Category Archives: Uncategorized

Marriage and Family, Missional Communities, News, Open Hands Food Pantry, Prayer, Sabbath, Saturate, Uncategorized, Volunteers Needed, Worship, Youth

How We Continue to Be the Church in Light of COVID-19

In light of COVID-19, we are convinced and convicted more than ever the need to be the church beyond the walls of our physical church building.  While our building may be a bit quieter as we wait out the social-distancing rules, our roles as the hands and feet of Jesus increases that much more.

A couple of unique and powerful opportunities for us to continue as a church:

Open Hands Food Pantry

We anticipate an increasing need for food in the next few weeks.  It is our desire to keep the pantry open and switching over to a ‘drive-by’ solution where pantry visitors stay in their cars and we go out to meet them and bring the groceries to them.  This means we need the help of more able bodies, able to carry groceries (or cart them) to and from the pantry to the front doors.  If you are off work due to the virus or have extra time on your hands, this is a perfect opportunity!  If you are able to help, please email pantry leader Darlene DeVries.

Pantry Hours: Mondays 5-6pm, Wednesdays 10am-12pm, Fridays 10am-12pm

WORSHIP – ONLINE

We’ll be both uploading pre-recorded content and streaming our worship services online, and not physically meeting onsite for worship beginning immediately.  Sundays will be live at 11am on Facebook.  Our Wednesday Lenten messages will be pre-recorded and released on Wednesdays with announcements and encouragement! As part of our regular worship, we encourage you to give online via the app or website, or to take time to mail a check.   Please continue to support the ministry of our church!

If you are unable to catch the live feeds, we post all our sermons online. They can be accessed in iTunes, Buzzsprout, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartradio, and on the website. (There is also a button in the Cedar Hills App – get the app!)

Watch Parties

We encourage you to keep worshipping with us on a regular schedule, and taking “Watch Party” pictures of your family or group as you join together to listen/watch online, submitting them in the ‘comments’ of the video feeds.

Facebook Groups

There are couple of Facebook groups we want to draw your attention to that you might like to join. We believe within these groups we can support each other, hear of needs, and respond from what we have! Toilet paper, childcare, meals delivered, etc.  We are especially excited about how we can respond to needs as they arise.

Children Singing Video

The children ages 3 to 5th grade have been working for weeks on a song they planned to sing Palm Sunday.  We would like to collect videos of your child singing along with the song to create a video montage.  The recording and lyrics are here.  When completed, send your video recording to Leah Carolan by March 29 (email, dropbox, ishare… whichever way you prefer!)

Journey Youth

Pastor Steve has created a YouTube channel for the Journey Youth.  He’ll also be touching base with the youth via texts and email.

Zoom Meetings, Marco Polo and Other Video Apps

If your small group decides to forgo physical meetings, consider setting a time once a week where you will all login together for a Zoom meeting or other video meeting app.  Or begin a Marco Polo group and stay in touch via video messages with encouragement, prayer support and community.

Stay Connected

Please call your friends. Check on your neighbors.  Connect with those who live alone and let them know they are not alone.  Respond to needs you hear as best you can! (Or share them with us in the Facebook groups.).  We need each other.

Pray

Continue to pray.  Join our prayer chain to lift up others in prayer.  Pray that God would help our lights to shine brightly as we minister to those around us.

Follow us on Social Media

Facebook – @cedarhillscommunitychurch
Instagram – @cedarhillscr
Twitter – @cedarhillscr

 

Job, Uncategorized

Job Opening – Ambassador of Care

Cedar Hills Community Church is seeking a part-time Ambassador of Care to join our staff.

General Job Summary:

The Ambassador of Care will oversee the care ministries of Cedar Hills as they relate to individuals in our congregation and community who need support and encouragement. This role will focus on welcoming new faces and pastoral care for special needs. This position reports to the Pastor of Preaching and Leadership.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Recruit and train a team of ambassadors to help individuals find their way into the life of Cedar Hills Community Church.
  • Recruit a team of caregivers to provide support for individuals facing illness, hospitalization, death or other life crisis.
  • Work with Elders and others to provide care and Communion for shut-ins.
  • Track members and friends of the congregation who have been absent or disconnected.
  • Champion missional communities as the preferred path for both welcome and care.

Performance Expectations:

  • Exhibit a passion for God and a Christ-like spirit.
  • Demonstrate skill in applying Biblical principles.
  • Encourage spiritual growth.
  • Team building.
  • Self-starter.
  • Creativity, flexibility, and responsiveness.
  • Represent the church in a positive manner.

Qualifications:

  • Experience in pastoral care.
  • Ability to respond effectively to sensitive inquiries or complaints.
  • Ability to deal effectively with a wide range of interpersonal situations.
  • Ability to define problems, collect data, and draw valid conclusions.
  • Ability to communicate effectively.

This is a half time position (20hrs/week).  Ordination is not required.

To apply:

  • Send a cover letter that includes a personal statement of your faith journey.
  • a resume with references.
  • by e-mail: Pastor Kent Landhuis

This is intended to give a general overview of the position of Ambassador of Care and is not meant to be a complete list of duties. February 13, 2020 – LC

Uncategorized

State of the Church: Growing Good

“I am confident of this, He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion…” (Philippians 1:6).

Last night I heard a testimony about God’s faithfulness in a time of personal crisis. When this individual encountered trauma, she discovered that God provided comfort, support, and hope through the community around her. Friends at Cedar Hills acted like family, wrapping their arms of love around someone in need. Thanks be to God!

While this testimony was one person’s story, it could be repeated countless times. God’s goodness, experienced through the hands and feet of a loving community, becomes real as we live out our lives of faith together. This is one of the many “goods” that God is growing in us and through us.

God is good and God’s faithfulness endures forever. God makes and keeps promises. God finishes what God starts.

For 60 years our congregation has experienced God’s goodness in times of joy and trauma. Thanks be to God!

As we plan for the future, we do so with confidence knowing that God’s love never changes. The truth and certainty of God’s unchanging character provides stability in times of change.

This is the foundation of our faith. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

The Lord be with you,
Pastor Kent

Cedar Chips, News, Uncategorized

I want to be a runner – pt. 2

(Continued from “I want to be a runner… pt. 1)

So what is the turning point of identity? When does one’s brain go from not identifying with something to embracing the identity?

I’ve had another month and many, many miles of training to ponder my running dilemma, meanwhile still wearing my runner’s clothes, reading my runner’s blogs, studying my runner’s strides. Doing all the things I know to do to look like a runner and blend in with the running crowd.

This last Friday, I set a personal distance record of 16.11 miles! And somewhere along that long, lonely road in the middle of a rain shower the mystery of my much-desired-running-identity hit me.

I can’t be a runner
until I give up my former
‘not-a-runner’ identity.

That’s it.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks and I began to weep.  What is my former identify? (and I type this gently, because it sounds so harsh…)

Slow. Non-Athletic. Fat. Girl.

I can’t be both. I must choose.

I’ve spent ten years working on my health (physical, spiritual, emotional) after a lifetime of obesity that started in childhood.  I’ve shed almost 100 lbs, but thirty years of being that girl was going to be hard to shake.  Words, realities, capabilities, activities… a whole lifetime of things tied to an identity needed to be ripped out of my brain and replaced with the new.

Where is Jesus in all this craziness?

More to come next month.

Leah
Director of Worship & Media

 

Cedar Chips, News, Uncategorized

I Want to Be A Runner – Pt. 1

I’ve been pondering a lot lately about identity and how one comes to identify with a group or a title. What got me started on thinking about this was a desire to begin training for a half marathon this Fall.

Though I may not look like someone who might frequently run, this will be my 6th half marathon. That’s part of my problem. I want to be runner but am somewhat convinced that because I don’t look like one, I am not. So I began listing the things I’m trying to do in order to become a “runner” (beyond the obvious thing of ‘running’).

  • I own a large attire of running clothes.
  • I have special running shoes.
  • I have a special running app for logging all my runs and stats.
  • I have a running playlist on Spotify that matches my running cadence.
  • I study running cadences.
  • I have special hair bands for running.
  • Running is a part of my weekly schedule. Short runs on Tuesday/Thursday/Fridays, and long runs on Saturdays.
  • I read running blogs and research strides, warmups, and recovery activities.
  • I make homemade electrolyte solutions for post-run recovery.

So I am a runner, right??? Why can’t my brain accept this list and identify with a runner’s identify?

Because I’m slow. And I look wimpy and kind of sloppy when I run. And I’m chunky. And I’ve only been in active training for seven weeks.

So what is the turning point of identity? When does one’s brain go from not identifying with something to embracing the identity? This is my question! There are soooo many parallels to our spiritual walks I don’t even know where to start! But I will keep pondering this and come back with more next month.

(see part. 2 here)

Leah
Director of Worship & Media

Bright Spot, GLS, News, Uncategorized, Worship

Aug 7 Worship Service

Global Leadership Summit Worship Service

Join us for a pre-Summit worship gathering Wednesday, August 7 at 7pm.  The worship service is part of the Global Leadership Summit kick-off, and is free and open to the public. You do not need to be registered for the Summit to attend.

The worship will be streaming live out of Willow Creek church in Chicago, IL.  Cedar Hills is blessed and excited to be a host site for this year’s Global Leadership Summit – August 8-9.

If you’d like to attend the Summit at Cedar Hills, you can register online.  Cedar Hills attendees are encouraged to contact the office for a special promo code.