Christmas Celebration Joy!

What a wonderful celebration we had this past Thursday.  Thank you to all those who participated and made it such a blessing.  It was so good to see so many of you take time out of the busyness of the season to spend time together and to celebrate together the awesome mystery of Christ coming down to be one of us.
We began the morning with sharing our most memorable gift received or given and had much laughter at finding out someone had received a chainsaw one Christmas!    The laughter continued as a few members performed a skit entitled The Great Church Robbery, a takeoff from the story The Grinch who stole Christmas by Dr Seuss. It had a lovely ending in which  a grumpy old man comes to know Jesus.
 A wonderful poem explaining the Twelve days of Christmas from a Christian perspective was also read.  To read this again check out the Devotions/Poems page. We then, had a lovely testamony from a member of mom to mom explaining how she feels about the new program.
The highlight of the morning was carol singing with a lovely mix of violin, flute and a  unique type of xylophone
played by local members.  It was a pure delight to sing to this mix of instruments , especially singing Christmas songs.  Thank you ladies, for sharing your gifts.
We closed the morning with a surprise reading of a christmas story and then with singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  We do have pictures of the morning celebration so check them out in the members only section.
We want to wish everyone a wonder-filled Christmas and a blessed New year.  We hope to see you all again
January 6th 2011.
Many Blessings to you all
FK.

Celebrating Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner and the busy-ness of the season is part of the fun for many of us as we relish in the beauty of the season, the lights, the greenery , the decorations.  We love to look for just the right gift that has so much meaning for our loved ones.  Its a magical time of being with family and friends  and  celebrating together .  However, for others of us , Christmas may be a holiday to just get through as best we can.  We may not be so crafty and just can’t get around to the decorations and lights.  We  find the busyness of shopping and trying to find that illusive, perfect gift that just never seems to be found is such a chore.    We are always having to shop on that last shopping day before Christmas, with the kids screaming beside us as we hurriedly dash in the store for that last minute gift.  Still others might not have such wonderful Christmas memories and find this one of the most difficult times of the year, with perhaps few people to share with or few things to celebrate.

 This Thursday is our Christmas Perks day and hopefully you will all take the time to come out  and enjoy just being here together. Sharing and remembering  together the mystery of Christ's birth so many years ago, something we can all celebrate together, the joy of God with us.    Its our hope that you will be blessed as we spend time together as women and share the joy of our faith in song, testamonies, and good fellowship together.  We hope to see many of you on Thursday.  Its also a perfect time to invite a friend to see what Coffee break is all about.  Please remember to bring an item for the food bank as our way to share  this celebration with the community.

blessings,

FK

Christmas Every Day

I love the Christmas season, don't you?  The carols, the sharing and laughing, the advent season, the gifts , the snow (maybe), the trees and decorations.  The lead up to Christmas is so palpable and we get so hyped up that sometimes on the day of Christmas , its a bit of a ...let down?  It seems just like every other day and then its over.  All the busyness and visiting and carols and singing and gift giving, its just over... and that seems... a bit of a downer.  I know that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ and there is so much anticipation during Advent and that is good and proper, yet  ... maybe that sense of Christ's presence on earth with us should continue and be celebrated not just on one day, but everyday.  I know, I know, we can't be so busy with all the trimmings all the time, and that's ok.  I just want a sense of His presence with me  every day.  An open eye and heart to see Him in the people around me and see the miracle of Jesus love working through us.  You know... those God moments when you know you just received an amazing glimpse of God's presence here on earth as we serve each other.    Yah,, that's what I would like for Christmas, how about you?



 Reminder that we are having our Christmas Party this Thursday.  Hope you can all make it.

 We will also have an opportunity to support Ganene from Africa with some books for University as he has been accepted and received his visa to attend the Leadership Program at Trinity western University in BC.


Finally on another note:

Lynn H.  sent me a wonderful story to explain the 12 gifts of Christmas and I would like to share that with you:

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.  What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? This week, I found out. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. -The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ. -Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments. -Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.- -The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. -The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament. -The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation. -Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy. -The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes. -Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. -The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments. -The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples. -The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed. So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.'

Christmas Season begins ... are you ready?

I still get amazed every week by the number of women who come out for Coffee Break and Mom to Mom and every week we keep getting new people attending.     Its such an amazing thing to see you all talking and sharing and laughing together. The fellowship hall looked so Christmassy this week and the food table was laden with yummy food that got us all in the Christmas mood, I think.  Thank you to the group who set up and the group who did such a lovely opening yesterday.  In two weeks we will be having the coffee break Christmas Party and I hope you all will come  out to celebrate and have fun together.  We would  also like to encourage you to bring an item for the food bank as a way for us to share with others in the community.

 Christmas is just around the corner and the busyness of the season has started for many of us, I'm sure.  I'm a week late but I did put up my advent table arrangement, and the dead mums on the porch have finally been replaced with some winter greenery that looks more appropriate for the season.  I'm still working on the wreath for the front door  and the outside lights should go up this weekend. Hopefully we will get out in the next week to cut down a tree that doesn't look like our annual Charlie Brown tree :)   I must say though, that I love Christmas, I love the smell of evergreens in my house, the crackle of the fire and the twinkling of the lights reflecting in the snow.
 Our tradition is to have St. Nicholas with my husbands family somewhere around Dec 5th , traditionally St. Nicholas' (the Spanish Bishop's) birthday .  Its a Dutch tradition as they remember the Bishop that came to give gifts on his birthday many years ago.   Now ' St Nick' gives each of us our  gifts,  with a personal poem to either roast or toast the person.  Its a lot of fun, but as the kids say the most fun is just being with family.
 For us then, Christmas day is a much quieter affair.  We would just pick names and buy a small gift for each other but mostly its a day to celebrate Christ's birth.  I'm glad I married into a family where this tradition has continued.  It makes it so much easier to remember the real reason for celebrating on Dec 25th. Last year, the girls decided  that instead of buying each other gifts they would pool their money and buy as many goats as  they could for the third world.  They really enjoyed checking out all the different charities' catalogues for the best price on goats to get the biggest bang for their money :)  I know that's become a real fad now, to give goats, but I was pleasantly surprised at how meaningful it really was for all of us, including of course those who receive the goats.
So what is your tradition?  Do you have time to stop and contemplate the reason for the celebration on Dec 25th amongst all the busyness (and fun too) of getting ready for the season?  I'd love to hear what you have found very meaningful and how you celebrate with your family in a special way. Just click on the comment button below and share your story.

Wow, what a good crowd this morning!  It was great to see so many of you again and so many who haven't been in a little while.   Lynn H.  opened this morning with a devotion about Mental Illness and the Let's Talk Small Group Study.  Thank you Lynn, for opening the discussion with us at Coffee Break and sharing ways that we can help through listening and  praying for those of us with mental illness.  If 1 in 5 are dealing with a mental illness then that means at least 15 of us at Coffee Break have an illness and many more are supporting someone with depression, anxiety or other mental illness.  I hope that we can be open to talking and supporting people through this.  One way might be to go through the 4 week Let's Talk study at Coffee Break.  What do you think, click on the agree button below if you would like to do that.
Our bible study group discussion this week focused on the temptations of Jesus and how Satan tempted him when he was at his weakest, just as we are tempted at our weakest.  My weakest times of temptation right now, are in the eating department.  I just can't seem to pick the healthy food and always go to the 3 or 4 chocolate chip cookies.  I know that seems very minor compared to Christ's temptations.  Yet it gives me a tiny taste (pun intended) of how hard that temptation must have been for Jesus and He was able to resist.  I cannot even resist such a small thing as cookies staring at me.  Makes me feel so much more how much I need the saving grace of Christ, because I know I can't do it on my own.  Christ was able to overcome using the words of scripture.  We discussed putting up a verse from the bible on our bathroom mirror or the fridge to remind us of His Word.  Maybe  I should put the verse on the bag of cookies! :) b How about you?  What temptations  are hard to resist for you?  Do you have any tips that have worked for you?  We'd love to hear from you, just clik on the comment button below and share your story.
That's all for now.  See you next week :)
FK

Remembering the fallen.

What a gift to have Remembrance Day on the morning of our Coffee Break, where we could remember together as a group the sacrifices the men and women of our military have made for our freedom and peace.  Teresa R., a  wife of a soldier, shared with us what this day means to her and how it relates to her faith.  Thank you Teresa for  being willing and able to share your testamony .   We then listened to  "A Pittance of Time" by Terry Kelly, and Sheri J. read the poem "In Flanders Field"  and we finished with a rousing chorus of O Canada.
Its such a blessing to have you women take turns doing the opening devotions.  So much sharing of talents and experience happens and we learn so much from each other about who we are.  Thank you for being so willing to participate in that way.
Our bible study seemed to follow the Remembrance day theme, as we discussed John the Baptist's message to prepare the way for Christ through repentance.   That  message is always relevant as we continually need to prepare our hearts through confession and repentance as we live in a fallen world. .  What a gift it is to know that Christ's sacrifice is enough, given once for everybody, a gift of Grace, for our freedom and peace.   How awesome is that!
Well that's all for now.  Till next time.
FK

What? I have to Wait!?

It was good to get back together again this Thursday.  It seemed like a long break for our small groups as we had perks day and a break in between.  It was wonderful to see so many women enjoying the coffee time together.  Thank you Elizabeth N. for leading us in singing a new song.  You got us up and praising with joy .
 
We had a wonderful time of discussion in our group this morning as we discussed the concept of waiting for God, just like Simeon and Anna did.   Not exactly something our culture is known for, waiting.
 Personally , I had an incident this week when something was not available when I expected it and I was so surprised by my instantaneous annoyance and .. yes, I'll say it, anger.  And I felt I was justified, and relishing in my anger. Yes, relishing.  Sad eh, where was the character of Christ in me then?  Not alot of patience and love, kindness, joy.  The poor sales person.  I was surprised because I usually just accept a situation, but this time was different.  I later felt rather ashamed of myself and took it as a lesson that God continuously needs to work in me and the best way to do that is for me is to be intentionally focussed on being open to God's presence.  That works best for me if I spend daily devotional time with Him and personal quiet time in prayer, which seems to not happen enough in my life.  How about you?  I'd love to hear your stories.  Do you have a time when waiting for something was just the last straw?  Or a time when you knew you blew it and you saw it as a lesson for you.  Just click on the comment button below, don't be shy!  The more we share, the more we create a community of sisters in Christ.
That's all for now.
FK

Singing a New Song at Perks Day Today!

The church was a buzzing this morning as we started our first Perk's day of the year.  Thank you to Judy K. and her group for opening with some laughs but also a note to continue our thanksgiving all year.  She will leave out a Peter Fish next time we meet if you would like to make a donation for the CRWRC for those that are less fortunate than ourselves.  Thanks for the thought provoking message.
Then we were off to our different workshops.  Some of you had the opportunity to learn how to make different colours through paints with Wilhelmina K.  There was lots of talking and busy work going on in the councel room.  They enjoyed it so much they are coming next week to make a painting.  The ladies in the Worship Dance Workshop had such a wonderful time of movement through worship in song.  Teresa P. did an awesome job leading us in praising with dance and flags.  Very moving :) pun intended).    Finally a large group of women enjoyed making crafts for Samaritan's Purse for orphans and alot of talking and laughing was going on in the Fellowship Hall as they made dolls, and belts and necklaces and more ...  Wow!  What a wonderful morning.  Just the love and caring and the joy of being together and doing something new , maybe even outside of our comfort zone.  It felt like we were all singing a new song this morning!  Praise God.


REMINDER:  NO Coffee Break   Oct 28  


 See You November 4th.

We join the Chilean Miners in Praising God!

We were in such awe of God this morning as we sang and praised Him for the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners!
What an awesome God we serve! It certainly changes your perspective on life when you see the way God was with and helped these trapped men to survive and get rescued.   That excitement and discussion spilled out into our groups this morning and I know that each members' faith in our group was encouraged by the transformational faith of these 33 men as each one gave God all the glory for their lives.  We all are looking forward to the documentary and hope that they will do justice to God's saving hand in this miracle.
Reminder:  Next Week:  Perk's Day
We now have 20 women signed up for the painting class so all others can choose between liturgical dance and crafts for missions.  Hope to see you all there next week.
FK


 

And what are you thankful for?

The opening devotions this week was about Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful time of sharing the unique things we are thankful for, from the water we drink , to the inner voice that told one of us to stop before she poured bleach into the wash of a load of black, police trousers!  It was good to remind us of all the many things we can be thankful for as we head into another Thanksgiving weekend.    If there is anyone out there that would like to share something they are thankful for, don't be shy , click on the comment button below and let us know.  We would love to hear from you.

Announcements:  

1.   Oct 21st PERKS Day:  This will be a day of different workshops.  You may choose one of three:

Painting with Wilhelmina Kennedy, Liturgical Dance with Teresa Petrusma, and Crafts for Samaritans Purse with Amanda Maas/Brenda Moelker.  Please sign up for the painting workshop as  there are only 20 spots available .  The other two have no limits so if you didn't get a  chance to sign up you will still be able to participate.

2.   Day of Joy workshop for Women by Amy Dempsey of Intervaristy for Women, Evangel Temple, Nov 4, $20 incl lunch.  If interested please email me for more info.

3.     Please refrain from wearing perfume as there are some that are allergic.
4.  Please note that we now have a Members Only section.  You will need to sign in with your google account to get access to this.  Those who have given me their email address will be able to sign in.  If you are having problems please contact me.  

Well that's all for now.  I wish everybody a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving weekend.  The weather should be fabulous, a true gift from God!

Blessings,

Freda

Singing a New Song with movement!

Wow, what a bustling place this morning, with over 70 women sharing, laughing and having coffee before the small groups.  Thank you Toni for sharing your daughter's story about your new grandchild and the willingness she had in following God's plan, whether He gave them a child or not.  There were lots of aaahs, when you showed a picture of  him :)  We also had the pleasure of having Teresa Petrusma share her love of music and movement, through song and flags.  It was such a blessing to see so many women singing and praising God with movement and flags.  For those of you who missed it, we hope she will come periodically to share with us again.
All of that and we hadn't yet started our groups!  I had the privilege this morning of sitting in on the mom to mom group, and what a lively group they are.  Twenty women sitting around the tables in the council room sharing their stories and their lives.  There was lots of laughter and maybe a tear or two.  God is good and I am sure these women will be blessed in their studies together.  Thank you for allowing me to join in.

As for the babysitters, they should get a gold medal for being so willing and able to take care of 16 little ones.  We are fortunate to have 5 women who come in on a rotating basis along with Sharon Hayward and now her husband Mike, who willingly come every week.  Its so important to have that continuity in there.  Thank you for being Christs hands and feet to these little ones , you are a blessing.
Well, if anybody would like to share how their group went or any little nugget that really touched them this morning please share it by clicking on the comment button below.
That's all for now, see you next Thursday.
FK

The Silver Smith

We had a wonderful  morning getting to know our small groups and studying the first lesson  or watching the first video for Mom to Mom.  Our small group was small today but mighty :) in answering and discussing the first Lesson of Luke.  Its amazing how God's Word can be read and re-read and still new insights can be found . I personally was struck with what a gift the gospel of Luke is for us.  If he hadn't researched and written it down, we wouldn't have this book to study and learn more about the life of Jesus.  God is so good in providing all the things we need, even his Word.  How awesome is that. If you have a nugget from this mornings bible study that you would like to share, please do.  Just click on the comment button below.
 But first this morning, we heard  'The Silver Smith' , a short devotional  based on Malachi 3:3 :'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'' If you'd like to read or share the devotional click on the Devotions/Poems page in the sidebar on the right.  We will try and put any poems or stories that are shared during the Opening Devotions here. Thank you Toni, as well, for the lovely singing.  I truly enjoy the accapella sound of women's voices in the Hall.   Well, that's all for now.  I look forward to seeing you all again, next week.  Have a blessed week.
FK

Welcome to Coffee Break

We had an awesome gathering this morning of almost 70 women for the opening of the new season for Coffee break.  It was wonderful to see so many new and familiar faces and I just realized we forgot to take pictures!  Oh, that's too bad but we will try to make  sure we have some new ones posted for this year.  So smile for the camera when it comes around :)  If you were unable to come today, we hope to see you next week.  We will be arranging the small groups this week and if your name is not on it, just let us know and we will add you to a  group.  We had a fun time of fellowship  through devotions, singing together, and playing silly games.  We left the morning with smiles on our faces after listening to 8 groups of women create short skits out of random toys and other objects. What fun.  I hope to see you all back again next week as we start our first lesson of Luke or Mom to Mom.
Remember, there is always room for more women, so invite a friend.
blessings,
Freda Kennedy

A New Season of Coffee Break just around the Corner!

Hi Everybody!  Coffee Break is just around the corner, as we start again with our Opening program next week Thursday, September 16.
We are all excited to begin another  year with our theme of Sing a New Song!  Come on out on Thursday and invite a friend or neighbour along as we explore together what singing a new song might mean. We warmly welcome all new comers. We hope you will feel at home with us this year. We are a caring and open group, a safe place to meet new friends, share concerns and learn more about the word of God.
  This year we also have the privilege of studying God's Word through the book of Luke.  We get to walk along beside Jesus as he ministers and teaches to the crowds and we get to sit at his feet as he leads his disciples.  How cool is that!  As leaders, we are all excited with the opportunity to walk along side each of you as we delve into the very life of our Saviour together.
 As well, this year we will have a New program :  Mom to Mom. A biblically based parenting program , that promises to be enlightening and provide lots of support and fellowship for moms.  Please join us if you are a mom or know of one who would benefit from this program .  For more information click on the Mom to Mom Ministries page on the side bar at the right.
Finally, we as leaders look forward to meeting with all of you again next week.  Its been a wonderful, long summer but we are eager to start again, Singing a New Song.
See you Thursday,
Freda Kennedy
Coordinator

Welcome, New Season Begins September 16, 2010

Welcome to our new blog.  I know we don't usually think of Coffee Break in the summer but I have been having fun updating our blog.  If you are new to Coffee Break we are glad you have come to visit .  Our new season begins September 16, 2010.  Hope to see all of you there and bring a friend.

 We hope this blog will become a site where we can share together , whether it is about the bible study, how our week is going or your summer, or maybe a God moment you wanted to share.  

In this site you will also  find some useful  information on who we are , our schedule of events,  what a blog is and more.  To navigate to the other pages just click on one of the links under PAGES on the side bar to the right .

If you would like to comment on anything you must have an account. You can get a free one at google.com/accounts by just providing an email address and password. We would love to hear from you!

We would love feedback and any suggestions to make this blog more user friendly and useful.  Just click on the red "comments" below the blog.  You will need to sign in first before you can comment.

We hope this will be a useful tool to stay connected and support each other in our faith walk together.

Enjoy and Happy Blogging!

Blessings,

Freda Kennedy

Coordinator Brighton Coffee Break.