Saturday, November 17, 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. we distribute food to clients at AFAC.

Sunday, November 18, 11:45 a.m., session meets.

 

Sunday, November 25, 10:30 a.m., we will join in worship with the Church of the Covenant in their sanctuary at 2666 Military Road.

  

Advent begins! Sunday, December 2, is the first Sunday of the season of Advent.

 

Sunday, December 16, following worship we will have a potluck brunch and the young people will share the Christmas story with us in their own inimitable style!

 

Sunday, December 23, following worship we make sandwiches for A-SPAN; that evening at 5:45 we serve the bag meals.

 

Monday, December 24, at 7:30 we gather for our annual Christmas Eve service of lights and carols.

 

To add a calendar item, contact Mary in the office via e-mail at ClarendonPresbyinfo@gmail.com 

 

As you know, Evelyn Woodson has moved to New York to be closer to her daughter's family. She asked that her new address be shared: Wynwood Kenmore #224, 2971 Delaware Avenue, Kenmore, NY 14217.

 

We hold Mike Holloway in the light as he recovers from knee surgery. 

 

We hold Barbara Allen in the light, with prayers for a return to good health.  Barbara asks for prayers for Russ Heasty as he struggles with a broken neck and attendant health problems, and for the siblings who are his caretakers.

 

We hold Wes MacAdam in our prayers. Wes's mother died peacefully last month.

We had a deep and rich conversation during worship last Sunday about being the body of Christ. We talked together about what it means to be the church, and how our various gifts together make us the church.

This weekend we'll continue the conversation.

In preparation for worship, I invite you to read Paul's words on the various gifts that we bring to the body. We'll also look at what our Presbyterian constitution (Book of Order) says about what it means to be a member. You can check that out online here (the relevant text is on page 54, and I apologize for not being able to cut that single page and link it).

We will engage this conversation about being the body of Christ even as various members of our little outpost of that larger body share from their own experience about what it means to engage our mission and to support it.

We've made major decisions as a congregation during the past year, now is the time to live into those decisions together as the body of Christ in the world!

Come and worship!

peace,
David

With the hiring of Susan Graceson as our new director of Christian formation we are taking our next major step into the new ministry model discerned by our staff design discernment team last winter, adopted by session in May and endorsed by the congregation in June.

Susan will lead our youth education program, coordinate increased adult education offerings, assist in all aspects of worship leadership (including bringing a wealth of music talent), and serve as a key member of our emerging ministry staff team.

Susan, who is finishing up an assignment at National Presbyterian Church in DC, will begin her service at Clarendon in January. Susan is a member of Arlington Presbyterian Church, where she has served in a variety of roles including as an elder on session. She is a student at Wesley Seminary in DC. We will create a celebratory opportunity to meet Susan soon, so stay tuned!

You've asked for it repeatedly, and you've waited patiently for it! Here it is!

Clarendon is now accepting donations on line through our web site. You can get to the donations page under the "Donate" tab in the top line menu, or go directly to that page through this link.

 

Everything you enter there is encrypted with 256-bit SSL, and any credit card information necessary for recurring transactions is stored using AES-256 "cypher-block-chaining mode" encryption. Clover Donations is a PCI Compliant service provider, which means they have been certified using rules created by the credit card industry to ensure security.

 

While this service does cost the church a little, members have been asking for it for quite a while and we believe that the ease and convenience for you are worth the cost to the church. We also believe that, in line with the experience of most nonprofits that use on-line giving, your generosity will more than offset the fees the church pays for the service.

 

On-line giving works differently for every donor, and you can pick and choose among many options for the timing and payment on your giving. Choose whatever works best for you. (From the church's end, the least expensive option is bank transfer direct from your account. The most expensive is your credit card. Debit cards fall somewhere in the middle of a fee structure that ranges from a bit more than one percent to a bit more than four percent per transaction depending upon both the source and the amount.)

We hope that you find this new financial service simple to use and helpful in your practice of faithful stewardship.

While the metro area was spared the brunt of Sandy this week, our neighbors up the coast were hit incredibly hard by the storm.

There are lots of ways to respond in support of the communities who have been so greatly damaged. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is coordinating response for Presbyterians in the aftermath. You can learn more about PDA's response here and about how you can contribute to it through their web site.