Pastor Darcy
"Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you." - Galatians 5:1, The Message
We were created to be free! Our worth is not found in what we have, what we wear, or in our popularity. Our worth is found in the God who created us and who wants us to experience the full wonder and abundance of God's creation. It is only when we appreciate what God has given us and live our lives on a mission to be good stewards of these gifts that we can experience the freedom God always intended us to have.
October 9th, will be the beginning of the Fall stewardship emphasis for our congregation called "Live Free." We will learn how to become more faithful stewards as we explore what it means to:
* be free from the money trap;
* be free to be rich;
* be free from the uncertainty of riches; and
* be free to take hold of the life that really is life.
Each week we will focus on one of these themes during worship in creative and inviting ways. We hope you will participate in this exciting series each week. And then, on November 13, the same day as the annual meeting, we will join one another in presenting our commitments of giving in support of the ministry and mission to which God has called us as Lutheran Church of the Covenant.
First Timothy says to set our hopes on God, living richly in a deeper sense, "thus storing up for [ourselves] the treasure of a good foundation for the future" (1 Timothy 6:19). In Greek the same word means both "treasure" and "foundation." So this quality of living is a priceless treasure and also the solid foundation upon which we can build our individual lives and our life as a community of faith here at LCOC.
In your personal prayers and as you gather in fellowship with others, please remember to invite God's guidance as through this special emphasis we consider how God is calling us to "Live Free".
Serving God together,
Brian Richard Denise Wilder Darcy A. Tillman
Stewardship Chair Stewardship Chair Pastor
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 Council President
Staff Update:
We have received Vicki's resignation as the organist/keyboardist effective December 31st. We give God thanks for Vicki and her many gifts that she has shared with LCOC for 10 years. We lift her in prayer during this time of transition as she explores moving closer to her family.
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"For as in one body we have many members, and not all members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness." Romans 12: 4-8
Please prayerfully consider offering your time and talents to God by serving on one of the following LCOC Council positions for a two year term 2017-2018:
* President
* Treasurer
* Secretary
* Worship Committee (2 positions)
* Stewardship Committee (2 positions)
* Education Committee (2 positions)
* Evangelism Committee (1 position)
* Fellowship Committee (1 position)
For additional information, please contact;
Wilbur Snyder at wilburrsnyder@live.com
or Stacey Rosenquist at mbfybf@comcast.net.
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A reminder from the office:
The church office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 1:30 pm. While it may be easy for you to tag me on Sunday with a task or provide me some information, I'm not at work. On Sundays, I'm a member of the congregation, just like you. For work-related issues, I respectfully ask you just leave a note in my basket or send an email. Thank you for this courtesy. -
blessings,
Tricia
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GATHER
to worship God and fellowship with the community
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| Blessing of the Backpacks 2016 |
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Worship
Highlights- October 2016
- LCOC worship in October includes the 27th to 31st Sundays after Pentecost. During this time we will have a special stewardship theme from October 9th to 23d of "Live Free" inviting us to explore how rich we already are, and how rich we increasingly can be in works, generosity, and readiness to share. October 30th is Reformation Sunday when we commemorate the freedom of worship in our theological tradition which Martin Luther began on October 31st, 1517, by nailing his 95 theses for change to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg Germany.
- The LCOC choir will raise praises in song at the 8:30AM service on October 2d and 16th, and at the 11AM service on October 9th and 23d. Special music will also be featured at both services on October 30th the Lutheran festival Sunday for Reformation.
- October 2d asks how a good and all-powerful God see evil in the world and seem to remain indifferent in Habakkuk 1:1-4 & 2:1-4, then moves to Paul's message of encouragement in the face of hardship and persecution in 2 Timothy 1:1-14; and concludes with Jesus' call for the discipleship of servanthood in Luke 17:5-10.
- October 9th explores freedom from the money trap in Ecclesiastes 2:1-12; (vanity); Psalm 119:137-1441 (God's everlasting righteousness); Psalm 49:1-9 & 15 (wickedness of trust in prowess & riches); Timothy 6:6-12 (contentment), and Luke 12:16-21(treasure).
- October 16th emphasizes the freedom of true richness in Proverbs 8:1-11 (wisdom and knowledge); Psalm 119:137-144 (righteousness); Ephesians 2:1-10 (salvation through faith by God's grace); and Luke 19:1-10 (Jesus' visit to Zacchaeus the tax collector)
- October 23d teaches us freedom from the uncertainty of worldly riches in Isaiah 49:8-16 (promise of the day of salvation); Psalm 112 (delight in fulfilling God's commandments to care for the poor); 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (richness in good works, generosity and sharing); and Matthew 6:19-21 ("where your heart is, your treasure will be also")...
- October 30th is Reformation Sunday when we will return to the lectionary texts of Jeremiah 31:31-34 (an unbreakable renewed covenant possible only because of the Lord's foregiveness of our sins); Psalm 46 (7: "The God of Jacob..is our refuge" or 'fortress' as we sing in "Ein feste Burg is unser Gott"); Romans 3:19-28 (salvation by grace through faith); and John 8:31-36 (Jesus' word is the truth that sets us free from sin)
'Lutheranly', Wilbur Snyder
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Wartburg Castle, Germany |
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| Room where Luther translated New Testament |
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| Bingo! 2016 |
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Fellowship
We had a wonderful turn out for the "God's Work, Our Hands" Sunday service project and potluck lunch on September 11th.
Members and friends helped the community inside and out. Outside cleaning up the community on Cloverdale Road and inside by making fleece hats to give to the homeless in our area.
We followed all that up with a delicious potluck lunch shared with our friends from Mustard Seed Community Church. Thank you to everyone who brought food to share. As usual, we had plenty for all.
This month, we will be helping with the Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 22nd and the Trunk or Treat / Pet Blessing on October 29th. See you all there!!
blessings,
Tricia, Ray & Cindi
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| Prayer Breakfast |
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Men's Prayer Breakfast
Our next meeting is October 8th
at 7:30 am
in the DFH.
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| LCOC Prayer Garden |
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Community Prayer Group
The LCOC community prayer group meets the second Saturday of each month from 7:30 am to 9 am in the Work Room. We share prayers of concern and numerous praises along with a strong cup of coffee. We invite anyone who has concerns or praises to make them known to Colette L., Rita K., JoAnn R. Or Lorelei D. We offer this time to the community and congregation to join us for prayer, openly or privately. We will meet again on October 8th, at 7:30 am.
Matt. 21:13 - my house will be called a house of prayer,.....
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GROW
in our relationship with God through prayer, Bible Study, and service
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Adult Education
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Oct 2
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Chuck Knows Church: Stewardship
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Oct 9
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Live Free Series: Free from the Money Trap
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Oct 16
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Live Free Series: Free to Be Rich
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Oct 23
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Live Free Series: Free from the Uncertainty of Riches
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Oct 30
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Financial Peace University: Giving
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Nov 6
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Live Free Series: Free to take Hold of Life
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Join us, the coffee is ready!
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You are invited to be a part of the Sunday learning opportunities for ALL ages at 9:45.
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Shekinah 2016
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Confirmation Corner
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Our new confirmands!
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We have another great group of confirmands this year. They meet on Sunday mornings with Ray Sutton and once a month on Sunday afternoons with Pastor Darcy. Please keep these young people in prayer during this special time of faith formation:
Sarah G Mikey E.
Sarah S. Jillian R.
Seth S. Alexa W
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Prayer Opportunities
A team of members here at LCOC have been working on enhancing our prayer ministry. As a result, we have established documents which, it is hoped, will assist us in managing our weekly prayer list and make the Prayer Chain easy to use. You are invited to use the prayer contained therein as you lift others in your daily petitions. If you have any questions, please see Jo Ann Rudy or Pastor Darcy.
New Sunday prayer list ministry:
* Someone will be available in the main entrance hallway before each service to take prayer requests to be included in during worship.
* We list only the person's first name and do not include details. The list may also include joys or concerns of the surrounding communities (such as Neabsco Elementary School, the military, county, state, national, and global events.)
* Unless notified with more information, names added to the Prayer List will be automatically taken off the list after three weeks of publication.
* Please take the Prayer List bulletin insert home to include these people in your daily prayers.
Prayer Chain Ministry:
Please send an email to prayerchain@lcocdalecity.org
or call the Prayer Chain Lead at 571-210-1979
Free Ceaseless Prayer App:
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| Welcoming our newest members! |
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Youth Group
"LCOC praying with and for the youth as we bless their backpacks as the school year starts".
or 703-470-5749) OR
Dale Casey (broncosfan2@verizon.net
or 703-670-5223)
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GIVE
of our resources, time, and talents in response to God's extravagant generosity towards us
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 Oktoberfest!
In our continuing efforts at Lutheran Church of the Covenant (LCOC) to "love our neighbors" at nearby Neabsco Elementary School, we will be having a fundraiser on Saturday, October 22, 2016. We are calling this special event "Oktoberfest at LCOC". It will be a German-inspired meal of bratwurst, potato salad, sauerkraut, drinks and desserts. The Oktoberfest will run from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. We are charging $15.00 for Adults (13 years old and up) and $5.00 for children (12 and under). We will be offering hot dogs for the younger folks. Tickets will be sold on Sundays, October 2, 9, and 16. We will not be selling tickets for the meals at the door as we need to know how many people to expect so that we know how much food to purchase. There is an old-fashioned Cake-Walk being planned, as well as, Door Prizes.
This project is made possible through an Action Team grant provided by Thrivent
Financial. Half of the funds raised from this event will be used to purchase food for the students at Neabsco (who live in the community surrounding our church). These children depend on the school for breakfast and lunch daily and are in need of non-perishable items to take home each Friday so they will have food for the weekend. The other half of the proceeds will go to LCOC for needs at our church. THIS IS A FUNDRAISER - MEANING WE HAVE ALREADY PROMISED ASSISTANCE TO NEABSCO AND LCOC, SO MONEY FOR THE TICKETS IS NON-REFUNDABLE!
Looking forward to seeing you at the Oktoberfest!
In His Service,
Roger Rudy
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| Stop Hunger Now 2016 |
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Stewardship
We hope your summer vacations were great!
Your Stewardship team has a few things coming up:
October - In October, we will engage the Adult Education participants in a four-week long series titled Live Free. Weekly topics will be: Free From The Money Trap, Free To Be Rich, Free From The Uncertainty of Riches, and Free To Take Hold Of Life.
November - In November Stewardship will coordinate Operation Turkey, which provides Thanksgiving meals for folks in our community as well as families associated with Neabsco Elementary School.
December - In late November and early December we will coordinate Un-Trim-A-Tree, which provides gifts for folks in need in our local community.
So, you can see that you have been on our minds all year long, God bless you!
Your Stewardship Ministry Team, Denise and Brian
___________________________________________________________________
Amazon Smile:
Amazon members can help support LCOC while you shop! Click on the link below and pick Lutheran Church of the Covenant as your favorite organization and start shopping! We will receive a percentage of the sale.
Good shop:
Support Lutheran Church of the Covenant when you search the Web at goodsearch.com or shop online with Goodshop.com.
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| New Classroom |
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Property
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GO
forth to serve others and share the story of God's love for all
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OPPORTUNITIES TO USE OUR GIFTS
AT LCOC AND BEYOND
We are fortunate to be able to use our gifts that God has provided us through a variety of ways. In the near future, you can participate in the 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat. This event is a chance to provide fun for our kids, our community kids, not to mention the adults who participate. (If you have questions, please see Darla Ferris). Ongoing ways to use your gifts are to sign up to be a part of supporting Neabsco Elementary in many ways and in being a part of the gardening team at LCOC to help keep our landscape beautiful. Future experiences involve Breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus, Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, (If you have questions, please see Jo Ann Rudy), and helping with Vacation Bible School (If you have questions, please see Ashley Heuple) - (all at LCOC).
Please sign up on poster in the entrance way and get involved. When we choose to give our time, energy and talents to serve others, we are taking part in God's work to share the love of Christ and give God glory. With God working in us and through us, we can make a difference!
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| P Nats Baseball |
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OCTOBER 1 : IWALK for ACTS 6th annual walk/run at the Stonebridge in Potomac
- 8:00 am for registration and 9:00 am walk or run.(same day registration)
- Please go to the IWALK FOR ACTS website to register for this event
- Please wear your LCOC shirt to represent.
f
or People and Pets
Saturday, October 29th, 2016; 6:30 - 8:30 pm.
Lutheran Church of the Covenant
15008 Cloverdale Rd Dale City, VA 22193
Fun, Games, Candy
Bring your pets for a special blessing and a treat too!
Thanks again for all your support of the Evangelism Team here at LCOC. Darla
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| Mend-A-House June 4, 2016 |
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Project Mend-A-House
Project Mend-A-House is an organization that is making a positive impact on the lives of the less fortunate in Prince William County. And we at LCOC are making a difference! Volunteers from our church have cleared overgrown lots and have made repairs to homes to ensure safety. While our volunteers have pitched in willingly, numerous requests for assistance remain. We will be posting a chart with categories of the kind of help that is needed. Please consider sharing your talent and/or efforts. In advance, thank you! - Ralph Morse
OCTOBER project:
Volunteers are needed for a community project organized by Project Mend-A-House scheduled for Saturday, October 8th.
We are meeting at 7016 Gray Fox Trail, Manassas 20112 starting at 9 am and will be clearing brush so if you are able to help, dress for yard work. Please email Ralph at
morserc@verizon.net
or call at 571-314-2467 if you able to help or have questions. In advance, thank you!
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God in my family and in medicine
I saw God this summer when I unexpectedly received a visit from my niece, Jette, from Denmark, who I hadn't seen for 10 years. It was a wonderful surprise and good to catch up on the family in Denmark. Also, I felt God's presence when I received new hearing aids and was able to hear my family for the first time in many years and able to communicate with friends. R J
For more stories click:
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Thank you to all who generously donated to our Feeding the Homeless committee.
We hope you like this new way to serve the shelter.
God's Blessings to you.
Sandy Strychowski
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 Lutheran Church of the Covenant,
My husband, David, & I want to thank everyone who came to help us following the flood of June 23rd. You have no idea how your caring and support blessed us during those days. We are not in our house yet, but we are getting close. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the kindness you should us by being there when we needed help the most. May God bless you all!
Helen Harvey
Rainelle, West Virginia
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 Dear Lutheran Church of the Covenant,
Thank you for your participation in the recent Backpack and School Supply Drive. Through all of the generous donations, we were able to provide backpacks and supplies to all of the schools in the Neabsco District. These items will greatly benefit the students and families who are not able to afford them.
This would not have been possible without support from community members like you. Thank you again for your thoughtfulness and generosity.
Warm regards,
John D. Jenkins
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Thank you letter from Dale City Civic Association
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| The Sycamore |
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In Nature at LCOC
Dear LCOC Family Member ~
If you've never spent time in any of the outside sanctuaries surrounding our church, you are missing an opportunity to feel God's awesome peace and His presence. Allow me to take you on a walk through some of the gardens as we explore what happens as autumn begins:
- The rustle of the sycamore leaves has gotten louder as these big beauties get ready for winter.
- Our sugar maples continue putting on a show of reds, oranges, and yellows.
- Portulacas near the main entrance to our church have been replaced by pansies. These dainty-looking flowers are ready to provide pleasure throughout the fall and to withstand the upcoming winter.
- On our porch, flanking the doors, you'll see pretty yellow mums alongside beautiful Boston ferns.
- While most of the flowers that have been providing us color all summer are fading as summer is past, the fall anemones are just coming into bloom and hang out near the patio.
- The butterfly bush remains vigilant in supplying the "wings of fancy" food as they prepare to migrate south. There are still opportunities to spot a Monarch fueling up for the long trip to Mexico.
- You will see the blossoms of the crepe myrtles floating in the air as these trees have almost finished their three months of blooming.
- In our tour of nature at LCOC, you may notice two of the beds along the sidewalk (closest to the street) are covered with black cloth. They are getting ready to have some plants that will provide pops of color, especially next spring.
- You will see the water management pond is being maintained and areas are being cleared to make our landscape more open and beautiful. Thanks to two eager beavers (Sherman and Roger) who have put in a lot of time into this effort.
You are encouraged to take a self-guided tour through our wonderful landscape here at LCOC. But be ready - you are going to experience God's peace and presence - so enjoy this special time with our Creator! Next month, we'll see what's happening as the days get shorter and the temperatures cooler.
"Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile."
William Cullen Bryant
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Happy Birthday to you!
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OCTOBER
2 Colette L..
2 Donna T.
3 Dawn B.
4 Blake J.
8 Bailey Z.
9 Pam M.
14 Michael E.
15 Kaley P.
18 Troy S.
19 Joseph H.
19 Evan M.
20 Mary S.
22 Ruth J.
22 Samuel S.
29 Russ E.
29 Joan H.
29 Jean Z.
31 Gudrun A..
31 Les B.
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Happy Anniversary
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Diane & Mark D.
October 5, 1991
Amy & Brian M.
October 12, 1999
Cyndi & Steve W.
October 22, 1988
Wendy & Brian W.
October 26, 2002
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Baptism Anniversaries
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Natalea C.
Heather H.
Cody K.
Addison L.
James M.
Arianna R.
Eli S.
Sarah S.
Seth S.
Brady V.
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Homebound Members
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Ruth J.
Jean J.
Mary S. |
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Members in the Military
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Tyler R.
Tom M.
Ryan L.
Samuel B.
Please remember to keep our service members and their families in your prayers as they serve our country. If you have someone to add to this list, please contact the office.
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Flower Calendar
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The altar flowers for this month are given to the glory of God and contributed by:
October 2
Susanna R.
in celebration of Teachers
October 9
Warren R. in celebration of
brother, Jack's birthday
Jim G. in celebration of Dale's birthday
October 16
Fay Y. in celebration of Tim & Troy's birthdays
October 23
Tilli S. in memory of her fathers birthday
Steve & Cyndi W. in celebration of their 28th anniversary
October 30
Coy & Mike A. in celebration of Gudrun's birthday
Roger & JoAnn R. in honor of her
sister Linda D.
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OTLWB Book Club
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The Book Club is meeting on October 6th
(at 12:30 p.m. in the workroom)
to discuss
by Anna Quindlen.
The selection for November 10th is
Truly Madly Guilty
by Liana Moriarity,
and we have not yet set a date
for this meeting.
If you would like more information, please see Sandy S. or Diane D.
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Take a look at our web site
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Office Hours:
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Monday - Friday
9:00 am - 1:30 pm
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