Unity News. United in Christ s love, we glorify God through worship, nurture, and service to all people. PRAYER CONCERNS

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1 Unity News December 11, 2017 United in Christ s love, we glorify God through worship, nurture, and service to all people. IN THIS ISSUE: Year of the Bible Page 2 Mom s Coffee... Page 3 Unity Post Page 3 Endowment... Page 4 And Much More PRAYER CONCERNS ADVENT Sunday, December 17th: Third Sunday of Advent During the Third Sunday of Advent we will have Lessons and Carols during both services. Come early for this highly anticipated event. Advent is a time of waiting as we prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Check the schedule above for more information on the Advent and Christmas season. CHRISTMAS EVE NURSERY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Help us share the love with our little ones this Christmas Eve! Adult and youth volunteers are needed on Christmas Eve during the 10:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. worship services. Please contact Lauren Lochel (nursery@unityfortmill.org) if you can help. Beshers Family Murray White John Young Pam Kay Jamie White David Choate Margaret Monroe Martha Broome Priscilla Emmert Ethan Tedford Charlee Rae Gribble* Dot Hollis* Bob Hudspeth Jeannie Jones* Bob Lane* Margaret Morgan* Trudie Robertson* Dee Rutter* Millie Williams* *Long Term Prayer Concern YEAR END CONGREGATIONAL BREAKFAST A congregational breakfast will be held in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, December 31st, at 10:00 a.m. Everyone is invited to bring any leftover holiday breakfast goodies to share; breakfast pastries and cereal will be provided by the church. There will be no Sunday school that morning. Please join us for a time of fellowship. Christian sympathy is extended to Randy Higgins and family in the death of his father, Harry Higgins, on November 29, 2017; and also to Don Rice and family in the death of his mother, Margaret Rice, on December 8, 2017.

2 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION STAFF Kathryn McGregor Director of Christian Education (children and adults) Rev. Lindsay White Assoc. Pastor for Youth Ministries (youth grades 6-12) Melissa Dye Children in Worship Coordinator Linda Bunge Director of Unity Preschool Lauren Lochel Nursery Coordinator WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO... CHRISTIAN EDUCATION ADULTS SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR DECEMBER 17 As a Child Room M206 Revelation Faith Connections Room M102 Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Fellowship Fellowship Hall Pausing on the Road to Bethlehem Holy Grounds Fellowship Hall Parlor Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas Koinonia Room M210 Illuminating Advent Unity Room U212 Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 YOUTH Sunday, December 17: Christmas Party 5:00-6:00: MSYG (Fellowship Hall) 6:00-6:45: Pizza Party for both groups (Fellowship Hall) 6:45-8:00: HSYG (Youth Wing) Please bring $3 for pizza! Save the Date: Snow Hawks Nest Tubing for Middle School Youth Saturday, January 20, 9:00 am-9:00 pm $64 per person, includes two sessions of snow tubing. Registration begins online this week. Deadline to sign up is January 10. CHILDREN 2018 SUMMER SCHEDULE Vacation Bible School/Mission Camp NEW SCHEDULE - June All church picnic, Sunday, June 10 VBS - June11-14, 9:00 am-12:00 pm Mission Camp MTTh 9-12, W 9-3 PASSPORT Kids! Camp Montreat, NC July 2-5 For children & youth in completed grades 3-6 Cost $ Register Now! Registration is available at: Registration deadline January 10th. Bethelwoods Summer Camp, York, SC Summer camp programs for children & youth from completed kindergarten 12th grade. Go to bethelwoods.org to see all the camp programs and cost. YEAR OF THE BIBLE: OVER 100 PEOPLE REGISTERED! Registration has begun for our all church read through the Bible opportunity. Cost of the book and materials is $6.00. Check the hallway outside the Narthex. Children s 365 story Bibles will also be available so families can read the Bible together. Plan to join your church family in this exciting challenge in Starts January 1. 2 Got questions? Answers to Frequently Asked Questions are on the website at

3 YEAR END GIVING CONSIDERATIONS FROM THE FINANCIAL OFFICE Contributions mailed to the church must be postmarked by December 31st to be credited to your 2017 contribution statement. Gifts of Appreciated Stock When stock is donated to a non-profit charity like Unity, two benefits are realized. First, Unity gains the full value of the donated stock. Secondly, the owner likely would not owe any tax on the increased value of the stock. Charitable IRA Rollover aka Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) For individuals with Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), there are requirements once you turn 70½ to begin taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMD). Under current rules, individuals age 70½ or older may transfer up to $100,000 annually from their IRA accounts directly to a charity like Unity without recognizing the distribution as income. Such a distribution counts toward the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), the mandatory, minimum yearly withdrawals that generally must be taken starting the in the year after you turn 70½ and avoid any penalty tax that occurs by not meeting the RMD. This is a tax benefit to the individual and also provides a benefit to Unity. It is important that you seek the advice of your tax professional in either of these cases. UNITY CHRISTMAS POST MOM S COFFEE Mom s Coffee meets on Tuesday, December 12 from 9:30-10:30 am in Room M201. This is a time of fellowship and devotions for moms with babies who are available during the day. This will be the only December meeting due to the holiday schedule. Contact Kathryn McGregor at KMcGregor@UnityFortMill.org or for more information. LOST AND FOUND Unity Christmas Post is up and ready! Send your Christmas greetings to your friends at Unity here at the church! It is located in the hallway just past the Narthex. This is provided for you by the members of the New Horizons Circle. Here s how it works: Place your Christmas cards to members of Unity in the appropriate boxes. Place the money you would have used for postage in the beautiful boxes on either end of the mailboxes. Check your box frequently to retrieve your mail, even if you didn t send your greetings through Unity Post. The postage money goes into our Pastors Discretionary Fund for them to use to help those in need. If you make a check to Unity for postage, please mark Unity Post. This will be tax-deductible. Unity Post will be up thru Jan 7. Cards will be placed in the narthex thru Jan 14. Cards that are left will be in church office thru Jan 19, then recycled. Please remember New Horizons Circle and/or the church can not be responsible for mailing any cards that are left! New location in the sanctuary hallway along the side of the sanctuary. (From the narthex start down the hall onto the carpet and turn right alongside of the sanctuary. It is along the right wall before the side sanctuary door). WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Jacob & Kayla Orloff Betty Squatriglia LAST SUNDAY S ATTENDANCE 8:45 am :00 am Sunday School Visitors Livestream

4 UNITY Endowment PROGRAM WILL YOU BE A PART OF THE MATCHING GIFT CHALLENGE? Unity has been offered a gift that will match all contributions of cash and securities to the Endowment Fund up to a total of $20,000 through December 31, The fund currently holds just over $95,000 in cash. When the fund reaches $110,000, the Endowment Board may begin considering distribution requests up to amounts equaling 4% - 6% of the fund balance. Meeting this challenge will get us very close to allowing us to provide this additional support to Unity s ministries. Additional information about the Program and how it will benefit Unity can be found: In the printed materials available in the Narthex. The Endowment page on Unity s website found under the Stewardship tab. owmentprogram Any amount contributed to the Endowment by December 31st will be doubled, up to a total of $20,000. The Board is extremely grateful to these recent Unity contributors: Maggie Bost, Terry & Sarah Durso, Anne Hamilton, Steve & Marcia Hardy, Carol & Dan Holloway, Hayes & Holly Jones, John & Jessie Little, Ken & Catherine Nunnery, John & Carolyn Rogers, Kathy Sizemore, Bob & Joyce Sullivan, John & Lorraine Ward, Stan & Carol Wilson, John Young, and the Unity Youth. FROM THE STEWARDSHIP TEAM Please remember Unity during your 2017 benefits enrollment process. Many employers will provide a matching gift through your payroll charity giving or one-time charitable gifts. Ask your Human Resource department, Payroll department or a member of the Stewardship Team. 4

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6 Happy Birthday Jesus! Please join us and celebrate the reason for the season as we worship through songs, stories, play, crafts, fellowship, and share in a sweet treat! Saturday, December 16 th at 10:00am Unity Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall Birthday Presents will be donated to the Fort Mill Care Center. Diapers (size 3 and up), baby wipes, baby food, and Gerber baby formula are most needed at this time. Please RSVP by Wednesday December 13 th to Lauren Lochel (laurenlochel@gmail.com) Activities will be most appropriate for children 1 st grade and under but all are welcome to attend.

7 Unity Presbyterian Church 303 Tom Hall Street PO Box 1267 Fort Mill, SC JOIN US SUNDAY 8:45 a.m. Worship service 10:00 a.m. Sunday School 11:00 a.m. Worship service FROM THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE Newsletter Info Deadline: Wednesday by 5:00 pm Return Service Requested UnityFortMill.org FROM THE PASTOR Gifts for the Angel Tree were collected yesterday and many children and families will enjoy a better holiday because of your generosity! Thank you for extending the gifts of Christ s presence to those in need during this season. A grand service of Lessons and Carols is in store for us this coming Sunday as we near the celebration of Christ s birth! And remember the change in schedule and multiple services for Sunday, Dec 24, Christmas Eve. On a personal note, I want to thank everyone for providing such a warm welcome to us as we get to know the folks at Unity and Fort Mill! Mary and I look forward to many more occasions to visit, break bread, and engage in ministry with you! Grace and peace, Mark Mark E. Diehl Church Office Mark E. Diehl Jeannie Bickett Lindsay White