Upcoming Congregational Activities
Tuesday, December 8: 11am-4pm Red Cross Blood Drive in Hobson Hall
Wednesday, December 9: 6:30pm Book Club at the home of Nancy McCracken
Saturday, December 12: 11am-1pm Christmas Pageant Rehearsal for all interested youth
Sunday. December 13: at the 10:30am service: Christmas Pageant
Sunday, December 20: at the 10:30am service: Holy Baptism -Gretchen Strauss
Sunday, December 20: after the 10:30am service: Potluck and AWAKE art exhibit
Thursday, December 24: Christmas Eve Services
4:00pm Family-Oriented Service with Music
8:30pm Musical Prelude and Carol Singing
9:00pm Festive Eucharist with Music
AWAKE, AWARE, ALIVE
- AWAKE meets this Sunday, with another book about Christmas/ Advent. And…..we get ready for next week’s AWAKE Christmas Pageant (well, we will talk about it a little bit).
- AWARE continues!!!! We are ROLLING with our discussions about real things that happen in our lives, and some great ideas from the scriptures, each other, etc. AWARE is our (growing) teen/ youth group, for people ages 12 -18. Last week, we discussed ‘staying alert’ in CHALLENGING MOMENTS, LIKE AT SCHOOL, ETC.
- December 20, 2015 AWAKE ART Exhibit and Potluck dinner, following the 10:30 am service.
-EVERYBODY bring something for everyone to eat.
-there will be cake provided by Matthew and Cory Strauss, in celebration of their daughter Gretchen’s baptism that morning.
-the AWAKE Art Exhibit starts that Sunday. ALL children are encouraged to submit their artwork, etc. by Saturday, December 19, in order to get set up for the Exhibit.
5.There will be NO AWAKE or AWARE on Sunday, December 27.
- ALIVE meets this Sunday, 15 minutes following the 10:30 am service. We meet in the chapel, and everyone is invited. We will talk about a point from Bishop John Shelby Spongs’s book, ‘Jesus for the Non-Religious’. If you have questions, want to explore more ideas, or just want to sit with supportive people, come and join us.
NSI Updates
NSI is getting ready for Christmas. St. Stephen’s will be collecting boxes of potatoes, 500 of any kind, the count as of November 29 was 165. The potatoes need to be at church by Sunday, Dec. 13.
Also you can “adopt” a child to buy gifts for Christmas. NSI has requests for gifts for more than 900 children. Under the pulpit is a tree with paper ornaments on it. Each ornament tells the guardian’s name and phone number, the child’s name and age and child’s gift preferences. Also on the ornament are instructions if the gifts should be wrapped and how to label the gifts. NSI is asking that in fairness for our neighbors, many of whom in a family could be adopted by different community members, that you spend approximately $50 per child. As some of you did last year, you might want to go with a friend or another family to buy the gifts. All gifts should be to church by Sunday, December 13.
If you’d rather not shop, you can donate any amount of money. Make out your check to St. Stephen’s with NSI toys on the memo line. All money needs to be at church by Sunday, December 6. Volunteers will be shopping the next day.
Green the Church!
As we have in past years, we ask that any of the congregation who can, bring greens from their yards before Dec 22. A team will use them to decorate the main altar, with a few red/white poinsettias to create the natural look to which we are accustomed. If you have questions, please contact Jerrie Cribb.
Christmas Greenery Memorials
Beginning Sunday December 13 (Advent 3) Memorial envelopes will be available in the pews for donations to the Flower Fund. You are invited to submit names of those you would like remembered or honored in our Christmas bulletins, with or without a monetary donation. Donations to the flower fund are used to fill out the Christmas greenery (and Easter flower) displays. The deadline for name submissions and donations is Monday, December 21.
Save the Date
St. Stephen’s is Co-Sponsoring the Trinity Institute at St. Philip’s on Woodlawn Ave
January 21-23, 2016
Sacred Conversations for Racial Justice: Explore the more pressing issues of our time: structural racism, mass incarceration and policy change. Come with open ears and leave with a greater capacity go to back into your community and create change!
Book Club News
Book Club will be meeting on Wednesday, December 9 at 6:30 PM at Nancy McCracken’s home. We will start with a shared meal (please bring a dish or beverage to share), followed by what has become the traditional December sharing of favorite poems. All are invited to bring a poem to share or just come to listen and join in the fellowship. Kindly let Nancy know ahead of time if you plan to attend.
Reminder: If you’re mailing something to the church, especially time-sensitive materials, we recommend using the PO Box! St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, PO Box 82263
Columbus, OH 43202