Weekly Announcements
For the week of December 28th 2025
News & Events
NEWS
FRIENDLY REMINDER: HOSTS NEEDED FOR COFFEE HOURS
If you are interested in hosting, please sign up using the sheet on the welcome table. Expenses can be reimbursed through the office; all you need to do is submit your receipt(s). The tables and chairs will be set up by the Friday Night Floor Hockey Group. Please note that coffee hours will only take place on Sundays if someone has signed up to facilitate! As of now, no one has signed up for January.
LAY READER ANNOUNCEMENT
After several decades of faithful ministry as Lay Reader followed by Leader of the Lay Readers and Anointers, Tom Butson has decided to retire from this role. We are immensely grateful to Tom for his years of liturgical service and leadership with the Lay Readers, part of which was recognized in 2017 when Tom was awarded the Order of the Diocese of Toronto. We will have an opportunity to say thank you to Tom for his ministry in this role in the near future. In the meantime, we are delighted to announce that Franchot Franklin has been appointed by Canon Lisa to succeed Tom along with Eleanor Winters who will serve as Deputy Leader. Please be sure to offer a word of thanks to Tom as he retires and prayers for Franchot and Eleanor as they take up their new roles.
REVERSE ADVENT CALENDAR
Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the Reverse Advent Calendar this year! It was a big success and the Stouffville Food Bank was so grateful to receive our donations.
2025 CHRISTMAS HAMPERS
This year Christ Church provided Christmas Hampers to 6 families which were funded through the Deacon Al Fund. Each hamper contained perishable and non-perishable items for a Christmas Dinner (turkey or ham along with traditional fixings) as well as some other treats. Each family/individual was also given a gift card to Walmart to purchase other needed food and personal items. Thank you to all who so generously donated to the Deacon Al Fund throughout the year which allows for this kind of support as well as other assistance to those in need throughout the year.
2026 CALENDARS ARE READY!
The 2025 Church Calendars are ready to be picked up! If you ordered a calendar (or two), please let Jenna in the office know when you’ll be coming by the office to pick up your calendar.
NEXT STEPS: COMMUNITY MEAL FOLLOW-UP MEETING
At the end of October, a group of interested parishioners met for an initial conversation about launching a monthly community meal here at Christ Church. After conversations with several community partners and other information gathering, we will be having a meeting about next steps on Sunday January 18 following the 10 am service in the Nailer Room. Anyone interested in attending is most welcome. Please keep this initiative in your prayers as we move this ministry forward!
ALONGSIDE HOPE (FORMERLY PWRDF) SUPPORTS JAMAICA
Alongside Hope has been working with Episcopal Relief and Development, its American counterpart, to provide essential supplies to people in Jamaica dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. It has announced an immediate grant of $10,000 toward an emergency response project organized by the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and is inviting donors to give directly to this appeal. Visit Alongside Hope’s website to learn more about its response: alongsidehope.org/news/donations-accepted-for-alongside-hope-response-in-jamaica/
A MESSAGE FROM YOUR TREASURER
As the year end fast approaches, I need to remind everyone about any 2025 expenses which you need to be reimbursed for. Anything submitted to the office by December 19 will have a cheque issued before January 1. Anything submitted between December 19 and January 6 will be paid promptly in January. Any reimbursement claims received after the 6th will be included in 2026 expenses & a cheque will be issued as quickly as possible. This process is necessary to achieve the required timeline for me to have year end work completed & our CPA review finished by the end of January.
CRAFTY CREATIONS
Tuesday’s Crafty Creations group will be taking a break over Christmas. Our last meeting will be Tuesday, December 16th and we will regroup on January 6th. Look forward to seeing you!
SUNDAY SCHOOL WILL RETURN IN JANUARY
Please note: There will be a short break in Sunday School over the next couple weeks. Sunday School will resume as usual in the new year. Thank you for a fun 2025!
LIBRARY HIGHLIGHT: OUR OWN AUTHORS
Please take a look at the Christ Church adult library as we have two books of poetry authored by Larry Hopperton, who’s a member of our choir, and one book, "Grant us Tomorrow", a medical memoir which the stories of the Health Team missions to Northern Ghana with GRID and NEA, authored by Dr. Jennifer Wilson who is a GP from Uxbridge.
EVENTS
FRIDAY NIGHT FLOOR HOCKEY WILL BE BACK IN 2026!
We are so grateful to everyone who has been coming out for Friday Night Floor Hockey! We are taking a break over the holiday season and will resume in January! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
MORTGAGE BURNING CELEBRATION - JANUARY 11
We are pleased to announce that thanks to a generous donation, Christ Church has been able to pay off our mortgage! To celebrate this and in thanks to everyone who has contributed to the Christ Church Mortgage Fund, we are holding a "Mortgage Burning" celebration on Sunday, January 11 following the 10am service. We look forward to seeing you there!
CHRIST CHURCH SKI DAY
Reminder: Christ Church Ski Day: Our 21st annual Christ Church Ski day is now confirmed as Friday, February 13th, 2026, at Devil’s Glen. A comprehensive information sheet which should answer most of your questions is available from Don. Registration is now open by email to don.petrie1@gmail.com (I need first and last names for each skier (and age if 15yrs. or younger) before Feb. 10th.. Don 905-640-3653.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
If you would like to add someone to our prayer list, please fill out our prayer request form. We ask that you seek permission from the person you wish us to pray for before submitting the form. Only first names will be read out during the service to help preserve privacy.