Our Advent Program Guide and Weekly Devotional is now available for digital download! You can also pick-up a copy from the Narthex, Gathering Place, or Church Office.

You are invited to…

Pray the prayer for each week.

Read the Scripture.

Reflect on the questions throughout the week.

Engage your faith through the Reverse Advent calendar, benefiting Room in the Inn, and music with traditional hymns and contemporary worship songs that support the theme for each week.

The church office will be closed on Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25 in observance of Thanksgiving. If you have a pastoral emergency like a hospitalization or death, please call 704.366.1854 and press 3 to reach the pastor on call. 

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. Starting November 27, 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. 

There will be no youth group this Sunday. If you'd like to learn more about what is coming up with Sardis Youth, you can view this week's youth newsletter here. 

Our Angel Tree is part of our Planting Seeds of Hope partnership with Rama Road Elementary School. We still have 14 angels that need our help this year. Purchasing gifts for an angel can be an individual effort, or group effort by a family, Sunday School class, or small group. Visit our Sign Up Genius to choose an angel. Then use some of the provided gift ideas to shop and return the gifts unwrapped in a clear bag labeled with the child's number and name to the Mission Corner in the Gathering Place by December 4. 

If shopping isn’t an option, you can still help by making a donation to our Angel Tree fund. Everything collected is used to help the children and families at Rama Road Elementary School. As the need grows, your support is appreciated more than ever. Thank you, Sardis!

The 2022 Alternative Gift Market will open this Sunday, November 27 and 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 and order form. You may also pick-up a copy of the catalog and order form in the Gathering Place and Narthex on Sundays (November 27-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 1-2 times a week in January-March. This year, our Reverse Advent Calendar will be collecting items for our RITI neighbors. 

Each day during Advent (November 27 - December 24), 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. 

Last week concluded Joe B.'s fall mid-week Bible study on the Gospel of Luke. If you missed last week's class, you can watch it here. If you would like to go back and review all the classes, you can view the series here.

We Remember in Prayer: John Williams in Atrium Main.

Our Sympathy to: the family of James Walker.

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.

Our annual Christmas Dinner will be held on Wednesday, December 7 at 6:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We hope you'll join us as we celebrate the birth of Christ with dinner, music from Throne Together, and a musical performed by our children and youth. The cost is $9 for adults, $6 for children ages 6 - 10, and free for children ages 5 and under. Registration is now open! Click here to register your family by December 2. 

Interested in becoming a member at Sardis or just want to know more about us? Join us for our "Membership Exploration" class! Come chat with Dr. Joe B. Martin on Sunday, December 4 at 10:00 a.m. in the Dining Room. Find out how Sardis is committed to exploring faith and changing lives. RSVP or direct questions to Rev. Katie Harrington.  

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.

Of the many Sardis events I have participated in over the past 35+ years, my most cherished is the annual Women’s Retreat. These two days away from home in a peaceful setting never disappoint and always revive and renew my soul. If you have never had the opportunity to attend, just imagine; laughing, sharing, learning, worshiping and dining (on meals you did not have to prepare!) with other women of faith of all ages.

We hope you will prayerfully consider making a pledge to support the impact Sardis is making in the name of Jesus Christ - in our church family, in our community, and around the world. You can have an Impact NOW with your pledge. If you couldn't attend the Stewardship lunch on October 30, we invite you to view the impact video we premiered at the lunch!

You can make your pledge or renew your automatic withdrawal any time online, mailing in your pledge card, or filling out a pledge card at the church office.