Christmas In The Village
It will be here before we know it (and it may be gone by the time some of you receive this newsletter!). We send out a big THANK YOU to all of you who provided our soups, cookies, and other foods for the evening. If the weather permits, we could serve 150-175 people. Also, thank you to Greg for coordinating getting the float ready amid our snow and cold on Sunday. If you are reading this before Dec. 1, then we anticipate a great evening. If you receive this after Dec. 1, we had a great time serving and participating in the parade. (It’s so hard writing an article prior to an event but reading about it after the event.)
 
Nominations for Elders and Deacons. As we mentioned last month, we got behind in preparing for the selection of leadership, so we postponed it for a month. Brian Eidson is chairing the nominating committee. He will announce the rest of his committee soon. If you have nominations for either elder or deacon, please give their names to Brian.
 
Caffeine, Calories, and Conversation. For the past several years, we have held our annual congregational meeting on Sunday evening. It was too difficult to try to have it immediately after the morning service, so we moved to the evening, where we had more time to discuss matters. This year, our annual meeting will be on January 14, at 6:00 pm. We will select our elders and deacons, discuss our budget, and consider some plans for the next year. You also have the opportunity to ask our leadership any questions.
 
Budget. What is the difference between a family budget and a church budget (other than the possible amount of money involved)? The main difference is with a family budget you know how much money you have to work with, especially if you have a salary with a prescribed amount of income, and you budget accordingly. With a church budget, you do not know how much money you will receive during the year, so you prepare a budget of what you think your expenses will be, and pray.
 
As of the end of October, our budget called for an income of $122,199.60, and our actual income was $101,719.70. The good news is, all our bills are paid. How did we do that? We have some folk who decided they wanted to give money to the church (above their regular offering) to be used for whatever the church needed it for. We have been putting this money into a Discretionary Fund to be used wherever needed. Some of it has been used to help pay the bills. Some of it has been used for special needs, such as the nursery construction, the stained-glass windows, and other special projects that were not budgeted but needed to be done. We also set aside 10% of that income for missions.
 
We view all money received as given to the Lord, and we do our best to use it wisely for the Lord’s work. We are grateful for all who are able to give, regardless of the amount. Thank you for your faithfulness.
 
Thanks for reading,
 
Rick

Our next Community For Christ Assistance Center
volunteer day is on
Saturday, December 2nd
9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Sunday, December 24th at 10:00 am
The ABC’s Of Christmas
We will be having an interactive program for our Morning Worship on Christmas Eve morning. This program is for all ages! We are looking for many volunteers to read short, easy parts. We need someone willing to light candles at the appropriate times. And we need three exuberant individuals to be “team leaders”. Please let Gay know if you are willing to be a part of this program.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Sunday, December 24th at 6:00 pm

We will not have a
 Family Fellowship Carry-in in December.