newsletter SCC See you Sunday!

Transcription

1 SCC newsletter It s hard to believe that we are in the last month of 2017! Once again, the holidays are upon us and we are looking forward to a new year. Here are some highlights from this past year: Over 1,000 people attended this year s Fall Fest! SCC bought and bought laptops and backpacks as well as provided computer training for 17 families here in Sebastian! Our VBS had a high attendance of 92! 13 baptisms so far in 2017! We broke an attendance (non-holiday) record with 345! Our student ministry is experiencing fantastic attendance! We are making an Impact at SRHS! We are partnered with Chum Bucket at SRHS and Winners Walk Tall at TCE! We have a strong partnership with PIE and other community partners here in Sebastian! We have given over $21,000+ to our mission partners! These are just some of the exciting things that have happened this past year as we continue to strive to be a Church for this community. This past Spring, the leadership of SCC recognized the need for a full-time children s & family pastor and so began a months long search process. It was announced back in November that we have hired Briana Calabrese who will start in a part-time capacity in January, until she finishes up her children s ministry degree. We are excited to welcome her to the team and look forward to seeing how God uses her to impact kids and their families here in our community. I want to take a moment to personally thank Christin Cole for the three dedicated years that she has given to our children s ministry as director. Christin thank you for all that you have done for us. It s been a pleasure serving alongside of you. Christin will be remaining at SCC and will continue serving ministries in a volunteer role. This year, Sunday Worship falls on Christmas Eve. That day we ll be having regularly scheduled worship services and having a special Christmas Eve service at 6:00 PM Sunday evening. This will be a brief, hour-long, worship service. We will again have Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. Join us and come out to enjoy a classical Christmas Eve fellowship! The Christmas season is a reminder of just how much God loves YOU! Of how special YOU are! We celebrate the birth of Jesus because it foreshadows what He would do for us on the cross by taking our place so that we could be reconciled TO God and have fellowship restored! We give gifts as a reminder of the generosity of God in giving us the greatest gift of all through His Son! Romans 5:8-11 (CSB) But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation. See you Sunday!

2 Volunteer Highlight There are SO many reasons to thank our Children s Volunteers......almost as many reasons as there are volunteers! Of the many reasons they are so special and important, is the fact that they faithfully give of their time to hold your little one s hearts as they strive to teach them of our Savior s love for them. What a precious gift. We would like to thank each of our volunteers by name. So hold on, this might take a while. Emily & Morgan Adams, Lisa Adams, Mary Becker, Brandi Bramble, Kaiden Broomall, Sharie Buchanan, Evan Bush, Briana Calabrese, Maria Casserly, Jan Cernigliaro, Debbie Chorma, Christin Cole, Justin & Jordan Cole, Sherry Collins, Katie Daily, Becky Ehrlich, Paula & Matthew Essig, Allen Green, Tammy & Amanda Green, Karen Greer, Alyssa Gregory, Betty Hilliard, Adrienne Hoffman, Jordan Johnson, Jennifer Lombardino, Jacque & Kaylee Miller, Connie Morgan, Jasmine O Grady, Sandra Peters, Marsha & Kendall Peterson, Jeremy Strater, Christy & Gracie Strater, Kyler Thomas, Shay Wuerffel We appreciate you ALL so very much!! Italian Christmas Feast! Join us Wed, Dec 10a-12pfor some great food and fellowship with a mission! Bring 1 child gift for Toys for Tots and 1 canned food item for Chum Bucket. Come back that night for Christmas Caroling with our Youth! (Don t forget to bring some cookies to share!) We are filled with thanks for the support we received from our church family! We were able to deliver shoeboxes filled with gifts to 147 students and Pelican Island and Treasure Coast Elementary. A special HATS OFF to all the ELVES who gave much time and effort packing and wrapping! God Bless M. J. Anderson

3 It's Not Too Late to Experience by Amanda White I know how it goes. You rush home from your kids school Christmas party (where you made 23 Christmas trees out of pinecones and mini-pompoms while the kids stuffed their faces with red and green M&Ms they were supposed to be using to mark Christmas BINGO), so you can throw some lil smokies in a slow cooker to take to your book club s Christmas party. But before you can go, you seal all 148 of your Christmas cards, staple a ribbon to your kids gifts they are giving to their teachers (you couldn t find tape ) and then when you finally get home (after you won a Robert Pattinson doll as your white elephant gift), you get on Facebook to see that all your friends have been at home all day doing meaningful Bible studies with their kids around Advent candles and their homemade ornaments. And you want to cry because you want to make Christmas about Jesus. But when you ve signed up for parties and lil smokies and white elephant gifts, how do you fit Jesus in there?! Guess what? It s not too late to celebrate Advent. It s not too late to make Jesus the center of your celebration. Do you know what Advent means? The coming. Arrival. That s it. Advent, the days leading up to Christmas, just means arrival. It s the time we celebrate the arrival of Jesus. And as we await the arrival and the celebration of baby Jesus, our fully-god, fully-man Savior, I think, the thing He wants us to do is the same. He wants us to arrive. *Arrive to a place of worship. *to a season of wonder. *to a space of quiet. *to a moment with Him It s easier (and less stressful) than you think! Maybe it s just listening to O Holy Night on repeat before bed. Or making sure when you go to the Christmas Eve service at church, you put your phone on silent and the gifts-yet-to-be-wrapped out of your mind. Try reading the Christmas story from the Bible with dramatic voices. Then, read it again. See if you can recount the whole story of Jesus birth with your kids while you re driving them home from dance class. Read Luke 2 over dinner and have your kids keep track of all the super-natural stuff that happens in this one little story. How high did they count? Listen to absolutely nothing while you drive from one event to the next--instead, notice the trees, the snow (if you ve got any) and the sky. Arriving to the wonder of the manger, doesn t always require falling on your knees. Maybe it is doing a baby-jesus-in-the-manger craft with the kids around the kitchen table. Maybe it is dragging out the Bible and a devotional book after working/baking/making/hosting all day. Or it may be just one little moment, a simple span of quiet that fills you with wonder, a glimpse of God s glory wrapped in cloths and lying in the manger. But that one little moment? It may be the best moment of your year. It may be the moment your kids remember the rest of their lives. It may be the moment they get it and realize the best gift of all is Jesus. Arriving at the manger meant Jesus had to give up much of who he was. Paul writes to the Philippians, [Jesus], who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:6-7, ESV) How we arrive at the manger may not be as selfless and exciting and important. We may arrive a little haggard, a little tired and a little out of breath. The important thing is the arrival - that we show up. That minute of arrival, as simple as walking through a door, will be your Advent. It will be your arrival to the side and the heart of the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Our arrival to His arrival. That s what Advent is all about.

4 The Elders want to inform the congregation that we have shifted our support from two of our long-time mission support partners, Rapha House, and the Khopangs, so as to free up resources which allows us to reallocate and up our monthly support for Shining Light mission in Haiti. Please feel free to ask Pastor Todd should you have any questions. God bless. SaturKettle Bell-Ringers day, Volunteers Needed Dec Saturday, Dec 16th 10am - Winn Dixie on 512 Sign up at Guest Services! Nov Budget Nov Giving Nov Missions $ 23,800 $ 24,626 $ 2,462 Briana, wife to Steven and mother of Felicity and Naomi, has been working and volunteering with children throughout her whole life. Born and raised in Pottersville, NY along with her five sisters, she grew up actively volunteering and working in her local church. She enjoys precious family time, hiking, and reading good books. A passionate advocate for learning she is grateful to be part of the Lord s plan in our SCC kid s lives as they grow to discover God s never-failing love.

5 Please join us for a wonderful time together as women in Christ on Saturday, December for our Let us enjoy a meal and encourage one another in this Christmas Season. A sign up sheet will be available at the HUB. Please sign up no later than Sunday,12/10 at Guest Services Thank you! Maureen Kisielewski & The Women's Fellowship We are getting excited that Christmas is on it s way! As we prepare for our Christmas Eve Service, we are asking for those who are able, to please share Christmas cookies. A sign up is available at Guest Services. Thank you for your help in showing the warmth of God s love to all that come.

6 DECember Serving Schedules 10:25 AM - 12 PM Worship Nursery 8:50-10:25 AM Worship Nursery 12/3 Jacque/Kaylee Miller 12/10 Paula/Matthew Essig 12/17 Maria Casserly 12/24 Mary Becker K-5th 12/3 Christin Cole 12/10 Jan Cernigliaro 12/17 Betty Hilliard 12/24 Karen Greer 12/3 TBD 12/10 Sherry Collins 12/17 Christy & Gracie Strater 12/24 Sherry Collins/Justin Cole Toddler 12/3 Shay Wuerffel/ Amanda Green 12/10 Marsha P./Jordan J. 12/17 Connie Morgan/Kaiden B 12/24 Lisa Adams/Jordan J. Pre-K 12/3 Debbie Chorma 12/10 Allen Green 12/17 Katie Daily 12/24 Shay Wuerffel K-5th 12/3 Briana Calabrese/Alyssa G 12/10 Brandi Bramble/Jasmine O Grady 12/17 Jeremy Strater/Evan Bush 12/24 Christin Cole/Emily Adams Tech Help - 2nd Service 12/3 Justin Cole 12/10 Kyler Thomas 12/17 Gracie Strater 12/24 Jordan Cole