Our mission is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people through Worship, Education, Service to our Community and our world, Fellowship, Caring and Prayer. Christmas Eve at Faith This Christmas Eve, Faith will once again offer three opportunities to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Whichever service you plan to attend, please remember to invite your family and friends to join in the joy of Christ's coming. Special invitations designed by our very own Jean Lewis are available in the narthex. Our first-and most popular-service will be a family service at 5:30 PM. We will sing favorite Christmas carols, hear the Christmas story read, enjoy special music from "The Fabulous Churchettes" and receive an inspiring message for the children from the illustrious Zack the Bear. Holy Communion is not celebrated at this service. The family service lasts approximately forty-five minutes, and should offer ample time to get the young ones home and in bed. At 7:30 PM, we will observe a contemporary service led by Faith's Praise Team. There will be Holy Communion and candle-lighting, Traditional candlelight mass will be celebrated at 11:00 PM. This service will feature traditional liturgy and some special music. However you plan to celebrate the birth of Christ this year, don't neglect to worship with your brothers and sisters here at Faith. COOKIE EXCHANGE Sunday, December 11, 12:30 PM. What is a cookie exchange and what are our rules? Sorry, Ladies ONLY ...NO men or children under 18. At our party, everyone brings a large batch of cookies. Each person must bring a different kind of cookie (no duplicate recipes are allowed).; All cookies must be homemade, no mixes. Everyone gets to take home an assortment of cookies. Bring at least 4 dozen cookies of one kind. (for most recipes, this is a double batch. Cookies don't have to be big.) Arrange your cookies in a basket or on a platter for the swap. Variety is key; no two people can make the same kind of cookie. First come, first serve on reserving a type of cookie. So hurry and sign up. Cookies must be easily transportable. Bring an empty container that will hold your take home cookies. To share your recipe, either send an email to the church office or bring along, so that we can make a copy for everyone. Just think ladies, all of your holiday baking will be done! So ... dress festive, and be ready to sing, laugh and have FUN! Women of Faith's Annual Christmas Bash Once again it's time to get into the holiday spirit with the Women of Faith. The annual Christmas Party celebration is scheduled for Thursday, December 15th at 6:30 PM at the Cottage Green (9001 Ashton Road). This is a party for all women, young and old, single and married. It's a festive time to relax and appreciate the holidays with other women. As always, there will be delicious food and the now-famous "Bid-and-Buy". Cost is $27.00 and should be paid to Women of Faith by December 11th (no exceptions). Sign up sheet on bulletin board. Council Highlights from the June Meeting The church website is still being updated by Pastor and George Tierney. Calling Post will be set up as soon as Bill Powell receives the list of phone numbers. Pastor will check with Shirley Wimmer concerning the status of shipment on our pictorial directories. Concrete by the flower garden is being worked on. Fran talked to Community Affairs officer Mueller. He will try to get us "NO LOITERING" signs. Parking: He suggests using a towing service. A discussion was held and it was decided to put a notice on cars advising them that towing will start soon. Fran will contact Lew Blum Towing. Diane will speak to Mr. Schmidt about continuing to plow and she will get back to us at the next council meeting. Pastor reported that average Sunday attendance is holding at about 92 per week. Dawn McHale approached Pastor about purchasing a large room divider, at a cost of more than $2,000. We want to wait until the downstairs room is painted and fixed up before making a final decision on what is to be purchased for that room. There has been a $2,000 donation, in Marlene Miller's memory, that might be used for this purpose. Once the room is finished we will check our financial condition and make a decision at that time. Pastor reported that he has forty-seven names listed for All Saints Sunday