Eastview's New Addition In The News

[Story copied from http://www.centralillinoisnewscenter.com/news/local/Normal-Mega-Church-Builds-3-Million-Addition-137860308.html]

NORMAL, Ill -- A mega-church recently got even bigger. We took a look at how the extra space is being used to enhance the church's ministry. Walking in, it's obvious. After a recent $3 million addition, Eastview Christian Church is definitely not your grandfather's church.

"We want to appeal to anyone, regardless of religious background, and make our church warm and friendly. Everyone wants to go to places where there's a water feature, or a fireplace, or there's food, or there's a bookstore, or there's people milling around handing out together, and that's what we've tried to create here with our church," said Mark Warren, Executive Pastor at Eastview Christian Church.

The services are very visual, very complex, and for some, very intense. Parishoners agree that the church only looks big.

"It definitely feels like a family, definitely. Because when I come into this church I may not necessarily look at the size of the church per se, but the fact that there are real people in this church, and that we're here together to worship the Lord," said Kristy O'Connell.

Long time parishoner Dean Johnson says the size of the facility enhances the worship. "The good thing about being able to hang out here and have a good time after church is it creates the perfect environment to talk about the things that happened during the church service," said Johnson, who has been worshiping for 19 years at Eastview.

The focal point of the new atrium is Cafe 19, named for the 19 original founders of the church. The draw of the table was used to bring new people into the fold.

"I think you're likely to go where you're comfortable and where you fit in. And food, everyone loves food, so everyone fits in with food. So it's whatever is comfortable with each person or each group," said Mysty Thomas, Director of Food Services.

The café is designed to draw people closer to the church, just like the kitchen is the spiritual center of the home.

{Awesome job by NBC WEEK News 25 & ABC WHOI News 19 for this coverage of Eastview's expansion... I was thrilled to see for Cafe 19's grand opening weekend on January, 15th the attendance was over 5400!!! WE LOVE OUR CHURCH AND THE WORK IT'S DOING IN MCLEAN COUNTY!!!}

18:365 Cookie Talk on @WJBC

18:365 Cookie Talk on @WJBC, originally uploaded by Mark Sexton Photography.

Savannah and I had the opportunity to be on WJBC AM 1230 today to talk about our Girl Scout theft, which turned into an AWESOME chance to talk up Girl Scouts in general and what the cookie sales mean to them. To listen to the interview, go to WJBC

Visit my blog at http://strouthion.blogspot.com

17:365 Thief In The Night

17:365 Thief In The Night, originally uploaded by Mark Sexton Photography.

We woke up this morning to discover my daughter had 60 boxes of Girl Scout cookies stolen out of our van last night... Needless to say our daughter Savannah was heartbroken. Her troop is one of only 2-3 in Central Illinois that had the opportunity to direct sell cookies while all other troops can ONLY take orders for delivery in March (the common way Girl Scout cookies are sold). We're hopeful that somehow the greedy dirtbag that steals from Girl Scouts will be caught... Or maybe chokes to death on a Thin Mint!!! If you live in Bloomington/Normal and someone suspicious is selling Girl Scout cookies... Please contact the Bloomington Police Department ASAP.

Welcome to the New Normal

Who's Fault Is It???

Comments made by Franklin Graham this weekend on ABC's This Week have really frustrated me. I don't have the energy or the vocabulary to address everything he said, but one item REALLY got me upset.

...the government has undermined the traditional church function of assisting the poor because it took this mission "away from the church, and...had more money to give and more programs to give, and pretty soon, the churches just backed off." (taken from "Mother Jones")

Really??? So Mr. Graham is stating that it's our government's fault that the Church isn't doing it's job? Really??? God forbid he would turn to the Church (the "church" in the larger sense, not singularly and/or denominationally), look it in the eye and make the correct statement... The Church has failed the poor, the needy, the sick, the underprivileged. The government, in my pea-sized-brain opinion, has been trying for decades to do what the Church (again, I'm referring in larger terms) has not done.

However, I'm not going to make my statement a general one about all churches (small "c" - singularly). Many churches have made great attempts, and had great success, in reaching those in need.

The church we attend in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois Eastview Christian Church, has shown great compassion and a deep desire to help those with little... I've been very impressed with the way they have desired to minister through the food pantry, benevolence, help ministries, counseling services, Imagine (distribution of thousands of toys, coats and boxes of food at Christmas). And they are looking for more and more ways to reach out, and especially through small groups.

But, many churches do... NOTHING. NOT by the fault of our government (sorry Mr. Graham), but because they just don't want to and/or they have forgotten what ALL the Church should be doing.

Here's an idea for all churches... Read and study the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) & the book of Acts... And learn how the Church can "take back" social responsibility by doing what they're suppose to do.

Ok... I'm off my soapbox and I'll get back to gardening and photography. Thanks for "listening" to this pea brain.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

I get so excited about seeing green this time of year... and flowers... and warmer weather... and... BIRDS (hence the "nickname" that I use for Twitter, email, my blog and other various places: strouthion (στρουθίον - stroo-thee'-on), which is greek meaning "a little bird, esp. of the sparrow sort").

Migration is in full force and I love to see our colorful winged friends arriving daily in central Illinois from locations far far away to the south. Whether they're staying local until fall or the many that are just stopping on their way to Canada for the summer... It's so awesome to see them starting to arrive. And though I haven't had the chance to see any warblers in my backyard yet, I did have a sweet ruby-crowned kinglet stop by and cheer up my day this past Wednesday... and he even waited patiently for me to run back inside and grab my camera...

"Memory" Coconut Palm

In the winter of 2008/2009 a gardening customer of mine came across a coconut laying on the beach with a small sprout working it's way out. He brought the coconut back to his oceanside condo in Boca Raton, FL, potted it up and brought it back with him to Illinois for the summer.

I babied the "nut" during the summer of 2009... seeing very little growth during that cooler-than-normal summer. I assumed it wouldn't make it through the winter, even though it was headed to a greenhouse at a local high school.

But, to my surprise... the coconut palm did live and started to look even more like a palm with the hot summer we enjoyed during 2010.

But, then... my customer died suddenly in August of 2010. The family said I could have any and all plants that I wanted, which meant I had many plants to choose from... several palm varieties of many sizes, red and green bananas large and small, large leaf philodendrons, bromeliads, anthuriums, aglaonemas (chinese evergreens), and more. I did keep many of the plants for my personal use, to use at other customer's houses, and at BCC. But, I ended up keeping only one palm... the coconut palm.

It's still living Scott... and I miss my Monday afternoon stops at your house.

Surrounded By Windmills

While my son, Andrew, and I were driving to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) at East White Oak Bible Church, we drove through the newest "windmill farm" northwest of Bloomington/Normal...



I'm always fascinated by the windmills... I could watch them for hours. Simple things for a simple mind :-)

An Email Reply From Mark DeSantis About WEEK & WHOI

[Below is an email response I received from Mark DeSantis, president and general manager of Peoria operations for Granite Broadcasting... Take from this what you want, but please go to WJBC  and listen to a March 2nd interview with WEEK staff members Lee Ranson and Mike Dimmick about the situation.]

Thanks for your thoughts regarding the discussions we are currently having with the AFTRA unit in our newsroom.  I understand your points and I am frustrated as well since information now being disseminated on a facebook page,  and a video on it,  is false.  These emotional kinds of things often occur in labor negotiations with unions often presenting conjecture,  rumor or making false statements to help garner support.

 

While we have proposed modifications to the labor agreement that reflect the current industry and technological reality,  there is no current plan and we have made no proposal to move our local news operation out of Central Illinois.  In fact over the last two years we have added positions to our news operation to better serve Central Illinois,  the only local news operation to increase staff in that same time frame. All WEEK and WHOI newscasts will continue to be produced and aired from the East Peoria facilities as they always have. The union representatives are not reporting the facts.

As you may know,  no station in this area has the rich history of local community support and service as WEEK.  In addition to the 11 hours of local news we produce each day,  for almost 40 years we have produced and aired the St. Jude Telethon,  we continue to produce and air The Children’s Miracle Network Telethon,  support the Race For The Cure,  Buddy Check 25, Steamboat,  Easter Seals,  The Center for the Prevention of Abuse,  and many more local community organizations.  I have run this operation for 14 years and we have been,  remain and will continue to be THE local news,  information and community resource for Central Illinois.

We also continue to produce and air The Children’s Miracle Network Telethon,  support the Race For The Cure,  Steamboat,  Easter Seals,  The Center for the Prevention of Abuse,  and many more local community organizations.  WEEK will remain and continue to be THE local news,  information and community resource for Central Illinois.

For our part,  please know that we are committed to working amicably and professionally with the union to reach a mutual agreement. Our goal is a successful resolution for both WEEK and our employees, which is the outcome that will best serve you as well as the community.

In the meantime,  below is my direct number.  Feel free to contact me directly with any concerns you might have. 

All the best and thanks for watching WEEK-TV.

       MarkDeSantis

       Pres./General Manager

    

    309 698-3850    markd@week.com

    SP Granite Broadcasting Corp.

      WAOE Owned by Four Seasons LLC

      WHOI Owned by Barrington Broadcasting Corp.

Help Keep Local News LOCAL to Peoria & Bloomington/Normal

Granite Broadcasting, the owners of WEEK TV & WHOI TV in Peoria, Illinois want to move all "local" news broadcasting to Fort Wayne, Indiana... PLEASE read the news story in the Peoria Journal Star, and watch the following video:



What I do find very humorous is Granite Broadcasting's main website...

Ok... so I manipulated the website just a little...

Below is the email that I sent to the following individuals:

• Mr. Peter Markham, Chairman of Granite Broadcasting, p.markham@granitetv.com
• Mr. Duane Lammers, Chief Operating Officer of Granite Broadcasting, at d.lammers@granitetv.com
• Mr. Mark DeSantis, general manager of WEEK/WHOI TV at mdesantis@week.com \

The email I sent reads as follows:

Dear Mr. Markham, Mr. DeSantis, and Mr. Lammers:

Please DO NOT remove local news broadcasting for WEEK and WHOI in Peoria, Illinois. What does Fort Wayne, Indiana know about Peoria and Bloomington/Normal, Illinois? If you’re going to move the central Illinois broadcast location, why move it to Fort Wayne, Indiana? Why not Detroit, Michigan? Or Duluth, Minnesota? Or Fresno, California? Or Syracuse, New York? Any of those locations are just as “local” as Fort Wayne, Indiana. What are you thinking???

You can try to make it appear as local as you would like, but it WON’T WORK. You WILL LOSE advertising dollars if this happens. You WILL LOSE viewers. You WILL LOSE local business partnerships. Sometimes, what looks like a smart financial decision ends up a financial disaster in the long run. We have already seen a decrease in the quality of production … NOT the personalities, but the technical production of the broadcasts … over the past couple of years on WEEK news at 6 and 10… If you move everything to Fort Wayne, Indiana it will only get worse.

When I want national/world news I watch Brian Williams or MSNBC. But for LOCAL news, I want to watch a LOCAL station like WEEK. DO NOT TAKE THIS LOCAL OPTION AWAY FROM US.

On your main website, www.granitetv.com, you say you are “A LEADING INNOVATOR IN LOCAL MEDIa” – Please remove the word “local” from that. Because you obviously have no understanding of what the term really means… Fort Wayne, Indiana is NOT “local” for central Illinois.

Mark Sexton

309-838-2252

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