We wanted to share a desire that is stirring among our congregation – and that is one of becoming a foster parent, knowing their are hundreds of children in our area that are in need of sturdy, loving families.
Is God placing that call on your heart as well? If so, please let us know. We are pondering the need to host a foster family class at Cedar Hills and want to connect the families whom God is stirring.
Sunday, July 28 is Red Sand Sunday. Cedar Hills is partnering with the local nonprofit organization, Chains Interrupted, to bring awareness to the reality and dangers of human trafficking–even in our communities and will participate in the Red Sand Project.
Red Sand Rally & Family Safety Event
Jul 27, 2024, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Marion, 1048 7th Ave, Marion, IA 52302, USA
To help bring awareness to this dire situation, a special speaker from Chains Interrupted will be speaking in between services this Sunday, July 28 at 9:45am in the Teal Classroom to help us as a congregation be educated about trafficking and prevention among our youth. It is a big problem!
We will also have red sand available to take home for use on your driveways and sidewalks. The red sand is a great conversation starter to bring awareness to the problem of human trafficking.
MORE INFORMATION: https://redsandproject.org/
Did you know in 2021 Iowa was #3 in the nation for human trafficking? It is a bigger problem than many of us know or want to acknowledge.
49.6 million people were living in a human trafficking situation in 2021 – International Labor Organization
We are planning a weekend getaway for our August “Faith, Family & Fun” event. You can come for the weekend, or pick and choose which events you’d like to plug into.
BLANK PARK ZOO – Saturday, August 3
Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines is open 9am-5pm. Our special group discounted price is $5 for children, 3-12 years old, and $10 for 13-year-olds through adults. To receive this discounted rate, please pay by Sunday, July 28. You can drop-off payment to Kathryn in the Nursery on Sunday, or pay Jennifer in the church office.
ADVENTURELAND AMUSEMENT PARK – Sunday, August 4
We don’t have discounted ticket rates for Adventure, so you’ll want to prchase tickets directly from Adventureland and look forward to joining other Cedar Hills families at the Park on Sunday. Click here for info.
The Open Hands Food Pantry will be closed Monday, July 8 due to a large event at the church. It will reopen for regular house Wednesday, July 10, 10am-12pm.
Cedar Hills connects many places, and a few of our ministries have connect in Facebook groups. Have you joined any yet?
(like and follow)
Subscribe!
BLUEBERRY BLITZ – Buy blueberries, support Lake View Camp!. Fresh from the farm in Michigan! Order forms are available at the Welcome Center and should be mailed with payment directly to Lake View or turned into the church office by June 23.
A Cedar Hills volunteer will drive to the Pella area to pick up all our church orders and bring them to the church for pickup on Sunday, June 30. (Please be sure to have someone available to pick up your blueberries on that day as we do not have ample storage for unclaimed orders.)
Lake View Camp is a ministry we support and send many our students and grandparents to throughout the summer. They also host camps for children who have a parent in prison (“Angel Tree” camps), which often means these students don’t have the financial means to pay for camp. We are so passionate about reaching out with the gospel to every student–fundraisers like these make it possible!
MATTHEW 25 TRANSFORM WEEK – Transform Wee brings together community volunteers to complete projects that homeowners aren’t able to do on their own. Register online and select: Cedar Hills Community Church to join the work group from our church and help others in our community!
No skills required; helpers can work one or more mornings or afternoons the week of Monday, June 24 through Friday, June 28. Register here
Cedar Hills’ Men’s Group and Journey Youth will both be participating this year.
Sunday, June 2 the Girls of Grace (our young ladies age 5 to 5th grade) held a fundraiser in the Gathering Space selling lemonade, baked goods and crafts. They raised $900 for our Cedar Hills family currently serving as missionaries in Eastern Europe.
We are so proud of these young ladies! Thank you to everyone who came and supported their efforts.
Many have inquired how we can respond to the devastating tornado that swept through Greenfield, Iowa last week. We were able to send some supplies late last week in coordination with St. John’s Catholic Church, but now the ‘storehouses’ are full at their church. Thank you to the many that helped collect supplies!
Here are some relief organizations on site in Greenfield that you may wish to partner with.
Greater Greenfield Community Foundation – accepting financial donations through their website.
The American Red Cross – They have workers on the ground and are accepting financial donations.
Salvation Army – They have workers on the ground and are accepting financial donations.
Samaritan’s Purse – from their website, it looks like they are organizing volunteers to assist with the clean-up. The volunteer link is on their website.
Food and water drop-off: A food and water drop-off location has been set up at the Department of Transportation facility located at 2313 Highway 92 east of Greenfield.