Online Worship and Newsletter

“…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 

 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”  Phil. 2:12-13

Continue to work out your salvation….now there’s a word of encouragement for 2026!!  As we look forward to a new year together, may we rejoice in God’s faithfulness, be assured of his promises and commit to living for Jesus. 

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 :     Matthew 2:1-12   Signs, Gifts and Testimonies

NEWS, THANKS and PRAYERS:

•  Many of you have placed a name in the prayer jar (and you are welcome to put in a name at any time).   In this New Year, let’s commit to praying daily for a person who we long to see walking with the Lord. 

DEACONS’ OFFERINGS: 

This Week:   Gathering Place 

Next Week:  TBCS

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

WEDNESDAY PRAYER AND PRAISE:  Let’s begin the new year in prayer together for our community, church and each other.  Please join us for an hour of prayer on Wednesday at 7 pm. 

NORTH OF 60: Looking for something new to do…..North of 60 will be holding their January lunch on Thursday January 15th at Hope Church.  Come on out for another yummy lunch that will warm you up on these cold winter days. Come a little early if you want a coffee and some Fellowship.  A goodwill offering will be taken to cover the cost of the lunch.

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.  

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: A huge thank you to all our sponsors, curlers, and dinner guests who helped make the 2025 Gathering Place Bonspiel a success. Thanks to your generous support, we raised over $5,000! And a big shout-out to Lyla Bron, Eric Bron, Peter Kaemingk, and Jonathon Vellinga for taking the title two years in a row.

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:  

 ” O,God,our help in ages past, Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations” Psalm 90.

In our congregation it is a tradition to sing ” O God, Our help in Ages past”. During our New Years Day worship service, some other churches like to sing this song as they worship on the last day of the year.

The song paraphrases Psalm 90. Even though Psalm 90 can be considered a song of lament,’O,God,Our Help in Ages Past” summarizes the content of this psalm in an uplifting way.

As we end this year, we reflect on the fact that God has been” our help in ages past” as well as “our hope in years to come”. When we look back on the year we have just gone through, not one of us can say we knew it would turn out the way it did. We cannot see in the future, 

Yet God has been our help, and he has been our strength, God has” been our dwelling place through all generations” So whenever we face uncertainty we can trust that, with God, we can find courage and strength.

God has made all things, and ” a thousand ages in his sight are like an evening gone” Yet the Lord our God will always continue to be faithful.

In the final stanza of the song, we profess our trust in God, we sing” Still be our guard while troubles last, and our eternal homes.  We have confidence to face the future because our hope for eternal life is found in God our Savior. So we can pray and say to our GOD ” Dear God, thank you for being with us throughout this past year, We trust that we can always make our dwelling with you through Christ we pray , Amen,                                   Hank

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