what's happening at Hope this September?
We begin a new sermon series...
From Our Pastor

Dear Hope Church family,
Beginning this month we will be starting an expositional sermon series through the Gospel of John. This Gospel makes clear at its end that it was written for benefit of its reader (that’s us!), more specifically, that the reader would come to know who Jesus is and have “life in his name” (20:30-31). With that you not only know the name we are giving to our sermon series, “Life in his Name,” but also what the Gospel of John intends to work in us.

Let me encourage all of us to prepare for this next sermon series by reading individually or as a family the Gospel of John as a whole. Read a chapter or even just a section of a chapter each day or week, reflecting on its powerful message. Use this series to take your kids or grandkids through this amazing story of Jesus and the life that he offers. And use this series to grow in your own understanding of Jesus’ person and work – the truth of the gospel for your life. God has used the Gospel of John to introduce himself to or cause growth in innumerable people for the past two thousand years. My prayer is that he would do so again among us in the next few months at Hope Church.

For God’s glory,
-Pastor Mickey
WHAT:                
HOPE'S 50 th  ANNIVERSARY BANQUET CELEBRATION

WHEN:                
October 12, 2018, @ 6:30 pm

WHERE:               
Sam’s Ristorante, Riverside Blvd, Rockford

COST:                  
$20 per person (seating is limited)
 
Save the date to come and celebrate with our Hope Church family 50 years of serving our community. We have a confirmation that past Senior Pastors Don Fisher and Bob Ahlberg will come and speak at the event as we celebrate what God has done for the past 50 years through Hope. Please save the date and make every effort to join us.  
 
WHAT:                 
COMBINED SERVICE

WHEN:                 
October 14, 2018 @ 10:00am

WHERE:               
Performing Arts Center at Hononegah High School. 
 
Come join us and invite your friends as we look forward to our next 50 years.   
Last month we wrote to inform you all of the retirement of Carolyn Scherrer from our staff after 24 years of faithful and dedicated service. We received numerous applicants for our Communications Coordinator position. It was quite a busy month going through the process as a staff. 

We are pleased to announce that we have hired Julia Moore from within the Hope family. We look forward to Julia joining our team and the new perspective on ministry that she will bring. Many of you who have been here for any length of time have seen her grow up over the years. After being away for several years she will be moving back here in the fall and start working for us in mid-November. 

Julia was raised and baptized in Hope church. She graduated with a communications degree from Rock Valley College before earning her Bachelors in Film Production at Huntington University, Indiana. Immediately following she moved to Los Angeles where she’s lived for four years working freelance in the television and film industry. She has worked for FOX, NBC, A&E, the Food Network, ABC, Warner Brothers, and many others.

She now feels the Lord has opened the door to ministry, and she’s excited to be bringing her gifts to this role as the communications coordinator here at Hope church.
She enjoys photography, traveling, old movies, outdoor activities, and spending time with family. Her parents, Jack and Debbie Moore, are members at Hope and her brother Jack Kenton currently attends as well. 
The Priority of Prayer
Why We Are Shifting the Approach of Our Prayer Gatherings

For the past few years, the pastoral leadership of Hope Church has been striving to find ways for our body to live out a priority for corporate prayer. For so many Christians in today’s world, prayer is seen as a private experience. While prayer can indeed be an intimate manner of relating to God, prayer was never intended to be restricted to private devotion. Throughout all of scripture we see God’s people gathering to pray in unity. In fact, we are specifically instructed towards corporate prayer. Even Revelation paints a picture of God’s saints praying together in heaven. Yet for many churches today, corporate prayer is restricted to a 2-3 minute prayer during the worship service. 
 
Out of a desire to see Hope Church reflect a more biblical prioritization of prayer we began hosting a prayer gathering on the 1 st and 3 rd Wednesdays of each month. These times have been rich for a portion of our body, and yet it has been a bit of a struggle making this outlet accessible to the larger body of Hope Church. Last year we sought to remove obstacles by making tweaks such as providing child care for younger children so that parents could participate more easily. Yet when the pastoral team gathered earlier this year to discuss how we could make deeper progress in prayerful dependence on God as a body, we still saw some adjustments that might be helpful.
 
The result is the birth of an evening we are calling First Things. We will now gather once a month on the 1 st Wednesday of each month to pray and worship as a body. Why are we are calling it First Things?
 
So many times in life, when we face obstacles, confusion, heartache, or even normal crossroads, our first reaction is to start problem solving. Rarely is our 1 st response to seek God and his will. This can be true for a church as well as individuals. Even when we remember to include God in the equation, we tend to think we are doing well if God is one of the priorities in how we tackle the issue at hand. A friend of mine says it this way, “The reality is that God doesn’t want to be our top priority. He wants to be the one through whom we set all of our priorities.” First Things is a chance to start each month with a call to remember and practice this truth. And since it is always at the beginning of the month, it is a chance for us to put First Things first. We hope this rhythm is a reminder that helps bring other aspects of our lives into deeper biblical alignment. Here are some of the benefits we see to the changes.
  • By being once a month, we think several things get better.
o    It’s easier to remember. This change cuts down on confusion.
o    It allows us to be more intentional and creative with each gathering. We
have time as a leadership team to explore different types of prayer, be
creative with how we use the environment, sculpt musical worship
specifically to help our hearts engage the focus of the month, etc..
o    It allows small groups who meet on Wednesdays to participate as a
community without having to give up their other meetings in a month, or
crowding the month with too many events.
  • We are also going to test out a venue change. Maybe even several.
o    We are going to start by moving upstairs into the student area. This
environment has less of an acoustic echo than Fellowship Hall, and we
believe this will help make group prayer at the tables a more pleasant
and intimate experience.
o    While we are excited about the change of venue, we don’t want to see it
as permanent. We want what best meets the needs of those who gather
and what helps focus on our goals. 
  • We are going to look for ways to keep our younger audience engaged.
o We will still provide child care for preschool children, but we would love
to see older kids and students engage prayer with the rest of the
body. We are thinking of creative ways to structure our time with an
awareness of varying attention spans and interests.
 
As you start the rhythms of a new school year, we want to challenge you to consider a deeper commitment to corporate prayer. We believe that God will open some amazing doors when we begin seeking his will in deeper ways as a body.
Resource Center
As the kids go back to school, remember that we have the Accelerated Reader (AR) Program at the Resource Center! The books that have AR tests are labeled on the spine, with the reading level, points, and test information inside the cover. There is also a list of our AR books on the library desk, organized by reading level. This allows your kids to choose God-honoring books from our library, in addition to the ones at their public schools. Look for these resources on the New Arrivals shelf in September:
Non-Fiction:
Going Solo: Hope and Healing for the Single Mom or Dad by Robert Beeson
One More Try: What to Do When Your Marriage is Falling Apart by Gary Chapman
Divine Rendezvous: Prayer for the Perilous Journey to Our Heavenly Home by John Crocker
A Call to Love: Preparing Your Heart & Soul for Adoption by Julie Holmquist

Fiction:
The Innkeeper’s Daughter by Michelle Griep
The Ladies of Ivy Cottage (Tales from Ivy Hill #2) by Julie Klassen
Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin
Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin
A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano
A Song Unheard (Shadows Over England #2) by Roseanna M. White

Juvenile:
God’s Big, Big Church by B&H Kids (0+)
The Beautiful Garden of Eden (Faith that God Built series) by Gary Bower (0+)
The Pilgrim’s Progress Graphic Novel adapted from John Bunyan (8+)
Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World by Bryan Davis (8+)
Faithgirlz! Lucy series #’s 1-4 by Nancy Rue (8+)
Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June (12+)
Toward a Secret Sky by Heather Maclean (12+)
The Edge of Over There by Shawn Smucker (12+)

DVD:
God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness
Home is Where the Heart Is (When Calls the Heart)
My Heart is Yours (When Calls the Heart)

The Well
For those that don’t realize this, The Well is our program that ministers to young adults in our body and community. Starting this month, we will see some exciting changes to the way this community meets and grows. We want to tell you all about that, but first, we’d like to share a little history about how The Well came about and what has led us to point.
 
The Well would not exist without the heart and efforts of Susan and Chuck Hundt. Several years ago, they looked around and realized that we had a population of young adults that Hope Church was not effectively engaging. As Susan prayed about who God might use to reach this demographic, she realized that God wanted to use her and Chuck to help meet the needs that she had noticed. For the past few years the Hundts have hosted this community in their home: loving them, mentoring them, providing a space for discussion, and even feeding them out of their own personal budget. As this group progressed young couples such as Kyle and Molly Butts, Olle and Kelly Larson, and Casey and Tracy Ehlers joined the leadership team of this community. This past year some crossroads began to change the makeup of that leadership team as job opportunities and life changes brought new challenges for several on the team. Eventually, as the Hundts themselves experienced some new changes in their jobs and schedules, they came to us to let the church know that they saw a need to step away for at least a season while they adjusted to their new rhythms. At a minimum it was going to be necessary to stop hosting the gatherings at their house. Hope Church found itself at the drawing board in regards to the future of our young adult community.
 
With prayerful consideration pastoral leadership decided it would be helpful to reimagine The Well and how we could support this community moving forward. Olle Larson had spent last year as a pastoral intern here at Hope Church, and he seemed like the right man for the job. We approved a small stipend with which to pay Olle to oversee The Well under the oversight of our student pastor, Greg Lynas. The Well took the summer off to prayerfully think through what changes would be needed to reboot the ministry successfully outside of its longtime home. After a lot of effort and energy, we are excited to announce the launch of The Well in its new format.
 
SO WHAT ARE THESE CHANGES? The Well will now meet on Tuesday nights in our Student Area upstairs from 7-8:30pm. We are thinking through new opportunities for community events, service projects, and new ways to approach the community’s study of scripture. Olle is recruiting a leadership team to surround him and recently executed a focus group of a dozen young adults to help him think through the needs of the community. All of this causes us to be very excited for what lies ahead. If you are a young adult, we would like to invite you to join us for our launch on Sept 4 th . There will be a cookout, volleyball, and other games as we get together, hang out, and look forward to what God has instore for the Well for the upcoming year. Come hungry and ready to have fun.
The Women of Hope's first Table of 8 for this Fall will be Friday, October 5

The Women of Hope Tables of 8 was started with the purpose of developing multi generational relationships between our women at Hope.

Our next Table of 8 will be a dinner on Friday, October 5 at a host's home. You can sign up to be a host or an attendee. Host responsibilities include the entrée and assigning sides, drinks, and desserts to those attending.
Sign up at the Women of Hope table in the lobby.  
Motherhood can be challenging and even overwhelming. Hope Moms Group is for mothers with children of all ages, who want to share experiences, be encouraged, and provide hope as you walk through motherhood together.
Come find joy in the journey!

Fall Startup date is Thursday, September 13, 9 am
Hope Moms Group meets the 2 nd and 4 th Thursday of every month from 9-11 during the school year. Childcare is available. Contact us at hefcmomsgroup@gmail.com and check us out on facebook

Child Care Workers are Needed Please contact the email above if you are available to help out on any of the 2nd and 4th Thursday mornings.
Fall Kick-Off
Check out this year's Women's Ministry Kick-Off - a  n ight of worship, prayer, and fun, September 21 from  6:30-9pm.
 
We are desiring to inform, unite and excite our women of Hope for what lies ahead in the coming year.

There will be times of worship, an opportunity to hear “What’s coming up", enhanced with prayer, games, prizes and refreshments!
A fun time for all our women of Hope. Come hear what lies ahead!

The Diaconate is looking for help with the First Impressions ministry of serving coffee on Sundays mornings. The times would be either before first service around 8am or in between first and second service at 10:10am to 10:45am.

Please contact Amy Knaul at
779-221-6973 or amyknaul@gmail.com if you are interested in learning more!"
Hope Students

Hope Student Ministry is excited to launch another school year. There are some exciting things on the horizon, but for now we want to take a brief moment to let you know about two big things.

PARENT MEETING – Sunday September 16 th after 2 nd Service.
This is a chance for parents to hear about our student program including goals, vision, future events, and more. It is also a great place to ask any questions you may have about the program and its direction. We will also discuss thoughts of next summer’s trips. A snack will be provided so that people don’t have to worry about running to lunch. 

HIGH SCHOOL SUNDAY SCHOOL LAUNCH – Sept 9 th
Last year we made a decision to stop hosting a high school Sunday school class. With youth group on Sunday nights, we realized that between church service, Sunday school, and youth group, our high school students were in 3 teaching environments on the same day. Two of those were peer environments. We canceled the class in the hopes of encouraging students to use that time frame for one of 2 other options: 1. Serve in some capacity: whether children’s ministry, worship team, nursery, or even coffee; or 2. Join an ABF to have deeper interactions with the larger body. 

After carefully observing last year, we realized that only a small portion of the high school students chased these new opportunities. Not only that, but our ABF environments weren’t adequately prepped by us for the reception of the High School community. 

All of these things have led us to reimagine what can become of the High School Sunday School environment. We will have a more discussion-oriented environment focused more on training than teaching. We will take a year to explore the call for each of us to make disciples, and talk through how this call intersects with our actual lives. The class will be hosted by Kim Neyer and Greg Lynas, and we hope to engage our high school students in rich discussion. Please join us.
Mission Update

     The Mission's Board would like to call to your attention that the Willow Womens Center (Formerly Stateline Pregnancy Clinic) will be having their annual "Walk 4 the Future" and additionally have added a "Color Run".
     These fundraising activities go towards helping young women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy get the help they need. These services include patient advocacy where the patients is listened to carefully and are guided through different steps, so all of their questions are answered and they can make a fully informed decision regarding the future of their pregnancy.
    Medical services are provided offering imperative information, so patients are well informed prior to making a decision which works toward turning fear into confidence. All services that Willow Womens Center provides are free of charge. The first step is confirming the pregnancy by providing a medical grade test administered by a licensed nurse. Once the pregnancy has been verified the client is given an ultrasound to determine the gestation age and detect a fetal heartbeat. Information about fetal development and other important information is also relayed to the patient. Lastly, an STI test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea is offered, which makes WWC unique. Most women's reproductive clinics and abortion clinics do not offer free STI screening.
   WWC additionally offers a Safe Start Program. The program is 8 interactive classes covering prenatal, postnatal, and neonatal care and instruction. The parenting classes give moms the knowledge they need to step into parenting with confidence. The group doubles as a place where women can build friendships and a support system that proves invaluable as they move into the future. Upon completion of the classes the moms receive a free infant car seat and a safe sleep baby "boxinet" to help reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
   The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 29 th , rain or shine, at Preservation Park in Beloit. Registration opens at 8:30am. The Walk begins at 9 am while the Color Run begins at 10 am. Here's how it works. Get your friends, coworkers, neighbors, relatives to sponsor you as you walk in support of WWC’s life saving mission. Collect the money and turn it in on the day of the walk or later that week to WWC. The registration fee for the Color Run is $25 and is due Thursday, September 13th. This activity is ideal for involving church youth groups to have a fun way of introducing the kids into the important work of WWC. Together, we can make abortion unthinkable, regardless of its legality.
     You can also have your sponsors go to www.spcbeloit.org and click on donate. Email Lori (lori@willowwomencenter.org) or call 608- 365-5433 and let her know that you would like to collect the donations online. Designate the funds to go toward the Walk for Life and then have them select your name from the drop down box and fill in the remaining boxes and hit submit. If you have other questions email Jutta Museus (Administrative Assistant) at info@willowwomenscenter.org.
Please consider supporting this important fundraising event.
The Hope Church Mission's Board
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MANY THANKS
Words can't express my thanks for the work you and Gary did today. You and your group are truly a blessing . I couldn't help thinking that handyman Rob would be so pleased to pitch in on your projects and how appreciative he would be to see your help to me in his absence. Please pass along my thanks to Gary. P.S. promise I'll try to have no more water problems before I move! God bless you both! Mary Griffith

Thank you for all the prayers. The specialist said it would be best if they could do surgery right away, but we have to hold off 3-6 months since I have numerous blood clots in both lungs. Please pray I can hold off that long.  Love , Mary Willms

Dear Hope Church, Thank you so much for the scholarship to Timber-lee! This year was probably my favorite year because of the middle school activities. I learned that when you mess up Jesus always has a plan for you. When you do not know what to do pray about it. From, Lydia Nordgren

Dear Hope Church, Thank you for giving me a scholarship to Timber-lee. It was so fun doing games and learning new things. From, Joshua Nordgren

To the AWESOME crew of volunteers from Hope Evangelical Free Church ~~ Thank you for donating your time and energy to assembling a Gaga Ball pit at Whitman Post. The kids are going to LOVE this addition to our school yard!   Megan Forsythe and Whitman Post Elementary School

Dear Helping Hands, what a blessing you all are to me and so many others. Your willingness to meet each need is an inspiration. God bless each one of you as you continue to be God’s hands and feet. Thanks again. Keep his song in your hearts, Levon Kline

Dear Friends, All the love and support shown by everyone made the Celebration of Life for Mel a wonderful memory for our family. Our well organized office took care of many phone calls, programs and signs. Our special Marshall and Levon brought us wonderful music. Our family’s pastor, Martin Giese from Bemidje, MN was an inspiration as he knew Mel so well.  We must thank our sound crew, those who did the flowers and table settings, those who brought food, and those who worked in the kitchen to make everything run so smoothly. I cannot know all those that helped so much to make it so nice. This lifted many burdens off our family.  Many thanks, Lynn Eichman   And yes, I stumbled in my closet the next week and broke a vertebrae in my back which has slowed me down. 

Dear Hope Family, Thank you so much for the cards and flowers following my surprise appendectomy. But I especially thank you for your prayers. I definitely felt them! And because of them, I'm doing very well. My family and I appreciate your love and concern! Love in Christ, Sharon Moreland
support group
AWLS (Awesome, Wise, Lively Singles)
 Support Group
 
DATE Saturday, September 8, at 12:30 pm
 
PLACE: Pastor Fana’s & Elizabeth’s home, 10959 Hamburg Road, Roscoe  
 
MENU:  Grilled meats, salads, desserts (please bring a dish to pass)
 
RSVP:  Sharon Vinson (815) 623-6857 or (815) 543-5644
 
ACTIVITIES:   food, devotions, and fun 
A Membership Class will be offered Wednesday, September 26 from 6:30-8:30 pm. If you are interested in becoming a member or learning more about Hope Church please contact the office to sign-up at 815.623.6545.
SAVE THE DATES: 
October 26-27
This year our own Brad Schreiner will be our speaker. After working with men for over 20 years in ministry, he has seen several things keep coming to the forefront that seem to be common for men. Things as men, we all face, but don’t always want to deal with. Come to the Men’s Retreat October 26-27, to hear insights from 20 years of ministry and see what matters of the heart, God would have us work on together.

Friday 26th:
6:30 PM Pizza & Registration (Retreat to follow)

Saturday 27th
7:30 AM Continental Breakfast
8:30 AM-2 PM Retreat Continues (Includes lunch)
Cost: $40
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White Cross
Please consider coming to our September White Cross work days on the 4 th and 18th as we prepare quilts, rolled bandages, pillowcase dresses and boys’ shorts for Operation Christmas Child, and layettes for those in need. In addition, we will be scheduling special sewing days on the 5 th and 19 th to concentrate on sewing dresses and shorts for the OCC shoeboxes that will be sent out in November. Our group gathers in Drake Hall from 8:30 to noon and always enjoys fellowship, food, and the satisfaction of serving others while we work side by side.
Needs this month:
~Fabric for boys’ shorts or girls’ colorful dresses for Operation Christmas Child project
~ Old blankets, mattress pads for inside of quilts
~Used, clean flat sheets (any color or pattern) for quilt backs and/or rolled bandages
~Used, clean fitted sheets of any color or pattern for rolled bandages
~Single-Fold bias tape (any color) for kimonos and dresses
~Ziploc style gallon size storage bags for packing layettes
~Boxtops for Education (for local schools)

Just bring your scissors and your servant’s heart and we’ll teach you the rest.  
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Nursery
The nursery is in need of someone with a passion for babies and young parents to head up this vital ministry. Please contact Vera Juhlin at 815-623-6545 or email at Vera@hefc.net for more information on what this would include. Thank you to Caroline Ahlberg who has been doing the scheduling for the nurseries for a long time but now needs to turn it over to someone else.

Sunday school
We have needs for rotating helpers in both Preschool and Elementary Sunday School classes at 9:00am. Contact Vera Juhlin at 815-623-6545 or email at Vera@hefc.net , or Vicky Steege at Vicky@hefc.net for more details.
 
Kids Worship
We need a check-in person/helper during the 10:45 hour. This could be on a rotating basis or every week. We are also looking for a few adults to be prayer partners to our leaders and kids. Contact Vera Juhlin at 815-623-6545 or email at Vera@hefc.net for more info.

AWANA
Club will begin on September 10 from 6:30 – 8:00pm. Registration is available in the office and online at www.hefc.net . Please be in prayer that God will bring many children for us to share the Gospel with and that they would experience God’s life changing gift of salvation. 

The Cubbies and Sparks clubs are in need of several more adult leaders. Sparks especially needs men and teens.

Upcoming Dates:
Sept 10 – First night of club at 6:30pm
Sept 10 – Parent information meeting at 7:00
Sept 29 – Awana leader training at Maywood
Oct 1 – Bring a friend night

KHUSA
The Kinnikinnick School Board recognized Hope Church and the Kids Hope USA Mentoring Program at their Aug 28 meeting. They were most appreciative of all that Hope Church does for the school and children.

We already have been receiving requests for new mentors this school year. One little guy has been to 8 different schools in 3 years. He could really use a constant male presence in his life.

Please pray about becoming either a mentor or a prayer partner for a child in the Kinnikinnick School District. Contact Melissa Peshek ( mjpeshek@yahoo.com ) or Jamie Anderson ( jpcanderson@charter.net ) for more information. Applications are available in the church office.  We will be doing a training soon, so turn your application in soon!

Safe Families
Thank you to everyone who has donated to help a young mom get an apartment furnished and have supported the families in our church who are hosting children.

More host families are needed, especially for school aged children. More information is at www.safe-families.org or call Vera at 815-623-6545
Hope Families!

Are you up for a challenge? We know life is busy and full of activity, but we’d like to encourage families to gather around the dinner table to eat, laugh, play, talk, and connect! Pick up your “What’s for Dinner?” challenge booklet at one of the check-in stations in the Kids Ministry wing . Inside you will find helpful tips, suggested topics for family discussion, games and activities, riddles to solve, questions to ask, prayers to pray, and other fun options to do around the dinner table .

Because this is a “challenge” for our Hope families, there will, of course, be prizes for those that complete the challenge with the most points. Points are earned for meals where the whole family attends, as well as for additional activities that you complete together. Inside your booklet there will be a page to track your progress and space to record additional points as your family earns them. Turn in your challenge packet by October 31 st to be eligible for prizes.

Most of all we hope your family will learn to unplug, relax, build closer relationships with one another, have some fun, and be blessed through these activities!
“Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of the saints.” – Psalm 149:1

Did you know that we were created to sing? Not only that, we are commanded to sing, out loud, as part of “the assembly of saints.” The Bible has hundreds of references to singing, many of those are direct commands! So, in music ministry, our primary function is to facilitate congregational singing, together, as one family. After all, what can be more pleasing to our Lord and Savior than hearing His children sing together in one accord? And what greater witness is there to those around us who may or may not know God personally?

Speaking of singing, and in case you missed us at the Ministry Fair, sign-ups have resumed for choir. If you have previously served in our choir you are automatically receiving the communications which have begun. If you have not, feel free to contact us if you have questions or would like to participate. Rehearsals will be the Saturday morning before the Sunday serving date so there is no weekly commitment. By signing up to serve in the choir you are signed up to receive information about the serving dates. You can then decide whether or not you will be able to serve on said date. Serving dates will be communicated approximately a month in advance and each serving date will have a corresponding signup so we know who will be able to serve. Once you are signed up to serve you will then receive your music, at least two weeks in advance, to allow for practice time prior to the rehearsal.

You can also contact us if you would like more information regarding scripture reading, AV tech, general support or worship team. We always appreciate help with child care so if you can serve in the music ministry by providing child care in the nursery on Thursday evenings or Saturday mornings (for choir rehearsals, approximately once per month) please let us know that as well.
Thank you!

Jim and Melissa Curtis, Music Directors
musicdirector@hefc.net
We are entering the “Operation Christmas Child” kick-off season, and would like to invite you to participate with us in our collection for under-privileged kids around the world, through a mission organization called Samaritan’s Purse. Along with much-needed tangible items, these children also receive the Gospel Message!
Upcoming Dates for Operation Christmas Child Events at Hope:
 
The White Cross ladies already have a great start on sewing sundresses and shorts that will go in the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. If you’re interested in helping, mark your calendar to come and help at the upcoming White Cross meetings on Sept 4 th and 18 th , from 8:30am – 12pm in Drake Hall.  Come when you can and leave when you must. It is a good time of fun and fellowship working together to help others.
 
Sunday October 14th - Nov 4th      Donation Collection Weeks in Church Lobby
 
Saturday October 27th      930am – 12pm Prep Work Party in Drake Hall
 
Saturday November 10th     930am Shoebox Packing Party in Fellowship Hall
 
Monday November 12th – 18th      National Shoebox Collection Week
 
**November 19th is the final deadline for all shoeboxes to be dropped off at Hope
 
Dates for Service Project Trip to OCC Distribution Center in MN - TBD
 
**Suggested NEW items to collect for the shoeboxes...items for sewing kits and fishing kits; tools; ivory bar soap, washcloths, and toothbrushes, plus plastic travel containers for soap/toothbrushes; hair combs/brushes/hair accessories; small toys, cars, baby dolls, and beanie babies; deflated soccer balls with hand pumps; small balls; school supplies (erasers, scissors, markers, crayons, paper, pencil sharpeners and pencil cases); jewelry; shirts, socks, flip-flops; stickers, balloons, etc.
NO candy, NO glass, NO liquid items; NO toothpaste; and NO war-related items.

**Please place your donations in the OCC collection barrel in the church lobby.
 
**Please save your kids cereal boxes (with cartoon picture covers) for puzzles.
 
** Please also make homemade cards with personal messages for the kids, using markers, stickers, stampers, paint, etc.
 
Thank you for supporting this important outreach ministry!!
815.623.6545 hefc@hefc.net www.hefc.net