Sunday's Service - May 3, 2020 | Join us this Sunday for Worship - 10:30am Spend Sunday morning online with us as Pastor Mike delivers his sermon. Use the Facebook link Connecting Life and let's learn together. Remember that while we are apart, we can still pray and Worship as a church family. AND, send in your prayer requests for our Joys & Concerns email that will go out on Mondays! About Pastor Mike's sermon series: "When our world is shaken, it’s easy for fear to spread. But God promises to be with us no matter what comes our way. In times of uncertainty, it’s more important than ever to trust who God is and how He says we can live - Not Afraid." | Bible Studies Our in-person Bible studies are currently paused. The ladies have been keeping in touch by email and managed another Google Duo meeting yesterday. Let us know if you want to join in! We'd love to have you study and chat with us! Do you have any favorite verses, an uplifting devotion, or a prayer request? Please send them in and share with your church family! | Take Part in the Church Family Photo Challenge We miss our church family! So, we invite you to cheer us up with FAMILY PHOTOS! Make us all smile by emailing or texting a photo to Jen Lynch, to be shared in the Scoop and/or on social media. Or, share your photo on the Common Ground Facebook page directly. Take a picture while you do online church on Sunday. Take a picture cooking or eating together. Reading the Bible together? Take a picture! Working on a community project like mask making or sidewalk chalking a message? Take a picture! Going on a Bear Hunt? You get the idea...take a picture! While we cannot be physically together, we can still connect with each other and share what we have going on in our lives. And, isn't that what family is all about?!?! Who's ready to share a photo and tell us how thing are going at your house? We would love to hear from YOU! | Reach Out & Stay in Touch One of the easiest ways to stay in touch right now is through social media. If you don't have an account, now may be the perfect time to sign up for Facebook and Instagram. We post at CGCC on Facebook and CGCC on Instagram frequently. We would love to be able to connect more with you through these online platforms. They are excellent at helping us to share thoughts and stick together through this difficult time. Beyond social media, using the website, email, text, and "snail" mail are also great options! Staff are in and out of the building throughout the week, so we will receive any mail you might want to send. We miss you and look forward to being able to gather together again! | Missing Our Garden/Sprout/Nursery Kids! While we are apart, try some Bible learning at home. This week's featured lesson from Ministry-To-Children reminds us how we can trust and rely on Jesus.. Head on over to that lesson right here: The Good Shepherd | Youth Group Quarantine Challenge Continues Youth Group members will continue to receive a series of challenges over the next few weeks. Participants who complete a challenge and text their answer to Jen by each deadline will earn points...to be translated into prizes when we can meet again. They will be receiving their next Bible Search Challenge today, with a deadline of Friday at 10pm. Parents, if your youth gets stuck, this is an excellent resource to access a ton of different Bible translations: Bible Gateway. We had a Sunday Photo Challenge last weekend, which you can see bits of below. Our youth had to scavenge through their homes to find selected items to take photos of to complete this challenge. We had five enthusiastic participants who all did great. This one was not a Bible challenge...but it did involve taking a picture of a Bible! | Prayer For whom are you praying today? How can we pray for you? Whenever you have a prayer request, please don't hesitate to send it in! We are all still here to pray with and for you. If you want to share your prayers and praises like we do in church for "Joys & Concerns," please take a minute to send them in by early Monday mornings for inclusion in the weekly Joys & Concerns email. Thank you! | Birthday Thank You Eileen wanted to say a great big thank you to everyone who was able to send her a birthday card. It really meant a lot to her and helped to brighten her 2020 Quarantine Birthday! | May Worship Pastor Mike Hileman ~ Sundays at 10:30am online via Facebook Live: Connecting Life We remain online for now. We will keep you posted as we see how it goes as the state begins to slowly work to reopen. | www.goodnessgrows4all.org Our Mission Statement: To cultivate personal, social, and community growth through gardening, education, and opportunity for people of all abilities. ~~~ | Last Day for Early Bird Price As of TODAY, there are only two (2) shares in our Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA) are still available! Time is running out to get your share. We thank those folks who have already subscribed! TODAY, April 30, is the final day to subscribe and pay to get the Early Bird price on a Weekly Share. The final payment deadline to subscribe is May 29. If you have questions, want to learn more, or want to subscribe, we'd love to talk to you about it! Please spread the word to your friends and family that GG will still be continuing this program. | Clients Returning in May Starting the week of May 10, we will slowly begin transitioning back to our vocational habilitation program. Clients will be able to work one-on-one with Rachel, with each client having their own dedicated day at first. We will follow all the guidelines and procedures laid out by the health department and the CDC. We are very much looking forward to seeing our GG family and hope to return to having the whole crew together as soon as possible! | Weeding, Planting, & Growing All Over | 2020 Summer Mission Trips Canceled Sadly, we will not be able to welcome any of these much-anticipated folks this summer. Due to the ongoing and ever-changing COVID-19 situation, and out of an abundance of concern for the health and safety of all involved, it was decided that the mission trip program should take a break this year. GG is going to miss working with Canfield Presbyterian and all the amazing groups they send our way! Now we look with hope to summer 2021. | Fractures Wrist, Gets a Cast...Comes to Volunteer! Thanks, Nicolette! | OUTREACH and MISSION OPPORTUNITIES | Coat & Clothing & More Giveaway ~ October 10 Keep saving all your clothing and outerwear items for our fall giveaway. Tell your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers that we will accept donations all year! Hanging out at home provides a tremendous opportunity to sort out all the items you no longer need/use!!! Clothes for all ages and sizes needed, along with coats, bags, purses, shoes, housewares, books, stuffed animals, toys...whatever clean and useable items you think might help someone in need. Bags and boxes for people to carry their "new" items home with them are also needed! Drop items off under the front awning by the glass doors facing the road, stash them away until we meet again, or contact Rachel, Jill, or Jen to see if we are available to accept a drop off. | April Showers Bring...Weeds! If you are looking for a way to volunteer and get out in nature, come volunteer right here! We have plenty of weeds to keep you entertained! If you can help, stop out and grab supplies under the front awning near the greenhouse door. You will find buckets, kneelers, and hand tools in and around the brown storage bench as well as a wheelbarrow nearby. You will find weeds in the gravel all around the raised beds in the front garden, in the beds out front beyond the fence and in front of the greenhouse, behind the Sanctuary where the new steps went in, behind the pastor's office and along under the kitchen windows in the courtyard, and in the flower bed made out of railroad ties by the back greenhouse near the butterfly garden area. Weeds can be dumped in the marked weed bin inside the back fence behind the back greenhouse. All weeding efforts will be greatly appreciated!!! So would pictures of your weeding adventures! (And don't worry if you didn't make it out in April. May showers bring weeds, June showers bring weeds...There will always be weeds to entertain you!) Thank you to the wonderful weeders who have already come out to help!!! | Project Linus You can donate home-made blankets by becoming a “blanketeer,” give of your time at a local chapter event (once live events resume), donate funds, or even become a Chapter Coordinator yourself. Learn more here: Project Linus. Find a local chapter, learn about making blankets, and see how COVID-19 is impacting this project. | For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. .....When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me. Matthew 25: 35-36, 40 ~ What can YOU do? | LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWS/EVENTS | If you know of any interesting news or events, please let us know, so that we can pass it on to others! | Compassion and Creativity = Acts of Good From Home For every kind act shared with #DoGoodFromHome, Hasbro will donate a toy or game to organizations providing care to the children of COVID-19 essential workers, up to 25,000 toys and games. Visit their site for more information & inspiration for what you can do from home! Visit their site here: Do Good From Home Challenge | Fun at Home Check out this collection of digital games that students can play at home. Students can click on any game and start playing! Breakout EDU | Gro More Good Activities Spring is the perfect time to get outdoors and into your own backyard or garden. And now more than ever, we all could use a little fresh air and sunshine to rejuvenate our spirits. Gro More Good Learning Activities is a series of 72 free lessons focused on the four seasons of a garden. Each activity is fun, hands-on and perfect for getting your kids outside, exploring and learning. Check the ideas out here: Gro More Good | Visit the Zoo in Your Pajamas Check out Philadelphia Zoo's full library of Philly Zoo at 2 Facebook Live videos. Get (virtually) up-close with all of our amazing animals, meet our dedicated staff and learn from our top questions answered from the Philly Zoo Team. Philly Zoo to You | Storytelling Through Music and Dance May 1, 2020 Great dancing and great music go hand in hand! The Detroit Symphony Orchestra demonstrates how melody, rhythm, and movement can create a story with no words at all. This concert will be virtually hosted by a DSO musician with facts and trivia about each piece. Storytelling | CELEBRATE! TODAY - Pastor Mike's Birthday May 1 - May Day May 2 - Free Comic Book Day May 2 - National Brothers and Sisters Day May 4 - Star Wars Day ("May the 4th be with you!") May 5 - National Teacher Day (We're so thankful for all their hard work!) May 5 - Cinco De Mayo May 6 - National Nurses Day (Frontline heroes!) May - Military Appreciation Month If we don't have your special days, please let us know! | ON THE CG CALENDAR April 30 - May 6, 2020 . . . CGCC staff and leadership are still here and we are still working to be YOUR church! We still must bring in the mail, pay the bills, plan for the future, and reach out to others while GG keeps on working for the growing season...the work continues, both on W. South Range Rd. and as we work from home. We are available if you need us and we cannot wait to gather with you in person! Hope to see you "at church" on Facebook Live! | Seeking to reflect the unconditional love of God, our mission is to help people connect - to God, to one another, and to God's purpose for the world. | Come grow with us! Common Ground Church Community 2310 West South Range Road North Lima, Ohio 44452 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more information, call 330-549-9408 or contact us by email at commonground.secretary@gmail.com. | |