Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

As the holiday season approaches, and Americans express their gratitude by spending time with family, one local pastor points out that even in tough times, thankfulness is important. "Thankfulness keeps you grounded in reality, that there is good in life in spite of the difficulties we face," says Mike McAvoy, Pastor of Open Arms Community Church. McAvoy says that taking the time to be thankful helps adjust perspective, "Thankfulness is taking a big picture perspective on life, enjoying the good as well as accepting there will be bad, rather than being imprisoned to a little picture perspective that life is all bad because of your current situation." As many are facing economic woes, personal and relational struggles, and a number of situations, he says it is important not to address those issues head on, without becoming a victim, "Thankfulness is not ignoring or pretending that you don't have problems, it's not allowing the pain of your problems ...

Local boxer Charlie Fitzsimmons is the 2006 World Amateur Boxing Champion, and his story of overcoming the trials and hardships to win that title will be featured during the month of April at Open Arms Community Church, starting this Sunday, April 1st. Open Arms Pastor Mike McAvoy says, "Working with Charlie is such a privilege. To work with a guy who's real life story is about beating the odds is going to be such an encouragement to the many who are facing difficult times." "Overcomer: Beating the Odds" will kick off with the first discussion, "Preparing for the Fight" this Sunday. April 8th is Easter Sunday, and the topic will be titled "The Difference Maker". "Overcoming Adversity" is the featured discussion for April 15th, and the series rounds out on April 22nd with the a discussion entitled, "Live the Dream." Fitzsimmons, who will be featured in several vignette videos, as well as sharing in person, throughout the se...

Open Arms Community Church will hold its 8th Annual "Christmas Eve's Eve" service today. The event will feature traditional Christmas music in a rock music arrangement, drama, videos, and fun for the whole family. The church will host two services, at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Open Arms Pastor Mike McAvoy says, "This is our 8th annual Eve's Eve Service. We chose the non-Traditional Eve's Eve (December 23rd) for two reasons, 1) because we are typically "out-of-the-box" in our approach to ministry and 2) because we wanted people to be able to both celebrate together, but have Christmas Eve's to spend with their family. There is enough craziness that society has added to this season, we want to do our part to simplify and keep the focus on Faith and Family." McAvoy promises the event will be fun for the whole family. "I'm really excited about this years Eve's Eve Service! Every year we try to do it bigger and keep it fresh. This year i...

By Josh Hatcher Usually at 11:00 AM on Sunday mornings, Open Arms Community Church in Bradford is just starting their weekly worship service – but throughout the month of August – they’ll be headed out the door. They’ve decided to cancel their second church service each Sunday morning to host Free Block Parties at different locations in town, starting this Sunday with a picnic at the parking lot of Phillip’s Auto Depot on North Kendall Avenue from 12:00 Noon until 3:00PM. “The idea is something we've bounced around for quite some time,” says Open Arms Pastor Mike McAvoy, “My wife has always wanted to cancel service to go serve the community and some others in the church had a similar idea, and my thought is: one service isn't radical, but canceling service 4 weeks in a row is radical.” The church will instead hold one service at 9:15, and then start loading up supplies and preparing for the outreaches. Each of the four weeks in August, Open Arms will partner with individuals an...

16-year-old Joe Frederick carries the cross from the First United Methodist Church to the First Presbyterian Church during the annual Good Friday Cross Walk. More than 300 people participated in the event. Other churches along the walk were St. Bernard, the First Baptist, Church of the Ascension, Grace Lutheran and the First Free Methodist. Ministers speaking on the topic "Transformed by the Cross" during the stops at the churches were the Rev. Lee Beckes, Father Leo Gallina, the Rev. Mary Houck, the Rev. Phil Palutro, the Rev. Dennis Swineford, the Rev. Mike McAvoy and the Rev. Dave Bunnell. ( Photo by Anne Holliday )

Open Arms Community Church in Bradford, PA is launching a four week sermon series geared toward helping people strengthen their relationships this coming weekend. The series of talks, called "Relationship Rescue" will start Sunday, March 28 at Open Arms, and will address practical steps that can be taken to improve relationships from a biblical perspective. Week One of Relationship Rescue will explain that there is hope that even broken relationships can be restored, but it also has a cost. Week Two discusses the kind of attitude necessary to make a relationship function at it's best. Week 3 explains that love works best when it's put into action. Week Four addresses "building a better mate." Relationship Rescue is the continuation of a campaign at Open Arms to bring hope and healing to broken relationships, especially considering that the divorce rate in the US is over 60 percent. In February, Open Arms ran a four part series called "Finding Your Bella...

Monday -- Habitat for Humanity Tuesday -- Ariel Campbell, Josh Hatcher and Panic Attack Wednesday -- Cast members from the Fretz Middle School Production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr." Thursday -- Pastor Mike McAvoy will talk about "The Simple Life" 12:30 p.m. on 1490 WESB and online at WESB.com

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Volunteer fire departments are "officially" on the endangered species list. That's according to Foster Township Supervisor Jim Connelly Jr., who took time during Monday's supervisors meeting to address the dwindling membership of the Derrick City and Rew volunteer fire departments. "I'm going to put our Foster Township fire departments on the endangered species list," Connelly said. "We need help. It's got to be addressed." He reiterated what supervisors have been saying for months -- people don't have to fight fires to be a member of the department. Plenty of other jobs, such as maintenance and bingo, are available. Connelly acknowledged that the problem isn't unique to Foster Township. "It's a serious issue all over the United States of America," he said. "Our volunteers are falling by the wayside. Having a volunteer fire department is a luxury." "When we pick u...