CrossPoint Christian Reformed Church

Transcription

1 Sunday, December 23, TH Sunday of Advent Father Christmas" "There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:4 CrossPoint Christian Reformed Church

2 Welcome to CrossPoint! Today s Pastor: Richard Grift Our Offerings: CrossPoint Ministries & Rising Angels If you are a guest with us, please visit our Information Centre and pick up your Welcome Bag. Join us in the Fellowship Hall after the service for refreshments. CHRISTMAS SERVICE TIMES Christmas Eve -- 7:00 pm Christmas Day -- 10:00 am CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLE-LIGHT WALK We have a couple of opportunities for fellowship and connection on Christmas Eve! Join us if you can on Monday, Dec. 24: At 5:45 PM meet at the church with your battery-operated candles/lanterns to prepare to walk through the nearby community: bringing the "light" of Jesus to the neighbourhood. We'll leave at 6 PM. At 6:30 PM we will convene at church and have goodies and cider and hot chocolate before we head into worship at 7 PM. Even if you don't want to do the walk, come early to have drinks & goodies, and bring your candles into the sanctuary. We are the light of the world, let's fill the worship space with light! There will be lots of battery-operated tealights available for those who don't bring their own candles. At 7:00 PM we will gather to celebrate a "family-style" Christmas service, with readings and familiar carols in English and other languages.

3 Care & Fellowship We rejoice with Brad and Nellie Van Laare in the upcoming wedding of their daughter, Tessa, to Jared Doezema, on December 28 at Brookside Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan. They will be living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We pray for Peter and Joanne Mulder and their family in the recent passing of Peter's brother, Casey, who was also a special member and friend to CrossPoint. HERITAGE FELLOWSHIP: We pray for our hospitalized brothers and sisters from Heritage Fellowship: Hendrik Pos PcT, Catherine Folkes CT, John Vaandering HT, Margaret Boersma HT, Therese McGurk TT, Gordon Freeland PT, Sam Terpstra KT and Madelyn Jungkind CT. Prayer for Persecuted Church - CHINA: Throughout the night of December 9 and the next day around 100 members of the Early Rain Covenant in Chengdu were taken away and arrested. Some who have since been released claim that they were abused and deprived of food and water while in custody. Over 80 are still being held and the pastor is facing charges of "inciting subversion of state power." If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison. Persecution of Christians has increased significantly in Christmas Blessings and a Joyful New Year: Dear congregation, I wish you a very blessed Christmas and New Year, regardless of the circumstances you find yourselves in. Some of you will find it easy to celebrate, while others will find it hard. We also know that the new year will bring changes of many kinds, also in our staffing, and sometimes change is hard. But our God is with us, and will be with us in the New Year, to encourage us and lead us into the future. The Lord be with you, now and always. Pastor Rich. YOUTH DIRECTOR FAREWELL: After almost 14 years of fruitful ministry at CrossPoint, Pastor Scott has discerned that the time has come for a change it's time for him to continue his calling in

4 another setting. Scott is planning to serve us until June 8 through the end of our regular Teen and Junior Teen Club season. A celebration of his time with us is being planned, stay tuned for details. We pray that God will bless Pastor Scott in his new calling, wherever God will lead him. STAFF VACATIONS: Cylinta Hasfal will be on vacation from December 18 to 30, Scott Post from December 21 to January 1, and Pastor Rich from January 1 to 8. We pray they have a joyful and a restful time. 100/100CAMPAIGN FOR ROOF REPAIR- Raising $100,000 in 100 days is our Goal! We are happy to report that you have contributed & pledged very close to $50,000 to date! We are thankful for your generosity! If you require a donation envelope, pick one up at the Registration Desk. INTERIM POSITION AT CROSSPOINT: With the upcoming departure of Ruth Ann Schuringa as Worship Ministry Team Leader, Council is inviting interested parties to apply for an interim position as Worship Ministry Team Leader, until a permanent replacement is found. If interested, please contact the Chair of Council, Andy Alblas at andyalblas@gmail.com, by December 31, FROM THE ADMIN BOARD MEETING OF DECEMBER 12, 2018 Membership Matters: The Admin Board approved the transfer request of Margo VanderLaan from CrossPoint CRC to Heritage Fellowship CRC. We wish her God s blessing in her new church home ENVELOPES You will find your envelopes for 2019 in your mailslots. Your envelope number should be the same as We kindly ask that you use your envelopes whenever possible OR clearly mark your envelope number on the envelope that you are using. This makes the recording of your donation much easier. If you did not receive envelopes & would like a set or want more info on PAR, please contact Mariam: OR

5 One further note: please do not use the new envelopes until January 2019 and then throw away all unused 2018 envelopes. Thank you! Youth Ministry MERRY CHRISTMAS! Our children and youth ministries start up again on Jan 6 (God Matters), Jan 9 (Teen Club) and Jan 10 (Cadet, GEMS, Jr Teen Club) respectively! Looking forward to seeing you in the new year! Worship Ministry December 25th Behold Your King! ; Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:1-2, 5; John 1:1-4, 10-14; Pastor Richard Grift December 30th Message: Revisiting the Angels ; Scripture Reading: Luke 22: 39-46; Guest Pastor: Lesli VanMilligen LARGE PRINT LITURGIES, with the words to the songs, is available at the Info Centre. If you need a copy weekly, let Janet in the office know and she will provide you with one in your mail slot. December 24 7 pm Brampton Community Causes Hope Centre (A Drop-in Centre) Knight s Table (Provides meals and food services to the needy) December 25 - CrossPoint, John Knox Christian School, Toronto District Christian Highschool OFFERING ENVELOPE CAN BE FOUND IN YOUR MAIL SLOT TODAY!! December 30 EduDeo Ministries is a Canadian, Christian, mission organization serving children in developing countries with quality education rooted in a Biblical worldview

6 December 31 The Lighthouse The Lighthouse is an inner city ministry. It assists churches in refugee sponsorship and settlement, counselling and specialized services for Chinese, Vietnamese, and Hispanic peoples and offers community services such as food bank, life skills classes and work with seniors and youth. Events & Happenings GROUNDWORK: CHRISTMAS REMIXED - Did you know the book of Revelation tells the Christmas story? It s true. Complete with dragons and intense drama. Study Revelation 12 with Groundwork see the cosmic perspective on Christ s birth and purpose revealed through the Apostle John s vision. Listen now at GroundworkOnline.com THANK YOU for your generous support to TD Christian this year with our recent drive! Miranda Dieleman WINTER OPEN HOUSE AT TDCHRISTIAN: High school goes by pretty fast. Teens can go to school pretty much anywhere, but what does it mean to Learn for Service in the Light of God's Word? Come to TDChristian High School's Winter Open House and Celebration of Learning and discover how we do high school... differently. Find out why you belong at TDChristian. That's Thursday, January 10, 2019, from 6:30-8:30. RSVP today to admissions@tdchristian.ca JANUARY SERIES - the award winning free liberal arts education delivered in 15 weekly, lunchtime lectures. This year the series begins on January 3 and continues weekdays through January 23 from 12:30 1:30 p.m. EST with topics such as technology and faith, the church and disabilities, restorative justice, cancer research, the #metoo movement, and so much more, by top experts in their fields. Thousands in west Michigan will join us on Calvin College s campus; others will watch the live feed at more than 50 remote webcast sites, while others listen online. For information about speakers, topics, remote sites, and listening options, go to

7 2018 CBC SING-IN - Recorded in mid-december at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montréal, the 39th annual CBC Sing-In will be broadcast on Christmas Day, December 25, on CBC Radio One at 12:00 (noon), again at 4 pm on CBC Music, as well as Dec. 25 at 2 pm on ICI Musique classique, Radio-Canada's classical web radio service. The program is hosted by Julie Nesrallah, produced by Robert Rowat and led by Conductor Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée, Organist and Director of Music, Dr. Jonathan Oldengarm, the Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, and the CBC brass and percussion ensemble. It is available anytime on-line: CBCMusic.ca/SingIn Enjoy the program! JANUARY OFFERINGS January 6 Missionary Support January 13 Youth Unlimited January 20 Diaconate January 27 Calvinist Cadet Corps CHRISTMAS EVE DUTY SCHEDULE 7:00 PM Elders T. Raphael, K. Kanthan, Deacons J. Fernhout Sound/Video D. Alexander Projection M. Lutgendorff Camera M. Eygenraam Ushers G. Postma, R. Exelby Greeters J. & A. VanderSchaaf Information Centre P. Alblas Nursery J. Costa, R. Postma CHRISTMAS DAY DUTY SCHEDULE 10:00 AM Elders Deacons Sound A. Spratt, M. Mol P. Schenk J. Krale

8 Projection Camera Ushers Greeters Information Centre Nursery G. Adjei S. Ashok P. Mulder, W. VanderWier P. Gray & M. VanDommelen W. Tilstra M. Mol, L. Krale Sunday Morning Volunteer Schedule December 23rd December 30th Elders J. Lindie, D. Dawson G. Riedstra, A. Alblas Deacon C. Kaldeway M. Lutgendorff Sound S. Gladson K. Kanthan Projection M. Sikkema J. Lewis Camera A. Barnabas A. Rekker Ushers J. Joustra, T. Thorvardson C. Beishuizen, H. DeWeerd Greeters M. VanZeumeren & R. & A. Chen W. Datema Information Centre B. Squirell & P. Burt M. VanBrederode Nursery D. Chellappa, C. VanZeumeren, Na. Rekker Ni. Rekker Library J. DeRuiter Coffee Servers J. & A. VanderSchaaf, Drent, Sikkema J. Christiaanse & D. VanBeilen 444 Steeles Ave. W., Brampton, ON L6Y 0J3 Phone: Church Office Hours: Monday: 8:30am-1.45pm Tuesday - Friday: 8:30am-4:00pm Bulletin Deadline: Thursday-12 pm crosspointcrc@gmail.com Website: Our Mission Statement: As a community of Christians belonging to God, we live to celebrate God, communicate the Good News, cultivate faith, and care for one another and the world. Contact Us: Pastor Richard Grift: Cell ; pastorrich@crosspointcrc.ca Pastor Scott Post: Cell ; pastorscott@crosspointcrc.ca Cylinta Hasfal: Outreach Ministry Team Leader ; cylinta@crosspointcrc.ca Ruth Ann Schuringa: Worship Ministry Team Leader ; Ruthann@crosspointcrc.ca Janet Drent: Office Administrator: crosspointcrc@gmail.com Ellen Thorvardson: Rental Coordinator Cell ; crosspointchurchrentals@gmail.com Mariam Irshad Revenue Administrator ra.crosspointcrc@gmail.com