This Sunday's Sermon

We'll continue our series The Flood: A New Start with a sermon from Erik on Genesis 8:20-22. We invite you to read ahead as a way to prepare for Sunday's service.

(Need to get caught up? Listen to all of the sermons from this series here.)

Happening This Week

• Jesse Tree Ornament Exchange Registration Deadline! A Jesse Tree is an activity done during Advent to read through Old Testament stories and get a glimpse of how these events and people point to the first coming of Christ at Christmas. A story is read each day of Advent, and then an ornament that corresponds to that story is displayed. Rather than having to make all 25 ornaments on your own, we encourage you to take part in our Jesse Tree Ornament Exchange. If you'd like to participate, use this SignUp Genius Form to choose a symbol and then create 25 ornaments representing that symbol. Ornaments do not need to be fancy, complex, or expensive; simple is best. Then bring your ornaments with you to church on November 20th. After the service, you will pick up your set of 25 Jesse Tree Ornaments and you'll be ready to use them during Advent starting on December 1st! If you plant to participate, please sign up by Sunday, October 23rd!

Coming Up Soon

• Harvest Party: This year's Harvest Party will be on Saturday, October 29th from 4pm to 8pm at Hard Times Farm in Goochland (1015 Hard Times Lane). The Harvest Party is one of our most anticipated events of the year, and we hope you'll join us–and that you bring friends! City Church will provide the main dish; please bring a side or dessert to share. For more information, check out this blog post on the City Church website. Also: we are in need of volunteers to serve as judges for this year's dessert contest! If you're interested in serving the church in this capacity, please contact Jim Pulizzi at jim@citychurchrva.com.
• Great 20th Century Missionary Pioneer: On Thursday, November 10th, Stony Point Church will host George Verwer, founder and former International Director of Operation Mobilization. Mr. Verwer will share about how hunger for God was ignited during his turbulent teenage years and how God led him to ignite a dynamic global missionary movement. A taco dinner will be served from 5:30pm to 6:15pm; Mr. Verwer will share from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Please RSVP here. Contact Liz Crim (liz.crim@gmail.com) with questions.
• Race and the Church: The next installment of Race and the Church is scheduled for Saturday, November 19th at 9am at Sycamore Presbyterian Church in Midlothian (510 Coalfield Road). Dr. David Prince will lead a discussion on "The Elusive Dream: Pursuing Diversity in the Predominantly White Churches." Registration is free and can be completed on raceandthechurch.com.
• Women's Retreat--Registration Underway! Our annual Women's Retreat will take place on January 28th and 29th at Roslyn Retreat Center. Patricia Higgins Clarke–a native Richmonder with a deep heart for the Lord–will serve as our speaker. Patricia has spent years leading and teaching women and has a passion for seeing women come to faith in Christ and walk with Him through all of life's stages. We look forward to our time with her! Registration is now open! Early registration cost is $100; the price goes up to $130 on December 2nd. Stop by the City Church website for more information and to register.

Serving Our Community

• Meals for the Niermeyer Family: Mary, Jordan, and Ezra Neirmeyer welcomed Willa Grace on Sunday, November 9th! We will provide meals for them for several weeks as they adjust to life as a family of four. If you're interested in caring for them in this way, please visit takethemameal.com to sign up; the log-in and password are Niermeyer. The Niermeyers are fairly new to the City Church community, and this is a wonderful way to support them and make them feel welcome. If you have questions, please contact Susan Pulizzi at susanpulizzi1@gmail.com. 
• Share Thanksgiving Day with an International Student: Thanksgiving Day provides a unique opportunity to show hospitality and friendship. The VCU Global Education Office invites you to share this special American holiday with an international student or scholar who is eager to learn about our culture and make American friends. For more information, contact Pam Haney at pohaney@vcu.edu or call 828-8309 no later than November 7th. A Thanksgiving volunteer information form can be found at: http://www.global.vcu.edu/media/geo/pdf/students/ThanksgivingVolunteerInfo.Form.pdf

On the Blog

• Sending Our Jenna Out (Missions update)
• For Every Everyday Doxologist
• Created for Creativity (Children's Ministry update)