| Sunday's Service - March 22, 2020 at 10:30am | | Join us this Sunday for Worship ONLINE! | Combined Worship Service - 10:30am As you know, we were scheduled to gather here at CGCC on Sunday, with our friends from Connecting Life, for another time of joint worship. We have had to postpone that gathering, but can still worship together online using technology. Use the link Connecting Life to hop on to their Facebook page and let's learn together from Pastor Mike's message, at 10:30am on Sunday morning. Remember that while we are apart, we can still pray and Worship as a church family. | Sunday Morning Class
Study of Psalms
We will not meet this Sunday. | Wednesday Morning Ladies Study
Parables: The Mysteries of God's Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus Told by John MacArthur Our in-person Bible studies are temporarily paused. This week, the ladies met virtually by using Google Duo. We will keep you posted as we try things like this so that we can continue walking in the Word together. We will also be sharing informative and uplifting Scripture and messages by email in the coming days. | Last Sunday in the Garden
We had a great discussion about prayer and then enjoyed some time hanging out. Our kids have a lot of things to say when asked about topics like prayer! | The Lord's Prayer Series
Our Garden/Sprouts kids have been learning about the Lord's prayer. We want all the kids, and adults, to hold these words in their hearts and minds, now and always. We encourage you to read and discuss this prayer with your children in place of the Sunday lesson. Some good questions to foster discussion could include:
1."Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" ~ What people would you like to pray for? How have you seen God's answers to prayer?
2. "Give us this day our daily bread" ~ How do you thank God for your meals? Which foods would you most like to thank God for?
3. "Forgive us our debts (sins)" ~ Why is it hard to say sorry when we have done wrong? How do we say sorry to God? The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen. | Last Sunday, Youth Group was canceled and now we do not know when we will be able to get back to our regularly scheduled program. We know this is a difficult and anxious time for all of us, including our young people. They are watching their daily lives change rapidly and are trying to process so much information and so many emotions right now. We do not want to leave them without the support and guidance of their youth group. We are working to make some decisions and plans about how we can best reach out to our youth and will keep you posted by email, on Facebook, and perhaps, by text. This is definitely not the time to lose touch! Please share the following prayer with your youth, and really, with anyone. We don't always have the words to express our intense feelings. Through prayers like these, we can help each other cope with stress by remembering that God is always there to listen. And, as it says in Romans 8:26, "In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us when we are weak. We don’t know what we should pray for. But the Spirit himself prays for us. He prays through groans too deep for words." A Prayer for Times of Crisis
God,
I am so upset!
I am so mad!
I cannot believe what has happened.
Show me how to calm down.
Help me to act and react wisely.
Guide my thoughts, Lord.
Help me to calm my emotions.
Protect me - protect us - from saying and doing things that will make this situation worse.
Amen
Source: Beth McLendon of Inspirational - Prayers.com If you have questions about how to discuss these current events with your kids, one good resource comes from Seattle Children's Hospital: Helping Children and Teens Cope with Anxiety About COVID-19 | Nerf Night Postponed Everyone has been asking for another Nerf Night for kids and adults to enjoy together and we had it on the calendar for March 29. Due to the efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, we unfortunately must postpone this highly anticipated event. Keep an eye out for the new date to be scheduled as soon as we can! We will have plenty of energy to blow off with an over-the-top Nerf celebration! | March Speakers 22 - Pastor Mike Hileman ~ at 10:30am online via Facebook Live: Connecting Life 29 - Plans to be decided/announced next week as we watch this evolving situation. | Dates for Your Calendar While nothing is for certain, let's still mark these days down and plan for the future! April 5 ~ Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast, 10am April 5 &19 ~ Tried & True Providing Gospel Music April 9 ~ Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service, 7pm April 12 ~ Easter Sunday April 19 ~ Mission Focused Worship - Divine Soccer Ministry | www.goodnessgrows4all.org Our Mission Statement: To cultivate personal, social, and community growth through gardening, education, and opportunity for people of all abilities. ~~~ | As of this current moment, GG is still here, operating with a fairly normal routine plus lots more hand washing and cleaning. We are following all the guidelines set forth by the CDC and the DODD. As long as we can keep to our routine, which is so important to our clients, we will! This week we still prepared lunch (dirty rice with smoked sausage, edamame, canned peaches, and sugar cookies) with Mrs. Weaver, cleaned, worked outside, planted, and more. There is always something to be done! Should we need to suspend our vocational habilitation program temporarily, Rachel will still be here throughout the week to care for our sprouts and animal friends and to continue to plant in anticipation of the upcoming growing season. | | Read our current newsletter here: | Time to Think CSA Limited shares are available here this year. April 30 is the last day 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! | | OUTREACH and MISSION OPPORTUNITIES | Ongoing Outreach/Mission Opportunity Coat & Clothing & More Drive ~ 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 in the collection barrel, take them up to the Green Room, or leave them under the front awning by the glass doors facing the road. | 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! | Health Resources Stay up-to-date with reliable sources like the CDC and the Ohio Department of Health - the best resources for learning the facts and how to protect yourself and your family. OH Department of Health CDC Helping the Isolated or Quarantined Cleaning Alternatives “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God
is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 | Family Activities During Social Distancing While everyone is trying to cope with the current challenges, let us be thankful there are so many safe options for activities to enjoy with family. We can't highlight programs at Mill Creek or in a library currently, but there is still much to do to explore and learn and grow together! Virtual Field Trips 101+ Virtual Tours Family Activities Coping With Restrictions | Hands on Projects How fortuitous it is we were recently collecting cardboard tubes! If you still have some left, give this a go during your time at home. Our feathered friends need to eat, too, and your family can enjoy some birdwatching time together if you ~ Make a Bird Feeder! | Pretzel Prayers During Lent For hundreds of years, the pretzel has been a food commonly associated with the season of Lent. There are various versions of the story of how pretzels were created, with most crediting a young bread baking monk who lived during the early 600's. A common posture for prayer for early Christians was to stand with their arms folded across their chest, each hand touching the opposite shoulder, which you can see in the traditional shape of pretzels. Some say that the monk used his creation as a reminder to his fellow monks to pray during Lent, naming his creation "bracellae" meaning “little arms.” This sounds a lot like the German word “bretzel,” from which we get the word pretzel. Another version of the story (often told in southeastern Pennsylvania, in "Pennsylvania Dutch Country") says that the monk used his creation as a reward for children who recited their prayers. This version says he named his creation “pretiola,” Latin for “little reward,” which again sounds like our word pretzel and could be the source of this word’s origin.
Whatever the story is, the fact remains that the pretzel has a long history of being associated with prayer and the season of Lent. Making some pretzels together at home is a fun activity that you can use as a reminder to stop and pray throughout your day. And, couldn't we all use a "Little Reward" right now?!? Here are a couple recipes to try:
Lenten Pretzel Recipe
German Pretzels | CELEBRATE! TODAY - Peggy Fisher
TODAY - Spring Equinox ~ Welcome Spring!
March 21 - National French Bread Day ~ A perfect reason to bake!
March 21 - World Poetry Day ~ How long since you read some good poetry?
March 22 - World Water Day ~ An estimated 780 million people live without access to clean water!
March 25 - Sarah Bendersmith
March - National Crafting Month If we don't have your special days, please let us know! | ON THE CG CALENDAR March 19-25, 2020 . . . As it is for everyone right now, our schedule is up in the air as we follow the day to day changes that are happening. As of now what we know for sure about our calendar is below. We will have more information in time for next week's Scoop. Tonight, 6:30pm - GG Board Meeting
Sunday, 10:30am - Online Worship | 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. | |
