Let the Whole World Sing presented by the Sanctuary Choir This Sunday, December 9 at 11:00am

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1 Volume XXXVI, No. 49 The Banner December 4, 2012 Children s Christmas Breakfast Saturday, December 8 9:00am 11:00am Come enjoy a full breakfast with Santa, making crafts, and Following a star to Bethlehem! (Parents are welcomed to attend also) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let the Whole World Sing presented by the Sanctuary Choir This Sunday, December 9 at 11:00am ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Presented by Children s Choirs December 9th at 6:00pm

2 DECEMBER 9, :00am Worship Let the Whole World Sing Presented by the Sanctuary Choir 6:00pm Sunday Night Kaffee Ring in Advent Presented by the Children s Choirs Phrases from Parke... I want to share with you an interesting blog-post about Advent and waiting by Peter Haley of Anderson SC. I m not a very patient person; more than that, I hate being late for appointments or events. Whether I m driving home from church, or watching my laptop for an to come through, or trying to figure out what I m going to write for my next blog post, I try to get things done quickly. Part of this comes from my personality, and part of it comes from several college education classes that instilled the value of economizing my words in the limited time frame of a lesson. And yet, with my tendency to rush headlong toward a goal or appointed time, I always find myself welcoming the times of preparation and expectation in the church, particularly Advent. More and more, I m discovering the value of this season, where I have to hurry up and wait the preparation for the coming of Christ is an important exercise in developing my faith. When did you hear your first Christmas song this year? Were you able to avoid it until after Thanksgiving, then tune into whatever lite radio station was running Delilah s show, or did you happen upon it even earlier than that? I confess that I started listening to some Christmas choral music as early as October- but that was more to get me in the mood as I planned worship for Advent than anything else. The Christmas decorations started going up in the retail stores just as soon as they stripped the stuff from Halloween, and the Lexus/Mercedes/Kay Jewelers commercials on TV weren t far behind. We have become so conditioned to look forward to Christmas that we sometimes forget that Advent, just like Lent, is a season of waiting, as we yearn to hear the birth story again. How many times in the Bible do we see of God causing people to hurry up and wait? Sarah waited so long to have a child that she laughed when told that she would bear Isaac. The Israelites were made to wander the desert for 40 years, before reaching the Promised Land. Even Jesus himself had to wait, not coming to us as a fully-grown man, but as a vulnerable newborn that would have to grow, all the while learning to walk, and talk, and navigate the challenges of his own world before beginning his ministry. Last year, several church members approached me after each Sunday in Advent, asking why we weren t singing the good old Christmas hymns yet. They were so eager to break into the familiar refrains of Joy to the World and Hark, the Herald Angels Sing that they couldn t help but be disappointed when they saw that we were singing things like O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence instead. It s a good problem to have: people who are ready to sing about the coming of Christ, and the beginning of his story all over again. But before the birth story can be told, we must hear of a voice crying out in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord! What are we waiting for? Jesus, his birth, and all the celebrations that come along with it. But we still have to wait. And so we sing: See you Sunday, singing God s song, Parke Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free; from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in thee.

3 F.Y.I.... Deacon of the Month: December Jason Berry Home (276) Cell (276) SUNDAY SCHOOL Attendance for Sunday, December 2: 149 Greeters Upstairs entrance Jim Hughes Charles Grogan Downstairs entrance Louise Blevins Peggy Hughes John Blankenship Extended Session Workers December 9 Carrie Baxter, Mary Garrett,Charlene Phelps, and Nicole Farrar Ushers & Greeters 11:00am Co-Chairs: Larry Payne, Buddy Carrier, Mike Overstreet December Greeters: Chris King Mary Fraysier Janet Lambert Bert Parsons Brenda Stong Brenda McDiffett Jim Johnson Jerry Culberson Sheila Willis Ushers: Worship Technician: George Strong Carl Willis Roy Morelock Diana Johnson Van Drivers Sunday Morning & Evening December Ken Russell (H), (C) Financial Update December 2, 2012 Budget Funds Weekly Requirement $8, Received Today $9, Year-to-date Budget $411, Year-to-date Receipts $406, Building Fund To-date $91, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering Goal $10, To-date $ THURSDAY December 6 6:00pm Seniors to Speedway in Lights (Note time change) FRIDAY December 7 10:00am SATURDAY December 8 9:00am Children s Christmas Breakfast 9:30am LBA WMU Breakfast w/ Lottie 1:30pm Friendship SS Class Christmas Luncheon SUNDAY December 9 9:45am Sunday School 11:00am Worship Sanctuary Choir 6:00pm S. N. Kaffee Children s Choirs MONDAY December 10 10:00am Hearts of Gold Mission Outing Grace Healthcare & Abingdon Manor 2:00pm Staff Meeting WEDNESDAY December 12 10:00am 5:00pm Wednesday Fellowship Supper Menu: BBQ, coleslaw, baked beans Assorted Desserts Kid s Menu: pizza, veggie sticks 5:30pm Cherubs (Music for 4 & 5 yr-olds) Mission Friends (Missions for 3 yr-olds) Children in Action (Missions grades 1-5) Youth Missions (6th-12th Grade) 6:00pm Worship 6:10pm Music for Threes (Music for 3 yr-olds) Mission Friends (Missions for 4 & 5 yr-olds) Children s Choir (grades 1-5) 7:00pm Sanctuary Choir FRIDAY December 14 10:00am 12:00pm Widow s Group w/ Dana Duncan Sunday, December 9 ~Judy Osborne s 27th Anniversary with Abingdon Baptist Church~

4 Prayer Concerns Hospital: Johnston Memorial Hospital Doris Southerlin, John Sheffield (LBA Treasurer) Bristol Regional Medical Center Courtney Berry, Chuck Callahan, Chuck McHugh UVa Medical Center Maxine Benson (Curtis Burkett s sister) Corbin, Kentucky hospital Cathy Hall (friend of Nicole Farrar) Hobart, Indiana hospital Frances Roop (Marsha Terry s cousin) Conway, South Carolina hospital Rita Moore (Opal Salyers niece) Recuperating: James Collins Patricia Hensley Lois Maiden Howard Smith Floyd Sutherland Lawrence rehab facility in Richlands (Vicki Burkett s uncle) Treatments Continuing/Pending: Sarah Bowers, James Branstetter, Bobby Bright, Anna Bell Callahan, Lois Campbell, Sammy Campbell, Terry Christian, Amy Crowder, Dave Dawson, Mary Dennison, Renee Dixon, Yvonne Dunn, Sue Foil, Mary Fraysier, Allen Garrett, Jim Gunter, Sandy Haney, Ann Hardee, Lucille Heath, Elaine Hiner, Mary Holbrook, Jim Jones, Ruth Keith, Kevin King, Linda Kiser, Tommy Linkous, Lois Maiden, Jeff & Carol McCray, Sharlene Miller, Kevin Perrigan, Ronda Phillips, Garland Pollard, Mary Rickey, Montana Rickey, Anne Roach, Jacob Roe, Linda Salyers, Bobby Seymore, Trish Sills, Rachel Stout, Beth Sykes, Tom Talley, Bob Taylor, John Thomas, Shirley True, Glenn Vance, Howard Webb Homebound of the Week Helen Harris Grace Healthcare, 600 Walden Rd. Abingdon, VA Long Term: Bob Barlow, William Junior Blankenship, Curtis Burkett, Mac Clifton, Roger Clifton, Corine Collins, Duke Davis, Clayton Dickens, Frances Dover, Doris Fleenor, Carolyn & Ev Fuqua, Jim & Ann Howard, Paul Jones, Esther Kelly, William F. Billy Moore, Mary Pace, David Robinson, Don Salyers, Wesley Smith, Irby Snead, Margaret Sorensen, Joyce Wright Independent Living/Retirement/Assisted Care & Rehab Facilities: Vivian Anderson, Lola Hutton, Mazie Cook, Vera Rivera, Virginia Smith ( ), Helen Harris, Genevive McCall, Sally Stevens, Howard Smith, Jean Moore, Lois Maiden, Lydia Collins, Dancey Flanagan, Evelyn Hilt, Virginia Moore, Ruth Noe, Marion Jenkie Tomlinson Homebound: Mary Hunicutt, Luther Johnson, Dolores Lampson, Mae Ledford, Lois Maiden, Jeanette Millsap, Rosa Lee Phelps, Jim Repass, Rosella Reynolds, Virginia Saunders, Coma Tiller, Jake Turner Sympathy: We extend our Christian love and sympathy to Linda and Fred Sutherland, Jr. in the death of his father, Fred Sutherland, Sr., who passed away November 28. Happy Birthday... Tuesday, December 11 Sue Goodman Wednesday, December 12 Joe Johnson, Jr. Glenda Mayfield Mike Counts Benjamin Childers Thursday, December 13 Shirley Turner Friday, December 14 Cindy Clayman Trula Harris Jocelyn Browning Saturday, December 15 Ronnie Webb Sunday, December 16 Luke Martin

5 Opportunities to Serve... The No Child Left Unfed Program at High Point Elementary School is again in need of donations this year for children who will not receive food during our Christmas break, which is 14 days. They are needing 117 boxes. The approximate total per box is around $40.00 and the following is a list of suggested food items: Jar of Peanut Butter, Box of Crackers, Box of Instant Oatmeal, Box of Cereal, Box of Non-Fat Dry Milk(3pk), Box of Granola or Cereal Bars, Several Boxes of Mac & Cheese, Combination of protein items (totaling 14): Cans of tuna and chicken, ravioli, soup, Beenie Weenie's, Vienna Sausage, etc. Apples and/or Oranges. Please bring all food/money donations to the church office by Monday, December 17. Welcome New Member... For Baptism: Mr. Heath Shelton Watauga Rd Abingdon, VA From the Heart... Dear Church Family, Thank you so much for your prayers for my sister, Edna, during her illness. She appreciated you for remembering her. I also thank you for your prayers, cards, food and visits during the time of her death. I am so blessed to have wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. Love, Peggy Hughes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I want to thank each Sunday School class that made it possible to send Todd Baxter a care package each month for the past 4 months. I also want to thank you for each Christmas card. I included in the December boxes a total of 88 cards - 76 for Todd and 12 for Brett. We sent a total of 5 boxes. Todd will be coming back to the States at the end of December. Again, many thanks for your generosity and support for Todd, Carrie, Walden, and Lincoln. May God Bless each of you. Jane Moore Kid s Corner... Children s Christmas Activity All children are invited to come and enjoy a fun afternoon of cookie decorating and craft making! When: Friday, December 21 at 11:00am-2:00pm Where: Home of Jill Harless Bring a brown bag lunch w/drink Please call the church office to make a reservation by December 19th.

6 During the month of December, the Joanna Owens S.S. Class is challenged to bring food items for the Stone Soup Food Pantry. So, please help by bringing at least one can of food each time you come to church. Collection baskets are at each entrance. Ministers Entire Congregation Pastor ext. 23 Dr. Steven Pollard Minister of Music and Worship ext. 24 Rev. Parke Deans Director of Ministries to Children ext. 30 Rev. Nicole Farrar Church Organist Church Pianist Mr. Edward Eller Mrs. Rose Payne Church Secretary ext. 32 Mrs. Susan Buchanan Receptionist ext. 21 Ms. Judy Osborne A church with a world mission and a world program in association with the Lebanon Baptist Association, Baptist General Association of Virginia, Southern Baptist Convention, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and Baptist World Alliance. Church office hours: Monday - Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm Phone: 276/ PRAYER LINE: extension 42, FAX: 276/ WEB Site: