DECEMBER 2015

A Newsletter of the Church of God of Landisville

Sunday Plus

Sunday 8:15 am Traditional Worship 9:15-9:30 am Coffee & Fellowship 9:30 am Sunday School

10:30-10:45 am Coffee & Fellowship 10:45 am Contemporary Worship

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 (NIV)

At Christmas time giving is the heart and spirit of the season. But all around us, what we see is consumption, overspending, waste-ful living and selfish behavior. We lose sight of the “good gifts” our heavenly Father gives us and we miss opportunities to tell people about the “good gifts” that He wants to give to those who will believe. Now is the time and the season to share gifts with others and to tell of the greatest gift given to the world… a Savior born in a stable, Emmanuel, God with us. May you realize the “good gifts” that have come down to you from God our Father, and may you be willing to share those “gifts” with those whom you meet this Advent season. Come… let us worship and adore our King with gifts of hope, peace, joy and love! Have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed Advent season.

Pastor Tim’s Take On…

171 Church Street Landisville PA 17538

(717) 898-8144 www.coglandisville.org

www.truth412.com

. . . c h a n g e d p e o p l e c h a n g e l i v e s

“Good Gifts”

Worship

Sunday, Nov. 29 First Sunday in Advent

Come let us adore Him… the gift of hope!

Sunday, Dec. 6

Second Sunday in Advent Come let us adore Him…

the gift of peace!

Sunday, Dec. 13 Third Sunday in Advent Come let us adore Him…

the gift of joy!

Sunday, Dec. 20 Fourth Sunday in Advent Come let us adore Him…

the gift of love!

Thursday, Dec. 24 Christmas Eve

1:30 pm “I’ll be Home for Christmas”

7:00 pm “God so Loved”

Sunday, Dec. 27

Come let us adore Him… the gift of praise!

Services

Advent 2015 During Advent our theme will be “Come, let us adore Him… with good gifts!” We will focus on the meaning of the Advent candles, hope, peace, joy and love. We will gather to worship and adore our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Sanctuary will have a different look and a spirit of unity will be among us as we celebrate. Come and worship with us and invite your friends and neighbors.

This year we are adding a second Christmas Eve Service at 1:30 pm for people who work second shift, have other evening obligations, or do not like to drive at night. This early service, led by Lynda and Roger Fry, will feature traditional carols and communion will be served. The theme is “I’ll be home for Christmas!” Our 7:00 pm service will include musical selections from the choir, special music, traditional carols and candlelight worship. The theme will is “God so Loved!” Please remember to invite your family and friends to join us on Christmas Eve! It will be a wonderful celebration for the whole family to enjoy!

Worship with us

Christmas Eve Services

“I’ll be Home for Christmas!”

Roger and Lynda Fry 1:30 pm

“God So Loved!” Pastor Tim Bistline

7:00 pm

Elders meet the first Monday of each month. Ministry teams meet the second Monday of each month. Leadership Council meets monthly.

From Leadership Council and Ministry Teams

142 pairs of glasses were collected and donated to Lens Crafters. Awesome! ZUMBA for ages 3-93 will resume on Wednesdays. December 2, 9, and 16. Family Life team is getting ready for our community Thanksgiving meal. Forty people have volunteered to help. The team hopes to serve 50+ people. Leadership Council has approved a mission statement and core values statement that will be presented to the congregation at the annual meeting on December 6.

November Update

In the Loop Kindness is everywhere. We have chosen this Christmas season to encourage and inspire kindness whenever and wherever possible. Beginning November 29, there will be an empty manger sitting in the lobby near the Welcome Center. It is our hope to fill the manger with hay before Christmas, so Baby Jesus will have a comfortable place to lay when he is born. Every time someone from our church does a random act of kindness, a piece of hay will be added to the manger. We invite you to visit the manger where the children of the church will be on hand between services to assist you. You will be asked to write your act of kindness on a piece of paper. You will then be given a piece of hay to add to the manger. Please help as we share acts of kindness with our family, our friends, and our community.

Acts of Kindness Children’s Ministry

FYI

Starting November 29, the children of the church will be making Christmas ornaments for four weeks during the Sunday School hour. They will begin the hour with a short lesson, and then will make ornaments to decorate their tree downstairs in the Children's Department. We encourage the children to join us as we celebrate the Christmas season.

Christmas Ornaments COGL Kids

HAVEN Cookie and Candy Exchange

Wednesday, Dec. 9

The women will meet at 6:30 pm at Robin Bender's home. Please bring 6 dozen cookies or candies to exchange. Coffee and tea will be provided as we taste test the goodies. Bring a container to take home your share of the cookies and candy. Sign up on the sheet in the hallway.

Winter Weather Weather delays and cancellations

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 2, 9, 16 ZUMBA exercise class SATURDAY, Dec. 5 Christmas Bag Surprise SUNDAY, Dec. 6 One Worship Service Fellowship luncheon Congregational Meeting WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9 HAVEN Cookie/Candy Exchange SUNDAY, Dec. 13 Faith Friendship Ministries Christmas Party TUESDAY, Dec. 15 FLOW THURSDAY, Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Services

Calendar of Events

Happenings

It’s that time of year when the weather gets cold, the snow begins to blow, the ice begins to form, and delays and cancellations are sometimes inevitable! Stay informed of what is happening when you have a concern about weather conditions impacting our church family events. During the week, our offices will be open from 8:30 to 2:30 pm unless the Hempfield School District delays or cancels school. We will follow their lead in terms of closing or opening later. For cancellations and postponements of evening and weekend events… Call the church office and when the greeting comes on,

press 3 on your phone keypad to hear the latest mes-sage regarding church programming updates.

On your computer and/or smartphone check your email for updates from our church database system. Also check the WGAL website www.wgal.com (Channel 8 News website) and www.wjtl.com (local Christian radio station website).

Listen to the radio and tune into WJTL, FM 90.3 and WDAC, The Voice 94.5 FM for updates on cancellations and postponements of church events.

Annual Congregational meeting

Sunday, December 6

Please note the change in our regular Sunday morning schedule. We have Sunday school and one combined worship experience with lunch in the MPR followed by our annual congregational meeting.

9:15 am Sunday school for all ages 10:30 am Combined worship hour with Communion 12:00 pm Lunch in the MPR with meeting to follow