This Sunday will be Rev. Katie Harrington's last Sunday with us. The congregation is invited to attend a reception for the Harrington family in the Education Hall immediately following the congregational meeting. Be sure to also stop by the Gathering Place this Sunday and write a note on a special gift for Rev. Katie Harrington. There will also be cards if you'd like to write a card for Katie, Todd, Max, and Josie as we say farewell to their family and bless them as they move to Wilmington, NC. 

There will be Sunday School classes for all ages at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall and Education Hall. Click below to explore more details on classes available: 

• Adult Classes
• Youth Classes
• Children's Classes

You are invited to join the Salty Fish Fellowship for our study of The Angels of Christmas by Susan Robb. We will consider the roles of angels in the Biblical stories of Advent and Christmas and the place of angels in our own worlds. All are welcome in room 210 or by Zoom at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings. 

A Congregational Meeting will be held this Sunday, December 11, 2022 at noon in the Sanctuary and via Zoom. The purpose of this meeting is to (1) elect two Deacons to one year terms to fill two vacancies in the class of 2023 and, (2) approve a motion from Session that a request be sent to the Presbytery of Charlotte to dissolve the pastoral relationship between Rev. Katie Harrington and Sardis Presbyterian Church effective December 31, 2022 so that she may accept a call to St. Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, NC.

Share your thanks and well wishes with the Harringtons at a reception in the Education Hall immediately following the meeting. 

Join via Zoom using this link or Meeting ID: 843 3472 0174 and Passcode: sardis

This Sunday is our Christmas Party! Wear your most festive Christmas attire, bring a “Nothing-New” White Elephant gift, and come celebrate! Dinner is at 5:00 in the dining room - don’t forget $5. ALL Youth are invited, and feel free to bring a friend. Please send Betsy a text if you’re planning to be there 919.886.1202! Check out the Youth newsletter to see what else they have coming up!

This service will be a time to remember and give thanks for the life of a loved one who has died; it will be a time to claim afresh the certain promises that are ours through our Savior, whose birth we celebrate. Join us on Wednesday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary and live on YouTube. 

The 2022 Alternative Gift Market will run through December 21. This year's Alternative Gift Market features eight designated ministries, and a unique opportunity to do all of your Christmas shopping in one place!

Visit our website for more information and to place your orders, or download the 2022 catalog and order form. You may also pick-up a copy of the catalog and order form in the Gathering Place and Narthex on Sundays (through December 21).

Each winter season, Roof Above coordinates the Room in the Inn (RITI) program where area churches and organizations help house neighbors experiencing homelessness overnight. Sardis will host Room in the Inn guests two times a week in January-March. This year, our Reverse Advent Calendar will be collecting items for our RITI neighbors. 

Each day during Advent, purchase one of the items on the calendar or use the prayer or fact about homelessness for reflection. Drop-off donation items in the new Missions Corner blue donation shelves in the Gathering Place by January 8, 2023. Download the 2022 Reverse Advent Calendar here.

We are looking for volunteers to join the AV and tech team for our 9:00 Contemporary Worship service. We need one volunteer each Sunday to help advance slides and assist with other easy AV and tech support tasks. Our Technical Arts Coordinator, John Nipe, will provide instructions and training. Click here to sign-up for a Sunday (or two)! 

The nursery is open for both the 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. worship services and we need your help to keep it running smoothly! We're so excited about our new nursery location, the former Resource Room next to the Adult Library, and hope that you'll check it out! Sign up to volunteer here! Contact Sarah Dianne Jones with any questions. 

This week, you are encouraged to receive the light as you pray over and read through The Mary Stories: Luke 1:26-56; 2:1-20; 2:22-38, and reflect on those words with the reflection questions. View this week's devotional pages here. Engage with the first week of the Reverse Advent Calendar and listen to this week's Traditional and Contemporary songs.

Our Advent artwork this week is Raise Your Head by Lauren Wright Pittman | Sanctified Art.

We would like to extend a special thank you to Sallie and Glenn Crossley for heading up the Chrismon Decorating Team, and to Kristi and Rob Brownlee, Laurie and Steve Hoots, and Barbara and Charlie Tucker for their teamwork in decorating the tree. It is beautiful! If you'd like to learn more about what each ornament on the tree means, you can view our Chrismons and Their Meanings booklet here, or pick up a copy in the Narthex.

Our Sympathy: to the family of Lee Byrd. 

We Remember in Prayer: Patricia Isley in the Surgical Center on Randolph.

Your church family wants to pray for you. If you have a procedure or are in the hospital, please let the church office know so we can, as a church family, be praying your healing.

Friendship Connection is our fellowship group for older adults and retirees. Come join us on Tuesday, December 20 at 11:00 a.m. in the Sardis House. We will enjoy a program of Christmas harmonizing by the barbershop quartet, Sage Advice. They will present both sacred and secular songs as well as some opportunities for sing-a-longs. Lunch, at noon, is $11.50. Register online or register through Sue Chowning (704.366.1854 ext 208) by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 15.

All are welcome to join us for a double feature Christmas Movie Night on Saturday, December 23 at 5:30 p.m. We’ll start with “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and then watch “Elf”. Bring a picnic dinner and your chairs and blankets. We’ll provide a festive dessert. RSVP to Sarah Dianne Jones. Don’t forget to invite your friends to join you!

Invite your family and friends to join us in celebrating the birth of our Savior on Christmas Eve. We will have the following services:

• 5:00 p.m. Contemporary Family Service in the Fellowship Hall
• 7:00 p.m. Traditional Candlelight Service in the Sanctuary
• 9:00 p.m. Traditional Candlelight & Communion Service in the Sanctuary

On Sunday, December 25 we will have one worship service at 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary. There will be no Sunday School.

Preschoolers and their families are invited to come ring in 2023 with crafts, cookies, party hats, and more fun! Join us on Saturday, December 31 at 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. for our first Noon Year's Eve Party! There is no cost, but please click here to register your family by December 26.

The 2023 Sardis Women's Retreat will be February 17 -19 at William Black Lodge in Montreat, NC. We will be led by Rev. Martha Kearse, Senior Pastor at Peakland Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA. Our Contemporary Worship Leader, Beth Williams, will be leading the music for the weekend. Registrations open December 10! Mark your calendars!   

The Stewardship Ministry is thankful for all the members who have already made a pledge for 2023. We have 207 pledges with $1,263,999 pledged. We are truly grateful for the support you have shown to Sardis. When we take pause from our busy schedules to gratefully acknowledge the rich blessings that God has bestowed upon us, it is nearly impossible not to feel encouraged to share these blessings with others. If you have not yet submitted a pledge card, we encourage you to do so soon. Your pledge is essential as the officers work to create a budget for 2023. You can make your pledge online today by clicking here!

This Sunday we will have our 10 Cents a Meal Collection during both worship services. When you give to Ten Cents a Meal, you are providing food security assistance to local organizations fighting hunger. You can contribute anytime online ›› (select Ten-Cents-A-Meal from the funds dropdown box), or by texting "Sardis Meal" + Amount to 73256. 

Support Sardis by starting your shopping for gifts or everyday household items at smile.amazon.com.

• Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to Sardis Presbyterian Church whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.
• AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Use your existing Amazon account.
• When you enter Sardis Presbyterian Church on your first visit to smile.amazon.com, don’t let the incorporation year puzzle you! While Sardis was founded in 1790, we were incorporated in 1984, so you’ll see that date associated with AmazonSmile.