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New Life Church Weekly Update

November 29, 2024

This Sunday: December 1, 2024

The First Sunday of Advent


9:15 Traditional Worship, Sanctuary

10:45 Contemporary Worship, Life Center


Message: "Tis the Season for Surprises"

Scripture: Luke 1:5-25

Pastor Jorge Acevedo

New this Week:

  • Thanksgiving Dinner 2024
  • Operation Christmas Child 2024
  • Welcome New Members
  • Staff Love Offering
  • Pregnancy Solutions Reminder
  • Blue Christmas, December 15
  • GriefShare, begins January 7
  • A Modern Pounding for Pastor Casey

Welcome, Pastor Jorge!


Jorge Acevedo loves Jesus Christ and his Church. Touched by the grace of God at seventeen, he was never the same. Rescued from a life of addictions, his greatest delight is connecting people to Jesus and the Church.

 

Born in Puerto Rico, Jorge, at the age of four months, moved with his family to the United States, where he was raised. Jorge is married to Cheryl Montgomery. Their oldest son, Daniel, lives in Cape Coral, Florida, and is the father to their four beautiful grandchildren, Mia, Levi, Seth, and Zoe. They also have a fantastic younger son, Nathan, who lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

 

Jorge was the Lead Pastor at Grace Church (www.egracechurch.com), a multi-site congregation in Southwest Florida, for 27 years. He also served churches in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Kissimmee, Florida; and Lexington, Kentucky. Jorge retired from being a local church pastor after 39 years in September, 2023 and currently is a leadership coach, writer, and speaker (www.jorgeacevedo.com). Jorge’s coaching ministry is with Spiritual Leadership Inc. (www.spiritual-leadership.org). He also regularly speaks at local churches, conferences and on podcasts.

 

Jorge is a 1984 graduate of Asbury College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Bible. He is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity Degree. He also earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in 2023 from United Theological Seminary with a dissertation on Congregational Vitality: The Church’s Journey from Heroic Solo Leadership to Generative Team Leadership. Jorge received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from United Theological Seminary in 2023.

 

Jorge wrote Everybody Needs Some Cave Time: Finding God in Dark Places (Invite Resources, 2023), Neighboring (Abingdon Press, 2019), and Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World (Abingdon Press, 2013). He co-authored A Field Guide for Methodist Fresh Expressions (Abingdon Press, 2020), The Grace-Full Life: God’s All-Reaching, Soul-Saving, Character-Shaping, Never-Ending Love (Abingdon Press, 2017), Sent: Giving the Gift of Hope at Christmas (Abingdon Press, 2015) and The Heart of Youth Ministry (Bristol House, 1989).

Thanksgiving Dinner 2024

We served 225 meals yesterday and will deliver the leftovers to the Jesus Loves You ministry today. Thank you to all who donated food and those who served joyfully yesterday, giving back to the community. Happy Thanksgiving!

Operation Christmas Child 2024


Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Collection Week 2024 is finished!

 

New Life Church’s Drop Off Location received a total of 1,939 shoebox gospel gifts with New Life Church congregants donating 288 of that total! Twenty-one churches and groups in our area brought their shoebox collections to our Drop Off Location. Our Drop Off Location was #1 in our district for shoebox totals!  We had 20 volunteers who worked 91 hours during Collection Week at our Drop Off Location. New Life Church’s Operation Christmas Child BASBO (Build-A-Shoebox Online) is currently standing at 35 shoeboxes built! Our goal is 75, and our Goal Page will be open until January 31, 2025. If you missed out on packing a shoebox, click on the button below, and thank you for your donation! Thank you for your help in making 2024 a successful year for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child!

Build a Shoebox Online

Welcome New Members

We welcomed these new members into our New Life family on Sunday, November 24.

9:15 Service:

Bob & Struss Shirk

Peg Grimm

Bev Riggs

Bob & Mindy Kuenzli

Marissa Ella Szeker

10:45 Service:

Philip D. Iorio

Ian and Julie Lang with son, Bryce 

Leah Matthiessen 

Paula Furnee 

Blood Drive, this Sunday


The Big Red Bus will be on campus this Sunday from 8:30 am - 1:30 pm. Online appointments are encouraged!


To make an appointment to donate, CLICK HERE

Foster Care Christmas Gifts, Due this Sunday!


If you picked up a gift tag to purchase a gift, please bring the gift(s) no later than this Sunday. Attach the card to the UNWRAPPED gift(s) and return them to the appropriately numbered bin located in the Life Center outside Room 6. Please remember: We cannot accept clothing items.


Thank you so much for helping us bless these children this Christmas season!

Help the Youth Next Week

Tim Buck, tim@newlifeforall.church


The New Life Youth Group needs volunteers to lend their help in several important ways this December. 


Opportunity #1 

Dec. 3rd Wrapping gifts for our Foster Care Christmas Luncheon. (300 plus gifts to be wrapped)

1 pm – 3 pm (24 Volunteers needed)

Bring scissors and a smile.

Enjoy Christmas cookies, festive music, and extra time with your friends as we wrap gifts.

 

Opportunity #2 

Thursday, Dec. 5th from 1 - 2:30 pm (12 volunteers needed)

Come help us decorate the Life Center for the Foster Care Christmas Luncheon. 


Opportunity #3 

Saturday, Dec. 7th from 2:15 - to about 3:45 or so...  (15+ Volunteers needed)

Help us clean up following the Foster Christmas Luncheon. Helpers are needed for a variety of tasks. There will be something for everyone to help pitch in and reset the Life Center for the Sunday worship service. (Many hands make light work...) 

A Celtic Christmas for Jesus, December 9


Join us for "A Celtic Christmas for Jesus" performance on the harp!


The harp's presence in Ireland dates back about 1000 years. It is seen in manuscripts and Christian stone crosses. While the origin of the harp isn't known, archeologists have found 5,000-year-old depictions of it from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.


The Irish harp (also known as a lever, folk, non-pedal, or Celtic harp) is a symbol of Irish identity and pride. It was a revered instrument of the bards (singing minstrels) who were celebrated and given pride of place, and the very best of hospitality in ancient Irish society.


Please join us at 6 pm in the Sanctuary on Monday, December 9.

Staff Love Offering

Peter Bell

Chair, Staffing Committee


Church Family and Friends:


As we approach Christmas, the Staffing Committee would like to offer you an opportunity to say thank you to our staff for all the work they have done and that they continue to do. Their faithful labor has been a huge blessing, both to our congregation and to the community at large. They have worked tirelessly so that we might worship, serve, bless and offer Christ to the people around us. There has been a great deal of ongoing work to do, from the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in our community, our congregation, and our campus.


We know that 2024 has continued to be a hard year for many. So, please know that if you are

not able to give at this time, we understand.


At the same time, we want to bless and encourage our Church Staff.


We invite you to return your gift to the church by Monday, December 16th, in order to be able

to present them with your love gifts before Christmas. Please include in the memo line of your

check “Staff Love Offering.”


Thank you for your compassion and generosity. Our prayer is that 2025 will present us with

opportunities both to receive God’s greatest blessings and to provide the Gospel of Jesus Christto a hurting world.

Pregnancy Solutions Reminder


Registration is still open for our Mission Partner Pregnancy Solutions’ Fund Raising Gala to be held at 6:00 PM on December 19th at Charlotte Harbor Event Center on Taylor St in Punta Gorda. There is no cost to you to join us for a wonderful dinner and learn more about the ministry of this organization. Registration closes on Wednesday December 11th. Please call Dick Brewer at (517) 331-4617 or email dickbrewer25@gmail.com for more information or to help with your registration for the Gala.


RSVP for the Pregnancy Solutions Gala HERE.

Calling all Kids!

Come hang out, watch a movie, eat dinner, do crafts, and play games with us

on December 13th. Parents, enjoy a few hours to relax, grab dinner out,

or finish any last-minute Christmas shopping!


RSVP to: ajrilat1@gmail.com

Blue Christmas, December 15


Merry Christmas! But perhaps not for everyone. The death of a loved one, estrangement from family, the loss of a job, or any number of difficult circumstances, can change the way we feel about the holidays. 


Merry means to be cheerful, lively, jovial, jolly. For some it will not be a merry Christmas, but the birth of our Savior can be celebrated with a deep, God-given joy. 


The Blue Christmas Service gives us permission to acknowledge our gratitude and inner joy, without feeling pressured to express our blessedness in traditional jubilation. It's not a solemn service, but neither is it whimsical. We reverently celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. 


We hope that you will join us for the Blue Christmas Service on Sunday, December 15 at 4pm in the Sanctuary.

A Modern Pounding for Pastor Casey


We want to welcome Pastor Casey with a supply of Gift Cards, rather than filling his pantry with perishables. If you would like to participate, please bring your gift cards to the office by December 30. You can place them in the Offering Box as well on Sunday mornings. Suggested locations are Publix, Starbucks, or WalMart. We will present our gifts to him on his first Sunday in January!

A Word from Worship


Greetings New Life Family and Friends,


Can you believe that we are right in the midst of holiday season? I have been doing an enormous amount of thinking and reading and then praying about thankfulness - much more so than any past years! It's so easy to take our lives for granted as long as things are going along even with the usual ups and downs that we always run into. You know, those annoying "bumps in the road" that we have to deal with as life goes along. 

It's so easy to drift along while the days pass by with no major issues. I'm sure I'm not alone in taking life for granted as long as each 24 hour period has no fires to put out or deal with.  We were reading most every day in the Bible or devotional and praying.

Looking back, I admit that I wasn't spending time thanking God for these lazy kind of days. I have learned that I hadn't paid enough attention on being focused on being thankful on these ordinary, everyday blessings. When I began a more serious prayer practice I talked about keeping a Gratitude Journal, by writing down 5 things each day that we're grateful for: things like sunshine, breathing, green trees etc. It can quickly help you to be more aware and grateful for even the simplest things. I believe it's important to thank God for something every day. This practice lifts my spirits and energizes me, helping me to think more clearly. The Bible teaches that the enemy the devil growls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. So it's important to stay focused to help keep the enemy away by thanking and praising God. Our story began last April when both Don and I had been miserable with influenza for 3 weeks. Then in early May, as you may know Don had a setback and ended up in the ER. Testing revealed not only flu but tumors that turned out to be stage 4 colon cancer. Most of you know he underwent 3 attempts at cycles of chemo with poor results. Eventually chemo was discontinued and Hospice care was started. And we began to pray to increase our thankfulness. It wasn't always easy in the very beginning but we soon discovered that increased thankfulness not only brightened our day but opened our hearts more fully to Him. A grateful attitude opens not only our heart but also our eyes, allowing us to see every tiny detail in every day life and to appreciate it as a gift!


So, while our journey has been challenging we've had good reasons to be joyful 

because God is absolutely worthy of our thankfulness and praise. On difficult days we thank Him for things we often overlook; birds, trees, colors, loved ones etc.

So now in this week to give thanks I'd like to share our latest update: I am waiting on a PET scan to evaluate new tumor. Don had a visit with his Hospice nurse who said that it wasn't final yet but if he continues doing so well he will probably be discharged from Hospice. Whatever the next step is we are giving great thanks to our mighty God.  We are truly blessed and grateful for your continued prayers for us!

I'm praying for you!


Rosie Young

Worship Coordinator

rosie@newlifeforall.church

GriefShare


Help and encouragement after the death of a loved one.


A GriefShare support group is a safe, welcoming place where people understand the difficult emotions of grief. At this 13-week group, you’ll receive valuable guidance and tips, leading you to relief, comfort, and piece of mind.


Tuesdays 6:30 – 8:30 pm or Wednesdays 10:00 am – Noon

GriefShare will meet in Room 13


For more information or to register, please contact: Melodie Austin

941-661-0842, melharryaustin@yahoo.com


Learn more about GriefShare HERE.

Dates to Remember - Mark your Calendars!

DECEMBER

Blood Drive, December 1

Salvation Army Bell Ringing, December 2 - 24

Foster Care Christmas Luncheon, December 7

"A Celtic Christmas for Jesus" Harp Concert, December 9

Parents Night Out, December 13

Blue Christmas, December 15

No Connect or Youth, December 22 or 29

Christmas Eve Services, 3pm and 7pm


JANUARY

Pastor Casey's Installation Service and Reception, January 5

(one service at 10:30 Sunday, January 5)

GriefShare Begins, January 7

Pastor Mike's Retirement Party, January 17

Meal Train for Don & Rosie Young


Click HERE to sign up.

Hospital Visitation, Prayer Available


We want to know when you are having surgery or are in the hospital! We are available to pray with you before surgery and visit you in the hospital, rehab, etc.


Contact us through email: prayerteam@newlifeforall.church or call/text Pastor Bob, Minister of Pastoral Care (941) 585-9576.

Church Name Tags


When you come to the church campus, please wear your New Life Church name tag. If you do not have a church name tag, you can order one HERE.

Give Now | Find a Place to Serve | Calendar

Offering New Life in Jesus Christ, by Seeking, Shaping, and Sending Disciples


Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9 am - 4 pm

(941) 639-3842www.newlifeforall.church

Download our app HERE


Sign up to receive text messages & daily devotions by calling the church office.


All past issues of The Bridge are available on our website HERE.


Submissions for the Bridge can be emailed to katherine@newlifeforall.church.

Deadline for the Bridge is the prior Wednesday, by noon.

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