Maundy Thursday Meditation

As we enter into the final days of Holy Week, please take a look at Pastor Travis’ Maundy Thursday Meditation, linked here.

Holy Week Services

For Good Friday, we’ll be joining with other Cambridge-area churches for a joint service.  This year, it will be hosted at Central Square Church (5 Magazine St.) at 7:30p on Friday, March 29.  It will be a tenebrae-style service.  Please join us for this opportunity to worship alongside brothers and sisters from other area churches as we remember Christ’s sacrifice.

Special Announcement from Lara

A Special Announcement from Lara Kastelein and her family:

Dear CTK Family,

I am sad to share that I will be stepping down from my position as Children’s Ministry Coordinator beginning in September. My last day will be September 3rd. Since moving to Chelmsford two years ago, with the many moving parts of family life this past year, and with the hope to continue to connect ourselves to the community where we live, Eric and I have been discussing visiting local congregations to see if there may be a good fit for us near Chelmsford. In order to give space for us to visit we are taking a season to back away from our church staff and volunteer roles to make this possible. We do not expect this to be a quick transition and we will still be around the CTK community for a while longer, but I am saying goodbye to a role that has been immensely rewarding and a job that I have deeply appreciated. I have been honored to serve this community, teach and care for our kids, share struggles and joys with parents, pivot in and out of COVID, and pray for you all. I will miss this role very much and I thank you all for your encouragement and love for me and my family.

Please continue to pray for Dana and our Children’s Ministry, and each season please take some time to consider how God may be calling you to serve the children of CTK. It may be as simple as greeting children on Sunday or praying for them each week, but perhaps you are ready for a season of serving in Sunday School, assisting in children’s classes, rocking babies in the nursery, or planning with the Leadership Team. I am grateful for those that serve and look forward to see who God raises up in this next season. 

Holy Week

A reminder of the Holy Week services this weekend:

Friday, 7:30pm :: Good Friday Tenebrae
A joint service with other Cambridge-area churches, held at Pentecostal Tabernacle (56 Magazine St., Cambridge). Come worship with other believers in our community!

Sunday, 6:30am :: Sunrise Service
Followed by breakfast. If you’re planning on attend are willing to help during the service or after, please email laura@ctkcambridge.org.

Sunday, 10:30am :: Easter Service
Please note, there will not be Sunday School or Adult Education on Easter Sunday.

Please join us as we remember and celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Volunteer Appreciation

Every May, the staff at CTK likes to take some time to acknowledge and appreciate the many volunteers who serve the church on Sundays and throughout the week. This week, we’d like to give thanks for our volunteers who serve outside of Sundays.

This includes our Community Group leaders; our Meals Ministry leader, Erin Ward; our Missions Liaison, Morgan Crago; our Men’s and Women’s ministry and Bible study leaders; as well as our finance committee and — this year especially — our building committee. And of course, let’s not forget our valiant and faithful snow team.

We are Christ’s body Monday thru Saturday just as we are on Sunday, so thank you to all the volunteers who serve throughout the week!

Easter Services

Please join us for our Holy Week services and for our sunrise breakfast. Please register by Wednesday for any services you plan to attend (we want to make sure we have enough bulletins and bacon for all!). For more details and to register, please visit ctkcambridge.org/holy-week.

• Thu, 4/14, 7:30p :: Maundy Thursday Service :: a service centering on the Lord’s Supper

• Fri, 4/15, 7:30p :: Good Friday Service :: a tenebrae service of readings and songs

• Sun, 4/17, 6a :: Sunrise Service and Breakfast :: a celebratory service followed by a shared meal

• Sun, 4/17, 10:30a :: Sunday Worship Service

We’re also in need of volunteers to help at these services. In particular, we need folks who are willing to greet at the services and a few who are willing to help set up and tear down for the Sunrise breakfast. If you’d willing to help, please contact laura@ctkcambridge.org.

Moliere

Moliere St. Surin, a friend and faithful attender of CTK, has been undergoing dialysis treatments for over a year, and he is in need of a new kidney. He is on a list to receive a transplant which, as you can imagine, is quite long. The alternative is for him to receive a transplant from a living donor, which would expedite his treatment. The deacons would like to ask the congregation to pray for Moliere's health and pray that the Lord may raise up a kidney donor for him in the coming months. deacons@ctkcambridge.org

Celebrating 25 Years, pt 2

You can also find the slideshow of photos from the party here. Feel free to add any additional photos. If you need any help adding files, please email Laura.

Rick & T Videos

Hello All,

Thank you so much for contributing to the various gifts for Rick & T. It has been a delight and an encouragement to reflect on their years with us at CTK. Many of the videos for Rick & T are just for them to see, but we do have two videos we thought you all would like to see. For those of you who weren’t in the service in person, here’s the video of the kids singing "Jesus Loves Me", and below is a slideshow of photos of Rick & T’s time with us, set to “Be Thou My Vision” by Opal Puckett.

Thanks again,

Laura
for the CTK Staff

Announcement

Join us this Sunday, August 2, for an important announcement directly after the service. There will be a Q&A at 7:30p on Zoom. There will be no “virtual coffee hour” this Sunday.

Tonight, the Cambridge Black Pastors Alliance and clergy from across the city — including from CTK — are gathering at 6pm for a George Floyd prayer vigil. This vigil will be livestreamed on Facebook and Youtube and can be watched live or after-the-fact.

Also, this afternoon, a pastoral letter was sent out via CTK Stories from the pastors and elders of the CTK Network regarding the death of George Floyd and the church’s response to this tragedy and systemic injustices that led to it. In the letter, they called for a special day of prayer and fasting on Friday, June 5 at 7am (password: 540769) and a time of prayer and lament on Sunday evening, June 7 at 7pm. The links to these events can be found at ctkcambridge.org/calendar.

The entirety of the pastoral letter can be read here.

Sunday Volunteers

Every week at CTK, in normal times and now, we serve the Lord and each other by contributing to our corporate worship through various roles.  But in these unprecedented times, the staff and leadership of CTK would like to express particular gratitude to the volunteers who have been serving on Sunday mornings these last weeks. With heartfelt thanks, we would like to recognize Tim Carter and Cara Pardo for serving on the music team, as well as Kris Sachsenmeier, Sam Beswick, and A.W. Simmons for running the livestream.

With deference, respect, and mutual love, all those involved on Sunday mornings — staff and volunteers alike — are encouraged to consider their own needs and the needs of their families, and to bow out from service at their discretion. With that in mind, the Pardos have decided that it would be best for their family for Cara to remain home on Sundays. We wanted to announce this in advance so that it wouldn’t be cause for surprise or concern on Sunday morning during the service. Their family is well. We are so grateful for Cara’s service and for Jonathan, Penny, and Maxwell’s sacrifice in doing without her these past five Sunday mornings.

Prayer and Fasting

Join us tomorrow (Good Friday) for a day of prayer and fasting. The PCA is calling all its members to join with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in setting aside Good Friday, April 10, as a day of prayer and fasting to cry out for God’s help as well as a Holy Day of worship. CTK will participate with 4 online prayer times, at 7am, 12pm, 5pm, and 9pm, in addition to our Good Friday service at 7:30pm.

For more details and resources on prayer and fasting, as well as links to the online meetings, see ctkcambridge.org/prayer-and-fasting. There are also prayer worksheets available on that page for any children who would like to participate in the day of prayer.

Coronavirus Response (Week of 3/22) MONDAYS

In light of the CDC’s most recent recommendations that all gatherings of 50 or more people be suspended for the next eight weeks, CTK is putting in place more robust online platforms where the community can gather.

• We will continue to meet online on Sunday mornings at 10am for a livestreamed service.

• We've created a CTK Cambridge Slack site, ctk-cambridge.slack.com, as one way to stay connected, discuss what's happening with the church, ask for help, and learn about ways to help. You can join using this link. All church-wide announcements will still be made over email and on the web site.

• Tuesday morning prayer will meet online from 7-8:30a via Zoom. Visit ctkcambridge.org/prayer to find the link to the meeting and the written prayers. Download Zoom for free at zoom.us.

• Some ministries are on hiatus while others are meeting online. Please visit ctkcambridge.org/calendar to learn more.

• CGs are also encouraged to meet online. If you are a CG leader and need help setting that up, please contact the office.

• If you are not part of a CG and would like to be, please also contact the office.

Two more important points:

• If you are in need, whether that be for groceries or childcare or general connection, please reach out to the Deacons at ctkcambridge.org/requests or email them at deacons@ctkcambridge.org.

• If you are able to offer help (grocery shopping, childcare, phone calls), please also reach out to the Deacons at ctkcambridge.org/offer-assistance. Please consider making a donation to the Deacons’ Fund in this time of great need.

And as always, we would encourage the following:

• If you are feeling unwell or have been in contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19, we would direct you to your healthcare provider.

• See the Cambridge Public Health Department’s information regarding Coronavirus, as well as the CDC.

• For more information regarding CTK changes and announcements concerning COVID-19, please visit ctkcambridge.org/coronavirus.

• We would also direct you to a letter from Rick to the congregation regarding our response as Christ’s body to the coronavirus.

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In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.

Andy Crouch at LCA

CORRECTION: LCA is hosting Andy Crouch on Thursday, February 13 (not Friday).

Lexington Christian Academy is hosting Putting Technology in Its Proper Place: An Evening with Andy Crouch on Thursday, February 13 at 7p . This event is free and open to the public, however, registration is required. This event is geared toward adults.

Tuesday prayer

Due to the forecasted snow, Tuesday morning prayer is cancelled for tomorrow. Stay safe!