An Update from Friends Community Church:

FEB 25: Update from Pastor Rick

FEB 25, 2021

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

I want to say a special “thank you” to all of those who have stepped up in generosity over these past several weeks. Our church has “adopted” St. Jude’s Hospital in Fullerton and we are delivering over 400 care packages each week to the medical professionals who are on the front line of caring for those with COVID. So many from our church have been helping make this happen. There is a list of needed items on our website updated weekly for the weeks to come as we continue this ministry up through Easter. In addition, many of you have given to help our high school ministry put together care packages for dozens of foster kids and families in our area. Our goal was 75 care packages and we ended up giving well over 100!

God is doing exciting things in us and through us as a church family! I am so thankful to be a part of it. As our church family continues to be able to connect more and more in the weeks to come I believe that we are going to be experiencing many more God-sized encounters!

As you probably know by now, the sanctuary is open again for worship and fellowship. Many with health concerns will still want to participate in our online services from home for a season, and I am so thankful that we have that option. We are still taking precautions to make our facility as safe as possible. We are asking people to wear masks as they come and go and our sanctuary chairs are spread out. While sitting in worship service masks are optional. I hope you will be able to join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM or 10:30 AM. We will be restarting our Saturday night service on March 13.

We live in challenging times and exciting times! When it’s dark outside, a single light can shine bright. When many lights are shining together we can light up everything around. May our lights shine brightly so that we can give glory and praise to our Heavenly Father!

Pastor Rick

FEB 04: UPDATE FROM PASTOR RICK

FEB 04, 2021

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

I spent some time with our church elders last evening on a video call. We have been praying for guidance on when to start meeting in person again as a church. We want to be wise in this decision as we know how important it is for believers to be together, but we are also aware of how disruptive and devastating this COVID virus has been for so many. We do believe that we have consensus on a plan moving forward. We have been following the numbers and are encouraged to see case numbers dropping and predicted to continue to decline.

Over the next couple of weeks we are going to start our small groups back up again at church. Youth groups, life groups, men’s and women’s groups will be able to start meeting in person. Our Wednesday night Bible study with Pastor Chris will be in the sanctuary and online next week (FEB 10). We will still ask people to take some basic precautions when on campus.

On Sunday, February 21, we will re-open the sanctuary for worship services at 9 AM and 10:30 AM! Both of these services will also be online as we know that many are not ready to come in person. Our staff and elders fully support these decisions to stay safe at home and we will continue to find ways to be available to help you stay connected to our church family. Our reopening will be gradual. At first we will ask people to wear masks on their way in and out of the sanctuary and any time social distancing can’t be maintained. We anticipate that many will wear masks the entire time while in service but we will extend that freedom to each person. Our youth and children will also be asked to wear masks during their programs. Kids in kindergarten and younger don’t need to wear masks.

We plan to re-start our Saturday night service at some point in the near future but we don’t have a start date yet. We will keep you updated.

Please continue to join us in praying for this pandemic to come to an end. Pray for the many families in our church and community who have been impacted. And pray, that as we begin to come back together as a church family, our love for the Lord and for one another will be stronger than ever!

In Christ,

Pastor Rick Darden

NOV 18: Update from Pastor Rick

NOV 18, 2020

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

I pray that the love of God will be increasing in you each day and may your light shine brightly to those around you!

2020 continues to throw new twists and turns at us as individuals and as a church family. The ever-changing safety protocols and emotions of this pandemic have caused us all a great deal of stress. As the people of God, we long to have the wisdom that only he can give in responding to this crisis in a way that demonstrates our love for God and for one another.

Over the last couple of days, our staff and elders have spent a lot of time in prayerful discussion regarding what our next steps should be as our county government and our state government have issued new (and not always consistent) restrictions to churches. We have been wrestling with the balance of biblical commands to gather together for worship and fellowship with the command to obey governing authorities.

Please watch the video above for information on this decision and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. We will keep our church family updated via email as well as our church website.

We know that there are many strong opinions among the members of our church family. May God’s wisdom be with us as we navigate these decisions and may God’s grace be among us as we respond to one another and our community.

In Christ,

Pastor Rick Darden

REopening in OCtober: Update from Pastors and Elders

SEP 24, 2020

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

There is much to be praying about and much to be excited about!

First of all, we are getting very close to bringing on a new worship pastor!  We are down to two candidates so keep praying for great clarity as our staff and elders and search team seek God’s leading!

And, we are now ready to re-open our facility so that our church family can gather again for worship and ministry!  We have been closely monitoring local health agencies and believe that we can start meeting together in a manner that won’t restrict worship and fellowship and will be safe for those attending.

We will re-open our church facility on the weekend of October 10 - 11.  It is our intention to be respectful of each person’s comfort level in re-opening so these are the options for our church family and community for that weekend:

• Saturday, October 10: 5 PM parking lot service (note the time change from 6 PM to 5 PM)

• Sunday, October 11: Worship Service in the sanctuary at 9 AM and 10:30 AM.  

  • A full Children’s Ministry will be offered during the 9 AM service only.

  • Our Middle School and High School Ministries will be offered during the 10:30 AM service only.

  • Online Services: Worship Services at 9 AM and 10:30 AM will be available online for those not ready to attend in person.

Please be on the lookout for more information regarding the ways in which we will ask you to provide a safe and healthy environment for all attending.

For this weekend, here is the plan:

• Friday, September 25: 9 PM hour of prayer in the sanctuary. Please join me in praying for revival, healing, and God’s direction.

• Saturday, September 26: Parking lot service at 6 PM. Travis Morrill will be leading worship and we will hear a powerful testimony of living for the Lord in a secular world.

• Sunday, September 27: Online worship service at 10 AM. Ryan Steiger and team will be leading worship and I will begin a sermon series in the Book of Daniel on how to live a godly life in an increasingly godless culture.

Let’s be praying that we, as individuals and a church family, will represent the Lord better than ever as we seek to navigate these trying times!  I can’t wait to get us all back together again!

Pastor Rick Darden

JUL 14: Update from Pastor Rick

July 14, 2020

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

Well, it’s another week and we have new health restrictions that we need to deal with as a church! Let’s keep praying for those impacted by this COVID-19 issue and let’s keep praying for wisdom in how we, as Christians, can represent the Lord well in our response!

The new restrictions from our Governor call for no indoor gatherings for churches at this time. So, once again, we need to come up with a new plan!

Here is the new plan:

Saturday night worship service in the parking lot! We will set up a stage in the parking lot this Saturday, July 18th at 6 PM (not our normal Saturday night service time!). Bring a lawn chair for everyone in your family and pick a spot in the parking lot. Our worship team will be on a stage. We will have a 50 minute service that will include worship and some short devotional thoughts. Immediately following the service, our middle school and high school students will meet from 7-8 PM. They will also meet outside to stick with health guidelines. Make sure everyone brings a mask for the times you are around others but you can take them off during the service if you would like as we will all be spread out.

On Sunday, July 19 we will have one online service at 10 AM. Sunday’s service will be completely different from Saturday night.

Blessed are the flexible! We are going to adjust as needed in the midst of changing health guidelines as we sense the Lord directing us. The most important thing is continuing to be faithful. I hope to see many of you this Saturday night for our outside night of worship! I hope you will all be able to join us Sunday morning online! God is good and he is worthy of our praise!

Pastor Rick Darden

Update from Pastors and elders

July 06, 2020

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

I hope and pray that your Independence Day Weekend celebrations were fun and meaningful! We have much to be thankful for living in this country. The freedoms that we enjoy, thanks to the ongoing sacrifice of many, are a great blessing to us all!

I am writing to you in response to recent developments in our state related to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. This past week, Governor Newsom issued a new requirement related to churches. The actual wording of this new restriction is as follows: “Places of worship must, therefore, discontinue singing and chanting activities and limit attendance to 25% of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower.” Since this new requirement was issued late last week while I was on vacation, our elders and I didn’t have time to prayerfully discuss this. We thought it best to have online-only services this past weekend until we have opportunity to meet.

As a church family in our community, we have made it a priority to love God and to love our neighbors. We are very concerned with the spread of COVID-19 in our state. We have followed each guideline from the state and CDC. As you know, we ceased our in-person meetings for several months until the state guidelines allowed us to resume meetings. We have limited our seating capacity, required masks during services, eliminated our children’s ministry and nursery use for the time being, and canceled most of our events where people gather. In addition, we have changed the way we gather by not passing offering plates, have spread out seating, and are doing extensive cleanings before and after services. We will continue to be diligent in these measures.

Many will continue to participate in our worship services from home. We encourage this, especially for those who are not feeling 100% or who have underlying health concerns. We will continue to put the time and energy necessary into allowing for online worship experience for those who choose to stay home during this season.

After meeting yesterday and discussing these new restrictions, our elders and I feel as though this latest state guideline is in conflict with our ability to exercise our Christian faith. We know that worship includes our whole lives and involves much more than just singing. However, singing praises to God as a church community has been a central part of Christian expression since the beginning of the church. We will continue to be obedient to “governing authorities” as we are commanded in Scripture unless we are asked to be disobedient to God. We believe that this is one of those times when we “must obey God rather than man.”

Singing praises to the name of Jesus is so important in the Word of God. In Luke 19 the followers of Jesus were asked by local authorities to stop praising the name of Jesus. They continued to praise his name because of the worthiness of Jesus. And Jesus said that even if they stopped praising him that the rocks would cry out in praise. Worshiping our Lord and Savior is that important!

We will gather again this weekend for worship. We will gather on Saturday at 5 PM and Sunday at 10 AM and 11:30 AM. We will sing praises to God with masks on and taking appropriate social distancing measures. We will not sing out of protest against the government. We will sing because God is worthy of our praise!

Let us continue to pray for those in authority. Let us continue to pray for healing in our land. We will continue to honor our local authorities in all other areas related to this health crisis. If at some point this COVID-19 infection gets worse in our area and if we are asked to go back to online-only services then we will look to comply with those guidelines.

I know that not everyone will agree with this decision. Some want us to do more and some want us to do less. May we extend grace in our responses to one another in the days to come. And may we be excited about the opportunity for our entire church family to gather again in worship and fellowship!

On behalf of the elders,

Pastor Rick Darden

Update from Pastors and elders

July 03, 2020

Hello FCC Family!

Well this season has been an emotional rollercoaster! If there is one thing we have learned, it is that we need to hold loosely to our idea of how things should be and trust that the Lord can work even in the midst of things that upset us. Yesterday, Governor Newsom released revised guidelines for churches as it pertains to the current pandemic. A part of those guidelines is the announcement that churches “must discontinue singing” in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. However, it seems that having a worship team sing and lead our church as a part of a livestream service is still allowed under the current guidelines.

With all this new information, our pastors and elders have made the decision to curtail our in-person services for the time being. This takes effect starting this weekend. So we will not be hosting any in-person services this Saturday and Sunday. We will still have an online livestream service at 10 AM on Sundays. You can view that service as normal on our church website as well as on Facebook. We are hoping that this is only temporary and we will be able to meet again in-person soon.

We know that this is disappointing for many of us. But we know that this doesn’t stop the gospel from going forth in power. We may not be able to sing together in one room, but God isn’t confined to just one room. He is with us, unifying us in our praise of him, even when we are apart. May we this weekend sing louder and more confident of the goodness of God. May he look with great joy at our praises.

Our prayer for you in this season is that the momentary disappointment you face will not hinder you from seeing the eternal worth of declaring your trust and faith in Him. May we glorify God in the way we speak, sing, listen, and even think this weekend.

In His Service and Yours,

The FCC Pastors and Elders

Update from Pastor Rick (Service Time)

June 24, 2020

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

One thing that I have learned over these past few months is that everything that I thought I knew yesterday seems to have changed today! The word that has grown in popularity in our culture that describes this reality is “pivot.” One day we are told that we can’t meet in groups of a certain size and the next day we are told we can’t meet at all. So, we pivot! We adjust and figure out how to make it work. Masks are optional and then they are required, so we pivot. A good friend of mine often says, “Blessed are the flexible!”

Last week we were thinking that more people were ready to come back to church services in the sanctuary. So we created a lot of space in 4 different church services. But then we found out that most people would rather wait a few weeks until some additional restrictions are lifted. We had way more empty chairs than full ones! I totally understand these concerns and desire to wait. So we will be flexible and make some adjustments.

This weekend we will have worship services in the sanctuary and on-line. The sanctuary will be open on Saturday at 5 PM for a worship service. The sanctuary will be open on Sunday at 10 AM and 11:30 AM for worship services. The middle school and high school buildings will be open at 11:30 AM for youth groups. The 10 AM service will be broadcast to our on-line and Facebook Live platforms for viewing. We will not be having a service at 8:30 AM Masks will be required to be worn in our sanctuary per guidelines from the state of California.

We are planning on this schedule continuing for the next few weeks until it’s time to pivot again depending on changes in public gathering guidelines.

I was so blessed to see people in the sanctuary again this past week! We had plenty of room in there so if you are ready to return physically, please join us this weekend. If you will be participating in our 10 AM online service, I look forward to our virtual connection with you. May the Lord bless you and yours greatly in the days to come! Please continue to pray that our staff and elders have wisdom to know when and how to be flexible in dealing with the constant changes in our world and how those changes impact our worshiping together.

One thing hasn’t changed… Our greatest calling is to Love God and Love People! May we continue to be intentional in looking for opportunities to do both!

I love you and miss seeing you!

Pastor Rick Darden

We Are Open!

June 16, 2020

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

We are ready to re-open the sanctuary for worship services starting this weekend, June 20 & 21!  We will have three worship services to choose from:

SAT 5 PM | SUN 10 AM (streamed live online) | SUN 11:30 AM

There will be no children’s ministry in nurseries or classrooms. If you bring your kids, they will sit with you in church service. Your kids will be given an activity bag with some fun ideas to help them stay engaged with the worship service. And, we will have a “wiggle room” set up in our children’s ministry building where parents can watch the service on video if the kids need some extra space.

Our M.S. and H.S. ministries will be meeting in their respective buildings during the 11:30 AM service. Please encourage them to follow our health and safety guidelines as well.

For us to open up safely and in compliance with government guidelines we will be needing to follow some simple rules:

• Please wear a mask.

• Please respect social distancing. We will help our church family with that by providing safe distancing markers as people arrive and safely spreading out seating in the sanctuary.

• We will limit seating to 100 people per service. Overflow seating will be available in our 315 Building and the service will be on video.

A detailed list of these guidelines and F.A.Q.’s can be found at fccbrea.org/reopening

If you are feeling sick at all please stay home and watch online. If you are not ready to venture out for large gatherings, we totally understand and will continue to provide our service online at the 10 AM service time.

You may have a different opinion on social distancing and the need to wear masks and we understand that. But please help us out in providing an environment where others feel comfortable by wearing your mask and keeping your distance.

There will be a few challenges this weekend as you might have to wait in a line to get in. Ushers will help you find a seat or cluster of seats for your family. Some might have to watch from the overflow venue. And, part of our parking lot will be closed due to resurfacing. We will all need to have some extra patience and grace!

But, we get to begin the process of worshiping together this weekend! Thank you Jesus!

May the Lord bless you richly in the days to come! I look forward to seeing you Saturday, Sunday, or online this weekend!

Pastor Rick Darden

Guidelines
FAQ's
fccbrea.churchonline.org

An Update for This week’s activities:

April 28, 2020

Food Pantry Donations

For the next few Wednesdays, we will be collecting food at FCC to donate to a local food pantry. If you are feeling led to donate canned and non-perishable foods, stop by the church on Wednesdays from 4 PM to 6 PM.

Wednesday Night Family Service

On Wednesdays, we stream a kid-friendly Family Worship Night live! Catch us live at 7 PM or any time after in the “Videos” section of our Facebook page or by clicking here:

Denomination Worship Night

This Thursday, April 30, The Friends Denomination will host an all-denomination Night of Worship! This will be a 30-minute worship experience to celebrate and anticipate God’s work in our lives and churches. The worship night will include a Denomination Choir with people from many of our churches participating virtually. It’s going to be a meaningful time! The service will stream on Thursday at 7 PM on the Friends Southwest Facebook page.

DoctorGreg@fccbrea.org - A New Resource (APR 08):

Dear FCC Family,
 
These are trying times for each of us! As a church, we want to help in any way that we can in the days to come. We have been offering opportunities to continue to worship and learn from the Word of God through our online services on Sunday and Wednesday nights and through the audio recordings of our Women’s Bible Study. Many of our small groups and youth groups have been finding ways to connect via online video meetings. We are helping many people through our Compassion Ministry.
 
One additional need that surfaces for many during times of unrest such as this is the increase in anxiety. Issues of emotional health are amplified when much of the structure of life is removed. Dr. Greg Cynaumon has been a part of our church family for many years. He has taught classes focused on family relationships and mental health. He has worked with our pastoral staff on many occasions. He has helped many of you and others in our church family over the past several years.
 
I have been talking with Greg recently about ideas on how to help our church family during this season of COVID-19 and the anxiety that has increased for many. Greg has offered to make himself available to people in our church family via email. You can email him your questions and challenges that you are dealing with and he will get back to you:
DoctorGreg@fccbrea.org

Pastor Rick Darden

Please watch Dr. Greg on the video below:

An Update Regarding Worship Service Time (MAR 18):

March 18, 2020

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

May God’s grace and peace be with you during these times of uncertainty. 

Like you, there are many areas of my life right now that are challenging due to the concerns over the COVID-19 virus. A little scary and really inconvenient! I long for things to get back to normal!

However, I am also pretty excited right now about the opportunities to impact the lives of people! As the Church, we have an opportunity to impact our community around us more than ever. This might be a chance for the Church to have its defining moment in this generation. Our community is unsettled. Many people are in need like never before. Many elderly are more vulnerable than ever. Many people are in fear of losing their jobs. Many undocumented immigrants are not only fearful of losing jobs but also on missing out on any help from the government. Many non-Christians are looking for answers.

You and I can be the light of the world more than ever right now! We are the jars of clay that can carry the light of hope to those around us!

Restrictions on being around groups doesn’t prevent us from praying, checking in on neighbors, emailing, texting or calling others to offer encouragement. We are not prevented from seeing if the vulnerable around us need food or other essential items. As the Church, let’s be the Church like never before!

We will have our online worship service again this Sunday. We are changing the time, however. FCC will broadcast live this Sunday at 10 AM. There will be worship and I will share a message from John 5. Please join us at 10 AM online or watch later at your own convenience. The service will be available all week.

I’ve heard many stories of church family inviting others to join in online. People are looking for truth and comfort right now. Encourage others to watch as well!

If you have prayer needs, please share those with any of our staff or through our website. We want to keep praying for each other! If you are having a financial crisis right now due to these challenging times, please consider applying for our Compassion Ministry. You can access that through our website or by calling our church office. Our Compassion Ministry is designed to help FCC family members with unexpected financial challenges in a confidential way. This is one way that we can love one another!

We have people in our church that have offered to bring food or other essential supplies to any of our elderly in need. If that is you, please don’t hesitate to let our office know of your need!

May God help us to keep our eyes on Him during this time! May God help us be a blessing to others!

Pastor Rick Darden

A Letter from Pastor Rick (MAR 13):

March 13, 2020

Dear Friends Community Church Family,

After much prayer and discernment, seeking guidance from federal, state, and local health officials, and conferring with other churches in our community, we want to share with you the following decisions our pastoral staff and elders made in light of the current public health situation effective immediately through March 22.

Our church family will not be having any gatherings on campus for the next two weeks. This includes worship services, Women’s Bible Study, Men’s Breakfast, youth groups, and Children’s Ministry groups.

This decision is not based on fear or a lack of faith. God’s Word tells us that perfect love drives out fear. This decision is based on an abundance of caution and a desire to care for our church family and community (especially our older members). 

We do want to encourage our church family to continue being the church! For those who meet in small groups and Life Groups we want to encourage you to keep meeting at your own discretion. Our pastoral and office staff will continue to be working and available to our church family.

And we do want to worship together! Our Saturday night service will not be happening for the immediate future but we will have an online worship service on Sunday morning at 9 AM. Our worship team will be leading in songs of worship and I will be teaching out of John 4. So stay home Sunday morning and tune into our website (fccbrea.org/fcclive) at 9 AM and experience our first ever, all church online worship service!

Thank you for reading and your cooperation in taking this update seriously. We are struck by this verse in this time and again ask for you to be in constant prayer.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

We will be sending out updates as we have them. As you know, this situation is changing daily!

On behalf of the staff and elders,

Pastor Rick Darden

Click here to watch this weekend’s video broadcast:

You can also watch us live or any time on our Facebook page.