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December
2007 Calendar
Click
here for the December 2007
Calendar.
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Advent Calendar
December 2 —
First Sunday in Advent
Potluck Luncheon Following Worship to kick off the next phase of
the Building Project
December
9 —
4
p.m. Smyrna’s Annual Christmas Program
December
17 —
1:30 p.m. Stitch Club
meets at Smyrna to assemble their annual Christmas Baskets
December
23 —
Christmas Sunday Service
December 24 —
9 p.m. Candlelight Service
At Smyrna UCC
December
25 —
Christmas Day |
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It is with joy that we
Amber MacRae Rogers
And
Dylan Thomas Ferris
Invite you to share
A celebration of love
As we exchange marriage vows
On Saturday, December 8, 2007
At 2 p.m.
Smyrna U.C.C.
31119 S Canby-Marquam Hwy
Canby, OR 97013
Reception immediately following |
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Old
Fashioned Christmas
Performed
by Smyrna United Church of Christ Children and Church Volunteers
Sunday,
December 9, 2007
4:00 PM
Everyone come join
us as we celebrate the birth of Jesus in an Old Fashioned
Christmas way. There will be old carols sung, history read, a
Christmas tree and the coming of Christ birth as told in the
Bible. We will also have some food and drinks afterward. To make
it festive we would like you to come in your warmest coats and
mittens to make it look like the 1800’s. |
Year End Tax
Planning- IRA
As we approach the end of the year, many
people are inclined to make charitable donations to take advantage of
the tax deduction. For people over the age of 70 and ½ this year there
is extra incentive for year end donations.
The Pension Protection act of 2006 permits
individuals to distribute up to $100,000 from an Individual Retirement
Account (IRA) directly to a qualified charity without recognizing the
assets transferred as income. This special treatment of distributions
expires on December 31, 2007.
To
qualify:
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You
must be 70 and ½ years of age and have a traditional or Roth IRA |
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The
transfers must go directly from IRA’s to qualified charities |
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Gifts
cannot exceed $100,000 per taxpayer per year |
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Your
gift transfer must be made by December 31, 2007 |
You do not receive a charitable income tax
deduction when making this gift. However, you do not need to pay income
tax on the withdrawal.
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“Star”
Performance
A big “thank you” to Chuck Odell
for wiring the new LED lights on the star that is put up each
December. As a bit of historical information, the star was
built many years ago by Gale Blatchford with materials paid for
by the Stitch Club. Joel purchased the new lights at the end of
last season, so that the star could be repaired. These new
lights will use much less electricity than the old ones did. |
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· Gale
Blatchford
· Laurie
Chilcote
· Kent
Fisher
· Michael
Gottwald
· Mickey
and Ron Hester
· Helen
Kappler
· Jack
and Willa Kieling
· Linda
Melcher
· Arlene
Peterson
· Jeannie
Rogers
· Larry
Sano
· David
Schriever
· Etta
Schwabauer
· Jackie
Sperb
· Susie
Schriever
· Beverly
Stutz
· Mark
Hall
· John
Watkins
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No matter who you are,
or where you are on life’s journey,
you are welcome here.
Mission Statement
Smyrna United Church of Christ is striving to be:
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A place of peace where we teach the word of God and the story of God’s
love. |
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A spiritual haven where we accept and care for all humanity in an
outreach of grace. |
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A lighthouse of God’s light, where worship, teaching, learning and
spiritual growth take place in community powered by thought and action. |
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A Christian people, working for God’s realm in ecumenical
harmony with other people of faith and conviction. |
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Who Are the
Ministers?
For
years I have tried to be careful about the titles people give me. While
I am in my second interim ministry, I have always been a licensed
minister and not a Reverend. On December 1st
at 2 PM the Central Pacific Conference is going to ordain me in Smyrna’s
sanctuary and we will have an excuse to ring the bell. After the
ordination service you can call me Reverend if you want, but I prefer
Dave.
I looked up the words minister, pastor,
Reverend, and clergy in the dictionary. They all overlap with the idea
of one who is authorized to carry out the functions of the church. At
Smyrna we are all ministers caring for each other with cards, calls,
cheer baskets and prayers.
In November I started inviting members
to go with me on pastoral calls. Since many of you have known each
other for many years, the calls are often more meaningful if they
involve both the new minister and the old friends. Having someone to go
with me is especially important for people who don’t know the new
minister. A familiar face is always a treat.
Regardless of whether there is a
Reverend in the pulpit, the ministers of Smyrna will always be the
members of the congregation who carry out the functions of the church so
well by caring for one another.
If you would like to spend an afternoon making calls with me, let me
know and we will set up Tuesday or Thursday. I can drive, will
certainly enjoy the company, and all of us can continue to minister to
each other.
--- Pastor Dave
DavidAkers@smyrna-ucc.org
The BEHOLD!! Deadline is December 15.
Please get your articles in early and avoid the holiday rush.
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Potluck/Fund-drive Kick-off
At the Potluck Lunch on Advent
Sunday, December 2, the Building Committee will be kicking off a
fund drive for the new addition expected to be constructed in
2008. For our first phase we will be asking our members and
friends to make direct contributions. The contractor, Tom
Riedman, will be there so you can have an opportunity to get
acquainted with him. Members of the committee will be available
to answer any questions.
The Building Fund currently has
a balance of a little over $100,000 which is about 1/3 the way
there. In 2005, we invested just under $75,000 with the United
Church Foundation in New York in a balanced fund. In November
we cashed it out and received just over $96,000 which we placed
in short term CD’s and a money market account so that we would
have it to begin the process of building. NOTHING WILL STOP US
NOW!
Please plan to come to church on
Dec. 2, and stay for a most enjoyable time We will only be
distributing materials that day and won’t be asking for a
commitment.
Building Committee Members:
while anyone was and is welcome to be part of this committee,
those regularly attending are Mike & Charlotte Demitrakikes,
Chuck & Helen Odell, Rick & Levonne Gano, David & Irene
Schriever, Joel & Elaine Daniels, Paul Yoder, Bob Kyrk, Rod
Bullard, Ginger Redlinger, Mary Namit and Ron Hester. |
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Annual
Reports deadline coming up
In the midst of the busy Christmas
Season, comes this reminder: Reports from Church Officers,
Boards and Committees are due on January 5, 2008 for the 2007
Annual Reports Book. If you are a member of a board or
committee, make sure someone on the board or committee is
writing a report! |
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Lectionary
The lectionary for December is as follows:
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December 2, 2007 —First
Sunday in Advent
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44 |
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December 9, 2007—Second
Sunday in Advent
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12 |
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December 16, 2007 —
Third Sunday in
Advent
Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm 146
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11 |
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December 23, 2007 —
Fourth Sunday
in Advent
Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25 |
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December 24, 2007 —
Christmas Eve
Isaiah 62:6-12
Psalm 97
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2: 1-20 |
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December 30, 2007
Isaiah 63:7-89
Psalm 148
Hebrews 2:10-18
Matthew 2:13-23 |
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Women’s
Fellowship Bazaar
A crowd of eager bidders
gathered for the Women’s Fellowship Annual Bazaar in November.
The big draw of the evening, a quilt in greens, yellows and
white and quilted by hand, brought a high bid of $2000. The
total for the fund-raising event was about $4,564. Once the
frenzy of buying was over, people relaxed and visited over
desert.
(Click on thumbnail
to see a larger picture.)
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Please let us know if you want to
be removed from the Behold!! mailing list.
You may also choose to view a very
colorful version at our church website,
www.smyrna-ucc.org . If you would prefer it to
the printed edition, we can arrange that too. You will be
reminded each month when a new Behold!! is available.
Contact
smyrnaucc@canby.com
or
behold-email@smyrna-ucc.org
Announcements are available on our
website each week as well.
In order to avoid an interruption,
let us know if you have a change of address. |
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