Emergence

How does a person really sum up something sacred?

I'm blogging after just completing a message I will deliver to a room full of people dealing with the reality of a tragedy.

As many of you know, Jarret Gallipoli (the brother of Evan Gallipoli--one of our Emergence drummers) passed away in a tragic car accident on Sunday afternoon. This horrible accident has left Evan, his sister Avrielle, and of course his mom and dad, Margaret and Ric absolutely broken.

I'm honored and humbled to be in the rare place of sharing with the loved ones--there are few more hallowed moments in all of life than spending time with people going through such unmatched loss. Your prayers for the wake (scheduled for Thursday) and the funeral service (scheduled for Friday) are very much appreciated--and of course your continued prayer for the Gallipoli family.

Thursday also is the start of a very special visit to Emergence being made by some amazing people. Rob Fairbanks, the president of Christian Associates International, as well as Brian Newman, CAI staff member, are joining us for the weekend--to talk about the future of CAI and Emergence, as well as meet with some of our leaders to stir up some kingdom dreaming. They'll be with us through the morning services on Sunday, so please introduce yourself and get to know them--great guys with great hearts.

Sunday, following the morning services (starting at 12:45pm) we'll be holding our next Emergence Connect. If you've been around Emergence and have questions, or if you have just started attending and want to know what it is all about, join us! You'll meet some people, have some pizza, and ask some questions. All are welcome.

I can't begin to tell you how torn the weekend seems. We're looking forward to what God will do--and trusting Him to make peace of it all.

We'll see you this weekend.