This Week
Grocery Distribution
Please join us this Saturday, April 17th, to assist with our grocery distribution in the parking lot behind the Waverly YMCA (The Weinberg Y) on 33rd St. We are activating the network of more than a dozen non-profits and churches to ensure that the food gets to people in need. We need volunteers to greet people, direct traffic, carry boxes, and drivers to deliver boxes to homes or nearby assisted living facilities. We ask that volunteers arrive at 9:15 am to help unload the truck. Please bring your own mask, drinking water, snack, and work gloves. The grocery distribution will begin at 10:30 am, and 575 pre-sorted boxes of groceries will be given away. Please continue to pray for our efforts in organizing this continued effort.
Backyard Meetup
Sunday, April 18th, 10:30 am to 12 noon, you are invited to join us for an outdoor gathering. Similar to our previous get-togethers, please bring a mask and maybe a backyard chair. This time we will meet at Ben & Leah’s house: 623 E 34th St Baltimore MD 21218.
Upcoming Events
- April 15th, 7pm All-Church Life Group
- April 17th Grocery Distribution
- April 18th, 10:30am Backyard Meetup
- April 22nd, 7pm All-Church Life Group
- April 26th CHC Youth Meeting
- April 29th, 7pm All-Church Life Group
Pastor’s Weekly
Jesus is alive. How I live matters. I can learn about what pleases God and then live accordingly. Jesus wanted His followers to be prepared for His return. We are called to live in confident hope, expecting His return. Jesus prepared His followers for His second coming by talking about good stewardship and eternal perspective in personal relationships. We are invited to develop a value system that is informed by asking what will last forever. We should be careful to avoid misguided priorities. We should be aware that each person we see has an eternal soul.
For more encouragement from Pastor Ben, click here to view his daily devotionals. Click here to subscribe to receive his daily posts via email.
Good to Know
Outdoor Meetup Ideas
Now that weather is getting warmer, we are looking for more opportunities to meet up outdoors together. If you have ideas for outdoor, physically distanced, and masked activities that the church can plan, please share your ideas with Pastor Ben.
Watch Sunday Messages
Missed last week’s Sunday message? No problem! You can watch the recording on YouTube or Facebook. Sunday messages are posted each week at 8:55am Sunday morning on Facebook as well as on Friday nights on YouTube.
Member Spotlight
Justin and Rebekah Kuk have been a part of City Harbor Church since 2014. The Kuks have volunteered faithfully at CHC, serving in City Kids and worship ministry. They also hosted a life group in their home for several years. Rebekah helps with Celebrate Recovery and Justin volunteers with the grocery distribution. Justin teaches middle school science and math at a Baltimore City school. Rebekah is working on a startup project called City Homestead Project that focuses on how to turn your land into food. She also creates customized meal plans for families to purchase. Their two daughters, Evelyn (8) and Lydia (5), are constantly working on elaborate creative play that involves gymnastics, building things out of boards, setting up their stuffed animals, and creating art. Justin and Rebekah put their faith in action daily, being very intentional about the choices they make in order to better serve their community. Justin has a huge heart for evangelism and Rebekah has a desire to bring healing to others. The four of them love to spend time outside, working on projects, gardening or taking their sweet pup, Bella, for long walks.
Q: You guys lived in Spain for almost a year, how would you describe the experience?
A: It was one of the most wonderful experiences we could have had as a family. We all grew closer to each other, stronger individually and closer to God. There were hard things about it (Lydia had trouble walking so far to places at age 4, Evelyn was lonely for friends for the first half, Justin struggled with Spanish but learned so much, and Rebekah struggled through missing friends but was able to form close, new friendships). But there were amazing opportunities as well (the girls transitioned out of being home-schooled and into a Spanish school before the pandemic hit, we were able to travel some through Portugal and Spain, we became connected with a Spanish church and connection groups, and we got to go to the beach a lot).
Q: What has your journey to becoming foster parents been like?
A: We are in the process of becoming a foster family. We hope to foster two siblings at a time, with the goal of eventually adopting. We went through the online training at the end of 2020. Most of our paperwork is in, and the next steps are to get a background check. A social worker will assess our home and work with us to place kids in it. We are excited for who will come through our home and be able to receive God’s love. We are praying for the future children even now and asking God to soften their hearts to receive the joy of salvation.
Q: Your family recently adopted a rescue dog after a long wait, how has that been?
A: On January 8, 2021 we adopted a long-haired German shepherd puppy named Bella. Our kids had been asking for a dog for two years, but we kept saying, “After we get back from Spain. After we have a bigger yard.” Well, we came back from Spain, moved to a house with a bigger yard and started looking for a rescue dog immediately. It was not as easy as we had expected. So many people were adopting dogs since they were home more during the pandemic. The process to become approved from a rescue organization took a few months, and then finding the right fit for our family took a couple more months. We decided on Bella because she did not come with a lot of past trauma. This was important to us, especially as we hope to have foster kids soon. We needed a laid-back dog. Bella is super sweet, playful, lets the girls mess around with her, and guards us well (she is a German shepherd, after all!). Bella has warmed up to Justin to the point where she naps in the office while he’s in there. She has learned some basic commands and tricks, but Rebekah is still trying to train her out of leash-pulling.
Q: Justin and Rebekah, what projects are you working on right now?
A: Justin has worked tirelessly on building eleven raised beds for our backyard. Next he will work on designing and building a chicken coop so that we can raise chickens and share the eggs with others. Justin has also recently started writing a book. Rebekah will take over the raised beds by filling them with soil, planting seeds and seedlings and cultivating a garden. Rebekah also creates recipes and writes for her food blog, akukskitchen.com. Our goal is to use our home and garden to provide blessing and healing for others, whether it be giving them an opportunity to work in the garden, share a meal in the garden, or simply benefit from receiving what the garden produces.
Q: What is your favorite Bible verse?
A: Rebekah: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10. Justin: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Q: And lastly, what is your favorite restaurant in Baltimore?
A: Woodberry Kitchen
City Harbor Church is a safe place to find and follow Jesus. Click here for more information about us and what we believe.