Worship With Us Online
Sunday, December 27
9:30 a.m.
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Pastor Laura
Preaching This Sunday
"Prophecy Fulfilled and Foretold"
First Sunday of Christmas
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Virtual Christmas Narrative |
Click on the Christmas Narrative video to hear the traditional Christmas story, with all of the traditional characters, cleverly set in the context of a parent telling children the story of hope when they are scared. You will not want to miss it!
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After watching the Christmas Narrative, click on the livestream worship video to join us as we celebrate the birth of the Christ child.
The recorded service will be available immediately
following the livestream worship service.
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Confirmation and Connect News |
Connect (4th & 5th grade) and Confirmation (6th - 8th grade) are in recess for Christmas Break on Wednesday, December 23 and 30. We return to our regular schedule on Wednesday, January 6, 2021.
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SPARK Lesson: "Simeon and Anna" |
This Sunday, during the Children’s Message, Jenni Payne will be reading Luke 2: 22-40 from our SPARK Story Bibles. Be sure to have yours with you and follow along! We will hear about Simeon and Anna, two people who grew up learning and reading the Old Testament (their only Bible at that time). They learned about someone special that God would send to Earth, spoken about in a prophecy. After Jesus was born, Simeon and Anna knew that he was who the prophecy was talking about! God promised to send Jesus to save the whole world, and that’s just what God did.
January SPARK Bags
Due to increased COVID precautions, January SPARK bags have been cancelled.
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Hi Nursery Buddies and Parents!
What a wonderful time this is when we are reminded of our hope in Christ Jesus! This week we will learn about how hope is essential to a believer’s faith. You know that feeling you get at the end of a long week? When we are so excited for the weekend that it makes us giddy with energy? Now think about stretching that weekend out for eternity.
We can find encouragement and joy amid life’s struggles because we will live forever with Jesus. That is also why we are told to be excited for His glorious return (Titus 2:13). Because of Jesus, we have hope for this life and eternity. That is a powerful thing that we have as Christ followers.
Sometimes hope is not easy to muster up. What can we do when we feel like it is fading? The most important thing we can do is to remember we are not alone. We are not alone. You can ask your family, friends, even a teacher for help. You can also keep asking until your light of hope shines bright again.
Activity: Here is a project you can fill out to have when you need hope and ideas of how you can be hope to others!
I have much hope for when we are back in person to be able to play together again! Merry Christmas!
Have fun!
Jenni Payne
Nursery Coordinator
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"O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."
This famous Christmas carol was first sung at Christmas in 1868, shortly after the Civil War, at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia, PA. Philips Brooks, the church rector, wrote the text after a visit to the Holy Land; Lewis Redner, the church’s organist, wrote the music. It is probably my favorite carol because of that last line. In Christmas 2020, we certainly have lots of hopes and fears, and I bet 1868 did not lack in that department either.
Did you know that there is a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania? New York? Ohio? There is even a Bethlehem, Australia! “The hopes and fears of all the years” may have been met two millennia ago in Bethlehem in Israel, but quite frankly it could have been Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc. The point of Christmas is that the God of all the earth meets us in hopes and fears and not just our hopes and fear but everyone’s.
The eternal hope, the eternal truth is for all people of every place and time. It might as well be Chaska as Bethlehem. Take a moment as listen and put in your own city’s name. “O little town of Chaska, O little town of Carver, O little town of Chanhassen…”
As the third verse says, “where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.”
Merry Christmas!
Tom Paulson
Director of Music & Worship
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Help Us Reach Our Goal for December! |
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Offering and Electronic Giving |
Please consider continuing your weekly offering during these times when we are not gathering, as our congregation will still have our regular financial obligations. Thank you for considering one of the following ways:
- Mailing your offering to our address at 1141 Cardinal Street Chaska, MN 55318.
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Getting signed up for Simply Giving, an automated giving option, by filling out this form and sending it to our Director of Finance, Ashley Pederson.
- Trying “Text to Give” by sending a text to our secure account at 833-497-3991.
Please scan our QR code to be taken to our giving page or click here to learn more. Thank you.
Year end gifts for 2020 need to be received at the church by December 31.
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Pastors:
- Pastors will be available by phone or email in case of an emergency or for any other pastoral care needs. To reach one of our pastors directly, please call the church office at 952-448-3230 and select the appropriate extension. The office phone system will forward the call directly to the pastor’s personal cell phone every time you call.
Building Use:
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The church is closed, and staff will work from home during the week when possible until further notice. For the full building use update, please click here. Thank you for your support during these times.
- DS West Driving School instructors and students are using the church parking lot for behind the wheel instruction.
Church Council Update:
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The November Church Council minutes are now available. Please contact Pastor Reggie if you would like a copy emailed to you.
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The next Church Council Meeting is on January 11, from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
COVID-19 Update: Mask Mandate
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Please click here to read our response to Executive Order 20-81.
Carver County Resources:
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COVID-19 Website: www.co.carver.mn.us/covid-19
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@CarverCounty) for daily updates
- Need Help Coping? Call First Street Center at (952) 442-4437
- County’s Community Resource Response - Link to resources such as employment, business support, child care, transportation, food access, domestic violence, housing, mental health and more:
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December 20, 2020
9:30 a.m.: 83 Live Views
Next Day: 135 Total View
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Prayer Requests
Please E-mail
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"Where Family and Friends
Grow Together in Faith"
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