The Good News - This Week

The Good News - This Week is a publication of Alpharetta Presbyterian Church for its members and friends.

Send your comments and suggestions to connections
@alpharettapres.com.

Ollie's Offerings

A congregation in Central America has a practice of sharing rice during the offering. As a visiting missionary tells it, worshipers come forward with small bags and cups of rice which they pour into a large bag at the front of the sanctuary. In a poor farming village where most are subsistence farmers they have little else to give. Each family in the church sets aside a spoonful of rice before preparing its evening meal. Rather than consume it, that portion of rice is then shared on Sunday as a gift to benefit the community. The church keeps the donated rice and uses it to help families when there is death, sickness or economic hardship.

A congregation in New York has been transformed by Hurricane Sandy. A friend tells me that the church's office (a former manse) is the only building in the area with electricity. Several days after the storm the church began hosting the neighborhood children for some activity since their schools were closed. Still the only building in the area with power, the church has been transformed in its ministry and outreach. It has become a bit of a community center and meeting place, a great benefit and blessing to its neighbors in this time of crisis. It has what everyone needs: light, warmth and welcome.

At APC we continue to emphasize stewardship this month. Your prayers and gifts make a difference at home, in the community and around the world. Put aside some family rice to be shared. Open your doors and hearts to neighbors in need. Prayerfully consider how God is asking you to give of time, talent and treasure to bless lives and glorify God. Every grain of rice makes a difference! Every dollar helps us keep the lights on!

Friends & Fellowship Reception

Friends & Fellowship Reception is this Sunday. Visitors and members, please join us in Fellowship Hall immediately after the 11:00 service for a reception hosted by the deacons. Light refreshments will be served. It's a great time to meet new people and catch up with old friends.

Angel Tree

Angel Tree - Angels are available for the next three Sundays. Please stop by the Angel Tree in the lobby to bring joy to a child in need this Christmas. You can also take a gift card or make cash contributions to help purchase gifts. If you have questions, contact Michelle Olsen, 770-777-0549 or Eva Wardrup, 770-354-1226.

STARS Luncheon

The STARS meeting will be Wednesday, November 14 at 12 noon in Room 206/207. Join us for a potluck lunch and fellowship. After lunch Ollie will share his photos and experiences from his recent mission trip to Kenya, Africa. All are welcome!

Community Thansgiving Service

This year's Community Thanksgiving Service will be Tuesday, November 20 at 7:00pm at St. Aidan's Episcopal Church.

Thanksgiving Service Opportunity

ACT Together Ministries of Forsyth County will be serving a Thanksgiving meal for the hungry at Covenant Christian Academy in Cumming on Thanksgiving Day. ACT Together is seeking volunteers to help from 1pm - 5pm on Thanksgiving; and volunteers who will provide food or monetary donations (they especially need people to donate prepared turkeys!). If you would like to learn more about this project, please contact Allison Neal, 770-317-9628 or nealshop@comcast.net

A Christmas Carol

"Bah! Humbug!" The refrain follows us every Christmas...into parking lots and out of long lines. Gather the family together and take a break from the go-go Christmas season. Meet our classic characters: Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and of course, Ebenezer Scrooge and his three "spirited" friends. We'll weave our tale with a ribbon of all your favorite Christmas carols. Bring the spirit back to your Christmas Holiday at ACT1.

Shows are every Friday and Saturday night from November 23 - December 16 at 7:30pm and Sunday, December 2, December 9 and December 16 at 2:00pm.

Tickets are $15 for adults; $12 for children 12 and under and seniors 60 and over.

You can get tickets by calling our box office at 770-663-8989 or finding us online at www.act1theater.com.

Special Pricing for APC Members! Use Coupon Code APCCC when checking out.

ACT1 Theater is located inside Alpharetta Presbyterian Church at 180 Academy Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.

Church Directory

We are pleased to announce that APC is in the process of putting together a beautiful, full color church member picture directory. The directory will have color family portraits and will be used with Access ACS to offer directory information. It is very important that all of our church families be included to assure a complete, up-to-date directory. Please click on the below link and choose a time that is most convenient for your family. We will have this Web Schedule available until November 27. Then we will have the schedule available for you to signup in the church. If you should need to reschedule your Web Appointment please do so by calling The Portrait Cafe at 1-877-896-9667 extension 325. Thanks for your participation and remember SMILE!

http://www.appointmentquest.com/scheduler/2170124024?schedule=alpharettapresbyterianchurch

Veteran's Day

Veterans Day Recognition takes place this Sunday. Active duty members of the armed forces, as well as military veterans and those who served during WWII in the US Merchant Marine, are invited forward during the closing hymn to receive a flag lapel pin.

Open Arms Eldercare

Is Assisted Living a consideration for your family? There are dozens of questions! Can I live independently? Are there varying levels of care available if needed? What about financing; is there a lease or is a "buy in" required? Is there nursing staff available? Are meals available? Join us this Sunday in the front lobby (9:15-12:15pm) when representatives of Alpharetta's newest assisted living facility, Benton House, will join us to answer these questions and more. For questions or more information, please contact Ellen Adolph, 678-637-2928 or hbunnies@gmail.com.

Harvest Food Drive

The Harvest Food Drive continues through this Sunday! Please bring your donations of canned and boxed food items in grocery bags and deliver them to the narthex or the back of Fellowship Hall. The items will be taken to North Fulton Community Charities and The Place at Forsyth the week of November 12.

Hurricane Sandy

If you wish to support Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in its response to Hurricane Sandy's devastation in the Caribbean and North America, please make your check payable to APC and write "PDA-Hurricane Sandy" on the memo line. Checks may be placed in the offering plates or mailed to the church. Thank you for your prayers for all involved.

Cancer Care Group

The Cancer Care Group is again creating gift baskets to provide to caregivers of pediatric cancer patients who must spend the holiday season in Children's Hospital of Atlanta. Among the items we would like to include:

Books, inspirational or paperbacks for fun reading

packets of tea, coffees, sugars, sweetners, etc.

prepackaged snacks: crackers, chips, cookies etc.

mints, gum etc.

Coffee mugs or travel mugs

Christmas-theme gift tissue paper (red, green or print)

A bin has been set up in the lobby for donations. We will be accepting donations throughout the month of November and assembling our bags on Saturday December 1.

Donate Your Furniture

The Drake House has partnered with City Antiques & Interiors! Now you can donate your unwanted furniture and household items and at least half of the proceeds will benefit The Drake House! Not only will City Antiques pick up the items at no cost to you, but they will also organize estates sales to help you clear out years of accumulation when downsizing. And if you're in the market for a perfect piece to complete a room, be sure to shop City Antiques and browse the selection of items that benefit The Drake House. Proceeds from the sale of each item donated will directly support the programs for homeless mothers and their children in North Fulton county. All donations are tax-deductible.

To arrange for pick-up, call City Antiques at 770-645-2525

To shop the donated merchandise: City Antiques and Interiors,

710 Holcomb Bridge Road #100 Roswell, GA 30076

Adult Sunday School

Adult Education-The Young Adult Sunday School class will no longer be meeting on Sunday mornings. Instead, that group of twenty-somethings is reorganizing into an evening fellowship format. Stay tuned for details! If interested in helping organize, please contact Dr. Wagner or Rev. Butcher in the church office.

The Faith and Families Sunday School class meets from 9:45-10:45am in the multipurpose room upstairs. The class continues this week with a parenting book study. Please join in!

FAITH 101, a three-week Sunday School series for new and inquiring members of APC continues this Sunday at 9:45am in the theater. Join Rev. Jamie Butcher as we discuss basic beliefs, perennial questions, and essential answers of the Christian faith.

Mom's Morning Cafe

Come join the Mom's Morning Cafe group. We are a group of APC Dayschool moms and moms of young children who meet biweekly for faith, fun and fellowship. Childcare is provided and all are welcome to join in. Our next meeting is Tuesday, November 13 (Future meeting dates are 11/27, 12/4, 11/18.) at 9:15 AM in the theater. Please contact momsgroup@alpharettapres.com if you have any questions.

Bike Drive

Donate gently used bikes, trikes and scooters on November 10. Be a part of the Sixth Annual Bike Drive, gifting gently used bikes to North Fulton area children through NFCC's Santa Shop. With area bike shops as drop points in 2012, we hope to gather close to 1,000 bikes, nearly doubling the 550 collected last year from area neighborhoods. By NOON on November 10, drop off outgrown, used bikes to a bike shop below. Organizers will pick them up and clean them up to make a child's holiday bright when they get their shiny "new-to-them" bike via NFCC's Santa Shop. If you don't have a bike to give and would like to help, donations to purchase basic parts allow us to spiff up mechanically-sound bikes: $10 buys a new saddle, a set of pedals or two tubes; $30 gets two new tires or two sets of handlebar grips. For donations of any size, drop off a check made out to NFCC with "Holiday Bike Drive" in the memo line.

If you are mechanically inclined, please join for bike clean up and repair, December 1 at 1425 Market Boulevard Roswell, GA 30076 adjacent the Publix grocery store. Clean up runs from 9:00am till the job is done. Bring shop rags and towels, scrub brushes, Armour All for tires, WD 40 or bike lube for chains, and any bike tools you have.

Participating bike shops: Alpha Bikes (Alpharetta), The Bicycle Wheel (Johns Creek), Cycle Works (all locations), Fresh Bike Service (Roswell), Performance Bikes (Roswell), Reality Bikes (Cumming), Roswell Bikes (Roswell). For more information: http://nfcchelp.org/holiday/santa/ or email Brian at bmullenbach@yahoo.com.

Ladies Night Out Cancelled

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED! Any questions please contact Amy Ordahl at 678-637-6489.

C.S. Lewis Series

The Sunday evening C.S. Lewis lecture series continues. Jim Motter, an APC member and C.S. Lewis scholar, will lead a 10-week Sunday evening lecture and discussion series on C.S. Lewis' masterwork, Mere Christianity. The lectures will be held in the theater now through November 11, from 5:30 to 7:00pm. The public is invited.

Youth Ministry News

Sunday, November 11 - Youth Group - 5:30-7:30 PM. Middle School Only! Please bring $4 for dinner.

Youth Orchestra Forming - calling all Youth Instrumentalists. APC will again form a Youth Orchestra to play on Sunday, December 9 at the 11:00 service. We will rehearse on Sunday, December 2 from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm and then again before the 11:00 service on December 9. If you play an instrument and have played at least 2 years, let Joel Lillethun know joel@alpharettapres.com and he will get music to you. If you cannot make the December 2 practice but would still like to play, let Joel know and he can make arrangements for you.

Join us for Sunday School! Middle and High School Youth meet in the upstairs education wing from 9:45 - 10:45 on Sunday mornings. We hope you'll come and feed your spirit through thoughtful discussion and fellowship.

Mission Trip Sign-Ups - A deposit check for $50 made payable to APC is required in order to place your name on the list.

Trip dates include:

Cross Mission - June 2 to 7

Appalachia Service Project - June 16 to 22

Triennium - July 15 to 20

Camp Hope - July 13 to 19

Morning Prayer Breakfasts - West Side meets every Wednesday morning, 7:00 AM, at Crabapple Starbuck's. East Side meets monthly on Tuesday morning, 7:00 AM, at Bronx Bagels (next meeting will be November 13). Additional details on the Youth Website.

We need parents to help with meal prep for Youth Group. Contact Wendy Curl to select your date.

Please update your information in Access ACS! The Youth Ministry will begin transitioning all sign ups for events and volunteering to this system over the next few weeks and we want to make sure that we have current information for everyone. If you are having trouble, please contact Michelle Burton for assistance.

For questions or more information, please contact Kelly Edwards, Director of Youth Ministries at kelly@alpharettapres.com or 770-751-0033.

Children's Ministry News

Nursery care is provided on Sundays from 8:15- 12:15pm for ages 0-2 in the nursery.

Promise Class is provided on Sundays during the 11:00 worship service for our special needs students in the Blue Room.

Kinderkirk (Children's Worship Education for children ages 3 - rising 2nd graders) will be during the 11:00 service only during the summer. Preschool classes will meet in Room 101 and Kindergarten and rising second graders in Room 102.

Children's Ministry is participating in Operation Christmas this year. Packed shoeboxes are to be brought to church not later than November 18. Club 45 will be touring the Operation Christmas distribution center on November 17 and delivering the boxes that have been received by that date.

Sympathy & Celebrations

Sunday Volunteers

Serving as acolytes this Sunday: Isobel Still at 8:30 & Jessie and Ethan Berry at 11:00

Serving as greeters this Sunday: Sybille Johnstone at 8:30

Serving as ushers this Sunday: George and Susie Myers, Carolyn Dillon, Wilson Borden at 8:30 & Ken Bogle, Larry Prohl, Dale Carter, Dot Van Dyke at 11:00

APC Church Officers

The Session

Class of 2012 Class of 2013 Class of 2014

Dianne Berry-Children's Ministry George Bancroft-Property Scott Doll-Membership/Youth Ministry

Michelle Burton-Youth Ministry Jodie Barger-Children's Ministry Molly Elkind-Worship

Morris Estes-Finance Lynn Danson-Fellowship/Mission Stu Laubenstein-Personnel

Jim Gray-Clerk of Session/CE Pat Dennis-Open Arms Anne Mahone-Dayschool/LRP

John Shevlin-Mission Nancy Hill-Personnell/Nominating Charles Moriarty-Property/CE Adult

Jessie Prigge-Youth Ministry Jan Hughey-LRP/Finance Sarah Provow-Open Arms/Commitment

Amy Rogers-Communications Kylie Vacko-Open Arms Ferrell White-Worship/Fellowship

Jean Williams-Nominating/Membership

Deacon Care Teams

Hospitality - John Hicks, 678-513-4570, john.c.hicks@gmail.com

Companion Care - Carolyn Dillon, 770-751-3799, csdillon@bellsouth.net

Hospital & Recovery - Paul McChesney, 678-234-8471, paulsmcchesney@gmail.com

Sympathy & Celebrations, Steve Ludlow, 770-722-5473, ludlowst@comcast.net

APC on Facebook

Find us on Facebook! That's right Alpharetta Presbyterian Church has a facebook page! You can "like" APC at http://facebook.com/alpharettapres. Look for the latest information about activities and missions of the church!

The Good News - This Week

Alpharetta Presbyterian Church.
You can visit the church on line at www.alpharettapres.com or contact the office during regular business hours at 770-751-0033 (Mon-Thurs, 8:00am-4:00pm and Friday, 8:00am-1:00pm).