December 29th 2024 News
VISIT THE ‘EVENTS’ TAB TO VIEW OUR CALENDAR
MOUNTAINVIEW NEWS
Join us Sunday morning at 10 am or anytime throughout the week. Pastor Erick Schuringa will present a message on “Witnessing.” He will be looking at Acts 1:8; 2:32,33; 5:32.
(this is the part where we listen to what God wants us to hear today) When we hear the word "witnessing" many of us think about telling people about our faith. However, prior to telling there is a step that is more in keeping with the term witness. That step is to see, observe and experience. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us the experience of God that shapes our words and ways of being going forward.
It's a 5th Sunday of the month, so we welcome our older children (ages sk to gr5) to join us in worship for the entire service. As such our service is designed with a more intentional intergenerational focus.
LET’S BUILD SOME COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS!
(Click on the pictures to go to related webpages, links or emails)
JOYFUL GIVING
Sunday's offerings are for our Ministry Promise (a.k.a. Budget) AND for...
Upcoming Offerings:
Giving Thanks at Christmas - Thank you for sharing God’s love with people in need through the World Renew offering this season. Your gift is providing help and hope for families who are facing poverty, disaster, and injustice today. Thank you for sharing the Good News at Christmas! As we enter a New Year, join us in continuing to help share the love of Christ with those living with poverty, disaster, and injustice. Learn more at worldrenew.ca
Canada Post Strike - With the holiday season upon us and the recent Canada Post strike affecting mail delivery, we want to make it easy for you to support your favourite ministries! You can still make your year-end gifts quickly and securely online at crcna.org, by calling us at 888-827-5272, or through The Bridge App. If your donation was sent in the mail during the strike, we will confirm its receipt as soon as we can after the strike is over. Strike or no strike, your support makes all the difference for our ministries —thank you for making this season one of hope and generosity!
Help us Make Double the Impact with Rose City Kids We are excited to announce our $200,000 match campaign. It 2X the support for the 700 children and youth God has placed in our lives to serve. At RCK, we believe in sharing the love of Jesus with each child who walks through our doors. With your help, we can keep providing a safe place where kids experience God's love, and grow in hope for a brighter future. Campaign Nov 1- Dec 31, 2024. Questions? Contact Barb Donker (905-788-9800) or office@rosecitykids.com/www.rosecitykids.com.
From Grimsby Life Centre Ministries - We wish to express our heartfelt thanks for the incredible generosity we receive from our community year over year. Your support makes such a difference in the lives of those we serve at GLC. Due to the Canada Post strike, to help ensure your donation reaches us, we can arrange a pickup to send a year end financial contribution to our ministry. You can also donate via e-transfer. Visit: www.grimsbylife.org. Please don’t hesitate to call us at 905-309-0944. Thank you again for standing with us and making our work possible! We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Other…
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
& OPPORTUNITIES
SOCO Beach Project (Christian Discipleship & Summer Experience for Young Adults): Applications for SOCO Summer 2025 are OPEN! If you are a young adult between 18 - 29, check out this summer opportunity (May - August) to deepen your faith and live in intentional Christian community, all while having a summer job in beautiful Port Dover. Applications are open - deadline for first consideration is January 15. Check out the latest newsletter and be part of this ministry with a year end gift! Link: https://mailchi.mp/southcoastbeachproject/soco-update-december-19-8566565
The Young Adult Winter Retreat (YAWR) is back again at Maranatha CRC, Woodstock! We encourage all young adults ages 18-30 to join us for this weekend of faith-based discussions, service, fellowship, and funtivities! Pastor Stephen Terpstra (First CRC Iowa) will be leading us in a series of discussions on engaging community. Date: January 24-26, 2025, Theme: Engage. Early bird registration: $60. Grow in faith, build lasting connections, and have fun! Follow us: Instagram (yawinterretreat) or Facebook (Young Adult Winter Retreat). Email: ya.retreat.team@gmail.com. Register at: https://forms.gle/pz9Bw8ReB1mg3Djm6 (Reg. opens Dec 1st).
Is there a charity close to your heart that you would love to see thrive for years to come? Christian Stewardship Services is hosting open Q&A sessions every week this winter to answer all of your questions on charitable giving and estate planning. Explore topics or register at : https://csservices.ca/winter-conversations-2025/
Each session will have a 10 minute introduction, then an interactive Q&A on any charitable giving and estate planning questions. The first four topics are: Multiplying your Gift, Pets, Life Insurance, adding a Charity Child, and Cryptocurrency.
Journey with World Renew in 2025! - World Renew offers global engagement journeys to educate and equip Canadians about the story of poverty. Plan to join us in the new year to experience World Renew firsthand. Opportunities include Discovery Tours to Honduras, Uganda, and Cambodia, as well as the Guatemala Christian Leaders Tour and Nicaragua Young Adults Trip. Visit worldrenew.ca/volunteer for trip dates and register today!
A Unique Mission Trip for Teenagers - Join a group of teenagers from multiple countries on a trip across three Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala) to learn more about these countries' histories and learn how local ministry leaders are working to meet the needs of communities in difficult realities. This is a great opportunity to grow in your faith and understanding of mission! Learn more and apply online at www.resonateglobalmission.org/encounter
The January Series - The January Series of Calvin University returns January 20 through January 31. From Paralympians to historians, adventurers, and innovators, we have a topic for you to deepen your curiosity. Join us in the Covenant Fine Arts Center on campus or online. Information can be found at www.calvin.edu/january-series
Feeling overwhelmed with anxiety, stress or loneliness? Want to talk to one of our psychotherapists or counsellors? We are here to help ! Please call 905.309.0944. We will be answering the phones Monday - Friday daily between 9am – 4pm. Sessions typically run about an hour. All of our services are free and confidential. Sometimes we all need help!
Has ALCOHOL OR DRUGS taken over your or a loved one’s life? Family Outreach Ontario can help. There are literally thousands of Christian recovering addicts out there… you may be sitting beside one in church next Sunday. Confidentiality guaranteed. Visit our web site for more info at www.familyoutreachontario.com, contact us at 905-933-3994, or e-mail us at info@familyoutreachontario.com.
NEWSLETTERS FROM OUR MINISTRY PARTNERS
Links are available on our website under
“Community Connections” - “Partnerships”
Paper copies can be requested from the church office.
DENOMINATIONAL NEWS
ReFrame Ministries Provides Devotions, Podcasts, and Blogs - Start a new Biblical habit with resources from ReFrame Ministries. DEVOTIONS including the Today devotional offer short daily meditations and scripture. Kids Corner includes devotions, especially for children and guardians. PODCASTS help you dig into scripture with Groundwork, explore pop culture and Christianity with Think Christian, or energize your church communications with Church Juice. BLOGS offering spiritual advice for parenting, dating, and more are available in new posts from Family Fire. Learn more about the spiritual habit of praying with ReFrame’s prayer ministry.
Groundwork: Your Questions about Scripture and Hope - Join Groundwork as we study Matthew 6:9-13, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 11:13-16, Revelation 20:1-6, John 15:18-25, and Psalm 46 to look at some of the questions you asked this year in response to our discussions on the Lord’s Prayer, Joshua, and Revelation; then we’ll talk about the issues that feel most pressing for our faith right now and where we can find the hope and encouragement to keep living faithfully each day. Listen now at GroundworkOnline.com and subscribe to Groundwork's weekly emails for future episodes.
Kids Corner: Kids Corner: Home is a Blessing - Check out this week’s kids’ devotion at www.kidscorner.net. God is our rock and our foundation. The home is the place where your family chooses to make a commitment to serve God. What a blessing! Check out all the great content at kidscorner.net, like the Bible Story Podcast The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders.
Thrive Faith Formation Tip - As we come to the end of a calendar year, this is a fitting time to look back. At a mealtime this week, share with someone else one thing that you’re grateful for, one thing you’re sad about, and one way you’ve seen God working in the past year. Read Psalm 90 together as a reminder that God directs our days, months, and years. Brought to you by Thrive: crcna.org/Thrive
Introducing The Postma Post! - Stay connected with Al Postma, ED of the CRCNA in Canada, as he shares updates, reflections, and key highlights about the incredible work God is doing in our communities. Through this new email, you’ll receive updates like highlights from the Canadian Board meetings and insights into our strategic goals—delivered right to your inbox. Sign up today: crcna.org/canada/postma-post
Stories & Strategies: Strengthening the CRC in Canada - Are you interested in learning more about ministry happening in CRC churches? Join the Canadian Ministry Board for stories (and best practice learnings from those experiences) and how they might be applicable to your local church context. We look forward to discussing these ideas with you alongside other church members & leaders. Join us virtually on January 25, 2025 (11am-1pm ET). More at crcna.org/Canada
Family Fire - Family Fire is an online community exploring Spirit-led family, marriage, parenting, in-laws, blended families, and intimacy. Find encouraging articles and devotions at familyfire.com. Subscribe for regular email updates and connect with our Family Fire community on Facebook.
ICS Winter Courses - Take an online course with the Institute for Christian Studies ! Tuition is $1,500 to take for credit, $600 to audit, or $425 for first-time auditors. To register, email Parker Cotton at academic-registrar@icscanada.edu, or visit icscanada.edu/winter-courses to learn more. Options are: Material Spirituality: Rethinking Religion (with Neal DeRoo); Rhetoric as Philosophy from Isocrates to the Age of Abelard and Heloise (with Bob Sweetman); God in Flesh and Blood: Revolutions in Christology (with Nik Ansell); Deeper Learning: From Wonder to Inquiry to Practice (with Edith van der Boom); and How to Govern a School (with Gideon Strauss). A discounted Team Audit option is available for groups; email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu for details.
JOBS AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We Are hiring at Shalom! Working at Shalom is a great opportunity to share your gifts and talents in a wonderful workplace and to become involved in the community! We take pride in offering the best possible care and making Shalom home for our residents. Become part of the team! We are always accepting resumes for potential future hiring.
Sunday Service Volunteers/ Accompanist needed for 2025! Meaningful worship opportunities are important to our residents and us! Our residents love to make a joyful noise unto the Lord and we are in need of accompanists to assist them for Sunday Services / Wed. am sing songs. Can you accompany on either the piano or organ, or help with ushering residents to these services? If so, it would be very appreciated. Please contact Brooke at volunteercoord@shalommanor.ca or at 905-945-9631, ext. 1115.
Position Opening: NewGround Coordinator - Through its NewGround program, Diaconal Ministries Canada (DMC) partners with deacons and churches, offering grants, coaching, and other resources to help them start or grow a local community ministry. Overall, its mission is to help churches build strong connections with their local communities, offering practical and spiritual support to the marginalized and under-served populations. We are currently seeking a part-time NewGround Coordinator (18 hrs/week) who will provide ongoing development and administration for this vital program. To read the full job description, visit DMC's website now: www.diaconalministries.com/our-team/careers-opportunities
We're Hiring! Learning and Development Specialist - This position will implement a learning and development program for denominational staff, focusing on improving skills, knowledge, and overall professional development. The successful candidate will also oversee the Performance Review System and collaborate with the Human Resources Directors to execute the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) strategy for denominational staff. This full time, hybrid position can work from either Grand Rapids, Mich., or Burlington, Ont. Apply at crcna.pinpointhq.com