St. Andrew Chronicle
V O L U M E
X V I I ,
I S S U E
X I I
D E C E M B E R
2 0 1 4
ST. ANDREW
PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
Advent Activities
November 30
First Sunday of Advent
Tues., Dec. 2
10:00 AM Volunteers needed to put up tree and lights
6:00 PM PW meet at church to carpool to Freight
House for 6:30 Christmas dinner and meeting
4:00 PM Decorate the Sanctuary
6:00 PM Soup Supper
6:30 PM Hanging of the Greens
7:30 PM Choir
Second Sunday of Advent
Rola al Ashkar, Guest Speaker
Communion
Serve lunch at the CCC (see page 3)
6:00 PM Supper
6:30 PM Children’s Christmas Program
7:30 PM Choir
Operation Santa Clause items due
Third Sunday of Advent and Choir presenting
“The Songs of Christmas”
Fourth Sunday of Advent
8:30 am Christmas Brunch
Christmas Joy Offering
5:30 PM Lessons and Carols/Christmas Eve Service
Wed., Dec. 3
December 7
December 8
December 10
December 14
December 21
December 24
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December Volunteer Schedule
12/7
12/14
12/21
12/24
12/28
Harold Culbert
Stu Strong
Margaret Marsh
Dan Watt
John Jordan
Ushers
Doug Coshow
Harold Culbert
Lee Brown
1 volunteer needed
Dave Ellerbe
George Hilleary
Ceil Hydrick
1 volunteer
Turner Matthews
Harold Moore
Brantley Motes
Margaret Marsh
John Newbill
John Shull
Stu Strong
David Nelson
Dan Watt
John Abbott
Jim Bochte
Greg Vogel
Nursery
Ruth Bochte
Joan Jordan
Lee Brown
None
Barb Mouton
Wednesday
Host
12/3 B. Allen
12/10 BJ Breeding
12/17 B Mouton
Probers
Seekers
Hargrave
None
Hopper
Liturgists
Sunday Coffee
Host Class
Communion
Preparers
12/7 J & R Abbott
12/24 L. Grissom
Communion
Servers
12/7 H. Culbert, S. Strong, M. Marsh,
D. Watt, JN. Gates
Advent Wreath
Readers
Nov. 30: Tom & Bobbie Meier
Dec. 7: Margaret Marsh & Sue Mitchell
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17
18
22
27
28
29
Barbara Morris
Tom Gates
Morgan Shugrue
Jim Wright
Margaret Marsh
Contessa Pearce
Drew Coshow
Bob McGehee
December 14: John & Betty Brandon
December 21: Mavis Stephens
December 24: Linda Grissom and family
Soup Kitchen
Monday, December 8
See Page 3. for details. Sign-up sheets on bulletin board.
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Mission Accomplished? Not Yet! Soup Kitchen Dec. 8
We will be preparing and serving at the CCC Soup Kitchen on Monday,
December 8. This is a wonderful opportunity to share our bounty with those
who are hungry. Our menu will be Ham, Mac and Cheese, Green Beans,
Yams and Dessert. We will also be giving out small bags of candy for the
clients. There will be a box at the donation center for those who would like to provide candy for
these bags. Sign-up sheets are on the bulletin board in the hall for you to sign up to work, serve,
and make desserts.
Thank you to our generous congregation for your donations to help fill 60 bags of groceries to
give needy families in our community a good meal on Thanksgiving. These bags were distributed by
CCC, Volunteer Center, PACT and the Neighborhood Christian Center.
Children who may not otherwise be remembered at Christmas, will receive a Hope Chest distributed
by the Volunteer Center. Your help in filling 23 Hope Chests is greatly appreciated.
We have a very caring congregation. Our Mission Ministry Team is grateful for your generosity
throughout this year and we challenge you to ask the question, "have we done enough?” If the answer is "no", then there is no limit to what we can do to share the Good News of God's love to a hurting world in the future.
Margaret Marsh and the Mission Team
Mission Corner Stats
97 Items of food were donated to
the CCC pantry in October.
60 Thanksgiving Dinners were
given to the needy
Holiday Hope Chest—provided
23 boxes of fun to needy children
Mission Opportunity
Sunday, December 7, it is
our privilege to help those
in need by collecting food
for the CCC Food Pantry.
Please
bring
nonperishable food items and
leave them in the shopping cart.
Margaret Marsh, Mission Chair
The CCC appreciates all that we do each month to help
provide food for the many people who are hungry in
Morgan County. Thank you for giving each month.
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Advent is a time of expectant waiting, and the preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ. We start
decorating on Wednesday, December 3,
at 4:00 pm, followed by our Soup Supper at 6:00 pm and then at 6:30 pm our
annual ‘Hanging of the Greens’ Service
in the sanctuary. See you there!
Christmas Brunch, Dec. 21, 8:30 am
You are invited to St. Andrew’s Annual Christmas breakfast
on Sunday, December 21, at 8:30 a.m. (we will eat during
the Sunday school hour.)
Please bring a breakfast food and join us for this wonderful
time of fellowship to share our faith, fellowship, and love
for each other. Invite a friend to join us for this special
time.
Nellie Gates, Member Care
New Sunday School Class Study
“Advent Through the Eyes of Those Who
Waited”
On November 30, the Seekers Sunday School class will
begin a 4-week Advent Study. During this study, we will
look at several biblical characters found in the lectionary
readings for Advent. First, the prophets in Isaiah present us with the idea of waiting and preparing for the
Messiah--our work for Advent. Next, we meet John the
Baptist who announces the coming of the Messiah.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the main subject of sessions 3 and 4. Finally we learn from Elizabeth about how to accept a blessing so long
in coming that it is no longer expected.
Please join us one Sunday or every Sunday in Room 111 at 8:45 a.m. John Jordan
and B. J. Breeding will lead the discussions. Join us as we grow in faith, live in God’s
love, and spread the Good News.
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From Pastor Toby…..
Wait… wait…. Wait for it….
We don’t like to wait. Admit it. I know I don’t. I’m writing this article the week before
Thanksgiving and I just heard from my daughter when she will be arriving on our doorstep, and I can’t wait! But it’s not just this; I have a hard time waiting for the slow car in
front of me to move over or turn. Rola has noticed this in our many car rides together.
But I also know that many of you have a hard time waiting, especially here in Advent.
But Advent is about waiting. Although you may want to sing Christmas carols on the
first Sunday of Advent (because the big box stores have already been playing them for
several weeks!) I have to say, “wait.” “But why?” you ask. Because Advent is a bit like
play acting that time when Israel waited and waited for a Messiah, a Savior. Advent reminds us that God does not work on our schedules. God’s timing is always better.
Margaret Gatter Payne writes, “instead of filling up the waiting with Christmas activities, we are asked to sink into a contemplation that sucks us beneath the frenzy of the
world’s countdown to Christmas, and into God’s deep process of building a spiritual
manger for the child.” (The Christian Century, Nov. 20-27, 1991, p. 1084)
Wait for it. Something happens, something good, in the midst of waiting – as the bread
dough rises, as the grape juice ferments, as the soil itself rests before entering another
vigorous growing season. Wait. Because God has big plans, and we need to be ready!
Grace and Peace to you in this holy season –
Pastor Toby
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Christmas Eve Service
December 24 @ 5:30 PM
Our Christmas Eve candlelight communion
service will be held at 5:30 p.m. Please
bring your family and join us as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Presbyterian Women
Meeting &
Christmas Dinner
Freight House in Hartselle
Tues., Dec. 2
6:30 PM
(meet at the church
at 6:00 PM to carpool)
Christmas is just around the corner! Most often we think of children at Christmas
particularly those children who need assistance. But in our community, we also have
adults who would like to be remembered. These adults have serious mental illness,
may not have family or friends who support them, and may not have the financial
ability to do something special for themselves.
They are clients of the Mental Health Center and patients at North Alabama
Regional Hospital. Presbyterian Women is again sponsoring Operation Santa Claus. Will you join us in providing gifts for our adult friends? Please place your new and unwrapped gifts in the designated bin at the
Donation Location by Wednesday, December 10. Gift suggestions:
Deodorant
Shampoo
Hair Spray
Hair Brushes
Combs
Lotion
Cologne
Cross Stitch Kits
Cards
Jewelry
Billfold
Arts & Crafts
Stationery
Pen/Pencils
Radio
Watch
Postage Stamps
Travel Bag
Sugar-free Candy or Cookies
Candy
Gum
Raisins
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Session Notes
The following items are highlights from the November 17, 2014 Stated Session Meeting:
1.
Rev. Mueller opened the meeting with a prayer.
2.
Marilyn Hinkle and Sharon Thomson met with the Session to request membership. After discussion about their faith journeys, the Session approved their
request and they will be joining by reaffirmation of faith during a worship service
after the first of the year.
3.
The meeting continued with a study on "Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations",
Chapter 3 - The Practice of Intentional Faith Development.
4.
Our membership remained at 118 as of October 31, 2014. It was agreed that it
is time to update our membership roll to more accurately reflect our active membership. This will be done within the next couple of months.
5.
The minutes for the Stated Meeting of September 15, 2014 were approved.
There was no meeting in October due to inclement weather.
6.
We were joined by Rev. Amanda Ragland, who introduced herself as the liaison
from the Committee on Ministry for North Alabama Presbytery.
7.
Approval was given for the use of our facility by B. J. Breeding for a family gathering in the Fellowship Hall on December 13, 2014 for 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
8.
Ruth Botche has created several different logos for the church, using our new
vision statement. They will be considered and you should be seeing them
shortly.
9.
Sexual Misconduct Policy Training has been completed and annual Personnel
reviews for staff are in progress.
10. Approval was given for Rola al Ashkar to fill our pulpit on Sunday, December 7,
2014.
11. Dan Watt reported on the Fall meeting of the North Alabama Presbytery which
was held at Camp Maranatha on October 21, 2014.
12. The next Session meeting will be on January 19, 2015 at 6:00 pm.
Stu Strong, Clerk of Session
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November Financial Report
FINANCE TEAM UPDATE
GOD IS GOOD TO US, SO WE RESPOND WITH OUR GIFTS TO HIM!
November the 23rd was our Harvest Day, a day when we responded to God’s gifts to us
with our pledges for our financial giving for 2015. Twenty-nine pledges were submitted
with a total pledged of $162,676, an average of about $108/week per pledging unit. Several of our members chose to increase their pledges from 2014, and some pledged who
did not pledge in 2014. Your pledges give our Session confidence when the budget is being prepared. We will still welcome pledges as we continue to prepare for 2015 financially.
Hopefully, we can finance some of the “dreams” that our ministry teams would like to
have.
A special item on our pledge cards was giving for mortgage reduction. This year we
pledged $2700 for this effort, as compared to $1740 last year.
In addition to these funds for operation of the church to cover our ministries of mission,
education, worship and people care, we have “ponied up” for such projects as Thanksgiving meals, CCC Soup Kitchen, our church offerings for Easter, Pentecost, Peacemaking,
and the Christmas Joy Gift. We are making a mark for a small congregation!
Looking at where we stand for 2014, actual income has begun to trail expected income as
we feel the effects of members no longer giving because of decisions to move membership, pledges that have been adjusted downward, and deaths. We are still able to finance
our expenditures from current income so savings have remained intact.
Dan Watt
Treasurer
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive
and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use,
it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:37-38
(ESV)
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December 2014
Service Times: Sunday School - 8:45 a.m.
Morning Worship -10:00 a.m.
Sunday
Monday
2nd Sunday
of Advent
Communion
Sunday
Thurs-
Wednes-
1
2
3
4
4:30p Mission
Team Mtg.
10a Put up tree &
lights
6p PW Meet at
church to go eat
at Freight House
4p Decorate
church; 6p Soup
Supper; 6:30
Hanging of the
Green;
7:30 Choir
1-4p DAR
9
10
11
6-9p PEO Mtg
7
Tuesday
8
11a Soup
Kitchen
Friday
5
6
12
13
6p Scout Roundtable
6p Supper
6p Scouts
Rola speaking
7p Chapel Hill
N’hood Dinner
14
15
16
6p Session @
Toby’s house
6p Scouts
Saturday
11-2 BJ
Breeding FH
6:30 Children’s
Christmas Prog.
7:30 Choir
17
18
19
20
26
27
3rd Sunday
of Advent
Choir
Christmas
Program
21 4th Sunday 22
23
24 Office closed 25
Christmas
Merry
Eve Service Christmas!
5:30
30
31
of Advent
8:30a Christmas Brunch
Christmas Joy
Offering
28
29
Office closes at
noon.
Happy New
Year!
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
3310 Danville Rd SW
Decatur, AL 35603
Phone: 256-355-6310
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: www.standrewdecatur.org
“Where God’s Love Transforms Lives”
The Chronicle is published monthly by
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church. To submit
articles by email, please submit to:
[email protected].
Merry
Christmas
Please note: Deadline for the January “Chronicle” is Monday, December 22.