Good Tidings... Greetings! Dave and Tamara. Darnestown Presbyterian Church

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1 V OLUME 24, ISSUE 11 N OVEMBER, Good Tidings... Darnestown Presbyterian Church Greetings! Address: CHURCH INFORMATION Turkey Foot Road Darnestown, MD Phone: FAX: dpchurch@comcast.net Website: David R. McNeilly, Pastor Tamara Leonard Lara, Associate Pastor Eric Waggoner, Director of Music Henry J. Postel, Pastor Emeritus SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: Sat., December 3, Men s Breakfast Sun., December 4, 3:00 pm DPW s Christmas Tea Sun., December 11, 5:00 pm, Advent Program & Potluck. Sat., December 24: 5:00, 8:00 & 10:00 Candle light services Sun., December 25 A Blessed & Very Merry Christmas to all! Worship at 11. As November turns to December, and Thanksgiving is followed by Advent, we give thanks for worship, mission and ministry here at DPC! Thank you to DPW and to all who assisted the women in their Annual Bazaar! Thanks, as well, to all who attended and enjoyed the fellowship and supported the Bazaar. All proceeds are directed toward mission in our community and around the world. Grateful thanks to the youth who offered wonderful leadership during the youth service on November 20. A word of thanks to all who signed up to adopt a family in need, providing food in November and December. There s still time to participate. In this month of December, we look forward to seeing you in worship and Sunday School, as together we move through Advent to Christmas, celebrating the good news of God with Us! Plan to join us on December 11 at the 5:00 p.m. Advent Pot Luck and Carol Sing sponsored by the Board of Deacons, and then on December 18 at the Congregational Meeting immediately following 11 a.m. worship. This newsletter contains much more information about how you can get involved in fellowship, Christian Education, worship, music and ministry in the month of December join us! Blessings! Dave and Tamara Mark Your Calendars for the Annual Advent Potluck Dinner Sponsored by the Board of Deacons This potluck takes place on Sunday, December 11, beginning at 5:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. All are welcome to come and enjoy good food and fellowship. Please bring a favorite main dish, side dish or dessert. Spiral ham and beverages will be provided. We ll also have crafts for the children and a time for singing Christmas carols.

2 Page 2 GOOD TIDINGS... Germantown HELP Food Pantry On the 1 st Sunday each month at 1:00 p.m., we gather to package food boxes for the Food Pantry. The next trip is December 4, 1:00 p.m. If you can help or want more information, please contact Rob Garretson (rgarretson@ gmail.com). Our next Food Drive for Germantown HELP will be throughout January. DPW Update DPW is nominating a new DPW Board, and we look to the women of the church to serve in these positions. Two offices have been filled: Vice President of Programs is Mary Ellen York; Treasurer is Sally Belcher. We are in need of the following officers (two-year terms): President: The Candidate for President moderates the board meetings monthly, keeps a time line of annual events, and is liaison to DPC for coordinating support to our community and church events. Vice President of Bazaar: Candidate(s) coordinate the Bazaar, help to make sure yearly tasks are accomplished, gather volunteers to chair particular areas, and coordinate between the board and the church boards to cover the duties to accomplish a successful Bazaar. The board will support these individuals with planning. Secretary: Candidate will be an organized individual to take notes at the monthly meetings and present minutes to the board at the following meeting; keeps record of the minutes for each year. Mission Chair: Candidate represents the DPW board as a member of the DPC Mission Committee, enabling both to make a larger impact on our community and global missions. Historian: Our Historian will gather information and keep records of our current events so as to update the mission works, programs, and participation of women in the church. This will help to guide DPW in future endeavors. Terrie May, DPW President DPC VIPS (Very Important Presbyterian Seniors) And St. Nick s Lunch Bunch cordially invite everyone (Guest, Visitors, First Timers) to their Christmas Lunch and Party at DPC on Tuesday, December 13 at 11:30 a.m., in the DPC Fellowship Hall. Join us for food, fellowship and a fun gift exchange (gift optional). Newsletter Deadline The deadline is December 16, for the January, 2017 issue. Articles may be ed to dpchurch@ Informational Meeting for Youth Interested in Joining the 2017 Confirmation Class Youth have been asking me when the classes will be held! Youth and parents, please join me for a 10-minute meeting on Sunday, December 4 in my office after the 11am service. I will answer questions, provide information about the class, and hopefully we can decide what day of the week to meet for class. Typically classes begin in January. If you are interested in joining the Confirmation Class but cannot be present on December 4, contact me. Thanks, Tamara Leonard Lara, dpcassociate@comcast.net. If you pledged gift cards for our annual Adopt-a-Family Holiday Basket Program, please drop them in the collection plate, deliver them to the DPC office, or contact Rob Garretson at rgarretson@ gmail.com to arrange a pickup. We have donors for just about all 35 families that DPC has adopted, but if you d like to adopt a family for Christmas (Christmas dinner meal basket, plus gifts for the children), please Rob, and we ll seek additional assignments from Germantown HELP. Your generous support, as always, has been a blessing!

3 V OLUME 24, I SSUE 11 Page 3 All women and young ladies (5 years and up) are cordially invited to attend the DPW Christmas Tea on December 4, 3-5 p.m. at the lovely and historic home of Lida Stifel Turkey Foot Road Darnestown, MD There will be music, tidbits, and fellowship. RSVP to Belinda O'Berry (bee@oberry.org/ ) or Jan Summers (janis.summers@usitc.gov/ ). Let us know if you can be there and bring a sweet or a savory "tidbit" to share. You may also sign up on the sign-up sheets in the Social and Fellowship Halls. Our Mission project will be to benefit the YMCA Mentoring Program Gifts for Youth. There are Snowmen available after worship that each have the name of a child with their age, sex and wish (gift up to $40). Please choose one and buy the gift for that child. Bring the wrapped gift with the Snowman attached to the Tea, or leave it in the basket in Fellowship Hall on or before December 11. More information can be found on our DPW Website. All members of our Congregation are urged to participate. (If you cannot pick up a Snowman, please jjjmaux@gmail.com, Subject: Snowman, and you will be provided the name and information for a particular child.) Men s Fellowship Breakfast Saturday, December 3 All men of the church are invited to join us for breakfast on Saturday, December 3 at 8:00 a.m. in Fellowship Hall. Please let us know if you will attend by calling the church at , or ing dpchurch@comcast.net. May each of you, your family and friends Know and receive again the Blessings of God s grace and peace as we celebrate the birth of God s Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. A Very Merry and Blessed Christmas from Your Church Staff Dave, Tamara, Eric & Carole

4 Page 4 GOOD TIDINGS... Christmas Week Services Sunday, December 18 Fourth Sunday of Advent 8:45 & 11:00 a.m. Worship Services Saturday, December 24, Christmas Eve 5:00 p.m. Candlelight Service, emphasis on children 8:00 p.m. Candlelight Service 10:00 p.m. Candlelight Service Sunday, December 25 Merry Christmas!! One service at 11:00 a.m.; no Sunday School Christmas Joy Offering During Advent, we remember God s promises to us. We gather together and wait in hope for the coming of the promised Emmanuel, God with us. And God, who has promised, is faithful (Heb. 10:23), so on Christmas Day we celebrate that the promise is kept in the birth of Jesus Christ! The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) provides the opportunity for congregations to join this celebration of God s faithfulness by supporting those in need of help and hope. Thanks to your gifts, the Christmas Joy Offering is able to provide financial assistance to individuals and families that have dedicated their lives to the church and also support racial ethnic education and leadership development for students attending Presbyterian-related schools and colleges. The promise made is one of hope in situations where hope can be hard to find. When we give, we declare that our hope is well founded, because it is God who has promised, and God who is faithful. Thank you for your support of this vital offering. We encourage you to give generously. The Session calls for a Meeting of the Congregation on Sunday, December 18, 2016, immediately following the 11:00 a.m. worship service. The meeting is for the purpose of electing Elders and Deacons, as well as the 2017 Nominating Committee. December Youth Group Activities: As we look to December, we celebrate DPC youth who have been involved in worship, choirs, Sunday School and Youth Group fellowship and service activities. Please join us in December! Sunday, December 4 Annual DPW Christmas Tea Young ladies are invited to attend the tea with their mothers (3-5 pm). Volunteers are serving at the Germantown HELP Food Pantry this Sunday, so gentlemen in youth group are invited to participate, 1pm at the Germantown United Methodist Church. Sunday, December 11 Annual Advent Pot Luck, 5pm. All are invited. Bring a dish to share. There will be crafts for the children and music of the season. We'll also have a youth table. Sunday, December 18 Youth plan to offer a Parent's Night Out 5pm 7pm. Youth will provide activities for the children so parents can finish any last minute shopping. Children bring a sack dinner, and we'll provide the fun and a snack! This is a fundraiser for Montreat Summer Camp, so youth will accept donations. We are also planning a Christmas Party for youth and college students keep an eye out for more information in the weekly update and the bulletins. Peace and Blessings, The Youth Group Leadership Team

5 V OLUME 24, I SSUE 11 Page 5 Minute for Stewardship, 11/13/2016 Good morning. The day I was asked to share with you why I give to DPC, I was also asked by Debbie at the Red Cross to donate platelets. I donate blood or platelets on a fairly regular basis. It s a little painful and quite time-consuming (at least for platelets), so why do I do it? I do it to help people -- maybe even save a life. I don t know who they are or what kind of lives they ve lived whether I would approve of their behavior or agree with their social or political views, I just know they need blood or platelets to survive or recover. It is one tiny thing I can do to thank Jesus, who was, in a sense, the original blood donor: he gave his life blood went through excruciating pain and ultimately sacrificed his life to redeem us from sin and death, physical and spiritual. And He did it KNOWING just how undeserving we are. We cannot ever repay that act of love, but we can and must continue His work on Earth. One important way we do this is by supporting His church with our prayers, our presence and our gifts. I am not a lifelong Presbyterian and I don t agree with everything that comes out of National Presbytery, but I can wholeheartedly support THIS, my local church, this gathering place for worship and Christian fellowship. Through my gifts, I help support our mission work, our fellowship activities, our outreach, our Christian Education programs including VBS, youth programs, and on and on. When I look at the sweet faces of the little ones who come up for the children s message every Sunday, and see our youth learning and growing in ministry of their own I want this church to be here for them as they grow up and raise families and for future generations. When I experience Sunday school, the music program, and working at the Bazaar, knowing the money we are raising will do great things in our community and our world, I rejoice to be part of this. I want to help this ministry thrive, not just survive. I thank the Lord for the blessing of being able to give and I ask all of you to give as you are able. - Anita Goldshine Members and Friends of Darnestown Presbyterian Church, A number of you have inquired recently about the status of the capital campaign and the need to fulfill campaign pledges. We write to ask that all donors continue to fulfill their pledges for both the campaign as well as 2016 annual pledges. While we held off from voting on the funding of the building expansion project in May of this year, this did not mean that we decided not to pursue the project. We simply elected to take additional time to complete the architectural drawings and finalize a detailed cost estimate so that we could have greater certainty of the total cost and financing that would be needed for the project. The BEAR committee is making progress in this endeavor and is preparing to share their findings with all of us in the early part of next year. In the meantime, our aging facilities continue to have serious needs that we will have to address. So rest assured, your donations will be put to good use to address these needs. So please continue to fulfill your pledges to the campaign as well as for 2016 annual pledges. For those that have additional means, please consider making a pledge or increasing your existing pledge by contacting dpcadmin@comcast.net or jemskr@comcast.net. Respectfully, The Session of Darnestown Presbyterian Church

6 Star, shepherd, candle, peace, donkey, manger, joy, bell, drum, angel, wise men; Jesus birthday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 11:00 Mary Lydia Circle 2 3 8:00 Men s Breakfast 4 2 nd Sunday of Advent Communion 8:45 & 11 Worship 9:45 Sunday School 3:00 Christmas Tea 1:00 Germantown HELP work at Pantry 5 7:00 Session 6 7 6:30 Bells 7:30 Chancel Choir 8 10:00 Bible Study rd Sunday of Advent 8:45 & 11 Worship 5:00 Advent Potluck & Program 18 4 th Sunday of Advent 8:45 & 11 Worship 9:45 Sunday School 12:00 Congregational Meeting 5:00 Parents Night Out 12 7:30 CE 7:30 Mission :30 VIPS here 7:30 Stewardship 14 6:30 Bells 7:30 Chancel Choir Christmas Eve: 5:00, 8:00 & 10:00 pm Services 25 Christmas Day 11 Worship No Sunday School :30 Building & Grounds No Choirs Comfort Cases Betty Petrola shared a powerful Minute for Mission about Comfort Cases in November. DPC supports this organization through our mission budget. Keep an eye out for more information about how you can get involved. You can learn more about Comfort Cases and their ministry of providing basic care and comfort items to children experiencing foster care by going to