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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
I do love the Advent and Christmas season. It’s full of traditions and festivities, joy and fun. The day after Thanksgiving I put up the lights and decorations. That Saturday we cut down and decorate our Christmas tree. December 1 we light our home advent candles and read the KGPC devotionals. Then Bethlehem Walk is the following weekend as we once again share the Christmas story with the community. After that is our Come and Create Advent night as we gather intergenerationally to have some arts and crafts fun. A new event this year is gathering after church for Christmas Caroling to our shut in members in addition to our Wasserhund Caroling we invite the community to. Lessons and Carols is always a highlight and the most attended single Sunday service of the year. This year will be extra special with a meaningful storyline and a tangible reminder of our advent series on Christmas Carols. Somehow my family squeezes in a visit to the Botanical Gardens and Busch Gardens, send Christmas cards, and watch a few Christmas movies. Finally, our Christmas Eve services are all slightly different as we celebrate Christ’s birth. Because Christmas Eve is on a Sunday this year, we will have four worship services at 10:00 am, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 pm. We spend Christmas Day in our pajamas (all day), go to waffle house for breakfast, and watch lots of NBA basketball. This year we will be packing our swim suits and shorts for my family’s reunion in Aruba. We hate to miss the final worship service of the year as Brunch Church returns on December 31.
Read through this FULL edition of KGPC Enews and mark your calendars for all of these wonderful events. Let the joy, peace, and love of this season seep into your bones and keep the stress as minimal as possible. It is a wonderful time of year when we remember Christ is born in us once again as well as through us as we embody that Christ child in the world. Let the Christmas Carols on the radio or your playlist, in the stores, and in worship remind you of the power, the miracle, and the depth of love we celebrate this time of year. Blessings to you in this Advent season!
Abide, Grow, Shine, Love,
Pastor Chris
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Sunday, December 3
9:00 AM–MS & HS/Discussion & Donuts
10:00 AM–Worship Service & King’s Kids
2:00 PM—Bethlehem Walk
Monday, December 4
9:00 AM–Trinity Preschool
9:00 AM—Property Meeting
9:30 AM—Quilters
12:30 PM—Lunch Bunch
7:00 PM—Eve Circle
Tuesday, December 5
9:00 AM–Trinity Preschool
4:30 PM—Music Makers
6:30 PM-Grow Meeting
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Wednesday, December 6
7:00 AM-Prayer Breakfast
9:00 AM–Trinity Preschool
5:30 PM-LIFE Group at Ensenada's
5:45 PM–Praise Team Rehearsal
7:30 PM–Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal
Thursday, December 7
9:00 AM–Trinity Fine Arts Day
7:30 PM-Zoom LIFE Group
Friday, December 8
6:00 PM—Come and Create Event
Saturday, December 9
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Children’s Faith Formation Schedule: | |
December 3: Bethlehem Walk Through- Children will walk through Bethlehem on a guided tour with Julie Seipel
December 10: Regular class on Sunday morning during worship
December 17: No class, children stay in the sanctuary. There will be materials provided for them to color activities and such.
December 24: No class, children stay in the sanctuary. There will be materials provided for them to color activities and such.
December 31: Brunch Church! No class, children may join parents in Fellowship Hall for Brunch Church
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Family Advent Calendars Also Available! | |
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A Note from The Finance and Generosity Team
“60 years…still serving!”
The team has been hard at work with all of the ministry teams to develop a budget for our 61st year in 2024. The majority of our budget comes from your generous giving, particularly from those who commit each year. This year our commitments have fallen behind. Last year at this point we had 92 commitments totaling $471,508. This year we have 79 (including 8 new) commitments totaling $451,362. In order to support the fixed and rising costs of our Equip Ministries (Finance, Property, and Personnel), and to allow the other ministries to continue serving, the initial draft of next year’s budget has a deficit. We will continue to discern what we need to do for the final budget that will be approved by Session in December.
If you have not had a chance to make a commitment for next year it is not too late. You can also still consider increasing your commitment if so called. Your continued support is vital to KGPC’s mission and service in 2024.
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Hello and Merry Christmas to ALL!
I’ve just returned from a wonderful vacation with my daughter and feel the excitement of the Christmas season anxiously awaiting wonderful music and greatest story in the world. Here are the music area reminders for you and please continue to pray for our musicians as they prepare to present their gifts to you for the glory of Messiah our Saviour.
December 10th - The Music Ministry and Care Team are together sponsoring a Christmas Caroling event following the church service and all are welcome! There will be a light lunch and then we will split into groups to go sing for KGPC shut-ins and a local nursing/retirement home. The youth are encouraged to join us and I will be happy to sign any documentation they may need for community service hours for school. PLEASE RSVP! This event will most certainly bring joy to both those who need to be served, as well as those doing the serving!
December 17th - Our Christmas Cantata this year, “Love Was Born A King” is a musical drama subtitled “Bringing hope for the hopeless & strength for the broken”. It is a beautifully blended collection of music and story line that reminds us we are here to spread the news of the birth of the Messiah with everyone, not just our own close circle. It also opens our eyes to those close to us that may be hurting in ways we cannot see, but that Jesus is the hope, the light, and the real reason we come together with purpose to worship in song. His is the story we sing. We will be joined by a professional orchestra and our own KGPC musicians and thespians. I pray you will be blessed and encouraged by the wonderful message set forth in this cantata.
On Christmas Eve we will add a traditional Lessons and Carols morning worship service to a day already set aside for three other special services you have heard about across our social media and in our bulletin.
Musically Yours,
Tonya
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MISSION GIVING OPPORTUNITIES
KGPC encourages mission giving to Grace Inside, to provide support for Jerusha Moses, Chaplain to Virginia State Prisons as she helps bring faith, hope, and love to incarcerated women and also to Jed and Jenny Koball, PCUSA Mission co-workers in Peru, where millions live in poverty.
Jed, a child of KGPC, spoke to us at a dinner on Nov. 8th regarding his work on issues such as “environmental contamination by the mining industry, the growing water crisis due to global warming and trade policies that disadvantage many Peruvians. Peru is considered to be one of the three countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change” and Jed will be representing the PCUSA at a UN Climate Change Conference in early Dec. along with representatives of nearly 200 countries and the European Union.
If you prefer, you may also give directly to KGPC’s Missionary Fund in support of Jerusha Moses and in honor of Jed and Jenny Koball’s ministry.
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Christmas Joy Offering for PCUSA
The Christmas Joy Offering has been a cherished Presbyterian tradition since the 1930s. The Offering distributes gifts equally to the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions and to Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color. The Assistance Program provides critical financial support to church workers and their families. Presbyterian-related schools and colleges provide education and leadership development while nurturing racial and ethnic heritage. This has been a Presbyterian commitment for nearly 140 years.
You can make an gift of support by clicking on this link
https://specialofferings.pcusa.org/make-a-gift/gift-info/christmas-joy/
Or
by using one of the Christmas Joy offering envelopes available in the Narthex.
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Staff Gift: Each year it has been the practice of the congregation to present monetary gifts to our KGPC staff during the holiday season. Please place your gift in the offering plate and mark it “Staff Gift” by Dec.18th.
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PRIME TIME
Are you a retiree, seenager, golden senior? PRIME TIME is for you!
KGPC is reinvigorating a group for those in the PRIME TIME of their life to engage together in learning, service, and fellowship. Starting in January 2024, there will be activities every other month to be part of a group of PRIME TIMERs to enjoy unique learning opportunities, give back in service to the local community, and always share in fellowship together.
January 11: Chrysler Museum Behind the Scenes Tour
10am, meet at the Chrysler Museum; 12:30pm, lunch after at Bravo, VB Town Center. Sign up via church office or [email protected]
March 19 and 20: Work service days to support JCOC and PIN Ministry
8am, meet at KGPC; work site coordination – all skill levels needed; lunch at sites
Sign up via church office or [email protected]
May date tbd: Brock Environmental Center Tour and Nature Walk
10am, meet at the Brock Center; 12:30pm, lunch after tbd
July: Community service project tbd
September: Educational activity tbd
November: Community service project tbd
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December Women's Circles
Elizabeth Circle will meet at 10 AM on Wednesday, Dec. 13th, at Lynn Huffman's home. We will be studying
Sacred Encounters. Contact Cindy Hiddemen for more details.
Lydia Circle will meet at 10 AM on Tuesday, Dec. 12th at the home of Claudia Hudgens. We will be studying the book of Esther this year. Contact Claudia Hudgens for more details.
Eve Circle will meet on Monday, Dec. 4th at 7:00 PM in the Parlor. We will be studying Who is Jesus, According to Luke. Contact Pam Ponce for more details.
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BOOK CLUB
January 30th
Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
(No Book Club in December)
Our Book Club meets on the last Tuesday of the month
at 7:00 p.m. in the Parlor.
Need a book, contact Julie Seipel for information.
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Join us on
Mondays at 12:30 in the Connection Point
for Lunch Bunch!!
Bring a lunch and gather around the table as together this small group shares praises, concerns, scripture and study! Contact Julie Seipel for more information.
ALL ARE WELCOME ANYTIME!
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Word Share Prayer is a monthly scripture reading/reflection that Session and the leaders of ministries use to start their meetings. We will include this in the monthly ENews for you to use throughout the month to read and meditate on.
Core Value #4: Sharing the Good News of Christ
READ: Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
- What are the ways that KGPC goes out to “make disciples of all nations”? How could we do better?
- How do you live in such a way that you are “Sharing the Good News of Christ”?
- What would you like prayer for in your life or in this world?
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Our Livestream is available Sundays on YouTube and also on Facebook! Use the links below. The links will also be in the Sunday Morning Worship email.
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So far, we have collected over 100 cards, some of which have been included in PIN Lunches and some which will be given out this week to Food Bank and Meals on Wheels recipients! We have lots of people in our community who need a word of encouragement and, even more, to be reminded of the love of Christ, and we are asking each person to write a card each week in worship (Cards are available in the pews). You can also write cards at home (use your own cards or take some from the table by the office) and drop them off whenever you are at church
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The Gospel According to Christmas Carols
Nothing puts you in the holiday spirit like hearing those familiar lyrics and melodies. Do you have a favorite Christmas Carol? These songs epitomize the Christmas season as they are sung in church, make the playlist on secular radio stations, and provide the soundtrack for our holiday shopping. These beloved carols carry deep theological truths, rich biblical imagery, and a clear understanding of the meaning of Christ’s birth. Luke’s Gospel will be our biblical companion to O Little Town of Bethlehem, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, Mary, Did You Know?, and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. So warm up those vocal chords as we sing our way through Advent and learn from “The Gospel according to Christmas Carols.”
December 3 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Isaiah 7:14, Proverbs 8:22-31, Exodus 24:15-17, 31:18, Isaiah 11:1-2, Isaiah 22:22, Luke 1:78-79, Haggai 2:7
This chant dating back to the 8th century not only celebrates the birth of Jesus but also prepares our hearts for Jesus’ return. The lyrics move from the shadows of the Old Testament into the light of the New Testament with the incarnation of God in Christ. The mood is longing, aching, hoping, yearning. One author described it as a “sorrowful joy.” We will learn more about the various names for Jesus described in each verse, their biblical roots, and the meaning of those names for us today.
Reflection Questions: Which of the seven names do you resonate with the most? What unique name would you give Jesus and what would its significance be? When have you experienced “sorrowful joy,” especially around the holiday season?
Listen to “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
December 10 Mary, Did You Know?
Luke 1:26-56
Perhaps it’s not technically a carol, but this recently written Christmas song has quickly become a favorite for many. While Mary agreed to be part of God’s plan for the world, did she really know what she said yes to? Do any of us really know what’s in store when we say, “Yes” to God? The angel did tell Mary a few things about her child. What were they and why are they important? Through her song we now call the “Magnificant,” Mary tells us what she did know about who God is and what her baby would accomplish. This Sunday we explore what Mary knew when she delivered the one who would deliver her.
Reflection Questions: If you could have a cup of coffee with Mary, what questions would you want to ask her? Which of the questions in the song are the most intriguing to you? How might you imagine Mary answering some of these questions?
Listen to “Mary, Did You Know?”
December 17 Love Was Born a King (Cantata)
Luke 2:1-7
This musical tells the story of a choir director trying to have a Christmas Cantata rehearsal, but gets very distracted by the unexpected chaos around the church when the local homeless come to stay. In the process of problem solving, small miracles happen along the way.
December 24 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Luke 2:8-12
With the angelic host proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!” Jesus Christ is, indeed, born this day as we celebrate the inbreaking of God into human existence. These three stanzas (although John Wesley wrote 5 verses) are rich in theological and biblical meaning as they articulate the significance of Jesus’ birth. This “Hymn for Christmas Day” (as it was originally titled) rings out with joy as we celebrate this special night. So let us join with the angels as we too sing, “Glory to the newborn King!” in this contemporary format with the praise team, communion, and candlelight.
Reflection Questions: How is Jesus the King of your life? Have you been reconciled to God in Jesus Christ and if so, what does that mean to you? How does Jesus’ birth impact what you believe and how you live?
Listen to “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
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ONGOING LIFE Groups:
Lunch Bunch: This group is for anyone to attend. Prayer, discussion, and bring your own lunch!
When: Mondays from 12:30-2 PM in the Connection Point at church
Prayer Breakfast: Join us for prayer, discussion, and breakfast
When: Wednesdays at 7 AM in the Fellowship Hall
Bible Study LIFE Group: Meet for study, prayer, and discussion
When: Every other week on Wednesday evenings at 7 PM led by Suzy Farley
We will start on Sept. 20th and will meet at the church. We’ll be discussing Luke.
LIFE Group at Ensenada's led by Dan Duquette
When: Wednesdays at 5:30 PM at Ensenada's Restaurant
Zoom LIFE Group: Meet for discussion and prayer
When: Thursday at 7:15 PM on Zoom led by Karen Pleas
Biscuit Bunch: This monthly group gathers to pray and fellowship over Hardee's biscuits in the Pavilion by the playground.
When: Thursday once a month at 8:30 AM in the Pavilion
Contact Amanda Pine for more details about these amazing LIFE Groups.
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SESSION
NOVEMBER 2023 SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
The Session of KGPC met Monday evening, 11/27/2023. After exploring our core value #4, “Sharing the Good News of Christ”, through Matthew 28:16-20, we reflected on how we are “Making Disciples of all Nations” and more importantly what additionally can be done. As KGPC prepares for Bethlehem Walk, the excitement of “sharing the Good News of Christ” was present. Thanks to Julie Seipel for providing nearly 30 Christmas cards, Session members were able to remind our shut-ins that they remain a very important part of God’s work that is being done through KGPC.
The decisions of the Session meeting were:
1) The approval of a labyrinth being constructed on the property as part of a Boy Scout Eagle project,
2) The first pass of the KGPC 2024 budget being presented by the Finance team,
3) The approval of the updated Building Usage policy as presented by the Property team, and
4) The presentation of the Worship Discernment Team’s findings and recommendations after 6 months of work. Session approved to continue the Sunday morning worship schedule as is and to put an Implementation team together to provide specific recommendations as to what a second worship service (not on Sunday morning) would look like.
KGPC FINANCIAL REPORT
PERIOD ENDING: OCTOBER 2023
MONTH OF OCTOBER
Cash Income-------------$63,901
Cash Expenses --------($51,147)
Surplus(Deficit)--------( $12,755
YEAR-TO-DATE COMPARISON
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ACTUAL INCOME:-------
ACTUAL EXPENSES:--
DIFFERENCE:----------- -
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2023
$523,935
($519,194)
$4,741
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2022
$502,623
($500,588)
$2,035
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King's Grant Presbyterian Church
745 Little Neck Road
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452
(757) 340-2840
[email protected]
Office Hours: 8:30 - 3:00 M-F
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10:00 AM - Worship
---------- Service
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