All bulletins can be found online www.firstcrcrocky.ca

Upcoming Events

June 21 June 22 June 23 June 24 June 25 June 26 June 27

Look for Pastor Ken’s sermon on Facebook and

website/app

Office: Josephine

June 28 June 29 June 30 July 1 July 2 July 3 July 4

10:00 am Worship Service

6:00 pm Morning Service

posted on Facebook/website/

app

WPC @ 7:30 pm Office: Cheri-Lynn

Happy Canada Day!

July 5 July 6 July 7 July 8 July 9 July 10 July 12

10:00 am Worship Service

6:00 pm Morning Service posted on Facebook/website/

app

Office: Josephine

7:30 pm Finance

Meeting

FIRST CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE

June 21, 2020

Our MISSION is to worship God faithfully, nurture one another to grow in Christ, joyfully tell others about Jesus, develop our gifts to serve and pursue

stewardship, justice and peace in every area of life.

Pastor Ken Douma– kgdouma@gmail.com 780.728.8148

Church Office (Josephine & Cheri-Lynn): 845.6067 (Tuesday — Friday 9am to 12:00pm) office@rockycrc.ca

Check out our Facebook page (@FirstCRC.RockyMtnHouse) or our website

(firstcrcrocky.ca) for links to sermons and blog post from Pastor Ken.

“…And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Ephesians 6:18

✞ As a ministerial church, each church has been asked to pray for our brothers and sisters in our community, today we pray for New Life Church.

✞ This past Wednesday, Ben S. was called home to be with His Lord. We thank God for the many ways Ben has blessed us over the years and pray that God would comfort the family and all of us in our grief.

✞ Congratulations to John & Nancy O. who will celebrate 40 years of marriage on the 27!

✞ We pray for Pearl V., Jennie K., Dale F., Ben S., Ron L., and Diane W. all at home. Elly O. in the Rocky hospital. Ken S. at Westview Lodge. Dick O., Norman & Mae P. and Gerrit O. at Clearwater Centre; Seenie B. and Corry W. at Park Avenue. We ask for God’s keeping and care. We thank you for all the caregivers who are able to assist those

who require a little extra help and care,

✞Please keep all missionaries in God’s care, wherever they may be serving. Join us in praying for: People and language groups who still live in Bible poverty, that God’s Word will reach them soon; Open doors and open hearts; the emotional, spiritual and physical wellbeing of ministry workers.

If you know of anyone that we should be keeping in our prayers for various reasons, council asks that you please call Pastor Ken or any elder or deacon. Elders are Robert B., Peter D. Cody L., David C., Anthony B., Gary V., Alan O., Joel S., Case K., Rita B. or Art T. Deacons are Bill S., Jim D., Logan V., Erika W., Thomas D., or Nancy O.

Do you know that there are groups of members who will lift you up in prayer? Do you know you can contact them through e-mail, through the church office,

phone call or through the website anonymously? If you have a prayer request and would like to be lifted in prayer contact:

Jean B. or Anita M.

www.firstcrcrocky.ca (via the CONTACT link or PRAYER MINISTRIES link)

✞ CHURCH FAMILY ✞

Welcome to First CRC Rocky If you are visiting online, we want to offer a warm welcome!

We pray you will encounter God today as you worship and bring him praise!

For more Information view: www.firstcrcrocky.ca or FirstCRC.RockyMtnHouse on Facebook

Back to God Ministries International

Groundwork: Is God Punishing Me? - During times of suffering we long to know why and seek biblical

explanations for our experiences. Join Groundwork in studying Job 4-8 to examine and test against scripture

our most common questions as we try to explain and understand experiences of suffering. Listen now at

GroundworkOnline.com and subscribe to Groundwork’s weekly emails for future episodes.

Hollywood - Check out our children’s programs at www.kidscorner.net. In this week’s episode, “Hollywood,”

at the school play auditions, Liz acts like he's the star of the show! Will Hollywood Liz have everyone standing

in applause or will he bring down the house? Listen now at kidscorner.net and subscribe to KC’s weekly emails

for future episodes. Download the Kid Corner puzzle and game giveaway Summer Fun Bible Activity Book.

https://kidscorner.net/activities

"My times are in Your hand; rescue me from...my enemies and from my persecutors!"

~ Psalm 31:15 ESV ~

INDIA: Christian Teen Murdered/Sources: Persecution Relief, Morning Star News, Hindustan Times, Matters India, India Today, Christian Post

An innocent teenaged boy was killed and then mutilated by Hindu militants in the village of Kenduguda, Odisha, on June 4th. Samaru Madkami was home from a residential school due to the pandemic lockdown. His father, Unga, served as a leader of the Bethel House Church which met in their home.

At around 11:00 p.m., a group of villagers arrived at the Christian family's house and called for Unga to come to a meeting. Having taken his daughter to the doctor, he was not home. So Samaru went with the group instead, only to find a mob waiting in the jungle. There the youth was stoned and stabbed to death. The attackers returned in an attempt to also take Samaru's cousin, but he was able to escape and report the incident to police.

By the next morning, a dozen arrests had been made. Confessions extracted by police led them to the body, which had been cut into pieces and buried in a pit. Some of those responsible stated that the Christians had been practising black magic, blaming this as the cause of the sickness experienced by several people in the village. Although authorities state that the community's water supply was the true cause of the illness, in the villagers' minds, the alleged black magic practices justified the murder of the teen.

In the three years since Unga and Samaru had made the decision to follow Christ, they have faced continual harassment and threats for their faith. Attempts have been made on Unga's life before. According to the church's pastor, who lives in another village, plans have since been made by disgruntled villagers to kill all three of the Christian families in Kenduguda. Yet, it is believed that the allegations of black magic were merely a pretence to justify the brutal killing.

Shibu Thomas, founder of Persecution Relief, has been involved with more than 1,500 cases of persecution in the past four years. This, however, is by far the most disturbing. "The hate and aggression in the minds of the religious fanatics and the brutal nature of this crime leave me dumbfounded!" he declared. For more on the persecution facing India's Christians, go to our country report.

Please remember Samaru's grieving family and members of their house church group in your prayers as they deal with this horrific loss of life. Ask God to protect this small group of believers in the community and render justice in the situation. May they continue to be a light amid the darkness surrounding them. Pray that the other villagers will respond to God's light and, as a result, experience His unconditional love and forgiveness.

Deacon’s Corner ~ Jim D. Erika W. Thomas D. Nancy O. Logan V. Bill S. Offerings

June 21—Local Church Ministries

June 28—Resonate (resonateglobalmission.org) Continues the good work of Home Missions and World Missions. For more than a century, these two agencies introduced people to Christ in North America and around the world. For us, that means continuing our partnership with churches in

the United States and Canada to plant churches, do campus ministry, train and equip pastors, and develop future leaders. Additionally, it means sending missionaries overseas, proclaiming the Gospel, and forging lasting partnerships.

July 5—Local Church Ministries

July 12– Wycliffe Wycliffe Canada members dedicated to Bible translation have also been impacted by the current pandemic. More Wycliffe

members than usual will need emergency funding. Many work in remote areas in developing countries. In these places, self isolation and quarantine are usually more difficult. They need to leave the field suddenly and costs of last minute

flights and accommodations are high. You can help ensure that this important work moves ahead despite the challenges. Your gift to the Emergency Fund will: Provide last minutes flights & temporary accommodations to get members out of situations where their health and safety are at risk, Ensure temporary financial support for members with supporters

unable to give as before, Support members who fall ill or must stay home with sick family members, Offer resources to those in emergency situations.

July 19— Local Church Ministries

Giving is an expression of our thankfulness and praise to God. It comes from a heart of worship that recognizes that eve-rything we have already belongs to God. The deacons usually designate two Sunday offerings per month to “Local Church

Ministries” which goes towards all our budget commitments. Staff, office expenses, power, heat, insurance, children’s programs, mission support and ministry shares are all paid from “Local Church Ministries” collections.

Gratefully Received June 7—16

Local Church Ministries $5800 World Renew $130 Canadian Foodgrains Bank $100

GEMS $100 Resonate $10 Rehoboth $110 Pregnancy Care Centre $20 Lord’s Foodbank $10

Please note that you can watch our services online. There are three ways you can access these videos: 1. You can go to our church website (firstcrcrocky.ca) and click on the link that will take you to the videos (you can also access the audio files on the church website). 2. You can search for First CRC Rocky on You-tube and click on the most recent service. 3. You can go to our church Facebook page. (search for First Christian Reformed Church Rocky Mountain House and be sure to like the page and you will get notifications in Facebook when things are posted there).

→Church worship to resume on Sunday, June 28 →Re-opening worship plan was created →First CRC paid $53,886 to 2019 Ministry Shares and $11, 268.60 above ministry shares which includes Back to God Ministries, Banner, Resonate (Rev. Bahago), Resonate Global Mission and World Renew. →Discussion regarding Elder and Deacon turnover process to take place in the fall season of this year →Sonrise Camp facility is closed completely for the year →Thank you to Sara Douma for her commitment and hard work in making our online services available

Offerings & Tithes You can continue to give to the church even when you’re not there. There are a few options available: →pre-authorized bank withdrawals. Withdrawals are made on the 15th of every month and are allocated to our local church budget. If you are interested in giving in this way please contact Marlene O. or the church office. Please note that this withdrawal cannot be changed every month. Two weeks are needed to get this set up and if there need to be changes two weeks are needed for changes as well. →E-Transfer to treasurer@rockycrc.ca please put YOUR NAME and CAUSE on the memo line. → mailed to the church at First Christian Reformed Church (RR3 Site 4 Box 6 - Rocky Mtn. House, AB- T4T 2A3) or dropped off at the office from 9-12 Tuesday to Friday. Please make your cheques out to First Christian Reformed Church and note the cause on the front of the cheque. In this way we can still support the additional causes the church supports throughout the year.

From the Office- If you require a printed bulletin please contact the office or your elder and we will do our best to get it to you. We encourage you to download our App (iPhone or android) in the App store (it’s free) First CRC Rocky Mtn House. This will keep you up to date with bulletins, blog posts and audio sermons. If you are using the APP to view the bulletin, for some unforeseen reason it is not posted on there; it does happen with the internet, please know you are able to view the bulletin on the church website (firstcrcrocky.ca) MEDIA (at the top menu bar) - click ANNOUNCEMENTS and bulletins are found there. You can access the church during regular office hours. (Tuesday to Friday 9:00 am-12:00pm). Available at the church office for pick up during regular office hours → Today Devotionals for July/August → May & June Banners

CD's of the audio of the services and DVD's of the services are available by contacting the Church office.

Highlights from the June 16 Full Council Meeting

Church Announcements

Central Alberta Pregnancy Care Centre Baby Bottle Campaign Bring Change Now... and into generations to come.” Every year women, men, and families are impacted by the effects of an unplanned pregnancy. In their time of need, the Central Alberta Pregnancy Care Centre is here to provide unconditional love and accurate information to equip them to make well-informed choices. Supporting our clients in need includes one on one peer counselling, programs to

help heal from sexual abuse, parenting programs, 24/7 Dad Program, options counselling, post abortion support, and our maternity home for single women to carry their pregnancies to term, and be equipped with the tools to parent successfully. Every dollar counts and will provide material supports and/or access to much needed support and education while facing an unplanned pregnancy. What your support will give access to:

$20 - Much needed necessities such as, diapers, wipes, and formula for a baby. $50 - Options counselling. Accurate information to make a well-informed choice $150 - Post adoption or miscarriage grief counselling. $500 - Find healing from a past abortion or from sexual abuse, misuse or trauma, or be equipped for successful parenting. $1500 - Contribute toward supporting a mom and child in our maternity home.

This year we are excited to host our annual Baby Bottle Campaign virtually! You can donate online by visiting our website (www.pregnancycare.ca/baby-bottle-campaign .ca) The campaign will run until TODAY Father’s Day. Thank you for your support as we adjust to doing this virtually this year!

The Staff at Christian Stewardship Services are pleased to announce a series of Virtual Webinars and are delighted to invite you to join in. Since Christian Stewardship Services is partnered with the CRCNA, there is no charge to listen in or receive the personal follow up that is available. Our current webinars topics are: Planning or Reviewing a Will, and Tools of Gift Planning. They are running in June, (Tuesdays at 7pm EST or Thursdays at 7pm PST) Following June, we will have new dates through the summer. You can register for any upcoming Webinar on our EVENTS page at http://www.csservices.ca/events.php or email info@csservices.ca with questions.

Rocky Christian School Kindergarten Registration- Do you have a child who was born in 2015 and looking forward to kindergarten in September? Even though we don’t know for certain what the new school year will look like, now is the time to register your child for Kindergarten. The Bible says, in Colossians 1:16, that, “In him (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” In school, students learn about ‘all things.’ It may be packaged into subjects like Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science, but taken together the Alberta Program of Studies is an official collection of all of the things that a student is required to learn. When Rocky Christian School teaches about ‘all things’ we understand that we are teaching about a world that was created by Jesus, for Jesus, and through Jesus. Any other way to understand the world is not consistent with what Christians profess to believe and with what the scriptures teach. The ‘all things’ that Jesus made includes people; you and me. The children of Rocky Christian school learn not only that they were made by Jesus. But also for Him and through Him. We invite you and your children to become part of a school community that presents ‘all things’ in the same way that you do. Please contact the school by phone at 403-845-3516 or email rocky-christian@wrsd.ca for a registration package or if you would like more information.

What you need to know about coming back to church starting on Sunday, June 28 (Continued):

7. Singing is discouraged. We realize that this is hard and that singing is a huge part of worship, but we ask people to respect this request and refrain at this time as we will have seniors and others there who want to worship together but also want to minimize the risks. Evidence does suggest that singing dramatically increases the likelihood of the virus being spread in the event that someone is a carrier. The government regulations ask that we insure there are as few people singing as possible. The praise team will be singing but they are separated from the congregation by a significant distance.

8. The children will not be invited up for the children’s message. “Tentatively” children aged 3 and 4 may have the option to go to the fellowship hall for summer Sunday School. A parent is asked to accompany them to insure social distancing is followed. Once there, the teachers and volunteers will do their best to insure that this is followed and parents who would like to, are welcome to stay and assist or they may return to the sanctuary. After the service, these parents will be released first in order for them to gather their children. They are asked to again space themselves accordingly and then exit through the East/West doors we entered through.

9. Offerings will be collected as people leave the sanctuary and a deacon will be there if you have any questions.

10. People leaving the sanctuary will be asked to stagger their exits and to use the South door at the back of the sanctuary and the 2 fire exits at the front. Ushers will assist to insure that things run smoothly.

11. Socializing both inside and outside the church is discouraged but we ask that people respect the 6 foot social distancing rules. Parents are asked to watch to insure their kids follow these rules as well.

12. Government regulations discourage anyone aged 65 and over from attending as they are higher risk to serious complications, but ultimately, the decision of whether or not to attend is up to them.

13. Anyone who feels uncomfortable with these restrictions or with the idea of gathering together at this time, is encouraged to stay home and watch our service online. While we would love to see people attend, people should feel no pressure whatsoever to attend if they are not comfortable with it. Our services will continue to be posted on-line for those who choose not to attend, although they will not be available until 6:00 pm on Sunday evenings.

We realize this feels like a lot, and we hope that things can return to normal soon, but for now, we ask

everyone to do their best to follow these guidelines in order to protect the most vulnerable among us.

We also want to be sure that we are doing our best to insure that the church is not the cause of an

outbreak in our community.

Council of First Christian Reformed Church

What you need to know about coming back to church starting on Sunday, June 28: As much as we’d all love to simply return to church as normal, that won’t be able to happen for some time. Our government has opened the door for us to gather once again, but not without significant limitations and guidelines that are reflected in what is found below. It’s going to feel a little strange for the next while, but for those who feel comfortable coming, at least we are able to gather together once again. We want to acknowledge that the following restrictions and changes represent a fairly significant challenge to us as a body. Within our church, there are a wide variety of opinions on how we should proceed and what a service should look like. There are those who think the restrictions are unnecessary and others who want to take every precaution to insure everyone’s safety. As such, we face a very real challenge in how we treat people who see things differently than we do. Our prayer, as leaders, is that we all come together with Christ-like humility and are willing to put others ahead of ourselves. We also pray that our worship and our gathering together will show our mutual love and respect for each other, no matter what our views. So what will church look like and what will be different?

1. Everyone planning on attending a service is asked to self-screen to insure that they have not been exposed to the virus or is a carrier. Anyone experiencing symptoms of Covid including a cough, runny nose, headaches, fever is asked to stay home and watch the service online. Any who has been exposed to someone with Covid is asked not to attend for 14 days and anyone who has returned from travelling abroad is asked not to attend for 14 days as per government requirements.

2. Entrance: We are asking you to enter the East/West Doors just to the North of the sanctuary and you will be met there by a council member opening the doors and recording your attendance. This is recorded in the event of an outbreak so that we can contact anyone who attended that service and who may have been exposed. You will also be asked to use hand sanitizer on entering and exiting the building. We will also be controlling traffic so that families/cohort groups can keep 6 feet of social distancing.

3. You will be met by ushers at the entrance to the sanctuary who will insure that everyone is seated separately from other groups. We will only be seating people on the end of the pews along the aisles so that no one has to pass by someone already seated. We will be only using every 2nd pew in order to insure social distancing. We anticipate that with the balcony, we should not have any trouble accommodating everyone in this way.

4. We are not permitted to make the nursery available at this time. The change table has been moved to the Handicapped bathroom close to the social hall if needed.

5. We ask that anyone using the mother’s room, insure that they maintain social distancing as well.

6. There will be no handshaking after the greetings and we ask that people refrain from any handshakes/hugs etc. when we see each other.