GCC Connected | July 2021

Dear Church Family,

We hope that you are all doing well, and we constantly praise God for all of you. It has been a tough year, but we have continued to prevail by God’s grace. I believe that just goes to show that God is not done with us yet! As we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we hope that you’ll consider joining in person for worship and other activities. Here’s some updates on what to expect over the next few months.

Starting Sunday, July 4, those who are vaccinated will have the option to wear their masks while indoors. Anyone who has not been fully vaccinated will be required to wear their masks at all times while on church facilities per state and local mandates.
Currently there are also three in-person meetings happening on Sunday’s: 9:00 AM Sweet Time of Prayer (S.T.O.P.), an Adult Cantonese Bible study class at 9:30 AM, and a Senior Adult Cantonese class at 9:30 AM. S.T.O.P., and the Cantonese Bible study class also have virtual options as well.
We will be soon starting an English Young Adult and College mini series on the topic of what it means to follow Jesus. This group will most likely meet on Sundays at 9:30 AM and begin mid July. More details will soon be announced for this class.
The only two fellowships still running through the summer months are JOY Fellowship (Cantonese), and ALPHA Youth Group. Both groups will continue to meet online for the time being. Please talk to Wendy for more details about JOY Fellowship, and Pastor Nick about ALPHA youth group.
Let’s celebrate our graduates! On August 8th, we plan to honor our graduating class of 2021! We hope you can join us in celebrating their accomplishments!
August 22 after our service is our tentative date for our annual business meeting to approve our Council nominees, and budget. Please continue to pray for our church leaders during this transition period!
We are preparing another English midweek Bible Study. This time, the group will be diving into an Old Testament book. There is so much insight to gain about who God is and how it paves the wave for the New Testament. Please contact Dc. Lily if you are interested in this series.
Beginning in September, we are shooting to reopen all in-person fellowships and Sunday school classes with no restrictions, pending how the recovery plays out. We will continue to monitor the situation, and inform you of any solid plans.
We also plan to have a Welcome Back Celebration BBQ on September 5th following our service. Come and enjoy a sweet time of fellowship and actual hugging and hand shaking!

That was certainly a lot of information! We plan to communicate via email on a more regular basis to make sure everyone knows what’s going on. Please feel free to contact any of the leaders if you have any prayer requests, as we often pray for all of you. Again, we hope you are all doing well, and wish to see you all very soon!

親愛的弟兄姊妹，

希望大家一切安好，我們不斷為所有人讚美主。這是艱難的一年，但我們繼續依靠著神的恩典得勝。我相信這只是神對我們考驗！當我們開始看到黑暗盡頭的曙光時，我們希望您能親自參加敬拜和教會的活動。以下是一些有關未來幾個月預期的更新。

從 7 月 4 日星期日開始，已完成接種疫苗的人可以選擇在室內要否佩戴口罩。根據加州的規定，任何未完全接種疫苗的人都必須在教堂設施中佩戴口罩。
目前，週日還有三場聚會：上午 9:00祈禱時間 (S.T.O.P.)、上午 9:30 成人粵語研經班和上午 9:30 成人粵語班。 S.T.O.P. 和粵語研經班同樣有網上選擇。
我們將會舉辦一個英文青年和大學生的小組課程而題目是關於跟隨耶穌是什麼意思。該小組暫定在星期日上午 9:30，並於 7 月中開始。該課程的更多細節將很快公佈。
暑假期間僅有的兩個團契是JOY團契（粵語）和ALPHA青年團。兩組將暫時繼續在網上見面。請與Wendy 了解更多有關JOY團契的詳情，而有關ALPHA 青年團的請聯絡譚世傑牧師。
讓我們為我們的畢業生喝彩！ 8 月 8 日我們計劃向 2021 年的畢業班致敬！我們希望您能和我們一起慶祝他們的成就！
我們暫定8 月 22 日團契後舉行年度業務會議，以批准我們的理事會提名人選和預算。在這個過渡時期，請繼續為我們的教會領袖禱告！
我們正在準備另一個英語聖經研究班。這一次，小組將加入一本舊約聖經。探討的題目是關於上帝是誰以及它如何為新約鋪路。如果你對這個系列感興趣, 請聯繫郭周穎文執事。
從 9 月開始，我們將在沒有任何限制的情況下重新開放所有團契和主日學課程，這取決於疫情後復甦的進展情況。我們將繼續監控情況，並通知您任何變更的計劃。
我們計劃在 9 月 5 日團契後舉辦歡迎回歸慶祝燒烤。快來感受甜蜜的團契時光，讓我們真正的互相擁抱及握手！