This week's blog post features Japan.

Print copies of the calendar are available at church.

Welcome to an evening of festivities. We'll have bonfires, warm beverages, games, and a petting zoo. A Holiday Meal kit will be distributed to those in need. Invite a friend on Facebook.

We are in need of volunteers for this great event. Help pass out meal bags, play games, carol, and more. Learn more details about volunteer jobs here and RSVP to Polly.

Please make sure your food donations are brought to church by Friday Dec 10. If you signed up to bring in items we are counting on you to donate them.

We also just ordered fabric shopping totes with Crosstown's logo to package these meals!

Plan to join us Sunday, Dec 12th after church to pack all these bags of food.

All events are listed in your church app and on the website.

Calendars are available on the Youth webpage, Children's webpage, and Adult Ministry webpage.

Next week Crosstown will serve as the collection site for the Lake Nokomis Community School gift card fundraiser. These grocery and gas gift cards are used by the social workers and shared to families in need. This is a school-organized event, but if you would like to participate you are welcome to drop off gift cards in the office anytime before Dec 10th at 3:00pm.

📩 🖃 💌 Giving Envelopes

The 2022 giving envelopes are now available. You have a couple options to receive your envelopes.

1) Liana will be available on Sunday for a pick up.

2) Email Kristi and we can have them delivered to you.

3) You can pick them up from the office but we need you to email first so that we can prepare the correct box.

Join us on Instagram or Facebook for our "Where's that located?" game! 🧐

On Monday we publish an up close and personal image of something on the church property and then see if you can name the item and where it's located. 🤔

This coming Sunday, December 5, will be our final worship experience in the Commons. Following worship that day, our move back to the Sanctuary will begin. We'll be back in the Sanctuary for worship on Sunday, December 12!

Looking ahead to 2022, we're planning a special "Consecration Sunday" on January 9 to dedicate both ourselves and our refreshed worship space to God's glory!

Crosstown will now be the meeting place for two Girl Scout troops. They will meet on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month at Crosstown starting Dec 11th. The leader came to us after the church they were previously meeting in closed. This is a great opportunity for Crosstown to build relationship with our neighbors.

This week, we lit the Hope Advent candle at church, and perhaps many of us also lit ones in our own homes. The dark comes early now at the end of the day, but the light of a candle is a welcome sign that Christmas is coming !!!

As we continue to wait and pray for our new Director of Worship Arts, lets claim these verses with thankful hearts and joyful expectation:

                                          2 Corinthians 4:6

                                          Hebrews 13:8

Dear God, perhaps today I'm confident about who you are and what you will do. Or maybe I'm feeling a bit uncertain. Maybe I will never see the things I hope for, the things You promise. But today, I take hold of faith and welcome those things from a distance. Jesus, You are my destination. I put my hope in You.  Amen.

                                          From Lectio 365 app  11/24/21

Thank you for your prayers,

The Worship Director Search Committee

Dennis Olson (Deacon, Chair of Worship Search), Mark Ogawa (Elder), Mike Anderson (church chair), Kathy McGillivray (congo rep), Michelle Acosta (congo rep), Iris Smyth (congo rep), John Jacobi (Pastor)

Passion for Christ Compassion for People