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DRESS REHEARSAL for Festival of Lights Christmas Program
Saturday, December 16 | 9:30-11:00am | Sanctuary
Children and Youth practice for the Sunday morning Christmas program.
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Christmas Caroling
Sat, Dec 17 | 1:00-4:00pm
Spread the Christmas Spirit with us this Saturday…
Christmas Caroling to church members and friends—Meet at church to warm up, grab some jingle bells and head out on our adventure. We will be going to homes and care centers. Please bring a mask. This is one of the most important things a church does each year—a tangible expression of love and commitment. Please join us! Questions? [email protected]
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Worship with Us this Sunday | |
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December 18, 2022
10:00am In-person and Facebook Live or replay on Facebook later
It’s the Fourth Sunday of Advent – the Sunday of Love!
It’s our annual re-telling of the Christmas Story by our children and teens. This year it is entitled ‘Festival of Lights around the World’ which will take us on a journey to explore the many ways people celebrate during these holiday months. We’ll experience a bit of Diwali, Bodhi Day, Tree of Lights, Las Posadas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Advent Wreath, the Christmas Tree, and the Creche. Our children and youth have been designing scenery and props, learning songs, practicing speaking parts and choosing costumes.
We will light four Advent candles and see all the Advent banners.
<<Worship Bulletin>>
Please consider bringing a creche to leave here in the sanctuary for the week (see invitation below) for all of us to enjoy.
We dedicated our financial pledges for 2023 last month. Of course the Stewardship Commission is eager to receive additional pledge cards/emails. Thank you!
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Please participate in worship virtually via our livestream on Facebook if that is convenient for you and/or if you have tested positive for Covid in the last 5 days.
Masks should be worn and respected for in-person worship under the following conditions:
1) You have tested positive for COVID 6-10 days ago and you still have symptoms;
2) You are in a high-risk group and/or have underlying conditions;
3) You are more comfortable wearing a mask.
In order to protect individuals and the wider community, we strongly encourage up-to-date vaccinations and boosters against all communicable diseases.
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This link lists bulletin posts, with the top one as the most recent. | | | |
Livestream worship on Sundays. Look under videos for previous livestreamed services. | |
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Videographers/Photographers Needed
Do you have a phone or a camera? If so, you are exactly who we need. We are looking for more photos and videos of PUCC events and this Christmas season is a great opportunity to record and share who we are and what we are about: Volunteering at the food bank, caroling, the Christmas children’s musical, Christmas Eve services, Twelfth Night, creche display, AWOL, Youth events… Currently, we are especially interested in the children’s musical, Festival of Lights Around the World, which will be held during our Dec 18 morning worship service.
Landscape photos and videos preferred, but we are happy to accept any dimensions. Please selectively edit the amount of photos you send (e.g. 3 images as opposed to 25 images). Very short video clips also preferred (less than a minute). Again, if you are unable to edit or clip your video, please share anyway. If you have any photos/videos of recent PUCC events, let us know. We will have a shared drive for uploads OR you can send us a link if you have posted on social media. Photos and videos will be shared on social media and our website. Questions? [email protected]
Photos/Videos
Please be aware that our worship services are video recorded, streamed live on Facebook Live, and made available for later viewing through that service.
Photos should generally not be taken of children in church except as part of organized activities and programs, and any requests of children or their parents or guardians should be respected. Please be respectful of privacy and mindful that this is a safe and sacred space for all who enter.
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Lending a Hand and Making a Difference; Parkway's Efforts to Help One Afghan Family
Sunday, December 18 | 11:15am
Heritage Room & Zoom
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Creches on Display
Share a nativity scene with the congregation anytime after worship on Sunday, December 18 through Monday morning. Tables will be set up around the sanctuary for you to display any number of creches. No one will touch them as they enjoy them with their eyes and spirits. There will be note cards and tape for you to affix to the table in front of your nativity set with your name and anything else you might want to share about that particular creche. Please retrieve your creche(s) anytime after noon on Friday, December 23.
People may come enjoy the creches anytime other than Monday and Friday from 8:30-noon and Thursday night from 6-8pm.
Questions? Speak with [email protected]; 314-330-0629
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Saturday, December 24 In-person and Facebook Live
4:30pm Family Friendly Worship—A lively and spirited service with Nativity scriptures, carols and contemporary reflections. We will sing Silent Night by candlelight as we prepare to go out into this holy night.
7:30pm Candlelight & Communion—This traditional service includes the Christmas Gospel, choir and carols as we ponder what this love story means for us today. We will share Communion at our open table and sing Silent Night by candlelight.
Christmas Day Worship – Sunday, December 25 at 10am
There has been some confusion out there.... We do have Christmas Day Worship when it falls on a Sunday.
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Rogers Christmas Open House
Sunday, Dec 25 | 2:00-5:00pm | 12465 Dawn Hill Drive, Maryland Hts, MO
If you are free on Christmas afternoon, stop by our home anytime between 2 and 5pm for fellowship and food! No need to bring anything, just yourselves! RSVP nice but not necessary. ~Gerry & Mike Rogers: [email protected] 314 434 7122
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PUCC Year-End Contributions
See correction in 3rd paragraph below.
Council and the Stewardship Commission thank everyone in the congregation for their strong financial support for the church. As we near the end of the calendar year (which is the church’s fiscal year), we ask members and supporters to remember to catch up on pledges, and to consider any further year-end contributions.
In addition to our annual needs, Council has recently learned that significant roof repairs must be made to Fellowship Hall, a major non-budgeted expenditure. Council is currently looking at funding plans and sources, but we can assure everyone that any year-end gifts will be put to good use. You can designate special year-end gifts for a special purpose, or allow them to be used where needed most.
For those of you who are taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from an Individual Retirement Account or other tax-deferred account, please consider a direct gift to the church from your retirement account; such gifts will count toward your annual RMD obligation but will not count as taxable income. [applies for Individual Retirement Accounts only]
Finally, as we announced in October, we encourage everyone to consider helping Parkway in the longer term, through planned giving. Our long-time and much-beloved member Ruth Murray set the example for this, by leaving us a gift in her will. That gift became the seed money for our new audio-visual system.
The year end is sometimes a time for long-term thinking, and as you think ahead, we hope you will consider following Ruth’s example. Bequests in wills, gifts of appreciated stock, and gifts from Individual Retirement Accounts can all greatly benefit the church and its mission, while providing tax or other benefits to the donors. Even giving a small percentage of your estate, such as 5 or 10 percent, will help ensure that Parkway’s mission will continue to aid many people in the future, while still allowing you to provide fully for your heirs.
Thank you!
Mark Sableman | 314 602-6103 | [email protected]
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Advent!
Pinky Wilcoxen - at Mercy Hospital; moving to rehab after Covid.
Doug and Val Detjen - preparing for his hip surgery on December 16.
Joan Biest - after a season of better health and wonderful family time at two grandchildren’s weddings, she has several health concerns again.
Family of Phil and Jena - grieving/giving thanks for Phil (Rogers).
Schulenburgs as Kaylyn & David’s Milo William born 11-30 is in NICU.
Brussee/Dario/Race Family as Skyler & Justin welcomed Jace 11/2;
strengthening in NICU - no longer on oxygen; oral feedings going well.
Matt Albers - recent cancer diagnosis (Lori Connors’ friend’s son).
All impacted by Covid-19.
Families grieving at the holidays.
St Louis Association UCC Covenant Partner
Week ending December 18 - Mt Tabor UCC, St Louis – closed in October 2021... we pray the members are at home in new faith families.
Week ending December 25 - Calvary UCC, St Louis; https://www.facebook.com/calvary.ucc.hartland/
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Take a look at one or all ten of these commercials that a TV channel thinks are among the best commercials at Christmas... | |
Humor
Where do snowmen put their money?
Snowbanks.
What’s the difference between a Christmas alphabet and the regular alphabet?
The Christmas alphabet has Noel.
What’s a snowman’s favorite drink?
Iced tea.
What did Jack Frost say to Frosty the Snowman?
“Have an ice day!”
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Ponder
The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize this coming at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of God. ~Henri Nouwen
I wrapped you
in a prayer today,
again.
Though my arms
aren’t long enough
to reach you now,
I know you need
to be held,
so my heart and mind
sewed a quilted blanket,
patched together
with words and tears,
each panel a blend
of the fabric
of memories and hope.
When your heart constricts
a bit, as if
it’s contemplating the worth
of continued percussion,
remember that the compression
is also me,
squeezing you from afar.
~Todd Jenkins
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WORSHIP SUNDAYS at 10:00am
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2841 N Ballas Road,
St. Louis, MO 63131
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We appreciate your submissions of jokes, quotes, photos, videos, weekly opportunities, Mid~Week Meditation ideas, scriptures that are important to you, hymn/song suggestions, poetry, etc. We would love to hear from you: [email protected] | |
PUCC eNews is published weekly in order to broadcast Parkway UCC events and happenings - and items of interest to the Parkway UCC community of faith - for the upcoming week. Please submit all communications requests, via the button below, by noon Monday.
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