In addition to our Sunday services, this year we are also offering Midweek Advent recordings on our YouTube channel. The second of these was posted on Wednesday. Next week we will share a third and final Midweek Advent reflection for this year. We hope you are finding these little recordings – they’re about 10 to 12 minutes long each – to be opportunities to take a break and a breath in the middle of this season with readings, reflections, prayers, and music.

An email will be sent out each Wednesday, and you can also find the Midweek Advent offerings -- and all our recordings -- on our YouTube channel.  

This Wednesday at 3pm is the deadline for ornaments to be brought to the church in order to be part of the very special Christmas Eve recorded worship service. You can email Pastor Dave to make arrangements: PastorDave@CrossOfChristBellevue.org

In these thanks-giving and gift-giving seasons, as you give gratitude to God and make plans to give gifts to your loved ones, we want to say thanks for all the gifts you have given to Cross of Christ this year, including your financial support. Your offerings really, really matter, enabling us together to do the ministries that make a difference in the lives of our members, neighbors, and around the world.

We would also humbly ask you to consider making an additional Christmas or end-of-year gift to your church. Last year, you rallied to close a financial gap in a marvelous and inspiring way. This year, with very careful financial management, your generosity, and the much-needed Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loan/grant of about $130,000, we’ve managed to stay fiscally solid in spite of the havoc we’ve experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, being both prayerfully optimistic and carefully realistic, it is not an overstatement to say that the financial vitality of Cross of Christ in the coming year is uncertain. We do not know how long the pandemic will continue. We do not know how long it will be before we can return to in-person worship. We do not know if and when our valued outside user/renter groups will return. We do not know the financial impact of the pandemic on our members.

But we DO know that you have always proven to be faithful, joyful, and as generous as you are able to be in supporting your church and our shared mission and ministries. A special, additional gift before the end of this year, or early in 2021, would go a long way in enabling leadership to plan wisely with confidence that cuts do not need to be made to programs, staffing, outreach, building and grounds upkeep or any other vital work and support at Cross of Christ.

All 2020 contributions must be postmarked or delivered to the church's secure mailbox by December 31.

Thank you so much for prayerfully considering what you can do financially and in all other ways as we continue to partner together to worship, grow, share, serve, and welcome all.

This space offered to anyone who is feeling a loss, dealing with darkness, experiencing isolation, generally worried and stressed out, or just in need of Christian community and compassion. To receive a link to the Zoom meeting room, please email pastorjudybrennan@gmail.com.

Christmas Eve worship will come to you from the beautifully decorated Sanctuary, and will feature some of your favorite Christmas hymns and carols as well as wonderful musical offerings including a piece recently recorded at Cross of Christ by our Artists in Residence, Emerald City Ringers. We will hear the Christmas story, a message titled A Night Like No Other, and sing Silent Night together.

Due to the pandemic, two ways we usually support two important ministries this time of year have had to be adjusted. The Cross of Christ Ark Early learning Center has had to make the decision to not offer Gift Baskets this year. This is one of the Ark’s biggest fundraisers, benefitting the Scholarship Fund to help families who cannot afford full tuition. You can still support this worthy cause by making a donation to Cross of Christ and indicating “Ark Scholarship Fund” if giving by check, or selecting the Ark via our online giving option on the Cross of Christ webpage.  

Our friends and partners at Hopelink will not be providing gifts to children and families in need for Christmas as they typically do with their Holiday Gift Room, but instead is offering gift cards. Learn how you can make a contribution by visiting Hopelink online.

Cross of Christ has been accepted into the Microsoft for Nonprofits program, which provides us with free access to Microsoft's full suite of business productivity tools. In addition to reducing expenses, this program will allow staff to more effectively share documents, collaborate, and work remotely.

One of the earliest changes you will see is a switch from our existing email accounts at CofCLC.net to new email accounts at CrossOfChristBellevue.org. Staff will still be able to be reached at their old email addresses, but you'll want to update your address books with their new email addresses when the change has been made.

When the new email addresses are up and running, we will list them for you in this weekly email. For questions about this change, contact Colin Walker.

Now is also a great time to make sure that your email address is correct in our systems. If you have not had a chance to log into Breeze yet, please do, and double-check that we have the right contact information. Contact Judy Giseburt for help accessing your Breeze account.

Other than our Ark Early Learning Center and our weekly recorded worship sessions, the campus and facilities are closed due to COVID-19 to all visitors, including members. If you have a need to come on campus, please email or call Pastor Dave to make arrangements in advance – email pastordave@cofclc.net or 425-746-7300. Thanks for helping us do our part to keep everyone healthy and reduce the impact of this pandemic.