Food Bank
Needs: Specifically—cold cereal, rice or rice helpers, pasta, crackers, dry soup, and canned items, including soups, fruits, beans, baked beans, tomatoes, and tuna.

UCC Christmas Fund
This is the month we give a gift to the UCC Christmas Fund.  It supports retired ministers in various ways when they are in need. Your gift enables us to support this mission.

Adult Sunday School: The Redemption of Scrooge
The Redemption of Scrooge, an Adult Sunday School class being held in the Parlor during the 9:15 am service, will continue throughout the Advent season (until December 18.) We will be viewing short videos and discussing the old familiar story of Ebenezer Scrooge, identifying Jesus’ teachings as found within this classic novel. The three remaining studies will be broken down into the following chapters:

• The Remembrance of Christmas Past
• The Life of Christmas Present
• The Hope of Christmas Future

It is not required, but if you would like to purchase the book to have as part of the class, you can find it online on several websites. The title is: The Redemption of Scrooge: Connecting Christ and Culture and the author is Matt Rawle. The ISBN is 9781501823084, and it is published by Abingdon Press. Please see Cathy Kenlin or Carol Nielsen if you have any questions.

Children’s Sunday School—Christmas Eve
Attention children who are not already in the choir or in the 7 pm Christmas Eve service: your help is needed! We will need angels, shepherds, and sheep for this service. Please come early (15 minutes early), and as you arrive for the service, please go to the Parlor. There, we will have Sunday School teachers to help you pick out your costume. You will be guided to a leader of your group according to your costume in the back of the Sanctuary where you will be told when you need to come forward during the service.

New Beginnings
Ring in the Christmas season by enjoying some holiday “comfort” food and Christmas carols. This year’s annual Christmas Banquet and Carol Sing will be held in the Fellowship Hall on Friday, December 9^th at 12 pm. Transportation will be provided for Homestead residents. Residents will be picked up at 11:40 am. The cost is $20 per person. Please RSVP to Cathy Bernhardt by December 4^th.

Wishing Well
It is time for our holiday ministry to begin! Once again, we are partnering with the Apostles Community Preschool to gift students at Elizabeth Martin Elementary School. We are going to gift 80 students this year to help them have a merrier Christmas. Please consider participating in this wonderful ministry. There are gift tags on the Outreach bulletin board in the Narthex. Each tag has a child’s name, age or grade, and gender on it. Attached to each gift tag is a gift suggestion for that child. When you take a gift tag, please write your name directly on the poster board by the number that is on that tag. Please place your gift around the tree next to the bulletin board by Sunday, December 18. Please consider making the holiday a bit brighter for a student in our community this year! If you have any questions, please see Jane McCartney.

Blue Christmas Service
A “Blue Christmas” service will be held on Wednesday, December 7 at 7 pm. If Christmas is difficult because of a loss, come to this quieter Christmas service to still remember the wonder of God’s gift in Jesus Christ and acknowledge that Christmas no longer feels the same. Musicians participating in the service are Wade Walburn, cello; Jessica Kashetta, viola; Danielle Polizzi and Josiah Sanger, violin.

A “Blue Christmas” service will be held on  Wednesday, December 7 at 7 pm. If Christmas is difficult because of a loss, come to this quieter Christmas service to still remember the wonder of God’s gift in Jesus Christ and acknowledge that Christmas no longer feels the same.

Beginning the first Sunday in Advent, November 27, and continuing throughout the Advent season, The Redemption of Scrooge will be an Adult Sunday School class held in the Parlor during the 9:15 am service. We will be viewing short videos and discussing the old familiar story of Ebenezer Scrooge, identifying Jesus’ teachings as found within this classic novel. The four-week study will be broken down into the following chapters:

• Bah! Humbug!
• The Remembrance of Christmas Past
• The Life of Christmas Present
• The Hope of Christmas Future

 It is not required, but if you would like to purchase the book to have as part of the class, you can find it online on several websites. The title is: The Redemption of Scrooge: Connecting Christ and Culture and the author is Matt Rawle. The ISBN is 9781501823084, and it is published by Abingdon Press. Please see Cathy Kenlin or Carol Nielsen if you have any questions.

Food Bank
Needs: Specifically—cold cereal, rice or rice helpers, pasta, crackers, dry soup, and canned items, including soups, fruits, beans, baked beans, tomatoes, and tuna.

Market Basket
Now is the time to think of Christmas! Are you going to be baking more? Are you trying to think of a gift that people would use? Consider grocery cards. We have cards for Giant, Stauffers, and Weis in denominations of $20, $25, $50, and $100. The discount the stores give the church helps us to feed other people at the Saturday Morning Breakfast. On the first three Sundays in November (in the church office after church), you can pick up the cards you ordered in October, and you can also order what you need for December with a check or cash.

Help Needed
We will decorating the church for Advent and Christmas on Friday, November 25 and Saturday, November 26 from 9:30 am—12:00 pm. Many hands make light work, and we really need many hands to accomplish this! Please come and join us even if for only one hour. We have something for everyone to do. Please call Bernie Fickes at (717) 393-6644 to let us know we can count on you. Thank you so much!

UCC Christmas Fund
This is the month we give a gift to the UCC Christmas Fund.  It supports retired ministers in various ways when they are in need. Your gift enables us to support this mission.

Thank You!
Thanks to the efforts of dozens of volunteers, close to 600 quarts of soup were prepared this year. The bulk was sold by the bowl or quart at our bazaar with the leftovers being donated to Transitional Living Center, Parish Life Commission (for the garage sale and lunches with the pastors), and the Education Commission (for the youth dinner and Advent celebration meal). Proceeds from sales at the bazaar will be split between our general budget and support for outreach ministries throughout the upcoming year. This labor of love was only possible because of the efforts of all the volunteers who cut, chopped, cooled, stirred, loaded, unloaded, served, washed, dried, and cleaned for five days of bazaar week. Thank you!

Survivor’s Circle on Election Impact
Samaritan Safe Church Lancaster is hosting a Survivor’s Circle on Tuesday, November 29 at 6:15 pm to open up safe space for giving voice to any concerns this election period has raised up within sexual or domestic violence survivors. Light dessert will be available at 6:15 pm and the Circle will begin at 6:30 pm in the Community Room (lower level) at the Samaritan Counseling Center (1803 Oregon Pike, Lancaster.) Please RSVP by Friday, November 25 to Dianne Renfro at (717) 560-9989 x254 or via email to DRenfro@scclanc.org.

Thanksgiving Community Service
Church of the Apostles, and other local churches, will hold a Thanksgiving service on Tuesday, November 22 at 7 pm at Salem UCC of Rohrerstown (2312 Marietta Ave, Lancaster, PA.) Both Apostles Bells and Apostles Choir will be participating in the service.

Advent Workshop
The Advent Workshop will be held on Sunday, November 27 from 10:30 am—1 pm. Join us in the Fellowship Hall for crafts and snack while we make ornaments, decorate the West Lobby Christmas tree, create cards for shut-in members, and decorate cupcakes.

Children’s Sunday School—Christmas Eve
Attention children who are not already in the choir or in the 7 pm Christmas Eve service: your help is needed! We will need angels, shepherds, and sheep for this service. Please come early (15 minutes early), and as you arrive for the service, please go to the Parlor. There, we will have Sunday School teachers to help you pick out your costume. You will be guided to a leader of your group according to your costume in the back of the Sanctuary where you will be told when you need to come forward during the service.

Church of the Apostles UCC, in cooperation with other local churches, will hold a Thanksgiving service on Tuesday, November 22 at 7 pm.

Salem UCC of Rohrerstown (2312 Marietta Ave, Lancaster, PA) will host the service in their recently renovated sanctuary. Please join us during this time of thanks!

Food Bank
Needs: Specifically—cold cereal, rice or rice helpers, pasta, crackers, dry soup, and canned items, including soups, fruits, beans, baked beans, tomatoes, and tuna.

Market Basket
Now is the time to think of Christmas! Are you going to be baking more? Are you trying to think of a gift that people would use? Consider grocery cards. We have cards for Giant, Stauffers, and Weis in denominations of $20, $25, $50, and $100. The discount the stores give the church helps us to feed other people at the Saturday Morning Breakfast. On the first three Sundays in November (in the church office after church), you can pick up the cards you ordered in October, and you can also order what you need for December with a check or cash.

Congregational Meeting and Informational Meeting
COA’s Congregational Meeting will be held between services on November 20. If you have any questions about the Annual Budget, you are invited to bring them along to the informational meeting being held today by the Stewardship Commission in the Parlor between services.

Lunch with the Pastor
The next lunch and conversation with Rev. Giffen will be held in the Parlor following the second service on Sunday, November 20. It is our hope to enhance communication within the congregation, continue to develop our sense of community, and provide time for members to get to know Rev. Giffen on a personal level. Please RSVP to the church office at (717) 392-5718.

Thanksgiving Community Service
Church of the Apostles, and other local churches, will hold a Thanksgiving service on Tuesday, November 22 at 7 pm. Salem UCC of Rohrerstown (2312 Marietta Ave, Lancaster, PA) will host the service in their recently renovated sanctuary. Please join us during this time of thanks!

Advent Workshop
The Advent Workshop will be held on Sunday, November 27 from 10:30 am—1 pm. Join us in the Fellowship Hall for crafts and snack while we decorate the West Lobby Christmas tree, create cards for shut-in members, and decorate cupcakes.

The Redemption of Scrooge
Beginning the first Sunday in Advent, November 27, and continuing throughout the Advent season, The Redemption of Scrooge will be an Adult Sunday School class held in the Parlor during the 9:15 am service. We will be viewing short videos and discussing the old familiar story of Ebenezer Scrooge, identifying Jesus’ teachings as found within this classic novel. The four-week study will be broken down into the following chapters:

• Bah! Humbug!
• The Remembrance of Christmas Past
• The Life of Christmas Present
• The Hope of Christmas Future

It is not required, but if you would like to purchase the book to have as part of the class, you can find it online on several websites. The title is: The Redemption of Scrooge: Connecting Christ and Culture and the author is Matt Rawle. The ISBN is 9781501823084, and it is published by Abingdon Press. Please see Cathy Kenlin or Carol Nielsen if you have any questions.

On Wednesday, November 15 at 3 pm, Rev. Kathryn Kuhn will facilitate a group discussion on the life changes that follow the loss of a spouse. Recognizing that your journeys are all different, we thought this may be an outlet for you to find support and to support others in their respective experiences. We will have coffee and pastries for your enjoyment and hope you will seriously consider attending. Please call the church office at (717) 392-5718 if you would like to join us.

Food Bank
Needs: Specifically—cold cereal, rice or rice helpers, pasta, crackers, dry soup, and canned items, including soups, fruits, beans, baked beans, tomatoes, and tuna.

Market Basket
Now is the time to think of Christmas! Are you going to be baking more? Are you trying to think of a gift that people would use? Consider grocery cards. We have cards for Giant, Stauffers, and Weis in denominations of $20, $25, $50, and $100. The discount the stores give the church helps us to feed other people at the Saturday Morning Breakfast. On the first three Sundays in November (in the church office after church), you can pick up the cards you ordered in October, and you can also order what you need for December with a check or cash.

Congregational Meeting and Informational Meetings
COA’s Congregational Meeting will be held between services on November 20. If you have any questions about the Annual Budget, you are invited to bring them along to the informational meetings being held by the Stewardship Commission in the Parlor between services today and November 13.

Election Eve Prayer Vigil
The Lancaster Interfaith Coalition will be holding an Election Eve Prayer Vigil for Solidarity & Peace on Monday, November 7 from 5:30 pm-6:30 pm on the Fulton quadrant of Penn Square (intersection of King & Queen Streets.) The Coalition is inviting everyone in the community for word, music, and common prayer in silence in recognition of the tension surrounding this election cycle. All local candidates have also been invited to attend.

Wishing Well
We will continue to collect for the Apostles Assistance Fund until the middle of November. The needs are growing. Please consider taking a paper from one of the two posters and purchasing the item listed on that paper. Items are collected in the Wishing Well.

Calling All the Wonderful Bakers at Church of the Apostles
The choir members bake wonderful pies and apple dumplings, but ALL you folks bake the other delicious things for the bake table at the Bazaar. Cookies, cakes, breads, and all other great baked goods are very much appreciated by the choirs, and we ask for your support again this year. Please package cookies in plastic bags by the half dozen and supply the names of the items. We would also appreciate sheet cakes that are sold by the piece for dessert. Bring them to the Fellowship Hall after 4 pm on Friday, November 11. Thank you so much!

Bazaar Help Needed
This year, we will be honoring Al Bischoff, “The Pie Man,” for his efforts over the years. His family will continue their pie-making tradition in his memory. Saturday, November 12 will be a busy day for everyone involved. Help will be needed to cut up veggies, make soup, slice apples, make pies, etc. Volunteers of all ages are needed for handing out shopping bags at the doors, delivering food to vendors, handling money, and serving food to our shoppers. It’s a big operation and everyone young or older is needed to help make our Bazaar the best one in Lancaster County. Please call Doris Robb or Eileen Thomas to volunteer.

Help Needed for Bazaar Set-up
Eric MacLaren would appreciate volunteers to help move furniture out of rooms on Wednesday, November 9 at 5 pm to prepare for the Bazaar on Saturday, November 12. In addition, Eric would like help returning the furniture and room set-ups to their original locations at about 4 pm on Saturday after the Bazaar. If you can help, please call Eric.

An annual holiday bazaar of Church of the Apostles on the second Saturday of November each year that highlights over 60 juried craftspeople, a church members’ craft room, homemade soups, pies, sandwiches and beef barbecue in a bustling food court.

The Lancaster Interfaith Coalition started as an organization bringing together people from all faiths and no faith. Their first gathering was a vigil in solidarity with our Muslim Neighbors. 

Given the stress and strain of this election cycle, the Lancaster Interfaith Coalition wanted to gather our community again. You are invited to gather for common prayer in silence, word, and music.

Location: The Fulton quadrant of Penn Square (intersection of King & Queen Streets) in Lancaster, PA.