Announcements for December 2021

Prison Fellowship Gift Delivery: Thanks to the generosity of our Bridge Family, we have collected gifts for 35 local children who will spend their Christmas apart from a parent who is incarcerated. We have created a “party to go” bag for each family containing hot cocoa and cookie decorating kits, Christmas ornament crafts, and other activities, along with gospel centered material provided by Prison Fellowship. We will be delivering these, along with each child’s gift on Saturday, December 11. We are looking for cheerful volunteers to help deliver. If you’d like to participate, please contact Cathy Coffman. 

Communion: 12/12 and 12/19 at the Candlelight Service

Christmas Caroling and Cocoa: Whether you are a skilled singer or can hardly carry a tune, we need you! On Sunday, December 12 at 6:00 PM we will be caroling through the Middletown neighborhood. The more, the merrier! We will carol for about an hour and then enjoy hot cocoa in the Fellowship Hall. 

Christmas Candlelight Service: The Candlelight Service is a special night of worship at The Bridge. Bring your friends and family and join us Sunday, December 19 at 6:00 PM. This service fills up quickly, so plan to arrive early.

December Memory Verse:

Fliers with the monthly memory verse are now available at child check-in. Each week our Bridge Kids will work on the verse in class, but the best way to commit it to memory is practicing throughout the month. You can find a song to help here:

Children’s Ministry Updates: We are excited to use The Gospel Story for Kids curriculum beginning in 2022. Focusing on key Bible stories that highlight God’s plan of redemption, this curriculum will help our Bridge Kids see that the Bible is one story with Jesus as the hero!

Corresponding devotions to use at home throughout the week can be found in The Gospel Story Bible and Long Story Short. These are great resources to use with your kids to help them grow in their understanding of the Bible

Looking for some kid friendly music to listen to in the car? Check out our Bridge Kids playlists! Featuring our monthly memory verses as well as lots of other fun songs, you can find these on both Spotify and Amazon.

As a church that is for our city, we want to encourage those who call The Bridge their home to check out and support local events and live missionally in our community.

December 3: First Fridays Late Night Art and Shopping Experience in Downtown Alton

December 3: Towata: A Celebration of Art // Opening at Jacoby Arts Center

December 4-5: ABOB Olde Alton Arts & Craft Fair @ Alton High School

December 17-18: Espwa Collective Fair Trade Pop-Up @ Post Commons

December 19: Anchor Co. Night of Worship at 7PM @ Post Commons

Student Ministries: Students are invited to participate in the Christmas Caroling and Cocoa on 12/12. Middle and high school student ministries will resume on Sunday, January 9.

Women’s Bible Study: Imagine walking the dusty roads of Galilee with Jesus of Nazareth—braving jostling crowds just to touch the edge of His cloak and hear Him say, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.”

Those words, once meant to comfort a hurting woman’s soul thousands of years ago, were also meant for you.

Join us on Monday mornings beginning on January 10, 2022 as biblical culturalist Kristi McLelland transports us back to Jesus’ world, following in the footsteps of the women who came face-to-face with the Living God. Jesus and Women examines the historical and cultural climate of first-century Middle Eastern society to not only help us understand Jesus more deeply but to fuel our worship of Him today. Childcare is available for this study. See Natalie Runyon for details.

Community Groups: Interested in connecting with a Community Group? Email jon.davis@bridgetograce.org for more information about community group opportunities.