THE SEED NEWSLETTER

December 10, 2023

The last day for "Giving Tuesday" is Sunday, December 10th!  If you are interested, please be sure to give soon. 

You may donate through VANCO and/or write a check.  Please put "Giving Tuesday" in the note or memo line.

A big THANK YOU to all who have participated!

Circle of Love - Still on the Journey Together
~ Barbara Cheadle

Several members of the congregation have asked me if we are still actively engaged with the two Afghan refugee families that we helped get settled
into our Baltimore area community a couple of years ago. The short answer is - Yes. You may remember that our congregants donated everything needed to fully furnish their new homes. Through our Circle of Love volunteers, we helped them navigate the bureaucratic maze to get food and health care assistance, enroll the kids in school, sign up for English night classes, prepare job resumes, apply for Green Cards, and so much more. But the journey is not over. The acculturation process of becoming Americans takes time and there is much we can still do to help them navigate this process. I visited Zafar Bamyani and Nasima earlier this week to drop off some hand-me-down boy’s clothes from members of our church family. (I am glad to report that passing down outgrown kids clothes is still an American cultural practice, even among the most comfortable middle-class households, so I was delighted to introduce the Bamyani-Hasari family to this American custom.) Zafar had to leave - he was taking another Afghan neighbor to help him apply for food assistance for his family - but before he left he gave me this card to share with our church family:

“To Dear Church friends!
We appreciate the continued support of our dear friends in the church. We will never neglect your cooperation and we hope that one day we will be
able to cooperate and support with newly arrived immigrants [as] well.
Thanks.
from: Zafar, Nasima, Hakan, Alihan, Subhan and Shayan.”

Christmas Poinsettias

It is that time of year! If you would like to purchase Poinsettias to decorate our Sanctuary for Christmas, now is the time to put in that order. There will be a printed list for recognition on Christmas Eve and you can pick up your plant(s) after the service that evening.

Each Poinsettia is $14.00.

Simply CLICK HERE to reserve yours. https://forms.gle/6JQfs7hY5Pb8VTaVA

Christmas Concert Reception! December 17th

After this year's Christmas Concert, we hope you will join us for some refreshments at Christian Temple.  In order to make this reception a success, we will need volunteers!  Interested in making an item or two for the festivities?  If so, please use the following link to sign-up:   https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4BAEA82DA20-46439081-christmas#/        

Christmas Concert

Christian Temple's Christmas Concert will feature the musical gifts of our congregation. If you have been waiting for an open call for interest and have a favorite Christmas song to sing or play, please sign up below. We will get back to you and see if there is a slot available.

DECEMBER 17 - 6:00 PM

THANK YOU!!

CLICK HERE: https://forms.gle/Uun1hYNqTe5WE9pu7

Intergenerational Godly Play Sessions

Join us for some quality family & friends time!  Parents, grandparents, friends, and kids will experience Advent together this year in Godly Play.  The sessions will be held on Sundays throughout the month of December at 9:15am in the Chapel Room.  Join us as we learn and grow together!

COMING SOON!   Journey to Bethlehem - December 23rd (6pm - 8pm)

Before you know it... Christmas will be here!  Most of us think about gifts, family fun, decorating trees, and so on... but there is another side to this miraculous story.  On December 23rd, come on a journey with us and experience what happened along the way to Bethlehem. (Reservations for your trip through Journey to Bethlehem are encouraged.  We will have more information soon on how to reserve a spot.)

Although Mary & Joseph could not find any room in the Inn, we have plenty of room on our list for volunteers!  Please start thinking about how you might want to help out on this journey... 

If you are willing to volunteer, please sign-up using this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044AA8AD2DA7F58-46102105-journey#/

We need assistance on these dates: 

December 23rd (Noon - 4pm) To set up the rest of the stations;

December 23rd (5 - 8pm) To have actors ready to perform in the Journey to Bethlehem;

December 23rd (8-10pm), To take down everything but the Marketplace;

January 7th (1-6pm) To take down and store the Bethlehem Marketplace.

Please use the Sign-up Genius link above to volunteer for any of these volunteer positions!

Need more information? Please contact the coordinators below:

Amy Luking : amyschweitzerluking@gmail.com 

Matthew and Cathy Bloedorn at matthewbloedorn@gmail.com and catherine.bloedorn@gmail.com

Nominations, Anyone?

The Nominating Committee will soon begin work to nominate members of the congregation for leadership positions for the church year that begins in July 2024. The committee gives its recommendations to the Christian Temple Board for consideration at the January 2024 Board meeting. These positions include Moderator, Vice-Moderator, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Financial Secretary, Historian, Elder, Deacon, and Steward. If you are interested in any of these positions or would like to provide a name of someone you would like the committee to consider for one of these positions, please let one of the committee members know by November12. Feel free to call, email or talk to a committee member at church:

• Kathy Gobbel, Chairperson: 410-715-0323, kgobbel@comcast.net
• Donna Goon: 410-2072938, donna.goon@gmail.com
• Amy Luking: 410-419-9182, amyschweitzerluking@gmail.com
• Betty Moore: 410-314-9746, wbmoore@verizon.net
• Jean O’Donnell: 410-448-5952, jeanodonnell66@hotmail.com