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in the life and ministry at John Knox Presbyterian Church.

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This Sunday's Worship

Join us this Sunday, November 16 at 10:00 AM

"Benediction"

Numbers 6:22-27

Ephesians 3:14-21

In person: Sanctuary

Digitally: YouTube, Facebook, or John Knox App

Click here to access the Worship Bulletin.

Audio Visual: Scott Reichen

Ushers: Bill Mathews, Austin Eckles, Jonathan Mayes, Charles Robertson,

and Guy Cloer (Head Usher)

Gratitude and Thanksgiving: A Call to Action

We are into the month of November, the season of our Thanksgiving holiday, and it seems perfectly timed with the rhythm of the church’s life.

As the traditional month of harvest in the northern hemisphere, November is the appropriate month for our nation’s Thanksgiving holiday. Gathering the bounty of the growing season provides an object lesson in God’s providence: what we have comes from the abundant grace of God in the Creation. The blessings of God in fruitful land and productive work provide the harvest that feeds and sustains us. It is a dependable, annual miracle of God’s grace in and for our world. We truly have reason to give our thanks to God.

Sometimes we use the words gratitude and thanksgiving interchangeably, but there is an important distinction. Gratitude is a feeling; thanksgiving is an action. The first is inert, the second dynamic. We may feel grateful for our blessings, but unless we enact our gratitude, we do not have true thanksgiving. Authentic thanksgiving means expressing the gratitude we feel—offering our thanks to those who bless us, transacting with the One who is the giver of every good and perfect gift.

Our life at John Knox gives us the opportunity to express our gratitude and to give our thanks. Our church’s life and ministry exist by God’s grace. Our capacity for ministry depends on the regular commitment of faithful people who devote a portion of their financial blessings toward the work of Jesus Christ. Our call to support the church’s mission invites us to count our blessings and express our thanks to the God who sustains us.

To date our 2026 campaign for Generosity and Mission Giving has yielded 109 pledges for $661,550. If you have not yet committed to our ministry, would you please consider it? To support the ministry of Jesus Christ through John Knox church is a beautiful way to acknowledge the love of God and the blessings of God’s grace—that is, to feel our gratitude and express it. And the more we give, the more that others can enjoy the grace we have discovered.

Gratefully yours, and giving thanks to God for you,

Gordon

Make your pledge for 2025-2026

2025-2026 Generosity & Giving Booklet

Please note during worship on November 16, we will convene a congregational meeting for the conclusion of Gordon Turnbull's pastoral call to John Knox.

Our neighbor, Lake Forest Elementary School, is in desperate need of canned goods and other shelf stable items to continue their weekly program that sends backpacks of food home with kids in need. Please donate items in the Narthex and the office building as soon as you are able.

Merry early Christmas from the Angel Tree Ministry! This year our Angel Tree Ministry will once again focus on providing gifts for Greer Relief's Christmas Morning Shoppe. This program is a big hit with the parents and guardians who participate. They earn RENEW Rewards throughout the year through their participation in Greer Relief’s many engaging opportunities to learn on a variety of topics (wellness, budgeting, job skills, crafts, and others). Empowerment and dignity come with the ability to earn rewards and then use those rewards to shop for your own family. Join us as we partner with Greer Relief this season to help our neighbors in need make strides toward self-sufficiency.

There are two wonderful ways to participate in the Angel Tree this year. You can simply use Greer Relief’s Amazon wish list for the Christmas Morning Shoppe to purchase gifts (which can be sent directly to Greer Relief’s Christmas Morning Shoppe or dropped off at the church office). This year you can take an ornament (made by our friends at Side by Side Respite) off of the tree in the Narthex. It will have a QR code to access the Amazon Wish List on the back. Or, you can make a donation to John Knox Presbyterian Church, earmarked for the Angel Tree (cash, check, or through the John Knox app). We will purchase gifts and gift cards with the donations we receive.

The deadline for monetary donations is December 1; any gifts must be turned in by December 7—the earlier, the better! So, get clicking: Amazon! If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Bixler.