Community of ChristChurch
Faith News Update for November 19, 2020

Photo by Alex Jackman on Unsplash
Online Interactive Worship with 
Holy Communion

 Sunday, November 22, 2020 at 9:30am
 

Click the link below on Sunday:
https://zoom.us/j/669927281?pwd=S0Qvdzh5cUY2akhmM2VoeTlUUVFBZz09
Meeting ID: 669 927 281 

If prompted enter password: 080114  

Online Worship Logistics: 

  • The online doors to our Zoom worship will open at 9:00am. 
  • From 9am to 9:30am, the worship space will be open for folks to gather and get settled in. Our worship service will begin at 9:30am. 
  • Holy Communion is part of our online worship. We encourage you to prepare by putting together your own communion set from whatever you have handy in your kitchens and pantries. Please have these items nearby when you join us online.

Joining by phone:

If you are not able to join worship via your personal computer, tablet or 
smartphone you are welcome to join using your phone.

  1. Call this number: 1-669-900-6833 
  2. Use the meeting ID: 669 927 281
  3. Enter password 080114 

You will find yourself in our Zoom worship space.

Advent TEXTtalks – TODAY! November 19th, 7-8:30pm

 

Are you interested in getting a head start on engaging with the scripture texts that form the basis for preaching each Sunday morning in worship?

 

Join us for a special Advent edition of TEXTtalks… a monthly conversation on the texts we hear in worship. Join me and others as we read through the upcoming Bible stories and ask ourselves… what do we notice? what do we wonder about?

 

The next conversation is on Thursday, November 19th, from 7 to 8:30pm. We will discuss the following stories for the Season of Advent:

 

Sundays in Advent 

Nov 29 –       Holding on to Hope… even in the lion’s den           Daniel 6:6-27

Dec 6 –            Anticipating Peace after the plague                           Joel 2:12-13, 28-29

Dec 13 –        Joyfully proclaiming release to the captives                Isaiah 61:1-4, 7-11

Dec 20 –        Letting Love be                                                               Luke 1:26-56

*Hebrew Bible (In other translations: 2:12-13, 28-29)

 

I look forward to this opportunity to engage with God’s word in community. 

I invite you to read these texts ahead of time and come ready to join the discussion.

 

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88456309441?pwd=Qm85dzZpamw0eGY2RkJOMnlUSWIyQT09

 

Peace,

Pastor David

Online Thanksgiving Eve Worship


This year we are offering a brief, pre-recorded Thanksgiving Eve Worship service that you will be able to access online for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will make the YouTube link available in our Faith News and on our Facebook page on Wednesday morning (Nov 25th.)


And… we need your participation to make this online worship offering complete! 

Even though this Thanksgiving holiday will be very different and, in many ways, harder for many of us, I still believe that each of us can find at least one thing we are thankful for in these strange  and challenging times. 


So… please consider sending me the following message…


I (We) are thankful for... (fill in the blank)!


You are invited to be as creative as you feel. For instance, you could send me…

… a video of you sharing what your thankful for.

… a picture of yourself(ves) holding a poster with your thanksgiving message.

… a text. (971-313-1281)

… an email.


I will be compiling all of these messages into a montage of gratitude, to be included in our Thanksgiving Eve Worship. 


If you would like to record a thanksgiving video message but are not sure how to go about it, I will be available after worship this Sunday to offer assistance or even help you record your message on Zoom. In order to include your message, I need to receive it by the end of day on Sunday, November 22nd.


What are you thankful for as we celebrate Thanksgiving 2020?


Happy Thanksgiving,

Pastor David

Advent Begins on November 29th

 

You’ve heard this from me before (but this year, it all feels new and different):

 

Advent is a season of…

Waiting                           “What are you waiting for?

Anticipation           “What do you anticipate will happen?

Preparation            “How will you prepare?”

 

I can only speak for myself, but I am guessing your experience may be similar: these questions have never felt so epic, and in some ways, so unanswerable, as in this present moment. We may not know the answers to these questions. We may not have a clue what specifically is over the horizon. And yet, it has been shown to us in the ancient stories, in the traditions of our faith communities, and in our worship gatherings both in person and online, that the God of the universe, the Holy One who loved us into existence, the Word that became flesh, is with us… here and now!

 

The seasons of Advent and Christmas are upon us! I look forward to walking this Advent and Christmas journey together with all of you! And I encourage you to invite others… friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family… to join us along the way.

 

Part of our weekly online worship during the Advent season will be to light the candles in our Advent wreaths in our homes. If you would like to receive an Advent Wreath Kit, please click here. This will direct you to our Advent Breakfast RSVP link, but there is a special question for those that do not want to attend the breakfast but would like a wreath kit.

 

May we gather in Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

 

Sundays in Advent @ 9:30am

Nov 29 –       Holding on to Hope… even in the lion’s den           Daniel 6:6-27

Dec 6 –            Anticipating Peace after the plague                           Joel 2:12-13, 28-29

Dec 13 –        Joyfully proclaiming release to the captives                Isaiah 61:1-4, 7-11

Dec 20 –        Letting Love be                                                               Luke 1:26-56

 

Thursday, December 24th @4:30pm

Christmas Eve Worship   

Good news of a great joy to be shared by the whole people

Luke 2:1-20

 

 

In ways we could have never anticipated… we need one another, we hunger for this good news, and we are being called to pay attention, to look and to see, to listen and to hear – to notice and to participate in – God’s incarnational love, Emmanuel (God with us), in our midst… now more than ever!

 

May you all experience the love of God in Christ Jesus throughout these Advent and Christmas seasons!

 

Pastor David

Please join Community of ChristChurch for our annual Advent Breakfast on Saturday, December 5th. We will be using Zoom this year and have come up with a few ways for this to be interactive. All are welcome!
 

We are going to make an advent wreath centerpiece, share cookie and brunch recipes, have an advent devotion that goes along with the wreath assembly and sing Karaoke carols.
 
There are no registration fees for this event and supplies will be provided to attendees. Donations are graciously accepted to help defray costs. If you would like to make a donation towards a wreath kit please go to the link below and select 'Community Service Outreach', put Advent Breakfast in the note line. Thank you for your donation!
Cookie Making Extravaganza  - hosted by Sacred Circle program
 
Sacred Circle is committed to helping our own community stay connected in small but meaningful ways.

We are hosting a Cookie Making Extravaganza on Saturday, December 12 from 10:00am thru 1:00pm, or for however long you want to come.  
 
Find a safe place to put your laptop, tablet, or phone in your kitchen and join your friends on Zoom for some laughs and seasonal goodwill. You don’t have to make cookies, you can just come to visit. Several of us will be making Shirley Dinger's special cookies, maybe she can show us how to make ours as good as hers!  
 
Please extend our invitation to friends and neighbors (even those far away). We will include the Zoom link as the event gets closer! See ya there! 
Collecting winter clothing for vulnerable groups

ChristChurch volunteers are leading us in collecting items for the local homeless folks (currently in the fairgrounds), Lifeline Connections in Vancouver, WA, and HomePlate ( HomePlate is Washington County's only non-profit provider of drop-in centers and street outreach for young people experiencing homelessness). 

 

They are collecting the following:

 

Socks, cold-weather clothing, blankets, coats sweaters, jackets, scarves, gloves/mittens at least thru December.

 
In addition, we are looking for funny, cute, inspirational socks for Christmas for HomePlate youth!

 

Items collected will be divided out and given to three groups listed above.

 

Three places to drop off donations:

1) Violet Thetford’s condo: on the bench in front

2) Jane and Paul Jackson house: front door

3) Michael and Eileen Gross house: front door

 

Contact Rachael in the office for the above addresses. You could also try using our online member directory. 

Church Council Minutes 
 
The approved minutes from the October 28, 2020 Council meeting are now on our website. 
 
If you have questions on the minutes email Admin@comchristchurch.org
Sacred Circle Outreach to Blanchet House:

Sacred Circle received a donation of 140 pairs of socks! With that as our base, we have designed our project for November. 
 
We will be giving 140 care bags to Blanchet House, a homeless care facility in Portland. Each kit will have a pair of socks, hand warmers, COVID mask, a rain poncho, an emergency blanket, a protein bar, and antibacterial wipes. !If you’d like to make a financial donation to help with the costs, go to our giving page and select Community Service Outreach. There is now a 'note' field so people can designate the intended use.
 
This work with the Blanchet House will be in addition to our regular cold-weather clothing collection which is ongoing thru December.
 
We will be doing projects similar to this regularly especially throughout the cold winter months. We are also looking to provide at minimum one meal per month to the shelters. Please join with us in providing these crucial items to our family in Christ.  If you’d like to join the work party putting the bags together, please contact Violet or Tracy. Use the online Church Directory to find their phone numbers and other contact information. 
 
Click here for information about Blanchet House.
Online gatherings open to all
Photo by  Meg Wagener on Unsplash
Crafting and Creativity share 
Every Saturday
10am - noon

https://zoom.us/j/226185003?pwd=b0tzLzBDaTJlc1RvVEV2dFQyRTZ2QT09

Meeting ID: 226 185 003
Password: 012822
ChristChurch Classified page submissions:
These classifieds are designed to be a helpful resource for those within the ChristChurch community.  We accept a variety of postings. Full details are here. 
Nutritionist
Ready to feel your best? Come work with me!
With personalized nutrition counseling, nutrition/cooking classes, and/or food relationship coaching, we can work together to discover the changes you can start making in your life so you feel fully alive :)
 
For more information, go to fullyalivenutrition.com or email me, Kristin Kinnie at kristin@fullyalivenutrition.com
Lovegood Performing Arts Company -
Virtual Christmas Variety Show
 
Community of ChristChurch is a sponsor of the first-ever performance from the youth-based Lovegood Performing Arts Company. We would love to share this amazing virtual Christmas show with all of you. Please RSVP for the free show here: https://www.lovegood.company/upcoming-events/christmas-in-a-box
 
I would highly encourage you to RSVP so you keep getting info on how to stream the event on Dec 18th.  You are more than welcome to share with anyone you would like. It should be a really fun virtual event at a time when we all could use some fun Christmas cheer!
Make a difference this holiday. Shop for gifts at smile.amazon.com/ch/93-1190926 to generate donations for Community of Christ Church.
Community of ChristChurch

This is Christ's church. There is a place for you here.

Mailing address:
 Community of ChristChurch

3300 NW 185th Ave #224
Portland, OR 97229

(503) 617-9526
www.comchristchurch.org
Online Office Information  
As of August 2020, Community of ChristChurch operates as an online office with staff working remotely.
Currently, all gatherings are online, using Zoom. 

Staff contact information:
Pastor David Eppelsheimer
pastordavid@comchristchurch.org  

Administrative & Communications Coordinator
Rachael Jans admin@comchristchurch.org

Prayer Requests
 admin@comchristchurch.org


Electronic Giving
Since we can't pass our offering basket during online worship, we encourage you to automate your giving. Online giving reduces staff and volunteer processing time. Electronic giving also offers an easy way to give on a recurring basis. 
THANK YOU to everyone that has signed up! 


Go to https://app.easytithe.com/App/Giving/comchristchurch and select the checkbox ‘Make this gift recurring’.
You will be walked through the steps for setting
up an account with Easy Tithe.

Submissions for Faith News:
Do you have an article or piece of news to
share with the congregation? 
Email your submission for Faith News by 2pm on Wednesday via email
This message was sent to admin@comchristchurch.org by admin@comchristchurch.org
Community of ChristChurch - Mailing address 3300 NW 185th Ave #224 Portland, OR 97229 - www.comchristchurch.org


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