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CCB Amazing!
News & Events to Nourish Your Soul By
December 2013 Edition
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 | | Courtesy: Waiting for the Word, Flickr.com |
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, much will be happening in and out of our Church this month.
While the newsletter is a great way to share news of such things, the limitation of this medium is its once a month nature.
There are solutions, but you do have to change a few habits to keep informed on a more timely basis.
The Solutions
1) Visit our website via your smartphone, tablet or computer to see What's New in our News page. You will also see the Fundraising pages filtered to that news and the Home page, at the bottom, has a listing of recent news and events.
Make our News blog part of your RSS feed (to Outlook or to a browser...it's pretty easy) and you don't even have to go to our website to check, the stories are automatically updated.
2) Share news about your committee, your charitable events, things you think might be of interest to the CCB readership. You can send it to our Church Secretary, Joanne Kurnik, or me (see the closing section). We'll help craft the message for the blog/news entry.
It would be so great if our News blog became a source for others in the community to share their activities and charitable events. But, it starts with us and so much work has gone into the new website and to keep news flowing to not support what we now have available...a state-of-the-art "responsive" website that allows sharing of information easily.
My Christmas wish is that you all find a few moments each week to check out what's going on, share a news item every now and then and support what you can.
Thank you.
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Christmas Service Schedule
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The Deacon's would like to invite everyone to please join us for the following special services that will celebrate the Birth of Jesus:
- Sunday, December 22nd - Children's Christmas Pageant
- Tuesday, December 24th, 5 pm - Family Christmas Eve Service
- Tuesday, December 25th, 11 pm - Christmas Eve Service
Please join us in celebrating the Birth of Christ.
If anyone has any needs, please let your Deacon know, we are here for you!
All the Deacon's wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy New Year!
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Surprising Gifts - Stewardship Campaign
Have you ever been aware of the surprising gifts you receive from God? Some have had that profound moment in life, others will soon realize them...from small to big!
Our Annual Pledge Campaign has kicked off and we have received at least half of the pledges we would normally expect already! We thank you as that helps us start planning for the Annual Budget. We heard Deb Cornish's personal story before the Congregation a few Sundays ago and she shared how a simple sermon was one of her most surprising gifts from God. Find the details on this year's Surprising Gifts Campaign here and a recap of what Deb shared and how all our gifts of time, talent and funds are like the Mustard Seed Jesus spoke of in his parable.
So many surprising gifts from God have fueled Deb's Faith and Giving, so please take a few moments to visit our pages and start reflecting on what Surprising Gifts you can Give to God! Thank you.
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Fundraising - Vendors Increasing their Charitable Giving - Support Scrips
 If you have been checking out the Fundraising News, you already know that many corporations are increasing their Charitable Giving through increased Scrips percentages. But, the funds available for charity will go unused if we don't support the Scrips program this holiday season. These are just a few of many, but here is what we are talking about if you gave a $50 gift:
- iTunes 5% = $2.50 to CCB
- AMC Theaters (Plainville 20) 10% = $5.00 to CCB
- L.L. Bean 18% = an astounding $9.00 to CCB
- Chili's 13% = $6.50 to CCB
You can click here for all the Special Offers and see how gifts you would normally purchase can help our church missions. The bonus offers do change each week and run for limited times, but most give a generous donation year round. These companies want to give to charity and it's up to us to make it happen. Support Scrips and Support CCB! Q: How Do I Know What's Happening and How Can I Help?
You can start here for all our Fundraising News & Events, but you will also notice that it's in multiple locations throughout our website.
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Christmas Pageant & Cookie Walk on Sunday, December 22nd
 Christian Education is once again proud to continue our Church tradition of the Sunday School children doing a Christmas Pageant as a Prelude to Christmas!
The Pageant will take place during service with the Cookie Walk to follow.
For those unfamiliar with the Cookie Walk, volunteers bake and bring in cookies which can be purchased for gifts (or for your very own Cookie Monsters!) or served during your holiday get togethers.
We ran out of cookies last year and we NEED BAKERS! So many of you are wonderful cookie creators and nobody should be deprived of the joy your cookies bring during the Christmas Season!
Please contact Miwako Ohta-Agresta if you are available to help with the Christmas Pageant, the Cookie Walk or both. Our biggest needs are for someone to organize the costumes for the pageant, for help at the Cookie Walk tables and for Cookie Bakers...of course! Thanks in advance. |
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Raise the Roof! Buy a Bundle!!
 The Business Committee has something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday: We are about 15%
of the way towards our Raise the Roof goal! That's roughly 19 Full Bundles received! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
We have yet to have a formal announcement beyond this newsletter and bulletins, yet several have made generous and much needed donations to replenish our Building Maintenance fund. To recap, the roof cost approximately $30,000 and now it's up to us to "Pay ourselves back" by supporting this program.
Each bundle symbolically represents those used to shingle our roof and, based on the cost of the project, we estimate needing 150 Bundles valued at $200 each.
The goal is to replenish our Building Improvement Fund within 24 months (or sooner!), allowing us to address other pressing building & grounds improvements. Here is how it will work:
- Choose what Bundle Amount you wish to donate:
- Full Bundle = $200
- Half Bundle = $100
- Quarter Bundle = $50
- or Any amount that works for you!
- Make your check out to the Congregational Church of Burlington and please note your Pledge Envelope # (if applicable) and "Raise the Roof" on the memo line.
- Give a little now and a little later...or a lot! Whatever works for you as any amount helps us keep this Beacon on the Hill in tip-top shape!
That's pretty much all you need to do at any time in the upcoming days and months. We are working on visuals so we can see how we are doing! Business Committee News - We have collected 84% of our 2013 Pledges, a reminder to please catch up on your pledge and help us accomplish the Congregational Goal set last February.
- Important Tax Reminder: The IRS regulations stipulate that all contributions must be Dated (checks) and Postmarked (cash) OR hand-delivered on or before December 31, 2013 to qualify as a 2013 contribution. Contributions received after this date will be allocated towards your 2014 pledge. If you are unsure of your 2013 Pledge Status, please contact the Treasurer or Church Office.
- 2014 Annual Budget Meeting Hold the Date: Our Committee is planning on meeting January 5, 2014 immediately after service for an Informational & Congregational Discussion that will shape the 2014 Budget to be voted upon. We can't stress the importance of attending so we can know the facts and options for us to decide upon. We are working hard now, but it will take your input to set direction for 2014. Thank you!
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Frank's Flix Double-Feature on Friday, December 6th!
DATE: Friday, December 6, 2013 TIME: 7pm FREE POPCORN AND JUICE BOXES!!!(Freewill donations always accepted) First Feature: A Charlie Brown Christmas Rated: TV-G Released: 1968 Length: 25 minutes Second Feature: Jack Frost Rated: PG Released: 1998 Length: 1 hour 41 minutes   Images Courtesy of IMDb
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More News of Interest...
Be sure to check out the Our Church Family and The Deacons' Bench pages on our website. They include information for:
- Poinsettia flower sale
- Deacon assignments
- Vitamins for Ecuadorian Children
- Christmas Eve Service schedule
For those looking to get into the Christmas Spirit, join our very own Jan Minor as he sings with "The Middlesex Hospital Vocal Chords" at their December 15th Holiday Concert @ 2 pm. Click here for all the details! |
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Newsletter Tip:
Want to share an event or story with someone not attending our Church?
Share it to many friends at once by clicking your favorite social media icon in the bar at the top of the email.
Have one friend in mind? Click the Forward to a Friend button below, it's that simple!!
You can do one or more...spread The Word!
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