This Coming Week (and beyond)

During this holy season, we hope you will take a moment each Sunday morning to consider the changing scenes of the Christmas story as told by the figures on the table in the church lobby. ~Christmas Eve~ The Holy Family in the stable (Luke 2:6,7) Shepherds come (Luke 2:8-18) King Herod appears (Matthew 2:1) Wise Men start their journey (Matthew 2:1,2) ~ Christmas~ Wise Men come to Herod (Matthew 2:1,2) Shepherds return to fields Women's Fellowship PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR FAMILY CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE Saturday, December 24, 7:00 pm Hear the familiar story once again, sing favorite carols, and be with others to celebrate Christmas! . You are cordially invited to a celebration ! FOR: The birth of Jesus DATE: December 25 (but the date is flexible, because he's always around). TIME: 10:00 am (but he'll be waiting for you whenever you're ready). PLACE: Our sanctuary (but he'll also meet you where you are). GIFT: Here's a twist - we don't have to bring anything but an open heart; he's the one giving the gift - himself. ENTERTAINMENT: Joy, Peace, Truth, Light, Life, Love, Forgiveness, Healing, and a deepened relationship with God. PARTY GIVEN BY: His family - that's us! Hope to see you there! There will be NO SUNDAY SCHOOL today, December 25 (Christmas Day) or January 1 (New Year's Day). BUT worship will still take place and the nursery will be open! PLEASE HELP US UPDATE OUR PRAYER LIST FOR THOSE IN NEED There are many people who need the prayers of our church. Since the prayer listing is updated once a month, please review the names of the people you may have added to the prayer list. Please let us know if their crisis has passed and they are recovering, so that we can update the list with new individuals who are facing a current crisis. Anyone removed from the prayer list can always be added back on, if necessary. Thank you for considering those new individuals that are in need of our prayers. Evelyn House Linen Drive Our annual Linen Drive for Evelyn House continues into early January. Evelyn House is always in need of a few NEW basics to replenish the supplies within the facility to help those who are transitioning to their housing. Please drop off any of the following items in the big gift boxes in the church lobby throughout the Advent and Christmas season. * Twin bed sheets * Towels (all sizes) * Socks & Underwear (male & female) * T-shirts/Sweatshirts (male & female) * Grocery, Target or Wal-Mart Gift Cards (helpful to those moving into new housing) MITTEN TREE Please remember to decorate our Mitten Tree, beginning this Sunday, with warmth and love, in the form of hats, scarves, mittens and gloves. Non-knitters are invited to add items purchased at the fair or store-bought items to the Tree as well. At the end of December we will donate the collected items to the Pediatric Unit at Brockton Hospital. Please take a moment today to reflect upon the tree in the Narthex. The word, "Chrismon" is a combination of Christ and monogram meaning, Monogram for Christ. The letters are Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Geometric figures, crosses, stars, sun and creatures of the earth help tell the story. Colors of the symbols are white and gold; white standing for the purity of Christ, gold for his majesty and glory. The clear lights remind us that Christ is the light of the world. The Chrismon are placed on an evergreen tree which suggest eternal life won for us by Christ. The Chrismon were made by women of the church. Please sign up NOW for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. DAY of SERVICE and LEARNING ~ Saturday, January 14 Sponsored by the City Mission Society of Boston Time is running out to sign up for the City Mission Society's Day of Service and Learning taking place on Saturday, January 14. Our church hopes to send a team to this event, which honors Dr. King's legacy in a positive way. The day of service offers an opportunity to participate in hands-on service projects and will end with a celebration of music and worship at United Parish in Brookline. We will meet at our church at 8 am and leave in carpools for our designated service site (to be announced) in Boston. We will work from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, then go to United Parish for lunch and closing reflections. If you are interested in being part of the team, please sign up in the lobby by Sunday, January 8. For insurance purposes, CMS requires registrants' names in advance and that participants be 14 or older. Day of Service and Learning Schedule: 8:00 am Leave UCC Stoughton in carpools for assigned service site 9:30 am - 12:30 pm Service at assigned site 12:30 to 1:00 pm Travel to United Parish in Brookline 1:00 to 3:00 pm Lunch, reflection and closing celebrations 3:00 pm Leave in carpools for return trip to Stoughton For more information, log on to: http://www.cmsboston.org/Martin-Luther-King-Day.html Make it a day on, not a day off! First Congregational Church of Stoughton United Church of Christ An Open and Affirming Congregation Our Vision We are called together to embrace God's transformation of our lives and our world by becoming and serving as Christ's disciples. Quick Links... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TO LEARN MORE ABOUT US, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.uccstoughton.org

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