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Friends at Allisonville,
My insights this week are a collaborative effort as we prepare for Celebration Sunday. Hear from Sherilee McLain on how to practice generosity in our offering this Sunday and Larry Rahn on how we'll celebrate our stewardship campaign with a meal together following worship.
Offering
In past years on Celebration Sunday, we have brought forward our gifts of canned goods and nonperishable grocery items. This year we are asking for donations of grocery gift cards from Kroger and Aldis. Please be sure to write the dollar amount on each gift card. Please give as you are able. If you are unsure, we suggest one or multiple $25 gift cards.
The gift cards will be distributed between the Christmas Families that we will be shopping for, Family Promise, Linwood Food Pantry, and Pastor Beau to distribute to families in need.
Dinner
We will celebrate our successful stewardship campaign this Sunday, November 19
with an All-Church Dinner immediately following the second worship service and the
Sunday School class hour around noon. Everyone is invited as we celebrate our collective
commitment of time, talent and monetary resources to making 2024 another successful
year at ACC!
A limited Coffee Café will still be open between the services in the family room as we prepare for the dinner.
Friends, I hope to see you on Sunday. I'll leave you with a quote from Desmond Tutu that has been bouncing around my head this week.
"Certainly it is from experiencing this generosity of God and the generosity of those in our life that we learn gratitude and to be generous to others."- Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream
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Joys:
- We rejoice that Russ Smith is home from the hospital after his health concerns last week.
- We are thankful that Diane Spleth had a successful knee surgery.
- We are grateful for the Youth Retreat at Camp Bedford this last weekend and the volunteers that made it possible.
- We are overjoyed for the continued healing of Mike McDonald and his note of thankfulness below.*
- We are also thankful for the work of the search committee to find new Associate Minister of Outreach and Growth.
Concerns:
- We pray for the victims and their families of the multiple instances of gun violence in the past weeks. We pray fervently for the community members and organizations that are working for effective solutions.
- We pray for the surgeries of Dan Pickerell and Deb Usher.
- We pray for Josh and his family as they grieve the loss of his grandfather.
- We continue to pray for a lasting peace and an ever-present justice to the atrocities in Israel and Palestine.
- We continue our prayers for Jane Lawrence, Cora King, Davis and Bev Goforth, Bob Hessong, Sandy Zimmerman, Erika Blauvelt, Mike McDonald, Linda Kemper and Lori Corken-Young.
We pray for all who are grieving. We pray for a meaningful and lasting end to gun violence.
We continue to pray for our work and all work to be an anti-racist church and people.
Our Global Ministries Prayer Partner this week is Eswatini.
*Cindy and I would like to thank everyone that prayed for me, brought us food, helped with my daily transportation needs and sent me get well soon cards during my recent illness. It was a 2 month long journey for Cindy and I, but it is over now except for some rehab to get my strength, stamina and balance back. We couldn't have made it without Allisonville's support. God Bless You All. Mike & Cindy McDonald
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Congratulations Matt Rosine | |
A big congratulations to our very own Matt Rosine! We were impressed with his presentation at ACC's Generosity Forum, and we are even more impressed that he was named as the next president of the Christian Church Foundation. We are ecstatic to have Matt's wisdom in our denomination and especially fortunate to have him in our congregation. His leadership and dedication to our church community have been invaluable, and we look forward to his continued contributions in this new role.
Click here to read the full release
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Cheese Balls for Sale to Support Youth Group | | |
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Cheese balls! Who needs cheese balls for Thanksgiving? The Youth will have some cheese balls available for purchase at the Euchre Tournament and on Sunday. Cost $9 for savory (beef rolled in beef or nuts, vegetarian rolled in cheese or nuts) $10 for dessert. There will be a sign up for Christmas (no need to order those yet).
Contact Donna Callahan (Callahanbunch4@att.net) or Josh Jackson with your questions!
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Family Promise Shopping
This year we will be shopping for 3 families that are in the Family Promise Apartment Shelter Program. I will be receiving the family shopping lists from Family Promise the week of Thanksgiving. We will need several people to volunteer to shop for these families. We will be spending $75 per person for gifts. They will also receive some of the grocery gift cards donated on Celebration Sunday. Any money that you spend will be reimbursed to you when you turn in your receipts after you purchase the family’s gifts. You will be responsible for taking the gifts to the family. If you have any questions or want to volunteer to be a shopper please give Sherilee McLain a call at 317-403-2010 or by e-mail at sherilee.mclain@yahoo.com. If you are not able to shop but would like to support the program you can make a donation by check and put Christmas Families in the memo line or by cash.
I always look forward to shopping for a family. It helps put me in the spirit of the Advent Season.
Thank you for your support,
Sherilee McLain
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Special Offering for Higher Education
Have you or a loved one graduated from a Disciples affiliated college, seminary or divinity school? Support the next generation of Disciples students in higher education with the Thanksgiving Special Offering collected November 19 by noting it on your offering or scanning/clicking the QR code below. The Thanksgiving Offering benefits the Colleges, Universities, Seminaries, and Divinity Houses affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
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Holiday Office Hours Next Week
For the Thanksgiving Holiday the office will be closed Wednesday, November 22 and Thursday, November 23. We will not have a Buzz next week. Reach out to Isaac at the church office if you have any administrative questions. If you have pastoral needs next week, please contact Rev. Joyce Coalson (317-313-8119/ jbcoalson@icloud.com)
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1 hour -- that is all it took to fill 180 bags for the Thanksgiving and Winter breaks for Eastwood, Northview, and Clearwater schools!
We had so many wonderful volunteers who came to help pack the bags today. There were 42 volunteers which included six for the first time.
Thank you to everyone who has helped make this possible -- from donating food or funds, shopping, helping with set up, packing, and delivering...we could not provide this ministry to our communities students without you!
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Faith Formation Ministry
If you are interested in any Sunday School class or other faith formation opportunity, please reach out to Josh. Here's a brief rundown of our offerings:
- Worship and Wonder (9:30 and 11:00 in Room 12): Open to kids 3 years old through 1st grade
- Children's Sunday School (11:00 in Room 1): Open to kids in 2nd through 5th grade
- Youth Sunday School (11:00 in the Retreat House): Open to youth in 6th through 12th grade
- Adult Sunday School (11:00 Faith Class in the Fireplace Room, LIFE Class in Room 15, and Pathfinders Class in the Chalice Room)
Read more at allisonville.org/sundayschool or contact Rev. Josh Jackson (jjackson@allisonville.org)
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November 18 — Euchre (and other games) Night at Church!
Our first-ever Euchre Tournament is coming up! This will be a fun afternoon of Euchre (and other games if you prefer), baked goods, and some surprises along the way! All proceeds from this gathering will benefit our 2024 youth mission trip to North Carolina.
The buy-in is $10 per person, $20 per pair. You can DEFINITELY invite your friends and family members who don't regularly attend ACC- the more the merrier!!! Spread the word, and get ready to win! Click this button to register. There will also be a sign-up in the Narthex.
Childcare will be provided, and we hope to see you there! Reach out to Rev. Josh Jackson (jjackson@allisonville.org) if you have any questions. Game on!
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November 21 — Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service
This year's service will be at First Friends Church, 3030 Kessler Blvd E Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46220 on November 21 at 7:00 pm. Light refreshments will be served in Fellowship Hall afterward. The offering taken that night will support Brightlane Learning. Detailed parking instructions are below.
While there are parking spots on the front and East side of the building, there is plenty of parking in the back (North) side. Entrances will be open at the front (Kessler side) of the building, as well as the back of the building (North side). Find the handicapped accessible entrance on the East side of the building, by the handicapped parking near the courtyard.
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November 30 — Faith in Indiana Listening Campaign Share Out | |
December 2 — Hanging of the Greens
Our annual Hanging of the Greens will take place on Saturday morning December 2nd from 9:00 am - noon. All are invited to participate. Donuts will be served as usual. Thanks in advance from your Worship and Spiritual Life team!
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December 2 — Men's Breakfast
We meet at Metro Diner (3945 E 82nd St.) at 8:30 am. Please call or text Don B (317-697-6011) by Friday if you plan to join. We must request seats in advance.
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December 3 — Diaper Shower for the Snyders
The Snyder Family (Rachel, Rachel, Luca, and Matteo) are preparing to welcome their third child into this world at the end of the year. To celebrate this news and offer our support as a community, ACC is throwing them a "diaper shower" on Sunday, December 3rd.
Participating is SUPER EASY. Just purchase a package of diapers (Huggies are preferred by the family) of any amount/size. Bring them with you to church that Sunday for our 10:30 Coffee Cafe. We'll share a moment of blessing in between services and send them home with enough diapers to make life easier in the baby's first years.
Have specific questions? Contact Toni Medlen or Beau (bunderwood@allisonville.org).
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December 8 & 9 — Madrigals Dinner | |
December 12 — Book Club
When: Tuesday, December 12 at 7:00 pm
Location: Over Zoom, contact Audrey Pelsor
We will not meet in November but hope to see you on this date in December!
The current book is The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner
"A rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, The Next Best Thing is a heartfelt story about a young woman searching for her own happily-ever-after in the land where dreams come true."
Questions can be directed to Audrey Pelsor (ajpelsor@gmail.com)
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December 14— Hymn Sing
Are you eager to sing your favorite Christmas hymn(s)? We'll gather in the sanctuary with the ACC choir Thursday, December 14 at 7:00 pm to share the music of the season. Come ready to suggest a song and to lift your voice in praise. After the hymn sing, you're invited to stay and see what a choir practice at ACC involves as our devoted group of singers prepares for Advent and Christmas Eve worship.
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December 16 — Cookie Walk
The Allisonville Christian Church Cookie Walk is a wonderful holiday fundraiser for our outreach ministries.
Here’s the scoop: Volunteers sign up to bake and donate at least six dozen cookies or more. All of the cookies are set out in the Family Room the night before. Then folks come December 16 at 9:00 am and grab a box or two and walk around the room and fill their boxes with the cookies of their choice.
We need lots of cookie bakers and volunteers to make this a successful event! Sign-up sheets will be in the Narthex beginning Sunday November 26. You can email Sue York at nsyork@att.net or Linda Hunt at prodieter1@aol.com if you have any questions.
Hope you will join in this holiday fun for our outreach ministries!
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December 17 — Blue Christmas
The holiday season is not always merry and bright. For those grieving the loss of a loved one, navigating the end of a relationship, facing challenging health issues, or any number of things, it can be hard to find joy as Christmas approaches. If that sounds like you (or someone you know), then our Blue Christmas service is designed for you. Through silence, reflection, prayer, and song, we'll make space to sit with whatever your experiencing. So, make sure this is on your calendar to gather in the sanctuary on December 17 at 5:00 pm and know that it's okay if you're not ready for a merry Christmas.
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Arts at Allisonville
CALLING ALL MUSIC AND DRAMA LOVERS! It’s time to get Arts at Allisonville rolling again. We are in the planning process for the next 12 months or so. Won’t you join us? If you love the arts, we want you. Contact Steve Caress (stcaress@yahoo.com), Shari Jacobs (slj1114@gmail.com), or Chris Higgins (chiggins@allisonville.org) and let us know. We want to start meeting soon to discuss/plan some exciting events.
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Christmas Assistance
ACC will again be supporting families inside and outside the church who could use a little extra help through the Christmas season. In addition to proceeds of the Cookie Walk, generous financial donations from church members have made this possible in the past. If you'd like to contribute to this effort, contact Pastor Beau or simply designate a gift to the church as "Christmas Assistance" and we'll ensure it ends up making someone's holiday brighter.
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Youth Group Meal Signup
We are looking for people to provide lunches for the youth group each week! You can click the button below and sign up for a date (or two). This is a great way to help support our important faith formation ministries. If you have any questions, please reach out to Josh.
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Seeking Exploring Worship and Worship & Wonder Volunteers for 2023
Would you like to be involved in our children's ministry next year? We are seeking volunteers for both Exploring Worship and Worship & Wonder. Here are brief descriptions of the roles we are needing to fill:
W&W Greeter - The Greeter helps to welcome the kids to Worship & Wonder and assists the Storyteller in crowd control and keeping the ministry flowing.
W&W Storyteller - The Storyteller leads the lesson directly from the Worship & Wonder curriculum. We have access to the official W&W training.
EW Teacher - The Teacher leads the activity for the day, such as the sharing of joys and concerns, reading the scripture for the day, etc.
EW Shepherd - The Shepherd assists the Teacher in getting the kids to the EW space and keeping the activity going smoothly.
If you are interested in any of these roles or if you would like more information about them, please reach out to Josh!
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Seeking Virtual Scripture Readers
Virtual scripture readers are needed. This is a meaningful way to contribute to our worship experience, and we invite more members to consider participating. Please contact John Quick (317-294-2709, qman21611@gmail.com) to sign up.
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