Reaching Heights January 2021

Links to this month’s news:

WORSHIP AND STUDY
Worship – for January
Adult Studies – watch for updates in the weekly email

FROM THE STAFF
Along the Path – from Pastor Roger
Thank you!

OTHER NEWS
Power of Prayer – from the Renewal Works Team
Prayer List Requests

See the Serving Schedule – Go to the church calendar

January Worship

Jan. 3 – “The Visit” – Matthew 2:1-12 – Epiphany observed

Jan. 10 – “Boy in the Temple” – Luke 2:41-52 – Dr. Gillooly preaching

Jan. 17 – “Sermon at Nazareth” – Luke 4:14-30 – MLK weekend

Jan. 24 – “Fish for People” – Luke 5:1-11

Jan. 31 – “Healing on the Sabbath” – Luke 6:1-16

Adult Study

Sunday morning and midweek studies will begin again sometime in January. Watch the weekly update for more information.

Along the Path:

2020 is over and done and 2021 lies ahead. While January 1 does not signal a sea change, we do look to the new year with hope; hope for the swift disbursement of the new vaccines, hope for a new administration, hope for movement to a new normal in which we can once again gather together with our families, our friends, and our church community.

But even as we look to the future with hope, we know that the past comes with us, and it is a troubling past. Racism, violence, intolerance, ecological degradation, denial of facts, hatred, and fear are also part of what the future holds. And so, even as we anticipate a lessening of our fear of COVID-19 (sometime this spring, summer, or fall) there will still be much work to be done so that Mary’s Magnificat might indeed move towards fulfillment, with the lowly lifted up and the hungry filled with good things!

I know that as we move into the New Year, HCC will continue to be a part of God’s plan for a better world! Keep the faith! – Pastor Roger

Thank You!

Roger, Ying, Kate, Bryce, Rosie and Kese want to express their gratitude for the kind and generous expressions of affection and appreciation from the congregation. Thanks for an assortment of Christmas greeting and gifts from the congregation and Elders. It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to serve the members of Heights Christian Church.

Power of Prayer

As we move into a new year, the ReNewal Works Team invites you to bolster your spirits and join us in harnessing the power of prayer. While we still cannot gather physically for corporate prayer, we can join together in spirit. To that end, we invite you to set aside 5 minutes each Wednesday at noon to pray for our church and its future.

The Prayer of the Month can be used as a starting point for your own short prayer session, knowing that as many of us as possible will be pausing and lifting our prayers at the same time. If you can’t pray at the suggested time, please pray at whatever time works best for you.

Here is this month’s prayer:

God of the Ages,

How grateful we are for the loving care you take of us, children of your creation! In the midst of the short days and long, dark nights of winter, you gift us with the opportunity for new beginnings. We pray that you will open us to the possibilities that lie before us.

Open us to be innovators, Loving God. Open our eyes that we might see visions that expand your plan for us and for your world. Open our ears that we might hear you speaking to us in that small, still voice that urges us to seek the Christ-like spark in all we meet. Open our minds to look beyond the situations in front of us so that we might explore solutions with empathy and compassion for those in need. Open our spirits that we might remember the gift of your son, so recently given to us, who serves as our model for living a life centered in faith.

The winter can be harsh, O God, and the world can be a frightening place. Stand by us as we seek to provide gentle care for those less fortunate than us. Help us to be light in the darkness wherever and whenever we are able. Help us to step forth as dreamers of big dreams to tackle the difficult challenges that face us individually, as a congregation, as a community and as a world.
We know that you are the author of all things old and new. Teach us to reach deep into ourselves to actively do justice, facilitate equity and provide kindness. Renew us, restore us, reenergize us that we may fully appreciate and move forward into the new year you have placed before us.

All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Prayer List Requests

Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. (Philippians 4:6)

Even in the ongoing pandemic (maybe especially in these times), individual and corporate prayer continue!
Our Hearts Together in Prayer group meets each Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. to share prayer concerns and updates, and to spend time in prayer together via Zoom. (contact Kate or Val for the link if you’d like to join). We begin and end with a set of prayers that change each month and are read by the facilitator, and the time in the middle offers opportunity for everyone to share their own petitions, intercessions, and thanksgivings. All are welcome and encouraged to join us as you are able; praying together is powerful and lifts the spirits. If you have a prayer request, you can use the online prayer request form (https://www.heightschristianchurch.org/prayer-request/) or send an email to Pastor Roger.
These requests will be lifted up on Wednesday evenings and forwarded on to the Elders, and our Prayer Ministry Team.

Social Media outreach

HCC is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and You-Tube! If you see something you like, share it on your page! This will increase our reach and may draw in our next visitor!