ACOLYTE TRAINING There will training for new acolytes for those 7+ years old after worship today. Questions? Ask Pastor Sally
Poinsettias in the sanctuary may be purchased for $5 each and taken home to enjoy at the end of Christmas Eve service.
YOUTH GROUP Our youth (6-12 grades) will meet this afternoon from 3-5 pm. We meet once a month on Sunday afternoon. Questions? Ask Pastor Sally
ADVENT DEVOTIONALS are still available on the table outside the sanctuary. Pastor Sally also has Advent calendars for our families with young children.
ADVENT SOUP SUPPER & STUDY You’re invited to join us for a soup & bread supper on the three Wednesdays during Advent continuing this week, December 12th at 6:30 PM. After supper (7-8 PM) we will wander together through the sights of Italy which Pastor Sally captured during her sabbatical and reflect on the journey of Christianity over the centuries as we find it in Italy!
INSTALLATION OF ELDERS & DEACONS Our newly elected (and now trained) officers will be installed during worship next Sunday, the 16th.
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT – ‘LAS POSADAS’ On Sunday, December 23, our children and youth will be leading us in morning worship as we learn about the Spanish tradition of the Holy Family & Las Posadas.
CHRISTMAS EVE COMMUNION SERVICE On December 24th at 7 PM we will gather for our annual service of Lessons and Carols as we celebrate the sacrament of Communion while we rejoice in the coming of God’s salvation in Emmanuel, God-With-Us.
CHRISTMAS JOY OFFERING Once again at Christmas, we are participating in the PCUSA special offering which supports ministers and missionaries who are facing financial hardship and also the work of our racial and ethnic schools.
Pastor Sally’s Office Hours this week are Monday 11-1 or by appointment. Rev. Sally’s days off this week are Thursday & Friday but she is available by phone or email: Phone: (774) 239 4340 & email: revnewhall@aol.com Announcements for the bulletin must be emailed to the church by noon on Wednesday.
PRAYER FOR THE CAMEROON Excerpt from a letter to the churches of PCUSA:
Sisters and Brothers, I urgently call you to prayer for our partners and friends in Cameroon, a nation still wrestling with the impact of past division by colonial powers into French-speaking and English-speaking regions. Concerns among English-speaking citizens that they are treated as second-class citizens in this majority French-speaking nation have spawned separatist movements. Clashes between separatists and government forces have left many dead. Most recently a group of armed men entered the campus of the Presbyterian Secondary School (PSS) at Nkwen, Bamenda, and abducted 78 students and three staff members, according to a statement by the Rt. Rev. Samuel Fonki, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon (PCC). We rejoice in the release of the students less than 24 hours after their abduction, but continue to pray for staff.
In the name of the One who is the Prince of Peace, The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II Stated Clerk of the General Assembly Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
If you wish to support the disaster responses of the PCUSA’s PDA (Presbyterian Disaster Assistance), which is our ministry to those around the world whose lives have been torn apart by disasters, you can do so online at: pda.pcusa.org
REGULAR EVENTS AT NPC 8:45 AM Sunday morning Bible Study Choir Rehearsal 11:30 on Sunday Small Group at 7 PM on Monday PW Circle – noon on the second Friday Men’s Breakfast 8 AM at Denny’s on the second Saturday Book Group at 11:30 AM on the fourth Tuesday Youth Group once a month on Sunday afternoons Many of these groups are taking a break over the holidays. Speak to Pastor Sally if you would like to know more about any of these activities.