Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
November in our church is a time for preparation and anticipation. For example, I am preparing for Christmas services and Advent messages. Just this past weekend, CBCGL had its Church Council retreat and Church Council meeting – where we were working on updating each other on our ministries and preparing for the end of the year and the beginning of next year. For example, one thing that was announced at the Council meeting was that next year’s CrossPoint Community deacon will be John Huang. John is moving to this role in his second year as deacon. He has been faithfully serving in the role of General Services deacon in 2023, and will finish the year in that role. But with Tony stepping down from being a deacon and stepping into the role of being an elder, we needed to fill the role of CPC deacon. Please pray for John to have a good transition to this role and consider how you can encourage and support both John and Tony as they begin new roles at CBCGL in 2024.
Other things that we are preparing are interviews and clean-ups. In case you were unaware, the Youth Minister Search is ongoing. After a couple of initial interviews, Minister Jin Kim will be coming to candidate. When someone comes to candidate it is a weekend (or in his case, two) where he will come to CBCGL and we will have opportunity to meet him and get to know him (ask him questions, communicate what is important to us in a Youth Minister) and hear him preach. He will be here on Nov. 12 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm for interviews with the Youth Parents and Co-workers from 1:30 to 3 pm. The Church council will join at 2:30 pm to continue the conversation until 3:30. If you are a youth parent or council member, make a plan to stop by Room A-213 for this important time of seeking understanding and pursuing God’s will. On Nov. 17 and 19, Minister Kim will be with us to share God’s word youth on Friday night, and with us in the CPC service. After both weekends, you are encouraged to let the Youth Minister search committee know what you think via the following form: https://forms.office.com/r/BnDGnb1FJS.
Another thing we are preparing for is cleaning on Nov. 19. On that Sunday, CPC is tasked with cleaning the cafeteria after lunch and also doing outdoor clean-up along 110. So plan to stay behind and help serve either inside – through wiping tables, sweeping, mopping, etc… Or going outside to clean up leaves (please bring your own rakes, equipment, etc…!). Also, if we’re really ambitious, we can take time to clean room A216, A218, and A201a (rooms we normally use for fellowship). But to do these three cleaning jobs, we need all hands on deck! Plan accordingly.
Please also extend hospitality to others who may not have a place to go for Thanksgiving. If you are planning a get together, open your home and heart to individuals or families in our church who do not have family in the area and so don’t have people with whom to celebrate.
Please also participate in the Local Missions Activities or church activities – from Gift Card Fundraising, to Operation Christmas Child (due this Sunday!), to Collecting food for local food pantries during the holiday season. Let this be a season of both thanks and giving!
And as for anticipation, Nov. 26 begins Advent. We will not be continuing in Mark until January 2024. But we will take time to consider witnesses to Christ – those people/situations that pointed to the coming Messiah. To help you reflect and anticipate Christ’s coming, I have a daily advent devotional that I’ll be giving out to you – one per family beginning this Friday night.
Finally, please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine. Pray that the wars would end. Here is a suggested list of prayers if you are at a loss for words in how to pray: https://send.org/story/hh_pray_for_ukraine. And https://worldrelief.org/blog-prayer-for-israel-and-gaza/ Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
This Week (Nov. 10 – Nov. 16, 2023):
1. Tonight, Nov. 10, 2023, the Living Stones Friday Night Bible Study is meeting from 7:30-9:30 to study the need to live courageously. You can read Daniel 6 to prepare. Join in person in Room A-216 or online via the following link at 7:30 pm:
https://zoom.us/j/685376249?pwd=cWtyUk1pckJiRHJxZVZCSGdJZWw2UT09
Meeting ID: 685 376 249
Password: 840840
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. The Living Stones Sunday School and Grace Ambassadors Sunday School are meeting this Sunday. The Grace Ambassadors will continue a discussion of “The Pilgrim’s Progress” in the Community Hall (A-202). The Living Stones will be studying an Overview of the NT in the Koinonia Room (A-216). They will use the following link for those who wish to join online:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/491248585?pwd=RnpLcnpjQ01nTGZLSmhaZ3l4L3dKQT09
Meeting ID: 491 248 585
Password: 403767
Join by phone: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
3. This Sunday, Nov. 10, 2023, at 11:25 am, Pastor Raymond Lee will be preaching. Pray for him! Join us for worship at CBCGL!
Text:
Title:
Live stream via Youtube: https://www.cbcgl.org/live-stream/
4. Each Wednesday, such as this week (Nov. 15) at 7:45 pm, you are invited, encouraged, and requested to join our weekly prayer meeting. We will not grow in Christ without growing in our dependence on God through prayer. The link is found below in the section on prayer.
Administration / Events
1. We have a missions update (so check out the missions tab from the bulletin)! You can provide support for COCM (in England), for James Liang (at UConn), or Chris and Emily who are serving in Japan with OMF.
2. Baptism Classes are starting up in November. If you’re interested in the next baptism (which will be on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24) talk with Pastor Nathan! He is glad to lead a class covering why we baptize, what is required for baptism, what are your rights and responsibilities as someone who is baptized and more!
3. Get to know Minister Jin Kim (Youth Minister Candidate) – Nov. 12 and 19. For more information look above in the main section.
4. Community Grocery Gift Cards – As the holiday season is around the corner, we sincerely invite you to join the annual fund raising to support Community Gift Card Outreach Initiative. This initiative aims to provide small-value grocery store gift cards to families in our surrounding community who turn to our church for assistance. Through this initiative, we can extend a caring hand to our neighbors, sharing the abundance that the Lord has bestowed upon us and offering hope to those struggling in difficult circumstances. We encourage our brothers and sisters to help out on this initiative financially and/or keep this endeavor in your prayers. Check out the Local Missions Tab in our bulletin for more information.
5. Sunday Lunch Service is available at CBCGL with $5 lunchboxes. To place an order, please use the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/nCwQnMruKv Orders are preferred to be placed as soon as you know, but need to be placed by Saturday night so that the kitchen can prepare the correct amount of food. Note: The selection which states “Number of Meals” refers to the cooked food/lunch box/Chinese food option.
6. CPC is responsible for kitchen clean up and the area along 110 (for raking and parking lot clean-up) on Nov. 19. Please sign-up when asked to volunteer and plan to help out that afternoon.
7. All other announcements can be found here (in our CrossPoint Community bulletin).
For Prayer:
1. From Bishop J.C. Ryle – “To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road to destruction…It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small.” Please join our Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 – 9:15 pm) even if you can’t participate the whole time.
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. We’d be glad to pray for you. If you need prayer, you can submit your prayer request via the following link: https://www.cbcgl.org/pray/
In Christ, your servant, SDG,
Rev. Dr. Nathan Willems
Associate Pastor of CrossPoint Community – A Ministry of CBCGL