 Thank you to everyone who helped with the Monster Mash and Dash! CLICK HERE to download our NewsletterSAVE THE DATES Thursday, November 18th: Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at 7PM Sunday, November 21st: Hanging of the Greens after church at 12:15PM Poinsettias orders due November 28th – $10.00 a piece. Order forms now available in the church office! “Christmas Bible Study Mondays at 6:30PM: November 29, December 6, December 13, December 20 Christmas Eve Service at 7:30PM on December 24th 
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 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR FALL NEWSLETTER!Lots of exciting things are happening at Christ Community UMC!
Resources and Ideas for Susquehanna Conference Disability Awareness Sunday: October 10, 2021 Introduction: This year during Annual Conference, we passed a motion to celebrate Disability Awareness Sunday on the second Sunday of October! We hope that you will join the Disability Ministries Task Force of the Susquehanna Conference as we celebrate this special Sunday. There are lots of ways you can be involved! HERE IS AN INSERT YOU CAN PRINT OUT AND PUT IN YOUR BULLETIN TO PROMOTE DISABILITY AWARENESS SUNDAY! What is Disability Awareness Sunday? Disability Awareness Sunday is a special Sunday dedicated to empowering people with disabilities and helping to raise awareness about the disability community. According to The Book of Discipline, every conference is encouraged to celebrate Disability Awareness Sunday on a date of their choosing. For the last three years, our conference has celebrated Disability Awareness Sunday on the second Sunday of October. According to the CDC, 61 million adults in the United States live with a disability. The CDC also states that one out of four adults in the US have some type of disability. Statistically, it is highly probable that your church already includes members who have a disability. Many disabilities are invisible. Any person can become disabled at any point in their life. As our congregations continue to age, we will have many more church members experience some form of disability during their lifetime. How Can I Help? One of the biggest ways you can help is by taking a special collection! Donations can be made to Advance #3021054: The Susquehanna Disability Ministries Task Force does not have a budget. Instead, we ask that all donations be made to The Disability Ministries Committee (DMC) of the United Methodist Church. DMC serves the entire global connection of the UMC. They provide grants to help UMC churches and congregations empower people with disabilities. In the past, grants have been used to:
More Ideas for Disability Awareness Sunday Open your pulpit to a person with a disability: On Disability Awareness Sunday (or any time of year!) consider opening your pulpit to a person with a disability. Invite them to preach, lead a prayer, give a personal testimony, or read scripture. People with disabilities bring many unique gifts and graces to the body of Christ. Ask before you grab! If a person with a disability joins you for worship, be respectful of their personal space. Do not talk to a guide dog that is working or touch a person’s wheelchair without asking. Little changes make a big difference. Consider having a few large print bulletins (size 14pt Arial or larger) every Sunday. Make large print hymnals and Bibles available. Always use a microphone when speaking and consider having a hearing loop installed (or perhaps apply to DMC for a grant to get a hearing loop!) Remember that it is possible to have a disability and still live a full and meaningful life. Sadly, throughout history, having a disability has been viewed as a stigma. In the United Methodist Church, we are working to change that. Let’s use Disability Awareness Sunday to empower our laity, advocate for the needs of our church members who are disabled and educate others about the disability community! Planning a Disability Awareness Sunday Worship Service To help assist you with worship planning, here is a CALL TO WORSHIP you could use at your church! LEADER: Let us lift up our many voices and praise the Lord with all our heart. PEOPLE: Though we come together with differing gifts, talents, and abilities, we all sing of God’s glory. LEADER: The Psalms tell us of God’s compassion to those who believe. PEOPLE: Likewise, we seek to be as compassionate and gracious in our community as our Lord is to us. LEADER: Show compassion and love to your neighbors and enemies. PEOPLE: With the Lord’s guidance, there will be distinction in our love and kindness towards others. LEADER: As a community, we can rejoice in the works of the Lord. PEOPLE: For the works of the Lord are many, and we recognize that we are part of God’s wonderful Creation. ALL: Amen (From Virginia Annual Conference, 2017 Source: https://umcdmc.org/worship/disability-sunday-order-of-worship/) Suggested Hymns for Disability Awareness Sunday #89 “Joyful Joyful, We Adore Thee” is an inclusive hymn set to a joyful tune from Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th symphony. The composer this tune when he was totally Deaf. #98 “To God Be The Glory,” “#369 Blessed Assurance,” and “#419 I Am Thine (Draw Me Nearer)”: These hymns were written by Fanny Crosby. She was a talented and prolific writer who was blind and wrote many popular hymns. . #114 “Many Gifts, One Spirit”: This hymn can be used as a springboard to discuss including the gifts of all, whatever they are, and extend our ideas beyond the typical thinking of gifts. For more song ideas, visit: https://umcdmc.org/worship/songs/ More Worship Resources for Disability Awareness Sunday You can find all types of resources to help you plan your church’s Disability Awareness Sunday at UMCDMC.org/worship ! There you can find a suggested order of worship, prayers, litanies, printable sample bulletins, suggested scripture readings, and more! CCUMC Puppet Theatre Concludes our exploration of the stories of King David with "David and Bathsheba," Part 1 and Part 2!Since we weren't able to have VBS this year, we decided to do something safe and social distance friendly for the kids! Our wonderful puppet pals acted out the David stories for us. These videos could be viewed at home by kids who were not able to be physically present with us. We also watched these fun and educational videos as the Children's Message on Sunday mornings throughout July and the first Sunday of August. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make these Puppet Theatre Productions! David and Bathsheba pt. 1David and Bathsheba pt. 2Check out our latest edition of the Fish LIne! CLICK HERE to download our summer newsletter!In the photo above, two of our young people model the super hero capes that were created by our Sew Pray Ministry. These capes will be given to local hospitals to remind kids that they are STRONG and that Jesus loves them! Check out our newsletter to learn more about this great outreach. Our newsletter also includes important information about upcoming dates, a pastoral letter, joys and concerns, and more! Christ Community UMC Puppet Theatre!This summer, we have had some very special guests! Each week in July, our puppet pals have acted out the stories of David from the Old Testament for us. You can watch them here! Tune in next week when we conclude our summer series with "David and Bathsheba." David and Goliath: Click here to watch!David Brings the Covenant Box Home: Click here to watch!David wants to build God a Temple. Click here to watch!Tune in next week when we conclude with DAVID AND BATHSHEBA! Happy Spring/ Summer! Check out our most recent newsletter CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!.In this edition of the newsletter you'll find lots of great news: --We have two new communion stewards! --Thank you to everyone who helped with Holy Week Worship! --Congratulations on your retirement, Bishop Park! -- Spring cleaning was a success! -- Rev. Rebecca interviews an author about her latest book on women preachers in Methodist history -- and so much more!
We hope that everyone is having a blessed Lent! Our Easter Service will at at 11AM at Christ Community (5715 Roselawn Ave. Altoona, PA 16602)  Download Our First Newsletter for 2021! CLICK HERE In this month's newsletter, you will find a letter from Rev. Rebecca, highlights from our ministries and how we served others in 2020, and information about our upcoming Bible Study for the spring! You will also find the script for the Puppet Play that was Presented in honor of the Feast of Epiphany and MORE1 CLICK HERE to download our newsletter! |
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| CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR CHURCH NEWSLETTER |
Dear CCUMC Family,
It is a heavy heart that I write to inform you that Bishop Park has instructed the United Methodist Churches in the Susquehanna Conference to cease gathering for worship for the next two weeks. Public worship is cancelled until April 5, 2020. It is my hope that we will be able to gather for worship together once more on Palm Sunday, but I will continue to keep you updated as the situation develops.
We need God and we need each other. Humans were not made for social isolation. Therefore:
1.) Our church newsletter is now available for download! I would like to say a huge thank you to our EIC for making so many last minute changes to this newsletter. This issue includes the latest updates, a very timely article by Richard Van Scoyoc about what it was like to be quarantined during a measles epidemic, and a piece about an exciting mystery from history that Jeff uncovered.
2.) A written version of the homily will also be posted online each week. I will email out a link when it is available.
3. LIVE STREAMING WORSHIP: Although we cannot gather publicly, we we will worship online. We will be live streaming worship at 11AM each Sunday. You can watch the live stream even if you don't have a Facebook account. The address is facebook.com/cccumc58 . This time of worship will include music that is covered by the public domain and a time of prayer for our world.
4.) DAILY FACBOOK LIVE LENT DEVOTIONALS AT 11AM: Every day at (around) 11AM, I will be live streaming a prayer and short devotional message for Lent. These short videos will be less than ten minutes long and can be found at facebook.com/ccumc58 .
5.) Please feel free to call me. I am available to pray with you over the phone. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. You can also send me a text or an email.
6.) Last, but not least, please consider mailing your offering in to the church office or donating online. You can always donate securely at our website at www.ccumc.us or you can mail a check to the church office at 5715 Roselawn Ave. Altoona, PA 16602. Your offering is used to support our ministry in Altoona and throughout the world. Last year, our offering helped to provide food for hungry families, comfort for children, and support to a young mother dying from cancer. Every donation helps us to share the love of Christ.
Please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers. You are a very special congregation. Both you and your sister church (Llyswen) are full of wonderful people and I know we will all get through this together. If Jeff and I can help you in anyway (such as picking up something for you at the grocery store or the pharmacy) please let us know.
May God Bless and Keep You All,
-Rev. Rebecca
Thank you to everyone who donated soup this Sunday for our SOUP-er Sunday Celebration! Donations will be given to the food bank. Click below to download our newsletter. Also, don't miss these other great events here at CCUMC...
| January & February Newsletter |
Tuesday Evenings - Small Group Bible Study at 6PM- Topic- Why does evil exist?
Ash Wednesday Service- February 26th at 6PM
Holy Thursday- April 9th at 7PM at our sister Church, Llyswen UMC (308 Coleridge Ave. Altoona, PA 16602)
Good Friday- April 10th at 7PM
Easter Sunday- April 12th 11AM
CCUMC News
Here at CCUMC we are passionate about sharing God's love with others. We are also excited to go out into the community and the world to help others and to serve God. Check back often to see what's new at CCUMC!
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