Open Arms Community Church is launching a "stimulus" package of their own.

Starting this weekend, Pastor Mike McAvoy will teach a four week series entitled "Stimulus - God's Bailout Plan For Your Life".

"With all the talk about a bail out plan for the American Economy, I thought Easter a great time to kick off a series about God's bail out plan for our life," said McAvoy.

McAvoy said that the Christian faith is about something more than just sitting in a church on the weekend, "God has a lot to say about stimulating our lives to go from nominal to great, ordinary to extraordinary."

McAvoy said, that unlike the recently publicized bailout plans geared toward large corporations, God's plan is for everyday people."We all find ourselves facing difficult circumstances throughout our lives and it's good news that God has provided a bailout/stimulus to help us out. We don't have to try to do this thing called life on our own by our own means."

The four week series starts this Easter weekend, during the regular church services, at 5:30 on Saturday nights and 10:15 on Sunday mornings. The teachings will also be featured on the church's website at www.openarmsbradford.org

Open Arms Community Church is located at 1289 East Main Street, Bradford, PA 16701

Labels: bradford, mckean, open arms

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Local Groups Partner Together To Clean Up City

Local residents will be working together to help clean up Bradford this Saturday, thanks to some initiative from a local church and Bradford Mayor Tom Riel.

Complaining about the trash along the sides of the road was not an acceptable solution for Open Arms Media Coordinator Josh Hatcher, "I decided rather than complain about the trash strewn along the roads, that it would be better to just pick it up. But to be honest, it's a much bigger job than I can do."

"No one of us can do it all, not as a person or an organization," said Open Arms Pastor Mike McAvoy. "but together we all can accomplish a much bigger work in our community to make it a great place to live."

Hatcher contacted Mayor Tom Riel about a clean up of some problem areas. "Tom had already been in touch with area residents about their concerns, and he took my on a drive to show me what areas need to be cleaned up," said Hatcher.

Hatcher invited members from Open Arms Community Church to join him for the clean up efforts, as well as extending the invite to the greater community as well. Members of the City Police Department, and the Special Crimes Task Force will also be helping with the project.

"I think it's great that the police and the mayor have taken an interest in making this happen," said Hatcher. He says that a few volunteers from other churches, including Grace Lutheran have stepped up to help as well.

Hatcher says he also wants to clear up a few misconceptions about the project, "We're not just going in and cleaning up after irresponsible landowners. A lot of this trash is in right of ways along the roads and railroad tracks. There are a couple yards that have been covered in trash by irresponsible neighbors as well, and we are working with the current landowners to clean up that trash. They will be working to help us on this project. It's not just a free bailout. It's a cooperative effort to clean up the trash."

Wal-Mart has also donated supplies needed for the clean-up.

McAvoy said, "It's our privilege to serve our city. We believe in Bradford-- both the people and the community, God's plan for Bradford, and believe that God loves us and wants to bless us and this is our opportunity to be a part of that blessing."

Volunteers wanting to help should meet in the parking lot at Grace Lutheran Community Church at 8:30 AM Saturday.

Labels: bradford, church, environment, mckean, open arms, Tom Riel

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The Open Arms Mission Team arrived safely in Bradford, PA late Tuesday night. The team, comprised of Open Arms Pastor Mike McAvoy, Shawn Murphy, Josh Hatcher, Dr. Brad MacNeill, and his two daughters, Bethany and Jennifer MacNeill were in Conakry, Guinea for a week working with New Family Church and Gateway International School.

The team worked throughout the week assisting with a Pastor's conference, which equipped ministers from across West Africa to be able to meet the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs within their communities.

The team also worked students from the school, bringing gifts to the students, and encouragement to the school staff.

"Sometimes you never know what to expect on these kinds of trips. I guess I thought our work would be even more humanitarian, and our work turned out to be more spiritual in nature," said Hatcher, "This is a city racked by poverty, prejudice, and corruption. A lot of the work that we wanted to do would have been like band-aid on a chest wound. What we did have to offer was a hope that the world can be a better place, and we equipped pastors to bring hope to their people. You would be surprised how valuable hope is to them, and how much they appreciated it."

The Open Arms Mission Team will be presenting their stories and sharing their experiences this weekend with an informational and question and answer session during the regular worship services at Open Arms Community Church, Saturday at 5:30 PM and Sunday at 10:15 AM. The public is invited to attend.

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Merry Christmas Bradford!

There will be a FREE "Merry Christmas Pancake Breakfast" for the public on Christmas Eve from 7:30am to 10:00am at the Byllye Lanes Bowling Ally. This is free and a cooperative effort with Byllye Lanes and the Open Arms Community Church.

Pastor Mike McAvoy says the idea came from Byllye Lane's owner Steve Feldman. "It came out of the success of the Thanksgiving eve dinner Open Arms provided in cooperation with the Riddell House to the residents there." Open Arms served a thanksgiving dinner to about 75 people from the Riddell House and the downtown neighborhood. McAvoy says that by working with Byllye Lanes, they know they'll be able to do an act of kindness for people in completely different part of town.

"We're looking for those opportunities to serve our community with different local businesses to show God's love and to accomplish a bigger work than we could do on our own," says McAvoy.

The Pancake Breakfast is open to anyone who likes pancakes!

If you have further questions you can check the Open Arms Community Church website at http://www.openarmsbradford.org or Byllye Lanes at http://www.byllyelanes.net

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BRADFORD, Pa -- A ministry that will help those dealing with a variety of personal struggles will be launched in November at the Open Arms Community Church on East Main Street in Bradford.

"Celebrate Recovery" sessions will start at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 after the regular church service and will continue every Saturday.
Brian Mahaney, member of the leadership team for Celebrate Recovery, says the sessions will vary from other recovery efforts that solely focus on alcohol, or drugs.

This ministry is meant to help people find freedom from a number of issues, including drugs and alcohol, as well as other issues, like gambling addiction, sexual addictions,and food addictions, he said. The program also addresses emotional issues stemming from divorce, domestic violence, and codependency.

"Celebrate Recovery is a safe place to overcome and conquer any hurts, hang-ups, or habits that are negatively affecting someone's life," Mahaney said. "If your pain is stronger than the fear of ridding one's life of their issues, this is the place to get help."

Celebrate Recovery will focus on scripture principles to guide members into grasping personal responsibility, forgiveness, and finding strength to overcome temptations.

"People should expect to come out of Celebrate Recovery with a new life," he said. "One without the weight of past baggage hanging around their neck" Mahaney remembers a 17-year long battle to rid of drug and alcohol dependency. Those events led him to immerse himself in the Bible.

"I applied what I was learning through Christ to break addictions and deal with past hurts," he said. "The beauty of Celebrate Recovery is that God wants the best for your life. You just need to accept that help and apply what God wants for you. It is a challenge, but so is covering up your hurts hangups and habits."

Additional information is available at the church's website, www.openarmsbradford.org

Labels: church, mckean, open arms

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