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OCF Church@yoyoyocf
MSM - December 2024
Letter from MSM
Dear MSM Parents,
Welcome to our December Newsletter! In the beginning of each month we send out all the information that is going on within YOCF. Make sure to stay connected to our instagram @yoyoyocf for updates! Check out down below our plans for the coming weeks and the ways we will be connecting with each other, daily, weekly, and upcoming events!
We meet every Sunday morning at the 11:00 am service, except communion Sunday; this month's communion service will be on the 27th. We have all of our students start off in the main church service for the first set of worship. After worship they head into the youth room for their own message. We teach the same passage as the main service and will be continuing our series through the book of Acts this month!
Our weekly youth group is continuing this month which means that students will meet at the church every Wednesday from 6-7:30 pm. During this time, we will play games, hear a message, and meet with small groups. This is a great opportunity for students to grow in their relationships with their peers and spend time talking about what they are learning.
As we begin to celebrate this season, we have a lot of exciting events coming up! There will be more information on each specific event down below, but here is a quick overview of what's coming up!
- December 11th will be an opportunity for the students to bake cookies, that will go towards our fundraising for Hume Lake
- We have two upcoming fundraising opportunities for Hume, both of which will be occurring at Candy Cane Lane on December 14, as well as the 20th.
- Our Christmas party this year will be held on the 18th! This is a great opportunity for students to bring friends to church, there will be games, an ugly sweater contest, and a white elephant gift exchange.
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She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 1:21-25
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With Much Love,
YOCF Staff
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SCHEDULE & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Cookie Baking Service Opportunity
This year we will be fundraising for Hume Lake by selling treats at Candy Cane Lane for two nights this month. There is more information on that event below, but this event is a specific opportunity for our middle schoolers to help out by decorating the cookies we will be selling at the fundraising event.
Where: OCF Youth room
When: 6-7:30 pm, December 11th
Candy Cane Lane Fundraising:
This year we are heading down to Candy Cane Lane for two nights this month to raise some money for our students to go to Hume Lake! The two dates we will be fundraising are the 14th and the 20th of this month. This is a really sweet opportunity in which students get to serve at a booth and sell hot chocolate and snacks.
If your student is interested, please email [email protected] to sign up your student!
Christmas Party:
We are super excited to be hosting our annual Christmas party for our middle schoolers this year on the 18th! This is a great opportunity for students to invite friends to church. There will be games, food, an ugly sweater competition and a white elephant gift exchange. For the gift exchange, the price limit is set at $7 and must be wrapped or bagged. We look forward to seeing your students there!
Where: OCF Youth room
When: December 18th, 6-8pm
Sunday Morning Youth
Every Sunday morning during the 11:00am service we will have a youth service during the teaching portion of the service. We start off in worship during the main service then transition to the youth room for our own message. This month we are continuing our study in the book of Acts as we will be teaching on the same passages as the main service.
The last Sunday of the month is Communion Sunday meaning no YOCF
Wednesday Nights
Our Wednesday night youth group is back! This means we will meet every Wednesday at the church to play games, hear a message, and break into small groups. This time is a great opportunity for students to grow in fellowship with one another.
Where: Youth room at OCF
When: Wednesdays from 6-7:30 pm
Family Ideas for Serving Others at Christmas
Jim Burns -President of HomeWord and Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific UniversityIt's recorded in Matthew's Gospel, (Matthew 10:8) that Jesus said, "Freely you have received; freely give." Though our lives may not always be everything we hope for them to be, God has richly blessed each one of us. One of the ways we can demonstrate that we are grateful to God for his many blessings is to help others.
Christmastime provides an opportunity for your family to roll up your sleeves and get involved in helping to meet the needs of others in your community -- showing them the light and love of Christ. Here are some family ideas for reaching out and helping others during the Christmas season:
1. Donate your family's time to help out at a food kitchen or a food bank.
2. Take your family to visit someone you know who lives at a nursing home, who lives alone, or is confined at home because of poor health.
3. Invite neighbors who don't have plans to join your family for Christmas dinner.
4. Provide some (or all) of the Christmas dinner groceries for a needy family in your community. Take the family along to make the delivery.
5. Have your family gather winter clothes and coats that don't fit any longer, or are no longer wanted or needed -- and distribute them to homeless people in your area -- or deliver them to a local shelter.
6. Make some bag lunches and take your family into the community to distribute them to homeless people in your area. (Make sure ahead of time that your local authorities allow this type of distribution.)
7. Make more Christmas treats than you need for your holiday meals. As a family, deliver extras to the neighbors or to a needy family in your area.
8. Find an elderly person in your area that could use some help at the grocery store. Better yet, invite them to your home for a special holiday meal.
9. Find a family in your area that could use some help to take care of fall yard cleanup, basic repair or weatherization around their home. Buy the needed materials and get to work as a family!
10. Invite a neighbor's family over to your home for a simple, fun family game night.