To all you who
generously shared your Christmas baking with your church family here at Bethel
during the Advent season, it certainly has been a sweet treat.
OUR CHURCH FAMILY
Please remember our
church family in your daily prayers, at mealtimes and during your personal
devotions. Remember those who are unable to worship regularly with us: Jennie Bajema, Bill Wildeboer and Rena
DeRuiter. Pray also for those who struggle in silence
with ongoing physical, spiritual, and emotional issues. Continue to pray for our missionaries around
the world.
Prayer: Life is busy,
these days of festivities, celebrations, and gatherings. But please pray for
those far and near. How would those feel who are in prison, in hospitals
or group homes, institutions? For those who know that this may well be their
last Christmas here on earth? Please spend extra time in prayer for those who
turned away from Church, from the Lord. May He speak to them at this holiday time to bring them 'to their
senses', so they will return. What a celebration that would be!
Marvin Ebens surgery went well earlier this week and he is now home. He will now be recovering and preparing for
the next stage of the process.
Congratulations to Alisha De Jager on the birth of her daughter on December 10th.
Both mother and child are doing well. May God be with you,
bless you on this wonderful journey into parenthood.
Bradly Roolker took a fall and broke his elbow earlier this
week. Please remember Bradly as he will
be receiving a new cast on Monday. May
our Lord grant you healing, rest and peace as you find yourself limited in your
everyday routines.
Lacombe Community Refugee Effort: We are happy to have
found a rental home for Khadija Zein Eddin and her children at 4720 - 49 A Ave.
This weekend we are moving in the furniture donated. Bethel Deacons are
planning a pantry - household drive in January to help with essential
start up goods. Thank you for your prayers and donations.
Janneke Andrew’s sister in law Angela, (Grace Roolker’s aunt)
has received her first dialysis treatment and went well. Please remember her in your prayers as she
now needs to adjust to the grueling schedule of treatments three times a week
for the four hours each visit.
Bethel News
Pastor Jake and Joyce
would like to invite each of you to
stop by our 20th annual open house on New Year's Day from 2-4 p.m.
You can find us at 6 Pickwick Lane here in Lacombe. We love beginning the year
by welcoming our church family over for a bit of food and fellowship with
those who have welcomed us into their lives. May you have a wonderful Christmas
and a blessed New Year.
From the
Treasurer:
To
fulfill our ministry shares for 2019 we are in need of $5000.00. All together we can give as the Lord has
blessed us and share with fulfilling the denominational needs. Please prayerfully consider this request. Thank
you, August Luymes
Christmas Office
Hours:
Dana will be
in the office of Friday, December 27th & January 3rd
from 9 a.m. till 3:30 p.m. Cindy will be in the office on Friday January 10th. Please have all your announcements in by 9
a.m. Regular Wednesday and Friday office
hours will resume on January 15th.
Bethel Cadet Bottle & Battery Drive:
Cadets will be collecting bottles, cans, milk
jugs etc. and car batteries for our annual fundraiser on January 11, 2020 at
Herman Scholing’s garage. You can drop them off your items at his place
between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. or give Grant a call for pick up at 403- 896-2856.
Community
Christmas Dinner – Desserts:
Are you willing to make a
cheesecake, trifle, or pie for the Christmas Day Dinner? Please let Cora or Pete
Hoekstra know if you can help out in this way.
Old Piano:
There is a new to us piano in the Fellowship
Hall. You may have noticed the old one is still there. We would
like to move this piano out of the church. Is anyone interested in having
it for the wood or for a project? Do you want the whole piano, or just
part of it for the wood? There are a
number of woodworkers in the congregation, if you are interested, please call
Anita Geldof at 403-782-2817.
Men:
Are you
lonely, afraid to share the things you wrestle with in the deep of the night?
Do you wish there was another guy, or guys you could trust to share some of
this stuff with in a safe place where you aren’t afraid of being shamed or
looked down on, but who would understand and care about you? Pastor Jake will
be hosting a time a couple of times a month where, as guys together, we can
begin building guy relationships of trust and safety where we can share more of
who we are and be encouraged and built up by each other while also being held
accountable in a safe and trusting environment. We will look to the men of the
Bible and their struggles and how God worked in and through them to build them
up as men, husbands, fathers, and friends. We are planning our first meeting
for early January when we can begin talking about what our gatherings will look
like and what we are looking for in such a group. We will also look at holding
a grandfather/father/son/grandson monthly get together as well, so if you are
interested, text, email, or talk to Pastor Jake. His info is in the bulletin
and on the church website.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Central Alberta Christian High School’s Fall Drive’s
goal for this year is
set at $125,000. So far this year’s drive has resulted in donations totalling
$39,886. Thank you to all those who have donated so far, your support is very
much appreciated. If you would still like to donate there is still time to do
so and we ask that you prayerfully consider to what extent you can support
CACHS through this year’s drive. To receive a 2019 charity receipt please
donate before Dec. 31, 2019. You may mail your donations directly to CACHS, 22
Eagle Road, Lacombe, AB, T4L 1G7. If you would like to drop off your donation
at the school please note we will be closed for Christmas break from Dec. 20 to
Jan. 5, but you may leave your cheque in the mailbox outside the front doors as
we will be picking up the mail during the break. Please contact Candace at the
school, 403-782-4535, if you have any questions.
Lacombe Stepping Stones:
We are excited to announce the re-launching of the Lacombe Stepping Stones
program with Youth Unlimited/YFC in January 2020. Stepping Stones is a program
that provides support and the hope of Jesus, to young pregnant moms and their
children. The Stepping Stones Program will run on Wednesday mornings from 10 a.m.
– 12 p.m. starting January 8, 2020 at Bethel Christian Reformed Church.
Volunteers are needed for mentorship, teaching children and providing a hot
breakfast! Please connect with Cora Fossen at 403-803-3052 or
cora.fossen@cayu.ca for more details!
DENOMINATIONAL
NEWS
Rick Hiemstra with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
and co-author of the Renegotiating
Faith report regarding young adult faith formation in Canada will soon be
speaking at Kings University. This special event will be on January 15th
from 7-9 p.m. More details will soon follow. Please mark your
calendar now so as to not miss this important event.
Food
for Thought:
We have had a glimpse into Heaven's throne
room. Seen a bit of the incredible splendour that surrounds our Creator God,
the Almighty One. Heaven, where Jesus was one with the Father, living in
visible, audible, breath-taking splendour. And He left it! Lord of
eternity, with pure radiance, purely innocent, out of indestructible love,
sought us to restore us and to save us. Bow
down before Him: This Is Your God! (Based on Meekness & Majesty by Graham Kendrick)