Thanks to all for attending the Giving Tree event this past Sunday...we got a lot accomplished!  Your child brought home a giving tree and stickers. 

Here are the directions I gave your child for using the tree:  

1. Starting Monday, every morning when you get up , think of something that you could GIVE to someone else.  Ideas?  Love, a smile, a toy, a donation to food pantry, a card, laughter, help around the house, a song, peace, kindness, etc.
2. After you complete that act of giving, place a sticker on the tree.
3. Soon, your tree will be covered with stickers, showing all the kindness you have given to others...and maybe, on the 25th , you will get something special given to you.  
4. The holiday bow can be placed on the top of your tree.

Our Giving Tree in Fellowship Hall has been decorated with gift card envelopes by the children.  Please visit the tree, take an envelope, and return the gift by Dec 19th.  Gift cards , monetary doantions, and gifts will be given to families in need in our community.  

Consider bringing in socks, hats and mittons to place on the tree...we will also donate these items to clients from our food pantry and a local nursing home.  

Books for Liberia:

This coming Sunday, December 7th, children will have a special visit from Elizabeth Johnson, the retired teacher who is running the Liberia book drive.

In December of 2013, Elizabeth traveled to Liberia to visit an orphanage school run by parents of a former student.  She saw a desparate need for books and curriculum for this school and area schools.  In Liberia, schools were closed for an entire generation during the civil strife from 1980-2003.  School buildings, materials, and supplies were destroyed. Currently the area is going through more hardship with the ebola outbreak which has caused further devastation to families

This teacher saw a need and started a drive of gently used books for children ages 3-15.  Types of books needed are story books, science and math testbooks or workbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and general reference books.  School supplies are also needed.

If you have any of these types of books or materials available, please consider sending them in this Sunday as a show of support for Elizabeth and her book project.

Mystery Pal Sign-Ups begin this Sunday-  Please looks for the flyers with the Order of Service and in Classrooms and see Jenny Delgizzi in Fellowship Hall.

For the next 3 Sundays during morning church school , we will prepare for the Vespers Service Pageant which will be held on Dec 21 st at 4pm.  This year we will do "The Little Drummer Boy."

Everyone is welcome to be a part of this pageant.  It will be narrated, so children will silently act out four scenes.   Parts they can play are: sheep, drummers, stars, drummer boy's parents, vendors in the marketplace, Mary and Joseph.  The children will hear the story, select what parts they'd like to play, and prepare some of the costumes and props.  

Children with more involved acting parts: Narrators (Morgaine and Molly),  Parents, Drummer boy (Carrick), marketplace vendors, Mary and Joseph will need to be around for all the Sundays to practice.

If you will not be at Vespers, your child can still enjoy all the festivities in the preparation!!

There will be stories and lessons, discussions and projects! 

Please let me know if your child is really interested in a particular part,,,,first come,  first serve! Please let me know if you will not attend vespers, so I know not to give your child an acting part.

Sunday December 7th

10 am - All children will be dismissed to Fellowship Hall following the children's coin and food collection.  Spirit Play children will still line up by their classroom to be checked in and escorted to Fellowship Hall by special helpers.

We will have a visit from Elizabeth Johnson from the Liberian Book Drive...and give our gifts of books, hats , mittens, socks.  Then we will hear the story of a boy who thought he didn't have any gift to give:  "The Little Drummer Boy".

Coming of Age -  At 10 am we welcome the Coming of Age Class from Unitarian Universalist Society East, Manchester CT  to our service and then to a pizza lunch in the lounge at 11:30.  We will be joining together  "Building UU Community Connections" during our class that will end at 1 pm.

Please sit in the designated pews during the service.  Thank you!

Youth Group-  6 - 8:30 pm

Children will be decorating our Fellowship Hall Giving Tree with lights, hats, mittens, and gift envelopes.  Please bring hats or mittens or socks (for men, women or children)...we will donate them to our food pantry clients and a local nursing home.  Also..there will be cards that everyone can take off the tree and fill with a monetary gift for any families in our midst who have expressed a need, or a $10 grocery a gift card for Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry. 

After you take an envelope off the tree and fill it---- please place it in the gray mailbox outside of the church office.  Please note on your check what the donation is for:  Food Pantry  or Families. All envelopes should be returned before Dec 19th.  Thank YOU!