905 National Road, Wheeling, WV ( ) (office) (fax)

Transcription

1 Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church John Oerter, Transitional Pastor 905 National Road, Wheeling, WV ( ) ( ) (mobile) (office) (fax) ADVANCE NEWS 2017 IN THIS ISSUE Pastor John....2 Birthdays.3 Vance Families...4 Committee News...5 Missionaries...6 Worship Schedule.. 7 Office News.8 Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship SUN. Dec. 24, 2017, 7:00 PM Bring your friends & family Join us for a Free Catered Christmas Luncheon Sunday, December 10, Please sign the RSVP Leaflet in the Pew Pad and leave it there to be picked up and used for a total count of guests, or call the church office and tell the secretary. SEE YOU THERE! We will also be celebrating the ordination and installation of church officers that will happen in worship that Sunday! The church office will be open Mon-Thur. 9am-3pm and Fridays 9am-12pm THE CHURCH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED Mon. 12/25/2017 Mon. 01/01/2018 Note these Dates 3rd Communion Sunday 10th Christmas Luncheon 10th Ordination/ Installation of Officers 19th Soup Kitchen (8AM 12:30PM) 24th Christmas Eve Worship 7:00PM 25th Church Office Closed 1/1/18 Office Closed

2 Out of My Mind ~ for December 2017 Transitional ponderings from Pastor John This will be my last monthly article to my Sisters and Brothers in Christ, of Vance Presbyterian Church. I find myself thinking of the times when St. Paul said Farewell to his loved ones in the Body of Christ, as he traveled on, doing his work. I m certainly no Apostle Paul, but I do think of myself as a kind of wandering prophet, helping specific churches grow spiritually and organizationally. What is certainly true of both of us, is that as I work with you, lead you in worship and other places, pray for you, and seek to be a genuine shepherd for our time together during all of these, especially the praying, I become attached to you all, individually, and to groups of you. I find myself thinking of 2 Timothy 1, where Paul is writing to Timothy, the resident pastor for Jesus Church in Ephesus, while Paul journeyed on in his mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus. From this example and others, Dr. Luke records that there were fond goodbyes and shed tears. I have found that the nature of Christian community is to grow to love one another. So, all too soon, I find myself getting ready to say, Farewell! to you all. I feel some grief in this anticipation: we have done some good work together; you all have cared for me affectionately and effectively when my health was wobbly; we have prayed, played, worshipped, and worked together. And, in living through more than a year together, we have come to care for one another. That s good In this last article, let me say clearly, I have come to believe you all, Vance Presbyterian Church, are a lovely, caring, healthy church. I also believe that you all are poised on the brink of sufficient growth to maintain your continued usefulness to your Master, Jesus. I m not sure that you have noticed, but we have grown in our regular attendance and involvement in our work and worship. This is a lovely blessing, and indicates your welcoming environment and nourishing worship. Keep it up! You all also know that I believe that Vance can create a congregation-wide climate of invitation. We ve made a small, but significant step toward that, when your Session created the Member Invitation and Retention team. There are four folks who are interested in meeting and charting a path toward more effective reaching out this is also good. One last notion I want to write about. Your leadership: Deacons and Session, have worked on articulating Vance s WHY. The culmination of that work is five WHY words, that say out loud our deepest values: ~ LOVE [God and one another] ~ WELCOME [inclusive of all] ~ VALUE [gifts and talents of all] ~ SERVE [in house and beyond our walls] ~ THINK [about our Faith not just accept ] I urge you to continue with this most useful work! Bring your installed pastor up to speed when she or he arrives, and see what God opens out before you. So, one other thing I want you to recall, as we say Farewell to one another, is my first Out of My Mind article with you for November of 2016, where I wrote about being a sailboat church not a rowboat church. I urge you to trust the power and direction of the wind of God s Holy Spirit as She [!] blows among you. Trust God s leading and your own best aspirations. And, so I say, Fare-well with God s Spirit and work for our common good; love openly; and get to know God better this month!

3 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. To the Members of Vance Church, Growing up at Vance was a wonderful experience and all of you touched my life in so many ways...you continued to be there for those in need at what is now my home church in Houston. I am writing to thank you for your generous donations to Lakewood United Methodist Church for our members and other within our community, that were affected by Hurricane Harvey. Your concerns and prayers lifted me personally during the trying times during and after Harvey and your donations to those that needed it will go a long way in the recovery process. God Bless You All, Debbie Steele Hall Please pray for the Pastoral Nominating Committee (PNC) : Amber Green, Beth Ann Dague, Howard Monroe, Karen Seabright, and Jim Squibb. PRAYER OF DISCERNMENT 9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10 to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11 having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. ~Philippians 1:9-11(NRSV)

4 Vance Families Forever Educating Children, Youth, Adults and Families to Worship God, Walk in the Spirit and Witness Christ together. Advent Study for Adults! O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: Reflections on Seasonal Hymns for Adults Join us for the four Sundays in Advent for a discussion about Four Seasonal Hymns! After worship, we will meet in the Narthex for an informal lesson led by Pastor John on the Advent Hymns: Come Thou Long, Expected Jesus (12/3), Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence! (12/10), O Come, O Come Emmanuel (12/17), and In the Bleak Midwinter (12/24). WE HOPE YOU WILL PARTICPATE!!! Pick up your copy today of the Presbyterians Today Advent Devotional! Check the Lower Lobby and Narthex Welcome Center to get yours before they run out! Our Elementary Sunday School Class will be celebrating their First Communion on Sunday, December 3, 2017 at our 10am Worship Service! Let us all joyfully welcome them to God s Table! Questions, Concerns, Suggestions, Jane Schockey Christian Education Director Phone: (Verizon Cell) (office) vancefamiliesforever@gmail.com Vance Christian Education Children s Sermons: Sundays at all Worship Services Sunday School: 9am

5 KEEPING UP WITH OUR COMMITTEES/COMMISSIONS... CHRISTMAS Shoeboxes The Mission Commission thanks those who contributed to the Shoebox Santa project. We exceeded our goal and were able to fill 60 shoeboxes. The boxes 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 if you would like to be part of the Vance Soup Kitchen Team on: Tuesday, Dec.. 19, rd Tuesday of each month Salvation Army Kiddie Bags It's time once again to fill the Salvation Army Kiddie Bags. We will have bags available in the Narthex starting Sunday, November 5, The collection will run until Sunday, December 3, 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! DEACON S FOOD PANTRY 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 12 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.

6 What s Next, Where is Home? We have successfully moved all our belongings back from Kazakhstan in 14 suitcases and are now over jet lag! We have enjoyed reconnecting with our families over the past few weeks that we have been back in the United States. Caleb s conference in Turkey at the beginning of November was a time of affirmation and validation for him as he handed over the leadership of the Kazakhstan student ministry to another staff member. We both felt complete closure as we ended our time in Almaty and moved officially back to America. We were glad to be able to participate in the Cru Mid-Atlantic Staff conference the weekend before Thanksgiving. It was a great time to meet many members of our new team in Philadelphia as well as old friends and coworkers. We are grateful for an organization that cares for its staff as well as keeps the focus on fulfilling the Great Commission. We really sense God s direction in calling us to our next mission field in Philadelphia, knowing that there are many needs to fill there. We are excited as a family to remain Cru staff and continue serving as full-time missionaries here in the United States. The weeks leading up to the New Year will be filled with transition for our family. We will be looking for housing and schools in Philadelphia beginning the week after Thanksgiving. Until we decide on these topics, our belongings will remain in suitcases and we will live the nomadic life! Pray for wisdom as we make many important decisions regarding education for the children as well as which area of the city we should pursue for housing. Pray also for our stamina as a family, to be patient with each other through the transition and for sweet memories made together. This Christmas season, we are reminded of the incredible sacrifice Jesus made to come to Earth and live among us. Just think how it must have felt for Him to have no place to call home here on Earth. His eternal home was in heaven and He never lost sight of that. Our hope for our transition to Philadelphia is that God will help us to keep that same eternal perspective in the midst of the stress of finding a new place to live, knowing that this world is ultimately not our home and we should continue pursuing His kingdom. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Caleb, Claire, Lydia, Elena, & Aslan

7 December Worship Schedule 1st Sunday of Advent (Communion at 10:00AM) Dec. 3rd Pastor John 2nd Sunday of Advent (Worship at 10:00AM) Dec. 10th......Pastor John 3rd Sunday of Advent (Worship at 10:00AM) Dec. 17th Pastor John 4th Sunday of Advent (Worship at 10:00AM) Dec. 24th Pastor John Christmas Eve (Candlelight Service at 7:00PM) Dec. 24th Pastor John WKWK-FM :00 AM SERVICE Regularly Broadcast 1st Sunday after Christmas (Worship at 10:00AM) Dec. 30th..Jane Schockey *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 10th. 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 2017, it is $ For 2018 the dollar amount is TBA. Per capita dollars help to sustain our Presbyterian Church at the presbytery, synod and General Assembly levels. To be Presbyterian is to be a connectional body and to see the church as more than the local congregation. If you are able, please consider paying your per capita. 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 the Bible in worship. Add your name to the list at the Welcome Center in the Narthex, or /tell Sue Abraham today! soabraham@aol.com

8 Keeping in Touch Please remember the following members who are in 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 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 Location Member Room/ Phone # Shut-ins or Extra Attention Wileta Bell Don Hendrickson Martha Kelley Marilyn Phillis Sally Riley Address Sanford Dr. Columbia, SC Brentwood Ave. Wheeling, WV Robin Court Chillicothe, OH Brookdale Hawthorne Lakes Unit# 440 Vernon Hill, IL Bethany Pike Wheeling, WV *signifies recently added or changed West Liberty University Choirs Holiday Concert Including WLU Singers, WLU College Community Choir and professional brass and organ. Two Performances on Sunday, December 3, 2017 at 3pm and 7pm in the sanctuary of Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church. Tickets $10 for adults $5 for students/seniors at the door only. If Vance members would like a ticket without having to stand in line, just see Debbie B. on Sunday Dec. 3 after morning worship. Otherwise, they can be purchased at the door. Seating limited. You must be a ticket holder to get into the Sanctuary and receive a program. Sundays at 10:00am Sunday School at 9:00am First Sunday Communion Service at 10:00am