April Special Offering Weeks 1&2: Resonate Global Mission: Formerly Christian Reformed World Missions and Christian Reformed Home Missions, we came together in 2017 as Resonate to walk alongside Christian Reformed churches as they join God’s mission in their own neighborhoods and around the world. As Jesus is taken up into heaven, he reserves his final words to send his disciples on their most important mission: being witnesses and living out the things he taught them. That’s why Resonate exists—to help you in living out that mission. Our Christian Reformed congregations are our most important ministry partners.
Your help is needed. Your gift to Resonate's 'Where Most Needed' fund will be matched by a generous CRCNA donor dollar for dollar up to $175,000! I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity and donate now, while your gift will go twice as far!
* The Deacons we will now be doing two Special Offerings per month, Resonate Global Mission will run for the first two weeks, with Covenant Kids Daycare for weeks 3&4. You are invited to give to either or both offerings as they will both be available on tithley for the whole month of April! *
Women's Bible Study: Women's Bible Study meets weekly on Wednesday, starting on April 10th at 2pm. We will be studying from Micah 1. Everyone welcome! Please contact Pat Storteboom for more info.
Youth Group: Here is the schedule for April:
- Apr 7 Study with Joanna and Will 7 to 830pm
- Apr 14 Vancouver Canadians Baseball Game
- Apr 21 Youth Dinner 5 to 7pm at church
- Apr 28 Study with Joanna and Will 7 to 830pm
Thanks! The Youth Team - Amanda, Will & Joanna
Seniors: The Senior's are meeting on Thursday, April 11th at 10am, please come for fellowship and refreshments! We will be enjoying a guest speaker, Ken Ritsema, who will be doing a conversation-talk on: "Angels: God's Secret Agents". The topic will cover - What are the angels, then? They are spirits who serve God and are sent by him to help those who are to receive salvation. Hebrews 1:14. We hope to see you all here!!
Send in your poems! We want to do a worship series during the summer where we include a poem every week in our liturgy. So if there is a worship-appropriate poem that you know and love, or that you yourself have written, please send it in! Our hope is to have poems from many different cultures, influences, and languages included. Every poem will be reviewed by staff to see where it might fit and if it is appropriate to include in a worship service. Please direct any questions to our worship coordinator, Jamie-Lynn Ravensbergen, and send all poems to worship@willoughbychurch.com.
Council, Leadership & Staff - Safe Ministries Training: Saturday April 27, 2024-9:30am - Noon: This interactive workshop looks at the Church & Council’s roles/responsibilities in Responding to Allegations of Abuse & Leadership Misconduct in the church, a CRC process, how misconduct/abuse happens, red flags and a case study discussion. Facilitated by Faye Martin – BC CRC Abuse Prevention & Response Coordinator. BC Safe Church Ministry equips & supports churches & leaders in building safe & healthy ministries. www.bcsafechurch.com
Saturday April 20 2024: Called to Lead: stewardship, leadership & the generosity of God, a 1Life Foundations conference at Fleetwood CRC in Surrey. Goal: Equipping leaders in our BC CRCs to strengthen & embody a culture of generosity in the church. Presenters: Maynard Wiersma (Christian Stewardship Services) & Wilma van der Leek (curator, 1Life learning hub). Registration fees $35 per person, $30 per person for a group of 3 or more. For more info and to register go to crc1life.ca.
Listening to Indigenous Voices: Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about Indigenous topics and hear from the Indigenous guest speakers in this 12-session course offered by Mennonite Central Committee - British Columbia. Listening to Indigenous Voices will explore Indigenous culture and worldviews, examine colonization, and discover ways to right relationships. This course takes place over 12 interactive, sharing circle sessions (7:00 - 8:15 pm) on Wednesday evenings from April 3 - June 19. The format will be a combination of short readings, discussions, and talks from Indigenous guest speakers. All sessions will be hosted via videocall on Zoom. The facilitator of the course, Bridget Findlay, is seeking 15 more registrants in order to proceed, and, although it's best to attend all the sessions (online), she is open to folks who may have to miss a week or two because of other commitments. If you'd like to participate but are unfamiliar with Zoom, let Evelyn Bouwman know and we can figure something out!
For registration and more details: https://mcc.org/ltiv
Blood Donor Clinic: This month we will be hosting a Blood Donor Clinic on Tuesday, April 9th starting at 1pm. If you are able, please join in saving lives together by donating blood. Appointments are necessary and can be booked at blood.ca.
This Spring, join the Valley Festival Singers and Gloria Dei Chorale for an incredible concert titled “Life, Love, and Loss.” With Mozart’s “Requiem” as the cornerstone of this programme, we are thrilled to collaborate with Calvin Dyck, the Abbotsford Youth Orchestra, and some of the Lower Mainland’s greatest instrumentalists. Please join as we delve into an emotionally charged performance focusing on the themes of life, death, and the love we find along the way. Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 7:00 pm, at New Westminster Christian Reformed Church, 8255 13th Ave., Burnaby, BC. Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 3:00 pm, at South Abbotsford Church, 32424 Huntington Road, Abbotsford, BC. Ticket Advance Sales: General Admission: $30, Student - $20 and Eventbrite. Tickets at the door: General Admission $35, Students - $25
WCRC Library: Did you know Willoughby Church has a library? Find the 'Willoughby Faith Formation Library' through the offices or look online on our website! Whether you are looking for a devotional or a book on reflection, there are books available for all ages. This resource is open during office hours and after the Sunday service. For inquiries, email Natalie at natalie@willoughbychurch.com.
You are making a difference! On behalf of the ministries of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, thank you for your gifts to ministry shares. Your support enables congregations to do so much more to further God's Kingdom than any one church could do alone. Our denomination could not impact the world through missions, media, and church development without your incredible and faithful support. Thank you! To discover more visit crcna.org/ministryshares.
Coffee Break and Story Hour at Langley Immanuel Church will be taking a three week break for the Spring/Easter Break from March 19 to April 2. We begin again on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. We invite women of all ages to come out as we begin a short 4-week study from Global Coffee Break Discover Your Bible Study Guides: Shalom-The Promise of Peace. Even if you’ve never come before or you’ve been away, join us for this last session of Coffee Break of the season. We would love to have more children coming to Story Hour and these last weeks would be a wonderful opportunity to give it a go! This session will end with a closing social on May 14, 2024. Interested? Check with Elsa for more info at CoffeeBreak@licrc.ca
THE GATHERING: BLOOM WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED: We're building a community of pastors and church leaders for connection, learning, and growth. Join us this May! Date: May 9–May 10, 2024, Location: Regent College, 5800 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 2E4. The Gathering is an annual event for church leaders and pastors seeking to refresh and build lifelong friendships for resilient pastoral ministry. As a non-conference conference, we focus on encounters over information-exchange. Through worship, prayer, teaching, dialogue, sharing food, and recreation, we will grow our pastoral imagination. Come and refresh with us in the beautiful surroundings of Vancouver, BC.
Bethesda's Lend a Hand Campaign is underway! Will you ‘lend a hand’ by joining Bethesda in its efforts to strengthen and extend valuable services to people with disabilities and their families? If you say “yes! I want to support this important ministry,” you have three different ways of donating:
- mail your cheque made payable to Bethesda Christian Association to 2775 Emerson St, Abbotsford, V2T 4H8
- go online to BethesdaBC.com and click on Donate,
- or, if you live in the area, feel free to drop off your donation.
Visit our webpage at https://bethesdabc.com/lend-a-hand/ to learn more about the Lend a Hand campaign. If you have questions, please email life@BethesdaBC.com or phone us at 604-850-6604 (locally) or toll-free at 1-866-455-2231.
2024 Youth & Young Adult Trip to Nicaragua - World Renew extends an invitation to all Canadians age 15-25 to join us in Nicaragua this summer from August 2-11! We are recruiting youth and young adults to experience God in another culture, developing a perspective on poverty, missions and community development. To learn more about this trip and to register, visit https://bit.ly/nicaraguaflyer
World Renew Tanzania and Kenya Discovery Tour - Join us on an enriching journey to East Africa, travelling to Tanzania and Kenya from June 11-25, 2024, where you will experience a little bit of everything—meet vibrant communities, learn about East African culture, experience a safari, and witness firsthand the power of compassionate action! This is your invitation to be a part of something truly meaningful—a journey of inspiration, hope, and transformation with World Renew. Registration Deadline is May 11th, 2024. For more details on this life-changing tour, please visit: https://bit.ly/2024tourtkflyer
Join us in Inspiring, Empowering, and Equipping Deacons and Congregations. - Our Diaconal Coaches have a passion to serve! They work with CRC deacons to help to them engage with their local community, promote stewardship, live justly and love mercy—and work out their calling in their church and community. Help us grow the impact of our coaches! Your one-time or monthly donation will help us extend our reach and increase our impact! Donate to diaconalministries.com/donate-now/ or etransfer at dmc@crcna.org
1Life April Newsletter: 1Life exists to curate a curriculum of resources that equips individuals and congregations to become increasingly whole-hearted, vibrant communities of Christian worship, discipline & mission. Click here for the April newsletter.
Do Justice - Justice Prayers: Do Justice is a conversation space for justice in the Christian Reformed Church, from the Office of Social Justice. Justice Prayers is a weekly post addressing justice issues from around the world. Click here to pray and read more!
CRC NEWS:
Global Mission: A Life-Changing Experience When Aziza became an Arabic-language teacher to a Resonate Global Mission missionary, she didn’t know it would lead to a life-changing experience.
Mercy & Justice: Disability Advocate Calls for Inclusion Greg Yoder’s goal is for every congregation in his classis to have a disability advocate by the end of 2024.
The Network: The Gift of the City Urban ministry is essential to the future of the Church. What might it look like?
The Banner: Hymns for Life As I reflect on the songs that have shaped me, I find that I often turn to them to comfort me or to lift me up when I need to be reminded of something.
Thrive Faith Formation Tip - In Following Jesus, Henri Nouwen wrote, “Celebrating life is not a party but an ongoing awareness that every moment is special and asks to be lifted up and recognized as a blessing from on high.” How might you become more aware of the moment-by-moment blessings you receive each day? Learn more at crcna.org/FaithPracticesProject
Job Posting:
Part-Time Worship Coordinator | Victoria CRC:
Victoria Christian Reformed Church is hiring a part-time Worship Coordinator (15h/wk) who has an authentic relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and who will coordinate, develop, and lead all aspects of the VCRC music ministry. The Worship Coordinator will be responsible for leading church members into God glorifying, faith building worship and will work in conjunction with pastors, worship team leaders, worship committee, sound technicians, media presenters, musicians, and live stream technicians. The successful candidate will have attested musical skills and competence. The ability to play piano/keyboard is an asset. The complete job description, including rate of pay, is available HERE. Please apply with letter and CV in pdf format by email to personnel@victoriacrc.org before April 30, 2024.
The Banner: The April edition of the Banner is now available at the church. You can also access a copy online at The Banner. To support the Banner's ongoing journalistic ministry, consider donating. www.theBanner.org/Donate
The Annual Banner Appeal is Underway! - The 2024 appeal for The Banner, the CRC’s award-winning monthly magazine, has started. The Banner is delivered free in print and online, and this annual donation appeal makes it possible. To help keep this community conversation going please give online now at: TheBanner.org/Give
Today Devotion Books: The Today booklets are available at the church.
Contact for Online Bulletin: If you have anything to add to the bulletin, please email info@willoughbychurch.com
Contact Council: If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email the council at council@willoughbychurch.com
