Weekly calendar for the week of January 22

Tomorrow (Tuesday, January 23) from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. is Walk N Talk. All grown-ups are welcome to visit, use the gym or building for walking, etc., or just unwind with a cup of coffee and a seat in the Gathering Place. Kindly enter through the glass elevator door. Open hours for the door will be 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Our monthly food giveaway is this Friday. Volunteers are requested to arrive at the Narnia Room by 10:00 a.m. The pantry is open to all Blair County residents starting at 11:00 a.m.

Chocolate mint candies, peanut butter candies, and covered strawberries are available for purchase. Retrieve on February 13 between noon and 2:00 p.m., or on February 14 during business hours. A dozen strawberries costs $12, a box of chocolate/PB candies costs $10, and a box of chocolate/mint candies costs $12. The Youth Group Mission Trip is the beneficiary of all proceeds.

Sign up by January 31 to attend the Valentine’s Social on Saturday, February 10 at 6:00 p.m. You can have dinner (spaghetti or cheese-stuffed shells), choose between meatballs or chicken parmesan, salad, dessert, beverage for $10 per person. You also get entertainment and photo opportunities.

We will start our Lenten journey on February 14, Ash Wednesday. Ash will be distributed between 8:45 a.m. and 9:20 a.m., and after the ROCK, there will be a service that starts at 7:10 p.m. and includes ashes, communion, and worship.

Fish Dinners will start on Friday, February 16. Additional details will be available soon! To help with preparation and serving, volunteers are needed. If you would like to lend a hand, please contact Sherry Koelle!

By the end of the week, emails and mailers with the February newsletters and calendars will be sent out. Keep an eye out!

Weekend announcements for January 20

Join us on Sunday as we continue our series “The Names of God” with the message “El Shaddai.”

Nic Harclerode leads Youth Group Sunday School, which meets in the Youth Room from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. All students in grades 6–12 are invited!

Sunday, after the 10:45 service, we will have a church potluck lunch. Everyone is welcome; please bring a dish to share if you can! Meal will start around noon.

You are invited to a Valentine’s Social on Saturday, February 10, beginning at 6:00 p.m. For $10, you can get cheese-stuffed shells or spaghetti, meatballs or chicken parmesan, salad, bread, and dessert. Sign up by January 31.

Place your Valentine’s Day candy orders! Order forms for chocolate-covered strawberries and mint or peanut butter truffles can be found on the round table in the sanctuary.

Junior Church is in need of snack donations. Bring them in on Sunday or during office hours. Every week, there are approximately 20 children, and they consume a large number of snacks during this time. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Announcements for the week of January 16

Our Soup & Sandwich Luncheon is this Saturday from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., all are welcome for this free lunch, dine in or take out.

Sunday, January 21 is our Potluck Lunch following the 10:45 service. If you’d like to attend but forgot to sign up, let Jill know and she’ll will mark you down.

On Saturday, February 10 there will be a Valentine’s Social at 6:00 p.m. at the church. For $10 you get dinner, entertainment and more! Sign up to attend by January 31 on the round table in the sanctuary.

Sunday, February 11 will be our SOUPer Bowl to benefit the 2nd Ave Food Pantry. Start collecting your soups and canned goods to bring in this day!

Weekend announcements for January 13

This Sunday, we begin a new sermon series called “The Names of God.” This week’s message is “I AM” (Exodus 3:1-15).

Youth Sunday School resumes this week. Kids in grades 6th – 12th are invited to the Youth Room from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. If you have any questions, please see Nic Harclerode.

Join us for Walk N Talk on Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.!

Next Sunday, January 21, we will have a Potluck Lunch following the 10:45 service. Sign up today!

Valentine’s Day Candy: Order chocolate-covered strawberries, peanut butter truffles, and mint truffles now! Order forms are available at the round table in the sanctuary.

Valentine’s Social: Saturday, February 10, 6:00 p.m., here on 2nd Avenue. For $10, you can enjoy a delicious dinner, photo opportunities, entertainment, and more! Sign up at the round table in the sanctuary before January 31.

Save the date! Saturday, March 9, we will pack meals for Rise Against Hunger.

Please take note that the church office will be closed on Monday, January 15, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will open again on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m.

Weekend Announcements for January 6

A reminder pertaining to weather:
Please remember to always put your own safety first!

  • During the week, the church’s office and activities follow the AASD with delays and cancellations (or virtual days).
  • If there are any changes to the worship service on Sundays, we will send an email, post on Facebook, and try to get the information on WTAJ. (However, your safety comes first; please use your best judgment when deciding whether or not to attend church; we have a livestream as well as a podcast)

Join us on Sunday as we wrap up the “Light Shines In The Darkness” series with this week’s message, An Anxious Search. Services resume at 8:15/10:45 a.m., with Sunday school from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The nursery will be staffed at 10:45, and Jr. Church will resume as well.

Jr. Church is in need of snacks, juice bags, and small waters. They were depleted during pageant practice because they had over 30 children most weeks. Donations can be dropped off in the Jr. Church room on Sundays or during office hours.

On the round table are sign-up sheets for our Potluck Lunch on January 21st and the Valentine’s Social on February 10th.

Orders for Valentine’s Candy are also available at the round table; this year, in addition to chocolate-covered strawberries, truffles are also available to order.

The ROCK is back in action this week for kids ages 4 to 12th grade! The ROCK is open from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. If you have any questions, please contact Ashley.

Nic Harclerode has officially joined our team as our Youth Leader. Youth is usually held on Sundays from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., and all children in grades 6th – 12th are welcome.

Announcements for the week of December 18

It’s hard to believe Christmas is coming up on Monday! We hope you can join us on Sunday, December 24, for our 4th Sunday of Advent service at 9:30 a.m. and our Christmas Eve services at 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The nursery will be open as a cry room for children aged three and under, and children are welcome at all three services.

Tomorrow is our Christmas gift and meal giveaway for those who have signed up at our Food Pantry. Thank you so much for all of your contributions to this ministry. If you’d like to assist, please arrive between 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. The giveaway will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The church office will be closed for a short time on Wednesday in the mid-morning (We will post when we will be closed and when we will reopen on Facebook). If you need to visit the church on Wednesday, please contact the church office to make prior arrangements.

The 3 Heath Brothers will perform a Christmas concert this Wednesday evening. The show starts at 7:00 p.m., with doors opening at 6:00 p.m. Tickets can still be purchased through their website. If you are having trouble purchasing tickets online, Jill can still assist you today and tomorrow. https://3heathbrother.com

We debuted the 2023 Church Christmas Card yesterday before the service; here is a link to view it Christmas Card! Paper copies will be available here for Sunday and mailed to those who are unable to attend church.

If you ordered a poinsettia but won’t be here on Christmas Eve, you can pick it up Thursday (please arrive by 12:00 p.m.)

Yesterday’s service (excluding the pageant) is now available on YouTube and will be available on Spotify later today.

The office will be closed and staff will be on vacation from December 22 to January 2. Please contact Pastor Brian directly if you have a pastoral emergency.

Weekend announcements for December 16

We will celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent this Sunday, December 17, starting with a combined worship service at 10:00 a.m. The 2nd Ave Kids pageant, new members, traditional and contemporary music will be featured during this service. From 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., there will be coffee, cookies, and punch. The church Christmas card will be displayed at 9:55 a.m., just prior to the start of the service.

The children’s pageant will not be streamed or recorded; however, the livestream will begin at the conclusion of the pageant.

The Christmas Offering envelopes are now available in the sanctuary. The Christmas donations placed in the envelopes will be used to fund the March 2024 Rise Against Hunger event.

Don’t forget to look for Christmas cards for yourself and your family on the card table!

If you ordered a poinsettia but are unable to attend church on Sunday, December 24, you can pick up your poinsettia the following Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The 3 Heath Brothers will perform a Christmas concert on Wednesday, December 20 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are still available, but must be purchased in advance via their website. https://www.3heathbrothers.com

The church office will be closed for a short time on Wednesday in the mid-morning (We will post when we will be closed and when we will reopen on Facebook). If you need to visit the church on Wednesday, please contact the church office to make prior arrangements.

The January newsletter has been mailed. Paper copies are available at the round table in the sanctuary, and email copies will be delivered next week.

Announcements for the week of December 11

The ROCK will hold their Christmas celebration this Wednesday evening. Thank to you everyone who donated so each child gets a present from the ROCK! They will be off for Christmas break until January 10th after this week. 

Saturday is the final Soup & Sandwich Luncheon of 2023! Thank you to everyone who volunteered and made soup this year and came out to serve. All are welcome to this free lunch from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Sunday will be the 2nd Ave Kids Christmas Pageant; the service begins at 10:00 a.m. and we will premier the church video Christmas card around 9:55 a.m. Don’t be late! We will hold coffee hour from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (church doors will open at 9:00 a.m.).  A reminder that kids in the pageant need to arrive at 9:15 a.m. to prepare!

Service Times Reminders

As we near the end of the year, we wanted to remind you of the service times through the end of 2023.

This Sunday will be the last day of the year when we will hold both the 8:15 and 10:45 a.m. services.

We will have one service at 10 a.m. on Sunday, December 17th, which will include our 2nd Ave Kids Christmas Pageant.

We will have one morning service at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 24, followed by our 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Christmas Eve services. The organ, etc., will be present at the 4:30 PM service, and the Praise Band will be present at the 7:00 p.m. session; both PM services will include candle-lighting.

We will have one service on Sunday, December 31 at 9:30 a.m.

There will be no Sunday School or Jr. Church from December 17 to December 31, and the nursery will only be open as a cry room.

On Sunday, January 7th, the worship services will resume to their regular times.

If you have any questions, please contact the church office.

Please be advised that the office will be closed from December 22 to January 1.

Weekend announcements for December 9

We will continue our series “Light Shines in the Darkness” with this week’s message That Life Was the Light. The sermon’s Bible verse is John 1:1-5.

This will be the last Sunday we have services at both 8:15 & 10:45 AM until January.
(There will not be Sunday school or a staffed nursery December 17, December 24 or December 31)

Reminder: Kids in the pageant are to be here at 9:30 AM this Sunday for dress rehearsal in the sanctuary! 

Sunday is the final day to sign up for the church Christmas card! The video card will be shown at approx. 9:55 AM next Sunday December 17 before the pageant and be emailed out the following day.

Monday is our music recital here at the church. All are welcome to come get into the Christmas spirit with pianists, trumpets, vocalists and a sing a long! We will have cookies and punch as well. (The church office is closing at 1:00 PM as we prepare for this event). The music will begin at 5:30 PM. 

Tuesday, December 19 is our Christmas Blessing shop for those who signed up for help. Thanks to all your donations we are going to be able to help quite a few families this year! Volunteers are needed and asked to arrive around 9:00 AM for set up. 

Poinsettias will be delivered on December 21. If you know you will not be here December 24 and would like to pick yours up on December 21,  please call the church office to make arrangements.

Church office hours are Monday – Thursday 8:00 AM – 2 PM; we will be closed December 22 through January 1.