Evers
Road
Christian
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December, 2021
Volume 28
Issue 12
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A Message From Pastor Wright
Rejoice! The Savior Is Born!
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But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)
Parents, do you remember the overwhelming joy you felt when that baby was born? After the initial pain, babies bring joy. But this baby, Jesus, was unlike any other baby ever born before, or ever to be born. God became flesh. He entered our world as a helpless baby. Jesus is the woman’s seed, the miracle baby, born of a virgin, and He crushes the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15).
Christmas is about Jesus, our Savior. Jesus came into this world, He died to save us from our sins; and God raised Him from the dead. Now we have hope, joy, victory and peace. Our lives are filled with meaning. As your pastor, I encourage you to make your Christmas about Jesus.
- Pastor Mark Wright
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Christmas Sermon Series Involving our ERCC Youth
We intend to create a family worship experience in December to celebrate Christmas.
Starting on Sunday, December 5th, we will be enjoying the participation of our ERCC youth and children in our 10 am Sunday adult worship services. We will still offer Wee Church for the toddlers, but there will be no Junior Church on Sundays, December 5th, 12th and 19th. Instead, Pastor Wright will be involving the children and youth in the presentation of God’s Word through memory verses and other creative teaching methods. We want to involve as many of our ERCC children as possible, so if your child wishes to participate, please talk to Pastor Mark.
So please remember, there will be no Junior Church on December 5th, 12th and 19th, because our kids will be participating in our family worship experience on those Sundays.
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Christmas With the Wrights
Pastor Mark and his wife Linda are inviting you to their home on Friday December 17th. It will be a “Come and Go” Christmas fellowship party starting at 5 pm and ending approximately at 8 pm. Linda will be serving finger food and Christmas snacks. Please join us for this heart-warming time of celebrating Christmas together. The address and directions will be posted in the Sunday morning bulletin.
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Christmas Eve Candlelight with Pastor Emeritus Phillip Walton
Phillip and Jane Walton will lead the Christmas Eve Candlelight service. Please do not miss this special time with your ERCC family to celebrate Christmas together. The service begins at 6 pm and will last less than an hour.
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Special Music on December 5th
The Friends in Harmony mens chorus and The Harmony Belles womens chorus will perform during the December 5th morning worship service. These two groups used our facility temporarily to rehearse during the summer. In appreciation, they will treat us to some amazing singing. Come hear them on December 5th!
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Baby Shower For Bailey
Bailey Olivia Olivares, weighing 8 pounds and 7 ounces, was born November 14th to our Youth Minister Derrick, his wife Evelyn, and "big" brother Ben.
We're having a "Virtual Baby Shower" on December 5th by presenting them with gift cards during the 10 am worship service. We are asking for the gift cards to be for Walmart or Amazon to help with diapers and other necessities. Please get your gift card(s) to Linda Wright or Mark Wright before December 5th.
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Congregational Meeting to Vote on New Bylaws
On Sunday, December 12th we will have a congregational meeting immediately after the morning worship service. During this meeting, the congregation will vote on revised ERCC bylaws that have been worked on for the past several months. The process started in a special committee with several volunteers led by Bill Workman. The Elders also gave their input and the proposed document was reviewed by the church’s attorney. After a series of revisions and edits, we are now ready to present the new Bylaws to the congregation.
On Sunday, November 21st, the chairman of the Elders made the official announcement in accordance with the current Bylaws to give the congregation notice of the meeting. We ask that you pick up your copy of the proposed Bylaws in the foyer. Please read the document before the congregational meeting on December 12th. To help make an efficient meeting, please provide any questions in writing before December 9th to the elders email using the link below:
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Mystery Guest Speaker on December 26th
Pastor Wright will be spending Christmas with his grandsons in Oklahoma. So on December 26th, we have scheduled a special guest speaker for the 10 am worship service. Come and find out who the mystery speaker is. You won’t be disappointed!
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Ministry Plan for 2022
Please pick up your copy of the ERCC 2022 Ministry plan in the foyer outside the auditorium. We are in prayer asking God to lead us as we work to implement this plan and we invite your ideas and constructive criticism. We want this to be God’s plan for our church, not man’s plan. Pray that God will give us wisdom and that the Holy Spirit will guide us in the coming year,
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Millie's Sunday School Class December Schedule
-Dec 12th: Conclude the series, "Unshakeable Hope"
-Dec 19th: Study on "Forgiveness"
-Dec 26th: Study "The Need For Peace"
Then in January, she'll start a 15 week series on "15 Great Women of the Bible". You won't want to miss any Sunday!
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Youth Fellowship Night
Who: 6th Grade thru 12th Grade
When: Sunday, Dec 5th at 6:00 pm
Where: ERCC Teen Room
What: Games, Snacks, and Fellowship
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Why: This is an opportunity for our Youth to come together and reflect on the the year that was 2021, hear from the ERCC Youth Team about plans for the new year, and share the vision of the church to our students. Thank you parents for being patient with the growth of our youth ministry -- we want to make sure that 2022 is full of spiritual growth and finding community among their peers.
We are very excited for the new year!
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Neff Middle School Bible Study
Partnership with Youth-For-Christ
Approximately 50 students from Neff Middle School continue to meet in the ERCC Fellowship Hall every Monday after school. This partnership with Youth-For-Christ (YFC) will be featured in the December issue of the San Antonio YFC newsletter. After it is published on December 5th, a link to the article will be included in the Sunday morning worship bulletin. The ERCC leadership continues to be excited about this outreach program. Please continue to pray for these students.
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Operation Christmas Child
ERCC collected 48 shoe boxes filled with fun items to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to children around the world as part of “Operation Christmas Child” which is sponsored by the international relief fund Samaritan’s Purse. As the shoebox gifts are distributed in foreign countries, local pastors or church leaders present the Gospel in a fun way designed for kids while family and friends listen in. Along with their shoebox gift, children also receive "The Greatest Gift", a colorful presentation of the Gospel in their own language.
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Sunday Evening Bible Study
From Atheism to Faith
Join us on Sundays at 6 pm in the fellowship hall as we learn from former atheist Lee Strobel. Our format for this study is to watch 30 minutes of Strobel’s video and then spend the remainder of the hour in discussion. This is a very hard-hitting series that will challenge you to grow in your faith. During December, we will only meet on Sundays December 5th and 12th. We won't meet in the evenings on Sunday Dec. 19th and the 26thdue to the Christmas holiday.
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ERCC is a Friendly Church |
A recent guest at ERCC raved over how friendly our people are. Several of you greeted her, chatted with her and invited her to lunch. She has been coming back every Sunday. This is the way church should be.
Thank you, ERCC Family, for being such a friendly church!
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2nd: Andrew Burkholder
14th: Fay Melby
15th: Jim Kyrish
31st: Emily Duran
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December
Invite someone to ERCC in December. Your guest(s) will receive a warm welcome. We are a friendly, loving church. Also, Consuelo and her team will present your guest a new Bible as a gift!
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Name Tags
If you are new to ERCC, we'll be happy to order your name tag. Please contact Jim Davis at davisclu@gmail.com.
Also, if you have misplaced your name tag and you need a new one, please contact Jim. We appreciate Jim’s ministry of providing these name tags. It makes it so much easier to get to know each other.
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Due to holiday schedules, we're not having our regular 8 am meetings on Saturday mornings during December, but we'll resume again on January 8th. ERCC men, plan to join us then for fellowship, breakfast tacos, a Bible devotional and prayer. |
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Send your prayer request to pastor.mark.a.wright@gmail.com. Please indicate if the request is confidential. Requests that are not marked confidential will be shared with the ERCC prayer warriors.
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CHRIST IN YOUTH
Christ In Youth (CIY) is a mission that is supported monthly by our church. CIY calls youth to Christ and into lives of Kingdom work through His Church by offering trips, events, and resources
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'It’s Good to Be Back,'
Says CIY's President
By Chris Moon
"After 15 months without holding a single event because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Christ In Youth is back.
The Joplin-based organization in late May resumed its summer conference season for middle and high school students.
“The summer’s going to be great,” said Jayson French, CIY’s president.
CIY expects to host 30,000 students this year, down from a typical pre-pandemic year of 45,000. The group’s summer schedule has 37 events on it this year, down from 55 from 2019 . . . but up from zero last year, so there’s a lot to be thankful for.
“We’re seeing a ton of first-time decisions for Christ, just left and right,” French said. “It’s good to be back.”"
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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
~ Romans 15:13 ~
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“He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain."
~ Randy Alcorn ~
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SUNDAY
9:00 am: Sunday School (Bible Study) in Classrooms
- Adult Class taught by Jerry Lishman in 1st floor Education Bldg Classroom
- Women's Class taught by Millie Borelli in Fellowship Hall Classroom
- HS/MS Students taught by Derrick Olivares in 2nd floor Education Bldg Classroom
- Elementary Students taught by Judy Lishman in 2nd floor Education Bldg Classroom
- Pre-School Children taught by Jane Montez in 1st floor Education Bldg Classroom
- Nursery available for infants and Toddlers in 1st floor Education Bldg Classroom
10:00 am: Worship Service in main Auditorium
- Wee Church is available for 3-5 yr olds in 1st floor Education Bldg Classroom
Junior Church for Elementary & Middle School students in Fellowship Hall
(Suspended during December while youth participate in Family Worship Sundays)
6:00 pm: Adult Bible Study
- Meets in the Fellowship Hall
- Adult Class "Atheism to Faith" taught by Mark Wright
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Mark Wright
Derrick Olivares
Chris Engstrom
Jerry Kline
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ERCC Text Messages are used to send out important short-notice news and reminders to your smart phone. |
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If you would like to give to ERCC as a direct bank transfer, use a credit card or debit card, you can use the safe and secure Tithely app. You can also setup your account to make your gift recurring on any schedule you want. Questions? Ask Jerry or send an email HERE
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