The Week ·
Thursday, December 25: 6:00pm: Christmas Eve Worship Service
Sunday, December 28: 9:30am: Worship
Calendar of Events ·
PRAYERS FOR THIS WEEK are for: Ruth Leichliter, Kent Obrecht, Dick Park & Carol, Allen, Tracey Dawson, Jane Smithson, Kerry, Shannon, Karen’s family following her death; Aune Olson's brother and Darcy Olson, Rachel Yates' nephew, Shannon, Jan Goebel's family on her death, Adam's friend Sarah who lost her job at Qwest, each of us this Christmas season, all those in Detroit, Amy Waters, Ross Tyrie, David Cooper, Lindsey's grandmother and Ally.
CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP will begin at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, December 24th. It will be a traditional service of lessons and carols with communion. There will be special music offered by our adult choir, hand bell choir and soloist, Meron Mengist. As is our custom, we will light candles at the close of the worship service as we sing Silent Night. Childcare will be available. Please invite your friends, family and neighbors to join us for this majestic and holy night.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO SHOP WITH HEIFER INTERNATIONAL. This is an ecumenical program in which you can honor your friends and family by buying a gift of animals for a family or families elsewhere in the world. We are a nation of plenty, and many other nations struggle just to get a meal on the table each day. This Christmas, instead of giving something that may be put in a closet and forgotten, why not feed another family in another country?
DURING THIS STEWARDSHIP SEASON WE HAVE RECEIVED 48 PLEDGES TOTALING $145,490. We are grateful for your generosity and deep commitment to Christ’s work at Calvary. We eagerly await and continue to welcome your pledges of time, talent and treasure. Please PUT YOUR NAME on the sheets and place them in the offering plate or mail attn: Gail to the church office. May our faithfulness bring glory to God.
THE LABYRINTH WILL BE “OPEN” for walkers on Christmas Eve from 4pm to 6pm.
THE GREATER GIFT is here again today. It is an alternative Christmas Market. Each year we give Calvary members the opportunity to shop at the Greater Gift. The church will receive a 20% commission on all sales.
PILGRIMAGE WALK TO BETHLEHEM FOR ADVENT
There are just a few days left! Will we make it to Bethlehem?? Add your miles or tell Kathie. Late -breakinbg news: WE DID IT!!
OUR FAITHFUL SOUND ENGINEER, RICK JENKINS WILL BE MOVING TO KANSAS CITY THE FIRST OF THE YEAR. So, we are searching for one or more persons who are willing to be trained for this important service during our worship services. Three people already know the basics, but we’d like to train one more person. Do you have untapped talent? A desire to mess with gadgets? Please speak to Rick to arrange a time for training.
Mark your calendar for a fun party on December 31, 2008 at 8:00 pm! THE CALVARY COOKING CLUB IS HOSTING THEIR ANNUAL NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY TO RING IN 2009. The theme is foods from around the world. Bring your favorite food and join the fellowship. The party will be held at the Christiansen residence, 6472 Bethany Place, Denver. Call Julie at 303-757-0732 to RSVP.
PLEASE PICK UP YOUR PLEDGE ENVELOPE BOXES FOR 2009 on the narthex table.
UPPER ROOM DEVOTIONAL GUIDES ARE HERE FOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY. They are free of charge and can help guide your spiritual life in the New Year. There are regular and large print editions. Please take one!
In the Community ·
WEAVING TOGETHER WONDROUS WORSHIP: You are invited to a workshop led by Dr. Dan Hoggatt to be held at Green Mountain Presbyterian Church January 9 - 11. Holly would love to see many at Calvary attend this workshop. It will offer an opportunity to meaningfully create powerful worship experiences. It only costs $25 (scholarships available) and is loaded with hands-on leadership training and experiences of innovative worship. There is a brochure on the bulletin board, or you can register by calling Janet Heitsmith at 303-985-8733 or writing her at Green Mountain Pres. Church (Attn: Janet) 12900 Alameda Pkwy, Lakewood, CO 80228. The Friday night event is from 6pm – pm; Sat. from 8:30 to 6pm and Sunday worship at 10:30 am.
GLIMPSES OF THE PRESBYTERY AT WORK: It is the season of celebrating the Gift of Jesus Christ with gifts of our own. For the Presbytery of Denver it is also the season to celebrate the gifts of our congregations. As of December 15, the churches have given more than $450,000. This giving includes all per capita giving and mission support for the Presbytery of Denver, the Synod of the Rocky Mountains and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. We celebrate this amazing support and faithful commitment to the whole mission of the whole church.
Building Community ·
Calvary offers a variety of activities that build community in different ways. We intentionally work to provide a lot of opportunities and venues in which one may "get – and stay – involved" with the congregation, our community and the broader world of the church. We are actively focused on nurturing meaningful worship, on doing mission, on ministering to our community, and on teaching our faith. We welcome all who would like to join in empowering our community to be faithful disciples and obedient servants.
Mission & Outreach ·
Calvary is committed to and supports a number of mission projects in the local community and around the world. Our church is a giving church: Calvary has had the highest per capita giving record in Denver Presbytery for some years now. We are very proud of that. We support a missionary in Nepal and have supported a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho, and have sent a mission team to New Orleans. We build Habitat for Humanity houses and contribute to Neighborly Thrift Store. And on first Sundays we give food to the Covenant Cupboard. Our members are involved in a wide variety of community services, including the Denver Dumb Friends League, Crop Walk, Brookshire House, Toys-for-Tots, the Heifer Project, Engineers without Borders, the League of Women Voters, and other service programs.
Special Events ·
Calvary always enjoys an occasion to celebrate our life together in Christ. We have regular pot-luck dinners, breakfast celebrations, work days, and a fellowship time with delicious treats following worship. We enjoy each other. We welcome you to share your time and talents with us to help make our church a more vibrant congregation.
ADVENT AT CALVARY:
Each Wednesday in Advent, the Calvary Labyrinth will be “OPEN” for walkers from 4pm – 7pm. The labyrinth will also be open before and after Sunday worship. During this time, there will be music in the Gathering Place, and candles will be lit around the labyrinth. Holly and other leaders will be present during those hours to offer instruction and help prepare you to walk, especially if this is your first experience. Walking the labyrinth will allow an opportunity to slow down, pay attention and listen for God’s voice as we ponder the mystery and meaning of the “word become flesh.” The labyrinth will remain in the Gathering Place through Epiphany, and you are welcome to use it as often as you like.
Our HANGING OF THE GREENS will happen on Saturday, November 29th at 10:00 am. We will be re-arranging the chairs in the sanctuary, hanging banners, decorating the Christmas Tree with crismons, hanging the greens and finishing our preparations for the labyrinth. Please come and join us for this morning of cheer and lively fun. Coffee and donuts make the work sweet.
First Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2008, Worship: 9:30am: Mark 13: 24 - 37 - Walk by Faith, even when the end is uncertain
Second Sunday of Advent, December 7, 2008, Worship 9:30am: Mark 1: 1-8 - Walk by Faith, even though the path is not always straight.
Third Sunday of Advent, December 14, 2008, Worship: 9:30am: Luke 1: 39-56 - Walk by Faith, with companions whom you trust.
Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 21, 2008, Worship: 9:30am: Luke 2: 1-7 - Walk by Faith, towards the place that you know to be home.
CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP will begin at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, December 24th. It will be a traditional service of lessons and carols with communion. There will be special music offered by our adult choir, hand bell choir and soloist, Meron Mengist. As is our custom, we will light candles at the close of the worship service as we sing Silent Night. Childcare will be available. Please invite your friends, family and neighbors to join us for this majestic and holy night.
Healing Services and Prayers:
(from the United Methodist Book of Worship)
Scripture strongly affirms ministries of spiritual healing, which in recent years have received renewed emphasis throughout Christ’s holy church. The root of the word healing in new Testament Greek, sozo, is the same as that of salvation and wholeness. Spiritual healing is God’s work of offering persons balance, harmony, and wholeness of body, mind, spirit, and relationships through confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Through such healing God works to bring about reconciliation between God and humanity, among individuals and communities, within each person, and between humanity and the rest of creation. The New Testament records that Jesus himself healed the estranged and sick and sent out his disciples on ministries of healing. James (5: 14-16a) calls us also to pray for and anoint the sick, that they may be healed.
All healing is of God. The church’s healing ministry in no way detracts from the gifts God gives through medicine and psychotherapy. It is no substitute for either medicine or the proper care of one’s health. Rather, it adds to our total resources for wholeness.
Healing is not magic, but underlying it is the great mystery of God’s love. Those who minister spiritual healing are channels of God’s love. Although no one can predict what will happen in a given instance, many marvelous healings have taken place. God does not promise that we shall be spared suffering but does promise to be with us in our suffering. Trusting that promise, we are enabled to recognize God’s sustaining presence in pain, sickness, injury, and estrangement.
Likewise, God does not promise that we will be cured of all illnesses; and we all must face the inevitability of death. A Service of Healing is not necessarily a service of curing, but it provides an atmosphere in which healing can happen. The greatest healing of all is the reunion or reconciliation of a human being with God. When this happens, physical healing sometimes occurs, mental and emotional balance is often restored, spiritual health is enhanced and relationships are healed.
Laying on of hands, anointing with oil, and the less formal gesture of holding someone’s hand all show the power of touch, which plays a central role in the healings recorded in the New Testament. Jesus often touched others – blessing children, washing feet, healing injuries or disease, and raising people from death. Biblical precedent combines with our natural desire to reach out to persons in need prompting us to touch gently and lovingly those who ask for healing prayers. Such an act is a tangible expression of the presence of the healing Christ, working in and through those who minister in his name.
Education ·
We believe that through education we learn to love God with our minds, and so we offer ongoing educational programs at Calvary, with opportunities for study for both adults and children on Sunday mornings after worship. There are always choices in our adult classes, as we try to respond to different needs and interests. Our pastor regularly teaches a daytime Bible study classes, as well as leading Advent study sessions and a Lenten series. We love our children. We offer them opportunities to learn the faith through the rotation model of education. They cook, do art projects, work on the computer, sing, memorize Scripture, do drama and play as they explore God’s covenant with us.
Music ·
We have an active music ministry that offers praise to God through instrumental and vocal music. We always welcome new voices in our adult choir, which practices on Wednesday evenings at 7:15, and in our small but enthusiastic children’s choir, which performs regularly in special worship services during the year. We are inspiringly led by Dean Stalnaker, our music director. Our beautiful organ and grand piano fill the sanctuary with glorious sound.
Small Groups ·
We believe that the Spirit moves in forming compassionate community. Here at Calvary we have an active small group ministry with a variety of interest groups forming regularly. Currently we have a cooking group, a movie group, our Saturday morning men’s breakfast, the Thursday crafters guild, and a Mariners and spiritual growth group. We are always open to ideas for a new group activity. Do you have one?