Connecting us with one another, our community, and the world...
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"Waiting is a period of learning.
The longer we wait, the more we hear about him for whom we are waiting."
Henri Nouwen
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In worship this week:
December 3, 2017
Pastor: Rev. Janie McElwee-Smith
Music Director: Aubrey Nelson
Pianist: Carol Behrmann
Liturgist: Connie Buck
Youth Liturgist: Kate Stewart
Ushers: Bill and Barb Pfeifer
Hospitality: Bill and Barb Pfeifer
Communion Servers: Carol Behrmann & Mary Martin
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Flowers this Sunday are presented
to the Glory of God
by Jim and Mary Martin.
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My Heart Cries Out
Our theme for the season of Advent this year comes from a musical arrangement of the Magnificat – the beautiful song Mary sings upon visiting her cousin Elizabeth. It is a song of God’s promises and the trans-formation coming with Christ’s Reign.
Though it has been set to music countless times throughout the millennia, this particular arrangement comes to us from Ireland. It was written during a time of peace, following the Good Friday Accords, in the midst of the long-lived civil disputes that have plagued the country. It sets this text from the Gospel of Luke to the old Irish folk tune,
The Star of the County Down,
and invites the singers to rejoice with Mary, and all of God’s children, that suffering will not last forever and God’s will will be done in the end. As it so eloquently says, “My heart shall sing of the day your bring. Let the fires of your justice burn. Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.”
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This week in PCUSA Mission:
PC(USA) Ministry of Presence
Important in Israel-Palestine
Mission co-
worker
Douglas Dicks
has gone home. Not to his boyhood home in Virginia but to his spiritual home in Israel/Palestine.
Last month Dicks began serving as an associate for ecumenical partnerships at the invitation of St. An-drew’s Scots Memorial Church in Jerusalem, working with churches in Bethlehem, Jerusalem and elsewhere in the Holy Land. However, neither the job nor the region is new to him. He was commissioned by his home church, Buckton Presbyterian, to go to Jeru-salem in September 1995 for two years. He stayed 18 years and finished his term in 2013 to return to Vir-ginia to care for his aging mother.
“Not many people get the opportunity to do something they really love once in their lifetime, but how many get the opportunity to do it twice?” he said. “And the call to serve in the Middle East is still very much in my system.” In his new role as facilitator for education for justice and peacemaking, he will connect congregations and councils with indigenous Christians in Israel/
Palestine. His extensive experience as a regional liaison for Israel, Palestine and Jordan gives him the unique ability to educate Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) constituencies on the contextual realities of the church’s witness in the region.
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Immediate Church Family*:
Betty Bagent;
Carol Behrmann;
Doris Baugh; Inez Geoghegan; Betty Lancaster; Mary Perry; Deanna Lewis Sklar; Brad Smith; Caitlin Thompson.
Extended Church Family*
:
Brandon Behrmann (Carol’s nephew); Ron Brelsford (Rosemary John’s brother-in-law); Lettie Capers (friend of the Leonards); Austin Casey (Jack and Betty Bagent’s grandson); Wayne Cline (Sherry Hutchinson’s brother); Cecil and Judy Eubanks (former members); Eva Fuller (Inez Geoghegan’s niece); the Miller twins (friends of Brad Smith); Aleta Pickholtz; Earl Rabe (friend of Rick Gurtner); Joy Walker (niece of the Pfeifers);
Larry Wilcoxson (friend of the Leonards); Barbara Zeagler (friend of the Dyes).
*
New names or concerns added to the prayer list this week are in italics.
Birthdays
December 3 - 9:
none
Anniversaries
December:
none
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Monday, December 4:
12:00 p.m. AA
Tuesday, December 5:
10:30 a.m. Bible Study
12:00 p.m. AA
6:00 p.m. Lagniappe Ladies
7:30 p.m. AA
Wednesday, December 6:
12:00 p.m. AA
5:30 p.m. HPC choir practice
7:00 p.m. Ladies’ AA
Thursday, December 7:
12:00 p.m. AA
8:00 p.m. Men’s AA
Friday, December 8:
12:00 p.m. AA
Saturday, December 9:
Yard Crew – John Dye & Mike Groves
Sunday, December 10:
9:30 a.m. Worship
11:00 a.m. Session Meeting
7:00 p.m. AA
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Upcoming Opportunities at HPC
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- Devotional Advent Calendars are available for pick-up in the Narthex.
- TODAY - Called Congregational Meeting and Greening of the Church. Please make plans to stay following worship.
- Lagniappe Ladies will meet Tuesday, Dec. 5, 6:00 p.m. at the church. There will be a pork tenderloin dinner for those attending – cost $8.00/person.
- December 10 – Dedication of Gifts of Literacy. Please make sure your books are wrapped and under the tree. Books will be delivered to Magnolia Woods Elementary Tuesday, Dec. 12. To help deliver books or for more information, contact Connie Leonard or Connie Buck.
- Poinsettias will be used to adorn the Sanctuary this Advent Season. If you would like to purchase a poinsettia in memory, honor, or gratitude of someone, please have your donation ($15.00) in by December 10.
- December 17 – Christmas Brunch. This year we will celebrate the season with a Third Sunday Christmas Brunch. Look on the bulletin board for a sign-up sheet.
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Highland Presbyterian Church
is a vibrant tree in God's grace-filled orchard. Deeply rooted in God's life-giving presence here on earth, this tree extends its branches to support one another in faith and reach into the world around it to produce fruit. Whether you are seeking God's presence through questions or service, discussion or fellowship, there is a home for you at Highland.
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Connecting with Our Pastor
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Rev. Janie McElwee-Smith
office hours for Rev. Janie are Mon. 10:30 am - 1:30 pm
and Thurs. 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
by appointment Mon. – Thurs. 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
cell (call or text): 314.283.7596
office: 766-5775 (please leave a message)
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Highland Presbyterian Church (USA)
10024 Highland Road • Baton Rouge, LA 70810 • 225.766.5775 • www.highlandpresbyterian.org
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