The Arkive: Ark and Dove's Newsletter
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Celebrate the First Sunday after Christmas with Communion!
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Dear Friends,
A hearty thanks to our Worship Ministry, our choir and bands, our liturgists, our staff, elders and our worship prep teams for five wonderful worship services on Sunday and Christmas Eve. Your weeks of preparation and hard work is deeply appreciated and led to many expressions of thanksgiving as people left worship.
You are invited to Equipping the Saints, a
Wednesday Evening January 9
class and discussion about the roles of elders and deacons which Pastor Jon and I will lead. Dinner is included and we are out the door by 8:30. This Equipping the Saints is specifically designed with the new member in mind. There are about 50 of your who have joined in the last 4 years. We hope you will sign up. This class is also for people who might be considering any kind of role in church leadership. We will talk about having a sense of call, about teams, ministries, Session, Staff and Board of Deacons and how they all work together. A key class for understanding how our church works. (
See article below for additional information
.)
Ark and Dove is a lead church in ACT Anne Arundel Connecting together which launched in October at First Christian Community Church in Annapolis with 1500 people present. ACT’s launch as a strictly non-partisan, multi-faith, multi-ethnic community organization led by Anne Arundel County faith and community institutions is like nothing our County has ever seen! ACT is working to create positive change in our county and one of the six areas we are focusing in on is affordable housing. To that end ACT will be conducting listening sessions in Annapolis and Severn on
Saturday January 12
. Ark and Dove will be the West County center of action. We are looking for 20 people from Ark and Dove to go door knocking and 10 more to host the 100 we expect will come to our church at 9:00 AM for breakfast and training. Door knocking will be done in pairs.
Training and Breakfast 9:00
Door Knocking in Pairs 10:00
Lunch and Debrief 12:00 to 1:00
Please sign up in the church lobby or by contacting our mission elder Cheryl Schafer
[email protected]
This Sunday December 30 is the First Sunday in the Season of Christmas and Communion will be served at both services.
In the name of the Christ Child, Peace be with you,
Tim
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As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony
Colossians 3:12- 17
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God of wonder and small things, you came to us as a tiny and vulnerable baby, wrapped in bands of clothe and laid in a manger. We remember that after this son's crucifixion he was also wrapped in bands of clothe but then laid in a tomb. Help us we pray to wrap ourselves in this love. Teach us to care for the quiet and tender places in our hearts and those of others. May we be vulnerable and live for others as Christ did. May we nurture your compassion in the world. Amen
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We have recently completed a consensus building process to determine our best path forward for stewardship at Ark and Dove. We are not asking for new pledges, but we are relying on everyone to continue to meet their existing pledged obligations through year end and in the next year continue the same level of giving. This is also a last chance to get donations in prior to
December 31, which may qualify for charitable deductions for tax purposes for this tax year. One of our strengths as a congregation is our generous giving of our time, talents and treasures. As we receive the gift of the Son during the Christmas holiday, let's also remember to give of our gifts to support the vision for our church. Julia Kirby, [email protected].
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DONATE
ONLINE
!
Christmas Joy Offerin
g,
Peace and Global Witness Offering for ACT: Anne Arundel Connecting Together
,
Pledged Giving
,
Capital Savings Fund
and more!
Many opportunities
await you!
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Establish or increase EFT
here!
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Every generous act of giving is from above. James 1:17
The Christmas Joy Offering benefits not only PCUSA programs for current and retired PCUSA church workers and Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges, but also two local programs as well. This year, Comunidad Presbiteriana la Trinidad (CPT) and our Refugee Resettlement ministry will be the recipients of the funds you contribute. You may use the special envelopes that can be found throughout the sanctuary; designate "
Christmas Joy" on your check; or donate securely through our website. We will be
accepting contributions through the 1st Sunday after Christmas Day. Cheryl Schafer, Mission Elder, [email protected]
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Featured item for December is
BAKING MIXES
(bran muffins, Bob's Red Mill pancake mix, etc.). Please drop off food items in the Mission Zone bin. Thank you for your donations!
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How do we fulfill our mission at Ark and Dove?
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Why does Ark and Dove have teams instead of committees? What’s the relationship between team leads and elders? How many teams do we have at the church? What do they do? How do new teams get started? Like any other institution, the organization of Ark and Dove can be confusing and sometimes intimidating – deacons, elders, session, and the teams, what do they all do and how? And this not-knowing sometimes makes it harder to find your role at the church. Join us at the next Equipping the Saints class on
Wednesday, January 9th, where Pastors Tim and Jon will try to explain away these “mysteries” of Ark and Dove. We start with dinner at 6:30 and follow with discussions from 7:00-8:30. Childcare and special meals can be provided. Please sign up in the lobby and contact Bruce Sanders ( [email protected]) or Steve Debus ( [email protected]) about any questions.
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Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:
PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for Dick Bailey; Declan Steward; Joan Berry’s son, Bryan Flom; James Franklin’s father, Homer; Jay Olson; Kameron and Kamarii Miller; Karen Dodson; Cliff Wellington’s father, Roy; Cheryl Walcutt’s sister, Judy Walsh; Amanda Wehage’s family; Jon Nelson’s aunt, Linda, and grandmother, Peggy; Chip Burnett; Laura Doughty's aunt, Marie; Ylonda Fauntleroy's aunt, Bernice Taylor and Ylonda Fauntleroy’s and Michelle Schoonmaker’s aunt, Alice Turner; Diane Johnson's aunt; Brooks Emrick and her sister, Susan; Vaughn Brown and his sister, Kathie, and brother, Jim; Ann Hirschy; Christy Yeager's father, Leon Jordan; Donna Anderson's brother-in-law, Tom; Frances Keyes; Dot Forloines; Helene Marchand-Stancil; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Julia Kirby's mother, Margaret Floyd; Amy Carskadon's nephew; Erika Sealing's son, Trip, and grandmother, Margaret Schade; Sue Hanburger's grandson, Enzo; Laura Rockwell's friend, Adam Hurst; Edie and Richard Budd; Dotty Kaufmann's grandson, Nathan; Amy Benson's family; Lisa Mezaache’s friend, Pearl McNamara; Annetta Fenstermacher’s sister, Margaret; Dorene Chen’s grandfather, Tian Tao Li; Christy Hipchen’s cousin, Corey; David Michels; Dakota Miller; Clarence Scott; Marlene and Doug DeHaven; Mike Stefanick; Jerri Webb’s friend, Mary Van Orten; Rob Yeager’s co-worker, Wayne Sweet; Mike and Charlotte Davie’s friend, Dave Page; Matthew Hagemann’s friend, Michael Prosperi; Miranda Holjes; a teen diagnosed with Lyme’s disease; and Doug Mattingly’s mother.
PRAYERS OF SUPPORT for all those who are affected by the government shutdown.
PRAYERS OF SUPPORT go out to the guests and churches involved with Winter Relief this week: St. John the Evangelist Parish, St. Andrew by the Bay and Asbury Broadneck UMC.
PRAYERS OF COMFORT AND SUPPORT upon the loss of Jack Bergerson, Lance's grandfather.
If you have prayer concerns or blessings that you would like to share, please contact Deacon Patriceo Green at [email protected] and he will add your concern to the prayer partners email chain.
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