THE CALLERA MONTHLY NEWSLETTERDECEMBER 2017 EDITION

Fellowship 8:30-9:00 AMSunday School 9:00-10:00 AM

Worship Service 10:15 AM

Christmas Eve Schedule Fellowship…….………..….…8:30 am Sunday School….………..…9:00 am Worship Service……………10:15 am Candlelight Service……….6:00 pm

Christmas Basket Giveaway

Saturday, December 16th, 1 - 4pm

Volunteers are needed to make cookies, pack boxes, help in the

kitchen and help carry out the boxes. Mark your communication card if you

would like to help.

The food bank is always accepting donations. Canned and dry goods can be put in the donation barrel. Monetary

donations can be given with the offering or mailed in.

Rainbow’s End is taking registrations for the 2017-2018 school year.

BIBLE STUDIES

Everyone is invited to join us for coffee and donuts from 8:30 - 9:00 in the Fellowship Hall and then attend one of the following studies…

•Journey Through the New Testament - We are now in 1 Thessalonians. Join us on our journey. This study is meeting in a room upstairs next to Rainbow’s End Preschool.

•Parables - Led by Elaine Duncan and Pam Smith in the Library. All ladies welcome.

•Lord Change My Attitude - Led by Ryan Woodard in the Fellowship Hall. All are welcome.

•Reading Devotional Classics for Spiritual Growth - Led by the Chenoweth’s in Blake’s office. Everyone is welcome.

Adult Bible Studies on Sunday Mornings at 9:00 AM

Everyone is invited to join a Bible Study at the McMullen’s house on Sunday evenings at 5:30. They will be studying I Corinthians. If you have any questions please see Larry or Linda.

Christmas CardsNow through December 10th,

Christmas cards for church members can be dropped off at the church. Cards will be sorted and ready for

pick-up on December 17th.

Future Sermons “Light and Darkness” John 1:1-5“A Witness to the Light” John 1:6-8“Becoming a Child of God” John 1:9-13“Word Became Flesh” John 1:14-18FX Sunday

THOUGHTS FOR THE JOURNEY

December 3rd: December 10th: December 17th:December 24th: December 31st:

A Christmas Reminder I am often overwhelmed at the time of Christmas and I always need a reminder to rest in the joy and peace of Jesus at this time. He came to this world and we celebrate God with us today. My reminder always comes with an encouragement to rest and take time to remember the reason for the season.

It’s easy to miss what is important during this time of year. With shopping for Christmas presents, festive parties, children’s plays, decorating and baking, we can so often feel stressed and overwhelmed. During the time we are celebrating the birth of Jesus and want to abide in His presence, we can be so exhausted. We must find time in our busyness to slow down and remember the importance of what this season is all about.

God is calling us to live a focused and dedicated life. A focused life is not scattered in many directions because of the distractions. It always moves to the center even in the busiest of times because it is like a magnet attracted to Jesus, knowing that He alone is the one who makes everything work when priorities are in order. God knows it is difficult and our temptation is to get too busy. Let us remember the utmost importance of prayer and abiding in His presence this season.

When feeling overwhelmed with all the work, I encourage you to stop and pray short prayers to God throughout your day. Prayers like, “I need You.” “ I want to abide in You.” “Help me to live for You.” are great prayers to recite throughout our days. It is important to remember God’s peace, joy and love at this time. We always need a Christmas reminder.

~Blake

Can you believe it’s that time of year again? Time to decorate, bake cookies, buy gifts, sing carols. And, in our world, it’s time to teach preschoolers the true story of Christmas—the story of when God gave us Jesus—the best gift ever!

Every year, this story is retold. God sends an angel to tell Mary the good news. Jesus is born. The angels tell the shepherds. And, once they see baby Jesus, they tell everyone! Then the wise men come and worship God’s Son.

If we’re not careful, we can easily forget that the story we’ve heard a million times is brand new for many of the preschoolers who will be hearing for the first time this year.

The story we get to share with preschoolers this time of year is so special that we need tell it with excitement and wonder so that our children are excited about it too! We want to tell the true story of Christmas in a way that communicates to preschoolers that Jesus really is the best gift ever! He’s a very special delivery!

Our Savior came in a very quiet way. In fact, the first people to hear of His birth were some shepherds out in a field. Can you imagine how those shepherds felt that night? Our preschoolers will hear how a whole host of angels shared the awesome news that Jesus had been born with shepherds in the field. The shepherds hurried to see baby Jesus and then rushed to tell others all about Him.

Every good and perfect gift comes from God. In fact, generosity is at the very core of God’s character—He even gave us His own son, Jesus! Jesus showed unwavering generosity as He traded His life for ours. And, because God gave us Jesus and Jesus gave His life, we can be generous towards others. Not only that, but when we are generous towards others, we prove that we love God by loving the people He loves. We pray that this Christmas, as kids celebrate God’s amazing generosity, they’ll see how they can be generous with their family, friends, and neighbors.We start our look at generosity in 1 John 4:9-11 where we discover that generosity starts with God. Because God loved us so much, He sent Jesus to be our savior and make it possible for us to be with God forever.

In Luke 12:13-21, we find Jesus sharing a parable about a rich young man. This rich man experienced such a harvest that he ended up with more than he needed. Instead of seeing how he could use the extra to help others, he stores it up for himself. He loses his life and doesn’t get to enjoy it anyway. We will take a look at important generosity principle Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:18. Command the rich to do good. Tell them to be rich in doing good things. They must give freely. They must be willing to share, (NIrV). Paul knows that our wealth isn’t based in how much we have but in what we do with it.It’s Christmas! We head to the familiar story in Luke 2:1-18. While people expected a new king born in a palace, God had other plans in mind. Jesus was born in a place where they kept the animals. No royal robes, not much public fanfare, just Mary and Joseph cuddling Jesus for the first time. God announced His gift to shepherds helping us realize that Jesus was a gift for everyone.

kidcity Pre-K Series:

CHILDREN’S MINISTRYkidcity Elementary Series:

STUDENT MINISTRY

Connect 18

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US 9:00 am meet in the rooms in the lower level of the north building (the old teen basement).

Join us for grade appropriate Bible Study, making a stronger connection with our faith, Bible and church family. We pray together, have monthly activities and serve together. Please encourage & invite all students to attend. We would love to have them!

The coaches: Larry, Velta and Georgianne

Connect Jr - Students who are in Junior High Connect Hi - Students who are in High School Connect U - Students who have graduated high school and moved on to College/University or career minded. These outstanding young people are always welcome with us. However, we encourage them to join one of our many enriching Adult Bible Studies.

A special thanks to Billy and Ashley

Adams, Jake and Tara Merritt, and Blake and Jessica Chenoweth, for

being great coaches.

November was a busy month for us!!!GOT THE WORD If you see any students with a "Got the Word" sticker on them, please ask them to tell you the WORD! We have been working weekly on various Scriptures & memorization. In today's world of distractions, this is challenging! Keep up the good work everyone!THANKSGIVING MEAL 2017 The Connect Students worked very hard in helping set the tables for the Thanksgiving meal at the church. Thank you to all the students who helped and followed directions!! Also, special thanks to the committee for letting us help.  This was a wonderful opportunity for us to serve our church family.SICOM 2017 was a very informative, eye opening event. We had a total of 19 participating both days (students & adults). We helped to pack bags of food at the Meal Making workshop. This made us feel like a part of feeding the children in need and began a "hands on" awareness of the hunger in third world countries. We also participated in the Building Project workshop where we created 4 wall structures for those in need. This made us feel good about being a part of helping to serve others. Both workshops made us realize what we can do by working together, helping those in need. This experience was beneficial and educational by seeing how the missionaries work to spread God's Love for the Kingdom. Thank you to the adults for giving your time and especially our church family for allowing us to take an active part in this Mission conference.OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD 2017 we went to Havana to pack boxes.  We packed 885 boxes. Way to go students!!!Please feel free to contact Georgianne 349-4991 text/call with questions, suggestions, or if you would like to help.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO... 5-Cy Fosnaugh Mike Fuller 11-Linda Stien 17-Rich Vercler Lyndzi Miller 22-Becky Bush 23-Marlys Grant 27-Dave Huisman 28-Brody Woodard

29-Emma Campbell Herbert Donohue

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO... 16-Bryan & Kadee Bellini

FAMILY NEWS

2017 Calendar of Events Letters from the Heart - 12/13 @noon Secret Sister Reveal - 12/14 @6:30pm

2017 Women’s MinistryHe is able to do anything above and beyond anything we can ever ASK. THINK. IMAGINE. - Ephesians 3:20

WOMEN’S MINISTRY

Secret Sister Reveal & Cookie Packing for Shut-ins

December 14th @ 6:30pmPlease bring at least 2 dozen cookies

You do not have to have a secret sister to attend.

The Men’s & Women’s Ministry teams are having a sock and glove drive for the homeless until December

17th. Please bring new socks and new gloves for men,

women and children.

December 3rd December 10th December 17th December 24th December 31st

Deaconess Marna Gorrell Marna Gorrell Marna Gorrell Marna Gorrell Marna Gorrell

Greeters Betty CaseyBrenda VerclerRich Vercler

Julie ParksJoyce PitmanLinda McMullen

Becky BushLinda GilsonG.R. Woodard

Rudy ValentineJudi SchorrTerry Flynn

Juanita CrookRalph CrookLori Crook

Welcome Center Judy Coffey Josephine Bowen Terry Flynn Sherry Woodard Sherry Woodard

Sound Tech Bryan Bellini Bryan Bellini Bryan Bellini Bryan Bellini Bryan Bellini

Slides Tech Kadee Bellini Kadee Bellini Kadee Bellini Kadee Bellini Kadee Bellini

Pre-K (hour 1) Malinda Gerhardt Maddie Friend Judy Crackel Taylor Calhoun Malinda Gerhardt

Pre-K (hour 2) Ashley Adams Brenda Vercler Chanda Parod Larry & Velta Haynes

KIDS UPSTAIRS FOR FX

Elementary (hour 1)

Juanita Nelson Marna Gorrell

Juanita Nelson Marna Gorrell

Juanita Nelson Marna Gorrell

Juanita Nelson Marna Gorrell

Juanita Nelson Marna Gorrell

Elementary (hour 2)

Vince Crook Lori Merritt

Corey CampbellAndrea Campbell Tara Merritt

Vince Crook Lori Merritt

Corey CampbellAndrea Campbell Tara Merritt

KIDS UPSTAIRS FOR FX

Nursery (Sunday School) Judy Crackel Sherry Stoltenberg Chanda Parod Jessica Chenoweth KIDS UPSTAIRS

FOR FX

Nursery (Worship Service) Lisa Smith Diane Siebenthal Jessica Roper Katie Widmer KIDS UPSTAIRS

FOR FX

VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE

Students interested in fun…Creve Coeur Christian ChurchYOUTH GROUP… where faith explodes in your heart

WHO: Jr. High and High School StudentsWHAT: Fun, Fellowship & Worship togetherWHERE: Creve Coeur Christian ChurchWHEN: Thurs., Dec. 7th & 14th from 6-7:30pm

*There is no youth group on 12/21, 12/28 & 1/4. It will resume on 1/11.*

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wed. Thursday Friday Sat.

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Washington Christian

Village 8:30 am

C4 Youth Group 6 pm

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Prayer Meeting 5:30 pm

Christmas Card Sorting

6 pm

Letters from the Heart

noon Rainbow’s End Christmas Show

6:30 pm

C4 Youth Group 6 pm

Secret Sister Reveal

6:30 pm

Christmas Basket

Giveaway 1 - 4 pm

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Washington Christian

Village 8:30 am

Christmas Caroling

6 pm

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Candlelight Service

6 pm

Merry Christmas!

Office Closed

Elder’s Meeting

5 pm

31

December

Creve Coeur Christian Church101 S. Thorncrest

Creve Coeur, IL 61610309-699-8421

ccccwebmail@gmail.comwww.ccchristianchurch.com