HOLY WEEK
Join us on the Journey as we continue making our way to the cross and the celebration of Christ's victory over death.
Worship times:
Good Friday, April 14
11 a.m. at Trinity View
7 p.m. at Nativity
Easter Vigil, April 15
7 p.m. at Nativity
Easter Sunday, April 16
8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. at Nativity
And don't forget to bring flowers
from home for the Easter cross,
if you have some!
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+ choir opportunities
Nativity Choir:
meets weekly, Wednesday nights at 7 PM. We are rehearsing regularly, but more singers are always welcome to join!
Young Youth Choir: will
not meet this Sunday. We'll resume practices next Sunday at 3:45 PM.
Youth Choir:
will not meet this Sunday. We'll resume practices next Sunday at 4:15 PM.
Campfire Choir: meets monthly. Check the church calendar for the next meeting.
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+ Care
We hold in our prayers the families of this parish who experienced the loss of a loved one this week, especially:
The family and friends of
Elmer Fitzsimmons - his sons,
David and Mark, and
Dana, Kyle, and Evan Fitzsimmons.
The family and friends of
Kenneth Schoening, especially his wife,
Kari, and his daughter,
Krista Fox.
The family and friends of Jeffrey Sifuentes, especially his sister,
Amy McKinney.
As an Easter people, we trust in the sure and certain hope that Christ has redeemed us, and promised resurrection and new life on the last day.
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+ Noisy Offering
Thank You!
April's Noisy Offering, for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina, collected $326.67!
Through this Noisy Offering, we will help more children in our community form life-shaping relationships with caring adult mentors who believe in them and see their potential.
Thank you for your generosity!
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+ Communion Milestone
Formerly known as First Communion, the Communion Milestone is the first time members of Nativity accept their role as recipients of God's grace in the bread and wine of the sacrament.
This Milestone is generally for kindergartners, but it's open to any children wishing to learn more.
We will meet twice, on Wednesday April 26th and May 10th from 5:00-6:30 pm, to prepare for this public act of faith. There will be dinner at our meetings, and a parent/guardian must attend with their child. Our Communion Milestone Sunday will be May 14th.
If you're interested, please email Pastor Rachel here.
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+ Third Grade Bible Milestone
Third graders are invited to learn about the Bible on
Wednesday May 17th from 5:00 to 6:30 pm.
We will have dinner and explore the ins and outs of God's Word, including locating different books of the Bible, finding chapters and verses, and talking about how to use our Bibles at home.
A parent/guardian must attend with their child.
We will then present third graders with their Milestone Bibles in worship on May 21.
If you're interested, please
email Pastor Rachel.
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+ nativity women
Save the date for the Spring Gathering of the Women of the ELCA. The Mountain Conference will hold a gathering for all women at
Saint Andrew Lutheran Church, Andrews, NC, on Saturday, April 29, 2017. We will car pool from Nativity at
8:00 am. The program is
titled "Women of the Reformation." The offering is designated for Agape+Kure Beach and in-kind offerings of personal toiletries and paper products will be received for Friendship House in Andrews. Cost is $8.00 which includes lunch. We should be home by 3:00 pm. Please call Linda Blake, 684-8378, for reservations (by April 18) and questions.
Ladies Lunch Bunch
will meet
Thursday, April 27
, at
1:00 pm at Post 25.
Our hostess is Nancy Seekamp. Please RSVP to her at 687-8265.
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VBS - SAVE THE DATE!
July 10 - 14, 2017
Maker Fun Factory
Created By God,
Built For A Purpose!
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+ April
Birthdays
Click
here to see our updated list and find out who's celebrating this month!
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+ check us out
on social media!
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+ give
Calvary Food Pantr
y volunteer sign ups are going digital. If you would like to sign up, please click
here to view upcoming weeks and select your volunteer position. A sign up sheet remains at the Welcome Desk. To learn more about Calvary Food Pantry, contact
Pastor Rachel or
Heather Neal
Thank you for all you do to contribute to this ministry. To read about the impact the food pantry has, click
here and hear from one of the grateful families.
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+ council corner
Three candidates
received a majority of the ballots cast last Sunday. The newly-elected Council members are listed here in alphabetical order: Jason Cooper, Doug Phillips, Amber Wollner ... The other three candidates received many votes as well, though none received a majority of the ballots cast. According to our Constitution, we must have a runoff election one week after the initial election. This Sunday's election will be determined by a simple majority vote between the two candidates with the most votes from the election last Sunday. The two candidates for this Sunday's runoff election are:
Tom Dieterly and
Jennie Gillette.
The voting procedure is the same for this vote as it was for the previous vote. Voting takes place in the Fellowship Hall, beginning 30 minutes before the 8:30 worship service and ending 30 minutes after the 10:30 worship service.
After this Sunday's vote, we will have our four new members of council, whose terms will begin this June. Once we have elected four as a congregation, the current council elects two additional members to start this summer also.
Last Sunday the congregation also elected Luke Ward as our "Under 30 Synod Assembly Voter."
Thank you to everyone who has been willing to serve in leadership of Nativity!
Minutes from previous meetings can be found on the church's website here.
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+ Bells will be ringing
Handbells will be playing again on
Mother's Day, May 14. Rehearsals are set for Tuesdays May 2 and 9 at 7:00 pm.
No expertise is required - we'd be happy to have you even if you only want to ring one bell!
Anyone who is interested in playing, please contact director Amber Wollner.
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Want to get
the word out?
Please submit your communications,
by noon on Wednesday
for weekly
Nativity Notes
and
Son Times
.
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+ Easter fellowship between services
Nativity
invite you to fellowship with them between services on Easter Sunday as they honor all who have ever "pulled a weed, planted a flower, raked leaves, or cleaned up our church grounds in any way over the years."
Thrivent has provided funds for the north bank project through their Action Teams program.
The
congregation's help is needed to complete the project on either/both
April 22 & 29
beginning at 9:00 am. Planting & mulching! Bring rakes and wheelbarrows if you have them.
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Giving Update
Your faithful giving contributes to our mission of Making Christ Known.
Thank you for supporting the ministries of this parish!
If you have any questions, please contact our
Financial Secretary,
Carrie Dahlberg,
by clicking
here
.
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+ learn
Faith Formation: We will not have Faith Formation the next 2 Sundays (April 16 and 23). Instead, enjoy the time between services in fellowship with one another.
Daily Scripture Readings for the Week:
Sunday: Luke 24:1-12
Monday: Luke 24:36-53 Tuesday: Acts 1:12-26 Wednesday: Acts 2:1-13 Thursday: Acts 2:14-47 Friday: Acts 3:1-10 Saturday: Acts 3:11-26
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+ book discussion group
Join us for our April book discussion on Tuesday the 18th at 1:30 pm or Thursday the 20th at 6:30 pm. April's book is A Man of His Own by Susan Wilson.
For Discussion Guidelines, click
here
.
For upcoming books and corresponding synopsis, click
here.
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+ Pub Theology
Pub Theology
has moved
to a new location for the month of April.
The next meeting is on April 20
at
If the weather is nice, we'll be able to move outside for discussion.
Join us for a beer and conversation!
If you have any questions,
please contact Andra Nus by calling 828-545-9519 or by emailing her here.
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+Nativity Preschool and Kindergarten
Click here to discover some of the things that bring joy to the heart of our 4 and 5 year olds!
Click here for an exciting offer from Remedy Health and Wellness that benefits NPK!
WISH LIST:
Nativity Preschool and Kindergarten is busy place, which means it goes through an impressive amount of cleaning each week. For those who are willing to donate the following items to the cause, there will be a box near the Welcome Desk:
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+ Nativity Seminarians
Nativity is proud to have raised up a good number of women and men for ministry in the church.
Did you know we currently have
five seminarians?
Here's who they are, and where they are going:
Kyle and Andrea Bates
Kyle and Andrea have been assigned to the North Carolina Synod as they begin interviewing for their first call. Their internships were in adjacent parishes in Sarasota last year (Andrea at Faith Lutheran, Kyle at St. Armand's Key). They will be graduating from seminary this May.
Jesse Canniff-Kuhn
Jesse (pictured here with Lindsay and son, Witten) is also graduating this May and has been assigned to the North Carolina Synod as well. Last year his internship was at Trinity Lutheran in Cincinnati (Mt. Healthy). Jesse will be preaching at Nativity on April 23.
Josh Kestner
Josh (officially a member at Lord of Life, Garner; but also an "adopted son" of Nativity)
has already been assigned to a specialized two-year first call
to St. Paul, Davenport, Iowa as a "pastor-in-residence" where Peter Marty is the senior pastor.
This new model for a first call is funded by a Lily Grant.
Matt Canniff-Keseeker
Matt (pictured here with Aubrey and daughter, Nora) is completing his second year of seminary. Matt has received his internship assignment for next year: Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis. Matt will preach at Nativity on July 2.
He and Aubrey will be on the Lutheridge senior staff this summer before heading north for internship in August.
We thank God for the blessings these seminarians are to the people whom they will serve!
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From the NC Synod enews:
Ilderton to join synod staff
Pastor Sara Ilderton has been called by the NC Synod Council to the position of Assistant to the Bishop for Candidacy, Boundaries, and Specialized Pastoral Care. She currently serves as pastor of St. Luke's, Charlotte, and as a member of the synod's candidacy committee. She has previously served on synod council and as associate pastor at Nativity, Arden. She and her husband Cliff have two children--Lucy and Henry. Sara will begin her work on May 15. Welcome, Pastor Sara!
(Pastor Sara served at Nativity from June 2002 through December 2010)
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+ greeters
GREETERS! We're looking for you! If you like to say "Hello" to friends and strangers, you could be a GREETER. If you like to smile and shake hands, you could share that friendliness on a
Sunday
morning beginning 15 minutes before the service you attend. If you like meeting new people and making them feel welcome, you would make a wonderful GREETER! We're looking for people to be GREETERS for either service
on Sunday
mornings.
Don't be shy!
Please contact Nancy Seekamp at 687-8265 or email her here.
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The monthly periodical of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Read the April issue today!
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CHURCH OFFICE HOURS Mon-Thurs 9am-2pm |
+ Bulletin Cover Art
If you are interested in providing art for our bulletin covers, we invite you to check out the online schedule here.
We simply ask that you not volunteer for more than one cover per month
and that you submit your art by the Monday before the Sunday for which you're scheduled.
If you have any questions,
please email
Pastor Gregg
here
.
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