Good Afternoon Everyone!
God has blessed us with another gorgeous day!
Here are the exciting updates for this week & the coming season!
–> Thanksgiving Dinner – This Wednesday Nov 18th @ 5:45 We will be having our Special LifeChurch Thanksgiving dinner celebration!
We are already starting to hear the buzz about the different guests that have said they were coming! Some have even asked people from church… “are you having that great dinner again this year, because I want to come!”
This is what we are asking each person to do:
1. Think of 3-5 people that you can invite to the dinner
2. Call them up to give them a personal invitation
3. Offer to meet so they can ride with you – or follow you there
(people hate to walk into a place where they don’t know anyone)
4. Call those that agreed to come the night before to confirm
5. When you bring them in, introduce them to your LifeChurch family, to help set them at ease for the evening.
* Bonus #6 – We know that you will be bringing your favorite special recipe, so be sure to make enough extra to help feed the extra guests as well!
This is our full blown traditional Thanksgiving dinner, so items that would be good to bring would be:
– Stuffing
– Mashed Potatoes
– Turkey Gravy
– Vegetables
– Casseroles
– Dinner rolls
– Desserts such as pumpkin & apple pie, brownies, cookies, etc.
The church will provide:
– punch
– cranberry sauce
– butter
– turkeys & turkey bags for people to cook
Be thinking about what you would like to bring. We know whatever it is… it’s going to be wonderful!
–> Mark The Date – Nov. 28th
Right after Thanksgiving comes the Christmas Season, and we would like to jump right in with our decorations, so that we can enjoy them for the whole season!
This year, we will be decorating on Nov 28th the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We will meet at 9am & finish by 11am. It will only take a few hours, and we would love for you to come out & share in this time of fellowship with us!
–> Reaching Out
This year, we want to serve Christ, by touching the lives of others during this holiday season. We know that many of you have ideas about how you can do that within your own families, and we are
excited to hear the different testimonies that will come out of that.
For the church as a whole, we have a few ways that we would like to serve this year. We know that this is the timing of the Lord, because so many are feeling God place His finger on their hearts in the area of service to Him.
Thanksgiving:
As Pastor said a few weeks ago, we have learned that Rome currently has more homeless people than the city of Utica! In speaking with Shirley Caldwell over at the Rome Rescue Mission, she shared with us some of the biggest needs that they currently have.
– Because they are feeding & caring for more and more people, their pantry is quite low. They could use non-perishables to help fill the shelves & provide food baskets for those in need.
– Being currently “filled to capacity” (double bunking & even putting some in between beds right now), they are in “dire” need of things such as; toilet paper, napkins, dish soap, laundry soap.
– Winter is coming & they have many homeless men who don’t even have a coat. They come in to try to get out of the cold, but are going to be facing the snow pretty soon. She is requesting winter coats – especially in sizes 2X & 3X.
Christmas:
We have 2 families in the church with relatives that have been deployed overseas, and we would like to send them a special Christmas care package from LifeChurch. We would like to bless them in such a way, that there is way more than they need for themselves, so they can share with the others serving with them!
In order for the packages to arrive on time, we need to send them out by December 1st.
1. Loraine Tebo’s granddaughter
Mercedes Armstrong – Marines
She is serving on a ship out to sea, and although she has the ability to buy items, they are VERY expensive! Ideas – socks, slippers, pjs (M) would be nice… and she loves purple make up 😉
2. Dave & Judy Bergstrom’s son-in-law
MSgt Donald Huston – Air Force
He will be responsible for preparing his own food, and could use staples such as; nuts, crackers, slim jims, etc. He will be serving in Korea, where the winters are VERY cold! You might think of gifts like sweetshirt (XL), or comfy bottoms (L). He is also a golf lover – and a Steelers fan 😉
During his 12 month tour of duty in Korea, he will also be living near an orphanage, in which some of the men volunteer. Don is really looking forward to serving these children while he is there on duty. As soon as we have the details of the children living there, we can come up with some ideas to help them as well!
Here are the types of things that will be very useful to them both. Just think “everyday items”:
* We would like smaller sizes for ease of shipping, and so they can share them with the others serving with them.
tooth paste, tooth brushes, dental floss
powder
deodorant
shaving cream
lotion
chap stick
shampoo & conditioner
soap
individually wrapped candy
laundry soap
etc.
Sister Debbie will have a poster in the lobby, and a box to start collecting items to be packaged up & sent out. You can also see her for more ideas.
Samaritan’s Purse – Operation Christmas Child
We have had some requests to participate in the Operation Christmas Child shoe box giveaway. After doing some research, and learning all of the details about the program, we are very excited to participate! We also think that this is a wonderful way to reach out to orphans & needy children around
the world with the gospel message of Jesus Christ!
I love what one man said… “giving a child a gift is a way to open up the heart of a child, because it’s the practical application of the “gift of Jesus.”
What is Operation Christmas Child?
You simply fill a shoe box with small gifts for a boy or a girl, wrap the lid & box seperately, wrap a rubber band around both ends, then we take them to the drop off location. After being sent to the headquarters, they are filled with a book about the gift of Jesus, then they are sent out around the world.
The deadline to receive boxes is Sunday November 22nd.
Because we are just learning about this outreach & didn’t realize how early the deadline is, we only have a week & a half to gather boxes… but we still want to do what we can this year! Next year we will know more & be able to start way earlier.
Here is the link to the how-to instructions & the label that you can print off to tape to the top of your box:
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/pdf/PackABoxwithLabels.pdf
–> Many have made comments about how they like the changes going on in the loby. This is just the beginning! We want to showcase different talents of those in the church, and look forward to enjoying them each week!
The loby carpet will be cleaned this week… which we are VERY excited about 😉
* Apostle Nickles was in prayer for us recently, and God gave him this scripture for us & LifeChurch. We wanted to share it with you, as it is VERY encouraging! God is so good!
Isa 43:19
For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. NLT
Can you feel it!!!
Pastors Dan & Pearl
http://www.LifeChurchNY.com