Friday November 25, 2016

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Friday November 25, 2016 From the Student Minister s Desk The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand in the adder s den.

The Advent Devotional series that we are reading at Knox every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday throughout the season is called Wolves and Lambs.

1 Friday November 25, 2016 From the Student Minister s Desk The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand in the adder s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth, will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:6-9 Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. The Advent Devotional series that we are reading at Knox every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday throughout the season is called Wolves and Lambs. The image of a wolf and lamb lying down together is strange, and could be interpreted in many ways. It could be a comforting image; one that may make you think that there will be peace and harmony among all creatures (including humans). The Christmas message is most certainly often thought of as peace an image that is reinforced in the soft-focus pictures of Christmas cards. But, the unusualness of a wolf and lamb together, or leopard and kid, is also very unnerving. The very first Christmas was also like that. There was nothing usual about a king born in a stable; and the changes that this first Christmas would bring were certainly unnerving. Friday November 25, 2016 Inside this issue: From the Treasurer s Desk New Announcements 2 The Council Corner 3 New Announcements 4 This Week at Knox 5 Announcements Scripture Reflections 6-9 Cookie Walk Flyer 10 Sunday School - Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes 11 Food Bank Flyer 12 Winter Coat Drive Flyer 13 Think about how this image reflects our world today. How would you interpret it? Come and join us one day this week (Tuesday to Thursday) between to reflect on Advent scriptures and listen to what God is telling you in this season. Peace Gail Knox United Church, Ayr Church office Tel: Secretary: admin@knoxuayr.com Student Minister: Gail Fricker Webpage: knoxuayr.weebly.com

2 Friday November 25, 2016 Page 2 From the Tr easur er s Desk From the Treasurer s Desk; it s that time of year when we start to enter into that wonderful time of Advent. It s also that time of year, as your treasurer, I am starting to prepare our 2017 Operational Budget. To those committees who have submitted your information to me thank you and to all the others could you please forward your budget information to me as quickly as possible? Thanks. Also, I m starting to work on getting the 2017 offering envelopes ready. For those who use offering envelopes, I ll place them in your mail folder sometime during December. If you currently do not use offering envelopes and would like a set of them, please let me know and I ll make sure you get a set. As we near our year-end our finances are looking fairly positive. I thank you for making it look that way. Don Davidson, Treasurer New Announcements Knox is looking for a church admin assistant. If you are interested or know someone who is To contact Richard Kleri at or Susan Humphrey Anyone wishing to purchase a poinsettia in honour/memory of a loved one kindly see Janet Furlong with any donations and a written note of who the donation is for so we can get the spelling correct. See Janet at church or leave an envelope in her Knox mailbox. The deadline for getting the names of your loved ones in is Sunday December 18th. Names will be listed in the December 23rd Friday File and the Christmas Eve bulletin.

3 Page 3 Friday November 25, 2016 THE COUNCIL CORNER Christmas is coming! The cookie walk follows the Santa Claus parade this Saturday. That is always a tell tale sign that the Christmas season is underway in Ayr. Many homes have their lights up and lit. Christmas parties are underway. The annual Kindred Spirits Christmas dinners at the Cressman s are sold out. Poinsettias will be placed in the sanctuary again in memory of loved ones. A live nativity will be held in the park downtown on December 11 th with the lighting of the Christmas trees and a carol sing involving the North Dumfries Community Choir. And that s only the beginning! Just looking at the list of events and tasks can make you tired, anxious and overwhelmed. I encourage you this Christmas season to take time to relax (don t laugh, it can be done) and enjoy the beauty of the season and reflect on what the real meaning of Christmas is and what it means to you. Listen to Christmas carols and popular Christmas music. That always puts me in the spirit. I hope you will be able to attend as many of the upcoming events as is meaningful to you. Keep the advent Sunday services featuring themes from popular Christmas movies in mind. You will not be disappointed. Blessings, Glenyce Maus Chair of Council Thank you ladies for participating in the Christmas Kindred Spirits Dinner again this year. See you at 6:30 pm either December 5 th or December 6 th. Please come the night you booked, as we are fully booked! Kate

4 Friday November 25, 2016 New Announcements Page 4 Advent Devotional Please come out and join us during the season of Advent on Tues - Thursday to pause and reflect on scripture during this wonderful season. No need to register - come to one, some or all of them! Meet in prayer room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Come To Bethlehem We will be doing a Christmas drama for Dec 24th 6.30pm service and we are looking for actors (no speaking parts) and readers. Please let Gail know, or /call the office if you would like to be involved. There is also a sign up sheet outside the office. We will have just one short rehearsal on Sunday 18th after church. All ages, no experience needed! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Upcoming Sermons As we begin the count down to Christmas we will be using popular Christmas movies to see what they teach about the Christian message. Dec 4th 'Is yours A Wonderful Life?' Dec 11th. 'Did The Grinch steal your Christmas?' Dec 18th 'Visions of A Christmas Carol' Contrary to a spreading rumor - we will not be watching the actual movies during church - sorry about that! But I'm sure you can get them on Netflix! Dec 24th "Come to Bethlehem' Jan 1st "New Beginnings." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Live Nativity Don't miss the date! Our first annual Live Nativity, hosted by all Ayr churches, will be Dec 11th at 6.30pm at Centennial Park. It will be followed by a carol sing. Please put the date in your calendar - you won't want to miss it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Giving Tree Please take one or more small male/female figures from the Giving Tree outside the hall. Buy a present for a male/female adult, and bring it (unwrapped) to church on Sunday 5th. All these gifts will go to the Food bank participants for them to share with others - let's bring a smile to someone's face this Christmas! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Advent Peace Box During the Advent season, the Church in Action group will be promoting the contents of the Advent Peace Box for the moment for mission. The items will be for sale after church each week, with all proceeds going to Palestinian farmers and children living in occupied Palestine. Olive Oil $25 Spices $5 Soaps $5

5 Page 5 Friday November 25, 2016 This Week at Knox SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27 10:30 am. Advent 1 Worship Service & Sunday School MONDAYS - FRIDAYS 9:30 am - 12:00 pm. Preschool - Fell Hall/Kitchen/ Preschool Rooms MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28 12:00 pm. Senior s Time Out Christmas Dinner- Kitchen/ Fell Hall 6:45 pm. Cubs - Fell Hall 7:00 pm. Knox Bell-Ayrs Sanctuary TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 7:00 pm. Daniel Plan Kitchen/Library Lounge WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30 1:00-3:00 pm. Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank - Fell Hall 4:00-8:00 pm. Art of Music - Choir Room/M. & P. Room/ Room 11 6:45 pm. Scouts - Fell Hall THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1 6:45 pm. Beavers - Fell Hall FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 11:30 am. "Young At Hearts" Seniors Group - Fell Hall/ Kitchen 3:00 pm. Set Up for Preschool Breakfast With Santa SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3 8:00-11:30 am. Preschool Breakfast with Santa 4:00-6:30 pm. Messy Church - Fell Hall/Kitchen SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4 10:30 am. Advent 2 Worship Service & Sunday School Date November 27 December 4 Offering Counters Audio Visual System Schedule Sunday School Teachers Schedule Musicians Volunteers Mary Perriman & Anne Lovett- Hutchinson Diane Bartle & Janet Millward Linda Davidson & Heather Raby Mike & Merry Schmidt Rob Wittke & Harry Humphrey Reg Cressman & Janet Millward Heather Smith & Sherri Johns Mike & Merry Schmidt PRAYER REQUESTS: As a church we are called to pray for each other and for our mission in the world on November 27, 2016, we pray for: Carol Kopp Diane Dunseith and family on the passing of Rev. Terry Ayr Ministerial - Cedar Creek Community - Rev. Ian Elliott Today and throughout this week we are called to pray for the members of Fergus (Melville) (Waterloo Presbytery) as we participate in the Hamilton Conference Prayer Cycle. Monthly Prayer Cycle - Bearing Faith Public Witness Network of Hamilton Pray for Our Church - Our Committees and Elected Members of the General Council

Friday November 25, 2016 Announcements Page 6 Seniors Time Out Christmas is coming. Why not get into the spirit by joining us for a traditional turkey dinner at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, November 28 th?

The idea is that you take the cut out and buy something for a Male or Female adult (depending on what you pick), then place it, unwrapped, under the tree on Dec 4th as part of minute for Mission).

6 Friday November 25, 2016 Announcements Page 6 Seniors Time Out Christmas is coming. Why not get into the spirit by joining us for a traditional turkey dinner at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, November 28 th? Be sure to invite your friends. Looking forward to seeing you. The Giving Tree On Nov 27th (1st Advent Sunday) you will see a Christmas tree with little Male and Female paper cut outs out on it. The idea is that you take the cut out and buy something for a Male or Female adult (depending on what you pick), then place it, unwrapped, under the tree on Dec 4th as part of minute for Mission). These will then be wrapped and given to the Food bank on DEC 14th to distribute as part of Santa's workshop; it will be an opportunity for kids to give something for their parents and grandparents at Christmas. Some suggested gifts are: gloves, scarves, hats, socks, toiletries, books, purses, jewelry etc. Start shopping! Neighbours Helping Neighbours and Church in Action is once again collecting cleaning supplies for Christmas distribution. These Christmas hampers are for families in our community in need. If you wish to donate, please place them in the Gathering Place on or before December 11. There is a poster in the Fellowship Hall to sign up! This Intergenerational Annual event is for anyone to be a part of this fun Door to Door Carol Singing. Meet at Calvary Dec 20 at 5:45 to form groups to WALK or CAR POOL to the various home to cover the village with the JOY OF CHRISTMAS. Come and be a part of this great community. We wrap up by 8:00 PM.

7 Page 7 Friday November 25, 2016 Angel Voices Announcements Angel Voices will sing in church, Sunday, December 18, This is the same day as the Sunday School presentation. Rehearsals will be held Saturday, November 26, December 10 and December 17 th at 4pm. We will also have a short rehearsal Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 9:45 am. All school-aged children are welcome. If you have any questions, please contact Joyce Hambly, Need a table? The Admin committee is looking to relocate the old wooden tables with pipe legs. They are sturdy, but too cumbersome for our use. If you are interested, please let a committee member know by mid-november. Exciting Plans Ahead Just to let you know some exciting services planned at Knox for the upcoming Sundays that you won't want to miss! December 4th - Praise Band again and the beginning of our Christmas Movie Series: " A Wonderful Life!" December 11th - #2 in our movie series: "The Grinch Stole Christmas" and at 5.30pm - Outdoor Nativity at the park. December 18th - # 3 in our movie series: "A Christmas Carol" and our Sunday School Christmas Presentation December 24th - The Christmas Story told in music and drama by candlelight. Christmas can be a tough time for many. Memories are strong and losses seem even greater. There will be a Blue Christmas service held at St Luke's United, Cambridge on Nov 20th at 3pm. All are welcome.

If you have taken your name tag and have not reimbursed the church yet, please do so as soon as possible. Thanks. Scripture Reflections!

8 Friday November 25, 2016 Announcements Page 8 Nametags It's great to see folks wearing their name tags. Thank you. If you haven t ordered one yet, and would like to do so, please make sure to sign up for one on the sheet at the back of the church in the basket. $6.50 (pins) or $8.75 (magnets). If you have taken your name tag and have not reimbursed the church yet, please do so as soon as possible. Thanks. Scripture Reflections! December 4, 2016 Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 72:1-7, Romans 15:4-13 Mathew 3:1-12 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ December 11, 2016 Isaiah 35:1-10 Psalm 146:5-10 Luke 1:46b-55 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-11 Calendar of Monthly Events November November 20th - Baptism and Intergenerational Worship Service November 26th - Santa Parade and Cookie Walk November 27th - Advent 1 November 28th - Seniors Time Out Christmas Dinner December 4th - Advent 2 December 5th & 6th - Kindred Spirits Christmas Dinner - Cressman s December 11th - Advent 3 December 18th - Advent 4 Sunday School Presentation December 24th - Christmas Eve Service - 6:30 pm

and Lyndon Miller who were baptized last Sunday, November 20, 2016

9 Page 9 Friday November 25, 2016 Announcements Picture of the newest Members of Knox: Janice Kyle, Rebecca and Alan Murray Picture Mason and Lyndon Miller who were baptized last Sunday, November 20, 2016 and their parents Sutton & Kevin Lemay & Student Minister Gail Fricker

Parade $4 per dozen Warm up with a hot drink and a

10 COOKIES COOKIES COOKIES Knox Cookie Walk Knox United Church Saturday November 26 th Following Santa Claus Parade $4 per dozen Warm up with a hot drink and a sweet treat Tea room with cookies and Christmas Pudding

11 Operation Christmas Child Christmas is coming!! Maybe it is not quite on your radar yet as we haven t even celebrated Hallowe en but Knox Sunday school is getting into the spirit of giving and we hope you will too. On Sunday, November 13 th, the Sunday school children will be packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. This is an important international outreach which our congregation has supported for many years and helps spread the word of Jesus love in a very meaningful way. On the Samaritan s Purse website it states that Since 1993, more than 100 million boys and girls in over 130 countries have experienced God s love through the power of simple shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child. Please take time to pick up a few items to add to the shoeboxes and bring them to the fellowship hall on November 13th or pack a shoebox or two yourself and we will make sure it gets headed on its way. If you would prefer to support this project monetarily, it takes $7 for each shoebox to be delivered to its final destination. For more information contact Heather Raby, or go to the Samaritan s Purse Operation Christmas Child website. FILL YOUR SHOEBOX Fill your shoebox with a well-balanced variety of items from the following categories: School Supplies - Items such as pencils, pens, pencil crayons, note pads, and picture books Toys & Other Gifts - Items such as stuffed animals, small musical instruments, hair clips, toy jewelry, t-shirts, socks, and candy (loose, individually wrapped hard candy in a sealable bag) Hygiene Items - Please place soap in a sealable bag Personal Note - Include a personal note and/or a photo in your shoebox (not inside the donation envelope) DO NOT INCLUDE: Toothpaste (due to customs regulations) Food and any chewy, crumbly, or soft candy: Including gum (due to customs regulations) Used items (due to customs regulations) Playing cards (other card games such as UNO are allowed) Liquids or items that could leak, melt, freeze, or break - Shampoo, creams, lip balm, bath gels, mirrors, or glass, etc. (these can damage other items in the shoe box). Items that can scare or harm a child - War-related toys, knives, and toy guns, etc. Using a backpack instead of a shoe box is problematic because it creates unfair circumstances at distribution events. Backpacks can also cause problems when cartons are being packed, and when shipments are going through Customs. - See more at:

November is Flour and baking goods Month!

Please remember those less fortunate than you in your weekly

Thank you for your on-going support of the Cambridge Self Help

12 November is Flour and baking goods Month! These often forgotten items are a necessity in every home. Please remember those less fortunate than you in your weekly shopping. Thank you for your on-going support of the Cambridge Self Help Food Bank. Knox generously donates the Fellowship Hall for the Food Bank to provide service to Ayr and North Dumfries residents once every two weeks.

Friday October 28, 2016

Friday October 28, 2016 From the Student Minister s Desk The United Church is Changing! You ve heard people say, Church isn t what it used to be! or perhaps we used to have these pews filled what happened?