Glorify God. Enjoy God. Live Christ s Love December 2017

Transcription

1 Cross Reference Glorify God. Enjoy God. Live Christ s Love December 2017 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 As I enter Advent this week, I am mindful that hope is a gift and an attitude: It frames expectation. LOVE It welcomes gratitude. It advocates for possibility. It unfolds the future. And it grounds my prayer for this season. Rev. Jan DeVries, General Presbyter, Grace Presbytery CONCERN Jan DeVries has had a year of challenges. She has fought breast cancer, and recently had hand surgery. Her words are remarkable in light of health struggles. And you know that when you don t feel well, it s hard to be upbeat about many things. Her words indeed capture the hope of the season. She s right about all of it, though, this season of Advent. It is about hope. Hopeful expectation as we await the day to celebrate the birth of Messiah. There s more. It s also a season of craning our necks to the promised return of Messiah. Advent: hopeful expectation, gratitude, possibility, the future, prayer. them. This is the December newsletter. It is filled with spiritual opportunities. I hope you ll take advantage of Come, thou long expected Jesus. The peace of Christ be with you, Laurie

2 Saturday, December 2, 10:00 a.m.: Hanging of the Greens Celebrate the beginning of Advent together! Let s come together to decorate the church for the season. Bring a refreshment to share. We need folks who can climb the latter into the attic. If you are that person, we would be grateful for your help. Let s work together to make the worship space a beautiful and spiritual place as we anticipate company during the season. Peace Has Come A Christmas Musical Sunday, December 17: Christmas Cantata The choir s been rehearsing Peace Has Come since September. Special rehearsals with guest musicians will take place. The choir will be ready. Enjoy the music for the season, a joyful Sunday celebrating Christ s birth. Do you have a friend or neighbor who would appreciate this moment of God s grace? Invite them!

3 Healing and Wholeness Service, Tuesday, December 19, 7:00 p.m. Psalm 103:1-5 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless God s holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all of God s benefits who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle s. This service has been called Blue Christmas in the past. It s one of the most special services of the year. It is a time of candlelight, prayer, singing, the Word, and Communion. This year we will anoint come for personal prayer and receive the sign of the cross with oil on your forehead. While you will not be required to do this, it will be made available for those who want to receive it. We worship this night for spiritual nurturing because of life s circumstances. Don t we all have life circumstances? We come to pray for ourselves, for others, for the suffering of the world. This is typically a small service. Would you join us this year? Opportunities for outreach during Advent Trinity Café: You can sign up to serve on any day online at TrinityCafe.org. Press Volunteer, then Volunteer Calendar Busch location to see what days need the most help, the Volunteer Sign Up Busch location to get your name on a list. Our regular days are the first Tuesday (12/5) and third Thursday (12/21). Frank Weaver is the Thursday coordinator every week. Heifer Project: John Bodie has the Heifer project table out on 12/3 and 12/10. Need a gift idea for someone who needs or wants nothing at all? This is a great way to give to people in need and honoring someone you love. Metropolitan Ministries: Saturday, 12/16, 1:00-4:00 p.m. When you sign up on the volunteer sheet in the Sanctuary, Skip Gassler will send you and with instructions for volunteering.

4 Christmas Eve You recall that Christmas was on Sunday last year. What a wonderful worship service we had! More attended than we dreamed. This year, Christmas Eve is on Sunday. At 9:30 a.m. we will have a potluck Christmas breakfast. Bring a favorite holiday dish or pastry to share. At 10:00-ish a.m., we will have an informal service of lots of singing Christmas hymns and prayer. Todd will take requests that morning. The traditional evening service will be at 5:45 p.m. We ll hear the Christmas story, have candlelight singing, and Communion. Oh Come, let us adore Him! Christ the King!

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6 Christmas Holiday Tent Saturday, December 16th 1:15-4:00pm Sign up sheet in Sanctuary. We can carpool from church. Many of us have volunteered in previous years. Hope you will be able to help this year. If you have questions, call Carol Gassler Will not meet in December December 1st Sunday The children will collect the 5 cents a meal offering for the Beth-El Food Pantry. Bring your change and let s make a racket! Tuesday, December 5 Thursday, December 21 Mission and Outreach Committee will not meet in December. Sunday Bulletins are now available on our website. Sunday Sermons are now published on the website on the pastor's blog. Beth El Farmworker Ministries, Wimauma (just outside Sun City Center) Feeding the Mind, Spirit, and Body of the farm working community and our neighbors in need, through opportunities for hunger relief, education, healthcare, and spiritual growth. Serving Tampa, Brandon, Hillsborough County, Plant City, Florida. Beth El has a food pantry that provides groceries for families every week. The need is always great. Fortunately, a good donor has provided and will provide rice and beans for the foreseeable future. For that we are grateful. The ministry could use help with other things, specifically canned goods fruits and vegetables US Highway 301 South, Wimauma Florida Phone:

7 Wednesday, December 13th 6:30pm Deb Belusa s Home December December 9th 7 p.m. Gary Stenzel s Home Deadline for the January Newsletter is December 20th. No deadline for prayer requests. Todd LeBlanc Jeannie and Frank Weaver Jane Zinkhan John Bodie Austin Stenzel Gene and Bonnie Haskins A- Ed Palmer Carolyn Thorley Ronald Walker Larry Wheeler We are missing a lot of birth dates. If we missed yours, please so we can update our records Celebration Fund Totals 2016 Contributions $ 5, Contributions $ 3, Total Contributions $ 9, SIGN UP TO SERVE AT TRINITY CAFÉ OPTION 1 Open a browser and go to: (Search or type into address bar)hover over the Volunteer tab Click on Volunteer Sign Up Busch Blvd. Location Fill in the form and click on Sign Me Up! Don t Forget to Find Us On the Web St. Andrew Website: On Facebook:

8 Dear St. Andrew Parishioners: I hope this letter finds you well and you had a great thanksgiving. I am grateful for your past friendship, prayers and support and I would like to provide you an update about my first semester at Florida International University (FIU). On the academic standpoint, I have been able to take five classes this semester, which are: Hospitality Marketing, Hospitality Pathway, Hospitality Technology, Intro to Hospitality Management and Intro to Earth Science and its lab. It has been really fun so far, I love all of my classes and specifically I enjoy learning about the Earth s structure. It is really fascinating! At this point, I am targeting a 3.5 GPA. Furthermore, all my transferred classes got accepted, so I am closer to graduating than I originally thought. The previous projected date for graduation was December 2019 but now the new date is May This is very exciting! I found that there is an Out of State Tuition Waiver for international students from the Caribbean that I am applying for in January for the fall 2018 semester. One of the requirements to obtain this waiver is that the students must return to their home country after the studies, in my case Haiti and that has always been in my plan. I believe that Haiti needs more professionals to help develop the country. That will be a dream come true! You may recall that track is my passion, but unfortunately I could not run for FIU this semester because of my schedule. However, I met with the head track coach and told him about my future plan, and plan to contact him before I register for next semester so he can arrange a practice time around mine and everyone else s schedule. Hopefully that will work. Again, thank you for your support and if you would like to reach me, my is: diephdomingue@yahoo.com or text me at (707) God bless you, Dieph

9 School Supplies for Haiti I know everyone can t go to Haiti for various reasons. However, if we are listening to our hearts there is something we can do even if we aren t. We are currently in the midst of obtaining 100 backpacks and enough pencils, pens, notebooks and pencil sharpeners to fill each of them. If everyone in the congregation bought just two notebooks, several pens, pencils and a couple of sharpeners we will be able to distribute them to needy children in villages, Frank Boka, Laurie Palmer and I will visit on the Haiti Mission Trip in January of Won t you please help in this effort because not only can you provide these necessary items you can be assured it s going directly to the people. Our partner church, Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township is assembling 100 hygiene kits they will bring to distribute along with the school supplies. If you want to order by mail instead of going to the store here is the link to order backpacks that contain all of the items. As we say in Creole, Mesi.

10 Poinsettias for the Season: If you d like to buy poinsettias to help decorate the Sanctuary for Advent and Christmas, please make a note on the sign in card and drop it in the offering plate. Also include if you d like to honor or remember someone with the poinsettia. Price TBD. Thornwell Organization s Jean Homrighausen to Speak at St. Andrew On Sunday, February 11, 2018 after our worship service, Jean Homrighausen, the Mission Advance Officer for Florida will speak to our congregation about the numerous efforts of the Thornwell organization. Thornwell, originally formed as a Presbyterian Ministry in 1875, now offers safe and loving, family style homes to children who might need a place to help them grow emotionally, academically and spiritually to reach their full potential. Thornwell also works with parents, grandparents or other relatives to develop an individualized plan for each child s unique needs. The partnership is critical to making sure the family is involved every step of the way. This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to learn more about the Thornwell mission and how we can support them. In addition, there will be a pot-luck luncheon immediately after the service with Jean beginning her presentation and film after we all have a chance to eat a bit and then finish our meal. If you are interested in providing a salad, entre or dessert please contact Kathryn or her at kathyboka@yahoo.com. A sign-up sheet will be available beginning in mid - December to specify what you will bring and the number in your party. Don t miss it! If you would like more information go to: Hank Belusa & Kathryn Boka Adult Sunday School We will study Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann s Names for the Messiah on Sundays 12/3, 12/10, and 12/17. There will be no Sunday school on 12/24 or 12/31.

11 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Decorate for Advent 3 9:30 Sunday School 10:30 Worship 4 5 Prayer Meeting Trinity Cafe A-Men Christmas Party 7p.m Presbyterian :30 Sunday School 10:30 Worship Session Christmas Party Prayer Meeting Women Christmas Party 6:30 Metropolitan Ministries 1:15-4 p.m :30 Sunday School 10:30 Christmas Cantata Healing and Wholeness Service 7p.m. Trinity Cafe 24 9:30 Potluck breakfast 10:00 informal worship 5:45 Christmas Eve Service Church office closed 25-26th No Sunday School 10:30 Worship