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News and Updates | Life at Christ Covenant Church
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NEW and UPDATED ITEMS are highlighted in blue.
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Christmas Choral Worship Service
December 23 | 10:45 AM
"Celebrating the Joy and Beauty of Advent."
Join us in the sanctuary for this special worship event as we celebrate the Advent season! This service was postponed due to inclement weather. Please make note of the new date and time.
Childcare will be available for ages four months to two years.
*Note: There be no Sunday Bible School on December 23 or 30 for any age level.
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Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Monday, December 24 | 6 PM
We will celebrate Christmas Eve and the birth of our Savior with a service of lessons and carols.
Childcare will be available for ages four months to two years.
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Ministry to Men (MtM) Fellowship Breakfast
Saturday, January 5 | 7:00 AM
Our monthly Ministry to Men (MtM) fellowship breakfast will be at Stacks Kitchen (11100 Monroe Rd. in Matthews) on Saturday, January 5 for food and fellowship. All men (18 & older) are invited to attend. Register by January 4 with Jennifer Dean at
[email protected] or 704-708-6104. Sign up is limited so please register today! The only cost is for your breakfast - you pay for your own meal. Come out and break bread with your brothers in Christ!
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HisAbilities Speaker Series:"Caring for Siblings"
Saturday, January 5 | 9:30-11:15 AM
HisAbilities is hosting the second meeting in our three part speaker series, "Navigating Life with Disabilities." in the Community Life Center chapel. Becky Bernier of Joni and Friends Charlotte will be speaking about caring for siblings in families affected by special needs. There will also be a panel discussion involving members of our own congregation who are siblings to someone with special needs and an opportunity for Q & A. A light breakfast and childcare will be provided. Breakfast begins at 9:30 AM. The seminar will begin at 10 AM and conclude by 11:15. Please join us or pass along the invitation to a friend or loved one who would benefit! RSVP by December 20 to
[email protected].
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Christmas Poinsettias - Last Sunday to Order!
This Sunday, December 16, is the Deadline
Help beautify our worship center for Christmas by ordering a poinsettia "In Memory of" or "In Honor of" a loved one. Poinsettias will be displayed during December, with pick-up after the 6 PM Christmas Eve service. To order, enclose $10 per plant (checks payable to Christ Covenant Church) along with your designation in an envelope marked "Poinsettias." You may put it in the offering, bring it to the church office, or mail it to the Operations Department, Attention: Jill Joyner. Also, you can email Jill at
[email protected]. Deadline to order is Sunday, December 16. You can find the order form in this Sunday's Courier or in the online Courier found on our
Sunday Worship Folder webpage.
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Women's Winter Bible Study Registrations
Registration is open online for new and ongoing Bible studies! If you aren't already involved in a study, check out these great options!
NEW for January:
Our Small Group Bible Studies will start
From Garden to Glory: A Bible Study on the Bible's Story written by Courtney Doctor. We are excited to jump into this study of the meta-narrative (overarching story) of Scripture. Weekly groups meet various days and times. Childcare available on Tuesday mornings. Deadline to register for childcare is December 21.
ONGOING Studies (you're welcome to join in!):
- Romans: Tuesdays 11:50 AM - 1 PM
- Ephesians: Thursdays 9:30-11:30 AM (childcare available)
- Psalms: Thursdays 9:30-11:30 AM (childcare available)
- Ruth & Esther - 2nd Wednesday 7-8:30 PM
- The Fear of the Lord...Women Who Worship - 2nd Saturday - 9:30-11:30 AM
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Employment Opportunities
Christ Covenant Church regularly seeks to employ individuals who want to engage their gifts to help make disciples who worship God, grow in community, love others, and serve the world. Please
check our webpage for current positions and to apply. Current employment opportunities include: Director of Women's Ministry, Director of Communications, Campus Security and Safety Manager, and Ministry Associate for Church Administration.
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Youth "Lumberjack" Games
Wednesday, January 9 | 7-9 PM
Middle school and high school youth! Save the date for our second annual Lumberjack Games in the CLC Youth Area lawn. This is an outdoor event including music, games, competitions, hamburgers, s'mores, and hot chocolate. Invite your friends! The cost is $8 per person, with a maximum of $15 per family. Our first Lumberjack Games were a great time of fellowship and fun! So don't miss out. This will be the first Wednesday night event of the year...and a great way to welcome you all back to Wednesday nights!
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Always Ready Youth Conference
Saturday, February 2
Middle school and high school students are invited to attend this one day apologetics conference sponsored by Reformation Bible College on Saturday, February 2 at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC. We have been informed that
this conference is expected to be sold out within the next few weeks, so sign up ASAP! Speakers are Dr. Gabe Fluhrer, Dr. Stephen Nichols, Dr. John Tweeddale, with an interview with Dr. Derek Thomas.
Meet at CLC Youth Center at 6:45 AM and we will return to the CLC at 5:30 PM. Eat breakfast before you come.
Cost of $30 includes conference, transportation, and lunch. Breakfast and dinner are not provided. Register at
bit.ly/AlwaysReadyYouth.
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No ProjectSHARE for December
We will not be doing a special collection for ProjectSHARE in December.
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Do you have space to host a missionary or missionary family? We are putting together a list of those who have extra room and would welcome our missionaries into their homes for a few days when they are visiting throughout the year or coming to our missions conferences. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Karen Chambers to discuss further.
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MNA Donations for Disaster Relief
in Paradise, California
As we learned from Pastor Brian Peterson on Sunday, November 25, one of our sister churches - Ridge Presbyterian Church in Paradise, California - suffered devastating losses from the wild fire in the area. Most of the town was destroyed, including their church and the homes of 100% of their congregation, including both pastors - Josh Lee and Bryan Laws. Our denomination's Mission To North America Disaster Relief will be collecting donations to help this congregation. You can donate directly by going to their website at
pcamna.org/disaster-response. Please be in prayer for this church and for the community.
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Worship Notes
Sunday, December 16
Third Sunday of Advent
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Morning Worship - 10:45 AM
"Never Spoke a Man Like This
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Evening Worship - 6:00 PM
"Timing is Everything"
Rev. Blair Smith
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Large Print
Worship Folders
For your convenience, large print worship folders are available at the Information Desk on Sundays.
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THIS WEEK
December 16-22
Sunday, December 16
*Third Sunday of Advent*
9 AM
| Sunday Bible School
10:45 AM
| Morning worship
6 PM
| Evening worship
6 PM
| ABC Bible Memory
6:15 PM
| Children's choirs
Monday, December 17
*NOTE: No Congregational Day of Prayer today
6:45 PM | DivorceCare for men
6:45 PM | Single & Parenting (for women)
6:45 PM | DivorceCare for Kids
6:45 PM | GriefShare
Tuesday, December 18
7 PM
| Tuesday prayer meeting
Wed, a19
7 PM
| Sanctuary Choir
Thursday, December 20
6:45 PM
| American Heritage Girls
7 PM | Trail Life
Friday, December 20
8 AM | Student Families moms' prayer group
11:30 AM | Senior Adult Men's Lunch
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Dec 23
| NO SBS (Sunday school)
Dec 23 | Christmas Choral Worship Service (10:45 AM)
Dec 24 | Christmas Eve - Lessons and Carols worship and candlelight service (6 PM)
Dec 24 & 25 | Church offices closed
Dec 28-Jan 1 | CO (Campus Outreach) New Year's Conference
Dec 30 | No SBS (Sunday school)
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Note: We limit E-Courier and Courier announcements to a maximum of four weeks (except in special circumstances). We want you - our congregation - to get the news but not be overwhelmed! All information found in the E-Courier can be found on our website. See the Quick Links above.
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Missionaries of the Week: December 16
Amjad & Sarah Mahand
High Wycombe, UK
Amjad and Sarah are planting a church in High Wycombe and have a large outreach to Muslims in their area. Pray that God would give them wisdom to make their upcoming conference to plant Muslim focused churches effective. Pray for their annual Christmas outreach - a dinner and concert - where more than 200 Muslims, Christians and others will be invited. Pray for their book table outreach, this is one of the ways they meet the most Muslims and others in their community.
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Kevin DeYoung's Out-of-Town Speaking Engagements
Please pray for our senior pastor as he travels to these conferences and speaking engagements to spread the gospel.
January 2-5 | Louisville, KY - Cross Conference
January 8-11 | Pastor DeYoung will be in the UK at the University of Leicester defending his dissertation for his PhD
February 1-3 | UK - London Gospel Partnership
March 1-3 | Albuquerque, New Mexico - Clarius 2019
April 1-3 | Indianapolis - TGC National Conference
April 22-25 | Jackson, MS - Twin Lakes Fellowship
April 26-28 | Philadelphia -Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology
May 23-24 |Pennsylvania -Sovereign Grace Northeast Conference
June 17-20 | UK - Catalyst Conference
June 21-23 | UK - Co-Mission Revive Conference
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Year-End Giving Through Christ Covenant Church - Updated 12/14
Thank you for your loyalty to the ministries of Christ Covenant Church this year. You might have noted that this week's finance report shows that year-to-date giving is behind budget through this week. Please pray that we will catch up from the two 2018 "weather events" in God's timing. Historically, donations in December help support more than 50 ministries, including outreach, and are a significant part of our annual income for the new year.
Typically, gifts to the church in the form of checks or cash that are mailed (and postmarked) by December 31 or delivered in person to the church office by 4:30pm on Monday, December 31, should be deductible for tax purposes as are donations made through our
secure online giving (under the Giving tab on our website). God uses your involvement to accomplish His goals through our congregation. You are blessing many through your generosity. Please call Sandy Spitz at 704-814-1010 with any questions or for more information, including details on handling annuities, stock/fund transfers, or real property.
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Our Tithes and Gifts
Thank you for your tithes and gifts to all of the ministries of Christ Covenant. Don't forget to take advantage of our secure
online giving.
1/1/18 - 12/9/18
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Actual
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Budget
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Difference
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%
(-) or +
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| Operating Budget - Inflow |
$4,866,956
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$4,872,000
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- $5,044
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-0.1%
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| Faith Promise Budget - Inflow |
$308,695
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$263,400
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$45,295
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17.2%
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*The operating budget figures above reflect a budget amendment approved by the ELT on 11/13/18. |
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This email is our E-Courier weekly newsletter, along with the printed copy, called the Courier.
After it goes out by email, it is made available on the News page of our website.
On that page, you can also read past versions of the newsletter as well as specific news items about our bigger events with more details available.
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