Announcements

Year-End Giving Praise God for your generous giving to support His work through BCEC. Contributions for 2025 have to be post marked (check mailing), dropped off at offering box (cash/check) or given online by Wednesday 12/31/2025. Please plan accordingly. Other giving options include Appreciated Securities, Donor-Advised Funds and Qualified Charitable Distributions. Please consult your financial advisor or tax accountant for information. Stock donation instructions can be found here Stock Info. Contact the treasurers at bod.treasurer@bcec.net if you have any questions.

12/14 BAPTISM will be in the chapel at our Newton Campus (218 Walnut St). The English session will be 1:45pm, and the Chinese session will be 2:30pm.

Baptism Candidates

Chinatown: Samantha Lin, Sharon Man

Newton: Chris Li, Joelle Wong, Samantha Ko

All are welcome to attend to celebrate with our brothers and sisters who will publicly affirm their faith in Jesus Christ.

🕯️UPLIFT TOGETHER: ADVENT 2025 will be December 15-25, an exciting 11 days of BCEC staff led scripture reading and prayer going all the way to Christmas! This can be the first step in revitalizing your prayer life, or it could be another part added to your already thriving prayer life, but what’s most important is that we Uplift Together.

Posts leading up to the start of Uplift Together will begin Dec 8 onwards, so we encourage members that are excited about Uplift Together and regular users of Instagram to 1. follow @bcecchinatown and if they’re comfortable, 2. reshare/repost the content onto their own Instagram stories.

Daily reminders to check out the corresponding Instagram reel’s link for the day will be sent out during Dec 15-25. You can sign up to receive our daily reminders (text or email) by filling out this opt-in form.

English Christmas Eve Service
Join us on Wednesday, December 24, at the Josiah Quincy Upper School Auditorium (900 Washington St., Boston). Doors open at 7:00 PM. Come worship Christ with us, and we encourage you to invite friends and family to hear the hope that Jesus brings.

Parking: Free parking at the Herald Street Garage requires both:

1. A BCEC parking sticker or temporary permit, and
2. A validated parking ticket.
   Validate tickets at the machine in the 120 Shawmut Ave lobby. Fees apply without both items.

Temporary permits are available at all Welcome Desks/Hospitality Teams.

Chinese Christmas Eve Service
The Cantonese and Mandarin joint service will be on Wednesday, December 24, at 7:30 PM in the BCEC Newton Sanctuary (218 Walnut St., Newton).

Newton Parking: Street parking is available around the church, with the best options on Walnut Street, Foster Street, and Washington Street. Do not park in the Trio lot (towing enforced). Please avoid blocking or parking within five feet of driveways out of courtesy to our neighbors.

New Year’s Prayer Meeting
Join us on Thursday, January 1, 2026, at 10:00 AM in the Multi-Function Room at 120 Shawmut Ave as we begin the New Year in prayer for our church, community, and world.

GriefShare is a grief support group for those who have experienced the loss of a friend or loved one. We meet once a week to learn, share, and support one another as we continue on our journeys of grief and loss. Our first meeting will be Tuesday, January 13 from 7-8:30pm at the Newton Campus. If you or someone you know may benefit from this group, or if you have any questions, please contact Monique at griefshare@bcec.net for more information.

Chinese Ministry Assistant Contact Update: Denis Chow With Connie Ho’s retirement and Denis Chow beginning his role (started November 14) at the Chinatown Campus, please note the updated contact information effective 11/24/2025: denis.chow@bcec.net.

This email replaces the previous contact used during Connie’s tenure. Please use this updated address for all future communication with the Chinese Ministry Assistant.

Due to the temporary nature of Denis filling in, we will continue to search for someone to fill the role on a long-term basis. We praise God for His provision and we ask for your ongoing prayers.

Chinatown Campus

Children’s Christmas Party Outreach Come for a time of fun games and activities, worship, skit, and prizes. All children ages 6-11 are welcome to join us for the Children’s Christmas Party celebration at 120 Shawmut on Saturday, December 13 from 4:30pm-7:30pm (dinner included) and Sunday, December 14 from 11:00am-12:45pm. There’ll be a Cantonese adult outreach program during both of the sessions. Click here for more information and RSVP.

Newton Campus

There are no campus specific updates at this time.

UPDATE: The BCEC Vision Discernment process has progressed to Stage 4 (Look Ahead). In this stage, the Vision Team is seeking clarity for God’s direction regarding whom BCEC is called to reach and serve over the next decade. The Vision Team’s monthly meeting was held on Saturday, December 6th.

Please go to https://www.bcec.net/vision for more information on the Vision Discernment Process.

PRAYER: Lord, we come before you as those that you have made sufficient to be ministers of your new covenant, of the Spirit that gives life.

• Transform us into the image of Christ, as we, with unveiled faces, behold your glory each day. May our unveiled hearts embrace You and the vision You have for us.
• May Your Vision for BCEC unfold with clarity, courage, and unity before our leaders, and then later, before all of us. Guide our leaders, strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ, and fill us all with hope as we walk together in this season of Vision seeking.
• May You set us free to love, serve and grow, that our fellowship would reflect Your light and love, drawing others to experience Your glorious grace and truth in their lives.

2025-2026 Board of Deacons

• Chairperson: Robert Huie
• Vice-Chairperson: Theresa Mock
• Secretary: Christopher Ho
• Treasurer: Billy Ng
• *Treasurer: Joyce Lin
• Accountant : Winnie Lam-Wong
• Accountant/Finance: David Lee
• Personnel: Vincent Lau
• Personnel: Wendy Yee
• Information Technology (IT): Tony Chen
• Chinatown General Affairs/Operations: Ida Kwong
• Newton General Affairs/Operations: Sylvia Cheng
• Facilities: Andrew Te

URBANA 25 MISSIONS CONFERENCE: Discerning Your Role in God’s Global Mission

Are you a young adult (ages 17-28) seeking clarity on your purpose and where God is leading you next? Urbana 25 is the triennial, life-changing missions conference hosted by InterVarsity, designed to equip and challenge the next generation to follow God wherever He leads—whether across the street or across the world. This December 28-31, Urbana Missions Conference will be held in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information, click here. Please contact Missions Committee if you are interested in scholarship opportunity (for BCEC members).

🍃WOMEN’S RETREAT REGISTRATION is now open for Women’s Retreat 2026 (1/16-18)! We invite all women (college, young adult, adult) to join us for a weekend in Alton, NH to be refreshed and renewed. Early-bird registration ends 12/14. Please visit this link for details and registration information. For any questions, please contact webofwomen.bcec@gmail.com.

Chinatown Campus News

Water Damage Repair at 120 Shawmut We appreciate your prayers and concerns regarding the repair of 120 Shawmut. We are thankful the work is nearly complete and almost all the ministry usages are back to normal.

Newton Campus News

There are no campus specific updates at this time.

Cross-Campus Group Updates

Try Alpha. Curious about life? about faith? about God? Alpha is a space to explore the Christian faith and discuss your questions with people who are just like you. There’s 13 sessions, and each session has food, film, and a discussion where it’s an opportunity for you to say whatever you like in an informal, relaxed way. You can join in or say nothing at all; totally up to you. No matter what your background or belief, you’re all welcome. If you know friends or family who may be interested, please invite them. If you have children or teenagers, there is a children’s program and a youth group at the same time. Alpha, every Friday at Newton campus, starting 9/26 at 6:45pm. Questions, please contact Kevin or Caroline at alphabcec@gmail.com or visit https://alphausa.org.

Chinatown Campus Group Updates

Adult Small Groups (ASG) are opening! Interested in joining a small group this year? Check the link here to see what groups we have coming up this year. To register or learn more, see here. Please reach out to Minister Ryan So with any questions!

Adult Sunday School “Spiritual Leadership” 11:15am-12:30pm (meet & greet 11am) at 120 Shawmut in the MFR. Email AdultSundaySchool@bcec.net to join mailing list & for zoom link.

Newton Campus Group Updates

Community groups for 2025 are launching, including some new options!
For details on meeting times and locations, click here. If you have any questions, reach out to Pastor Ken Liu.

Newton English College Group will meet on the first and third Sundays of every month. The meetings will be held at 12:45pm in Room 206. For more details, please reach out to Eric Chan. 

Online Women Book Study 1st and 3rd Saturday 9am-10am “Seeking Him”.

Social Responsibility Ministry Events and Volunteer Opportunities

Boston Rescue Mission The Social Responsibility Committee is resuming bringing volunteers to serve food to folks at the Boston Rescue Mission during the lunchtime of every third Saturday in even-numbered months going forward. If you or your small group is interested in serving on December 20, please call or text Szechun Leung at 617-304-6562.

Grocery Distribution Volunteer Opportunity On Saturday, November 22, 12:30-4:00pm, a Thanksgiving Grocery Distribution will be serving 1150 families from the Boston Community Hub Schools. The Boston Education Collaborative extends this invitation to our church to help serve. For more details and to sign up, please see here.

RouteOne Christmas Gift Drive is an annual event to shop and assemble care package gifts for ladies working in strip clubs. Route One Ministry is a Charity Fund partner that reaches sexually exploited and trafficked women in strip clubs by building relationships and empowering them to step into a new way of life. The Social Responsibility Ministry will be collecting the gifts on two Sundays, December 7 and 14. Drop off location information can be found in the file attached. Please review the updated gift list and important details here.

BCEC (Both Campuses)

GriefShare will be starting again in January 2026. We are looking for volunteers to join our team as we seek to support those in our community. If you have a heart to serve and walk alongside those in our midst who are grieving their loved ones (no previous experience with GriefShare needed), please contact Monique at griefshare@bcec.net.

Chinatown Campus

Children’s Sunday School Are you passionate about sharing God’s love with the next generation? Do you have a heart for children and a desire to help them grow in their faith? We are looking for a teacher to teach a small group of 6 and 7 year old children to start teaching this September. Classes run from 11am to 12:30pm every Sunday. Volunteers should be baptized believers and preferably members. Please contact Lorraine Ho if interested.

Sunday Service Teams are looking for volunteers to serve the Chinatown English congregation in its Sunday worship services. If you’re interested in joining the Worship Team, Tech Team, or Hospitality Team, please email enoch.liao@bcec.net.

Newton Campus

Sunday Lunch Volunteers Needed

If you’re able to help, please contact Helena Fong.

Chinatown Campus Sunday Parking
Please do not park in the 120 Shawmut parking lot on Sundays, as it is reserved for staff and guest speakers only. Parking is available at the Herald Street Garage for those with a valid parking permit. Temporary parking passes are available at all welcome tables. 

Newton Campus Parking 
Please do not park at the Trio lot, as unauthorized vehicles parked there will be towed. Please be mindful when parking on the streets to not block any driveways. Also, the staff parking lot on Sundays is for staff and guest speakers only. 

Parking Reminder Out of courtesy for our neighbors, and in response to recent complaints, we kindly ask that you do not park within five feet of driveways. Parking too close makes it difficult for residents to enter and exit safely. Thank you for your cooperation in helping us maintain good relationships with our neighbors.

BCEC offices are closed on the following dates:

2025 Dates

• November 27, 2025: Thanksgiving Day
  
• December 25, 2025: Christmas Day

2026 Dates

• January 1, 2026: New Year
  
• January 19, 2026: MLK Jr. Day
  
• February 16, 2026: Presidents’ Day
• February 17, 2026: Chinese New Year
  
• May 25, 2026: Memorial Day
  
• July 4, 2026: Independence Day