Online Worship and Newsletter

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,

because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, 

and they will call him Immanuel  (which means “God with us”). Matt. 1:21-23

Blessed Christmas!!!   This is a week of celebration and hope because Jesus has come to save his people, our Immanuel ‘God with us’ has been born to us.  May you find joy, hope and peace in this Good News!

Our  Sunday worship begins @ 10:30.  Sunday School is available for children ages 3 to grade 3 with childcare available for those younger.  All children will be dismissed partway through the service. 

The worship service streams on youtube beginning at 10:25  and can be watched later as a video at:    Bethlehem CRC – Thunder Bay – YouTube  

WORD & WORSHIP :    Called to Dream:  Prophetic Love.  Luke 1:57-80

CHRISTMAS WORSHIP:  Our Christmas Eve Story & Candlelight service will take place on Wednesday evening @ 5:30.   Our Christmas Day Worship will be on Christmas morning at 10:30.  Both these services are wonderful times to invite family and friends to come and celebrate with us.  

NEWS, THANKS and PRAYERS:

•    Please continue to pray for God’s comfort for those grieving and missing a loved one, especially in this Christmas season. 

DEACONS’ OFFERINGS: 

This Week:   The Gathering Place

Christmas Day:   Shelter House 

Next Week: Bread Box

For e-transfer: giving@bethlehemcrc.ca

E-transfers can be used for the deacon’s offering, church budget, ministry shares, or work of the deacons (blessing/bread box).  Please make sure to indicate this in your e-transfer. You can also leave an offering in the collection plate.  Unless otherwise designated, it will go to the deacon’s offering for that particular Sunday.

DUTY LIST: 

If you’re not on the list and wish to be added contact Mari-Lou by emailing her at Office@bethlehemcrc.ca. If you’re on the duty list and do not plan on attending church at this time please find your replacement. 

UPDATED: Duty List Updated.xlsx

FROM THE DEACONS: For the month of December the Deacons  will be collecting school snacks for the Bread Box.

Each Bread Box Food Day we hand out packages of school snacks to families with children in Elementary school.  Granola bars, juice boxes, pudding cups and  fruit cups are the kinds of items we are looking for.  Please ensure all items are nut free!

Thank you for your generosity- it is greatly appreciated.

The Deacons would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who played a part in our very successful Christmas Friends and Family potluck dinner last Sunday.  It was a huge success with almost 100 people in attendance.

Special thanks to:

The Fellowship Committee for providing the main course, punch and coffee.  You all make it look so easy each year but we know it isn’t!

Lou Kok for a masterful job as Emcee – you kept us all on track.

Laura Heerema for a wonderful job with the children’s story.  You are so warm and inviting with the children.

Jennifer Drost for playing the piano so the singing could be joyful.

Thanks to everyone who helped with setup, decorating and cleanup especially Fred who had a little busier janitorial week after.

Thanks to everyone who shared delicious food and who created a welcoming atmosphere among our members and visitors.

Most of all thanks to God for the gift of His Son, the reason for all our Christmas celebrations.

MONTHLY FINANCIAL UPDATE:  2025.11 Monthly Financial Update for Bethlehem CRC.docx

THE BREAD BOX: Dear congregation,

We had our 25th Bread Box for the year 2025. It was our final food handout till Jan. 14, 2026.

With the partnership with the Regional Food Distribution Agency and the generous support of the Bethlehem community and neighbourhood we have had a busy year.

1167 households, 1673 hampers , 509 school snacks and 99 birthday bags were distributed during the year. 2522 people were served.

We give thanks for the dedicated volunteers who help with Link to Feed, packaging of food , unloading the truck and the distribution day people.

The Bread Box committee gives thanks for the Lord’s protection and providing of facilities. We have taken over much of the basement and portable to do this work. If you want to talk about this ministry and see what takes place, talk to the deacons.

Thank you for your prayers and support

HATS AND SCARVES:  We give thanks to the Willing Hands Knitters (Sarnia), Country Yarns (Petrolia) and our own Bethlehem knitters for all the  hats, mitts and scarves donated to hand out to anyone in need.  

You’ll find a sampling in the fellowship hall – please take what you need as well as sharing with anyone else who would be blessed with something warm. 

HEALING WITH JESUS PRAYER MINISTRY:  If you desire prayer, are struggling with unforgiveness, need healing in a relationship or healing from a hurt you’ve experienced, if you are finding it hard to know God’s love then please consider making a prayer appointment.   In this time, a team of people will pray with you as we look to Jesus who is the great physician. 

Brochures are available in the church foyer that explains inner healing prayer and what happens at a prayer session.To make a prayer appointment, please connect with Pastor Marg

or send an email TBhealingprayer@gmail.com.  

HOPE CHURCH: Save the Date: Grab your broom and get ready to slide into some fun!  We’re hosting a Bonspiel on Saturday, December 27th at 6:00 PM at Kakabeka Curling Club to raise funds for The Gathering Place, and we’d love for you to be a part of it! More details to come next week!

Blue Christmas: Hope Church will once again be hosting a Blue Christmas service on

Sunday December 21st at 7:00pm. This service is for people to pause during this

busy time of the year to reflect and acknowledge that Christmas is not a happy time

for everyone. During this service we will honour our loved ones that have passed away,

as well as those that are experiencing grief due to job loss, illness, family

disconnect etc. We will also receive comfort in knowing that God is with us in our

pain. There will be desserts, coffee and fellowship afterwards. Everyone is welcome to

attend.

THUNDER BAY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: The Thunder Bay Christian School now plans to hold the Christmas Program on January 4th, 7:00pm at First Church. Come join us as we bring in the New Year celebrating the birth of Jesus!

TBCS is also still accepting applicants for the custodian position. The hours can be flexible, full-time or part-time, but some duties will have to be done outside of school hours (after 3:30pm). Please forward resumes to the school at office@tbcs.school.

THE GATHERING PLACE: The Gathering Place Bonspiel

Get ready to rock the ice and sweep up some good times while supporting The Gathering Place. 

Date: Saturday, December 27th

Location: Kakabeka Curling Club

Cost per Team: $260 (includes dinner)  Space is filling up quickly!!

Job Opportunity – The Gathering Place Executive Director: The Gathering Place is looking to hire their next Executive Director! This is a key leadership role for the non-profit organization that has served some of Thunder Bay’s most challenged neighbourhoods over the past 40 years through food and clothing distribution, community building, personal supports, and more. This is a full-time position (35 hours per week) at a wage of $30.00 per hour. A complete description of the role can be found on our website: https://www.thegatheringplacetbay.ca/volunteer-careers.

If you feel that God may be calling you to this position, apply by submitting a copy of your resume to the chair of The Gathering Place’s board of directors, Fred Rekman, at fmrekman@gmail.com. We would also appreciate your prayers during this search process, as well as your support in helping share this position opening with those who may be equipped for this role and encouraging them to consider applying. God has blessed this joint initiative of the Christian Reformed Churches of Thunder Bay for decades and we can’t wait to see what God has in store for The Gathering Place in the decades to come!

PRAYER CORNER:  

 “angels we have heard on high” 

“suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God”

Angels play an important role throughout the entire birth narrative of Jesus. An angel visits Zecharia to announce the coming  of John, who would prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry .

An angel appears to Mary to announce the coming of Jesus, the son of God. An angel appears to Josef in a dream, urging him to stay with Mary because she is carrying  the baby Jesus, who will save his people from their sins.

Then, when Jesus is actually born and an angel announces his birth, a crowd of angels appears lighting up the night sky in the fields of Bethlehem. A great company of heavenly hosts appeared with the angel praising God, this was no simple birth announcement, the Savior of the world  had come! 

Angels we have heard on high, tells the story in a beautiful lyrical way, And the refrain picks up the angels song using the Latin phrase , “Gloria in excelsis Deo’ which means ” Glory to God in the highest” The angels could not contain their praise.

As we celebrate Christmas this season, we are reminded of Gods great love for us in the birth of Jesus. Like the angels we too have the opportunity to burst into praise, And lets invite others to join us as we give glory to God for the Savior has come.

 ‘A CHRISTMAS ALLELUIA”

” Praise the Lord,  ……. I will praise the Lord all my life, I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” Psalm 146;1-2

Psalm 146  is a rousing song of praise that celebrates Gods faithfulness. And today as we celebrate the birth of Jesus,  we are reminded in this psalm to praise the Lord and put our  trust in Him alone, For God reigns forever for all generations.

” A Christmas Alleluia ” is a contemporary song by Chris Tomlin celebrating the day of Christ birth. It recalls the scene and song of the angel host of heaven singing ” All glory to our God and King” And it calls us to sing “Alleluia ” which means “Praise the Lord!’ We give praise  because ” Crist the Savior of the world  ……has come” We sing Alleluia because  Christs is the highest name of all.

We are reminded in Psalm 146 that God is the maker of all things and that he remains faithful for ever, God fulfills his promises to send the Messiah the Savior, he is faithful forever.

Christ our King is born! And because of His birth, life, death and resurrection,  he demonstrates his supremacy over all, He comes to uphold “the cause of the oppressed” and to ” give food to the hungry”  He  “sets the prisoner free” and “gives sight to the blind” and 

“lifts those who are bowed down” .

And because  Christ reigns forever, we sing ” Alleluia ” we can praise the Lord all of our life.  Prayer: Alleluia , Lord Jesus Christ , we give you praise for coming to bring your kingdom  to this earth. May we praise you as long as we live, Amen.

BETHLEHEM CONNECTIONS: 

Bulletin announcements or ‘Family News’: Please submit to Mari-Lou by Thursdays at 6:00 pm bulletin@bethlehemcrc.ca 

Pastor Marg welcomes your calls or visits.   Please reach out to her or stop by the office: 

pastor@bethlehemcrc.ca or (807) 767 3961.   

Clerk of Council: Greg Kok clerk@bethlehemcrc.ca

Elders:  Corinne Hoogsteen, Sharon Jaspers, Abraham Drost and Greg Kok

Deacons:  Erica Snippe-Juurakko, Lori Lawrence, Mark Heerema and Mikaela Hummel