Read the Current Aspire
Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church 30685 NW Scotch Church Road Hillsboro, Oregon 97124 Church Office: 503-648-9573 NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID HILLSBORO, OR 97123 PERMIT #58 Time-Dated Material NEWSLETTER OF THE OLD SCOTCH CHURCH December, 2014 Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church 30685 NW Scotch Church Road Hillsboro, OR 97124 Phone 503-648-9573 FAX 503-640-2561 [email protected] www.oldscotchchurch.org Office: Tuesday—Friday, 9:00 AM—1:00 PM In the beginning was the Word … Sundays Sunday School Worship Fellowship Hour Youth Group 9:00 AM* 10:00 AM 11:00 AM 6:00 PM* Wednesdays Choir Practice 7:00 PM* See calendar for additional events. (*summer hours may vary) The Word became flesh and dwelt among us … John 1a & 14a Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church ~ “old scotch” ~ DECEMBER 2014 Newsletter Forget Christmas? The article title is not one of those cute t-shirt slogans like "Got Milk?" The title gets at the question that might pass through our minds when the lines are too long, the budget implodes, and the relatives stay a day too long. So much of the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas is filled with stresses and tensions we'd rather forget. Sometimes that tempts us, if only briefly, to forget there is a Christmas, too. For pastors, the temptation might be a little different. In my case, I've spent 16 Christmases looking at the gospel texts and wondering how to re-awaken what people have already heard in a way that sheds the Christmas commercialism in favor of the Christmas child. That means I end up asking a lot of questions of the texts. This year, I couldn't read the texts without seeing the holes, the pieces of the story that are missing. Then I began to wonder less about what we do know about the birth narrative and more about all that we don't know. What was it like for John the Baptist to grow up with his fate already known and sealed? Having just read in the Old Testament about Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel with their infertility issues, what was it really like for Elizabeth to be married to the priest who was the town favorite and yet carry the shame of being childless? If Mary became engaged at the traditional time of when she 'came of age' did that make her about 13 years old ... the same age as my daughter? And how silent can the night be when shepherds are abandoning flocks on a star-chase and angels are making music in the heavens? Do you see what I mean? This season, I'm doing a lot of wondering about the holes in the text. My hope is that considering together what we don't know will help us engage more deeply with what we do know - that God came to be with us in an extraordinary way. For your reading in preparation for Sundays, here are our texts and list of what to forget: November 30 Luke 1, 3 Forget all you know about John the Baptist December 7 Forget all you know about Elizabeth Luke 1 December 14 Luke 1 Forget all you know about Mary December 21 Luke 2 Forget all you know about Bethlehem December 24 Luke 2 Forget all you know about that Silent Night (Services at 7:30 & 11) December 28 Forget all you know about Christmas Carols January 4 Luke 2 Forget all you know about Jesus as a boy Grace and Peace, Did you know the Aspire and weekly sermons are now available online? You can access them at: www.oldscotchchurch.org Youth News! Come join the adventure! As the season of Advent approaches, the Old Scotch Youth Group will focus our time together by studying the life and ministry of Jesus in three parts: Jesus as human, Jesus as teacher, and Jesus as Savior. I am excited to see how God will work through our youth as they continue to learn about and experience God’s unchanging love for us. The youth group had an exciting opportunity last month to attend a Christian based concert with thousands of others in the community. It was incredible to be gathered in one place with so many other people worshiping God. We ended the month by holding a parent meeting. One of the main topics on the agenda was to discuss possible mission trip dates and locations. Please pray for guidance as we plan a trip for our youth next summer. Here are some future events for the youth group! Zoo Lights Where: Oregon Zoo When: Saturday, December 13 Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Cost: $15 (Includes Zoo entrance ticket, MAX ticket, and hot chocolate) RSVP: Sunday, December 7 White Elephant Christmas Party Where: Old Scotch Youth Room When: Sunday, December 21 Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PM Bring: A wrapped gift with a value of $5 or less Here’s an exciting event for the children! Polar Express Movie Day What: All children are welcome to join us for a reading of Polar Express and watching the movie afterwards! Hot chocolate will be provided. Where: Old Scotch Fellowship Hall When: Sunday, December 21 When: 3:00 - 5:00 PM Please RSVP: There will be a sign up sheet in the Fellowship Hall throughout the month. And, don’t forget… Youth Group meets at the church every Sunday, 6-7:30 PM, unless listed otherwise! “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15 Blessings, Brian Gustafson Mark Your Calendar! January Deadlines EARLY THIS YEAR! As you may know, our office administrator, Jeff Uecker, will be out of the country from the end of January through early March. Rest assured, capable substitutes will be covering office business during that time, but January deadlines will be a bit earlier than usual. If you have information for the February or March Aspire or if you are turning in Annual Reports, please submit them by Friday, January 9 at the latest. Anyone who needs to beg or bribe for an extension can contact Jeff in the church office. Holiday Movie Day! All children are welcome to join us in the church Fellowship Hall Sunday, December 21, 3-5:00 PM for a reading of Polar Express and watching the movie afterwards! Hot chocolate will be provided. Please RSVP. There will be a sign up sheet downstairs in the Fellowship Hall after church throughout the month. Candlelight Worship Our annual Christmas Eve candlelight worship services will be held December 24 at 7:30 PM and 11:00 PM. They will include choir music, carols, scripture readings and singing by candlelight. Please join us for this very special worship time at the Old Scotch Church. Childcare is provided during the 7:30 PM service. Women's Service Guild Meeting Join us Saturday, December 27, at 10 AM as we gather to remove the Advent decorations and Christmas tree from the church. All are welcome! Women, Save the Date! Annual Women's Retreat at Tilikum: Saturday and Sunday, January 24 and 25. Look for more information in the January Aspire. Don’t Forget! MEN’S BREAKFAST The Men’s Breakfast meets the first Saturday of each month at Elmer’s restaurant. Come join us for conversation and a hearty meal. All men are welcome! For more information about Men’s Breakfast, contact Bruce Waller or the church office. Knitters The knitters meet most Thursdays at 7 PM, usually at Peggy Ploem’s home. Please check the monthly Aspire calendar for any weeks they may not meet. If you are new to the group, call Peggy to make sure of the location. All are welcome! COOKIE SUNDAY The last Sunday of each month is Cookie Sunday during Fellowship Hour. We invite you to bring your favorite cookies or healthful snack to share. Choir Choir meets every Wednesday at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary to prepare for Sunday worship. All who are interested in singing with us are welcome! News of Our Church Family Food Pantry Needs The following items are seldom, if ever, carried by the Oregon Food Bank, but they are always in demand at the William Temple House West Food Pantry: bath soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes, shampoo, jams and jellies, and cheese. Your contributions have been very generous and are greatly appreciated. Bill Graham Old Scotch Church Giving Tree Starting November 23, the Giving Tree will be up in the Fellowship Hall. We have the opportunity to brighten the Christmas holidays for four families in need in Washington County. Children ages range from four months to 17 years. Our tree will have specific gift tags for each member of the family. We suggest no more than $25.00 for purchase of a gift. Our tags will provide you a hint at what is either needed or wished for. Monetary donations to the Deacon Fund are accepted as gift cards to grocery stores will be added to our gift boxes to the families. Come down to the Fellowship Hall and choose a tag, sign the roster for the tag. Return the gift, wrapped with the tag attached no later than December 21. You can provide the hope and promise of the Season with your participation. Questions? Ask Nora Stevens or Fred Dolsen. This outreach is to relative foster families. Relative foster families are families (often Grandparents) who are caring for related children in the foster care program of the state. These families get no monetary assistance from the state for this care. New Giving Opportunity! Our church has registered to be a charity with Amazon, which yields us .5% of every purchase you make, at no cost to you. To use this charity option, please shop at smile.amazon.com instead of at amazon.com. Your regular Amazon account will apply, and the prices are exactly the same. For the first time you shop, select the link “Your Account” and then the “Choose your Charity” link. Search for our church under “Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church.” Once our church is selected, we simply receive a quarterly check from all the purchases of our members who use this site! Please remember us during your Christmas shopping! Adult Sunday School For Advent, Christian Education has purchased devotionals called Watch for the Light, with devotions written by a wide variety of excellent theologians and authors. Each Sunday, the class will gather and talk about what they learned in the week from the daily readings. Warm Clothes Donations We are again collecting donations of warm clothes and coats for the homeless. These donations go to the Sonrise Church's winter homeless program. Please put your warm clothes donation in the box in the Fellowship Hall by the elevator. If you have questions about the program, please contact Debi Knox. Thank you. Budget News We received $112.45 from Fred Meyer as a Community Partner donation for third quarter. Those funds have been approved to go in the Unruh Scholarship fund by Session for the 2014 year. As a reminder, if you have not already signed up to have Old Scotch designated as your Community Organization, please consider doing so by going on line at Fred Meyer and using OSC’s number 87052. Signing up does not affect your own personal award in any way! We are doing very well with our third quarter budget. Being very close to our budget is excellent as we are usually running quite a bit behind at the end of summer. Thank you for your support of the Old Scotch Church!! Terri Browning, Business and Finance Elder Alternative Gift Giving Through December 21, we will have a table during fellowship hour where you can purchase alternative gift options. Choices this year include: supporting orphanages in China or India, supporting the Old Scotch youth mission trip, William Temple House West, and Portland Women's Crisis Line. Please see the Alternative Christmas Wish List below for more details on specific projects. 2014 Alternative Christmas Wish List Organization Price Range Quantity @ Amount for Total Scotch Church Youth Missions (Mission in the church) $5 to $25 _____ _____ _________ _________ _________ _________ The Youth Group at Old Scotch Church, under the leadership of Brian Gustafson, is planning to do mission work for the 2015 summer. Your gift will help support a mission trip or day-long service projects. William Temple House Food Bank (Mission in the community) $10 to $25 _____ _____ _________ _________ _________ _________ Old Scotch Church has been an avid supporter of the William Temple House, which seeks to support low-income families with food and grocery needs. This support will be given to William Temple House for their greatest area of need, where just $10 buys $100 of food from Oregon Food Bank, or where non-food items such as toiletries can be purchased by a special rate from a local store. Portland Women’s Crisis Line (Mission in the community) $5 to $50 _____ _____ _________ _________ _________ _________ Portland Women’s Crisis Line, founded in 1973, was one of the first five sexual violence crisis lines in the United States. PWCL mainly provides services (e.g., crisis intervention, advocacy and support, safety planning, in-person response for survivors of sexual violence, information and referral, emergency housing resources, danger to safety transportation assistance, agency and community support groups) in Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties. Your support provides hygiene items, transportation assistance, basic living assistance, and self-care items for survivors. Support for China Orphan (Mission in the world) $5 to $500 _____ _____ _________ _________ _________ _________ Support for India Orphan s (Mission in the world) $5 to $500 _____ _____ _________ _________ _________ _________ Chris Macfarlane continues to work on behalf of children orphaned in China and Fuling Kids International ("FKI" - a US-based organization). Your contribution will help fund clothing/supplies for a child. $500 will provide care for one child for one year, but any gift of support is welcomed. In February, Jeff Uecker will once again travel to India to work with orphans. The children in the orphanages are there because of financial reasons, or abandonment. Your contribution will help fund personal supplies and other basic needs. YOUR NAME: ____________________________________ TOTAL ALTERNATIVE GIFT PURCHASE: _______________ (Please make checks payable to Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church) All gifts are tax-deductible, and will be calculated as such by our treasurer For your own Alternative Gift Shopping, we suggest Heifer International: Website: www.heifer.org/gift-catalog/index.html New Babies! Parents, Kendra and Alex, and sister Mathilda happily announce the arrival of Margaret Aisling Reid, born Monday morning, November 10, weighing in at 9 lb. 5 oz. And Caitlyn and Kyle Mitchel-Markley, with sister Corwyn, warmly welcome Carrick Danger Markley who was born Thursday, November 13, weighing in at 7 lb 1 oz. May God bless these new members of our church community and their families. Join a Group! Do you have a hobby or interest that would be fun to share with a few members of your church family? Perhaps you like to read, go on day hikes, do a particular craft, cook, etc. The Outreach and Membership Committee is encouraging you to organize a group! We would love to hear your idea and help facilitate getting it started. Please contact Sue Weinbender, Outreach and Membership Elder. Blessed Events! We love babies at the Old Scotch Church and we would like to honor and celebrate the births of member’s children and grandchildren by placing a rose on the piano during worship service. If you have news of a birth, please contact Sue Weinbender with details. Reminders in Our Service to God ELDER ON CALL FOR DECEMBER — Mike Charles COMMUNION SERVERS December 21 — Sue Foster, Brian Kinnear, Debi Knox, Alex Reid USHERS FOR DECEMBER Alternate Coordinator, David Bratton December 7 Dolsen/Stevens family December 14 Catherine Dolsen and Judi Eckersley December 21 Jon Jossy and Teresa Griffels Jossy December 24, 7:30 PM Charles Family 11:00 PM Weinbender Family December 28 Phyllis and Dolores Laners USHERS FOR JANUARY Alternate Coordinator, Elmer Mays January 4 January 11 January 18 January 25 Ellen Vanasche and Pete Dunn Ann Simmons and Sue Moore Elmer and Harriet Mays Duane and Sandy Zieman ASPIRE SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR THE JANUARY ISSUE – DECEMBER 15 Church Staff Rev. Tracie Bullis Pastor Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator Office Administrator Treasurer Choir Director Accompanists Session Leadership Clerk of Session Matthew Metz Business Administration & Finance Terri Browning Mission Chris Macfarlane Worship and Music Fara Laners Christian Education Mike Charles Cemetery David Bratton Outreach & Membership Sue Weinbender Building & Grounds Jean Moseley Fellowship Peggy Ploem Brian Gustafson Jeffry Uecker Katherine Kinnear Maurine Granat Meredith Bach, Judy Charles K.K. Friar, Kevin Upton Wedding Hostess Robi Knox Nursery Kelsey Brown Haley Knox Deacons Yvonne Arnoldi • Fred Dolsen • Sue Foster • Joan Johannes • Debera Knox • Dolores Fay Laners Cheryl McFadden • Peggy McShane • Ann Simmons • Nora Stevens • Cindy Uecker Our Cemetery OLD SCOTCH CHURCH CEMETERY PRICE STRUCTURE Members Non-members In-Ground* Regular, 4’x10’ lot $700 $1200 (double-depth burial allowed in unoccupied lot) Infant section, 4’x7’ lot $200 $500 Cremation, 2’x2’ lot $150 $300 (*These prices do not include opening of grave or fabrication and installation of marker. A $150 charge for recordkeeping is imposed for each interment.) Columbarium** Top row $750 $1100 Middle Row $700 $1050 Bottom Row $650 $1000 (**Additional inurnment and shutter fees apply. Additional record-keeping fee of $150 for each inurnment.) For more information about cemetery policies, please contact the church office or go to: www.oldscotchchurch.org/cemetery On a Lighter Note 3 7 PM - Knitters 4 Thursday 2 7 PM - Choir 11 Wednesday 1 7 PM - Worship & Music 10 Tuesday 7 PM - Scouts Court of Honor 9 7 PM - Choir Monday 8 7 PM - Session 18 12 19 26 Friday 6 Saturday 8 AM - Men’s Breakfast @ Elmer’s Restaurant 13 9:30 AM - Deacons 6 PM - Youth @ Zoo Lights 20 10 AM - Guild members take down Holiday decorations 27 Scouts Lock-in Church Office Closed Christmas Day 25 17 31 7:30 & 11 PM Christmas Eve Service 24 7 PM - Knitters 7 PM - Scouts 16 23 30 7 PM - Choir 11 AM - Staff 7 PM - Knitters 15 7 PM - Scouts January Aspire Submissions Due 22 29 No Choir this evening 5 This Month at Old Scotch—December 2014 Sunday 7—2nd Sunday of Advent 9 AM - Sunday School 10 AM - Worship 11 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:15 AM - Joy & Youth Choirs 11:15 AM - Scout Wreath Pickup 6 PM - Youth Group 14—3rd Sunday of Advent 9 AM - Sunday School 10 AM - Worship 11 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:15 AM - Joy & Youth Choirs 11:15 AM - Building & Grounds 6 PM - Youth Group 21—4th Sunday of Advent COMMUNION 9 AM - Sunday School 10 AM - Worship 11 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:15 AM - Joy & Youth Choirs 3:00 PM - Polar Express movie event 6 PM - Youth White Elephant party 28—1st Sunday after Christmas COOKIE SUNDAY 10 AM - Worship 11 AM - Fellowship Hour No Youth Group this evening
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