Contact Us Expenses: $229, Give us a call for Worship Service.

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1 Dec. Financials Contact Us Giving: $22, Expenses: $229, Give us a call for information about our Worship Service. Jacksboro Parish 115 N. Knox St. P.O. Box 716 Jacksboro, TX (940) jackparish@att.net Visit us on the web at First Presbyterian Church & Memorial Christian Church: A combined ministry for over 40 years. Dec. Attendance Dec. 3rd 56 Dec. 10th 54 Dec. 17th 58 Dec. 24 AM 45 Dec. 24 PM 98 Dec. 31st

2 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Parish Planning Retreat Mower s Barn 7 Epiphany Boar s Head & Yule Log Festival 3pm MCC Board Mtg. 6p FUMC MS 5-6:15p HS 5:45-7p 15 Food Pantry 2: Parish Council 12:15p FUMC MS 5-6:15p HS 5:45-7p FUMC MS 5-6:15p HS 5:45-7p

3 We are thrilled to announce that beginning Jan. 1, 2018 the Parish will operate under a unified budget for the first time! All tithes and offerings given will need to be made out to THE PARISH, instead of MCC or FPC. We are excited about this new journey we are embarking on together as we continue to do God s work in our community. There are a couple of ways you can give: 1) By cash or check in the offering plate or in the church office 2) Through the TITHE.LY app or online at TITHE.LY/GIVE Food Pantry Collection During the month of January, we are collecting BREAKFAST ITEMS for the local food pantry (cereal, oatmeal, pop tarts, bagels, cereal bars, etc.) Please leave in the Narthex or church office. Thank you! Thank you for continuing to invest in the life of our church. Great things are coming! Celebrate the triumph of Good over Evil The BHYLF is a wonderful way to celebrate Epiphany and ring in the New Year. Beautiful music, costumes and pageantry make the festival a unique experience you don t want to miss! The Parish has already purchased 12 tickets for Sunday, January 7th at 3pm. Please call the church office to reserve your ticket!

4 UNITED CHRISTIAN YOUTH FELLOWSHIP CAMP INFO: Happy Christmas break! UCYF will begin to meet again in January, and will send out more information on it soon! In the meantime, there are two camps that we are planning on attending this next semester. Both camps are $100 but the church can help with scholarships, just talk to Nick about it! They meet at Disciples Crossing in Athens. Grades 6 8 Chi Rho have a camp called Where you lead, I will follow which is a camp focusing on the growth found in the story of Ruth. It meets February 9-11 and registration is due by January 26 th, so sign up ASAP! Grades 9 12 CYF have the midwinter retreat February and registration is due February 2 nd. Camp is often cited as one of the most spiritually impactful times and extraordinarily fun weekends for youth. A chance to unplug and grow with other Disciples of Jesus Christ is a fantastic opportunity. Nov. 5th We would love it if we had a lot of our youth representing Jacksboro! All are welcome, Disciples, Presbyterian, Methodist, and those unsure of where they stand, and friends are encouraged to come too! Nick Koontz Youth Minister

5 Nurture & Evangelism Our annual Parish Christmas party had to look a little bit different this year due to construction on our campus. This hurdle turned out to be a big blessing as our party became one that will talked about for years! Over 30 people joined us in singing Christmas carols and bringing cheer to those at Greystone and the Nursing Home, as well as a couple of other places. After caroling we had over 60 people join us at the Mower s Barn for yummies, a visit with Santa, horse drawn carriage rides, s mores, photo props, and more! Thank you to everyone that helped make this event a major success! Such an incredible way to spread Christmas cheer!

6 Worship Join us as we begin our new series, LET IT SHINE, January 7th through February 11th. You won t want to miss a Sunday! SAVE THE Date THE PARISH BUILDING DEDICATION + CELEBRATION April 15, 2018 Jacksboro, TX

7 MDO Xtreme December brought lots of laughter, glitter, and all things related to Jesus birthday! The children focused on a different character in the nativity story each week by reading books, creating art, and singing. Our older classes visited the Grandmas and Grandpas at Greystone to sing carols and make Christmas crafts. We also enjoyed pajama day with Christmas movies and hot chocolate on a cold Thursday! Santa stopped by MDO for a visit and to hand out stockings the week before Christmas! The children were so excited!! (well, most of them) We entered our first MDO float in the City Christmas Parade and although we had electrical lighting issues, the kids had a blast and we were blessed to have their parents participate too! We ended our Christmas season with a book exchange for each child and classroom parties with lots of goodies! Our new semester begins January 9th and we have several spots available, so help us spread the word!

8 A Word From Our Minister You are reading this in Even typing that is strange. It seems the year has flown by! We have had such a terrific, busy, stressful and joyful year! And 2018 holds such promises of hope in ministry for The Parish. I think about this hope-for-what-will-be every time I see this beautiful work from Sandro Botticelli. We might think he is most famous for Prima Vera and The Birth of Venus. But oh! how I love and adore this representation of the Magnificat/Blessing of Jesus in a tondo (a circular painting.) A tondo was often given to a couple at their marriage or upon the birth of a child. With this tondo, Botticelli (and the donor) wish the couple a blessed and prosperous union and the safe birth of many children. Mary is crowned in this work as the Queen of Heaven and surrounded by an adoring Christ-Child and several angels. The original is in Baltimore. I wanted to share this image with you and its meaning for a specific purpose: we are birthing hope. We are sharing our hopes for blessing to a community that is in need: from housing, to food, to education. We are the tondo. We are making manifest a prosperous life for so many! And thus, I hope you will join myself and our Parish leadership for our annual Parish Retreat this weekend! This is a time of calendaring, but also a time for us to align our ministry and mission. We would love to have your voice among us as we craft our Luke 1:46, Mary says/sing: anima mea dominum "My soul doth magnify the Lord. May MAGNIFY be our 2018! Suzanne