Dear family and friends,
As most of us do on a daily basis, when your Clairemont Emmanuel staff met for our planning retreat a couple weeks ago, we asked God to lead us in our planning as we looked at our 2024 calendar. Proverbs 19:21 says, “There are many plans in someone’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.” We’re making plans, all the while acknowledging that God is already guiding us and is in the midst of our discussions. So, here are some dates to mark on your calendars:
March 29 – 7PM Good Friday communion service
March 31 – Easter is early this year. Mark your calendars and plan to invite your friends. After Christmas, the time your unchurched/non-Christian friends are most likely to visit is for Easter services.
Sunday, April 14 – Friday, February 9, is Pastor Eloy’s last day to be officially working at CEBC. Thankfully, he and Becky still plan on being around!! We will have an all-church dinner on Sunday, April 14 to thank Pastor Eloy and Becky for 40 years of working at Clairemont Emmanuel! With the Missions Course and an early Easter, we decided to wait until April for this celebration. After February 9, please direct any questions about the facilities to Bruce Boyer (269-841-6742) or financial questions to Jessica Mohr at the church office (619-276-1922). Over these next days/weeks, when you see Eloy and/or Becky, THANK THEM for 40 years of selfless and sacrificial work at Clairemont Emmanuel!!
June – At the beginning of June we anticipate welcoming (as we have for the past 40+ years) a group from CRU (formally Campus Crusade for Christ) to fellowship with us as they do evangelism in the San Diego area.
The public schools begin earlier this year. The first day of school is Monday, August 12. In past years we’ve had two Bayside BBQs in July and two in August. This year our Bayside BBQ will be on the following dates:
June 19
July 3
July 17
July 31 (and none in August)
Typically, we have had Summerfest at the end of July. Instead of Saturday at the park during Summerfest, we will have some Summerfest-like activities at the July 3 Bayside BBQ. We will have a special speaker at some point, but likely not the last week of July.
July 4 – In the past we have had some activities at the church, namely a movie and passed out waters and ice cream sandwiches. We are going to tone down what we do for Independence Day at the church. We will still offer waters and have the Fellowship Hall restrooms open but will not have youth or any other official activities.
Seniors Thanksgiving Dinner – Over the past years, since 2020, we have offered individual Thanksgiving meals for anyone who signed up. This year, in conjunction with Primetimers (our seniors ministry) we will have a self-serve style Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday, November 13, our normal date for Primetimers. This will take place in Fellowship Hall.
Christmas this year is on Wednesday (December 25).
December 8 – Sunday morning Christmas concert
December 24 (Tuesday) – Christmas Eve services. Typically, those services are at 3:30PM and 5:15PM.
Those are some of the highlights. Again, please mark your calendars! Most of all, pray with us that God will leverage each of these events to grow us all in our faith and to love God and love each other well, and “by this will all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another” (John 13:34, 35).
In preparation for this Sunday, please read 1 John 2:18-27.