CGS Weekly: December 20, 2020
THIS SUNDAY MORNING
Our in-person worship service will be at 10:30am in the sanctuary this Sunday, December 20. If you have not already signed up to attend the in-person worship service, you may do so here. Don't forget to bring your mask. Note that this will be our final in-person Sunday worship service until January 10, 2021.

For those of you who will be worshipping virtually, the livestream will be available here at 10:30am. If you're unable to tune in live, you may access a recording of the service at the same link after the conclusion of the live service.

In an effort to limit handouts as much as possible, we will not be distributing a printed bulletin at the in-person service on Sunday. You may access the digital bulletin for this week's service here.

We will be providing special materials in packets for your kids during the service. Please bring along your favorite coloring utensils (crayons, washable markers, pencils) to use. If you're attending virtually, Kids' Notes for this week's service are available here.

As a reminder, you may give to CGS online here. (If you have questions, you may reference this online giving tutorial here.) You may also mail a check to the church (3741 Garrett Rd, Durham, NC 27707) if you prefer.

This week's Sermon Discussion Guide will be sent to community group leaders on Sunday, and posted here on Monday.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Christmas Eve Communion Service
Let’s gather—either in person in our sanctuary, or from our homes via livestream—for a time of Word, reflection, and Communion on Christmas Eve! As has been the case with many of our worship and gathering rhythms this calendar year, Christmas Eve at CGS will have a different—but, we trust, precious and beautiful —cadence this holiday season. Our brief service will begin promptly at 5:00pm on December 24. If you are unable to attend the in-person service, we warmly invite you to participate via livestream on Christmas Eve. Join with us from your homes for a few sweet, soft carols and for Pastor Chuck’s Christmas homily. Click here for more info. You may sign up for the in-person Christmas Eve service here. Please note that you do NOT need to sign up for the Christmas Eve livestream. If you previously signed up for the in-person Christmas Eve service and no longer plan on attending in-person, please remove your name from the sign-up list so it will free up additional space for those who want to attend in-person. The link for the livestream will be sent out via email and posted on the website in advance of the service next week. 
December 27 & January 3 Worship Services
The worship service on December 27 and January 3 will be in pre-recorded format, as we did during the first portion of COVID. There will be NO in-person service or livestream those two Sundays. The service recording will be available under the "Enter Here To Join Us in Worship" tile on our website homepage on each respective Sunday morning.
December 30 Communion Service
If you feel that it is not prudent to attend the larger Christmas Eve gathering in-person, Pastor Chris will host a smaller, special Communion service with a similar format on Wednesday, December 30 at 5:00pm. This service will have a capacity of 50 people, but will offer a similar opportunity to share in sweet, simple carols and a seasonal homily. Please sign up for this service here.
Year-End Contributions
The last day to make a 2020 tax-deductible charitable contribution is Thursday, December 31. This deadline requires several considerations:
1) Checks that are mailed must be postmarked on or before December 31. The postmark determines the year of the contribution. 
2) If you can avoid hand-delivering checks to the church office, that is probably prudent.
3) Don’t forget that you can make a contribution online up until midnight December 31. 
CGS Office Holiday Schedule
Please note that the CGS office will be completely closed on Friday, December 25 and Monday, December 28 in observance of Christmas, as well as Friday, January 1 for New Year’s. In addition, please note that starting on Monday, December 21, all office staff will be working remotely until the New Year, so please use email as your first line of communication to get in touch with staff.
Grocery Drive for Local Schoolchildren
We have another opportunity to tangibly share Christ's love with our community this Christmas season. CGS is partnering with local elementary and middle schools–via CGS' personal connections with school officials and social workers -- to provide grocery gift cards to Durham families of schoolchildren who are facing food insecurity during this COVID Christmas. Click here for more details and to learn how you can contribute.
Let Us Know You're Here!
Whether you are worshipping with us in-person or from home, please text your name to 919-907-1428 on Sundays. This helps us stay connected with you! 
Children's Ministry News
In lieu of Zoom Children’s Sunday School during Advent, we're doing the "Prepare Him Room" family devotional and encourage you to follow along with us. Also, don't forget to follow @CGSKids on Instagram for the latest updates.
Wednesday Women's Bible Study Update
Please join us for Women’s Bible Study on Wednesdays! We have space available in a morning group and a few openings in the evening group. This January we will begin a 9-week study of the Sermon on the Mount using Jen Wilkin’s study guide and video teaching. Each week we will explore what it means to be a citizen of God’s kingdom by studying Jesus’s words about repentance, salvation, and sanctification. Participants will complete the lesson and listen to Jen’s audio teaching individually before meeting with a small group for discussion. In light of COVID restrictions, we will be meeting for small group discussion via Zoom. For more information, please contact Michelle Bryan or Meggan Piehl
Shepherd Seniors Update
As a reminder, there will be no Shepherd Seniors meetings for the remainder of December. We will explore potential meeting plans for January 2021 in the New Year. In the meantime, please keep Bruce & Jan Wells in your prayers. You may view the latest updates on Jan on her CaringBridge.
NO Women's Zoom Bible Study This Week
Please note that there will be NO Women's Bible Study on Zoom this Monday evening, December 21.
ALSO TAKE NOTE...
CGS SCHEDULE CHANGES
As a reminder, you may view ongoing CGS schedule changes here. In case you missed any previous church-wide emails with COVID-19 updates, you may view them all here.
RACIAL TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION RESOURCES
We have a page on our website with recommended resources to explore more on the background and context for the racial unrest we have been facing as a country. You may view this page here and bookmark it for ongoing reference. We will continue to add additional resources to this page.
FOLLOW CGS ON INSTAGRAM
Don't forget to follow CGS on Instagram via @CGSDurham. We would love for you to share your Sunday worship photos with us so we can re-share with our church family. You may either DM your photos or post on your Instagram story and tag us!
SERVE YOUR CGS NEIGHBORS
Head to our website to learn more about how you can serve your CGS neighbors through physical needs like grocery shopping for the medically vulnerable, or through lifting up your church family in prayer.
CGS WORSHIP PLAYLIST
Thanks to Matt McClure, we now have a CGS worship playlist featuring over eight hours of music. You can access the playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.
COMMUNITY GROUPS
If you would like to join a Community Group, email us and we will help you get plugged in!