Week of Sunday, December 22nd, 2019

In this week’s Update you will find information on the following (more details on each of these below):

  1. “The Longest Night” Service
  2. Christmas Season Schedule
  3. January Discipleship Hour Classes
  4. Youth New Years Eve Event
  5. Women’s Retreat
  6. Diocesan Retreat

“The Longest Night” Service

This Saturday, December 21st, 7:00pm. The Longest Night is a service which seeks to give voice in prayer to the pain, sorrow, loneliness, and grief that, for many, accompanies the Advent and Christmas season. May this evening be a time to pray, reflect, and quiet ourselves as we prepare for the coming Light of Christ which will shatter our darkness.

Christmas Season Schedule

  • Christmas Eve Service  – Tuesday, December 24th, 4:45pm (decorating the Christmas tree) and 5:00pm (service begins). We will be having a special service with members of The Mission Church joining us to celebrate the birth of our Savior and King!
  • Christmas Day Service – Wednesday, December 25th, 9:00am
  • First Sunday of Christmas: Lessons and Carols: Sunday, December 29th, 10:15am (no Discipleship Hour or Children’s Chapel)

January Discipleship Hour Classes

Beginning on January 5th, the following Discipleship Hour classes will be offered at 9:00am, for the 8 weeks leading up to Lent:

Track 1. Anglican Ethos – led by Fr. Brian Campbell. This is part of our Membership Track at CtR, so if you are interested in exploring membership at Christ the Redeemer, this class is for you!

Track 2. “What Did You Expect?”, a Marriage Class – led by Janis Campbell & Matt and Jill Branch.  They are leading a marriage class by Paul Tripp called, “What Did You Expect?” (Redeeming the Realities of Marriage).  There will be a 20 minute video followed by discussion.  Participants are welcome to purchase the book on Amazon (but not required). There will be six commitments made in the class; the first being:  “We will give ourselves to a regular lifestyle of confession and forgiveness.”

Track 3. Jesus on Every Page: Reading the Old Testament with the Church Fathers – led by A.J. Nolte. For the earliest Christians, the Old Testament wasn’t seen as an impediment to knowing Christ, but rather as proof of His divine, redemptive presence in history. This class will delve into the methods by which the church fathers read the Old Testament, preparing both their hearts and minds to find Jesus on every page.

**If you are interested in attending one of these classes, please sign up HERE ,  or on the sign-up sheet located on the whiteboard in Fellowship Hall, so the leaders know how many people to expect. Thank you!**

Youth New Year’s Eve Event

Save the date for a New Year’s Eve Bash with The Mission Church on January 5th, 6:00- 8:00pm. Plan to bring a friend and stay tuned for more details to come! Parents, there will be a quick meeting afterwards about Camp Booyah, from 8:00-8:15pm so please plan to stick around after you pick up your kids.

Women’s Retreat

All women are invited to CtR’s Annual Women’s Retreat on February 21st – February 23rd, 2020, at Chanco at the James Retreat Center! The registration form and $60 deposit were due last Sunday, but it is not too late to sign up! The registration form can be found in the Women’s Retreat brochures located at the Welcome Table and the Usher’s stand. Please return the form and your deposit as soon as possible.

Diocesan Retreat

Everyone is invited to attend the Diocese of Christ Our Hope’s upcoming Regional Retreat! Our church is in the Southeast region of the Diocese, which means that the retreat will be on February 13-15. For more information and to register, click here.


“Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among
us; and as we are sorely hindered by our sins from running the
race that is set before us, let your bountiful grace and mercy
speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to
whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now
and for ever. Amen.

– Collect for The Fourth Sunday in Advent, Annunciation (BCP 2019)