Bulletin Announcements

Thrive

Thrive Faith Formation Tip - Our God is a generous God. Read Psalm 36:5-9, and spend some time thinking about the abundant gifts God has lavished on us in creation and in other ways. Make a list of everything you can think of that testifies to God’s generosity. If there are kids in your home, invite them to draw pictures of those things. Hang your list where you can see it often! Learn more at crcna.org/FaithPracticesProject

Thrive Faith Formation Tip - Ponder this quote from Mother Teresa: “This Christmas when Christ comes, will he find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving others with God’s own concern.” How might you and your family love and serve others during this season? Learn more at crcna.org/FaithPracticesProject

ReFrame Ministries

Groundwork: Love God By Loving One Another - Differences and disagreements are inevitable, even among Christians, because the gospel calls people of many ages, backgrounds, and experiences. Join Groundwork as we study Paul’s instructions for Christian living in Romans 14-16 to discover what it looks like to live in a community and to hear the heart of Paul’s message—love for God and love for each other. Listen now at GroundworkOnline.com and subscribe to Groundwork's weekly emails for future episodes.

Kids Corner: When We All Work Together - Check out this week’s kids’ devotion at www.kidscorner.net. Did you know that Nehemiah convinced everyone to help build a wall around Jerusalem? Together they finished the work in 52 days! This week’s devotion is all about how when we trust God and work together, he can accomplish some pretty amazing things through us. Check out all the great content at kidscorner.net like the Bible story podcast “The Story of Nehemiah.”

Kids Corner: The Prophet's Message of Hope - Check out this week’s kids’ devotion at www.kidscorner.net. The devotion is all about how the prophet Isaiah talked about how light shining in the darkness gave people comfort. We know Isaiah 9:2 is about Jesus coming to earth and dying on the cross for our sins. How amazing is that! The hope we have is a person! Check out all the great content at kidscorner.net like the Bible story podcast “The Story of the Prophets.”

Kids Corner: Promises and Peace - Check out this week’s kids’ devotion at www.kidscorner.net. During Advent, we remember the story of Mary, a teenager, called by God to be Jesus’ mother. “How could this be?” she wondered at first. But the angel Gabriel assured Mary. “God’s favor is on you,” he said. “Anything is possible with God.” Check out all the great content at kidscorner.net like the Bible story podcast “The Birth of Jesus.”

Family Fire - is an online community exploring Spirit-led family, marriage, parenting, in-laws, blended families, and intimacy. Find encouraging articles and devotions at familyfire.com. Subscribe for regular email updates and connect with our Family Fire community on Facebook.

Family Fire - is an online community exploring Spirit-led family, marriage, parenting, in-laws, blended families, and intimacy. Find encouraging articles and devotions at familyfire.com. Subscribe for regular email updates and connect with our Family Fire community on Facebook.

World Renew

[For use on Thanksgiving Day] Giving Thanks with our Offerings - As we give thanks to God, we are grateful for mothers in the village of Ka Chi, Laos, who receive medical support from World Renew through local health volunteers who provide prenatal check-ups, nutritional training, and preventative care. Through your gift in today’s offering, more families will be able to participate in the Free A Family® program and receive the training and skills they need to journey away from poverty. For more information, visit worldrenew.net/FreeAFamily.

Thank You from World Renew - Thank you for supporting the Free A Family® Offering! Your support is building capacity for families to join World Renew’s programming and journey out of poverty. To learn more about the Free A Family program and find out about our monthly giving program, visit worldrenew.ca/FreeAFamily.

Light the World Renew Giving Tree - Help people who live in poverty experience more of God’s love for them by joining in our Christmas Giving Tree! Through the World Renew Gift Catalog, each ornament on the tree is a giving suggestion for people living in poverty worldwide. Just choose an ornament and bring it, along with your donation, to put in our World Renew offering on Christmas Day. If you’re traveling this Christmas, you can also go to worldrenew.net/gifts or call 800-552-7972 to give instead!

God’s Love at Christmas - As we begin the Advent season, share the warmth of God’s love with a person living in poverty through your donation for World Renew’s Gift Catalog. Give a life-changing gift to a family that is facing hardship and hunger in the year ahead. Donate today at worldrenew.net/gifts or call 800-552-7972.

Deep Christmas Joy - God gave us his Best Gift at Christmas, and Jesus tells us to give as we have so abundantly received. Your donation to the World Renew Gift Catalog will bring real joy to someone who is struggling to survive each day. Donate today at worldrenew.net/gifts or call 800-552-7972.

Christmas Possibility - Next week we celebrate the possibility of being made right with God, starting with the birth of Jesus. He showed us the way to give to people in need. You can give a goat, a family water filter, or a tree pruning kit from World Renew’s Gift Catalog at worldrenew.net/gifts or call 800-552-7972.

Diaconal Ministries Canada

It's Giving Tuesday! - This coming Tuesday, November 28, is now known at #GivingTuesday - a day to give just a little bit back to make our world a better place! The NewGround program (formerly called Operation Manna) of Diaconal Ministries Canada equips and supports churches who want to make a difference in their local communities. This year we saw a sharp increase in grant requests: from $35,000 last year to $90,000 this year! Diaconal Ministries would love to help these churches be on mission in their own backyards: will you help us help them? Donate today - every single dollar will make a difference to a community in Canada that needs to see and experience the love of Jesus! Visit https://diaconalministries.com/donate-now today.

Other

Job Opening: Furniture Ministry Coordinator - After 22 years of running the Furniture Ministry at Covenant CRC, Bob Storteboom will be retiring at the end of 2023. We are looking for someone to fill the vital role of the Furniture Ministry Coordinator. The job involves managing volunteers, working with local organizations, and communicating with local congregations and agencies. Applicants should have a sincere commitment to Christ and a dedication to the advancement of the kingdom of God. Applicants should also have skills with email and spreadsheet management. A full job description can be found at https://covenant-crc.org/open-positions/. If you are interested in applying, please contact Blake Riek ([email protected]).

Explore the Intersection of Faith and Art in Italy! - Join the Institute for Christian Studies for ART in Orvieto, an advanced summer studies program in art, religion, and theology located in Orvieto, Italy, a magnificent hill town 90 minutes north of Rome. The program offers an ecumenical exploration of Christian understandings of the arts through a three-week residency designed for practicing artists, art teachers, graduate students in relevant fields, and other adult learners. The first eight applicants are eligible for a $500 early bird scholarship, and additional financial aid is available for teachers, graduate students, and working artists. Want to learn more? Visit icscanada.edu/art-in-orvieto, or join us for an online Info Session on November 30 at 6:30pm. Email [email protected] to RSVP.

Resonate Global Mission

"Advent in the Neighborhood" Free Webinar - How do you share the hope and peace of the gospel with your neighbors this season? Many of your neighbors might not know what Advent is, but most of them likely get into the festive spirit of Christmas. Advent is a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Christ, but how? Join us Monday, December 4 from 7-8:30 pm EST for a free webinar. Learn more and register at: www.resonateglobalmission.org/adventwebinar