John Calvin News Volume 58, No. 12 December, 2017

Transcription

1 John Calvin News Volume 58, No. 12 December, 2017 Christ is Lord. Following our Savior s example, the John Calvin Presbyterian Church accepts the call to worship God, teach the Scriptures, grow in faith, serve the community, love and encourage one another, and proclaim the Good News. John Calvin Mission Statement Adopted by the Session, December 14, 1994 I pray for each of you & yours hope and great joy! In 2018, may the love of God enfold us, the joy of Christ encompass us, and the Holy Spirit encourage us, as we wait in hope for Christ to come again. (Click on the text or picture for an animated Christmas card) JCPC 2000 Marsh Avenue, Florence SC 29505

2 (Click on the text or picture for an animated Christmas card) Each Sunday during Advent the Mission Committee is collecting items for Parking Lot Ministries. Items may be placed on the Christmas Tree in the Narthex. Dec. 3 rd Socks and Gloves Dec. 10 th Hats Dec. 17 th Scarves Dec. 24 th Blankets Angel Tree Gifts for children whose parents are incarcerated. Names are in the Narthex. Please write your name beside the child s name that you choose. Please return gifts by the 10 th. Presbyterian Communities of Florence Please bring gifts by December 12 th. Wish list for Santa bags: Emory boards, nail clippers, individual wrapped pieces of candy, bungee key rings, lotion and body wash for sensitive skin, toothpaste, toothbrushes, postage stamps, Kleenex, 2018 calendars, dove bar soap, slipper socks all items should be new and unwrapped.

3 John Calvin Presbyterian 2000 Marsh Avenue Florence SC Telephone: Fax: Web: Rev. Scott Hill, Pastor DATE ELDER ON CALL PHONE NUMBER ELDER PRAYER CLASS 3 DEC ANN LEWIS DEC PHYLLIS THOMAS DEC JANE COKER DEC BOBBIE CARNELL JAMES COLLAR AM SERVICE PM SERVICE 31 DEC TIM SMITH Nursery Dec. 3 Liz Moore Dec. 10 Karen Pattiliio Dec. 17 Susan Nexsen Dec. 24 Marilyn Chapman Dec. 31 Debbie Filyaw Jan. 7 Myra Horton Jan. 14 Jane Thrower Jan. 21 Allison Middleton Jan. 28 Liz Moore 13 th Marilyn and Richard Chapman 16 th Allison and Carey Middleton A Retirement Celebration for Bruce Ford will be held at Fraser Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1746 S US 521 Hwy, Sumter, on Saturday, December 9, at 4:00 pm. 25 th Margaret and James Summersett

4 2 nd David Ardis 3 rd Scott Hill Henry Smith 4 th Judy Voss 5 th Kelly Smith 6 th Roger Harris 13 th Richard Chapman 14 th James Summersett 20 th Lona Hill 22 nd Jim Clark 27 th Herbie Barrow 29 th Gina Sasser Anderson 30 th Thelma Hawkins Arthur Moore I want to thank my wonderful Church Family for the many cards, phone calls, the delicious food and drinks, for all the errands run for me, as well as your visits, and certainly for the PRAYERS while I am still dealing with several physical problems. I love you all. Virginia Jordan JCPC Cookbooks are a perfect Christmas Gift. Cost is $ They will be available on Wednesday nights. 5 th 6:00 p.m. Stoudemire Dowling Service of Remberance at JCPC 9 th 4 p.m. A Retirement Celebration for Bruce will be held at Fraser Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1746 S US 521 Hwy, Sumter 10 th 2:00-4:00 p.m. Christmas Open House at the Hill s 17 th 10:30 Service of Carols 21 st 11:45 Primetimers: Please bring a covered dish to share. 24 th Christmas Eve Candle Light Service 7:00 Save the Date: February 11 th Ladies Tea February 13 th Annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner 6:00 p.m.

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6 Advent Devotional Choice This year the Christian Education Committee is offering two different Advent devotional books for you to choose to use with your family or for your own personal daily devotion. One will be from Presbyterians Today as we have used the last several years. The 2017 edition is entitled Let Love Speak: Words and Actions to Pave the Way of the Lord. It has a wellwritten devotion entry for each day of Advent as well as a Spanish edition in the back part of the booklet. You could share that part with a Spanish speaking friend. The other Advent devotional is from Sanctified Art which produced the banners we cut last year. Entitled Let There Be Color, this one also has some well-written entries, reflection pages for you to write your thoughts, and pictures to color. We will have a limited number of each booklet available in the narthex beginning Sunday, November 19. We will be able to print additional copies of Let There Be Color if they are needed. ADVENT OPPORTUNITY Join fellow church members young and old on Wednesday evenings December 6 and 13 at 5:30 in the Fellowship Hall to worship, pray, eat and play together. Each Advent lesson is unique so even if you cannot attend all weeks you will be fully included in each event and if you cannot get there at 5:30 we welcome you whenever you can get there. Contact Betty Anne Smith ( or bettyasmith@bellsouth.net) if you have questions. On December 6 we will look at the life of St. Lucia and have a Swedish theme. The meal will include Swedish meatballs. The guests at the table on December 13 will be Mary and Joseph and we will enact a Mexican Posadas and have tacos for our meal. Plan now to attend! Lighthouse Ministries All food contributions are greatly appreciated. During December you may wish to consider donating canned hams or other items for a holiday meal. Also easy prep items for children out of school Please mark through the UPC codes and place your items in the basket in the narthex. Diaper Coupons are also needed and may be placed in one of the adult SS rooms. Letter Addressing Misunderstandings and Rumors Since the announcement of Bruce's retirement, several misunderstandings and rumors have surfaced. Bruce Ford, Presbytery Executive/Stated Clerk, and Julie Cox, Associate Presbytery Executive/ Associate Stated Clerk, have written a letter addressing these misunderstanding and rumors. You may view the letter and share it with concerned parties.

7 Dear John Calvin Family, Well, November has come and gone and 2017 is coming to an end as well. This time of year we are all so busy preparing for Christmas..decorating, baking, shopping, wrapping. Yet, above all we all begin to reflect on this past year, what has happened in our lives, and how Christ has lead us through our ups and downs. He is The reason for the season! As children of God, we are reminded of our gracious Savior and His freely given gifts of grace, mercy, and so many blessings. Which brings to mind how You, our John Calvin Family are always a blessing to our Youth. Your continued support provides us with opportunities of service and fellowship. We would like to share with you what we have been up to this past month and what we are planning for December and the new year. JCPC Youth have continued its participation in our local Parking Lot Ministry. On Saturday, November 4th, we were able to provide warm clothes, fresh bottled water, close to 50 personal hygiene bags, and 30 food bags. Your generous donations brought smiles to over 100 people in our community. We are going to serve again on Saturday, January 13th and we are again collecting these same items. If you wish to donate canned goods, the pop top food is the best. There is a box located in the Narthex for your donations or feel free to bring them to The parking Lot Ministry Room. (Room 8) We were also blessed with the opportunity to attend the Youth Conference at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. The theme this year was, Rivers and Roads. Our attention was caught by the guest speaker, David LaMotte, who is an award winning children s author, founder of a nonprofit organization for schools in Guatemala, and a very talented musician/songwriter. He spoke very passionately about All being welcome.the weary, the hopeful, the young, the old, those preparing for the adult world (our graduating seniors!). He reminded all of us that there are no boundaries in our Father s family no division based upon race, age, likes, dislikes, size, society s labels. Mr. LaMotte reminded us that we are all greatly loved, Children of God, and that we can all drink from the living water and we will never thirst again! He told us that we are safe to fall to our knees, hands wide open, and eyes lifted! What beautiful and reassuring these reminders are for everyone. After our time with this amazing speaker, our Youth took part in a Campus Scavenger Hunt,

8 enjoyed a tailgating lunch and then attended the football game. Ask any of our Youth and they can surely tell you about meeting Scottie the Blue Hose Mascot. As we move into December, we would like to share with you our upcoming plans. We will be providing a Christmas for a Lighthouse Family in need (shopping and wrapping), attending The Nutcracker Ballet, and participating in the nationwide Wreaths Across America event at The Florence National Cemetery. We invite you to attend this event with us, it takes place at the exact same time throughout our country and all are given the opportunity to Remember our fallen U.S. Veterans, Honor those who serve, and Teach our children the value of freedom. The ceremony begins promptly at noon on Saturday, Dec. 16th. Parking is limited so try to carpool if you plan to join us. Plans are underway for the 2018 Montreat Youth Conference in July. Please be on the lookout for more details over the next several months. We will be attending the week of July 15th-21st. As this letter comes to a close, allow me to say once again how much our JCPC Youth Group appreciates your love and support. We are a small but mighty group that is an awesome representation of our church. They continue to yearn to serve and fellowship and could not do these things without your kindness. We love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas filled with true joy and peace. With Love, Your, JCPC Youth Group December Youth Calendar 2 nd 3:30 shopping for Lighthouse family, followed by quick supper at Zaxby s, then wrapping at church in Youth Room. 12 th 7:15 Meet in the lobby of the FMU Performing Arts Center to attend The Nutcracker Ballet 16 th 12:00 Florence National Cemetery Wreaths Across America Looking into January th 7am Parking Lot Ministry 14 th 5:30 Montreat Cookout/Planning Meeting

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