Announcements, 12.9.15
PREPARE & CONNECT
This Week's Sermon: We'll continue exploring the places of Advent with a sermon from Erik on Luke 2:19 and Matthew 1:18-25 this Sunday. We invite you to read ahead as a way to prepare for Sunday's service.
Advent Reading: One way City Church is celebrating Advent this year is by encouraging you to read on chapter of Luke each day--there's still time to catch up so you'll finish by Christmas Eve. We're tracking our reading plan on Instagram and Twitter (with links provided), so you're welcome to follow along there. For more ideas on celebrating Advent, please read this post on the City Church website.
FYI--December 20th Service: Our service on December 20th will take place at Beth Ahabah, located at 1117 W. Franklin Street, just a few blocks down the street. We will still meet at 4pm and nursery care and Children's Worship will still be available.
Adult Formation Class (Childcare RSVPs Needed): Our final installment of our latest Adult Formation Class (entitled “Discipleship: Helping one another follow Jesus”) will meet this Sunday, December 13th from 3pm to 3:45pm in Room 303 at Grace Covenant. Questions? Contact joshua@citychurchrva.com. If you need childcare for any (or all) of these sessions, please RSVP using this form. RSVPs for childcare are needed by noon on the Friday before each class so we can plan accordingly.
GATHER
Prayer Tomorrow: At City Church we strive to be a community of prayer dependent on God for His purpose, protection, and provision. join us tomorrow, December 10th, at 7am to pray. Meet in the Church office, 3rd floor at Grace Covenant. Enter in the back entrance of building. We hope to see you there. (City Church prayer takes place every other Thursday.)
Christmas Eve Services: We will have two Christmas Eve services: a family-friendly service of Lessons & Carols at 3:30pm and an 11pm Lessons & Carols service with the Lord’s Supper. Both services will take place in the sanctuary at Grace Covenant. Please note: childcare is not provided during these services.
Caroling at Randolph: This Saturday (December 12th), we will spend time caroling and chatting with the residents of Randolph Place, an affordable housing community for seniors located in Richmond's Randolph neighborhood. Randolph Place is located at 300 S. Randolph Street, but the entrance we'll use faces Grayland Avenue (there's a big awning marking the spot). There's plenty of street parking around the facility. We'll meet at 10am for coffee, donuts, and snacks with the residents, and then we'll do some carolng and work on a simple craft. Please note that while this event usually has several kids in attendance, ALL are welcome. It's a great opportunity for all of us to love and care for those who might not have many loved ones to visit with during the holidays. If you've got questions--or if you're a musician interested in helping to lead music--please contact Jennifer Murphy at jennifer@citychurchrva.com.
Race and the Church: Several churches in the Richmond area have come together to create "Race in the Church." Throughout 2016 they will host a series of speakers/dialogues exploring where we can learn and reflect upon some of the important issues facing the church. Issues surrounding race and ethnicity, developing a fuller grasp of how the past affects the present, #blacklivesmatter, the pursuit of justice, and developing a framework through which we might pursue multi-ethnic and cross-cultural churches are some of the topics we will address. The first session is scheduled for Saturday, January 30th and will address the topic Race and History: How Does It Affect the Here and Now? For more information, please visit raceandthechurch.com.
Common Good RVA 2016 Conference: Common Good RVA's 2016 Conference is scheduled for Saturday, January 23rd from 9am to 1pm at Veritas School (3400 Brook Road). Common Good RVA is a post-partisan vision for Richmond’s flourishing that finds concrete expression in everyday decisions for the common good. This year's conference will focus on helping us answer the question "What is my place?"--both in the world and as a member of God's kingdom. David Kim, Executive Director of Redeemer's Center for Faith and Work in New York City will serve as our keynote speaker. We'll also hear from Richmonders as they share their experiences with discerning the connect between vocation and location. Early bird tickets are $10 (price goes up to $12 on January 9th) and can be purchased via commongoodrva.com.
SERVE
End-of-Year Giving: Please note that all end-of-year contribution checks need to be in-hand or postmarked by December 31st to go towards 2015 deductions. Checks with a postmark of December 31st (or before) will be counted as 2015 giving if they are received no later than January 10th, 2016. Online gifts will still need to be made by December 31st (some credit cards take 3-5 business to process, so please take that into consideration).
Meals for City Church Familes: We are currently providing meals for several City Church families. If you're interested in caring for them in this way, please visit takethemameal.com and use the family's last name as the log-in and password.
- Meagan and Matt Cinder
- Lara and Stefan Kling
- Grant, Tracye, and Ethan Woodfin