Local Announcements: 

Sabbath Services for January 7th, 2023: Tomorrow's Sabbath service will be held at the Freedom Hall (349 W Birchwood St, Morton, IL 61550) @ 1:30pm. The service will also be webcast on our local congregational website​ (link for local webcast) as well as offered via audio only for those who would like to call in (701.791.9819). These connections typically go live about 15-minutes prior to the start of services.
          Song Leader: Mr. David Archer
          Sermonette: Mr. Van Baker
          Sermon: Mr. Darrell Keisel
          Ekamas in Terre Haute

Sabbath School: Our next Sabbath School is scheduled for next Sabbath, January 14th. It will take place about ten minutes after services in the side room.

Potluck & Game Night: We will have a potluck and game night on the evening of January 14th. Please plan to bring a dish to share as well as your favorite table game to enjoy together.

Springfield Bible Study: The next Bible Study in the Springfield area will be on January 21st at the Curran Township building (6220 Moffet Street, Curran, IL 62670) at 10:00am. Services in Morton will remain as is currently scheduled.

Central Illinois Bible Study: Our next monthly Bible Study will be on the Sabbath of January 28th. We will begin about 15-minutes after services. If you are not able to join us in person, here are a few ways that you can join our Bible Study:
          - Here is the link to access our Bible Study via our local webcast.
          - Here is the phone number to call for an audio-only connection: 701.791.9819

Health & Safety Protocols: We ask that any who exhibit symptoms of illness practice the biblical concept of quarantine. Face coverings are not required during our services; however, if you are more comfortable wearing a face covering when congregating, please do not hesitate to do so.

Regional Announcements:

Growing in the Faith Weekend: All UCG young adults are invited to join us at the 2023 Growing in the Faith weekend from Jan. 13–16 in Stewartville, Minnesota, to discuss how to prepare for a godly marriage. While single, it is the perfect time to learn and grow into the person God wants us to be, even if we haven’t met that perfect person yet. Now is the time to be developing the characteristics that will help us have the successful, happy marriages that God wants us to have when that time comes.
In addition to several seminars given by David Schreiber, Ed Dowd and Brian Shaw, we will have plenty of time for fellowship, sledding, games and dancing. This will be a great chance to spend quality time with fellow brothers and sisters in the faith in a positive, uplifting atmosphere.
Please register now at growinginthefaith.com! Special pricing of $170 includes all food, lodging, and activities for the weekend. Don't miss out on this special opportunity! —Brian Shaw

Young Adult Winter/Ski Retreat - We are excited to announce a Young Adult winter/ski retreat, President's Day Weekend 2023 (Feb. 17–20)! We are hoping to forge new and deeper relationships with people of like mind. We will be eating and staying together for the whole weekend. We welcome all young adults ages 18–29, single or married.
We will be staying in cabins at Pipestem State Park in Pipestem, West Virginia. Activities will include skiing/snowboarding, sledding, hiking, swimming, bonfire, sports, and lots and lots of hanging out. More information about the activities can be found on the website.
We will also have several interactive discussions and Bible studies. The theme of this weekend will be focused on "How can young adults contribute to the future of the Church of God?"
Registration is open, so go ahead and register on the registration tab at ucgyawinterretreat.org, and we will see you there! —Craig Scott

Home Office Announcements:

Teen Instagram Account: Due to popular demand, the home office media team is working on creating Instagram content specifically for our teens. We will be using the existing Compass Check account to share encouraging and fun spiritually uplifting content, including Q&A’s, updates on local events and special sneak peeks of ongoing projects. We would also encourage feedback of content you would like to see. This project is specifically for our youth, and we want to hear from you! Make sure to follow us at compasscheck on Instagram (instagram.com/compasscheck) and DM us for any more info, suggestions and questions.

Light of Hope Helpline: The United Church of God is providing a new service available to its ministry and members. Light of Hope is a helpline supported by Church members who are licensed social workers, counselors and other clinical professionals.
They will provide mental health and addiction resources to those in need including individual, couple, family and teen consultation. These specialists will also assist in connecting people in need with appropriate resources in their communities while keeping all information confidential.
The Light of Hope helpline is available at any time. When you call, it will initially record your message so that one of our professionals can respond within 24 hours. This service is also provided in several different languages including Spanish, French and German.
Light of Hope also plans to develop online materials on a variety of topics such as depression, anxiety, stress management, suicidal thoughts, communication skills, problem solving strategies, teen issues, parenting issues, etc.
The helpline number is (888) 241-6211.

Prayer Updates: The home office has created a new web page where church members may access recent church-wide prayer requests at any time. The address is register.ucg.org/intranet/PrayerRequests and the password for the page may be obtained from your pastor.

Job Opportunities: The United Church of God is continuing to accept job applications for a French Communications Analyst, a Systems Administrator/Programmer and a Web Developer. Details about all of the current job postings for the Church may be reviewed at ucg.org/members/news/current-job-openings.

Beyond Today: Beyond Today airs locally in Illinois (Springfield/Decatur/Champaign) on WICD 15 ABC, Sundays at 10:00 a.m..
          **BT content is also available via our YouTube channel and via Roku and other smart devices.**

Support UCG with your Amazon Purchases: If you buy anything via Amazon, there is an opportunity to have a portion of your purchase donated to a recognized non-profit organization if you begin using “https://smile.amazons.com”. If you list the United Church of God as your preferred organization to support, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the United Church of God whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/95-4529758 to set up your account.

Online UCG Radio from Australia for the whole world: The online radio station for United Church of God is now streaming 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. You can listen to booklet and magazine readings, Bible readings, Bible Q&As, sermons, Bible class lectures, podcasts, the BT Daily series, music and more! A radio schedule in PDF can be downloaded which will show you upcoming programs. You can reach it easily on your computer at https://www.ucg.org.au/radio or from the UCG Streaming Radio app that allows you to listen on your mobile device. Simply search your app store for "UCG Radio" to install the free app.