Non-Perishable Drive for UCHM & LaCasita

Sunday, November 24

Thanksgiving is a time to remember with gratitude how God has blessed us and to share those blessings with others. We will have the opportunity to do that on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 24.

Please join us for worship on Sunday and bring an offering of nonperishable foods (make sure cans are not past the expiration date), diapers, and paper goods to worship. The donated items will be taken to United Crescent Hill Ministries and La Casita, which is in particular need of canned fruit.

It’s Not Too Late to Pledge!

Sunday, October 27, was Commitment Sunday at CHPC. Thank you to all who have already made a pledge to God and the church to give in 2025, in gratitude for God’s abundant blessings. Your gifts of money and time enable our ministries to continue!



If you have not yet made your commitment, please prayerfully consider what you can give next year and bring your completed pledge card to church or mail it to the office. If you need a pledge card, please contact the church office, or pick one up in the narthex on Sunday.

Highlights of OPS and NOW Meetings

Members of the Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church community enjoyed fellowship and a delicious Thanksgiving feast November 13, followed by meetings of the OPS and NOW committees.

OPS Committee—This group oversees the nuts-and-bolts, day-to-day operations of the church, including building and grounds, maintenance, stewardship campaign, budget development, investments, online giving, personnel and payroll, AV, marketing and social media, insurance, and church policy. Actions included:

• Discussed the stewardship drive and contacting members who have not yet pledged.
• Discussed the 2025 church budget, including the goals of increasing mission partnership giving while maintaining a balanced budget.
• Agreed to contact utility companies to follow-up regarding an energy audit and water line replacement.
• Agreed to ask the Session about having the church’s front door painted.

NOW Committee—This group guides programmatic work of the congregation, activities formerly coordinated by the Nurture, Outreach, and Worship Committees (including music and worship, Christian formation, earth care, gun violence prevention, garden ministry, mission beyond church walls). Actions included:

• Worked on plans for Build-A-Bed, December 7 and 8.
• Agreed to invite members of the congregation to help decorate the sanctuary for Advent/Christmas and to invite various groups to participate in lighting of the Advent candles.
• Discussed the Christmas Joy Offering and other special events and services planned for the Advent/Christmas season.
• Continued discussing visions for CHPC: What kind of church do I want to attend? What energizes me? What small-group opportunities would I like to participate in? What passions/needs of others in the congregation are not being addressed?

There will be NO MEETINGS of OPS/NOW in December. Mark your calendar for the next meeting of NOW/OPS: Wednesday, January 8, opening with a fellowship meal at 6 p.m.

Help Decorate the Church for Advent

Advent, a holy time to prepare our hearts for celebrating the birth of Jesus, begins on Sunday, December 1. Beth Yeager will begin decorating the sanctuary for Advent and Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving, and she would appreciate some help! If you can help decorate, please contact Beth at Elizabethcyeager@gmail.com or 502-693-6159.

The windowsills in the sanctuary will be filled with symbols of Jesus’ birth (manger scenes, candles, stars, angels, etc.). If you have an item that is special to you and reminds you of God’s gift of Jesus to the world, please bring it to the church any time before or during Advent to place in one of the windowsills.

Prayer and Action for Middle East

If you are struggling with your feelings about all that is happening in the Middle East and yearn for shared information, prayers, and other possible responses, please join our small group which meets on Thursdays. This week, November 21, we will be on Zoom from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. We will not meet on Thanksgiving. Email Soni at soni.castleberry@gmail.com to get the link for upcoming Zooms and to be added to the group email list for regular communication.

Beginning in December, our schedule will change to a regular, in-person meeting in homes on the first Thursday of each month from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Locations will vary at the invitation of the host member, and snacks will be provided. The December 5 meeting will be hosted by Carol and Don Mead. Their contact information is in the church directory. Please RSVP directly to them if you want to come. All other Thursdays will remain on our regular Zoom schedule as noted above. Feel free to join us on Zoom, in-person, or both. This group has enabled such support for one another. We would be grateful to have others to join us.

DID YOU KNOW?

What Presbyterians Believe About the Advent:

Advent is an annual refresher course on the nature of Christian hope. We look back across the long arc of history to understand and remember who God is and how God works in the world—mighty and merciful; ever-faithful and abounding in love; creating, redeeming, sustaining all that is. We look forward, too, straining to see the new thing God is doing—a river flowing in the desert, a fresh shoot growing from an old stump, weapons of war turned into instruments of peace. Thus, we learn to proclaim the gospel with confidence, trusting that the Spirit will work wonders, the promises of God will come to pass, and Jesus will continue to lead the way.

This Christian hope has a countercultural dimension. It requires a faith in that which is not yet seen—and the patience of the saints in the meantime. It resists easy answers and instant gratification. It rewards the poor and powerless and rebukes the privileged and proud.

Excerpt from https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/pt-1119-wpb/

November Birthdays

Please remember these wonderful folks in prayer and, if possible, reach out to them with a card, phone call, text, email or however you choose to honor them.

To double-check your listing, contact Soni Castleberry at soni.castleberry@gmail.com or phone or text at 502-417-6481.

November 5 - George Lindauer, Dana Walker

November 8 - Chris Bischoff, Seth Pendleton

November 11 - Diana Stephen

November 12 - Sebastian Duverge

November 15 - Carol Roderick

November 21 - Rick Roderick

November 28 - Lucy Craig Steilberg