. Jeremiah likened the false prophets diagnoses to a doctor prescribing medicine to patients before examining them. One writer said, “Instead of radical surgery and a drastic change of lifestyle, the priests and false prophets said a light bandage was all that was needed.”
According to Jeremiah Chapter one verses, two and three, the LORD called Jeremiah to prophecy around 626 BC. However, Jeremiah’s prophecy is very appropriate for today. There are so many false voices out there clamoring for our attention.
We have been in this COVID-19 Pandemic for over two years and still myths and false information surrounding COVID-19 and the vaccines still abound. Joe Biden has been in office for a year, yet the big lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 Presidential election still flourishes. The President who during his four years in office has been credited with telling over 30, 573 lies or false claims, still has about 70 million people still following him. The all-in isolationists, ultra-nationalists, white supremacist, racist and insurrectionists openly spout the lies, the divisive rhetoric and misinformation of the Trump era.
So, the question becomes, where is the peace? The answer is in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Jesus came to bring peace and reconciliation between God and fallen humanity. Eph 2:13-18 – But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Christ Our Peace. The peace Jesus provides is first and foremost peace with God. He abolishes the guilt of sin that separated us from God. Paul says, in Eph. 2. He is our peace. You cannot have peace with one another until you have peace with God. And that kind of peace is only found through Jesus Christ.
So, this Advent Season, if you are looking for peace, I recommend, Jesus, the Prince of Peace. God has already provided this gift all you have to do is to receive it. Will you receive God’s gift of peace today? Rev. Josie Smith, Pastor

Shaffer Chapel A.M.E

11/06/2024

11/06/2024

11/06/2024

03/12/2024

02/13/2024

11/13/2023

11/10/2023

12/15/2021

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12/06/2021

12/06/2021

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