Sunday's Service - January 24, 2021 | The featured Scripture is: Ephesians 6:16; Hebrews 11:1 for Mike's message: The Armor of God Part 4: The Shield of Faith. Join us Sunday ~ In-Person & Online ~ Worship at 11am Connecting Life Church Facebook Page Come Grow With Us! | Worshiping Together Spend Sunday morning with us ~ online or in-person at 11:00am. Use the Facebook link Connecting Life and let's grow together! We can continue to join together in Worship and Praise and Prayer, whether in the Sanctuary or on Facebook. Please send your prayer requests in for our Joys & Concerns email that will go out on Monday morning! The CGCC website has a Contact/Prayer Request page, you can email Jen Lynch directly, or use commonground.secretary@gmail.com. | Bible Studies & Ministries | We will be following the health and safety directives during small group meetings and events as well as Worship. Masks and social distancing are required anytime you are in our building, as we try our best to stay healthy together. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation! | Sunday Morning Bible Study 9:30am in the Activity Room ~ Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan We will be finishing the first book soon and starting the second book. Ladies Bible Study ~ Friday, at 9am in the Activity Room The Armor of God, Bible Study Book This week, we have been working on the lessons in Week One. When we meet on Friday, we will watch the video for Week Two and get ready to spend the next week working on the daily lessons for Week Two. | Wednesday Morning Prayer Group 10am, participate via Zoom ~ Personal Meeting ID: 6936117456, Password: prayer | LifeGroups Designed to help adults grow as Christ followers: * Taylor LifeGroup: Sundays, 6pm at the Taylor house * Weimer LifeGroup: Every other Tuesday through February, 10am on Zoom, next meeting February 2 | Children's Ministries Sign Up We are excited to announce we are working to launch Sunday morning Childcare as well as Collide Kids Wednesdays soon! We want to do this as safely and securely as possible, to protect kids and volunteers. Not only will we continue to follow CDC health guideline requirements within these ministries, (mask wearing, social distancing, cleaning, etc.) but all volunteers must complete a background check (performed by CLC) and a Statement of Faith. Sign up sheet and volunteer forms are available at the front desk. Please consider how you can serve your church family! | Children's Ministry Collide Kids Online - What we do matters! We don't do good things to be saved, but we do good because we are saved! How you serve others shows how your faith in Jesus has changed your life. Let's do good and let others praise our Father in Heaven! Grab your kid(s) and spend 25 minutes together singing, dancing, laughing, and learning! We would love for you to also have your child(ren) memorize this week's scripture verse and motions and upload a video of them in the comment section under the video on the CLC Facebook page! Have a great week, Collide Kids! | Youth Group We are still being cautious due to the pandemic. We hope to begin to plan a return to meetings as soon as possible. Youth ~ it is almost time for the Souper Bowl of Caring! If you haven't responded to the text regarding which organization you believe we should support this year, please reply asap. We want to announce our selected charity by next Thursday. | Prayer For whom are you praying today? How can we pray for you? We are here to pray with and for you, anytime! Prayer needs sent by early Monday morning will be included in the weekly Joys & Concerns email. We are also glad to send out prayer requests and praise reports anytime throughout the week! | Encouragement Thank you to Marcia Kreps for sharing and Darla Smith for writing these weekly bits of encouragement. "The sun is shining in my corner today. I pray it is shining in yours also. We have abundant “Son shine” with Jesus. Reminds me of a song I sang when I was younger. "Open up your heart and let the sunshine in." I am sure some of you are singing it right now – doesn’t that make you smile?" "My word for today is “TAPESTRY.” A “tapestry” is made up of different fabric, texture, color etc. Just like us! We are a “tapestry” of differences. God made us all. All are special in our differences but all are weaved together in a “tapestry” made of love. On the underside of a “tapestry,” sometimes it can look messy. Just like us. Maybe down deep we have a mess we are dealing with. On the finished side is beauty to behold. I pray we can all look for the beauty in each other’s “tapestry” of love. Encourage each other to become the best we can be no matter what side of the “tapestry” you see. I pray the Holy Spirit weaves His love in our “tapestry” each day so that we speak love, show love, and be love. A colorful “tapestry” of love. I pray you all have a splendid week!" Every believer has received grace gifts, so use them to serve one another as faithful stewards of the many-colored tapestry of God’s grace. ~ 1 Peter 4:10 (TPT) | CLC Year End Giving Statements Please contact Monica Guy via email at ConnectingLife.clc@gmail.com if you would like a 2020 year end giving statement. | January Worship ~ Online & In-Person Pastor Mike Hileman ~ Sundays at 11:00am Join us at church or online via Facebook Live: Connecting Life We will continue to be guided by the health and safety guidelines set forth by the governor and the health department, so we require masks to be worn in our building. We're excited to welcome you to Worship, in church and online! ~~~ | www.goodnessgrows4all.org Our Mission Statement: To cultivate personal, social, and community growth through gardening, education, and opportunity for people of all abilities. ~~~ | News of the Week Our week began on Tuesday, with snow and Valentine ornaments. We stayed inside and used our creativity...and craft supplies...to make all sorts of hearts to decorate the tree in the Café. Adding some reds, pinks, and purples to this gray and white time of year brightens everyone's spirits! Be sure to pop into the Café to check out our work! We also spent some more time working on preserving herbs from last summer. Everything smelled like thyme here and it smelled so good! This week also saw us spending some time in the greenhouse, cleaning and organizing and even doing a wee bit of planting. Now that the new year is here, we are itching to start growing again. | CSA Info is Here! Click this GG Link to learn about our 2021 Community Supported Agriculture Program. What’s it all about? The produce and so much more…High Quality ~ Grown Locally ~ Farm Fresh ~ Handled with Care ~ Selected for Flavor ~ Abundance. The number of crops ready and amount of harvest of a given crop will vary throughout the season. We pledge to provide at least six items each week. Goodness Grows aims to provide 10% of our harvest to locals in need. Our produce is grown, picked, packed, and displayed by our GG clients. These are adults and young adults with developmental disabilities AND with abilities to develop via market farming work here. Subscribing creates a partnership between consumers and farmers. Take comfort in knowing your hard-earned dollar goes directly to the people who plant, tend, and harvest your food locally and that your contribution supports this organization. You will also be supporting sustainable agricultural practices that protect our local soils and water. 2021 CSA brochures are available on the GG table in the Great Room. | A Bountiful CSA Day Last Season | | Jungle Jam & Juicy Jam Goodness Grows Jungle Jam and Juicy Jam available at Reach for the STARS online: Shop Local. They even provide curbside pickup in Salem to encourage social distancing. We are also glad to arrange a jam pick up here at GG. Check out our jam table in the Great Room. | OUTREACH and MISSION OPPORTUNITIES | Goodness Grows The non-profit ministry of Common Ground Church Community, Goodness Grows is always busy on our property. GG works with students and adults with disabilities, providing vocational habilitation training in a fun and hands-on way. The GG crew also maintains the grounds and cleans the church building. There are many ways to support GG, including: * Online Shopping ~ Just use Amazon Smile - choose Goodness Grows as your charity of choice. * Volunteering ~ Give of your time and get back lots of love & smiles! * Donating Items ~ We are always in need of items like basic jam making supplies such as regular 8oz. canning jars, lids, sugar, and white vinegar. * Purchasing Our Products ~ Proceeds from jam & crafts go right back to our programs. * Charitable Giving ~ As a small non-profit, Goodness Grows depends upon generous supporters who give monetary support. A contribution to Goodness Grows is tax-deductible, to the extent allowed by law. Your donations help us to continue our mission of working with people of all abilities. | Rock Kidz Uganda, Inc. Their mission is to Advocate, Advise, Advance the ministries of Divine Soccer in Masaka, Uganda for the benefit of the children of the community. Sponsorships can be made to Rock Kidz Uganda, Inc., 1814 E. 3rd St., Salem, OH 44460 or via Pay Pal at rockkidzuganda@gmail.com. Learn more on Facebook at: Rock Kidz Uganda or on their website: www.rockkidzuganda.org. Handmade jewelry available at the Rock Kidz table by the coat closet. Want to join the next mission trip? Dates for a 2021 trip are set for July 18-July 31. Click Here to learn how you can get involved! ~~~ | Coat & Clothing & More Giveaway 2021 Please tell your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers that we collect items year-round! We are happy to take clothes for all ages and sizes, along with coats, hats, bags, purses, shoes, housewares, books, school supplies, stuffed animals, puzzles, toys... anything clean and useful! The donation barrel and storage space is ready. | 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! ~~~ | Discover the Forest "Your forest is ready. While we’re social distancing, discover easy, family-friendly activities for enjoying the outdoors and staying connected during these times." Check out Discover the Forest to find outdoor adventures for you and your family. | Bites and Bit of History | Tokens of Affection: Historic Valentine Greetings Thursday, January 21, 12-1pm Continuing in an online video format, the first "Bites and Bits of History" lunchtime program of the Winter Series is debuting Thursday, January 21 at Noon, on our YouTube channel. We'll be sharing the love a bit earlier than Valentine's Day this year. This program will cover the origins and traditions of sending greetings for the holiday. Jessica Trickett, MVHS Collections Manager, will be the main presenter. In February, MVHS will be featuring the history and local traditions of the Cookie Table! This program series is presented monthly by the John and Loretta Hynes Foundation. | See the Northern Lights Thursday, January 21, 7pm Event by Delta College Planetarium, Online Facebook Live A live visual presentation about the Aurora Borealis! Mike Murray, Astronomer and Planetarium Manager, will explore what causes the phenomenon and how to observe them. NOTE - this event is hosted only here on the Delta College Planetarium FB page. | Curious Little Polar Bears Online Paint Night Friday, January 22 at 8pm Free Paint night. These cute and curious little polar bears enjoy looking at the world in wonder! All ages welcome. Here is a complete supply list: 11x14 canvas or wood or multimedia paper, blow dryer, paper plate, napkins, cup for water, 1/2 flat brush, small flat brush, small detail brush. Acrylic paint colors needed: Black, white, brown, ocean breeze (aqua), bright blue. As always any colors are welcome. Join in here on Facebook Live. | DAYS TO REMEMBER January 21 - Pam Kenney January 21 - National Squirrel Appreciation Day January 25 - Tiffany Crawford January 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day January is National Soup Month. If we don't have your special days, please let us know! | ON OUR CALENDAR January 21-27, 2021 . . . Weekdays, 9am-2pm - GG at Work Tonight, 4:30pm - GG Board Meeting Tonight, 6:30pm - Praise Team Practice Friday, 9am - Ladies Bible Study Sunday, 9:30am - Sunday Morning Class Sunday, 11am - In-Person & Online Worship Wednesday, 10am - Prayer Group via Zoom Wednesday, 12pm - Collide Kids Online | 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 Connecting Life Church 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. | |