Greetings,
 
As we come to the close of 2009 and begin to look ahead at 2010, let me encourage you to be thankful and hopeful today.

Paul told the Thessalonians "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." As we have seen in Genesis, God is faithful and worthy of our trust, and our future in Jesus is secure no matter what we face today. Amen?
 
In this e-mail, I would like to share two family business items - one concerns a change in our Sunday morning service schedule, and the second reviews our trends in giving as a Body.
 

1. We are going to move to one service at 10 AM beginning December 20. During the first three weeks of the change, we will not have Sunday school for children - but the nursery will be open to care for younger children. Sunday school will resume January 10. We hope this will build our worship focus and our sense of community. Please stay tuned to bulletins and the web site for Sunday school details.

Two hopes that I have with this new service schedule are to improve our connecting and inviting.

We will be able to connect with others at MCC more easily than with separate services - and we will have more leisurely time to connect afterwards. Please take the time to greet folks you don't know, and welcome them if they are new. Don't be afraid to ask how long people have been coming! Please use the time afterwards to more deeply connect.

I would also encourage us to be more deliberate about inviting friends to MCC. Our children's ministry makes it easy and fun, and they will always experience great worship and hear a challenging and relevant message about God's amazing love for them. Our collective prayer and willingness to invite will bring our friends the best news ever, and build the long-term vibrancy of MCC.

2. Our giving trends require our prayers and our attention. Please ask the Lord about your finances and what He would have you do as a member or regular attendee at MCC.  Please remember, the Lord loves and blesses a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:6-8) - if only 30 families were to plan to give an additional $1000-2000 in the next year, this would allow us to significantly increase the quality and reach of our efforts.

If you have not already done so, we also encourage you to complete your planned giving for 2010 (a green sheet mailed to you a few weeks ago) and return it to the office as soon as you can.

Please pray for a spirit of generosity to characterize us all in these days! 

Looking forward to a special season together, in Christ,

Pastor Denis

At Water through the Word you can listen to Pastor and Mrs. Denis Beausejour share their life story.    

Overcoming Adultery Part 1   Part 2