Email Melissa at [email protected] no later than noon on the Tuesday of the week you want your announcements seen and by noon on the 13th or 28th for the enews. Thanks!
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Parking Lot Facelift:
I suppose it's pretty evident that the parking has yet to be re-paved! The date has changed now to the week after Christmas. So, beginning on December 26, all of our parking lots will be closed so the work can begin. If you need to access any part of the campus that week, you will need to park across the street at the high school or on one of the side streets. All of this is dependent on weather and last minute changes to contractors schedule but as of this minute, the plan is to close the parking lot for that week. To that end, the office will also need to be closed and I will be working remotely. If there is a pastoral emergency, Kyle will be reachable via cell phone. In a non emergency, you can call the office and leave a message or send an email. One of us will be checking them both periodically.
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Come One Come All!
You are cordially invited to a holiday potluck dinner in the Faith Presbyterian Wright Fellowship Hall on Sunday, December 10 immediately following the Sunday service (approximately 11:00)
Bring you favorite seasonal dish, some holiday cheer and a healthy appetite.
Meat will be provided.
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Adult Education:
We continue our two programs, both starting every Sunday after Worship, at 11:15 am. In the Parlor, we will continue our study of Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." And in the Fellowship Hall, our intern Ben Masters will continue his Bible Study on the book of Exodus. Hope to see you all there.
On December 17, Marilyn White will lead a class on "Reproductive Justice: Does it matter to me?" This class is an opportunity to reflect on how we have responded, helpfully or hurtfully, to women in our lives who have had many children or none. Those who have adopted children or seen their children adopted. Those who have become single parents, have chosen abortion, have faced infertility, have lost a baby, have struggled to find reproductive health care, or have experienced other challenging situations. How can we become a welcoming place where all women are loved and supported?
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Children's Christian Education Program:
This church season we are introducing new and exciting programs for the children at Faith. Kathy Green and Marty McDougal will be leading the children through the Bible using the Shine curriculum.
Shine: Living in God's Light
is a dynamic Sunday school curriculum that engages Christian communities and families in their life together by:
- calling children to experience the transforming power of God's love
- nurturing trust in God and invite children to follow Jesus
- encouraging imaginative and interactive biblical storytelling
- exploring the meaning of the Bible within the gathered community
- cultivating the inner life of the Spirit through spiritual practices
- expressing faith through lives of compassionate peacemaking and service
After Christmas caroling on the 24th, we will return to church for hot cocoa and the children will assemble the Blessing Bags for the homeless in the Wright Fellowship Hall. Parents are welcome to participate with this important community project.
Several Champions will be working and learning with the children about organic gardening. There are many life lessons to be learned while gardening. It will be interesting to see what life lessons are in store for us. Please continue to save your food scraps in you green recycling containers. Gardening will resume in January.
Children's December Sunday School Hour Schedule:
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Date
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Topic
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December 2nd
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Hanging of the Greens in the Sanctuary (10a - 12p)
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December 3rd
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Children to perform in Worship
Shine w/ Kathy & Marty
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December 10th
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Banned From the Church to perform in Worship
Christmas Potluck Dinner
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December 17th
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Choir to perform parts of the Messiah in Worship
Shine w/ Kathy & Marty
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December 24th
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Christmas Caroling to our Home Bound Members
Outreach Project
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December 31st
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Regular Worship Service
Shine w/ Kathy & Marty
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Advent Music (and other things) Notes!
Sunday, Dec. 10
: Banned From the Church will be leading the music for the service and offering a special song. Advent Potluck following worship in the Wright Fellowship Hall.
Sunday, Dec. 17
: Faith Choir will be singing selections from Handel's Messiah. The choir will be accompanied by organ and string quartet. The service will end with a congregational singing
of Hallelujah Chorus. You won't want to miss it!
Sunday, Dec. 24:
Meet at the church at 10 a.m. for Christmas Caroling. This will be our morning worship for the Fourth Sunday of Advent!
Christmas Eve Services
will be held as usual this year. Wildflower will offer a casual service and then we will offer our traditional service. We cross advertise these to help families who have varying schedules. Times are still TBA. Look for these times in next week's bulletin.
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Yoga will resume on January 8th. Have a wonderful holiday!
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Women's Circle Christmas Potluck:
The monthly circle meeting will be held this month (
Tues., Dec. 12) at the home of
Jack & Carolyn Scruggs:
8118 Forest Heights Lane (78745)
at about
11:30 a.m. Spouses, partners, friends, are also invited.
Please bring a dish: dessert, vegetable, salad. The Scruggs will furnish meat, bread, drinks.
No lesson this time; just fellowship!
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Blessing Bags:
Each year our Faith family has assembled bags for our less fortunate neighbors. The bags typically contain water, soft cereal bars, socks, sanitary wipes, fruit cups, etc...This year the Children's
Sunday School class will be assembling these bags on
December 17 as a community outreach project to be distributed during the December and January cold months. Donations of socks, soft cereal bars and fruit cups will be greatly appreciated and can be dropped off in the Narthex.
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Joy Offering:
Each year during the Advent and Christmas season, we turn our eyes to Bethlehem and celebrate the wondrous gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior. By giving to the Christmas Joy Offering, you honor this gift by providing assistance to current and retired church workers in their time of need and developing our future leaders at Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges. The Joy Offering will be gathered from
December 3 through December 24.
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"Faith isn't blind; it's visionary. Having faith in a positive outcome doesn't mean you're denying a problem or ignoring obstacles; it simply means you're affirming a solution."
--Marianne Williamson
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Eremos is honored to host leading spiritual author and speaker, Marianne Williamson, on Friday evening, January 12th, 2018 .
Please join us for this inspiring conversation -- a great way to begin 2018!
Read on to find out more and register today (we expect to sell out, so don't wait too long to register).
Thank you to the +100 guests who have already registered!
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Friday, January 12th
7:30pm to 9:30pm
with book signing immediately following
PRICE:
$55 General Admission
$155 VIP*
*VIP tickets include an exclusive pre-event wine & cheese gathering with Marianne from 6pm to 7pm (across the hall from the event) and seating in the first few rows (reserved exclusively for VIP guests).
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Many within our contemplative community without walls are seeking a way to proactively contribute to making a positive difference in our country, while honoring their spiritual beliefs and passion for contemplative prayer. One of the gifts that Eremos offers is an ability to hold space for possibilities to reveal themselves. We're excited to provide this unique opportunity to hear one of the leading spiritual thinkers of our time share her vision and hope for moving our country forward.
We hope you'll join us!
Doors open at 7pm.
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Faith Book Group:
The book group will not be meeting in November and December. However, we will get together at Susan's house in January to develop our reading list for 2018, and we will post the meeting date later. See you in 2018!
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Food Pantry Volunteers Needed:
The
pantry is currently in need of canned chili, soups, and canned stew. We're ok for now on peanut butter. Thank you!
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Heads Up About Stewardship:
We will be running our stewardship emphasis on the story of Stone Soup this year. You will also be hearing about the upcoming restoration of the parking lot and projects to spruce up our campus. Please stay tuned in worship, at home and over electronic communication. Remember that stewardship, like everything, is a lifestyle not a season. Start now to pray how you might be called to give of yourself in the same, new, or different ways to bring God's grace and love to humanity and creation itself.
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Connect With Us:
You will notice a Connection Card in the pew. If you would like to receive our electronic newsletter and correspondence about the life of the church, please let us know how to find you between Sundays by filling out the information you are comfortable giving us and placing the card in the Offering Plate.
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You Can Give Electronically,
(but we still accept cash and checks as usual!):
How does it work? Scan the QR code below with your smartphone. There are no additional fees for you as the donor. However, as with all such transactions, an administrative fee of 1% will be deducted from your gift before it is delivered to our church. This one-time fee is for the reasonable and customary costs of operation of the Presbyterian Mission Exchange which hosts our electronic giving. If you pay by EFT option, this will be the full extent of the fees deducted. Gifts made using a credit or debit card will be assessed an additional fee of 2.598%+$0.26 (deducted automatically by our card processing vendor). Your full donation, which includes all the fees, is tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.
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Alice Fowler
Barbara Arctur
Bill Hornbuckle
Carolyn Scruggs
Eli Hart-Johnson
Jack Scruggs
James Webb
Johnie Lou Gober
Linda Kimbrough
Lynn Hammer
Nancy Goss
Pati Starr
Paula French
Scott Kimbrough
Susan Sanders
Thomas Glass
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In Our Prayers:
- Claire Lungwitz's 18th birthday. Prayers as she and Kevin travel to Pennsylvania and New York to visit colleges.
- The people of Zimbabwe and their leaders.
- Assistance with acting gracefully and with generosity.
- Help me to stay positive as I am afraid of losing my job.
- Thomas Schmid, former pastor of San Pedro Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, TX with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
- Rev. Ben Johnson-Krase, former associate pastor at University Presbyterian, with stage 4 lung cancer. Ben's brother Ethan was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer this week.
- Fr. Robert Busch resuming cancer treatment. Prayers of joy for Robert's 25 years of ordination being celebrated this month.
- Mary Purnell, whose husband Kevin is struggling with a massive infection and stage 3 cancer
- Melissa's friend Shari who passed away on December 1, from kidney failure
- Our planet and humanity's responsibility to care for it.
- Our leaders for wisdom, patience and understanding
- Victims of violence and their families
- Those suffering from physical, mental, or emotional stress and illness. Those who are homeless, financially despairing and all others for whom our prayers have also been requested
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