1st Sunday of Christmas and Communion!
The Arkive: Ark and Dove's Newsletter
Celebrate the 1st Sunday of Christmas with Communion!
Message from Pastor Jon
Dear Friends and Members of Ark and Dove,

I used to beg my parents to let us stay longer at my aunt's house at the end of Christmas day. I did not want Christmas to end. On this Christmas, when it was the end of the day spent enjoying friends, it was my son doing the begging. He did not want it all to end.

It does not have to. We don't have to stuff all the generosity and joy into one day and then go on as if it were enough. It seems the Church did not think we should do this either. In the 6th century, church leaders decreed that there are to be twelve days of Christmas. There are to be twelve days of feasting, forgiving, and philanthropy.

During these twelve days, we can continue the joyful giving. Not necessarily presents, but we can give our time to someone who does not get a lot of it. We can be generous in mind and heart to those who can make us grudging. Or we can share a talent of ours with the world. What if we woke each day of Christmastide with the resolve to be generous in some way, great or small?

It is not yet over. Christ is born to us! Let us celebrate.

See you Sunday.

Peace,
Pastor Jon
           
Verse and Prayer
  And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
-John 1:14


You have shown us your glory, O God, in a humble birth. Your grace and truth is revealed to us in the baby born to us in a manger. You speak to us these days. Train our sights on the low and humble. Attune our senses to the tiny ways you are telling us the truth. Your Word is spoken, in your son Jesus Christ, in your Spirit within us, and in all of creation. May we recognize and internalize what you want us to know. Amen.

We continue our celebration of Christmas with music of Ireland for the prelude and from the Taizé community for the choral introit. Our anthem this Sunday comes from the Basque region of Europe with 15th century words and a refrain added by Edgar Pettman in 1892. I grew up listening to this carol from a very early age because of my mother's fondness for english choral groups, particularly the lessons and carols services from places like Kings' College, Cambridge.

Peace,

Margaret
Director of Music
margaret.mcgillivray@gmail.com
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Thank you to all the musicians that participated in our Christmas Eve service. We always have a wonderful time playing for these special services, and we hope that it really brought you into the spirit of the birth of Jesus. It’s always nice to have time for families and glad that everyone was able to spend quality time with each other. Please have a great New Year and start thinking about those resolutions!

God Bless!

Pat
Director of Contemporary Music
psise11@gmail.com
Generosity!
God loves a cheerful giver!
DONATE ONLINE ! Christmas Joy offering , one-time and recurring!

TEXT your donations! 410-983-3481
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  Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2 Corinthians 7
Special Congregational Meeting & Annual Congregational Meeting
Sunday, January 5, 2020, 10:45 am
Special Congregational Meeting for the purpose of hearing a report from the nominating team to nominate Julia Kirby and Brian Boudreau.

Saturday, January 25, 2020, 5pm
28th Annual Congregational Meeting!
LOGOS
Ark and Dove LOGOS
Join other Ark and Dove families for fellowship and dinner during LOGOS! Come on Tuesday, January 7th from 5:30-7:30pm for a weekly program that engages children and youth in the life of the church, providing opportunities to learn about God, to have fun and to create lasting relationships with others. There will be no LOGOS on December 24th or December 31st. For questions about the program please contact Julie Devers at jbdevers@gmail.com
Bring in the Joy!
Every generous act of giving,
with every perfect gift, is from above...
- James 1:17
The Presbyterian Church (USA) reflects God’s gift through the Christmas Joy Offering . We can never match God’s perfect gift in Jesus, but through the Christmas Joy Offering we can testify to who we know God to be. Our perfect gift comes from above. One half of this offering goes directly to local missions at Ark and Dove. Please support the Christmas Joy Offering during Advent. Envelopes can be found in the chair pockets, offering box or you may give online . Thank you for the gift of Christmas. Cheryl Schafer, Mission Elder, csscas@verizon.net

Adult Christian Education
Mid-week Bible Study
This is a “come as you are” discussion group that meets most Wednesdays, 10 am . To learn more, please contact Pastor Jon, jgnelson1985@gmail.com.
Exploring the Way
For those beginning the spiritual journey. Tuesdays, 7 pm , January 14 through February 25 . Calvin room. Please contact Pastor Tim, timsstern@gmail.com, for more information. This group will have an interesting twist—we are looking for people who will commit to leading a 5 to 8 week small group in the next two years: so a small group to help us grow personally and in skills needed to lead a small group.
Book Study: How to Be an Antiracist
Begins January 5! Please join Lori Kronser and Linnie Girdner in studying the book How to Be An Antiracist by award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi. On several best sellers lists, this book combines personal memoir with history and cultural analysis in an effective way. The New York Times described it as "the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind." We will meet in the Ark and Dove Room from 12:30 - 2:00, Sundays, 1/5, 1/19, 2/2, and 2/16, which is every other Sunday. Buy yourself a copy of the book wherever you like to purchase books. You are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch. Feel free to invite friends and neighbors.
Understanding Difficult Books of the Bible: Romans
Join us as we wrestle with some of the more difficult passages of Paul's letter. We will talk about what it means to be justified , who gets saved , who is the Holy Spirit, and more Tuesday nights 7:30-9 pm , January 14, 21, 28 .
Pub Theology
Creation or Big Bang? Made or Evolved? Science or Religion? Join us January 16, 7 pm , at Frisco Taphouse for a lighthearted discussion on the thornier issues that animate some science and theology debates.
Mission
CAP Featured Food Item for December
Featured item for December—BAKING MIXES (bran muffins, Bob's Red Mill pancake mix, etc). Please drop off food items in the Mission Zone bin. Thank you for your donations!
Prayer Requests
Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:

PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for John Rolewicz; Bernabe Solano and Griselda Solano's sister, Irma; Karen Dodson’s brother, Ron; Kathy Miller’s sister, Beth; Lisa Mezaache’s father, Bo Blanks; Dotty Kauffman; Greg and Diane Makar's mother LeeAnn, Aunt Adeline, and cousin Michael; Fred and Laurie Barrow’s nephew, Samuel and Fred’s aunt, Lee; Laura Doughty’s brother-in-law, Carl Hahn; Bob Johns; Hollis Butterworth’s brother-in-law, Brian Smith; Cindy Knott’s mother, Madeline Knott; Debbie Saylor’s uncle, Wayne; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Frank Dakai; Jose Lopez’s mother, Queta; Bill Ruble’s mother, Mary Jane Weathers; Stan Houck and Ann Hirschy; Edie and Richard Budd; Christina Nelson’s grandmother, Pat Dole; Jon Nelson’s grandmother, Peggy; Chip Burnett; Kelly Burnett’s nephew, Justin; Debbie and Bruce Arey’s daughter, Allison; Debbie Arey’s aunt, Linda Rose; Dot Forloines; Declan Steward’s father, Daryl; Lewis and James Shorter; Janet Dabbs’ sister, Diane Maloy; Archer and Honor Bauman’s grandfather, Larry; Lori Kronser’s father Cliff Corn; Amy Tardiff’s father-in-law, Richard Tardiff; Brian Boudreau’s cousin, Valery Householder; James Franklin’s father, Homer; Kameron and Kamarii Miller; Cheryl Walcutt’s mother, nephew, and sister, Judy Walsh; Amanda Wehage’s father, Dave; Ylonda Fauntleroy's aunt, Bernice Taylor; Brooks Emrick and her sister, Susan; Vaughn Brown; Frances Keyes; Julia Kirby's mother, Margaret Floyd; Erika Sealing's son, Trip, and grandmother, Margaret Schade; Amy Benson's family and Amy’s friend, Brian Shriner; Thomas and Judy Kochis; Margaret’s friends, Kim Nolet and Pastor Virginia Studer of Faith Presbyterian Church; and Doug Mattingly’s mother.
 
PRAYERS OF LOVE AND SUPPORT for the guests and congregations involved with Winter Relief this week: Our Lady of the Fields, St. Andrew by the Bay and Asbury Arnold UMC.

If you have prayer concerns or blessings that you would like to share, please contact Deacon Patriceo Green at patriceobgreen@gmail.com and he will add your concern to the prayer partners email chain.
Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church | 410-674-6400 | admin@arkanddove.org | www.arkanddove.org | 8424 Piney Orchard Pkwy. Odenton, MD 21113