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The 26th Annual Congregational Meeting will be held this Sunday, January 28, beginning at 6:15 pm The meeting will be preceded by a 5:30 pm potluck dinner and a 5:15 book swap and book drive for Sarah's House.
Please review the updated 2017 Annual Report HERE.
All are invited! Please sign-up HERE to bring potluck items!
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THE APOSTLES' CREED
All are welcome to celebrate the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany! We will be continuing with our second part of our four part series on the Apostles' Creed. This Sunday we will be focusing on I believe... in Jesus Christ at both the 9:30 am and 11:00 am worship services.
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MESSAGE FROM PASTOR JON
Dear Friends,
I invite you to our 26th annual meeting this Sunday. We will have a book swap at 5:15 pm, potluck dinner at 5:30 and the meeting will begin at 6:15. This is a good opportunity to reflect on our 25th year of ministry. We will give thanks for the great work done this year, celebrate the ministry of elders moving off Session and deacons moving off the team as well as reflect on where the year brought us.
We will also look forward to our next year and all that is in store. We will welcome a new elder and deacons, consider our financial status and make decisions that will lead us into the new year. Please review the
Annual Report, it represents the hard work of our dedicated leaders.
It is important that you are there because, as we know, democracy doesn't work if the people don't show up. Presbyterian government aims to be democratic, so we need your voices at the table.
I am in prayer for us as well step forward into 2018 with faith. May we sense God's presence, understand God's purposes, accept God's challenges in the life and ministry of Ark and Dove.
jgnelson1985@gmail.com
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VERSE AND PRAYER
When Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.
- Luke 4:16-20
God in Christ: You sent your Son to manifest your light in this world. Jesus teaches us, frees us, illumines us, uplifts us and draws us into your love. Help us, O God, to really believe in Jesus' message. Grant us the courage to live it without fear. May we follow him, go wherever he leads, so that we can show your love and light in our world. Give us confidence he is with us always, drawing us ever into the promises of your future. Amen.
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and more! Many opportunities await you!
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We are still receiving
Per Capita gifts. The church is a community that depends on community-wide support, and the per capita offering is a way of providing that support. Each member of Ark and Dove is encouraged to assist with
per capita. This year the apportionment for each member is: $35. Have you made your per capita gift this year? Your
per capita can be conveniently paid on line
here, or drop in in the offering basket (blue envelopes in seat backs) on Sunday morning. Questions? Alta Paronto, Treasurer, (alparonto@gmail.com), or Wendy Wellington, Administration Elder (swt520@verizon.net).
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N
TES FOR YOU
This Sunday, join Mark, myself and some of the band members for a very neat arrangement of The Apostle's Creed at both services! Next week the adult choir will do a beautiful anthem titled, Answer to the Call. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Love,
Rebecca
rebeccaebell@gmail.com
I wanted to share a very special concert that I am performing on Sunday, February 25 with fellow faculty from Frederick Community College. We are performing some of the absolute best music from Spanish, North American, and South American composers! Jennifer Rundlett, on the flute, and Adam Gonzalez are fantastic artists, and I cannot wait to present this program with them! (We have been rehearsing for the past 6 months for it). Admission is free, but seating is limited, so please visit the site and register to secure your spot!
For more information, please visit HERE!
See you soon!
Mark
mark.edwards.guitarist@hotmail.com
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THE TRIBULATIONS OF PARENTING
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PARENTS POTLUCK Join us for the second meeting of our parent group, a fellowship opportunity for all who are in a parenting role. Here you will find support, new perspective and grace for the many difficulties and joys of parenting. We will gather for a potluck tonight, January 26th at 6 pm. We will then split into small groups for discussion. Childcare will be provided. We will finish by 8 pm. Please contact Pastor Jon with any questions (jgnelson1985@gmail.com).
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THE PLEA OF A SYRIAN ACTIVIST
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PLEASE DON'T FORGET US Join us on February 17, to visit the
Syria: Please Don't Forget Us
exhibit at the US Holocaust Museum. The group will be carpooling from the church at 9:30 am to take the Orange Line from New Carrolton and expect to be back at the church in the early afternoon. To join the carpool or to let the group know that you will meet us at the museum, please email
knilsenjohnson@gmail.com
so a head count can be made. More information on the exhibit can be found HERE.
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ANAM CARA, Spiritual Friendships To grow in our spiritual lives, we need friendship. To grow in friendship, we need to journey in faith. We have formed a small group that fosters meaningful relationships and encourages spiritual growth. Anam Cara is an ancient Gaelic term for the friendships we need as we walk with God. We will explore avenues of faith formation (prayer, study, meditation, worship) through discussion and seek to help one another in our journeys. We will meet each
Thursday nights, 7:30-9:00, until March 22 at Katie and Grant Johnson's home. Katie and Grant Johnson will lead the group with Pastor Jon. Contact Jon for any questions (
jgnelson1985@gmail.com).
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BREAKFAST WITH THE NEXT VOYAGERS
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NEXT VOYAGERS
To kick off the new year, please join us at the Nautilus Diner in Crofton
tomorrow, January 27, 8:00 am
for a delicious breakfast, great conversation, and a presentation by David Sparks, who many know as the bass in the choir with the really low voice. David will share with us about some of his life experiences, including some fascinating stories from accounting (a phrase I didn't ever expect to write ;-). We will also confer about what kind of upcoming events we would like to do together.
Please confirm if you can make it! Thanks! Paul Doughty, padough@verizon.net.
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RENEWING AND EXPANDING THE SPIRIT
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WOMEN'S RETREAT: RENEWING AND EXPANDING THE SPIRIT The Women's Retreat will provide a safe, guided environment to renew and expand your mind, heart and spirit. Ark & Dove will sponsor a Women's Retreat on the weekend of
April 20-22 at the Claggett Center in Adamstown, Maryland. The price per person is $290 for a single occupancy room and $260 for a double occupancy room, meals included. If you are unable to attend for the full weekend, join us for Saturday (Day Pass is $115). But hurry!
The deadline to register and pay for the Women's Retreat is February 15th. Click
HERE to register. For more information, please contact Cheryl Walcutt, Walcutt_family@hotmail.com, or Shelley Franklin, shelleyfranklin@vwrld.net.
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CONVERSATIONS ABOUT FAITH
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EQUIPPING THE SAINTS These days there are lots of difficult conversations going around and often they involve matters that touch on our faith. If you are like many of us and don't really know how or are not comfortable having conversations about faith and faith issues, please attend the next Equipping the Saints class on Wednesday, February 7th. We will have dinner at 6:30 and lessons from 7:00-8:30 and child care can be provided. See Steve Debus (
steven.debus89@gmail.com
) for more information.
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Antiracism and Social Equity
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THE STORY OF AMERICA'S FUTURE
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WAKING UP LOVE! The 37th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast at AACC on MLK Day was a wonderful event. The keynote speaker was Dr. Gail Christopher, the originator of the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) endeavor at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. "The TRHT is a comprehensive, national and community-based process to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change, and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism. It seeks to unearth and jettison the deeply held, and often unconscious, beliefs created by racism - the main one being the belief in a hierarchy of human value," e.g., that some races are inherently superior to others. One way to do this is to bring narrative change to the stories we are exposed to in the media, in schools, and in entertainment. Accurate stories of the past, present, and future enable all "to honor the full complexity of our humanity." (
http://healourcommunities.org/
) Dr. Christopher called her speech "Waking Up Love" and mentioned the very book (Waking Up White) that Pastor Tim and Paula Sparks currently are using in their small group. She encouraged everyone to read that book. What are the stories you were told about your roots and your family? Is it only part of the story? How does it fit into the larger story of race in America? What story of America's future would you like to live into and to give to your children and grandchildren? Linnie Girdner, girdnerlinda@gmail.com.
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LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING began as a poem written for a school assembly in Jacksonville, Florida on the occasion of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Written by James Weldon Johnson, the words were set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson. The song was popular in the Black community of Jacksonville. It quickly spread throughout the South. It was sung in churches, schools, and colleges. In 1921, the NAACP made it the organization's official song. It was often referred to as an "anthem for the Negro people". By the 1960's, the sheet music had acquired the subtitle "Negro National Anthem." Not as popular as it once was, it is still sung at many African-American events. Learn more about this song from the upcoming book May We Forever Stand by Imani Perry, a Princeton University professor. interested in learning more? Please contact, Ylonda Fauntleroy, yfauntleroy@gmail.com.
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SUPERBOWL OF CARING Help line the stairs of our sanctuary with soup cans! Be on the winning team: bring in your cans for our local food pantry, CAP, between now and February 4th.
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JANUARY'S FOOD OF THE MONTH
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C
AP WEST COUNTY FOOD PANTRY
Featured item for January is PASTA AND PASTA SAUCES (semolina pasta, brown rice pasta, whole wheat, etc./Bertolli jarred sauces, Classico jarred sauces, etc.). Please drop off food items in the Mission Zone bin. Thank you for your donations!
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GENON YOUTH SUMMIT 2018
We're gearing up for another great week at GenOn Youth Summit 2018 this coming July! This is a national gathering where Christians from many denominations and areas come together to integrate the four essential parts of LOGOS:
WORSHIP
RECREATION
BIBLE STUDY
FAMILY TIME/FELLOWSHIP
PLUS, a DAY OF MISSION where we participate in various activities to support the local area which hosts our gathering!
This trip is open to ALL youth in 8th grade or above for the 2017-2018 school year, all college aged young adults, and all of the adults who want to support these awesome youth! We will hold an information meeting very soon, but we wanted to get the important dates & info to you now!
WHEN: Sunday, July 15th (we leave our church early that AM) through Saturday, July 21st (we arrive back ~ lunchtime)
WHERE: Our location again this year will be Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, WV
COST: Early Bird registration is $440, which includes a $125 deposit due by 3/1/18
Regular registration is $465, which includes a $125 deposit due by 4/1/18
Late registration will be accepted, based on space, at a rate of $490
FINAL PAYMENT will be due by 6/1/18
FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES will be discussed at our information meeting; but if you have any great ideas now, please feel free to reach out to Pastor Jon (
jgnelson1985@gmail.com
)
If you have any questions, contact Kelly Burnett (
kellyb327@aol.com
) and/or visit the GenOn Ministries webpage (
www.genonministries.org
) and click on the Summer Youth Summits link on the upper right corner to explore more info about Summit!
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EAGLE SCOUTS COURT OF HONOR
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FLY, EAGLES, FLY Congratulations to our two newest Eagle Scouts: Dillon Benson: Dillon's Eagle Project was the wonderful pathway and reflective garden behind the Peace Pole. Dillon is a member of Troop 446 in Hannover.
Nathaniel Callen: Nathaniel is a member of Ark and Dove's Boy Scout Troop (Troop 119). His Eagle Court of Honor is going to be held in the sanctuary at 11:00 on February 10th, all from the church are welcome to attend. As a part of the ceremony, Nathaniel will be escorted by all of the Eagle Scouts in attendance - if you are an Eagle Scout, your participation is encouraged. Contact Ryan Stavely (ryan@stavely.org) if you are interested in attending or participating.
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PRAYER CONCERNS
Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:
PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT
for the Guatemala Pilgrims; Greg and Diane Makar's mother, LeAnn; Ann Hirschy; D'Alex Childers; Christy Yeager's father, Leon Jordan; Sarita Barrow and her brother Rashad; Charles Lawrence; Daryle Echols; Marcia Bussey; Donna Anderson's brother-in-law, Tom; Mary Beckwith; Debbie Saylor's aunt, Gail, and cousins, Ed and Jen; Nicole Howe's aunt, Linda; Bob Johns; Frances Keyes; Chip Burnett; Dot Forloines and her brother Jack; Henry Duncan; Helene Marchand-Stancil and Helene's mother, Mimi; Ellen Makar's father, Don Erickson; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Steve and Brandi Downs; Mary Stum's sister-in-law, Sandy; Julia Kirby's mother, Margaret Floyd; Amy Carskadon's nephew; Jason Ziegler; Brenda Figueroa; Jon Nelson's aunt, Linda; Charlotte Davie's sister, Ann; Erika Sealing's son, Trip, and grandmother, Margaret Schade; Tawes Dewyngaert; Dick and Carol Baily; a member awaiting test results; a granddaughter in need of support; Wendy Wellington's mother, Janet Morgan; Linnie Girdner's friend, Sandra Warren; Archer and Honor Bauman's grandmother, Jackie; Stefan; Colleen and her family; Sue Hanburger's grandson, Enzo, and friend, Susan; the spouse of Ed Barrett's friend, Ronda Sweet; and Karen Dodson's granddaughter, Briana.
PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING
for the life of Cassie Paladino.
If you have prayer concerns or blessings that you would like to share, please contact Deacon Sue Hanburger at avongypsygal@gmail.com, and she will add your concern to the prayer partners email chain.
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