Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
You have probably been watching the weather, like I have. And you may or may not know that we are forecasted to get our first plowable snow in over 630 days. We are supposed to get a plowable snow from later Saturday Night into the evening on Sunday. Depending on the track of the storm, we are forecasted to get between 4 to 12 inches (depending on which forecast you listen to).
Did you know that CBCGL has a plan for this kind of situation? We have a weather cancellation policy which helps us make decision about what to do for inclement weather, such as snow accumulation or ice accretion. For example, our policy states that we will cancel a church activity if there are forecasted to be 4 or more inches of snow on the ground by the end of the event. We want to keep people in our congregations safe and not put you at unnecessary risk.
The people in charge of making weather cancellation decisions are the Senior Pastor, the Chair of the Deacon Board (which in 2024 is Alan Lam) and the Chair of the Elder Board (which in 2024 is our CPC Elder, Jeremy Wu). They decide about cancelling, postponing, or making a time change for activities at our church, when weather is a factor.
They seek to make a decision as early as possible so that it gives time for you (our members and regular attendees) to anticipate and prepare. Communication of the decision happens through email groups and through announcements like this one and even through TV stations (as you would see with school closings). Our policy says that the stations we notify are NBC and the CW, and WRKO (AM680).
And, as of 10:50 am this morning, here is the plan for this weekend (from Acting Senior Pastor, Sean Lee):
“Dear brothers and sisters，
May the Peace of the Lord Jesus be with you!
Anticipating an approaching snowstorm forecasted for late Saturday night through late Sunday, the church leadership has opted to reschedule the Sunday worship services to Saturday evening. The Mandarin and Cantonese combined service will convene in the Main Sanctuary at 7:00 pm, while the CPCM service will be conducted in the Fellowship Sanctuary in Building A, also at 7:00 pm. There will be no separate children’s service, and all children are encouraged to join their parents in worship. Additionally, all Sunday school classes will proceed as scheduled online.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in light of these adjustments. The safety and well-being of our church community are of utmost importance. Let us come together in unity, even in the midst of changes, to worship and grow as a church family. Thank you, and may God’s grace be with us all.
Pastor Sean”
See you Saturday night for the 7 pm start time in the Fellowship Sanctuary!
Finally, please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine. Pray that the wars would end. Here is a suggested list of prayers if you are at a loss for words in how to pray: https://send.org/story/hh_pray_for_ukraine. And https://worldrelief.org/blog-prayer-for-israel-and-gaza/ Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
This Week (Jan. 5-11, 2024):
1. Tonight, Jan. 5, 2024, the Living Stones Friday Night Bible Study is meeting for the first time in 2024 from 7:30-9:30 to study God’s Word together. Join in person in Room A-216 or online via the following link at 7:30 pm:
https://zoom.us/j/685376249?pwd=cWtyUk1pckJiRHJxZVZCSGdJZWw2UT09
Meeting ID: 685 376 249
Password: 840840
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. The Living Stones Sunday School and Grace Ambassadors Sunday School are meeting this Sunday (online only due to snow on Sunday). The Grace Ambassadors may continue a discussion of “The Pilgrim’s Progress: Part 2” (details are still TBD). The Living Stones will be studying an Overview of the NT in the Koinonia Room (A-216). They will use the following link for those who wish to join online this Sunday:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/491248585?pwd=RnpLcnpjQ01nTGZLSmhaZ3l4L3dKQT09
Meeting ID: 491 248 585
Password: 403767
Join by phone: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
3. This Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, at 7 pm, Pastor Nathan Willems will be preaching. Pray for him! Join us for worship at CBCGL in the Fellowship Sanctuary (Bldg A)!
Text: Mark 14:12-25
Title: A Parable at Passover
Live stream via Youtube: https://www.cbcgl.org/live-stream/
4. Each Wednesday, such as this week (Jan. 10) at 7:45 pm, you are invited, encouraged, and requested to join our weekly prayer meeting. We will not grow in Christ without growing in our dependence on God through prayer. The link is found below in the section on prayer.
Administration / Events
1. We have a missions update (so check out the missions tab from the bulletin)! You can provide support for COCM (in England), for James Liang (at UConn), or Gordon and Maggie who are serving in France.
2. Sunday Lunch Service is available at CBCGL with $5 lunchboxes. But there is no lunch this Sunday due to the rescheduling of our service to Saturday night. So the information for ordering is good for next week! To place an order, please use the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/nCwQnMruKv Orders are preferred to be placed as soon as you know, but need to be placed by Saturday night so that the kitchen can prepare the correct amount of food. Note: The selection which states “Number of Meals” refers to the cooked food/lunch box/Chinese food option.
3. All other announcements can be found here (in our CrossPoint Community bulletin).
For Prayer:
1. From Bishop J.C. Ryle – “To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road to destruction…It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small.” Please join our Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 – 9:15 pm) even if you can’t participate the whole time.
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. We’d be glad to pray for you. If you need prayer, you can submit your prayer request via the following link: https://www.cbcgl.org/pray/
In Christ, your servant, SDG,
Rev. Dr. Nathan Willems
Associate Pastor of CrossPoint Community – A Ministry of CBCGL