Crosscurrents weekly edition |
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Christmas and New Year's Worship |
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While we wish we could gather in person for worship on the very special occasions, this year’s recorded worship will allow us to gather as we are able to worship Christ, the newborn King, and enter 2021 with faith in the Lord. We look forward to sharing these very special services with you!
Watch for an email this week with links to both of these special services.
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Christmas Eve Worship at Cross of Christ |
This service will come to you from the beautifully decorated Sanctuary, and will feature some of your favorite Christmas hymns and carols as well as wonderful musical offerings including a piece recently recorded at Cross of Christ by our Artists in Residence, Emerald City Ringers.
We will hear the Christmas story, a message titled A Night Like No Other, and sing Silent Night together.
Christmas Eve will first be offered as a YouTube Premiere service at 5 pm, and will also be available for viewing at your convenience after that.
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Christmas Day Worship: I'll Be Home for Christmas
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This service will come from the homes of Pastor Dave and Pastor Judy, Worship and Music Director Ben, and several other staff members. There will be more carols and special music, and Pastor Dave will share a Christmas reflection from beside his Christmas tree and fireplace – where the stocking will be hung with care! I’ll Be Home for Christmas will be a warm, comfortable and hopefully comforting service. The recording will be posted and available by 6 am on Christmas Day for you to watch at your convenience.
Watch your email for links directly to these worship services early this week.
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Synod Hosts First Sunday After Christmas |
Your virtual worship filming team is taking a much-needed break for the first Sunday after Christmas. Bishop Shelly Wee, Synod Staff, and clergy and musicians from around the Northwest Washington Synod are hosting the congregations for this shared worship experience via YouTube. A link to the service will be included in next week's CrossCurrents Weekly email.
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New Year's Worship: It's About Time!
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On Sunday, January 3, we will ring in the New Year with the first worship service of 2021. For many of us, it feels like it is “about time” to turn the calendar page from a very challenging -- and at times chaotic -- 2020.
As we enter this new year, we’ll remind ourselves that our confidence should rest not on any human or man-made institutions, but on the Lord of all our times, and the King of all Days.
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Christmas and Year-End Giving |
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In these thanks-giving and gift-giving seasons, as you give gratitude to God and make plans to give gifts to your loved ones, we want to say thanks for all the gifts you have given to Cross of Christ this year, including your financial support. Your offerings really, really matter, enabling us together to do the ministries that make a difference in the lives of our members, neighbors, and around the world.
We would also humbly ask you to consider making an additional Christmas or end-of-year gift to your church. Last year, you rallied to close a financial gap in a marvelous and inspiring way. This year, with very careful financial management, your generosity, and the much-needed Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loan/grant of about $130,000, we’ve managed to stay fiscally solid in spite of the havoc we’ve experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, being both prayerfully optimistic and carefully realistic, it is not an overstatement to say that the financial vitality of Cross of Christ in the coming year is uncertain. We do not know how long the pandemic will continue. We do not know how long it will be before we can return to in-person worship. We do not know if and when our valued outside user/renter groups will return. We do not know the financial impact of the pandemic on our members.
But we DO know that you have always proven to be faithful, joyful, and as generous as you are able to be in supporting your church and our shared mission and ministries. A special, additional gift before the end of this year, or early in 2021, would go a long way in enabling leadership to plan wisely with confidence that cuts do not need to be made to programs, staffing, outreach, building and grounds upkeep or any other vital work and support at Cross of Christ.
All 2020 contributions must be postmarked or delivered to the church's secure mailbox by December 31.
Thank you so much for prayerfully considering what you can do financially and in all other ways as we continue to partner together to worship, grow, share, serve, and welcome all.
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Pastor Dave (Finally) Taking Some Vacation |
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Like with so much else in all our lives, Pastor Dave’s summer plans which included leading the Cross of Christ Tanzania Mission 2020 team to Africa and some connected vacation time had to be shelved. Pastor Dave has ably lead Cross of Christ thus far in our pandemic response – which required his full attention and also made taking any time off unreasonable to this point.
Now, however, Council is confident that plans and procedures are in place that will allow Pastor Dave to take some vacation time following Christmas. He will be out of the office from December 25 to January 19.
Plans have been made for recorded worship services during this time, and Associate Pastor for Caring Ministries Judy Brennan will be available to respond to pastoral emergencies in COVID-19 responsible ways.
Thank you, Pastor Dave, and blessings for a time of rest and restoration.
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New Adult Faith Formation Opportunity |
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With upcoming holidays and a long-overdue vacation, Pastor Dave will be away from the office, and his study, for a few weeks. During this time, his weekly Adult Faith Formation offering, The Pastor’s Study will also take a break.
The next episode will be posted following his return, on or about February 4, covering the texts for Sunday, February 7. Pastor Dave looks forward to inviting you back to his study then.
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Cross of Christ has been accepted into the Microsoft for Nonprofits program, which provides us with free access to Microsoft's full suite of business productivity tools. In addition to reducing expenses, this program will allow staff to more effectively share documents, collaborate, and work remotely.
One of the earliest changes you will see is a switch from our long-standing email accounts at CofCLC.net to new email accounts at CrossOfChristBellevue.org. Staff will still be able to be reached at their old email addresses, but you'll want to update your address books to their new email addresses, which are active as of this past week:
If you are part of a committee that formerly had a group email address (i.e. Council, Finance, Endowment, etc.), those lists have also been set up. If you have questions about this change, contact Colin Walker.
Now is also a great time to make sure that your email address is correct in our systems. If you have not had a chance to log into Breeze yet, please do, and double-check that we have the right contact information. Contact Judy Giseburt for help accessing your Breeze account. |
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While the Cross of Christ office has been physically closed during the pandemic, we have kept “virtual” office hours, with Office Administrator Judy Giseburt available to answer phone calls and emails Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am to 2 pm.
The “virtual” office will be open this week Monday through Wednesday, then closed beginning December 24 through December 31. The office will reopen (again, virtually) on Monday, January 4. Merry Christmas and Blessings for the New Year!
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Cross of Christ Lutheran Church
CrossOfChristBellevue.org
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