December 2008

Christmas Celebrations
We invite you to join us each Sunday as we sing the wonderful Christmas songs we hear only at this time of year, light the advent candles, and hear inspiring messages about the hope we have through the birth of our Lord Jesus.

In addition to the worship services please join us for:

• Sunday, December 14 — Old Fashioned Christmas Party, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Come and sing some fun Christmas carols, enjoy the children’s story time, and a special visit from Santa—followed by dessert and hot chocolate or coffee. There is a sign up sheet in the lobby for bringing desserts and/or letting us know you will be here.

• Wednesday, December 24 — Candlelight Christmas Eve Service, 4:00—5:00 p.m.
Our annual Christmas Eve service is for the entire family. There will be a time of communion, and a special lighting of our candles and singing Silent Night together as we close the evening worship. We hope you will bring your friends and family; it’s always a wonderful service.

New Worship Time
Beginning on Sunday, December 14th, we will return to our previous worship time of 10:00 a.m.

Westlake Community Church is no longer meeting in our facilities which is why we changed to 9:30 a.m. earlier this year.

We hope you will like the time change and will be here to begin worshipping right at 10:00 on Sunday, December 14th!

• Randy Olson’s Sunday School class will discuss their start time this week when they meet at 8:30 as usual.
• The worship team will be notified as to what time rehearsals will begin. But this Sunday it is still 8:30 a.m.

From Pastor Dave
I love Christmas lights!! As I drive around the city it is fun to see more and more houses emerge with Christmas lights as we get closer to Christmas Day. The brightly colored lights announce the arrival of Christmas and are one of the unique aspects of the season. Christmas lights signify the great spiritual truth that Jesus Christ is the “light of the world”. The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of a prophecy made by Isaiah hundreds of years earlier. Matthew records this fulfillment…

• When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Matthew 4:12-16

Christmas commemorates the monumental event when God sent His Son to bring salvation to a world that was in spiritual darkness. I hope that as you enjoy the Christmas season you will remember what all the Christmas lights represent – that Jesus is the light of the world and that through His birth we are given hope, joy and peace with our God!

Merry Christmas, Pastor Dave


ELDER NOMINATIONS FOR 2009
The board of elders would like to let you know that the following men have agreed to be nominated for elder for 2009-2011:

Jerry A., Dave F., and Dave G.

We will hold a general congregational meeting on Sunday, December 7th immediately following the service in order to confirm their nomination. We hope you will be here to attend that meeting.

Note: Our bylaws require that you have placed your membership here at CCH in order to vote, and that you are an attending member over the age of 18. If you’d like information about placing your membership, please see Pastor Dave or Associate Pastor Chris.

If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to one of our current elders:

Randy O., Chair, Dave L., V. Chair
Jerry O., Doug S., Adam G., and Dave B.

Children' New, By Amber George

It’s Christmas time! I am so excited for this very special time of year when we can celebrate the birth of Jesus! We have so many wonderful things planned this month that I hope everyone gets involved with.

First, on December 3^rd we have our Hanging of the Greens event and Pizza Party to decorate the church for Christmas from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. We need all the help we can get, so kids, make sure you’re there.

Then on Saturday, December 13^th the Pathfinders will have their first special event! We will be going The Lakes Ice Skating Rink for our holiday event. We will meet at CCH at 10 a.m. and carpool over to The Lakes. Cost is $11.00 for admission and rentals. Please make sure to fill out a permission slip before Saturday the 13^th. Parents, you are more than welcome to join us. We would love to have you there. In the event of rain we will reschedule.

And, on Sunday, December 14^th we will be holding our Old Fashioned Christmas Party. We will sing carols, read The Night Before Christmas and eat dessert. And, there will also be a special surprise for the kids. So, make sure you’re there! The party starts at 6:30 p.m.

Then on Wednesday, December 17^th we will have our Christmas Party with the Youth Group in the youth room. We will have food, games and a unique gift exchange. The party will be from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Plan on being there and invite your friends.

The Pathfinders Sunday School is wrapping up their latest curriculum “My Awesome Adventure” this month. They will be completing their lesson workbooks in class and will be able to take them home after the last lesson. I hope you will take time to look over their workbooks with them and see what they have been learning about. We will also have some special Christmas lessons during Sunday school as well this month. Then in January we will start our new curriculum for the New Year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Youth:

There is so much coming up in the coming months for youth group. First, youth group is moving to Wednesday nights starting December 3^rd. We will kick off our new night with the Hanging of the Greens event and Pizza Party. We will meet on December 3^rd from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. After that, we will go back to our regular time from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

And, on Wednesday, December 17^th we will have our Christmas Party with the Pathfinders in the youth room. We will have food, games and a unique gift exchange. The party will be from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Plan on being there and invite your friends.

Also, here are some dates for Winter Camps:

• Mammoth Camp with EV Free NP: January 23-26
• Angeles Crest: January 30- February 1^st, February 6-8, February 20-22

Let Amber know which dates you are available ASAP. For more info about winter camps talk to Amber. And, Youth group will not be meeting December 24^th, December 31^st or January 7^th. We will kick off the new year on January 14^th, 2009!

Fuse:

Because of the holidays we will NOT be meeting in the month of December. Enjoy this season and look for new events in the New Year! Merry Christmas!

GO M.A.D. (Go Make a Difference)
• Santa Comes to Agoura—Thank you everyone who brought in peanut butter and jelly for the food drive. The food will be sorted this Saturday at the Do-It-Center if you’d like to help out, 9:00 a.m.
• Angel Tree Gifts — All new, unwrapped gifts are due at CCH this coming Sunday for our outreach toward families in need this Christmas.


Birthdays and Anniversaries
Below are our December birthdays, there are no anniversaries this month. If yours is not listed, it may be because we have never gotten a profile on you or your family. Those are easily printed from our website, there are two pages and you can find them on the Groups page, entitled Member Survey. All CCH attenders (not just members) are encouraged to fill this out. Let send you a birthday card on your special day!!

December Birthdays:

• Drew L.—7th
• Lynn S. — 12th
• Morgan L. — 16th
• Jerry A. — 19th
• Caitlin C. — 29th

Prayer Chain

• Brian & Rebecca T.: Please keep them in your prayers as they grieve the passing of Barbara (wife and mother) who died late in November of heart complications.
• Dale R.— battling with lung disease and recently pneumonia. Pray for healing and comfort.
• Loretta H.— for knee and back pain — the treatments are not helping.
• Lynn S.—Cousin Art has cancer. Please keep him in your prayers.
• Amy F.’s Mom — is in declining health.
• Pat H. — several family members have health issues, please pray for them.
• Thais K. — Prayer for health.
• CCH — Please always keep our church in your prayers for growth both spiritually and in numbers, for wisdom and direction for the staff and elders, as well as future outreaches and events.
• Remember the servicemen:
• Drew L., Scott and Andrew O. and Amber’s brother Ty.

Nancy O. is our Prayer Chain coordinator. Please be sure to let her know of any updates and prayer needs. 706-2124.

“Christmas Packages”
4 Christmas One Acts
Produced by First Light Players

• "Mom's Ashes" brotherly relationships can become complicated, especially when mom is lost in UPS & the mob is involved, but love is the greatest command
• "Roots in the Wind" a struggling actress in Hollywood, goes home to Georgia for Christmas to find that her mom and step-dad have arranged a blind date for her with Tom Cruise.
• "A Little Corner in Nowhere" A place where we are reminded what Christmas is all about
• "A Quiet Christmas Eve" Steve and Roxanne want to spend a nice and quiet Christmas Eve together but family traditions get in the way

DEC. 12-21, Fri & Sat @ 8:00 pm, Sun @ 3:00 pm
ACTORS WORKOUT STUDIO, 4735 Lankershim, North Hollywood
ALL TICKETS $18.00, Limited Seating

Please see Kay Dease on Sunday for tickets or call her at 889-5964

Note: First Light Players is not affiliated with CCH, but their mission is to win non-believers to the Lord through their drama productions. Kay Dease is a member here and the team rehearses in our building.