Sunday's Service - May 24, 2020 | Join us this Sunday for Worship - 10:30am Spend Sunday morning online with us. Pastor Mike will be stepping aside this Sunday and we will hear from CLC member Danielle Renee in Part 2 of the series, Running with the Giants! Join us Sunday to hear what Rahab would tell you in the Christian race you are running! 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! *Since Connecting Life Church has a public Facebook page, you can follow the above link and watch church service. You don't even need to have a Facebook account. | Bible Studies Our in-person Bible studies are currently paused. The ladies have been keeping in touch by email and meeting via Google Duo. Let us know if you want to join in! We're supposed to "meet" tomorrow morning. We'd love to have you study and chat with us! We continue to connect and to learn a lot. Do you have any favorite verses, an uplifting devotion, or a prayer request? Please send them in and share with your church family! | 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 is based on John 17:1-10; 20-26 where Jesus talks about how he prays for his followers. Head on over to that lesson right here: Jesus Prays for Us. | Today is Ascension Day. "Up, up, and away…the celebration of the Ascension takes place forty days after Easter, by the church calendar. Jesus rose from the grave, and after appearing to disciples, rose into Heaven. Why is this important? The Ascension reminds us of who Jesus was, and also brings to mind the importance of how He has gone to prepare a place for us. We await His return, but know that He is with us still in the meantime." From Ministry-to-Children, here is a special lesson for today: Ascension Day. | Youth Group Quarantine Challenge Continues Youth Group members continue to receive a variety of challenges. 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. Remember, when the next Bible Search Challenge arrives, this is an excellent resource to access a ton of different Bible translations: Bible Gateway. | 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! | Encouragement Another inspiring devotional, focusing on the theme of community. This reading, from May 17, by Bret Lamsma, again contains a lot to think about and pray about. (This is the website that the passage below comes from: Devotionals Community Is . . . Growing The mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established . . . and all nations will stream to it. - Isaiah 2:2 Shirley admits that the community she knew as a child was quite inward-focused. Everyone looked the same and had similar backgrounds and beliefs. But the experiences of her life have widened and deepened her sense of community in many ways. College increased her sense of community. A move to a different city increased it yet again. Technology, globalization, transportation, and different opportunities continue to increase it today. While she continues to hold on to the good things and loving people from her childhood background, she is thankful also to have friends across the world from a variety of backgrounds, belief systems, and experiences. God has envisioned a much larger community than his people in Israel ever imagined. In Isaiah, he says that people from all nations will stream in. All of those people will come rushing to the Lord not because of how great they are, but because of how great God is. As our idea of community broadens and grows, God will bring people to us from all areas of life. They will have different backgrounds and experiences, but they will be drawn to us because of who God is in our lives. God loves people! He loves you, and he loves everyone who gathers around you. He loves your community and is the reason that it grows to include all types of people. The community that God envisions for his people is not a stagnant one but a growing one. Prayer: Father, grow our community and cause us to be accepting of all the people you bring into our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen. | May Worship Pastor Mike Hileman ~ Sundays at 10:30am online via Facebook Live: Connecting Life We remain online for May. We will keep you posted as we see how it goes as the state begins to reopen. Session has agreed that now is not the time to return to meeting in person but we are looking to the future to be ready when we can! | www.goodnessgrows4all.org Our Mission Statement: To cultivate personal, social, and community growth through gardening, education, and opportunity for people of all abilities. ~~~ | Expanding Our Client's Work Days The GG board met, we worked with the state to make sure we have a plan for health and safety, Rachel talked to the client's parents, and we are all ready to get back to a more normal schedule. Starting next week, our clients won't have to have their own special work day. We're bringing the gang back together and we're so excited! Families will be choosing their own pace and adding days as they are comfortable. Everyone is looking forward to reuniting and working together again! We will be following all the guidelines laid down by the governor, the CDC, and the DODD, from hand washing to mask wearing and everything in between. We'll keep you posted on how things go. | Almost CSA Time! Order/payment deadline is next Friday, May 29. Last chance to join! We are so pleased to have ten subscribers who have officially registered and paid for this season. | Jam For Sale Check out Reach for the STARS online to get your Goodness Grows Jungle Jam and Juicy Jam. Here is the link to their website: Shop Local They even provide curbside pickup in Salem to encourage social distancing. Tonight from 6-6:30, they will be on Facebook Live, featuring home decor items made by local artisans and Ohio-based companies - Home Decor, Art & Crafts | 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. | Donation Drop-Off Benefiting The Salvation Army The Salvation Army is seeking donations of nonperishable food items, water/water bottles, laundry soap, toilet paper and toiletries. Make your donation outside of the Southern Park Mall's food court daily between the hours of 12-5pm. Scheduled now through June 5. Thank you for your donation! | 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! | News from Crown Theater "It's been a long two months with the pandemic changing life as we know it. COVID-19 turned the world upside down. Theater life came to a screeching halt with the state closing theaters along with other non-essential businesses. As of now, the governor has not lifted restrictions in the theater/entertainment business and it doesn't look like it will be happening soon. With the restrictions, all Summer Drama Camps for 2020 will be postponed to 2021. The 2020 season, special need shows, and summer camps will happen - just not in the timing that was anticipated. As with every small business and non-profit, the pandemic has taken a toll on the finances of the organization. We will get through this and look forward to once again bringing quality shows, camps, and programming to Main Street Theater. Thank you for your patience and support and we hope to see you soon." Deb Salmen, Executive Director | History Online Friday, May 22 from 10:30am-12:30pm Historic Zoar Village is coming to you! Join for a live virtual field trip as we visit the buildings of Zoar. Learn the history of Zoar and what life was like in the 1800s. Costumed interpreters will take you around each of our buildings as they share the stories of the Separatists of Zoar. Open to any students, any educators, any one of any age. if you attend a certain school or homeschool co-op, let us know you are planning on watching and we will be sure to mention your group live on the air. Virtual Field Trip | Librarian Live Chat Join the Facebook Live Chats where we discuss books, give suggestions from our digital resources, and more. 8:30 p.m. on Tues., Thurs., & Sat. You never know what our next topic will be, so let’s chat! Library Chat | Keep Looking Up 07: The Birth and Death of Stars Saturday, May 23, 8-9pm Some stars are tiny -- not much bigger than Jupiter. Others are HUGE -- on the order of the size of our solar system! But all stars are born, live and die. In this show we will look at the life cycle of stars, and our special guest, Dr. John Feldmeier will discuss what our own Sun is destined for: a planetary nebula. The Ward Beecher Planetarium Online | CELEBRATE! May 21 - Ascension Day May 21 - National Waitstaff Day May 22 - Tim & Jennie Passmore May 22 - National Maritime Day May 23 - Heidi Landis May 24 - National Scavenger Hunt Day May 25 - Memorial Day If we don't have your special days, please let us know! | ON THE CG CALENDAR May 21-27, 2020 . . . Sunday, 10:30am - Online Worship Monday - GG Closed for Memorial Day Weekdays, 9am-2pm - GG at Work 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. | |