I am so pleased that we are engaged with reading support at Burroughs Molette Elementary School and the new Reading Academy partnership with the Boys and Girls Club this year, and will continue to do so. I hope you take note of the opportunities to get involved elsewhere in this week's News You Can Use, although I'll say more about those opportunities here as well, for those who make it to the end. Reading is an essential life skill for everyone, which means helping a child to read pays dividends well beyond the investment we make in them when they are young. Reading sets the stage for success in school, and beyond, a truth to which everyone reading this can attest.  

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Please join us at Christ Church on Tuesday, December 17 , at 5:30 pm and experience the meditative music of Advent, during this Choral Evensong, led by the Christ Church Trebles and Cantori. All are welcome!  

 

The Men's Discussion Group gathers on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 am in the Youth Room in the Parish House. They have begun a new study of Thomas 

Sowell's Discrimination and Disparities, which presents a wide array of empirical evidence to challenge the idea that different economic outcomes can be explained by any one factor, be it discrimination, exploitation, or genetics. If you'd like to join the group , please contact Te Turner at [email protected] .

Fr. Tom and Rabbi Rachael Bregman are leading Wednesday lunch-time sessions in Advent that take a deep dive into the history of the birth of Christ. The study is utilizing Amy-Jill Levine's, Light of the World: A Beginner's Guide to Advent and will explore the biblical texts surrounding the story of the birth of Jesus, tracing the Christmas narrative through the stories of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary, the journey to Bethlehem, and the visit from the Magi. The group meets on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm through December 18. A simple lunch will be served each week. Books are available through the Christ Church bookstore for $11.50. Contact: Fr. Tom at [email protected]

Mark your calendars for Friday, December 20 and make plans to do your last minute Christmas errands, while we entertain your children, (age 12 and under) at Christ Church. Parents' Day Out will take place in the Parish Hall from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Parents may spend time with their children at the church during this event, as well. The day will include lunch, snacks, games, and more! Please contact Mtr. Katie at [email protected] to sign up your children for this event.

 

Our annual collection of food for Christmas baskets begins December 7 and concludes on December 19 at 9:00 am. Please bring non-perishable food items for Christmas dinners to St. Ignatius or the Christ Church parish hall, or you may donate cash or checks, marked for Christmas baskets. Volunteers are needed to assemble and deliver the baskets on Thursday, December 19 at 9:00 am.  Contact: Jeannie Wade at  [email protected] . 

On December 11, our Backpack Buddies gathered by the Parish Hall Christmas tree and listened to holiday tunes, as they worked faster than Santa's elves to pack hundreds of holiday food bags for Glynn County youngsters. And even after all that work, they won't get too long of a winter's rest, because packing starts again on Wednesday, January 8, at 1:30 pm. Come join them for the fun!

You can also honor a loved one this Christmas by sponsoring weekend food for a child for an entire school year for $100, or for one semester for $50. For more information, please contact Susan Shipman at [email protected]

Many thanks to the members of the St. Simons MOMS Club, who presented a generous donation to the Backpack Buddies this Wednesday, to help purchase food for local children in the Backpack Buddies program. The St. Simons MOMS Club is part of the International MOMS Club, which supports mothers and children around the world.

Every year during the season of Christmas, the International Seafarers' Center spreads the love of Christ through their Christmas at Sea program. About 1500 seafarers travel through the port of Brunswick from Thanksgiving to January 7th and the Center hopes to give every seafarer a Christmas present. 

 

If you'd like to be part of this ministry, it's as easy as filling a clear plastic shoebox or ditty bag with 12 - 15 item from the list found  here and bringing it to either the church office in the Parish Hall, or to the International Seafarers Center, at 307 Newcastle Street in Brunswick. 

New ECW cookbooks, cookie tins and aprons  are in and make perfect holiday gifts! All are available for purchase in the church office in the Parish House and in the Christ Church Gift Shop. Cookbooks and aprons are $20 and cookie tins are $15. All proceeds benefit nonprofits in our area, with a focus on women and children.

The Susanna Wesley Guild will have a Christmas luncheon at the Cloister on Tuesday, December 17, meeting at the church at 11:30 a.m. to carpool. Bring a Christmas gift in the form of cash or check (payable to Christ Church with Susanna Wesley Guild on the memo line) for telephone gift cards to be distributed to mariners at the International Seafarers' Center. Please RSVP by Friday, Dec. 13, to Ethel Horton at 912-634-8327 or  [email protected] .