Good afternoon, COG Family!
I pray that you all are doing well. Below I have posted an update from the elders and the Re-Open Team. We want you to be aware that these two groups are diligently working on plans to get us back together face to face. They are also following the guidance provided by the local government as we cautiously move ahead.
Though our buildings are closed, we are still busy engaging wherever and whenever we can. LifeGroups have started meeting face to face and continue to meet virtually as well. Pastor J continues to pour into the youth at COG in various ways. Nancy is doing a phenomenal job of providing content weekly for our children in the children's ministry. She is also holding VBS virtually this year. Check out the various items below.
If you have any questions about anything going on around COG, you can email any of the staff directly. Our emails are listed at the bottom of the newsletter.
Be salt and light,
Pastor Chris
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Sunday Worship Service
Invite someone to join us virtually on Sunday mornings.
Sunday services are happening via live streaming. You can watch live on Sunday mornings at 10:00 am by going to our
YouTube
media page. If you miss the live stream, you can always watch the sermon later. Feel free to get online a few minutes early to chat with everyone online. Give us a "like" or "thumbs up," and don't forget to subscribe to the channel.
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Sunday Preaching Schedule
Reminder that Pastor Joel is on sabbatic until September 1, 2020. If you need anything, reach out to
Pastor Chris
or the
church office
.
Upcoming Teaching Schedule
June 21: Rory Tucker
June 28: Pastor J
July 5:Rory Tucker
July 12: Tim Corbin
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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 June 9, 2020
Giving: $8,189.00
Weekly Budget: $10,121.44
Year to Date Giving: $225,505.50
Year to Date Budget: $232,793.12
Week of June 15, 2020
Giving: $9451.50
Weekly Budget: $10,121.44
Year to Date Giving: $234,956.55
Year to Date Budget: $242,914.56
Below are the ways that you can contribute your tithes and offerings to the church.
- 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).
- Bill Pay through your banking institution.
- COG website - online giving.
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Community of Grace Sunday Prayer Time
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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The Re-Open team continues to meet weekly to discuss the best steps forward for our church during the COVID-19 situation. Here is what was approved by the elders via recommendation from the Re-Open Team.
Phase 2 proposal starting June 14, 2020 is as follows:
Sunday service continues online
People can gather in small groups to watch the online Sunday church service as long as they are able to meet the requirements
Small groups and LifeGroups can start meeting if they can meet the following
requirements:
- Maintain 6 feet social distancing at all times
- Activities are done with 25 or fewer if meeting in a park or large outdoor area OR 10 or fewer individuals no matter if you are meeting indoors or outdoors
- Request members to properly wear cloth or non-surgical grade masks at all times to prevent the spread.
- Those who have clinical reasons they are not able to wear a mask are encouraged to participate in small groups or LifeGroup online
- Continue virtual option to keep the group 10 or less or for those who do not want to attend in person can still attend
- Practice good hand washing or hand sanitization (with at least 60% alcohol)
- No food or beverages should be shared
- Anyone with fever (greater than or equal to 100 o) , cough, shortness of breath, congested/runny nose, head or body aches, fatigue, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or lost of taste/smell even if symptoms are thought to be allergies does not attend in person gatherings
- Anyone who has come in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID or is has been experiencing symptoms should remain at home generally for at least 10 days after symptom onset or 3 days fever-free without fever-reducing medications
- Those at high risk are strongly encouraged to remain staying at home
- Communicate guidelines and expectations to the group prior to gathering
Note: if at any point state, city, or county guidelines require public places to increase
restrictions or return to Stay at Home this plan will be reevaluated and modified as needed by the Re-Open Committee and Elders.
Continue to pray for the elders and the Re-Open Team in making wise decisions to help COG be the best church FOR the community.
Pastor Chris
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I sent out a request for our congregation to send me a quick message on what you praise God for. I would like to keep this as a permanent part of my newsletter. What are you praising God for?
Email it to me
so I can share with the COG family in future newsletters.
Here are the praises I received over the last two weeks.
“My 8 year old son has started meeting weekly over zoom with an elder to discuss the Bible! Discipleship at its finest! Praise God.” - Lisa
“I praise God for his generous and patient mercies.” - JG
“For the first time ever my husband and I are doing our morning Bible time together because there is no early morning commute.”
"Praise God for taking us through a long two-month process of refinancing. It took longer than usual because of the COVID virus and their being swamped. We finally close this Friday." - Carol
"I praise God for friends who are eager to help in all circumstances." - Chris
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Women's Ministry Bible Study
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Ladies - join us for Bible study beginning on Friday, July 10th for
A Woman God's Spirit Can Guide
by Alice Mathews. Dr. Mathews examines the lives of 12 New Testament women and how the Holy Spirit led each one. Discover how God's Spirit can work in your own life to help you make wise choices and accomplish His will! The study will begin at 9:30 AM. Cost for the book is $9.50. We are not sure yet if it will be in person or online using Zoom. Email
Judy Cale
or
Carol Bryan
for more information.
Judy Cale
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Students of Grace Graduations
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May and June are typically filled with the celebrations of graduating high school and college. Seniors are filled with expectation and excitement for their next adventures in life. But this year, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken the ordinary and put it in a blender. Most of us can remember our last months as a senior, the time spent with friends, planning for the future and final tests; but what the class of 2020 has experienced has been nothing short of a letdown. Who wants to start the next step of their life in the shadow of global uncertainty! To help bring back some normalcy, SOGCOG (Students of Grace Community of Grace) decided to celebrate our high school students that have been a part of our ministry by throwing them a driveway graduation ceremony. Most of our local schools are doing some kind of graduation later this summer, but we wanted to let our students know that they truly have accomplished something great in their young lives and that they are worth celebrating! Josh Bujarski, Owen Eichenseer, Kia Tucker, Gwinn Reeves and Jocelyn Seirck have all spent multiple years in our student ministry and we joined together with their families to celebrate their high school graduations SOGCOG style! Good luck to them all and may God continue to bless their paths!!!
- Pastor J.
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Our first ever Virtual VBS is underway! FOCUS - Take a Closer Look is the theme as kids look at how they SEE God, HEAR God, TALK ABOUT what they believe, PRAY anytime, anywhere, about anything and LIVE for Jesus. All content is delivered via email each day. Kids get songs, the Bible lesson, small group activities, missions, crafts and a challenge each day, plus a dress up theme for the day! Here are a few pics from Days 1-3. Please pray for the kids and families participating that they experience God this week even in an online format!
This week our VBS kids are learning about Soles4Souls during their mission time and we are collecting SHOES! As of Tuesday, we already had over 20 pairs of shoes collected. Would you like to add to that number? I am hoping to get to 50 pairs of shoes! You can find out more information
online here
.
Want to get involved? You can bring gently used (or new!) shoes to the donation box that is at the BACK DOOR of the South Building. Shoes will be collected from Monday, June 15th - Saturday, June 20th. Or you can go to the link above and click on Donate. All donations make a difference!
Thank you!
Nancy
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Questions or Concerns?
Email us
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