1. Prayer Fellowship – Join us tomorrow, Sat. Dec. 1 at 8am as we pray for each other, our church and our world.
2. RATANAK 3rd Annual Bake Sale – held at Salem Storehouse (1558 Merivale Road) tomorrow, Saturday, December 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Contributions of baked goods should be clearly labelled as: contains nut, nut-free, or gluten-free. Please drop off your baking at St. Paul’s today between 8:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. or at Salem Storehouse after 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 1. Thank you for supporting Ratanak by baking and/or attending this event. The Ottawa Ratanak Team.
3. Christmas: More or Less? This Advent-Christmas season we’re encouraging each other to make our celebration more meaningful by spending less on ourselves and giving more to those who are in greatest need. We have catalogues from The Presbyterian Church in Canada that provide a list of significant gifts to share. Another gift giving project is called “Advent Conspiracy”, which can be found at www.adventconspiracy.org.
4. Scripture for this Sunday – Isaiah 7: 10-14
5. December 2, the First Sunday in Advent – as we begin this sacred season which celebrates the Saviour’s birth it’s important to remember why He was born, so we are celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper at both services this Sunday. We are also receiving two new members into our fellowship as we welcome Janice Hunt and Carol Rourke. Let’s pray for them and our whole church, asking that we, with our newest members, will be blessed in our fellowship in Christ and partnership in the Gospel.
6. St Paul’s December Schedule – We have many things to look forward to for the whole family in this festive season:
Dec. 15 – Children’s Christmas Party at 3pm
Dec. 16 – Children’s Christmas Presentation for the 9 & 10:30am services
– “Christmas Joy”, an evening with the choir and singing at 7pm
Dec. 24 – An “Upsidedown Christmas”, a family-oriented service at 4pm
– Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 7pm
Dec. 30 – single service at 10:30am
Jan. 6 – single service at 10:30am
7. Pioneer Clubs Annual Christmas Celebration – The Pioneers would like to invite their families and Prayer Pals to join us this Thursday, December 6, for our annual Christmas Celebration. Please join us in Campbell Hall at 6:45 p.m. (to around 7:30 p.m.) and help us celebrate the birth of our Saviour with singing, reading of the Christmas story, presentations by each group, tasty Christmas snacks and more. This will be our last Pioneer meeting of 2012 before our Christmas break. We will resume again in the New Year on Thursday, January 10 (6:00 to 7:30 p.m.). For more information, contact Janet Mabie at 613-825-5239 or email jfmabie@yahoo.ca.
8. St. Paul's Book Circle warmly invites you to the 4th Annual Poetry Readings and Christmas Tea to be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room on Monday, December 10. We will be sharing poetry and/or creative writing favourites, refreshments and perhaps a little game or two. So, put on your Christmas gear, your creative thinking cap and come on out for a fun-filled and relaxing evening!
9. St. Paul’s Seniors’ Christmas Celebration – All seniors are invited to our Christmas Celebration on Wednesday, December 12 at noon. Enjoy a delicious lunch followed by a special presentation in the Sanctuary with a message from Jack, guest organist Mark Thallander and several other musical guests. Only 90 spaces are available, so don’t delay in registering. The cost is $15.00 per person.
10. Children's Christmas Program – On Saturday, December 15 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. families with children in Grades K to Grade 6 Sunday school are invited to join us for a special presentation with songs, poems and drama to celebrate Jesus' birth. Afterwards, we will have refreshments and good cheer in Campbell Hall.
11. Finance Update – The finance team reminds the congregation of the operating budget commitment of $590,931 at the annual general meeting on Monday, February 27, 2012. Remember a large portion of our expenses comes in the last two months – as outreach and mission programs focus on the busy advent season. We remind the congregation of the bank covenant (income exceed expenses) regarding the school property in effect this year.
Giving Goal January through October $ 469,790
Amount Given to End of October 474,296
Total Expenses 455,497
We ask that you please prayerfully consider your contributions to the congregation’s outreach programs as we enter the last two months of the year. Thank you for your support. The “pre-authorized remittance” (PAR) program is a superb method of contributing regularly to these programs. Mark Ranson, for the Finance Team
12. St Paul's Website – Check out www.stpaulspcottawa.com for more resources and information from St Paul's.