www.nativityarden.org
828.684.0352
Weekly e-news       10/27 /16
+ worship         
   


This Sunday is Reformation Sunday, a time for us to celebrate together the many ways in which God has changed our church over the years, and how God continues to inspire us today. We will hear the story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath, one of the most powerful stories of trust found in the words of Scripture. 

+ care
   


Beloved and long-time Nativity member, Clement Hahn, died on October 15.  
We will be celebrating his life on Saturday morning November 5 at 11:00 AM.  We continue to hold his wife, Juanita, children ( Kenneth, DeAnna & Kimberly) and grandchildren in our prayers. If you would like to be a part of the funeral meal team for this event, please contact Princess Ferguson by clicking here

To read Clement's obituary, 
click here.

+ nursery volunteers needed!
 
We try to make worship welcoming for young families here at Nativity, and one important part of that is to provide a nursery for those children who are too fussy for church. While we provide one staff person for this task, we also support that person with a volunteer assistant. We are now in need of volunteers.

If you would like to volunteer to spend your time with some very cute and playful children, we ask you to prayerfully consider signing up for a Sunday or two by clicking here.

If you have questions, please call the church office at 828-684-0352.

+ yard guard 
 
Nativity Yard Guard needs the help of the congregation on two consecutive Saturdays in November: the 12th & 19th.  9:00 am to noon. We will be cleaning up the church grounds -- corralling all those fallen leaves -- and preparing for the winter months.  Bring your rakes and blowers. Refreshments provided. 



OFFERING  update
October 2016
_____________________________________

$36,000 budgeted
$33,073 received

Thank you for your faithful commitment to Nativity; your giving  has  a significant impact on the resources and opportunity  for  outreach from our congregation. 

For the month of November, 
our budgeted offerings are $59,800.
 
If you have any questions, 
please contact Carrie Dahlberg,
 our  Financial Secretary,  here

Nativity Endowment Fund Applications 
are Available!
_____________________________________

Now through December 5th, the Endowment Fund Committee will accept applications for grant and scholarship disbursements. 

 Established in 2004,  the 
Nativity Endowment Fund receives and disperses financial gifts from church members and friends to carry on the ministry of Christ through Nativity in future years. 

For an application, or to learn how you can make a gift of kindness, please visit the Give section of the nativityarden.org website 
by clicking here.

+ learn
 
Fall 2016 Faith Formation 

Join us between worship services each Sunday from  9:40 to 10:20  as we explore our faith and build community at Nativity!
 
I ntergenerational Faith Formation: everyone in 2nd grade and older is invited to meet in the Fellowship Hall.
 
Building Blocks: Children in 1st grade and under meet in the Preschool Big Room. 
 
*Nursery is available for children 3 and under*
 
For more information, contact Pastor Rachel here
 - - - - -
Daily Scripture Readings:
Sunday: 1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24]
Monday: Kings 19:11-18, 2 Kings 9:30-37
Tuesday: 2 Kings 2:1-18
Wednesday: 2 Kings 5:1-19
Thursday: Amos 5:18-24
Friday: Hosea 2:1-13
Saturday: Micah 6:1-8

God's Story, Our Story
Weekly devotional materials relating to the Narrative Lectionary are available on the Welcome Desk.
+ council corner

Minutes from previous meetings can be found on the church's website here

- - - - - 

A message from the Vision committee:

Hello, family and friends in Christ!   
As we begin a new period in the life of Nativity, the Council's Vision committee is looking to get your input as to how you see Nativity's future. 
We ask that you prayerfully consider new programs and/or missions that Nativity can implement in order to achieve our mission of Making Christ Known!  

The next time you're in church, we invite you to complete a short survey with your thoughts and suggestions (found in the pew racks and at the Welcome Desk).  This survey will run for three weeks.  If you cannot fill out the survey at church, we invite you to download a survey here and submit your saved responses to this email.  We appreciate your participation and support of Nativity as we work together to Make Christ Known!

+ Nativity Member 
in the News! 

Nativity's own Lori Johnson was recently featured in a local newspaper for her work in suicide prevention. To read more about it, click here.

Camp Agape 
Clean-up

Click here for information about Camp Agape, the damage it sustained during the hurricane, and ways you can lend a hand. 
+ check us out
on social media!
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
View on Instagram
 Click  for Nativity's
+ Trinity View Fall Festival


+ Noisy Offering     
jar_coin.jpg 

A great big THANK YOU goes out to everyone who donated to last week's Noisy Offering! Altogether, we raised $411.20 
which will go towards shipping 
the Lutheran World Relief Quilts 
where they are most needed. 
  
These LWR Quilts have been hand-made by Nativity Members over the last year, and will be sent around the world, bringing messages of hope and love.  In the past 15 years, Nativity Quilters have made 2,307 Quilts!  
Through your generous giving, we are able to cover the complete cost of shipping the quilts, and we even have enough left over 
to donate to Lutheran World Relief!  
Thank you for participating in this ministry!

+ NPK

Nativity Preschool and Kindergarten is looking for donations of a new (or gently used) microwave
to use in our classrooms  for 
the 2016-17  school year.  

Please email 
Janine Webb  here 
or call the school office 
at 687-8381.  

Thank you for supporting our ministry together of "Making Christ Known"!

Update:
There are still spots left in our Kindergarten class.
Additionally, there is one spot left in 
the 3-year-old class  in our half-day program. 
If you or someone you know is interested, 
please contact us and find out more! 
+ Boy Scout Popcorn Sale 

 
Thank you to everybody at Nativity who supported our troop in their recent popcorn fundraiser that was led by scouts 
Sam Jarrett and Arden Bode, 
along with their parents, 
Heather Jarrett and Lori Bode
This was our first attempt in conducting this activity for the troop, which concluded very successfully this past Sunday. The proceeds derived form this fundraiser will not only support financially Troop 8's activities throughout the  year, but also the entire scouting mission as well. Thank you, Nativity!

 
Click here to see 
who's celebrating 
in October!

(and here for November)
+ book discussion group

woman_hammock_reading.jpg

Nativity's Book Discussion Group will meet in the Preschool Big Room  tonight
Thursday, October 13 , at  6:30 pm
The book to be discussed at this meeting is  My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry   by Fredrik Backman.   Everyone is welcome!

The Nativity Book Discussion Group meets monthly on the second Tuesday at 1:30 pm and the following Thursday at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall. The next meetings will be:

 Tuesday, November 8 
and 
Thursday, November 10

We will be reading Memory Man by David Baldacci for the month of November. In this book, Baldacci introduces a startling new character: Amos Decker, a man with perfect memory who must solve his own family's murder. 

December's book is  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and in January we will discuss  Circling the Sun by Paula McLain. Everyone is invited to participate whenever they can - just come to one of the meetings. Both groups discuss the same book.

For Discussion Guidelines, click here.
+ welca

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.

The Ladies Lunch Bunch  will resume meeting 
in January 2017.  

The Women's Meeting will be held  Thursday, November 10, at  11:00 in the Fellowship Hall. All are welcome to attend and join in the Bible study, Pursuing God's Beauty, a study of the Gospel according to John. Bring a bag lunch, if you wish.

The Card Ministry meets immediately following the Women's Meeting at  12:30 pm on  Thursday, November 10. We gather to make cards for Nativity's members on the prayer list. All are welcome to come and participate. All that is needed is the ability to follow directions.

- - - - - 

Since 2013 we have been able to track quilts and kits sent to Lutheran World Relief. During the past three years, 398 quilts have been sent to the Philippines and Peru (2014), Georgia (2015), and India (2016). 185 Personal Care Kits have been sent to the Philippines (2014), Yemen and Lebanon, Worldwide, and  Georgia (2015). Our youth tied 15 fleece blankets which were sent to Angola (2016). 113 School Kits made last year were sent to Nicaragua this year. In the last 15 years, Nativity Quilters have made 2,307 quilts, not including 
this years numbers.

Thank you to the whole congregation who supported these projects for 
our sisters and brothers in need! 

 This year 161 School Kits and all of the quilts (which will be displayed in the nave next Sunday) will be sent to the LWR warehouse in New Windsor, MD.  


+ give

News from Calvary Food Pantry-- Here are the stats for the September: 409 families = 1340 individuals served; 26% children, 60% adults, 14 % seniors; 48% from Buncombe, 52% from Henderson, < 1% from Madison. October is seeing high numbers, with 125 families and 116 families receiving food the first two Saturdays. 

Let's fill the baking cupboard this month. Suggested items: sugar, salt, flour, cornmeal, vegetable oil, shortening, chocolate chips, canned pumpkin, peanut butter, cake/muffin/brownie mixes, pancake mix and syrup. These items will be repackaged for individual families. All non perishable donations and financial gifts are greatly appreciated. Please place food and supplies in the grocery cart in the Fellowship Hall. 

New Volunteer Opportunity
Nativity has been asked to take an additional Saturday at Calvary Food Pantry.  This coincides with our expanding volunteer pool, and it seems the Spirit is moving!  We'll now be serving at Calvary on the 1st and 2nd Saturdays of the month, beginning Nov. 5th.  Thanks to our volunteers for making this ministry possible!

Sign up at the Welcome Desk  or contact  Heather Neal   here
if you'd like to learn more. 

CHURCH OFFICE
HOURS
Mon-Thurs
9am-2pm
Want to get  the word out?
Please submit your communications, articles, events, 
and updates to:    
by noon on Wednesday  for weekly 
Nativity Notes  and  Son Times .