Our in-person worship service will be at 10:30am in the sanctuary this Sunday, May 16. If you have not already signed up to attend the in-person worship service, you may do so here.
A Note Regarding the Recent CDC Announcement:
As noted in this related email, we are grateful for — and excited about — yesterday’s CDC announcement, as well as Governor Cooper’s similar comments this very afternoon!
Members of our Session and our ReGathering Team have been responding to these circumstances aggressively during this past 24 hours, and will be formalizing additional decisions on Monday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 18, respectively. Our focus is straightforward: "How can we safely and expeditiously incorporate the CDC’s recommendations into our upcoming Sunday worship practices?"
We recognize that we have vulnerable persons in our congregation to care and plan for amidst this pivot, and we thank you in advance for your patience and forbearance:
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For the purposes of this Sunday’s (May 16) service, please feel free to gather outside our sanctuary – unmasked, if your health profile allows – both before and after our worship service! Our outside greeters may be unmasked as well, allowing smiles to burst out!
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But please put your mask in place before you enter, and keep it on throughout the service: there will be no change to our seating or masking practices indoors during this Sunday's worship service.
In these moments of accelerating transition, CGS is attempting to act with dispatch, but also with an appropriate degree of discernment. We want to ensure that we have thought carefully through the ramifications, for the sake of all concerned. Please check here for additional information regarding this Sunday’s service, and for the context that will govern our decisions in the next immediate weeks ahead.
Reminder about sanctuary seating:
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If you know yourself to be safely risk-tolerant (because of the private particulars of your own health profile) and are thus willing to sit in more densely configured seating areas, please feel welcome to sit in our balcony.
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If the balcony is not a wise place for you, yet you have persons (family, close friends) that you would be comfortable sharing a pew with if the pew itself is spaced from other pews, please arrange to arrive with your group and ask to be seated together downstairs on the main sanctuary floor. Group seating arrangements are more efficient, and help us make room available for others!
Parents of Littles: Sign-ups for our Nursery + Preschool playrooms are no longer required. Feel free to come by the nursery on Sunday mornings to sit & watch our streamed service while your littles play & enjoy a change of scenery.
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.
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.
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Register for CGS Summer Family Camp |
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Registration is now available for the first of our three “CGS Family Camp 1976” summer events. Our first event will take place on Saturday, June 26 from 3:00-5:00pm in the church parking lot. The theme of our June event is games. Click here to register your pod (up to 12 participants including children and adults per pod) to receive your own tent. Pizza will be distributed around 5:00pm, and you are welcome to bring along a picnic blanket to enjoy your dinner with your community. At least two adults must be present per tent. Tents are available on a first-come, first-served basis. This sign-up will be closed once all tents have been filled. You will be notified if your pod has been placed on the waiting list. If you would like our special commemorative t-shirt, please place your order here.
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Update on Red Cross Blood Drive |
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Thanks to your support, we were able to collect 34 pints of blood at the American Red Cross Blood Drive held at CGS on May 7. This exceeds our goal of 26 pints of blood. The blood collected at this event will save and impact 102 lives! Thanks again to everyone who came out to give. Also, many thanks to Julianne Freck for organizing this event.
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We are so sad to say goodbye to the Cassar family this month, but we would love to show them how much we love & appreciate everything they have done for our CGS kids ministry. Click here for details for how your family can say, “Goodbye/Thank You/We love you” in classic Miss Amelia fashion. (*PS-NO PEEKING Miss Amelia!* )
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CGS Kids + Nursery Volunteer Interest |
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Our CGS Kids+Nursery Ministry is currently gauging interest & availability of our volunteers to see if we can open up our full offerings in the Fall, but we need your help! If you or someone you know are interested in serving our CGS families on Sunday mornings this Fall, let us know by filling out our interest form here.
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Meal at Durham Rescue Mission This Sunday |
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This Sunday (May 16), CGS is responsible for providing lunch at the Durham Rescue Mission men’s campus. If you would like to help with this month’s meal, please sign up here. Dropping off dishes in the main kitchen the morning of the meal between 9:30-10:45am remains the same. Thank you for your generous support of this ministry.
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Friday Morning Men's Bible Study |
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Our Friday morning Men's Bible Study is meeting via Zoom on Friday, May 21 from 7:00-8:00am. If anyone who is not currently involved with the Men's Bible Study wants more information, they can email Joseph Scanlon or Norman Acker.
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SAMARITAN HEALTH CENTER MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Samaritan Health Center is hiring a Medical Director. The Medical Director has primary responsibility for managing the clinical performance of Samaritan Health Center. He or she will work closely with the Executive Director to ensure that medical and vision services at the Health Center are provided at the standard of care. Click here for the complete job description. Please submit application materials to jobs@samaritanhealthcenter.org.
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PRESCHOOL ZOOM SUNDAY SCHOOL
Nursery & Preschool children are invited to join us for Zoom Sunday School this Sunday, May 16 at 9:00am. You may access the lesson on Zoom via this link. Note that Elementary Sunday School is currently on break for the summer.
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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!
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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.
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COMMUNITY GROUPS
If you would like to join a Community Group, email us and we will help you get plugged in!
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