Merry Christmas!
Pastor Joanie Church Family,
Merry Christmas! Our worship has centered around Drawing Near to God through the life of the Christ Child. I was most moved by the Sunday that we focused on Drawing Near to Wonder. We adorned our sanctuary with beautiful decorations and when we were finished, the worship space was truly a “wonder to behold.” And the beauty of our sanctuary pointed us to sit in wonder Jesus Christ coming to earth again. Advent is a time of preparing for Christ to enter our lives again and so we are left we the wonder that we can meet this Christ child yet again!
This particular theme struck me because I truly have been in wonder at all the amazing things God is doing through this congregation. Our church as been full of life and love in 2018. We have, quite frankly, been busy…and it is a beautiful thing. Take a look at some of the things we have accomplished this year.
- January: Kicked off the new year with lunch at the Lashmit’s Lakehouse
- Collected diapers and wipes for a new baby in our church family
- Provided chili for “Our Daily Bread” ministry
- February: Served at the Food Pantry
- Reached out to many in our community with our Love Wins Children’s Mission projects, such as Backpack Buddies, Cancer Care Kits for patients and gift baskets for the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Coats
- Hosted a Tea & Tunes party at The Cellar for children in our community
- Began our monthly Fellowship Lunches where the donations collected went to Children’s Fund
- March: Continued our Children’s Service projects
- Provided crafts for nearly 500 children at our community Easter Egg Hunt at Tart Park
- April: Hosted our BBQ fundraiser for the Stained Glass windows restoration
- May: Honored Virginia Marshall as Elder Emeritus
- Installed Revs. Jason & Joanie Williams as pastors of our congregation
- Participated in the Women’s Club of Dunn Spring Bake Sale
- June: Began our Movie Night series in the church parking lot with a popcorn bar
- Began a summer worship series called “Faces of our Faith” where we explored the characters in the Bible that we study less frequently but have important lessons in our faith
- Celebrated graduates during worship
- Began a Sunday School Summer book study
- July: Welcomed several guest musicians to lead in worship
- Fed about 50 volunteers who helped Veterans sign up for benefits
- Hosted Movie Night at Sweet Frogs
- August: Hosted Movie Night at The Cellar
- Back to School pool party at the Glenn Eagles clubhouse
- Welcomed the Harnett County Partnership for Children to the third floor classrooms for their community playgroups twice a week
- Participated in the Street Fair at Campbell University and met new students and faculty
- September: Collected and assembled 18 clean-up buckets and 31 hygiene kits for Hurricane Florence relief
- Held a service of Hope & Healing for our Community during Sunday morning worship
- Began repair to plaster, sheetrock, ceilings and walls after hurricane flooding
- October: Held a “Welcome to Worship” class and acolyte training for our school-aged children
- Shared Bibles with children in worship
- Celebrated 129 years of ministry in Dunn at Homecoming
- Hosted a Trunk or Treat/Fall Celebration for the community
- Began Thursday night adult small group
- Began work on installing a bathroom on 2nd floor outside of the sanctuary, Finished Sanctuary steps
- Welcomed our pipe organ back to the sanctuary after being gone for several months for repairs
- Installed new steps and railing in the front of the sanctuary
- Welcomed Weight Watchers as a congregational partner
- November: Hosted our annual Veterans Day Concert honoring veterans across Harnett County
- Held a photo booth and Stained glass craft and met community members at the Cotton Festival
- Participated in community Thanksgiving service
- Began Ladles of Love Ministry-packaging meals and delivering to Cottondale Apartments
- December: Recognized Beulah Pope, Mary Elizabeth Fowler, and Mary Lee Tart as Deacon Emeriti and Martha Ann Goff as Elder Emeriti
- Collected coats, hats, scarfs, and gloves for members of our community in need of warmth
- Provided Christmas gifts for a Dunn Middle School family at Christmas
- Throughout the year: Provided monetary assistance to families and individuals in emergency situations & provided gas/food cards to families in need
- Volunteered at the DUMA Food Pantry
- Raised 80% of the needed funds to accomplish our two-year capital spending goal
- Supported outreach missions with funds over $15,000.00
- Welcomed several guest musicians to lead worship
- Jason met with members and neighbors at The Cellar for informal meetings
- Restored 4 of our stained glass windows
Thank you for the many ways you have reached out to our community. We are in wonder at what our congregation can do. When serving with God’s truth and grace, we witness the wonders of God’s love.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
We encourage you to take time and reflect on your own experiences in 2018. Consider how God has moved in your life. We also encourage you to consider how you may continue to contribute to the life, ministry, and vision of Hood Memorial Christian Church as the year comes to an end and as we begin a new year of ministry together. Are there ways you and your family can get involved together? Do you want to be more involved in a small group? Have you considered your financial commitment for the end of this year and 2019? To what ministries has called you in 2019?
Thank you again for allowing God’s spirit to move through each one in this church family. Our prayer is that we will continue to look for God’s wonders together.
Shalom,
Jason & Joanie
This Week
Wednesday, December 26th: No Prayer & Inspiration, No Choir Practice
Thursday, December 27th: No Small Group
Sunday, December 30th: 11:00 am Worship, special guest musician: Thomas Lopez
Tuesday, January 1st: New Year’s Lunch at Lashmit Lakehouse