CM Renovation Update
Here is a renovation update for those of you who have not been able to visit our campus while construction has been happening. It was exciting to hear the dreams and ideas of our people as we think about how we can best serve our children in the years to come!
Devotional Reading Guide
We have received a few requests about what we can be reading in the devotional as a church. The short answer to that question is: it depends. Some people are going to have varying amounts of time available for the devotional. However, I have put together a basic guide for the 4 weeks of Advent that you can use, if you would like. The advent week is listed first, and an optional addition of chapters to read is included in parentheses. If you want to read ahead, that’s fine. If you don’t have time to read the chapters, it may still be fruitful to put time into the devotional readings and activities.
Week 1: November 29 – December 5
Hope: 141 – 150 (Chapters 1, 2, and 3)
Week 2: December 6 – 12
Peace: 151 – 162 (Chapters 4, 5, and 6)
Week 3: December 13 – 19
Joy: 163 – 174 (Chapters 7, 8, and 9)
Week 4: December 20 – 23
Love: 175 – 186 (Chapters 10, 11, and 12)
Christmas Eve/Christmas Day
Christmas: 187 – 194
We will be using these weeks as the themes for our Sunday services this December, and I would love to hear how God is using this book to speak to you this season, too. However, it may also be helpful if you find one or two other families that you can connect with each week to reflect on what you’re reading. If you have someone in your small group or another friend you feel comfortable with, I would greatly encourage you to reach out and try to set up a time to connect each week, perhaps even Sundays after service.
I hope this is a blessing for each of you this Christmas!
Pastor Mike
Advent Devotional Update
We have now run our of our first order of our Advent devotionals, Because of Bethlehem. However, we would still like to get as many people as possible involved in reading this together, as it can help us build connections despite our distance this Christmas season. If you would still like a copy, you can feel free to order a copy for yourself (make sure it’s the RED 2020 version) or we can order one and have it delivered to you (please email info@hutchefree.org).
I’m very excited to see people taking part in this study!
Advent Devotionals Are In!
We have received our Advent Devotionals for the Christmas season. Over the next few weeks, we will be spending some time reading Because of Bethlehem by Max Lucado together. The primary focus will be on the devotional material in the back, but there may be additional insights from the 12 main chapters of the book.
We have currently distributed 22 of our 25 copies of the book, but if you would like one for your household, please let us know by emailing info@hutchefree.org. If you have already requested a book, please let us know if you would like to pick it up at the church or have it delivered.
Merry Christmas!
HEFC Missions 2021
We'd love to have HEFC partner with us in the following ways:
1. Lift both teams up in PRAYER - STARTING NOW - that God would direct the right individuals to join either team, that the funds would come in the enable each participant to join and that we'd have money for construction costs, groceries, etc., for the partner churches to be prepared for us to join them, that God would be preparing the hearts of those that we will minister too - to be able to receive the gospel, for the health of all involved, etc.
2. JOIN A TEAM! If you are interested and want more information, contact Ann Broscoff.
3. Support the teams financially - through direct donation (be sure to designate gifts given to HEFC as for missions), or by participating in fundraisers. One fundraiser that is starting TODAY (11/22) and will go through 12/7, is a 31 fundraiser. 20% of all sales through this party will be donated to HEFC Missions, so if you want to get some Christmas shopping done, go to (I'll send you the link soon pastor). We will have other fundraisers as well, likely to include Pizza Ranch and Unhinged Pizza community nights, Goat Cheese and beauty product sales, Goat Yoga events, and more. Keep your eyes and ears open for announcements, participate in the events, and share them with your family and friends.
The Appalachia trip is going to be June 20-26. We will be driving 1 or 2 15-passenger vans down there (depending upon the final group size). We currently have 10 group members committed, and we'd love to see that grow to 15+. The overall cost is going to be around $725/person (depending upon gas costs). Our ministry there will focus on trying to help with some light construction and supporting our partner church there in their ministry - likely with some children's ministry opportunities, meeting some of the physical needs of families there by distributing Blessing Bags (filled with practical needs such as food items we purchase there, as well as any other items that the HEFC church family may wish to send with us), and other ministry opportunities.
The Puerto Rico trip is going to be on/about July 18-24 (exact start and end dates may change, depending upon flight costs). We currently have 10 individuals that will be going, and we'd like to see that number climb to 15+ as well. The cost will be around $975/person + flight (we are hoping this will be around $350 each). Our ministry focus there will be light construction (hurricane and earthquake recovery) and working with a partner church in the mountain areas near San Juan in their children's ministry, possibly some sports ministry, distributing Blessing Bags (as for Appalachia), and more.
Important Announcement November 18, 2020
Good Afternoon, Church!
I write to you today to address what our church community will look like as we move toward the end of 2020. As you know, our mission is to Love God. Love People. Help People Love God. However, over the past week, it has become apparent that the methods in which we do these things will need to look different, given the state of the coronavirus in our community. As the elders met last night, we discussed how we have seen some people contract the virus, others have been exposed to it, and still others face isolation and quarantine from the contacts that they have. We realized that most of us could not commit to attending Sunday services, and we have noticed other volunteers who have needed to reschedule due to exposure to the virus, too.
Therefore, we have decided to suspend our in-person version of Sunday services, likely through at least the end of the year.
While the loss of Sunday services is difficult, we would like to emphasize our commitment to connecting with the people of our church even as we will not be meeting on Sunday mornings. Here is the approach that we are implementing during this season:
1. The Importance of Connection: One of the most important things that we can do in this season is continue to find ways to connect. The elders and I are committed to making a concerted effort to call and connect with the people of our church. However, we would also like to encourage you to stay connected with each other, too. This year, we released a new church directory with updated contact information. If you need one, please let us know, and we will find a way to get you one safely. In addition, the directory lists the deacons and the elders, who are committed to serving the needs of the people of our church. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need someone to talk to.
2. The Importance of Prayer: As we continue through this season, we urge you to continue to pray. We would also like to pray for you. The best ways to get prayer are through phone calls, through the prayer chain (email prayer.hefc@gmail,com), or through sharing prayer requests on our Facebook Live services on Sunday morning. It has been amazing to see God work through prayer, even when we are not in the same room.
3. An Advent Devotional: Over the next month, my priority will be to make myself available to people for phone calls and opportunities to connect. Therefore, the elder board thought it might be beneficial to use an advent devotional to help orient our hearts toward Jesus in this season. The current plan is to choose an advent devotional that we can go through together as a church through the month of December. Hopefully, this devotional can be an encouraging part of our phone conversations, and I plan to share brief thoughts from the Advent themes with the church as part of our Facebook Live services on Sunday mornings. If you would like the church to procure a copy of the book for your household, please let us know by emailing info@hutchefree.org. Then we will coordinate how to get you a copy as quickly and safely as possible.
2020 continues to be a unique and difficult year, but we can continue to worship our Good God! We hope that we can find ways to continue to connect and encourage each other in the midst of these challenges. If you have any questions, please contact me or a member of the elder board.
In Christ,
Pastor Mike