Weekly Announcements
For the week of December 21st 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!
HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS
Please note the office will be closed December 26th to January 1st. Jenna and Canon Lisa will be checking emails and phone messages the week of Dec. 29th, but won't be in the office. Regular office hours will resume January 2nd.
CHRISTMAS AT CHRIST CHURCH
Join us through the season of Advent and into the Christmas season:
Wednesday, Dec. 24: 5 p.m. Christingle Family Service
8 p.m. Carol Sing
8:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist (livestream available on YouTube)
Thursday, Dec. 25: 10 a.m. Said Holy Eucharist
We look forward to seeing you there!
REVERSE ADVENT CALENDAR
Christ Church Outreach ministry invites you to participate in our fourth annual Reverse Advent Calendar! The food you "collect" each day will be donated at the end of Advent to our local Food Bank to help support those in our community in the months to come, especially those experiencing poverty, homelessness, and hunger. A calendar with a daily food item is included in the bulletin and on the welcome table, and all you need to do is place the listed item in your box each day as you make your way through Advent. Items can be brought to the church weekly or all at once at the end of the Advent season.
CHRIST CHURCH MITTEN TREE
Christ Church is collecting knit mittens, hats, and scarves on our Mitten Tree! Through the season of advent, bring your knitted donations and decorate our tree to help those in need of warmth this winter.
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.
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!
JAMAICA HURRICANE RELIEF FOOD DRIVE
Christ Church is acting as a drop off location for the Jamaica Hurricane Relief Food Drive. We are collecting non-perishable foods and items to help those in need recover from the devastation left behind after hurricanes. Please see the list of requested items on the flyers attached to the boxes in the Narthex or on the flyer posted in the entry. To donate directly, go to jcgtoronto.ca and for more information, contact Claudette Zabsonre at 647-269-9618
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.
If you are expecting a 2025 tax receipt, donations must be received by the church no later than December 31. Since the office will be closed after Christmas, this effectively means Sunday December 28. The date on your cheque is not relevant, we must have the funds on hand. The same applies to Canada Helps, anything received before midnight December 31 will be included in 2025. If you donate by e-transfer, it would make life simpler for me if this could be done by December 30 to ensure we can deposit and have the bank credit our account by the 31st.
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!
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!
CHRIST CHURCH SKI DAY
Christ Church Ski Day: Our 20th 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..
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.