News and Announcements
Special Thanks
•To Jennifer Garven for decorating the church for Advent and Christmas and to Linda Coulson for giving her a hand.•To Ernie Hadler for preparing the church snowblower for the weather that’s sure to come.
•To Bob Eichner for coordinating our Christmas tree sale and to everyone who has volunteered to help sell trees.
• To the Knellsville 4-H Club for helping to sell Christmas trees as part of their donation for using the church for all of their meetings.
• To Mike Spalding for tuning both of our pianos on a regular basis.
• To Jon Crain, owner of Crain Tree Service, for chipping all of the branches and limbs removed during our All Church Work Day.
•To Lyle Falk for installing new paper towel dispensers throughout the church. This is just one more way that we are trying to be more environmentally conscious and save a little money at the same time.
•To Gary Bria for setting up our Christmas Tree Sale sign at the corner of Webster and Grand.
•To Annette Stimac for faithfully organizing the children’s activity bags in the church sanctuary on a monthly basis.
•To Michelle (daughter of Mark and Janet Maechtle) and Matt Furlott who celebrated the birth of their first child, Evan Matthew, on Thursday, December 1.
•To Dan McManus (son of Doug and Darcy and grandson of Rosella) and Sara Kimball who were married in Naples, Florida on Friday, November 11. Jeff conducted a blessing service at the church on Sunday afternoon, November 27.
•To Everett James Ruder and Sullivan Jeffrey Ruder, twin sons of Tim and Melissa, who were baptized into the Christian faith on Sunday, November 27. Everett wore the baptismal gown that Tim once wore and Sullivan wore the gown that Melissa once wore, along with all of her sisters, her father, and all of her uncles.
•To Tyson Jonathan Blum, son of Kurt and Kelly, who was baptized into the Christian faith on Sunday, November 20.
From the Archives
CHRISTMAS GIVING
In celebration of Christmas, you are invited to order a poinsettia and/or donate to one of the six community organizations that our church supports on an ongoing basis. Your poinsettia will help decorate our sanctuary for Christmas. Your gift of money will help lift the spirits of those who are in need within our own community. You can click here to print out the form. Please return to the church office by this coming Sunday, December 11.
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES
We have planned three evening services for Christmas Eve at 5:00, 7:00 and 9:00. The 5:00 service is designed especially for families with young children and includes a Christmas Pageant. The 7:00 service features the Senior Choir, the Senior Handbell Choir and Christmas Brass. At the 9:00 service we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion and enjoy special music provided by several members of the Senior Choir. All three services include candle lighting and a selection of our traditional Christmas hymns. Please invite your neighbors and friends to come and join us.
CHRISTMAS DAY AND NEW YEAR’S DAY SERVICES
Both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on Sundays this year, so we are planning to drop the 8:00 service and celebrate with one service on Sunday morning at 10:00. Please help spread the word.
26th ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE SALE
Our annual church Christmas tree sale is now underway and runs through Christmas Eve. We sell the finest quality trees all grown in Wisconsin! Once again, everyone is invited to participate. If you are able to help sell trees, a sign-up poster is posted at the church. For more information, or to sign up, please call the church office.
ANNUAL STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN
As of December 6, we have received 88 pledges for a total of $103,597. The total needed is $210,700. The number of pledges received is only two behind last year at the same time. Pledge cards may be sent to the church, in care of our Financial Administrator, or they may be dropped in the offering plate on Sunday morning. The only way we can support the programs and services of our church is for everyone to do their part. Please return your pledge cards as soon as possible. If you have any questions about our annual stewardship campaign, please contact Owen Madson, our Financial Administrator, at (262) 675-2623 or owenM@portucc.org.
PLEDGE ENVELOPES AND QUARTERLY STATEMENTS
Members and friends who make a formal pledge to support the church financially receive several benefits. Each family or individual receives a box of Pledge Envelopes that allow our Financial Administrator to keep better track of your contributions. When you make a formal pledge you also receive a Quarterly Statement from our Financial Administrator that you may use for your own financial record keeping and income tax purposes. If you have any questions about this record keeping process, please contact Owen Madson, our Financial Administrator, at owenM@portucc.org.
SABBATH POEM
Our Middle School Church School Class, 5th – 7th Graders, recently talked about the meaning of the word Sabbath. They wrote a short word prayer that describes some of what they learned.
Start reading the Bible
A day of rest
Be Holy
Be faithful to God
All shall worship
Togetherness
Help everyone
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
As some of you know, our church was instrumental in establishing the Ozaukee County Chapter for Habitat for Humanity in 2000 and their office is in the Dennett Room, just off of Fellowship Hall. Over the years, we have always had at least one church member serving on the Board of Directors. Michelle Stanisch has been our most recent Board member, but her term expires at the end of the year and we are looking for someone to take her place. If you would like to get involved with the work of Habitat and serve our church in this way, please speak to Jeff.
WINTER FARMERS MARKET
As you may have heard, our church is hosting a Winter Farmers Market in Fellowship Hall on Saturday mornings, from 9:00 – 1:00, through December 17. The market offers an opportunity for local farmers to sell late fall produce and meats throughout the holiday season. Don't forget that the Market will continue on the last Saturday of each month from January to May. For more information, please contact Pat Wilborn at 284-1970 or portfish.org.
MIDDLE SCHOOL MISSION TRIP
Lorraine Halls, the Chair of our Community Outreach Team, is planning a summer mission trip to Green Bay for middle school age girls. The trip is scheduled for July 22 – 27. The cost for the trip is $248, but members and friends of the church are able to receive a scholarship from our Mission Fund to help cover the cost. For more information, please contact Lorraine Halls at 268-1759 or lhalls@hsabank.com, as soon as possible.17th ANNUAL HOLIDAY COAT DRIVE
Harborview Cleaners in Port Washington is hosting their annual Holiday Coat Drive for the Port Washington Food Pantry. You may bring coats to the cleaners now through Monday, December 19. They will clean the coats free of charge and deliver them to the Food Pantry. Harborview Cleaners is owned and operated by Barb Bahr, who happens to be the Moderator of our church.
WELCOME OUR NEWEST MEMBERS
On Sunday morning, November 13, we welcomed four new couples into our community of faith. You can click here to view pictures of the folks who joined the church both this past Spring and this Fall. Please give them a hearty welcome.
SNOW CANCELLATION POLICY
In anticipation of the winter weather to come, we want to remind you of the snow cancellation policy for our Sunday services. If it should be necessary to cancel one or both of our Sunday services, we will put a message on the church answering machine by 7:00 on Sunday morning. Please call the church office, 284-2022, if you have any doubts about the weather.