Announcements 11-26-23

 Announcements:

ANGEL TREE:  Please remember if you have picked an Angel Tree Child to sponsor return gifts to the church by Dec. 3rd. Please remember to follow all instructions for how to package and drop off your items. 

CHURCH AUCTION!!  Our Church Auction is live on Monday, Nov. 20th at noon. Here is the link: https://www.32auctions.com/JCPChurch You all have donated so many wonderful items. Now we need people to buy them. Don’t forget to share the link or use the flyers we have provided to invite your friends and family. On Facebook go to John Calvin Presbyterian Church’s Facebook page and share the Auction post to your feed. Also don’t forget we also need volunteers to staff our drop-off days and times and pick-up days and times. So if you have available on the 15th or 16th of Dec. please talk with Sue. Also if you have an item you intended to donate but have not had a chance to it get to Louise there is still time. We can add items after the Auction goes live but in order to get as many views as possible for your item the sooner we get it in the Auction the better. So please email Louise as soon as possible.

ALL CHURCH GATHERING OPPORTUNITY: Do you want to see a full solar eclipse and fellowship with your church members and other Presbyterians at the same time? We have a great opportunity to join Presbyterians from all over the country in Little Rock AK for an Intergenerational Creation Care Event culminating with the total solar eclipse at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center. Please see the insert for more information. You can register with this link https://bit.ly/creationcareevent2024. We are asking everyone to register on their own, so you can select the accommodations that best suit your family. Then let us know that you will be attending. We hope that families and individuals of all ages will join together for this wonderful all-church event. 

ADVENT DEVOTIONALS: Now is a great time to get your advent devotional ordered. Here is this week’s suggestion: Rise Up Shepherd! Advent Reflections on the Spirituals By Luke A. Powery. Valuable not only for their sublime musical expression, the African-American spirituals give us profound insights into the human condition and the Christian life. Many focus on an essential scene of the Christian drama: the coming of God as the child in Bethlehem as the hope of the world and the liberator of God’s oppressed people.

In these devotions for the season of Advent, Luke Powery leads the reader through the spirituals as they confront the mystery of incarnation and redemption. In Rise Up, Shepherd, each devotion features the lyrics of the spiritual, a reflection on the spiritual’s meaning, a Scripture verse, and a brief prayer.

ZOOM ADVENT BIBLE STUDY: Join us each Thursday evening in December at 6:00 PM for a special Zoom Bible Study for Advent. We will be studying the book: Holy Disruption. Holy Disruption presents a fresh understanding of the holiness of Christmas grounded, not in a conventional cozy Christmas message, but through Mark’s disquieting gospel which invites its readers to experience God’s disruptive but transformative love for us and our world. Each week a different teacher will walk us through one of the four advent lessons.You can purchase the book on the PCUSA store or Amazon. If you need a quick Zoom tutorial or refresher prior to the start of the Bible study let Louise or Pastor Aaron know and we will get you set up. 

PLAYSCHOOL HAPPENING AND FUNDRAISERS: Join us on Nov. 29th for a fundraiser. Eat at Reginelli’s between 11:00 am – 9:00 PM and they will donate 10% of your order when you mention the playschool.

POINSETTIAS: Please fill out the form in the bulletin and place it in the offering plate by December 10th.

CHRISTMAS CANTATA: Mark your calendar for Dec. 10th to join us for the Annual Christmas Cantata and the Luncheon to follow.