Two Things …

I was on my way to the Roundtable this evening when I received a call from the hospital.  My mother had been involved in a two-car collision near Immanuel Family Church.  She was okay and asked if I could come there to be with her.  Carl Cheney turned the lights on at the church and informed those gathering that I was not likely to be there.  I would have to thank God for protecting my mother and the other driver.  Things could have been much different.  After she was thoroughly checked, Dr. Webb her and I took her home. Many thanks to all who helped her.  She was very well cared for.  I left her around 8:45p and headed home.

I have a need that I would like to make known.  Loreena Wilcox’s daughter, Aubee (3 yrs old), is in need of transportation for therapy from January 9-13.  Her Mom is having surgery and will be unable to drive her during this time.  She lives in Grand Harbor and needs to be at Immanuel for 8:45am and picked up to go home at 12:15pm.

Perhaps you could be available for a drive or two.  If you are willing to help, could you email me at karl.ingersoll@gmail.com or call my cell phone, 222-0410.  This is a wonderful opportunity to bless a family in need.

Pastor Karl

 

A CLC Update

Good Thursday afternoon folks.  I am in my office this afternoon feeling simultaneously grateful and brain dead.  Sometimes sermons are a matter of inspiration and others a matter of perspiration.  That’s what is occupying my thoughts today and I am having difficulty generating anything that I personally would rush to church to hear.  Fortunately I do not preach alone.  I am hoping I feel better when I stand before you on Sunday than I do just now.

There are a few things that I’d like to highlight.

church-basementNext week we are decorating the church.  This falls most of the time to those who have done it faithfully over the years.  They need help.  On Monday afternoon, the decorations which are stored in the church basement, need to be brought up to the sanctuary.  I’ll begin this task around 1:30pm in case any of you have energy that you’d like to burn off.

The decorating will begin at 10:00am on Tuesday the 29th.  This is a big job.  One of the most challenging aspects of this is the tree decoration.  We can make short work of it with enough hands.

Sonya Tate is doing some “tile painting” on Tuesday evening.  She has a limited number of tiles.  Please let her know if you are interested in giving this a try.  I believe that some of these may find their way into our Christmas baskets … ?

Our Roundtable next Thursday evening (December 1, 7:00pm) will be given to assembling seven Christmas baskets.  At the last Roundtable we decided to reach out to specific people in need and identified seven local families or individuals.  We would love to have you join us for this task and a great time of fellowship at Roundtable.  If you have anything that you would like to donate for these baskets, we would be happy to receive money, crafts, … anything that you would offer as encouragement to these families.  Our thoughts were that we would love to fill the baskets with items that were uniquely CLC.  In the future we hope to continue this tradition discovering the hidden gifts and talents of our church folk and passing them along at a very special time of year.  If you have questions regarding inclusions in these baskets, you can comment on this post or email me at karl.ingersoll@gmail.com.

A reminder that we will be having a Christmas Eve service this year in lieu of a Sunday gathering since Christmas falls on a Sunday.

I have this haunting feeling that I am forgetting something just now but I’ll wrap up anyway.  Please pray for our community at this time of good-newsyear.  We should be able to experience the “Good news of great joy which shall be to ALL people“.  I desperately want this myself in a new and fresh way.  One way or the other I will walk through it by faith and gratitude but I know that God would have more of Himself for each of us if we would seek Him first and foremost.

Let’s give it a shot!

Karl

Samaritan’s Purse 2016

Samaritan’s Purse 2016

2016 National Collection Week is November 14 – 20, 2016

NEW PACKING RESTRICTION: DUE TO CUSTOMS REGULATIONS NO CANDY IN CANADIAN SHOEBOXES 

When you’re packing gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes this year, please leave out candy or any type of food – and fill the extra space with more school supplies, hygiene items, and/or toys. CLICK HERE for more information.

No Candy Sam CA 500 Border

Wondering what to pack in your shoeboxes?
Click here for the list of Top 100 Shoebox Items:

Top 100 Shoebox Items 500

Shoebox

1. SELECT A SHOEBOX

  • Use a regular-sized shoe box or shoebox-sized plastic box. If wrapping your shoebox, please wrap the lid separately.

Kids

2. BOY OR GIRL?

  • Determine whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl, and the child’s age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14.

 

Notebook   Teddy    Tshirt    Car

3. FILL YOUR SHOEBOX

  • Fill your shoebox with a well-balanced variety of items from the following categories:
  • School Supplies – Items such as pens, pencils, pencil crayons, note pads, and picture books
  • Hygiene Items  – Items such as: facecloth, toothbrush, comb, and soap. Please place soap in a sealable bag
  • Toys & Other Gifts – Items such as: stuffed animals, small musical instruments, hair clips, toy jewelry, t-shirts, and socks
  • Personal Note  – Include a personal note and/or a photo in your shoebox (not inside the donation envelope)

 

No military    No mirror    No toothpaste

DO NOT INCLUDE:

  • Decks of standard playing cards (other card games such as UNO are allowed)
  • Food or candy: Including gum (due to customs regulations)
  • Used items (due to customs regulations)
  • Toothpaste (due to customs regulations)
  • Liquids or items that could leak, melt, freeze, or break – Shampoo, creams, lip balm, bath gels, mirrors, or glass, etc. (these can damage other items in the shoebox).
  • Items that can scare or harm a child – War-related toys, knives, and toy guns, etc.

Note: We would prefer that you NOT use backpacks. Backpacks accommodate more gift items, which is nice for the child who receives it, but can seem unfair to other children nearby who must be given conventional shoe boxes. Backpacks are also more challenging than shoeboxes to insert into our standard cardboard shipping cartons, and they can raise concerns when they arrive at Customs.

WHY NO CANDY OR FOOD?

Customs and health officials in a growing number of the countries have either changed their food safety laws or decided to enforce the laws in place. In order to enforce these laws, they are taking more time to carefully inspect box after box, searching for candy or food. These inspections are delaying our distributions, and sometimes forcing us to re-direct shoeboxes to other countries, while we work through the issue with government officials.
Given these circumstances, rather than risk having deserving children not receive gift-filled shoeboxes, we’ve decided to stop allowing the boxes to depart Canada with any type of candy or food inside. Volunteers at our shoebox processing centers will be monitoring to ensure any food items in the boxes are donated to local charities.

 

Eliminating candy may be sad news for some Canadian shoebox donors. But it’s necessary so ALL the boxes you pack are cleared through every step of the receiving countries’ customs and health inspection processes and into the hands of hurting children in countries like Costa Rica, Senegal, and Haiti.

Rather than viewing this as bad news, please make it good news by ensuring the boxes you pack are filled to the brim with toys, school supplies, hygiene items, and other items needy children would love.

Bringing Good News and Great Joy to children who are hurting is what we all want, and we at Samaritan’s Purse thank you for caring enough to transform lives through Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. You are a blessing to children who may have never received a gift during their entire lives.

Shoebox Labels:

Boy Girl Shoebox Labels

 

Donation4. MAKE YOUR MINIMUM $7 DONATION

Please donate a minimum of $7 for each shoebox you prepare to help cover project costs–including shipping. Please make one combined donation for multiple shoeboxes.

  • Simply make your donation online or place your cheque or cash donation in an envelope inside your shoebox, on top of the items. If you make an online donation, you do not need to include the donation receipt in the shoebox. Tax-deductible receipts will be issued for donations of $15 or more.

5. DROP OFF YOUR SHOEBOXES

  • You may also call 1-800-303-1269
  • National Collection Week is November 14-20, 2016.  Drop your box at Community Life Church or any other island church before or on Sunday morningNovember 13th.

Baptism Rescheduled

We are rescheduling the baptism scheduled for the 11th of September to the 25th @ 2:00pm.  There will be candidates from Central Wesleyan, and Castalia Baptist, in addition to Lifers.  Please consider coming that afternoon to show your support and help us spread the word.  This is open to other churches as well and your own pastor is welcome to perform your baptism.

Also just a note regarding the Roundtable originally scheduled for Thursday the 8th.  We elected to postpone this to the 15th due to the Ells funeral.  Phil’s death has shaken most of us and to some degree we all feel his loss.  My personal feeling was that my mind could not possibly be creatively engaged the evening of the funeral.  I believe these gatherings are good for us in ways that we cannot fully assess.  Please pray that God will bring healing and recovery as we walk together with the Ells in the wake of this tragic loss.