The class will take place on Saturday mornings, 10-11am from Jan 21 to Feb 11 in the Family Room at Grace Gathering’s building (3157 Minnich Rd). If you plan to attend, RSVP by emailing Michelle Atkinson.

Saturday, January 21st at 6:30pm we will be having a Family Movie Night at Charis House (431 Fairmount Pl). Please bring a generous-sized snack to share!

We will also be having a “Popcorn Making and Bagging” party at 5pm at the Sternke’s (7116 Tanbark Lane). Bring your supper to eat at their house, if it’s helpful

See you then!

Our general gathering rhythm goes like this:

+ MC Gatherings (1st and 3rd Sundays)
+ Worship Celebration (2nd and 4th Sundays)
+ Small Groups (Midweek)

Epiphany looks like this, specifically:

FRI JAN 6 – PRAYER FURNACE
7pm @ 7116 Tanbark Ln || More info

SUN JAN 8 – EPIPHANY WORSHIP CELEBRATION
5pm @ 300 E Wayne St

SUN JAN 15: MISSIONAL COMMUNITY GATHERINGS

• Northside MC – 3:30pm at Holy Cross
• Open Door MC – BRUNCH & WORSHIP
  11AM @ 7116 Tanbark Ln
  Bring food to share. Participatory worship and sharing on Epiphany themes.

SAT JAN 21 – CHARIS HOUSE MOVIE NIGHT
6:30pm at 431 Fairmount Pl
Popcorn-making party beforehand at 5pm at 7116 Tanbark Ln.

SUN JAN 22 – EPIPHANY WORSHIP CELEBRATION
5pm @ 300 300 E Wayne St

FRI JAN 27 – PRAYER FURNACE
7pm @ 312 Taber Ave || More info

SUN JAN 29 – MISSIONAL COMMUNITY GATHERINGS

• Northside MC – 10:30am at 4034 Arlington Ave. Bring brunch food to share.
• Open Door MC – 11am @ 5211 Delaware Ave. Bring brunch food to share.

SUN FEB 5: MISSIONAL COMMUNITY GATHERINGS

• Northside MC – 10:30am @ 2220 Alabama Ave. Bring brunch food to share.
• Open Door MC – 11am @ 7306 Tanbark Ln. Bring brunch food to share.

SUN FEB 12 – EPIPHANY WORSHIP CELEBRATION
5pm @ 300 E Wayne St

SUN FEB 19: MISSIONAL COMMUNITY GATHERINGS

• Northside MC – 10:30am at TBA. Bring brunch food to share.
• Open Door MC – 11AM @ 7116 Tanbark Ln. Bring brunch food to share.

SUN FEB 26: LENT WORSHIP CELEBRATION
5pm @ 300 300 E Wayne St

We encourage everyone at Christ Church to read Scripture daily. There is something powerful and unifying about all of us reading the same Scriptures each day, too. Up until now we’ve been using the Daily Office Lectionary from the Book of Common Prayer, but we’ve decided to make a switch to the Moravian Daily Texts, starting in 2012. You are encouraged to make this move with us!

We’re doing this for a few reasons.

Firstly, using the Moravian texts gets us through the entire Bible in two years (and the Psalms twice), whereas the Daily Office skips portions of Scripture that are deemed difficult to understand or awkward to modern sensibilities.

Secondly, the Moravian texts simply go through Scripture from beginning to end, whereas the Daily Office jumps around a bit in an effort to be seasonal.

Thirdly, using the Moravian texts provides us with more opportunities to engage in a devotional reading of Scripture, because of the resources available, which will be outlined below.

Here is how you can access the daily texts, as well as some of the devotional material available:

1. Subscribe to the daily email. For those who simply want to get the texts day-by-day, along with a prayer, the email is the way to go. Fair warning, though, the email usually doesn’t come until 7:30am or so.
2. Order the 2012 Daily Texts in paperback. This book will give you all the readings for the year, as well as devotional material (“Watchword for the week, watchword of the day, doctrinal texts, a few hymn verses, and a prayer). This makes for a great family devotional every day. You can also download the Guide to the Daily Texts [PDF].
3. Check out the 3DM Facebook page, where they post short devotional reflections on the texts each day. There is also sometimes an audio recording of their morning devotions, which are always focused on the texts of the day.

Also, you can read some interesting information about the history of of the daily texts, which have their origin in a “great spiritual awakening” in 1727 in Herrnhut, Germany, led by Count Zinzendorf.

Let’s continue to read Scripture every day, seeking to listen to receive from the Father, hear his voice and respond in faith and obedience in 2012.

Also, in groups you can use the pamphlet below to ask questions of one another to spur on discipleship to Jesus.

• Discipleship Questions Pamphlet (PDF)

Christ Church is committed to changing the atmosphere of the Fort Wayne region and the world through prayer.

We are going to be expressing this value in 2012 by meeting on the fourth Friday of every month at 7pm for an evening of worship and prayer for the Fort Wayne region. This “prayer furnace” will be a space for people from the Fort Wayne region to gather together to intercede for the church and our region. We gather corporately to agree with God in prayer, declaring who He is and proclaiming His desire for the Fort Wayne region.

We’ll also be reading through Andrew Murray’s book With Christ in the School of Prayer as a church. Order a copy so you’re ready to go the first week of January. Below is the reading schedule. We’ll spend the first 15 minutes of each prayer furnace discussing the past few weeks’ reading.

READING SCHEDULE

Week of January 1: Chapter 1 (Prayer Furnace Jan 6)
Week of January 8: Chapter 2
Week of January 15: Chapter 3
Week of January 22: Chapter 4 (Prayer Furnace Jan 27)
Week of January 29: Chapter 5

Week of February 5: Chapter 6
Week of February 12: Chapter 7
Week of February 19: Chapter 8 (Prayer Furnace Feb 24)
Week of February 26: Chapter 9

Week of March 4: Chapter 10
Week of March 11: Chapter 11
Week of March 18: Chapter 12 (Prayer Furnace Mar 23)
Week of March 25: Chapter 13

Week of April 1: Chapter 14
Week of April 8: Chapter 15
Week of April 15: Chapter 16
Week of April 22: Chapter 17 (Prayer Furnace Apr 27)
Week of April 29: Chapter 18

Week of May 6: Chapter 19
Week of May 13: Chapter 20
Week of May 20: Chapter 21 (Prayer Furnace May 25)
Week of May 27: Chapter 22

Week of June 3: Chapter 23
Week of June 10: Chapter 24
Week of June 17: Chapter 25 (Prayer Furnace June 22)
Week of June 24: Chapter 26

Week of July 1: Chapter 27
Week of July 8: Chapter 28
Week of July 15: Chapter 29
Week of July 22: Chapter 30 (Prayer Furnace July 27)
Week of July 29: Chapter 31

This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent, when when we start telling the story again, the story of how Jesus Christ fulfilled the story of Israel in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and how we now live with him by the Spirit and await his final return.

Every year we tell the story again, basically because we need to immerse ourselves in it, because it is the true story of the world. It is the report of what God is doing in the world to redeem and restore all things, the proclamation of how God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.

We immerse ourselves in this story every year because our identities come from the stories we tell and the rituals we participate in. We immerse ourselves in this story because our culture loudly proclaims quite a few alternative stories that vie to tell us who we are, and thus claim our allegiance. Some of those stories (from McKnight’s The King Jesus Gospel):

• Individualism — the story that “I” am the center of the universe
• Consumerism — the story that I am what I own
• Nationalism — the story that my nation is God’s nation
• Moral relativism — the story that we can’t know what is universally good
• Scientific naturalism — the story that all that matters is matter
• New Age — the story that we are gods
• Postmodern tribalism — the story that all that matters is what my small group thinks
• Salvation by therapy — the story that I can come to my full human potential through inner exploration

We combat these competing ideologies by immersing ourselves in the True Story, which is another name for the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why it matters what holidays we celebrate, and how we celebrate them. Our very identities are stake, because we live by the stories we tell ourselves. Thus it is actually a matter of life and death.

There’s nothing magical about celebrating the church year. There are plenty of lifeless churches that commemorate Advent “faithfully” (i.e. read the right Scriptures, fly the right colors, stick to the right themes). But the church year is essentially organizing time around the gospel story, which seems like a great idea to me, because the alternative to organizing time around the life of Christ is to organize it around something else, like when it’s time to shop, which is a disastrous way to live.

So may you immerse ourselves in the True Story once again, and have a blessed Advent! Come, Lord Jesus!

Our general gathering rhythm goes like this:

+ MC Gatherings (1st and 3rd Sundays)
+ Worship Celebration (2nd and 4th Sundays)
+ Small Groups (Midweek)

Advent and Christmas looks like this:

SUN NOV 27 – ADVENT WORSHIP CELEBRATION
5pm @ 300 E Wayne St

SAT DEC 3 – CHRISTMAS MOVIE NIGHT @ CHARIS HOUSE
6:30pm @ 431 Fairmount Pl

SUN DEC 4: MISSIONAL COMMUNITY GATHERINGS

• Northside MC – BRUNCH & WORSHIP
  10:30AM @ 1816 Alabama Ave
  Bring food to share. We will have a short time of worship and reflection as we participate in Advent together.
• Open Door MC – BRUNCH & WORSHIP
  11AM @ 7116 Tanbark Ln
  Bring food to share. Participatory worship and sharing on Advent themes.

FRI DEC 9 – PRAYER FURNACE
7pm @ 312 Taber Ave || More info

SUN DEC 11 – ADVENT WORSHIP CELEBRATION
5pm @ 300 300 E Wayne St

SUN DEC 18 – ADVENT WORSHIP CELEBRATION
5pm @ 300 300 E Wayne St

SUN DEC 24 – JOINT CHRISTMAS EVE CELEBRATION
with candles!
8pm at 3157 Minnich Rd (New Haven)

SUN JAN 1 – MISSIONAL COMMUNITY GATHERINGS

• Northside MC – FRUIT/SMOOTHIE BAR
  3pm at 1715 Alabama Ave.
• Open Door MC – POTLUCK DINNER + WORSHIP
  5pm at 408 W Williams St.
  Bring some food to share!
  

So, yes, winter is on its way, but here are a few of the benefits of prayer-walking, from my friend J.R. Briggs:

Why should someone prayerwalk? Can’t we just pray right where we are?

Sure we can. We can pray anywhere at anytime for any reason. But there is something intentional and powerful about prayerwalking. There are many benefits.

1. It helps you get into a rhythm of prayer. Prayer can be like music. When you hear music you like, you tape your feet and get into the rhythm. It’s true with prayer, too. The strides of your step help you to get into a rhythm with God.
2. It’s one thing to sit in your office or living room and pray, but its quite another to be out in the community that you’re praying for. Prayer is heaven crashing together with earth. When you look into people’s eyes as you pass them on the sidewalk or you see areas of need in your town, there’s a deeper sense of connection to God’s purposes.
3. You begin to see things you never would see if you weren’t out praying as you walk. (You see much more when prayerwalking, but don’t think its the same thing as prayerdriving or prayerbiking. There are places for both, but this is different.) You begin to have eyes that Jesus has and see what he sees. It’s great to see what you’re praying for.
4. Your kingdom imagination is stirred. You ask questions of God when you see new things. God, what does the kingdom breaking forth look like in that neighborhood? What does the gospel look like in this context? How can the gospel restore that park? How can I join you – quite literally – in seeing your agenda lived out in that family/person/business/organization/park/neighborhood/house/etc? What is your dream for that school?
5. It gives you things to pray for when you don’t know what to say. Whatever you look at, pass, hear, smell – pray for it. Neighbors. Neighborhoods. Parks. Schools. Businesses. Churches. The weather. People (whether you know them or not). Whatever comes to mind, pray for it. All the senses should trigger longings and yearnings for renewal and shalom to occur in your community by the power of God’s spirit.
6. When you walk you will begin to feel overwhelmed with the amount of needs you see around you – and this is a good thing. Prayer is helplessness acknowledged. When we pray with a spirit of helplessness and desperation we are truly praying. I get overwhelmed by the physical, emotional, mental, cultural and spiritual needs I feel all around me…and the best thing I can do is to tell God. If he’s in control of His world then I place those feelings of being overwhelmed to him.
7. Others can easily join you. Invite someone to come with you for 45 minutes or an hour (you’ll be surprised at how quickly the time passes). Do it with your smaller group or your family after dinner. Pray out loud and then when you’re done, stop praying and let those with you pray out loud. When there is silence, pray as you feel led. There’s a special bond when you pray with others for your neighborhood and community.
8. It’s good exercise, especially as the weather is getting warmer, it allows for a great excuse to get outside.
9. Most importantly, we pray so that the kingdom of God will break in and through in our communities. We pray so that the gospel will be realized and Jesus will become more famous in our communities and neighborhoods

A couple more resources about prayer-walking:

• Prayer-Walking Around Campus
• Prayer-Walking With Alpacas!

Now that we have launched as a network of two Missional Communities, our general gathering rhythm will go like this:

+ MC Gatherings (1st and 3rd Sundays)
+ Worship Celebration (2nd and 4th Sundays)
+ Small Groups (Midweek)

November looks like this:

SUN NOV 6: MISSIONAL COMMUNITY GATHERINGS

• Northside MC – WORSHIP & PRAYER
  10:30AM @ 312 Taber Ave
  Please arrive a little early so we can get started right at 10:30am. We will be done worshiping by 12pm. Kids are welcome.
• Open Door MC – BRUNCH & WORSHIP
  11AM @ 1415 Pemberton Dr
  Bring food to share!

SAT NOV 12 – MOVIE NIGHT @ CHARIS HOUSE | 6PM @ 431 Fairmount Pl

SUN NOV 13 – WORSHIP CELEBRATION | 5PM @ 300 300 E Wayne St

SUN NOV 20 – MISSIONAL COMMUNITY GATHERINGS

• Northside MC – PRE-THANKSGIVING HEALTHY POTLUCK!
  2212 Alabama Ave. Prayer/worship at 3:30pm. Meal at 4pm.
  Bring a healthy dish to share as we prepare our bodies for Thanksgiving over-eating.
  Craft for the kids and maybe a bonfire after.
• Open Door MC – BRUNCH & WORSHIP
  11AM @ 408 W Williams St
  Bring food to share!

THU NOV 24 – CC THANKSGIVING FEAST
Contact us to RSVP

SUN NOV 27 – ADVENT WORSHIP CELEBRATION | 5PM @ 300 E Wayne St

Now that we have launched as a network of two Missional Communities, our general gathering rhythm will go like this:

+ MC Gatherings (1st and 3rd Sundays)
+ Worship Celebration (2nd and 4th Sundays)
+ Small Groups (Midweek)

October looks like this:

• Sun Oct 2: MC VISION BRUNCHES
  Each MC will be eating brunch together and sharing vision in more depth and detail. We’ll also be experiencing a little slice of MC life, too! Bring food to share.
  Northside MC – 10am at 1816 Alabama Ave.
  Open Door MC – 11am at 7116 Tanbark Ln
• Sun Oct 9: WORSHIP CELEBRATION
  5pm at 300 E Wayne St
  
• Sun Oct 16: MC GATHERINGS

  Northside MC – Bike ride and harvest party
  4pm at 3306 Oswego Ave | Bike ride at 4pm, then meet back at the house for a harvest party and football on TV. Bring food to share. The house will be open for those who want to come at 4pm but do not want to go on the bike ride.
  
  Open Door MC – Brunch, worship, and Colts game
  11am @ 3938 Fairfield Ave. Bring food to share!

• Sun Oct 23: WORSHIP CELEBRATION
  5pm at 300 E Wayne St
  
• Sun Oct 30: JOINT SERVICE @ GRACE GATHERING
  Worship and baptisms with other churches in Fort Wayne.
  11:15am at 3157 Minnich Rd (New Haven)