On Sunday, Dec. 22 we’ll be celebrating all things joyous! A newer tradition at Cedar Hills is wearing our favorite holiday and Ugly Christmas sweaters. Come adorned in your favorites!
There are no Sunday classes this day, but a continental breakfast will be served throughout the morning. The choir will be singing a special Christmas song at the 8:30am service, and the younger children are singing a few songs at the 11am service. One of our favorite Sundays of the year!
For the season of Advent, we are including the “Giving Manger” – a daily calendar of things we can do to shine the light of Christ in our community. Each Sunday in both services, the children will be invited forward to help light the Advent candles. Next they’ll walk over to the manger. If they were able to complete one of the Giving Manger tasks, they will get to add some straw to the manger to help prepare it for Jesus’ birth. We’ll get to watch the manger fill up during the season of Advent.
If you weren’t here Sunday (or lost yours! 🙂 ) here is the Giving Manger calendar. We’ll have some extra copies at the Welcome Center as well:
Advent By Candlelight is a treasured women’s event at Cedar Hills that revolves around elaborately decorated tables, candles, dessert and a short program to set hearts and minds on Christ before the rush of the holiday season. Each table has a host who plans out the decorations and dessert and then cares for her table during the event.
It is a visually stunning event, and spiritually moving! Women of all ages are encouraged to attend. This event is free, but you do need to pre-register to ensure a spot at a table.
The final day to register for the 2019 event is Sunday, November 24. Visit the Advent By Candlelight table in the Gathering Space. This year’s theme is “The Sounds of Christmas” and will be Sunday, Dec. 8 at 4pm. Attendees are encouraged to arrive starting at 3:30pm to visit each table and enjoy the decorations.
Join us for Thanksgiving Eve worship, Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 6:30pm. This service is lighthearted and family friendly! It takes place in the Gathering Space – lots of room for the little ones to move and make noise. 🙂 The nursery will be available for ages 0-3yrs.
We’ll be creating a thankfulness craft, worshipping, celebrating the Lord’s Supper and sharing a fruit salad. Bring a piece of fruit (precut, please) or berries to share in the salad.
This is one of our favorite services of the year. In this season of thanks, come and give thanks to the One who created all things and holds all things together.
Oh, how Children love Christmas. They are so new to this holiday (it might be the first one they remember), that we enjoy being able to start them off right by telling them about the true meaning of Christmas though books, songs, acting the story out and we also get a little help from Pastor Kent. Come and watch our Christmas Programs on December 19 and 20 at 9:15am; everyone is welcome!
The State Licenser came to our school for a surprise visit in October (on pictured day, no less) and has granted Noah’s Ark a full License for another year without any changes or recommendations. We are truly blessed with an amazingly organized and loving staff.
We are pleased to announce that Darlene DeVries has accepted the position of Assistant Teacher for our 3 year olds on MWF. The students love her already. We are very fortunate to have found someone who loves children as she does
We’ve started a Guest Reader Program. We are looking for volunteers from the church who can come and read to our classes on Thursday or Friday mornings from 10:55-11:10. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact me.
If you’d like to assist us by staying within our budget this year, please consider donating supplies. We’ve provided a box in the Gathering Space under the mission table with pictures of supplies (we are a little picky due to allergies and licensing requirements) we need in our classrooms. We thank you in advance.
Kris Crowther
Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool
OPEN TABLEOpen Table is a chance to intentionally connect with others at Cedar Hills over a meal. The next Open Table will be Sunday, November 17 after the 2nd service (around 12:05pm). This Open Table will be co-hosted with the youth group as part of the Chili Cook-off. Come, taste, and vote (with $$) for your favorite chilis and breads. Desserts and salad also provided by the Open Table team. All proceeds from the voting go to the Journey Youth.
Yesterday in the worship services we had a chance to recognize and thank the veterans who call Cedar Hills their church. We are so grateful for their service! As you think of those you know who are in active duty or served many years ago, say a prayer today for them. We found this great article of 11 prayers you can pray for the veterans in your life, that God would touch and heal their hearts and keep them safe.
11 Prayers you can pray over the Veterans in your life as we celebrate them today.
Last weekend, 30+ middle school students went on retreat on the new Lake View Camp & Conference Center property near Pella, Iowa. Students were challenged in their faith and encouraged to “open the door to Jesus everyday.”
We are so blessed as a church to be able to send our students to these faith-deepening weekends. Thank you to the many who support our youth through volunteering, prayer, and financially. We truly believe we are raising up the next generation of believers at Cedar Hills and creating disciples who make disciples.
We have a great partnership with. Lake View is one of the missions we support as a church and a number of families in our congregation attend camps in the summer with Lake View. Camp themes range from grandparent/grandchild camp, day camp, Survivor themed camps, and work trips. When Spring comes, we’ll receive a full schedule of Lake View’s 2020 camping program (and we often offer a discount for church members!)
Norma Schmitt passed away on Saturday, Nov 2. Please keep her family in your prayers. Her funeral arrangements will be as follows:
Wednesday, November 6 at Cedar Hills Community Church
9am-10am – Family Visitation
10am-11am – Public Visitation
11am-12pm Funeral Service
Luncheon to follow.
(The a recording of the service is now available online for 90 days, until January 4, 2020).
NORMA JEAN SCHMITT, 86, passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House in Hiawatha. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, at Cedar Hills Community Church in Cedar Rapids with the Rev. Alan Crandall officiating. Interment will be held at Dubuque Memorial Gardens in Dubuque.
Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until service time Wednesday at the church. Memorials may be directed to Camp Courageous.
Norma was born Dec. 15, 1932, in Dubuque, the daughter of Arthur John and Winnifred (Baumgartner) Farley. She graduated from Dubuque Senior High School with the Class of 1950. Norma lived and raised her family in Oelwein from 1956 until 2009. She worked as an administrative assistant with the Oelwein School District and Husky Hub for 26 years. She was a caring, devoted and selfless mother, who devoted her life to her family. She loved spending time with her family and friends, she enjoyed watching her grandchildren grow up and participate in their activities.
Norma moved to Cedar Rapids in 2009, where she was actively involved in Bible study at Cedar Hills and enjoyed volunteering at the Cedar Hills Food Pantry. She is survived by her children, Diana (Dan) Richardson of Cedar Rapids, Darryl (Brenda) Schmitt of Rosemount, Minn., and Ron (Mignonne) Schmitt of Urbandale; eight grandchildren, Jason (Piper) Gloede of Cedar Rapids, Chad (Lindsay) Gloede of Cedar Rapids, Corey, Anthony and Megan Schmitt, all of Rosemount, Minn., Jacob, Joseph and Jackson Schmitt, all of Urbandale; eight great-grandchildren; her sister, Janice Becker of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and her brother, James (Mary) Farley of Arvada, Colo..
In addition to her parents, Norma was preceded in death by her son, Thomas; and her brothers, John and Dick Farley. Online condolences may be left at www.phillipsfuneralhomes.com.