Middle school youth are collecting all canned goods through Sunday, November 15 for the Presbyterian Community Center’s Hunger Buster Initiative as they stock their shelves to share with neighbors in Southeast Roanoke and beyond. You may pick up your donation bag (take as many as you can fill) from the sanctuary on Sundays or from the front desk on weekdays. Return your filled bag(s) to the stage in Fellowship Hall by Sunday, Nov. 15. Thank you for helping to feed those in need in Roanoke!

Suggested Items: Stuffing Mixes, Instant Potatoes, Gravy Mixes, Baking Mixes, Sweet Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Biscuit Mixes, Chicken Broth, Elbow Macaroni, Salt and Pepper, Cheese, Butter, Shelf Stable Milk, Cornbread Mix

As we approach the Christmas holiday, our congregation will support seniors in our community through the Local Office on Aging (LOA)’s Angel Tree program. Last year, our congregation responded with incredible generosity. This year, we’re glad to once again sponsor 100 angels.

Beginning this Sunday, Nov. 15, tags will be available on the tree located in the stone passageway outside the sanctuary. Each tag represents a senior in need. To participate: 

1. Select a tag from the tree on Sundays, or pick one up during the week from Meredith Koliba’s office (Pastoral Ministries Coordinator). 
2. Purchase the requested gifts and place them unwrapped in a single decorative Christmas bag (large enough to hold all items). 
3. Attach your tag securely to the bag. 
4. Return gift bags under the Angel Tree by Sunday, Nov. 29. 

If you’re unable to take a tag but would still like to help, consider donating small items to supplement gift bags, such as: Boxes of chocolate-covered cherries, Tissue boxes, Small packs of toilet paper, Bars of soap, Small bottles of dish detergent, etc. Donation items may be placed in the labeled bin under the Angel Tree. 

All donations and gifts bags are due by Sunday, Nov. 29

Questions? Contact Julie Mugford.

All ages are warmly invited to join us for our annual Advent Workshop and Potluck Dinner! Come enjoy an evening of fellowship, food, and creativity as we prepare our hearts and homes for the Advent season. We’ll be making Advent wreaths again this year, and we would love your help in collecting some of our supplies. We’ll provide the candles, base, and oasis, but would appreciate volunteers bringing clippers and evergreen branches from your home or neighborhood (with permission!).

Kids’ Fellowship children will be dismissed from the workshop around 6:00 p.m. for Christmas pageant rehearsal.

Bring a dish to share and celebrate the season with your church family!

Register by THIS MONDAY, November 16.

Open Flower Date: Nov. 29

Sunday, November 29 is available for anyone who would like to sponsor flowers in the sanctuary for worship. Contact Denise Revercomb to see if the date is still open.

It’s time to sign up for the Drumstick Dash event to benefit the Rescue Mission! Taking place Thanksgiving morning at 9:00 a.m., run, walk, and virtual run/walk events are available. If you have plans to attend, consider joining the Second Presbyterian Team! When registering online, click to join an existing Team Challenge and select Second Presbyterian under Churches from the list. There will be special recognition given to the largest church group participating. So head to www.drumstickdash.net and sign up for the Second Presbyterian team!

Interested to volunteer?

They are especially in need of Course Marshalls who will man assigned corners along the route, keep traffic from coming by, and encourage the participants as they go by. If you can assist the Rescue Mission by volunteering for the Drumstick Dash, visit their website to learn more and sign up.

The Service and Outreach Committee is collecting Walmart gift cards for the children of West End Center, which serves 150 students every year from the ages of six to eighteen years old. West End Center is collecting Walmart gift cards for their 3rd-12th graders for Christmas presents. Cards are gifted in increments of $25.00 and sometimes this is the child's only Christmas present. Any amount will help, but they are requesting Walmart store cards, not the Walmart Visas. Every year their children receive coats and clothes from various community partners, but only the youngest students receive presents. Please help put a smile on their students' faces during this festive time of year. 

Gift cards can be left in the box provided at the front desk on Sundays or in Meredith Koliba’s office during the week. Please return gift cards by Sunday, December 13. Thank you for your generous giving.

Mark your calendar for our traditional family Christmas Dinner and Pageant on the evening of December 6 in Fellowship Hall. Dinner by Lib & Amy Catering begins at 5:00 p.m. After, we will recess to the sanctuary for the children’s Christmas Pageant. Come join the festivities!

On the Menu:

Baked Chicken Breast, Macaroni & Cheese, Green Beans, Mixed Garden Salad (Balsamic and Ranch Dressings), Buttered Rolls, Assorted Desserts

Cost:

• $15 – Adults (13 and up)
• $7 – Children ages 5-12
• Free – Children ages 0-4

Register by Wednesday, November 25.

If you would like to give memorial or celebration poinsettias for the Christmas season services, please complete the online order form and submit a payment of $12.50 per plant. Poinsettias will be displayed during services on December 13 (pink) and 20 (red).

The deadline for receiving orders and payment is Friday, December 4.

“Faith is the journey, not the destination.” We don’t know who first said this, but whoever did was onto something. Faith is not a place we arrive at and then settle into. It keeps moving us—sometimes toward something we long for, sometimes into territory we would rather avoid, and sometimes in directions we never expected to go.

Perhaps that is why the Bible contains so many stories of God sending people on journeys, meeting them along the way, and promising to be with them at journey’s end.

The stories of Advent and Christmas are largely stories of journeys. Beginning Sunday, November 29, we’re going to follow Joseph and Mary, the shepherds and magi, and even the angels of heaven. In these biblical stories, everyone seems to be on the move: obeying an emperor’s decree, responding to God’s call, hurrying to see a newborn child, or fleeing to escape danger. Some journeys take people to places they never expected to go. Others require an inner journey of acceptance, trust, or understanding.

We hope you’ll join us on these journeys this Advent and Christmas, and for a couple of Sundays beyond. We anticipate that, as we follow their journeys to Jesus, God will meet us along the way, too.

Whether you are testing the waters and dipping your toe into an adult education class or returning to a group of seekers you already know and love, there is a place for you in this year’s journey. Called together, we will learn, ask questions, laugh, serve, pray, and witness anew the good news of God’s great love. Welcome to another year of learning, growing, and belonging!