IMPORTANT DATES
- Sunday, December 19 – Joint Service and Christmas Lunch!
- Friday, December 24 – Community Christmas Eve Service!
- Saturday, December 25 – Christmas Day Celebration!
- Thursday, January 6 – First Midweek Fellowship of the New Year! Reminder: it will be on Thursdays!
- Saturday, January 22 – Midway Covenant’s Annual Meeting!
THE SEASON OF ADVENT
This Sunday, December 19, is our fourth Advent reading. Thank you to each family who has participated with us in this special Christmas tradition! For hundreds of years, Christians have continued to observe the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day as a time to prepare and quiet our hearts, set aside the hectic pace of the holiday season, and worship Jesus, God’s Son. You are invited to join with other families who are making Advent readings and candle-lightings a beloved tradition in their homes. May your hearts be filled with the hope, joy, and peace of the living Savior!
JOINT SERVICE ON DECEMBER 19!
Please join us for our joint service this Sunday, at 10 a.m. We will join together with our sister churches for a much-anticipated gathering of worship and praise to our God for the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ! At this service, expect to experience the wonder of the Christmas season through the eyes and hearts of each of our sister churches! Plan to stay and enjoy a lovely Christmas meal together! Speaking of which, each Midway family is asked to bring a dessert and a side dish to share.J Come with an appetite, and prepare to experience cuisine from around the world as we break bread together with our sister churches!
MASK-WEARING REMINDER
Don’t forget your masks! For the health and safety of all, particularly those in our church family with fragile or compromised immune systems, we at Midway are continuing the mask-wearing protocol. Thank you all for your patience and consideration for one another!
BRING YOUR BIBLES!
Hi everyone. Please remember to bring your Bibles for every Sunday of Advent! You never know when you’ll be asked to hold them up, or underline a passage, or make a notation in the margin! Let’s get to know God through His Word!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM DECEMBER 14 LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETING
- Giving once again exceeded expenses for the month of November! Thank you, Midway Family, for your faithful giving, as well as our staff for frugal spending!
- The majority of the meeting was devoted to finalizing the budget for 2022.
- The proposal for a new Deacon Committee and its responsibilities was approved.
- A proposal for improving the lighting in the Sanctuary was approved.
- Initial plans were approved for developing a walking park with benches on our north lot. With the new storage container placed there as well, we hope our application for exemption from property taxes will be approved.
- We celebrated the gift of five picnic tables from Aydan Hoyt’s Eagle Scout Project.
- We approved moving the Midweek Fellowship Dinner/Bible Study from Wednesdays to Thursdays.
Ruth Hill, Chair
DEACON COMMITTEE – VOLUNTEERS
Who is responsible for unlocking the front doors before Sunday worship? Who is to serve communion? These and so many other tasks are being faithfully covered by people willing to step up and meet various needs. The Deacon Committee has been formed to organize this effort. This team will ensure that Sunday morning services flow smoothly from start to finish and are free of distractions so that all who gather can focus on worshipping the Living God. A list of these behind-the-scenes needs has been created; we now invite people to join this new Deacon Committee. Is this something God is asking you to do? Let Pastor Shaun know!
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE…
A little boy was waiting for his mom to come out of the grocery store so he could help her carry the groceries home. As he waited, he was approached by a man who asked, “Son, can you tell me where the post office is?” The boy replied, “Sure! Just go straight down this street, and at the end turn to your right.” The man thanked the boy kindly and said, “I’m the new minister at the church in town. I’d like for you to come to church on Sunday, and I’ll show you how to get to heaven.” The little boy chuckled. “Awww, come on… You don’t even know the way to the post office!”
COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE!
Normandy Christian Church has invited our congregation to join them for their Christmas Eve service. The service will take place there on Friday, December 24, at 7 p.m. What a joy for congregations in the community to unite as the Body of Christ on Christmas Eve! Normandy Christian Church is at 908 S. 200th St. in Des Moines.
A CHRISTMAS DAY CELEBRATION YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS!
Mark your calendars for a special time of celebration on Christmas Day! That’s right. On Saturday, December 25, the Marshallese United Church of Christ is having a Christmas celebration here at Midway, and everyone is invited! The doors will open for everyone at Noon. Events will include a warm welcome, a service, amazing food and fellowship, and special programs throughout the day and into the evening. Folks are invited to come anytime throughout the day, and stay for however long they are able.
COVENANT NEWS FROM AROUND THE SOUND AND BEYOND…
| From the Cascades Camp Staff: We Wish You a Merry Christmas! It’s hard to believe that we’re already in the second half of December and that the countdown to Christmas has officially dipped into the single digits. Visions of sugar plums are dancing in our heads here as we dream about the season ahead and some resources we would love to have for our ministry. Here are a few of the “sugar plums” that are on our wish list this year. If you have any of these items sitting in your closet or garage and would be willing to stick them under the Cascades Christmas tree, we sure would be happy campers! Well-maintained diesel vehicles (specifically trucks)Digital SLR cameraFull-size keyboard with weighted keys16-17 foot aluminum canoesAnything from our Amazon wish listIf you have an item in mind that you’d like to donate, please contact Rob Mohrweis. From our family to your – Merry Christmas! |
NEW ADULT CHRISTIAN FORMATION STUDY BEGINNING JANUARY 5
Theme: Faith in Action – Hebrews 11
Teacher: Brad Hill
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Faith in Action is the unifying theme for an eight-week series beginning Sunday, January 2. It will focus on the heroes and heroines of the faith listed in Hebrews 11, who put their faith into action. The structure will be to join each of these persons into a flowing narrative that not only unifies this concept but also illustrates what “faith in action” looks like and gives us power – not just to emulate them, but through the Holy Spirit, to live a life of empowered faith!
GIVING AWAY LIBRARY BOOKS!
If you find yourself wishing you had an interesting new book to read, you’re in good company. If that describes you, take heart. Our library shelves are filled with a wide variety of books for all ages, and we want to give them all away! Every Sunday after church, you are invited to browse the bookshelves and help yourselves to a book or two–or five or ten. After the New Year, the remaining books will be donated to a charity.
PRAISES/PRAYER REQUESTS
1. Praise for the release of all 17 missionaries who were being held hostage by a violent gang in Haiti!
2. Pray for health and the Lord’s protection and peace for all of our Wesley Homes and Judson Park friends.
3. Pray for wisdom, courage, and safety for the first responders in our communities as they “answer the call” to protect and serve.
4. Continue to pray for nations and leaders around the world, that they will look to the Lord for guidance and surround themselves with wise, godly advisers.
SERMON SCHEDULE
December 19: Brother-in-Christ Idali from Ministerio, Luke 1:39-55
December 26: Rev. Shaun Higgins, John 1:1-14
January 2: Rev. Shaun Higgins, Matthew 25:31-46
January 9: Rev. Shaun Higgins, Romans 1
CHURCH & OFFICE INFORMATION
- The Church Office is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Office phone number: 206-878-4861 // Office email: office@midwaycovenant.org
- Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary (or online at live.midcov.org)
- Children’s Sunday School upstairs at 10:30 a.m.
- Women’s Discipleship Lunch Group: on break until January
- Midweek Fellowship: on break until January
- Men’s Bible Study Breakfast Group: Thursdays at 8:00 a.m. at Tuscany’s in Des Moines
- Newsletter editor: Lori-Lee Morse