Bulletin Board November 22-23, 2008
Christ the King Evening Vespers, November 22, 6:00 PM Usher: Mark Leking Contemporary Service, November 23, 8:30 AM Assisting Minister: Gawalt Family Children’s Lesson: Amy Zacaroli Nursery: Jeff Goebel Usher: Renee Waldrop Welcome: Duke Taylor Traditional Service, November 23, 11:00 AM Assisting Ministers: Roger & Marty Eisinger Crucifer: Rebecca Waldrop Gospel Time: Corey Wetzel Nursery: Leigh Anne Adusei Ushers: Steve Lucky & Don Pruefer Wash Communion Ware: Mary Edge & Janelle Orrico Welcome: Jeff Goebel Thank you to everyone who helps make our services possible, including: Altar Guild, November: Eleanor Porter Coffee: Diane Gawalt Cookie Brigade: Leigh Anne Adusei Counters: Julie Moore, Erin Vanover & Phil Franke
Altar Flowers Instead of altar flowers this week, in celebration of their 31st wedding anniversary Wayne and Rebecca Kotter have organized a food drive for ECHO. Please place your food items in the collection area behind the altar.
Please pray for our members: Alessandra Rodriguez; Kathy Schmiesing Please pray for these friends and family members: Carolyn Loving, cousin of Kathryn Ives; Lois Schuchardt, mother of Rick Schuchardt; Christopher and Glen at WRAMC; Janine Auger, extended family member of Renee Waldrop; Ernst Busch, uncle of Renee Waldrop; Lisa Rogers, cousin of Gary Waldrop; Lisa Frey, friend of Jane Pagan; Todd Andrews, friend and former coworker of Wendy Kunc; Please pray for loved ones in Iraq and other hostile areas: Jessica Grimm, daughter of Tina Grimm The Thursday Morning Bible Study group will pray for these families; please include these members as you pray for other concerns in your life: Russell, Meghann and Evan Courter; Joel, Janet, Kristen and Carolyn Cugini; Jane Curtis; Alvin, Dawn, Alexander and Ayanna Dalmida; Chad, Debbie, Peyton and Cullen Davis Our sympathy and prayers are extended to: Kathy and Roy Schmiesing and family on the death of Kathy's mother on Monday, November 17. __________________________________________________ Annual Stewardship Response If you were unable to return your pledges last week, please drop them in the mail or bring them to the church office as soon as possible, so that the council can formulate a proposed budget for next year. Thank you. Contemporary Service Planning Team Meeting—November 23 The contemporary service planning team will meet at 11:00 AM on Sunday to discuss upcoming worship services. Thank You from Dave Wiggins Dave Wiggins wishes to thank the congregation for the prayers and notes he received following his recent surgery. His surgery went well and his recovery is proceeding very well, also.
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Joint Thanksgiving Eve Service Our annual joint Thanksgiving Eve Service with our friends from Temple B’nai Shalom will be held here at Abiding Presence on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 8:00 PM. Rabbi Perlin will bring the message and joint choirs will sing. There will also be a reception following the service.
CAFÉ Sessions There will be CAFÉ Sessions following the worship services this weekend to discuss the Congregational Mission Profile statements that the Mission Profile Committee has assembled. Please plan to attend one of these sessions. Congregational Meeting—Sunday, December 7 at 9:45 AM There will be a congregational meeting between the two worship services on Sunday, December 7. The Sanctuary Redesign Committee will present the current status of the project and outline the next steps in the Sanctuary Remodeling project. We will also ask the congregation to approve hiring a general contractor to provide pre-construction services during the Schematic Design Phase. Book Club The next meeting of the Abiding Presence Book Club will be held on Monday, November 24 at 7:30 PM. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson will be discussed. All are welcome!
Carpenter Shelter Meal—November 30 We will be providing a meal at the Carpenter Shelter on the evening of November 30. Please sign up on the kiosk if you can help provide food and/or help serve the meal.
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Giving Tree "The Giving Tree" is now set up in the narthex. We currently have the opportunity to provide items needed for ECHO’s annual Christmas store. Please select a gift suggestion from the tree and return the unwrapped gift to the tree area by December 7. Beginning next week there will be additional giving opportunities for the Harriett Tubman shelter, Gifts of Hope, etc. Christmas Poinsettias—Signups Begin November 30 Beginning next week, you are invited to help decorate the church and celebrate Christ's birth by giving a poinsettia to decorate the sanctuary. The cost this year will be $9.50 per plant. Blood Drive—December 1 The next blood drive will be held on Monday, December 1 from 3:30-8:00 PM. Watch for the sign up sheet on the bulletin board by the front door. Shepherds Needed at Abiding Presence Some of you will soon receive information and an introduction from one of our shepherds here at Abiding Presence. We have fourteen groups of families and not enough shepherds. No experience is necessary and training is available. We would like every household in our congregation to have a person they can call if they have questions or need assistance. The shepherd will invite them to connect with existing groups and will know of opportunities and people who can help if needed. Did you know that there are 130 million orphans in the world? That number is mind boggling, so huge that one person can't possibly do anything, right? Wrong! We can all do SOMETHING, offering hope to at least one child at a time. November is National Adoption Month; please take a few moments to pray for these little ones that God loves so much, and then DO something! Attend the 25:40 AIDS day concert, purchase gift cards to benefit orphans, sign up to knit a blanket in January, or even consider adding a child to your family through adoption. There is a little 8-year-old girl in China who desperately wants a family. Yu Xing Qing was born with mild CP, but can walk. She is well-liked, loves books, drawing and playing games. Every time a child is adopted from her orphanage, she wants to know when it's her turn. If you would like more information on Qing, please contact Pam at waitingchild@chinesechildren.org.
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Advent Friends With the coming of Advent, it is time to think about being an "Advent Friend." Advent Friends perform acts of kindness for other members of the congregation who are participating in the program. The object is to keep your identity a secret while giving small gifts or performing thoughtful acts for your secret friend or family, usually one thing per week during Advent. Some suggestions include sending an Advent or Christmas card (signed “Advent Friend” to keep it secret), greeting your friend during the sharing of the peace at church, as well as leaving cookies, snack items or small, inexpensive gifts on their doorstep or in a designated area here in the church. You may also do anything else you might think of to celebrate your new secret friendship. If you are interested in participating, this is the last day to sign up. All those who sign up will be notified some time this week who their secret Advent Friend is—whether it be an individual or family. Of course, someone else is then notified that they are your secret Advent Friend. You can then begin surprising your secret friends on November 30. The identities of all Advent Friends will be revealed at a potluck dinner on January 11. If you would like to participate this year, please sign up on the Count-Me-In form and place it in the offering plate. World AIDS Day Concert In honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, 25:40 is sponsoring seven members of the Keiskamma Gospel Choir in Hamburg, South Africa to travel to the D.C. area to perform in a series of concerts from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7. The concert at Abiding Presence will be at 7:00 PM on Sunday, Nov. 30. They will be joining us for worship that morning as well. The members of the Gospel Choir will need homes to stay in while they are here. We will also need volunteers who can transport/accompany them on day trips to D.C. and other area sites. Because they are coming in the early winter months, the members will also be in need of winter coats, hats and gloves to borrow. Most do not own the heavy coats that are needed around here in December. If you can help with any of these three needs – housing, transport, winter clothing – please contact Alec or Amy Zacaroli, 703 426-0275 or 2540@cox.net.
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Hurricane Ike Assistance The Fairfax County Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is collecting funds to help those whose lives have been affected by Hurricane Ike. As part of a National Chapter Response, Thrivent will add $1 to every $2 raised, up to $250,000, in support of relief efforts. All funds will be contributed to Lutheran Disaster Response and the WELS Committee on Relief to be used for Hurricane Ike Relief. If you would like to contribute, please make a check payable to Fairfax County Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and write "Hurricane Ike Response" on the memo line. Send the check to Sharon Downs, 6820 Brian Michael Ct., Springfield, VA 22153, or put it in the offering plate. The chapter will accept donations through December 1. Please join us in meeting the challenge, and more importantly, providing help to those in need! New Members Received December 7 New Members will be welcomed into our Abiding Presence family on Sunday, December 7. If you are a visitor who has been contemplating membership, please let us know if you would like to be part of the group being received. You may speak with the Pastor, or notify the church office at 703-455-7500. You may also indicate your interest on your Count-Me-In form. Speak Up for a Child—CASA Volunteers Needed A new case of child abuse or neglect enters the Fairfax County Domestic and Juvenile Relations Court system once every 30 hours. These children need caring advocates to help ensure that they grow up in safe and permanent homes. That's where Fairfax Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) comes in. CASA is an independent nonprofit organization that trains volunteers to investigate a child's situation and to advocate for the child's best interests in court. All CASA volunteers are provided training. If you seek a volunteer role with a real purpose, please consider CASA. An information session will be held at Pohick Regional Library on Saturday, December 6 from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM. More information is available on the kiosk.
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Puppet Team Our puppet team has begun meeting on Wednesday evenings from 5:00-6:30 PM. All youth in the 5th-12th grades and adults are welcome to join us. Come. See what it's all about. Contact Debbie Streicher at 703-569-1087 if you have any questions. WELCA New Members Coffee—Saturday, December 6 from 9:30-11:30 AM There will be a holiday and new member welcome coffee for all women of the church on Saturday, December 6, beginning at 9:30 AM.
Looking Ahead...
Congregational Christmas Party—Sunday, December 14 Mark your calendars now for our joint Christmas party with the Korean congregation, which will be held on Sunday, December 14, beginning at 5:00 PM. The potluck dinner will be fun for the whole family.
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Decorate the Sanctuary for Christmas Saturday, Dec. 13 at 9:30 AM and spruce up the church for Christmas
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Christmas Cantata—Sunday, Dec. 14 at 11:00 AM service
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Christmas Eve Services—5:30, 7:30 and
11:00 PM
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The Week at a Glance……This Week at Abiding Presence
8:30 am, Contemporary Service 9:45 am, Sunday School/Learning Worship 11:00 am, Traditional Service 11:00 am, Contemporary Service Planning Team Meeting CAFÉ Session Following Worship Services CROP Walk Mon., 11/24 1:00 pm, Brownies 7:30 pm, Book Club Tues., 11/25 6:30 pm, Cub Scouts 6:45 pm, Joy Singers 7:00 pm, Girl Scouts 7:30 pm, AP/ Temple B'nai Shalom Joint Choir Rehearsal Wed., 11/26 10:00 am, ESL Class 8:00 pm, Joint Thanksgiving Eve Service at Abiding Presence Thurs., 11/27 Thanksgiving, Church Office Closed Fri., 11/28 Church Office Closed Sat., 11/29 10:00 am, Rehearsal for AIDS Concert 2:00 pm, High School Youth Ice-Skating 6:00 pm, Saturday Evening Canticle Service Sun., 11/30 8:30 am, Contemporary Service 9:45 am, Sunday School/Learning Worship 11:00 am, Traditional Service 5:00 pm, Carpenter Shelter Meal 7:00 pm, AIDS Concert Sun., 11/23
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