THE
RAPPAHANNOCK
CHRISTIAN
December 2009 & January 2010
The Rappahannock Christian 1
ADVENT WREATH
Advent began on November 29. Church families will assist in the lighting of the Advent Wreath each week during the Christmas Season.
Patricia, Brittany and Austin Hammond assisted on November 29. The following families will assist in December: 12/6 - John, Amy & Acree Childress; 12/13 - Peter, Libby, Virginia and Layton Trible; and 12/20 - Nathan, Sarah, Flannery and Rebecca Pope.
POINSETTIAS
Poinsettias will beautify the church during the Christmas season. If you would like to place one in memory or in honor of someone, please sign the sheet in the vestibule and place your payment of $10.00 per plant in the attached envelope. If you are unable to be at church and wish to order, call Anita Harrower at 443-1822. .
ANGEL TREE GIFTS
Social Services has changed the procedure for Angel Tree gifts. In lieu of taking an angel and purchasing gifts for one child, a list of items will be provided and you may purchase one or more gifts from that list. The gifts should be brought to the church, unwrapped, and placed under the Christmas tree no later than December 13.
CHRISTMAS PROGRAM
Sarah Pope is directing the Christmas program and invites all children to participate. The children will meet at the church from10:00 a.m. to 12:00noon on Saturday, December 12, to rehearse and build their set. Nathan Pope will be helping the children with building the sets. The final rehearsal will be during the Sunday School hour on December 13, and the program will be presented that same day at5:00 p.m. A big thanks to Kathy Wilbur for working with the costumes!
Dinner will be served following the program. Meat, bread and beverages will be provided. Please provide salads, vegetables and desserts, keeping in mind that there will be guests present.
HELP PACK CHRISTMAS BOXES
Members and friends of RappahannockChurch are invited to help pack and deliver Christmas boxes on Saturday, December 19. Packing will begin at 10:00 a.m. and deliveries will be made beginning at 11:00 a.m. Etta Davis, Chair, needs your help that day, particularly with the delivery of the boxes.
FROM THE PASTOR:
I'll bet that some of your happiest memories are from Christmases you have celebrated. We remember special gifts we received or gave. We remember traveling to special places. We remember people we used to see. Maybe we remember something that happened just last year, or perhaps our happiest memories are of long-ago. Of course, thinking of Christmases past can be sad, too, because circumstances change. We don't go to the same places or see the same people we once did.
Paradoxically, change is a "constant." Each of us changes a little every day. Our lives change dramatically from childhood to adulthood. Some people die and some are born in the course of a year. Change is sometimes wonderful, and it is sometimes hard. But it should not be something that strikes fear in our hearts. God is the King and Ruler of all. God, who is gracious and loving, is the Master of our lives. When we trust God, we can embrace yesterday, today and tomorrow, because we know that all are gifts from God.
This Christmas won't be the same as last Christmas, or the Christmases before that. No matter whether that seems better or worse to us from our limited perspective, we give thanks to God and praise his holy name.
NEWS FROM DISTRICT IX
There are two new ministers in District IX. Rev. Mark Anderson has been called to Ephesus Christian Church in Foneswood, and Dr. Richard Harrison has begun an interim pastoral ministry at West Point Christian Church.
SERVING IN DECEMBER:
Elder:Peel Dillard
12/6Nancy Wyatt
12/13Ralph Elliott
12/20Alex Dillard
12/27Tyler Ware
Deacons:Nelson Hillyer, Bruce McComb,
Nathan Pope, Bill Tate
Deaconess:Carolyn Elliott
Welcome:Anne R. Waring
In the Nursery:12/6Sarah Pope
12/13Libby Trible
12/20Arlene Lankford
12/27Gerry Haile
Sound System:12/6Deane Lankford
12/13Passagaluppi
12/20Doug Landrum
12/27Laurie Wilbur
SERVING IN JANUARY:
Elder:Helen Ware
1/3Ralph Elliott
1/10Nancy Wyatt
1/17Tyler Ware
1/24Alex Dillard
1/31Peel Dillard
Deacons:Jamie Davis, Garnett Hodges,
Doug Landrum, Rob Waring
Welcome:Nancy Wyatt
In the Nursery:1/3Nancy Wyatt
1/10Etta Davis
1/17K. & L. Wilbur
1/24Emma Dunn
1/31Sandy Tate
Sound System:1/3Passagaluppi
1/10Deane Lankford
1/17Laurie Wilbur
1/24Passagaluppi
1/31Laurie Wilbur
The Community Chorus will present its Christmas program, "The Sounds of Christmas," on Monday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m. at the TappahannockMemorialUnitedMethodistChurch. The performance will be dedicated to the memory of Kirsten Wolcott, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Hollis Wolcott, who was killed in November while serving as a Seventh Day Adventist missionary in Micronesia. Donations will be given to the Kirsten Wolcott Memorial Fund. Kirsten sang with the Chorus before going off to college. Her mother, Karen, has been the Chorus' accompanist for the past several years.
TappahannockMemorialUnitedMethodistChurch will present its "Many Moods of Christmas" cantata on December 13, at 3:30 and 7:00 p.m.
GraceBaptistChurch (which meets at the 7th DayAdventistChurch on Hospital Road in Tappahannock) will present its Christmas choral program on Sunday and Monday, December 13 and 14 at 7:00 p.m. The program will be directed by the Reverend Paul Beith.
The Community Carol Sing, sponsored by Essex Bank, will be on the Courthouse Green next to the bank in Tappahannock on Friday, December 18 at 7 p.m. Emerson Hughes will lead the singing. Refreshments will be served inside the bank following the singing. In case of inclement weather, the carol sing will also be inside the bank.
The Gospel of Luke tells of the night that the shepherds' tedious routine was interrupted by an angelic announcement. There they were doing their hard, often boring, difficult work not expecting anything new or different or exciting. Suddenly everything changed as they heard the wonderful news of God's gift to the world in a newborn child. In response, they hurried to Bethlehem to discover for themselves what God had done.
Sometimes the mission and ministry of our local congregations seem like the work of the shepherds - hard, boring, exhausting…and even sometimes hopeless. How exciting when God is revealed to us in new ways that take our breath away and the work we do for God suddenly has new hope and new vision.
Across the Regions of the Christian Church there are exciting stories of new congregations being established, existing congregations being renewed and transformed, and leaders equipped for ministry. Great things are taking place as we join God in God's mission for the sake of the world.
Your Christmas Offering, which will be received on December 13 and 20, will support the ministries of the Region of Virginia.
PRAYER & PRAISE TEAM WILL VIST THE ORCHARD
The Prayer & Praise Team will visit the Orchard in Warsaw with a program of songs, Bible readings and prayer on Friday, December 11, and on Friday, January 8, at 7:00 p.m.
"WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA" WILL BE OBSERVED
"Wreaths Across America" was started in 1992 with the donation and laying of 5,000 Christmas wreaths at ArlingtonNationalCemetery. In 2008 over 300 locations held wreath laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas cemeteries.
The Disciple Women at Rappahannock will be participating again this year by placing wreaths on veterans' headstones at our church cemetery. Please join them at 10 a.m. at the cemetery.
CHURCH BUSINESS MEETING WILL BE JANUARY 10
RappahannockChurch will hold its regularly scheduled Quarterly Business Meeting after a light lunch following worship on Sunday, January 10.
Rappahannock Christian Church
P. O. Box 1111
Dunnsville, VA22454
Plans are already being made for the churches of EssexCounty to stage another "Operation Inasmuch" event in April, 2010. Operation Inasmuch is a one-day mission blitz in which volunteers from more than 20 churches belonging to Essex Churches Together go throughout the county to work on mission projects. RappahannockChurch's Operation Inasmuch "Contact" is Libby Trible. Right now, the Operation Inasmuch Planning Team is looking for people who are willing to serve as "Team Leaders." A Team Leader is someone who heads up a project. They are told what their job is, and who their volunteers are, but they must make sure everyone on their "team" is ready to go to work on the day of the event. (A couple of training sessions for the Team Leaders will be required.) If you can be a Team Leader, please let Libby know right away.
The Rappahannock Christian 1