December 2011 Newsletter

December 2011

Erin Presbyterian Church

ERIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH NEWS

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new beginning. This year, this Advent, and this Christmas, be the one to bring someone closer to Christ and back to church.

December 2011 Matthew 9:38 (Jesus said) “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few,” said Jesus. This Christmas, become one of the few!

Some people in your life are waiting to be invited to church this Christmas. They want to come and sing Christmas carols; they want to hear the timeless story of Christ’s birth; they want to be forgiven for their past mistakes. They want to reconnect with God and belong to a community of faith. They are afraid to do this on their own; they feel unworthy and unholy; they feel lost and isolated, vulnerable and broken.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, open our hearts and minds to the people in our circles who are seeking You in their lives. Grant us opportunities and possibilities to invite them to church this Christmas.

Take away our fears, and enable us to give a positive and welcoming invite to all whom You would have us ask. In Your Holy Name, we pray.

Amen.

They want to be loved by God again.

They just don’t know where to start, where to go, or what to do. They are waiting for a sign. They are seeking guidance. They need help. They don’t want Christmas to go by again and carry an empty heart and unfulfilled life from this year to the next. They want to come to church, but they are worried that they won’t be welcomed.

Christmas Worship Services Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Saturday December 24th 6:30PM - Nursery care available

This is where you come in. God is calling you to invite them. He needs you to ask them to come to church this Christmas. He wants as many people as possible to be reconnected to His love and to experience the joy of Jesus in their hearts. God needs you to be the one to welcome those seekers to come to church. He wants you to give them a positive and clear invitation to come back to church.

You are the worker that He needs to go into the harvest field to restore His blessing to someone who feels helpless, hapless, and hopeless.

Christmas Day Carol service Sunday December 25th 11:00AM – Nursery care available Invite all of your friends to come!

Looking for Child Care in December?

Lauren Stuart, the pastor’s youngest daughter, is returning home on Dec 16th and will be available for child care up until the end of the year. In January, Lauren will be travelling to South Africa to finish her Master’s Degree.

Let God do what He does best. Let Him use you to bring others to church this Christmas – your family, your friends, your colleagues, and your neighbors.

Everyone needs to be loved by God and given a

Lauren’s cell phone # is (865-804-4427) 1

December 2011

Erin Presbyterian Church

Church Family Birthdays

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Fellowship and Congregational Care

(This may not be an accurate list and some names may be missing. If so, please accept our apologies, and then contact the office with the relevant information) Heather Ritchie December 1 Lionel Sands December 7 Sue Miller December 10 Jim Brannon December 12 Nicole Webb December 14 Sean Gahan December 16 Jenny Boyd December 16 Carol Alver December 19 David Eggers December 19 Matthew Miller December 20 Diane Montgomery December 20 Farrah Linkous December 21 Phil Duncan, Sr. December 26 Henry Ritchie IV December 26 Paula Gunter December 27 Barbara Brazelton December 29 Sarah McKay December 30 Fran Ayers December 31

PW Circle IV will meet on Monday, December 12th at 6:30 pm at the home of Mary Scarbrough. We will celebrate the season with our annual potluck dinner and a gift exchange. If you did not sign up at the November meeting, then please let Mary know if you will be attending and what dish you plan to bring.

PW Circle II will meet on Tuesday, December 13th at 10 am in the Parlor. Those who are interested can join us for lunch at the Applecake Tea Room immediately following the Circle meeting.

First Birthdays of January

Christmas Potluck Dinner

Joe Tate January 3 Maud Hoover January 4 Suzanne Levering January 4 James Montgomery January 4 John Moxham January 4 Lanie Webb January 4 Gary Blackburn January 5 Mary Nelle Cate January 6 Tracy Foster January 6 Jeff Waters January 6 Chloe Webb January 6

Sunday, December 4th, 5 pm This Christmas, join your church family in gathering 'round the table for an evening of good food, fellowship, and fun.

Ham and applesauce will be provided. We ask that you bring a generous portion of a side dish, bread, or dessert to share.

The Children's Handchime Choir will entertain us with Christmas Carols.

We look forward to seeing you there to help us kick off the holiday season.

If you plan to attend, please sign up in Sunday's Worship Bulletin or contact the church office.

Pastor’s Connections Sunday School Class The theme for the class during December is “Lessons from Carols.” This is a 3-week short study on some favorite Christmas Carols. A look at their origins, authors, and messages for the Church.

Dec 4 Dec 11 Dec 18

Christmas Poinsettias

O Come All Ye Faithful O Little Town of Bethlehem Silent Night All Welcome!

The Fellowship Team will soon be taking orders for Poinsettias to decorate the Sanctuary for Advent and Christmas. You may purchase a poinsettia for $15 each in honor or in memory of a loved one. Please complete an order form in the Worship bulletin.

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December 2011

Erin Presbyterian Church

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Christmas Caroling Tune up those vocal chords – we need all voices for Christmas Caroling on Sunday, December 18th. We will meet in the church parking lot at 6 pm to head out to the homes of some of our fellow members. After caroling, we will return to church for a time of fellowship and hot chocolate. Please bring a treat to share!

OUTREACH TEAM CHRISTMAS JOY OFFERING, DEC. 18

BODY RECALL UPDATE

A cherished Presbyterian tradition since the 1930’s, the Christmas Joy Offering is the fourth of the PC(USA) offerings each year. At Erin we will be receiving the Joy offering Sunday, Dec. 18 and during the Christmas Eve service.

“Two tested methods - exercise and good nutrition - continue to get the biggest kudos from aging experts for improving health and quality of life”, according to the 64th annual Gerontological Society of America conference. In this week’s USA Today the headline read “Experts advise: Move it.”

Half of the Joy receipts are used to help current and retired church ministers and other workers in times of unusual need. The other half goes to six racialethnic schools and colleges, in keeping with the Presbyterian church’s encouragement of education for all since John Calvin. The colleges use these funds for student scholarship assistance and to help with basic operating costs. In 2010 our local Knoxville College received $218K of the $1.9 million Joy Offering funds given to schools and colleges.

This is the 11th year an exercise program has been available at Erin Presbyterian Church, led by Certified Instructor, Ron Roberts.

“Bones, muscles and joints weaken as we grow older” he said, “and we need movement to stay in good working condition.

“Join us in January to fine tune your complicated human body. It’s for all ages, and our motto is to do what you can do. Don’t overdo but keep moving. It’s a good New Year’s resolution for you; make it two when you bring along a friend.”

Special Joy Offering envelopes will be available in pews starting Dec. 11. You may also make your donation by designating “Joy Offering” on your check & placing it in the Sunday offering plate or mailing it to the church.

Body Recall classes will meet as usual Nov. 28 through December 9, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4:00-5:00 in Fellowship Hall. Some class participants warm up by coming 5-15 minutes early to walk to music.

Outreach Team

Following a brief Winter Break, classes will resume January 9, 2012. Cost is $1 per person.

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December 2011

Erin Presbyterian Church

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boxes. Last but not least, thank you to Girl Scout Troop 21095! Twenty girls from 4th grade stuffed and decorated 20 boxes. It was a great experience for the girls, since most of them had never packed a box or knew about OCC. Hopefully, it will be a tradition they will carry on with their families in the years to come.

SENIOR ADULT MINISTRY HOLIDAY LUNCHEON, DEC. 15

Stewardship Ministry Need some laughs & reprieve from holiday stress ? ! ? Wendel Werner and Katie Free will be the fun musical entertainment at this year’s SAM holiday luncheon Thursday, Dec. 15. We’ll have a catered hot lunch and festive venue. Reservations must be made no later than Dec. 9 with:

Imagine, if you will, what it would be like if you did not know what your paycheck was going to look like. You might get paid a little, or a lot. You might get paid in even increments, or you might get a large check some weeks and small ones other weeks. What would it be like trying to budget for the year? Or even for the month? You would be guessing, the financial equivalent of pinning the tail on the donkey. It would be hard to know if you are over-extending yourself or if you are cutting what you can do short by under-estimating.

Allyson Streckfuss (850-4297; astreckfuss1906@gmail.com) or Donna Schall (531-1788; schalldon@att.net). Signup sheet will also be in the narthex.

Wendel Werner is a great entertainer, so we encourage bringing other senior friends. We’re also publicizing this party in the Presbytery’s newsletter.

Erin members age 55 and up are FREE. Cost for non-Erin-church members is $10.

The reason Stewardship asks (begs?) for pledge cards each year is so that we do not have that experience. For us to do a responsible job of budgeting, we have to have some idea what we will have for income. Things are financially challenging for most of us now; that is also the case for the church in general and Erin in specific. More than ever, we need to know what we have to work with so that we can demonstrate good stewardship, which we are all called to do.

Erin MOPS News

If you have not turned in a pledge card yet this year, we implore (beg?) you to do so. The better idea we have of what to expect, the better job the Stewardship Team and Session can do in navigating the demands and opportunities that come our way this next year. Thanks!

Erin MOPS would like to thank everyone who contributed to Operation Christmas Child. With the items we received, we were able to pack 105 shoebox gifts this year! Thanks to contributions from the congregation, the Outreach Team, and MOPS, we raised $754 to cover the cost of shipping our

In Christ, Erin Stewardship Team 4

December 2011

Erin Presbyterian Church

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Creative Expressions News

On Sunday evening, November 6th, the team hosted a potluck dinner, full of wonderful food and even better fellowship, followed by the Word Players’ production of “The Alabaster Jar.” The play, starring one of our favorite actors, Joe Jaynes, was a beautifully told story of God’s love and forgiveness.

We were honored to have many visitors from area churches in the audience as well. What a great evening and turnout!

Also, special thanks go to Dayspring Dance for sharing their talents with us during the worship service on October 30th. How wonderful it is to see our young people praise God through their talents!

(Early in January, the children of the church will be leading a special ‘gifts of children’ worship service one Sunday. Look in the January newsletter for details)

ERIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 200 Lockett Road Phone: (865) 588-5350 Knoxville, TN Fax: (865) 584-7775 37919-4808 www.erinpresbyterian.org

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