Come Home for Christmas

Transcription

1 Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church Rev. Erica L. Harley, Senior Pastor 905 National Road, Wheeling, WV (mobile) ( ) ( ) vancechurch.org (website) (office) Church Office Hours: Mon-Thur. 9am-3pm and Fridays 9am-12pm ADVANCE NEWS 2018 IN THIS ISSUE Come Home for Christmas December 2 New Hymnals Dedicated in Worship (see details on page 2) December 7 & 8 Distributing Coffee and Cocoa to Wheeling Guests on the corner of National Road and Route 88 from 7-9pm. (see details on page 2) Come Home...1 Celebrations Volunteers.3 Vance Families...4 Birthdays....5 Missionaries...6 Worship Schedule... 7 Keeping in Touch..8 December 14 & 15 Coffee and Cocoa from 7-9pm. December 16 Children s Christmas Program at 10am with Free, Catered Vance Christmas Luncheon following (see details on page 2 & 4) December 19 Soup and Caroling at 6pm (see details on page 5) Sundays at 10am Communion Service First Sunday of the Month at 10am December 21 & 22 Coffee and Cocoa from 7-9pm December 15 & 22 Live Nativity in the Vance Front Yard from 7-9pm December 22 Messiah Rehearsal from 10am to 1pm December 23 Messiah Performance at 3pm (see details on page 2) Note these Dates December 24 Christmas Eve Worship at 7:30pm & 11:00pm Vance Church Welcomes FOUR New Members to the Congregation on Nov. 25th We are so excited welcome new members Sophie and Adlie Abraham, who were confirmed, and Kevin Miller and Arnie Kuhl. 2nd Communion Sunday 16th Christmas Luncheon and Children s Pageant 18th Soup Kitchen (8AM 12:30PM) 19th Soup and Caroling 24th Christmas Eve Worship 7:30 PM Worship 11:00 PM 25th Church Office Closed 1/1/18 Office Closed

2 VMPC: A Traditional Church with Spirit Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Mon. Dec. 23, 2018, 7:30 PM in the Sanctuary COMMUNION Worship SUN. Dec. 23, 2018, 11:00 PM in the Chapel Bring your friends & family Glory To God Hymnals are here! On December 2, Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church will dedicate our new Glory to God hymnals in worship at 10am. If you would like to purchase a hymnal in memory or honor of a friend or loved one, forms are available at the welcome center in the Narthex. The cost is $20. A commemorative name plate will appear in each newly dedicated hymnal. Donate $5 at the door or a non-perishable food item for the Vance Food Pantry. Are you CUCKOO for COCOA? As part of our Advent evangelism campaign, Vance volunteers will be passing out FREE hot cocoa and coffee to Festival of Lights Traffic headed to Oglebay on the Corner of National Road and Route 88 from 7-9pm on December 7,8,14,15,21,22. We want to share the love of Christ with all those tourists and neighbors driving by our church this Christmas season!. Contact Erica or the church office if you want to join the fun! Sign-up at the Welcome Center Join us for a Free, Catered Christmas Luncheon Sunday, December 16, in Fellowship Hall Classic Turkey Dinner from Country Pride! Menu: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and dessert.

3 ...Serving the Greater Wheeling Area and Beyond CHRISTMAS gift project The Mission Commission thanks those who contributed to the Christmas Gift Project. We exceeded our goal and were able to fill over 75 ziptop bags. The bags have been gift-wrapped and delivered to Appalachian Outreach in Moundsville for distribution in central and southern WV. Thank you to recent Souper Volunteers! Call the office or just show up if you would like to be part of the Vance Soup Kitchen Team on: Tuesday, Dec. 18, rd Tuesday of each month DEACONS NEWS The Deacon s would like to thank the congregation for their generous donations of non-perishable food items to the Food Pantry. In November, your generosity helped 15 Ohio County Families with groceries! ***DECEMBER is Hot & Cold Cereal and Complete Pancake Mix & Syrup MONTH *** Please use a FOOD PANTRY DONATIONS envelope in the pew rack for your monetary donations. Salvation Army Kiddie Bags It's time once again to fill the Salvation Army Kiddie Bags. The collection will run until Sunday, December 9, Diane Crowl will be available along with other Deacons to help with signups and to answer questions. The Deacon's thank you for supporting this community project for the local children. Give a child the gift of joy! Keeping Tootsies Warm in Wheeling The Deacons will be collecting warm winter socks for adult male and female feet now through Sunday January13th. Please bring two socks so folks will have a pair, since most humans have two feet. The deacons will deliver these to the winter freeze shelter with Youth Services Systems. Fight off frostbite! I was naked and you clothed me Matthew 25:36

4 Vance Families Forever Educating Children, Youth, Adults and Families to Worship God, Walk in the Spirit and Witness Christ together. Advent for Children: Nativity Slideshow This year the Christian Education Commission and Children of Vance Church have something special planned to share in worship. We are going to show a narrated slideshow of the Nativity Story! Please join us on Sunday, December 16th at 10:00am in the worship service for this presentation of the true Christmas story as the children share the light of Christ with worshippers. The children will make the Christmas story come alive for you through Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the angels, the shepherds, the wisemen, Caesar Augustus and King Herod. We encourage you to come, not just to support the children s efforts, but also to receive the story of the Savior of the world in a fun and new way. Pick up your FREE copy today of this Advent Calendar Devotional for personal study in anticipation of the coming Messiah! Check the Lower Lobby and Narthex Welcome Center to get yours before they run out! Questions, Concerns, Suggestions, Jane Schockey Christian Education Director Phone: (Verizon Cell) (office) vancefamiliesforever@gmail.com Children s Advent Sunday School Gifts: With Love from the Christian Education Commission Vance Christian Education Children s Sermons: Sundays at all Worship Services Children s Bulletins and Worship Bags available for children of all ages. Sunday School: 9am

5 December Birthdays Please contact the office if we missed your birthday. Thanks!!! 01 E. Phillips Polack 05 Charles Maxwell 06 Karen DiOrio 10 Joelle Oliver 11 Alison Hannan 20 Bill Crowl 23 Sandra George 28 Shirley Driehorst 28 Anne Lamb 28 Mary Pasco 31 Diane Crowther DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED WITH CAKE IN THE NARTHEX AFTER THE 10AM COMMUNION WORSHIP SERVICE. Rev. Hunter Ferrell Director, World Mission Initiative, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary African Migrations and Transformations in Global Christianity December 5, 2018 at 6:30 pm Rev. Bala Khyllep Associate Director, World Mission Initiative, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary The Church in India December 12, 2018 at 6:30 pm Soup and Caroling! December 19th, 2018 Soup at 6:00pm and Caroling at 6:30pm The Church Around the World A lecture series sponsored by Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church 905 National Road Wheeling WV. All lectures begin at 6:30 pm with a simple meal of soup and bread preceding.

6 Praying for our neighborhood Though we love ministry to college students, we also continue to have a heart for internationals right in our neighborhood. This month we have had many opportunities to get to know people better through several avenues. Our kids played intramural soccer at a nearby park this fall. Caleb was an assistant coach for Elena s group and we were able to start building relationships with other coaches, parents, and players during the eight-week season. Now, when we walk around our neighborhood, we often run into people we know from soccer. We already look forward to continuing those friendships when the weather turns warm again in the spring! We stayed close to home for Thanksgiving break this year, giving us more free time than if we had traveled. Claire invited a family from the girls school over for lunch one day during the holiday break. The family has two daughters who are around Lydia and Elena s ages, and they immigrated to America two years ago from the country of Algeria. They have broken English, but we had a great time getting to know them and their culture better. We are excited to see what God has in store for this relationship in the future. For several months, God has been laying on Claire s heart a desire to start an English class for parents at the girls school. Over 45 percent of the students there are learning English as their second language and many parents do not speak English at all. Recently, she met with one of the ESL teachers at the school who has been praying for the right opportunity to start this class as well! Together they are now making plans for an after-school homework help and English class to begin in February. God is at work in our neighborhood and we are grateful to be a part of it! Contact Us: Caleb and Claire Bermudez 835 Wilder Street Philadelphia, PA Caleb.Bermudez@cru.org Claire.Bermudez@cru.org Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Caleb, Claire, Lydia, Elena, & Aslan Support our Missionaries! If you'd like to give financial support to our missionaries, please follow these instructions: * Please make checks payable to Cru * DO NOT place any other information on the "pay to the order" line. * Also, please do not write on the memo line. * Please attach a note indicating which staff member or ministry the gift is intended for. Please also include the seven digit designation number. (Caleb and Claire Bermudez: ) * Make sure the check is signed and dated. * Mail to: Cru Attn: Contributions PO Box Orlando, FL Or visit using # and follow directions.

7 December Worship Schedule 1st Sunday of Advent (Communion at 10:00AM) Dec. 2nd......Rev. Erica L. Harley 2nd Sunday of Advent (Worship at 10:00AM) Dec. 9th....Rev. Erica L. Harley 3rd Sunday of Advent (Worship at 10:00AM) Dec. 16th Rev. Erica L. Harley 4th Sunday of Advent (Worship at 10:00AM) Dec. 23rd Rev. Erica L. Harley Christmas Eve (Candlelight Service at 7:30PM) Dec. 24th.....Lessons & Carols WKWK-FM :00 AM SERVICE Regularly Broadcast Christmas Eve (Communion Service at 11:00PM) Dec. 24th Rev. Erica L. Harley 1st Sunday after Christmas (Worship at 10:00AM) Dec. 30th..Rev. Erica L. Harley *Poinsettia Sale* Help decorate the sanctuary for Christmas Eve Worship while remembering or honoring someone special. Poinsettias - $10.00 per 6-inch pot, 3-5 blooms. Please order after Worship Services in the Narthex now until December 16th. You may also call the church during office hours to place an order. Thank you! PER CAPITA Every member is encouraged to pay his/ her per capita for the year. If you would like to pay it for 2019, it is $ Per capita dollars help to sustain our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at the presbytery, synod and General Assembly levels. To be Presbyterian is to be a part of a connectional body and to see the church as more than a local congregation. If you are able, please consider paying your per capita today. Spread the Word of God Like a Shepherd When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. Luke 2:17-18 (NIV) BE A LITURGIST Sign-up to read in worship. Add your name to the list at the Welcome Center in the Narthex, or /tell Sue Abraham today! soabraham@aol.com

8 Member Room/Phone # Address Please remember the following members who are in need of special care. They are all going through unique journeys and need your prayers, cards/calls, and visits. If you would like to inquire about a specific person s needs, please contact an Elder, Deacon or the Pastor. If any information listed is incorrect, or you would like to add someone, please notify the church office immediately office@vancechurch.org Wileta Bell Sanford Dr. Columbia, SC Martha Kelley Robin Court Chillicothe, OH Marilyn Phillis Brookdale Hawthorne Lakes Unit# 440 Vernon Hill, IL Bill Johnson Greenwood Ave. Sally Ezell Greenwood Ave. Don Hendrickson Brentwood Ave. Sally Riley Bethany Pike Bill Maxwell Miller St. Parky Beneke Continuous Care Bransfield Pl. Rm. 202 Flo Frame Romney Road Shirley Driehorst Fairfax Dr. Deb Cox Merrymount Rd. Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church Sundays at 10:00am Sunday School at 9:00am First Sunday Communion Service at 10:00am A traditional church with Spirit serving the Greater Wheeling community and beyond.