CCC Gainesville | Blog
From Todd Best:
Perhaps you’ve seen the announcement recently in the church bulletin about the Opus Project launch event to be held on Friday, Nov. 16 from 7:00 to 8:30pm. We hope that you plan to join us for this important evening of conversation, and I wanted to take a few minutes to explain what the Opus Project is all about and what you can expect from the event.
The Opus Project on Faith, Work, and Culture, out of love for God and neighbor, nurtures reflection and conversation about our shared contribution to the flourishing of society and the renewal of all things.
Opus will include classes, reading groups, and special events in which we read, hear, view and take in various forms of culture, discuss the significance of such things, and consider how we might take steps in cultivating cultural activity for the common good. All this is rooted in the foundational theological vision of God’s grand mission to renew all things through the work of Christ. Some concepts that help us ground this project include: faithful presence, shalom and cultural renewal. We will be unpacking these in the coming weeks.
We’ve been referring to Nov. 16 as a launch event because it is the official unveiling of this new initiative of Christ Community that will have an ongoing presence in the life of our church. The Opus Project has been steadily developing for the last year or so, and there is a good chance you have been involved with it in some capacity. If the term Opus has a familiar ring to it, that’s because our Vision Night last fall was called the Opus Event. That night we had a congregational conversation about our collective callings and work. In many ways, the Opus Project has grown directly out of that event. In the spring of this year, we offered a class on finding meaning in work. Then this summer we hosted the Opus Reading group which met monthly. And this fall’s class on the church and the common good brings us to the present. But until now, the Opus Project on Faith, Work, and Culture has mostly been on the down-low. Now it’s time to launch the larger, fuller version of this project that will include one-time events as well as regularly occurring discussions.
The event on Nov. 16 will include a brief presentation by Rob Pendley and me that will serve as an introduction to the Opus Project, followed by four breakout sessions on our four focus areas: work, arts and culture, social justice and the neighborhood. In order to lay some groundwork and to help us all start thinking in this direction, Richard Horner will be preaching the next two Sundays.
We hope you can make it to this event as we expand our concepts and begin thinking of how we might work for the good of our community. Please check your calendars and RSVP your intent.
Note to families: childcare will be provided at $3 per child, but we need your RSVP.
To RSVP or for more details, email me at toddbest@gmail.com or see Chris Hiatt or Stephen Addcox.
We had a great turn out for our Shoebox Chili Cook Off on Sunday! Over $250 was raised in support of our Operation Christmas Child project. Those funds will now go towards supplies and shipping for boxes packed by our Children’s Ministry classes. Thanks to all who brought chili, made cornbread, helped set up or clean up…we couldn’t have done it without you!
Awesome panoramic shot taken by Rob Pendley of the event.
This was a wonderful kick off to jump start our church’s Operation Christmas Child efforts! Last year we collected 173 boxes and the majority of those boxes were sent to Madagascar. (Hopefully you were able to see the video about Madagascar on Sunday…if not, check it out below.) Our goal for our church is 200 boxes this year. We can do it! If every person or couple or family packed just one shoebox we would far exceed this goal. So, let’s get packing CCC!
Here is how to pack a shoebox gift:
Use an empty shoe box (standard size, please), a small plastic container or just grab a box from church. You can wrap the box (lid separately), but wrapping is not required. Most importantly, pray for the child who will receive your gift.
Determine whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl, and the child’s age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Print out the appropriate boy/girl label by downloading the artwork from the OCC website. Mark the correct age category on the label, and tape the label to the top of your box.
Fill the box with a variety of gifts that will bring delight to a child. Use the gift ideas provided on the bottom of this page.
Please donate $7 or more for each shoe box you prepare to help cover shipping and other project costs. You can give online by using our “Follow Your Box Donation” option, or you can write a check to Samaritan’s Purse (note “OCC” on memo line) and place it in an envelope on top of the gift items inside your box. If you or your family are preparing more than one shoe box, please make one combined donation.
Place a rubber band around each closed shoe box and drop it off at church. National Collection Week is November 11-18, but you are welcome to begin bringing in your completed boxes as soon as this Sunday. You can put them on the wooden stand in the Foyer.
And if you still need more motivation to pack a box…please visit the OCC Stories page to read story after story of how God uses these simple gifts to change hearts and lives and communities around the world. It is truly amazing to see how God uses something we would consider insignificant to spread his Kingdom and glory all through the Earth.
If you have any questions, please contact kids@christcommunitychurch.com.
THIS Sunday, October 21, Noon to 2pm,
Chili Cookoff is back. This is a tradition at CCC that in the past was present at our Fall Festival. We are bringing it back at Operation Christmas Child! We are cooking for a great cause. EVERYONE is invited to enter their best chili into the cookoff (there will be a prize for Most Popular Chili!) and to come learn more about Operation Christmas Child and the impact it has on children and communities around the world over a church-wide lunch.
A suggested donation of $3 per person or $10 per family will go towards Operation Christmas Child supplies and boxes, which will be collected the week of November 12th.
For those of you who missed out on our wonderful Vision Night and 15th Anniversary Celebration or for anyone who wanted a closer look at the slideshow presented tonight…
Here is our calendar for the fall. You can pick one up at church Sunday. This is not an exhaustive list of everything happening in the church, but I hope this simple calendar will help you keep your finger on the pulse of our church.
