December 13, 2009

Prayer List - To see prayer concerns, please visit our prayer board here.

Upper Midwest Regional Prayer Calendar - may be viewed here


Thy Word will once again be heading up collection and distribution of toys for the Toys for Tots program.

We are in need of donations and people to help distribute. A particular need is for the 14-16 year old age group. Last year, some children in that age group did not receive gifts because of a shortage of items.

If you would like to donate, bring new unwrapped items to church by December 13. Toy distribution will take place on December 19 from 8am - 4 pm.

Please contact Al J if you would like to help distribute, or for more information.

Important Dates

Dec. 13 Eat at Punch’s Pizza to raise
Money for The Sleep Out 2009
Dec. 18 Senior's Lunch 11:30 am
Potluck @ Ruth Porter's House
Amahl and the Night Visitors 7:30 pm
@ FCC Minneapolis
Salvation Army Bell Ringing 6-8 pm
@ Maple Grove Walmart
Dec. 19 Toys for Tots Distribution 8 am - 4 pm
Dec. 22 Newsletter folding
Dec. 24 Candlelight Service 5 pm

Nursery Volunteer Schedule
Dec. 6 - Chana W
Dec. 13 - Maya I
Dec. 20 - Carlos O
Dec. 27 - Hillary P
Jan. 3- Chana W
Jan. 10 - Maya I
Jan. 17 - Carlos O
Jan. 24 - Hillary P
Jan. 31 - LeAnn V

Bell Ringing

If you are interested in being a part of this year’s PCCC bell ringing (and singing!) for the Salvation Army kettle campaign, check your calendars for December 18. Rachel Weaver has scheduled a PCCC 2 hour block (6-8 p.m.) at the Walmart in Maple Grove. Those wishing to participate can let Rachel know. Plan to dress warmly!


Plan now to enjoy Punch Pizza next Sunday, Dec. 13, and support the Sleep Out. At the Wayzata Punch Pizza location, 50% of the proceeds for that day will help 15-year-old Peter Larson toward his goal of raising $100,000 for IOCP's Sleep Out Campaign. Call before 4 p.m. for carry out: 952-476-7991. For details, or to make a donation, go to www.iocp.org or call Jill Kohler at 952-404-9388.

Thanks to everyone who has already given to the Sleep Out! As of 11/30, IOCP had raised $582,085, which will help 290 families with housing in the coming year. Families like the Lombards.

The Lombard Family
If you had told me 3 years ago that my husband would leave our marriage, I’d lose my job in a dental office, and I’d be homeless with a child, I wouldn’t have believed you. I still could hardly believe it a year ago when I stood outside a shelter in Minneapolis, hoping for a place to sleep. Everything I had fit in two boxes.

But that’s what happened. When I shared my story with the social worker at the shelter, he connected me with IOCP. They had recently completed a housing development in Plymouth that had townhomes for families like ours, who had been homeless for more than a year.

I was so eager to get settled, for my sake and my son’s. The IOCP case manager helped us get food and furniture, and connected me with employment services through IOCP. That’s how I found a job as a dental assistant. The county is helping me with child care, and IOCP provides bus passes so I can get to and from work. Whenever there’s a community dinner or neighborhood meeting, I go. We have a home now, and it feels so good to know I’m not alone.

With Sleep Out funds, IOCP is able to provide affordable housing, employment services, community resources, and ongoing support to homeless families like the Lombards.


First Light: Jesus and the Kingdom of God

The Adult Sunday School class wants to invite everyone to its newest series; a DVD-based discussion about Jesus and the historical life he lived. These videos travel through the Jewish countryside where Jesus grew up and ministered, and describe that very different world with the best information that modern scholarship has to offer.

Taught by two of America’s leading Biblical Scholars, John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg, men with over 20 books published between them (some of which are on many best-sellers lists), these sessions aim to get behind the written words of the Gospel, and into the social reality that Jesus and his followers navigated. The end result, well, that’s up to you; rest assured, it’s a different Jesus than is popularly discussed, more mature and realistic, perhaps, certainly challenging and empowering. Come be inspired! No previous Sunday School experience required...


A Table Before Me: God's Open-Armed Adventure
Come Join the Adventure!

2009 Adventure in Mission– TABLE HOSPITALITY

Every month will include a different focus; every quarter will bring a new activity; every season will provide more challenge to increase your understanding of Mission, deepen your commitment to Mission, develop your capacity for Mission stewardship.

December Mission Focus: Toys for Tots

Sharing Our Stories. . .
Waiting for your story!

Based on the NPR “This I Believe” series
Check out thisibelieve.org if you want to learn more
We invite every person at Plymouth Creek to write a "This I Believe" essay regarding one aspect of your faith.

1)350-500 words,
2)Tell a story; make it personal,
3)Describe one thing about your faith, i.e. don't try to include everything.
4)Email them to pastor@plymouthcreek.org, or hand it to Pastor Shane, or send it via snail mail, or slide it under the office door.

Each week for the next year, we will put one or two of these in the weekly bulletin insert, so that we can learn from each other what's important about faith, and how to put that into words.

Every essay will be anonymous- so no one needs to feel self-conscious, competitive or worried about judgment. Only Pastor Shane will know who wrote the essay (or not, if you just slip it under his door!).

Holiday Schedule
Dec. 5 Choir Rehearsal
- Sanctuary 9 am - 12 pm
Dec. 12 Choir Rehearsal
- Sanctuary 9 am - 12 pm
Dec. 13 Christmas Musical 10 am
Dec. 19 Toys for Tots Distribution
-8 am - 4 pm
Dec. 24 Candlelight Service 5 pm

Amahl and the Night Visitors
First Christian is proud to present Gian-Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors on Friday, December 18 at 7:30pm. The production features members of the First Christian Church choir and the University of Minnesota Opera.

Please join us at this benefit to support Feed My Starving Children, a Twin Cities-based charity that has been involved in making sure that all of God’s little ones around the world are fed.

First Christian is located at 2201 First Avenue South in Minneapolis.

Alternative Gifts
(Consider giving a tax-deductible gift that can change lives)

Take part in a growing holiday tradition by giving gifts that help those in need.
Instead of material gifts, choose gifts from the Heifer International catalog to honor your friends, family or business associates -- gifts that help struggling families lift themselves out of poverty. You can also use the catalog to make a regular charitable gift. Copies of the Heifer International catalog can be found on the table in the Narthex at church or online at www.heifer.org/catalog

Your honorees will receive a beautifully designed gift card letting them know that, in their names, you've given the gift of self-reliance to a struggling family. The card explains Heifer's mission and how the gift you made in their honor will make a difference to a family in need.

SALE OF CHRISTMAS CARDS HELP FEED HUNGRY

Disciples are invited to participate in helping end hunger around the world by purchasing special Bread for the World Christmas cards for family and friends. Three designs are available this year—all using dramatic photos to convey a message of peace, joy, and hope. The photographs reflect the world in which Bread for the World seeks to make a difference.

The cards may be purchased for $10 per pack. Each pack contains 10 cards.
For more, see: www.bread.org/emails/order-christmas-cards.html


A Best Gift helps bring genuine and lasting change to those who need it most.

All gifts are examples of how Church World Service works in partnership to assist people in the world's poorest countries to find effective ways of tackling poverty and injustice. Whatever gift you buy, your money will fund one of the program areas related to your gift: agriculture and livestock, emergency and disaster preparedness, care for vulnerable children, water and environment, or women's empowerment For example, if you buy a goat, rabbits, or a beehive, your money will go to agriculture or livestock programs that can boost people's income.

When you place your Best Gift order, CWS will mail you or your gift recipient on gift card per gift ordered. If you do not want a card or would rather send an eCard or printable card, you can indicate this in the checkout process. The card can be delivered to you or directly to your gift recipient. A short descriptive vignette pertaining to your gift category will be enclosed with each card.

visit www.churchworldservice.org and click on Best Gift Catolog in the "Featured Links" section


Giving a Gift of Service is a perfect way to honor friends, family, or colleagues for birthdays, holidays, weddings, or any occasion. You will also be helping Seva Foundation reduce suffering in eleven countries around the world.

When you make your Gift, you can send an eCard to your honoree, and we’ll also send you a beautiful paper card for you to personalize.

Gifts fall into the categories of sight restoration, clean water, literacy, community health, economic development, and mothers and babies.

Go to www.seva.org and click on “Gifts of Service”

Pastor's Pen - Click here to read Pastor Shane's latest letter