This Thursday December 18 at 7 pm is a Blue Christmas Service at First Baptist Church (corner of Victoria Ave. and Lorne St.), for those grieving loved ones or other kinds of losses during the holidays. If you would like to attend by zoom, the link is on their website.

Our Christmas Eve candlelight service is at 6 pm on December 24. Everyone welcome! Note that there will not be any children’s programs and children will remain in the service.

Our Christmas project this year is goats! They will be distributed by CBM to people in parts of the world to those who can use them. Goats are very versatile and can live in a variety of environments. They provide milk, meat, fibre for weaving, and their offspring can also be sold. One goat costs $100 and we hope to be able to send 35. Send donations to the church and we will pass them on to CBM and provide receipts. Deadline to donate is December 28.

House of Mandarin returns on Christmas Day, starting at 6 pm with a potluck dinner, and followed by music and more. Everyone is welcome, even if you don’t speak Mandarin.

December 28 is the last day to submit expense claims for 2025. Expense forms are on the bulletin board at the back of the sanctuary. You can place the completed form with your receipts in the Treasurer’s mailbox.

Reports for the Annual Report are due in the office on January 5. This gives time to prepare the report and get it out to everyone two weeks before our Annual General Meeting. So that everyone will know what activities go on in the church, we would appreciate receiving reports about everything that happens here, not just the official committees. If you are a leader in a ministry here, please let us know what you did last year. Thank you!

Conversation Café is finished for 2025!. We will resume in January (date to be announced). To register for the next session, talk to Kevin or sign up using the QR code on the poster at the back of the sanctuary.

Our next Praise & Prayer night is Sunday January 11 at 6:30 pm at the church.

Our next Men’s Breakfast is Saturday January 24 at 9:30 a.m. at Nicky’s Cafe (corner of 8th Ave. and Winnipeg St.). Sign up in the sanctuary or talk to Ed or Pastor Ryan if you want to go.

If your children or youth (ages 2 to Grade 12) attend Sunday morning programs at Argyle, please register them if you haven’t already. You can do it online or on a paper form, available at the back of the sanctuary or from your child’s teacher. Note that if you have registered your child in a previous year, you only need to update the form, not fill it all in again. Thanks for helping us keep your children and young adults safe and appropriately cared for.

Help Wanted Section

Thanks to everyone who volunteers with our ministries! We believe that God provides each of us with gifts we are to use to build up his church. Talk to Pastor Ryan if you would like to explore how you can be involved.

Do you love to sing? Do you play an instrument? We would love to hear about it and welcome you to help lead worship on Sunday mornings. Talk to Pastor Ryan if you might be interested.

Opportunities to Serve

Our church joins First Baptist Church four times a year in preparing and serving lunches to hungry people downtown. As part of the Sandwich Outreach, we also donate useful items such as disposable razors, band-aids, soap, toothbrushes, laundry detergent, feminine hygiene supplies, toilet paper, warm mitts and socks, and so on. There is a donation bin at the back of the church to collect the items for next time. Thank you for your generosity.

Are you interested in volunteering in the sound booth during a worship service? We have posted some links to training videos. There will be a second session focused on using our presentation software on the computer at a later time. Contact the office if you would like to set up a time to practice using the sound board either at a worship practice or on your own.

---

Toothbrush Photo from Pixabay
Other photos from UnSplash