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+ worship
This Sunday we will hear in the words of Scripture two stories of powerful women: Hannah and Mary. Both were open to God's will for their lives, and they served God faithfully in response. We are reminded of many things through their stories, including the need to open ourselves to the will of God, which makes Christ known to the world.
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You are cordially invited
to the Altar Guild meeting on Saturday, October 15, at 9:30 am in the Fellowship Hall. Bring a dish to share for a Pot Luck Brunch. Paper goods will be provided. Everyone is welcome to attend whether or not you serve on the Altar Guild at the present. It is a great time to find out more about the Altar Guild and to meet the people who serve in this group. Please RSVP to Sandy Vlahos,
650-2781, or Linda Blake, 684-8378.
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+ 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.
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OFFERING
update
October 2016
_____________________________________
$36,000 budgeted
$20,506 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.
If you have any questions,
please contact Carrie Dahlberg,
our
Financial Secretary,
here
.
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+ Noisy Offering has moved!
This month's Noisy Offering is going to be held next week, in order to keep the focus on the Preschool & Kindergarten this Sunday. This change allows us to focus on our missional outreach through the work of our Quilters on October 23.
The Noisy Offering on Oct. 23 goes towards shipping costs for the Lutheran World Relief Quilts that will be blessed that Sunday in worship. 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. It costs $2.25 to ship each Quilt. Thank you for participating in this ministry!
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+ 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.
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Daily Scripture Readings:
Sunday:
1 Samuel 1:9-11,19-20; 2:1-10
Monday:
1 Samuel 3:1-18
Tuesday:
1 Samuel 4:2-11, 6:2, 11-13
Wednesday:
1 Samuel 9:27-10:8, 10:17-27
Thursday:
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Friday:
1 Samuel 17:1-54
Saturday:
2 Samuel 6:1-23
God's Story, Our Story
Weekly devotional materials relating to the Narrative Lectionary are available on the Welcome Desk.
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+ give
CROP Hunger Walk
Thanks to the 14 members who walked in the CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, and thanks to the many members who donated to this cause. As a congregation, we donated $419.56 and walked 37.5 miles!
(Our Nativity Walkers, minus Pastor Mark, who was already on towards mile 5!)
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For those who would like to volunteer for the Welcome Table
(a group from Nativity participates this Saturday, October 15)
please contact Nancy Seekamp here in order to learn more.
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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.
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+ check us out
on social media!
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who's celebrating
in October!
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+ Forum Tonight!
Some folks have asked the congregation leadership about the recent changes in our church, wanting to know more about how decisions are made as well as
what lies ahead.
We held the first two of three "forums" last week, and we learned quite a bit in the process. In light of that fact, our final forum will include some of the things we have learned, and communicate the way in which we can all move forward together.
We hope that those who could not attend last week's forums can attend the final forum, held tonight. The format will be similar, only this time we can begin with what we have heard and learned throughout this process, then proceed with a presentation about our journey as a congregation and a look ahead at what's to come. We will conclude with
a time for folks to ask questions.
Final Forum Date:
Tonight, October 13 @ 6:30PM
If you have questions about the forums, please feel free to email Pastor Gregg here.
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+ NPK SUNDAY 2016
This Sunday is Nativity Preschool and Kindergarten Sunday
!
The ministry of the school will be highlighted at both the
8:30 and 10:30
services. Teachers will be installed, children will be singing, there will be opportunities to learn and give to our scholarship fund, as well as chances to bid on over 25 silent auction baskets. We have everything from a popcorn bar to 2 Biltmore Estate passes
to Mike & Hannah Ward family honey!
Please come and check it out!
All donations benefit our ministry as we join with you in "Making Christ Known" in our community and the world!
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+ 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
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!
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+ 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 meet on
Thursday, October 27
, at
1:00 pm
at Season's at Highland Lake, 86 Lily Pad Lane, Flat Rock, NC, 28731. Carpool, if you wish, from the church at
12:15 pm
. All women are welcome to attend.
Call Linda Blake, 684.8378, to make a reservation by
Monday, October 24
. This will be our last meeting for the year. We will resume the Lunch Bunch 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.
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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.
Our Noisy Offering this month (held next week, October 23) will help to defray the cost of shipping the quilts and kits overseas to where they are needed.
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meeting next Wednesday,
October 19, 6:00-8:00 PM
THE WAY: INQUIRING HEARTS
Questions are always welcome. The curriculum is our own stories shared in the light of God's story. The journey begins next Wednesday evening.
Pastor Mark and Dana invite all adults who wish to gather for food, fellowship and faith formation to be their guests this coming Wednesday, October 19, 6:00-8:00. A light, healthy supper will be provided; followed by a time for sharing stories and questions about our faith journey. The evening will close with a time of prayer.
Interested? Please RSVP
here. Supper and sharing will happen in the South Fellowship Hall.
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+ Boy Scout Popcorn Sale
For their primary fundraiser this year, Nativity's own BSA Troop 8 is conducting a popcorn sales event. Two of our scouts are members of Nativity - Arden Bode and
Sam Jarrett
- and they will be staffing a "sales booth" at the north wall in the Fellowship Hall (near the stairs) on October 2, 9, 16, and 23 between the early and late services.
If you decide to support our scouts by purchasing popcorn with a check, please make it payable to: BSA Troop 8. On all scout sales transactions, payment is required at the time your order is placed with our scouts. Popcorn is expected to arrive by mid-November. Thank you, always, for your support, which not only benefits our troop, but also
the entire scouting mission.
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+ book discussion group
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.
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+ 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!
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CHURCH OFFICE
HOURS
Mon-Thurs
9am-2pm |
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Want to get
the word out?
Please submit your communications, articles, events,
by noon on Wednesday
for weekly
Nativity Notes
and
Son Times
.
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