Loading...This Sunday we celebrate the baptism of Jesus and with joy we welcome Tatum Reeve Saner into our fellowship. Baptizing a little baby is a celebration. It is a sacrament in our Church. We say it is an outward and visible sign of an inward and visible grace. (See Catechism pg. 858, Book of Common Prayer)
In important ways, we become Tatum's family. In addition to being a sacrament of the church, baptism is also one way we create Christian community. We make a promise to Tatum on Sunday. We are asked: Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support this person in their life in Christ?
We say we will do all in our power to support Tatum as she grows in Christ. Baptism is not just about Tatum, the individual, or her blood family. Baptism is about our Christian responsibility and love for each other.
Come on Sunday and make this important promise to Tatum....
Blessings as you finish your week!
Love, Rebecca
Announcements
Parlor People, Sunday, 11am – noon.
All adults are welcome to participate in Parlor People.
Undoing Racism!
Join us for Parlor People Sunday as we continue our series on how we can work to undo racism. Rebecca and Joanne will lead the sessions in January. Dr. Daniel Welliver, Associate Professor of Sociology, Juniata College, will lead the last session on February 7.
This Sunday we'll discuss prejudice a little further.
Jane Hoover reports on our January 3, session:
Parlor People kicked off the 2016 winter session with an introduction to Undoing Racism. One of our big problems when talking about racism is our use of language. Just because we use the same words doesn't mean we intend to say the same things. Definitions are important.
We started out with an exercise to explore what the word "Prejudice" means to each of us. The exercise involved exploring (if we could remember) which groups of people might have provoked feelings of prejudice when we were teenagers.
Then we identified how we feel about those people now. In most cases, we felt differently. We felt more accepting, more aware, more compassionate and not as bothered by the people as when we were teens.
Finally, we looked at what brought about our changed feelings. Personal contact with the group, life experiences, getting to know people personally, rather than as a group, social movements, individual encounters with friends and discussion/interaction with people we respected were all ways we identified as changing our feelings. We acknowledged there is a "drip,drip, drip" of change and some patience, too.
Then each of us defined prejudice in our own words. We were remarkably similar, which is good! Our definitions were also similar to the dictionary definitions. One of the dictionary definitions is "Any preconceived opinion or feeling either favorable or unfavorable."
Godly Play will be this Sunday and January 31.
THANK YOU from Rebecca!
Thank you for the wonderful gift from the parish of $150. Thank you for allowing me to serve you as your priest and Rector.
Upcoming Meetings
January 10, noon, Worship Committee
January 13, 1:30pm, Property Committee
January 20, 6:30pm, Vestry
January 27, 5:30pm, Finance Committee
Join Hands items of the month are paper towels, toilet paper, kleenex, etc.
Installation of Vestry Members and Delegates to Diocesan Convention, January 17.
Please pray for our Vestry members – Shannon Burns, Tootser Davis, Becky Crup, Jill Brownfield, Bill Day, Miguel Gonzales, Lynne Mitchell, Joanne Pinaire and Gail Shull.
Becky Crup and Miguel Gonzales are also Delegates to Diocesan Convention. Please pray for Sue Beamer as the Alternate to Diocesan Convention.
Worship at St. Paul’s Lutheran, January 24, 10:30 am. Light lunch to follow.
We’ll worship with our neighbors at 320 Market St., Newport.
Stitchers meet in Undercroft on January 28, 10am
Knit and crochet prayer shawls and other items. The prayer shawls go to Perry
Village and baby items go to families with Join Hands. See Edna Baker, Sue Beamer or Wendy Day if you'd like more information and don't worry about not knowing how to knit or crochet, because I bet this would be a great place to learn how!
Installation of The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers as Rector, Saturday, January 30, 10:00am.
This will be a service of The Renewal of Ministry with the welcoming of a New Rector with The Rt. Rev. Dr. Audrey Scanlan presiding and preaching.
A reception will follow.
Choir Practice
The choir practices every Sunday at 8:30am prior to the service.
The choir will also practice on Wed., 10:30am. Next practices are January 13 & 27.
Join Us For Breakfast!
Men's breakfast - Every Wednesday, 9am, Espresso Yourself.
Women's breakfast – 2nd and 4th Wednesdays in January, 9am, May's Railside Grill.
Upcoming breakfast dates are January 13 and 27.
We welcome today, Tatum Reeve Saner, her parents, Nick and Jessica Saner, her godparents Travis Saner and Megan Waldman, along with all their family and friends.
Altar flowers are given by Nick and Jessica Saner in honor of Tatum’s baptism.
2016 Parish Pictorial Directory is ready! Pick up one at church. THANKS to Marion Fluchere for doing this.
Godspell at Hershey Playhouse, Sunday, February 21, 2016, 2pm. Miguel Gonzales is in this production. If you haven't already told Rebecca you'd like to attend, please let her know. If you have, you can pay for your tickets ($23 for adults and $20 for children) by writing a check made payable to The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen and putting Godspell in the memo line. Please give your check to Rebecca.
Welcoming the Stranger. Through February 7, the Diocese is collecting pots, pans (new or gently used with NO non-stick surfaces), new pillows, and small items for children to donate to people who are refugees and are being resettled in Central Pennsylvania. Bring your donations to the church or order something from the Amazon Wish List at //amzn.to/1RsLwU
