Good morning, COG Family!
What a joy it has been over the last two weekends to have worship service at COG. Having the congregation back together has been great! It is also a joy to see so many are following online. I am thankful for the talents of our staff and volunteers that can provide an in-person and online option for everyone.
“Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!”
Psalm 34:3
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday.
Be salt and light,
Pastor Chris
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Sunday Teaching Schedule
Reminder that Pastor Joel is on sabbatical until September 1, 2020. If you need anything, reach out to Pastor Chris or the church office.
Upcoming Teaching Schedule
August 23: Pastor J
August 30: Rory Tucker
Sept 6: Pastor Joel
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Tithes and Offerings
Thank you, COG family, for your generosity and faithfulness during these difficult times! Here are our giving numbers for the last tw0 weeks:
Week of Aug 11, 2020
Giving: $13,402.00
Weekly Budget: $10,121.44
Year to Date Giving: $305,980.37
Year to Date Budget: $323,886.08
Week of Aug 18, 2020
Giving: $10,506.16
Weekly Budget: $10,121.44
Year to Date Giving: $316,486.53
Year to Date Budget: $334,007.52
Below are the ways that you can contribute your tithes and offerings to the church.
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Write a check to the church. You can either mail it in to the church or stop by the church and put it in the slot of our mailbox located by the doors of the North Building (4343 S. Flanders St. Centennial, CO 80015).
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Bill Pay through your banking institution.
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COG website - online giving.
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Here is a reminder that we are still meeting face-to-face on Sunday mornings at 10 am for worship service. We will also keep providing our online option for those who prefer to join us virtually.
An important change that I wanted to make you aware of is that we have removed the request for you to RSVP for in-person Sunday service. Due to current capacity and attendance, we feel we are OK to pause RSVP's. If we feel we need to start them up again, we will communicate that with the congregation.
Sunday service will start at 10 am. Please do not come to the building before 9:45 am unless you are filling a volunteer position.
- We are requiring face masks to be worn while inside the church building (following CO state guidelines). We recommend you wear them while outside the building as well, especially while visiting with others outside your family group.
- We are requiring 6' social distancing at all times with those who are not in your household. Children and youth will need to stay with their parents at all times.
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We will not have children's classes on Sundays until further notice. Nancy will keep parents up-to-date on progress with children's classes. If you have questions, you can email Nancy.
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Youth will not be meeting this coming Sunday, but youth and parents will receive an email from Pastor J regarding when they will start meeting. If you want to make sure you are on Pastor J's email list, you can email Pastor J.
- If you feel ill, have been ill, someone in your family has been ill, or around someone who has had COVID-19 over the past 10 days, please stay home.
- Ushers will help family groups find seating and we ask you to keep three chairs apart from each family group.
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If you do not feel comfortable coming to service, we will still be streaming service online at 10 am. Her is the link to our YouTube channel.
If you wish to read all of the details regarding this phase of our re-opening, you can click here to go to our COVID-19 page on our website.
Pastor Chris
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Facility Manager Position |
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We currently have a need for a new facilities manager. This is a part-time position overseeing the cleaning of the facilities and lawn care. If you are interested or know someone who may be interested, please contact me via email.
I would also like to take a moment to thank Ken Hammond, Jerry Glass, Joyce Baker, Jim Bryan, and Darren Reich for helping out around the facilities. If anyone would like to help out while we are looking for a new facilities manager, feel free to email me.
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Bring Your Own Kids' In-Church Bags! We will be providing activity packets for kids who attend church with their families in person, so we are encouraging families to put together an activity bag for each child who will be attending with you. We suggest that each bag have a clipboard and coloring supplies; then add any additional items from home you know will help your child stay focused in church. We will have a few activity bags available for children to use (and not return) on Sunday mornings, but making and bringing your own would help us out. Thank you! |
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Praising God should be a regular part of our day. What are you praising God for? I would like to share your praises with the COG family in future newsletters. Email me your praises so we can all give God an amen. If you want to remain anonymous, just let me know.
Here are praise reports I received over the last two weeks.
"I praise God for those who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect us."
"I praise God for divine appointments."
"Praising God for a LifeGroup that seeks God together, prays for each other, encourages one another, jokes around, and shares funny .gifs and stories! Thankful to have them all in our life!" - Mel
"I praise God for air conditioning." - Rebecca
"Carol and I are praising the Lord for what he is doing in the lives of our grandson and his girlfriend. This last week our grandson Kaleb was in a rollover accident but came out without a scratch. He has been slowly coming back to the Lord over the past few months while our daughter is getting the privilege of discipling his girlfriend. Kaleb called us after the accident and was giving all glory and praise to God for His protection. God really does answer prayers!" - Harry and Carol
"I praise God for the power, desire, and mercy to lead me."
"I praise God for the friends he has surrounded me with." - Chris
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The next virtual ladies fellowship event is on August 30th at 6 pm. We will incorporate fun facts as a fun way to interact and network with the women in our church. You can join by using this Zoom link. If you have questions, reach out to Joyce Baker.
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Camp Out at Long Scraggy
Long Scraggy RSVPs are all taken. Thank you, William and Amy, for organizing the Labor Day weekend event!
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On August 26th at 7 pm, Pastor J will be hosting a youth ministry family trivia night on the front lawn of COG. Bring lawn chairs, food, snacks, and drinks for your family group.
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As you may recall, we teamed up with the CBDR group earlier this year to serve thousands of meals to our local community. Recently, they have been serving meals to those impacted by the wildfires in CO, and I guarantee they will be at various locations again in the near future. This group is truly a blessing to those who they serve. They have a continued expense to replace equipment and purchase various required resources. There is a very easy way we can help support this great organization. It's easy and you are already doing it: grocery shopping. King Soopers and City Market have approved CBDR on their rewards program, and all you need to do is enroll and use the program when you checkout at the store. The details are below. If you have any questions, you can reach out to Bob and Judy Cale via email.
To use the King Soopers or City Market Community Rewards Program:
Visit the appropriate link below..
Once you've logged into your King Soopers or City Market account, search for Colorado Baptists General Convention either by name or by the code NC352 and then click "Enroll". New users will need to create an account which requires some basic information, a valid email address, and a loyalty card.
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Tell us a bit about yourself
I have been married for 20 years this September to my incredible husband Jason. We have amazing boy/girl twins, Tristan & Aubrey who turn 13 this year (Gonna need you all to lift this Mama up in prayer during these teen years!) I've been a follower of Christ all of my life. I run the Olin Ministry coordinating volunteers to deliver 24 meals each Saturday afternoon and providing Easter and Thanksgiving dinner each year (barring pandemics and such.) I fell in love with Community of Grace the first time I went. I was raised in charismatic Mega churches and I wanted something different for my children. Smaller, peaceful, welcoming and loving with friends who are more like family. I found all of that at COG. I love, love, love my church family.
Do you have an unusual skill/hobby/talent?
I started my son on raw goat milk when he was 4, because it was supposed to be better for his asthma. Turns out raw goat milk tastes like farm... so that went bust. However, all was not lost! I learned to make cold processed goat milk soap. I tend to make it every September and October so I can give it as gifts to my family and friends at Christmas. I also have a love of canning. Especially jams and pie fillings. I spend my summers making jam and the fall making pie filling. I give these away too. Learning to quilt and sew remains a work in progress.
If you picked one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
Forgiven
What is a little known fact about yourself?
I danced all of my childhood and teen years. My dream was to dance with Baryshnikov. I broke my ankle at 16 and it never quite came back, now I kitchen dance. Everyday. Sometimes I get lucky and my son joins in.
What do you like to do on a day with no set plans?
The sky's the limit! It might be working on one of my aforementioned hobbies, surfing the internet for new recipes to try, finding new music, or contemplating new ways to color my hair (currently I am rocking rainbow.) I tend to skip TV and movies. I prefer music and good conversation with family and friends instead.
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Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm a retired high school Spanish, German and English language learner teacher and I taught for over 30 years. I've been a Christian for over 35 years. Bob and I have 3 adult children: Christine, Caroline and James. Christine and Caroline are married to Brett and Christopher, respectively. I have no grandchildren yet. This September, Bob and I will have been married for 46 years. We lived and taught in high schools in Australia, Brazil, Ohio and Colorado. Now that I am retired, I enjoy volunteering and serving the Lord to bring Him glory. It provides purpose and brings me many blessings! The Lord keeps me quite busy. At church, I have been a greeter for Children's Church, Women's Ministry co-leader, helping lead Friday morning Women's Bible Study, on the Finance team, and helping Bob with Lifegroup. I've been on several mission trips inside and outside of the U.S. I'm on the Board of Child Rescue orphanage. Bob and I both have leadership roles in Gideons. When disasters happen, we volunteer with Colorado Baptist Disaster Relief. Last year, I became a Colorado master gardener for Arapahoe County. This summer, I am participating in a Citizen Science Native Bee project. This year I have been an Arapahoe County election judge and worked during both primaries. I will be working again during the upcoming November election.
Do you have an unusual skill/hobby/talent?
I'm fairly fluent in Spanish and German.
If you picked one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
World-traveler. I've traveled to 5 continents and visited multiple countries within th0se continents. I enjoy exploring God's beautiful creation and learning about the people and cultures of different countries.
What is a little-known fact about yourself?
My parents were German immigrants and I was born in Canada.
What do you like to do on a day with no set plans?
On a day with no set plans, I like to drink some good coffee in the morning, go through and respond to emails, walk around my yard and look at the flowers and watch the bees, read my Bible study, pray, call someone I haven't spoken to in a while, accomplish something around the house like doing chores or organizing a cupboard, shelf or drawer, and maybe try a new recipe for dinner. Pretty mundane!
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Community of Grace Sunday Prayer Time |
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The COG prayer team is gathering via Zoom each Sunday at 9:15 am - 9:45 am to pray before worship service. Please join us! Click here to download the file; then click the file to add it to your calendar. You can also click this link to join the Zoom meeting directly. The meeting ID is 598 261 804 and the password is 053343. Prayer will wrap up with enough time to join our online worship service starting at 10 am. You can click here to go to the online service.
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Questions or Concerns?
Email us
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