|
+ worship
Join us this Sunday
as we celebrate the Baptisms of two of our own: Archer Paul Styles and Greta Lynn Oehm.
We will gather around water and the Word, making promises to help raise these two young Christians in the faith we share.
|
|
+ learn
Fall 2016 Faith Formation
Beginning
Sept 18th, join us on Sundays between services from
9:40 to 10:20 as we explore our faith and build community at Nativity!
I
ntergenerational Faith Formation is for everyone in 2nd grade and older. We will talk about God, our lives, and where the two meet, covering many topics along the way. We'll make new friends across generations and hear new perspectives from our brothers and sister in Christ.
Children in 1st grade and under will have their own Building Blocks Faith Formation class, where they will learn and grow through programming
on their level.
*Nursery will be available for children 3 and under*
For more information, contact Pastor Rachel here.
|
|
+ God's Work, Our Hands
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016
This year, our God's Work Our Hands project is School Kits.
Our goal is to assemble 125 school kits between services on Sept. 11th. Members have been hard at work, assembling these backpacks.
In addition to our work together, we will celebrate the faithful work of three of our own. Between services there will be a reception for Kippin Jordan, the Rev. Jean Goodwin, and Jennifer Loizzo. All are invited to attend and wish them Godspeed in their new endeavors. There will also be a card basket for each person, that way we can express our gratitude individually.
|
|
OFFERING
update
August 2016
_____________________________________
$46,714 received
$51,000 budgeted
Generosity is the way we show our gratitude for the gifts we have been given by God. Thank you for your commitment to Nativity, it has
a significant impact on the resources and opportunity
for
outreach from this congregation.
In August we will be lifting up our
"God's Work, Our Hands" Project and all ministries will be finalizing their fall plans. Please pray fully consider your time, talent and treasure commitment to the mission of Nativity.
For the month of September, we have budgeted $46,000 in expected giving.
Any questions, please contact
|
|
October-December
OFFERING ENVELOPES
are available for pickup
in the Fellowship Hall
Thank you for helping us to save postage!
|
|
+ noisy offering
Thank you
f
or your generous giving to our Noisy Offering in August. After all was counted, we raised $632.27 for the Lutheran World Relief School Kits. This contribution will certainly go a long way towards the education of children in need!
|
|
+ give
Calvary Food Pantry:
Volunteers are needed next
Saturday, September 10 to assist our neighbors at Calvary Food Pantry. Please sign up at
the Welcome Desk
or email Heather Neal
here
.
You are invited to a concert featuring
the Biltmore Brass Quintet at 3:00 on Sunday, September 18 at Calvary Episcopal Church. A free-will offering will benefit Calvary Food Pantry. Gifts of non-perishable foods
are also appreciated.
- - -
As we near the 3rd
Anniversary of Welcome Table on
October 1st
, here are some statistics you may be interested in:
We've served 5,000 meals
to guests in 2015-16 !
Skyland's budget for WT was $3,500 for 2016 and Nativity contributed $383.00 through our noisy offering. So far the WT has spent $2,541.48...or 62% of the total....for the first 7 months, so we're pretty much on target. The other churches give in different ways. For instance, St. Barnabas' Vincent de Paul group provides large amounts of meat and gives away things like personal hygiene and household items on the 4th weekend when they serve.
Skyland's community garden has given away 440 lbs. of produce (tomatoes, squash, zucchini just to name a few)
so far this summer. What a blessing for our guests.....and those serving who want to take some home!
Thanks to all of Nativity's volunteers who help us to make these good things happen! And thanks to the congregation for opening up your hearts and purses to help fund this ministry!
|
|
who's celebrating
in September!
|
|
CHURCH OFFICE
HOURS
Mon-Thurs
9am-2pm |
|
+ NPK
Nativity Preschool and Kindergarten is looking for donations of a new (or gently used) laptop
to use in our classrooms
for the 2016-17
school year.
Please email
or call the school office
at 687-8381.
Thank you for supporting our ministry together of "Making Christ Known"!
Update:
There are currently spots available for 2 and 3-year-olds in our half-day program.
If you or someone you know is interested,
please contact us and find out more!
|
|
+ welca
September dates:
Women's meeting - September 8, 11:00 am
in the church Fellowship Hall
Nativity Card Ministry - September 8, 12:30 pm
in the church Fellowship Hall
Ladies Lunch Bunch - September 22, 1:00 pm
(location to be determined)
October:
Smoky Mountain Conference Gathering -
Saturday, October 8, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
at Nativity
NC Women of the ELCA invite you to join us
for Lutheran World Relief Volunteer Day, which will be celebrated from November 10-13, 2016. Christian Tours has arranged a four day bus trip from Newton, NC to New Windsor, Maryland and to Lancaster, PA. You will have the opportunity to tour and to volunteer at the LWR warehouse and SERRV. More information can be found in the brochures on the Women's bulletin board.
"All Anew" is the theme of the Tenth Triennial Gathering of the Women of the ELCA.
This gathering will take place Thursday through Saturday, July 13-16, 2017 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Registration opens September 6, 2016.
"The theme of our Tenth Triennial Gathering calls us to transformation, calls us to become All Anew. With our sisters, we will experience not only the power of the Holy Spirit,
but the power of women gathered."
For more information, please contact
Linda Blake, 684-8378, or go to www
.Welcatg.org.
|
|
+ book discussion group
Nativity's Book Discussion Group will meet in the north classroom in the Fellowship Hall on
Tuesday, September 13
, at
1:30 pm
and on
Thursday, September 15
, at
6:30 pm
.
The book to be discussed at both meetings is
A Skeleton in God's Closet
by Paul L. Maier. Everyone is welcomed to attend either gathering!
For Discussion Guidelines, click
here.
|
|
+ Gulf Coast Outreach
The ELCA Disaster Response has been diligently working to provide relief for those who have been forced from their homes due to the flooding in the Gulf Coast region. To learn more about their efforts, and to discover ways you can help aid their work, click
here.
We remember and pray for those who have had their lives impacted by this dramatic flooding. Some of our own are from this area, including Melanie and Alfred Berlin. Contact the Berlin family here for more information about the flooding and to discuss how Nativity folks who want to help might proceed.
|
|
+ council corner
Minutes from previous meetings can be found on the church's website here.
|
|
+ New to Our Sanctuary:
This Sunday we will be dedicating the Children's Processional Cross to the glory of God.
The Children's Processional Cross brings a new component to the participation of children in our liturgy - it enables them to begin to lead one another. Moreover, the new cross communicates an important message to us all, that even when our youngest brothers and sisters leave the sanctuary and experience the Word on their level, they are still continuing the worship of this church, and encountering our Triune God in the process.
We give our heartfelt thanks to Dewey Johnson, who made the Children's Processional Cross and two bases in which it will be held. The cross was hand-crafted out of Baltic Birch plywood, and it contains 26 layers of wood in total. In the center of the cross is a heart, made of purple heart wood. This exotic wood is found in Central and South America, and it is used here to communicate the central meaning of the cross: God's love for us. The base that will remain in the sanctuary is a beautiful piece of burl from the bark of a White Oak tree (given by Kent and Peggy Oehm).
|
|
+ Nativity Blood Drive
Blood Drive: Nativity will be holding a Blood Drive with Blood Connection on
Sept 22nd
from
2-7 pm
. Blood Connection supports our local hospitals, and all blood donated stays in our community.
To sign up to donate, please click here.
If you would like to learn more about the Blood Connection, click here.
|
|
+ check us out
on social media!
|
|
Want to get
the word out?
Please submit your communications, articles, events,
by noon on Wednesday
for weekly
Nativity Notes
and
Son Times
.
|
|
