Announcements for the week of January 11, 2009

The First Sunday after Epiphany

MISSION STATEMENT
The Church of the Holy Spirit (Episcopal) shares the love of Jesus through being a friendly community, participating in liturgically rich worship experiences, and by empowering individual ministries.

WORSHIP NEWS

WELCOME NEWCOMERS AND VISITORS
Please feel free to join us at the communion rail when it is time to receive Holy Communion. Our ushers and any member will be happy to assist if you have any questions during our worship. Jesus loves you! We are glad you are here.

Weather and Office Hours: With the change in weather, it is once again time to remind you that if the Bellevue Schools are closed, the church office will be closed. To see if weather or road conditions impact our weekend services please check our website and watch KETV’s scrolling closures for the latest updates.

YOUTH

Winter Activities Abound! Please mark your calendars for two Youth activities coming up on Jan 18 and Feb 15. On 1/18, we’ll venture to Motto McLean Ice at Hitchcock Park for an ice skating outing. All of the area rinks open a little later than our normal outings occur, so this ice skating trip will occur from 2:30-4:30pm that day. More details will follow about when to meet at the church, etc. and a sign up sheet will be passed this Sunday so we can plan for rides each way. On 2/15, we’ll host our annual Valentine’s Bake Sale fund-raiser to raise funds for our activities and to contribute to Ian Tuttle’s Eagle Scout God Play Room project. Plan to bake goods and then sell our wares that morning. Watch the bulletin for more information!

CHRISTIAN ED

Lost and Found: There are many coats, gloves and scarves that have been left here at church. They are on the table in the conference room. Please check and see if anything belongs to your family. They will be taken to the Siena Francis House on Monday, January 26. Thanks

We have a needs list for Journeys! I may request some specific items for specific weeks. We have our own shelves in the freezer and refrigerator so if you bring anything perishable they can be put in the appropriate place. Any non-perishable items can be put on the counter in my office. Copies of the list are on the clipboard table and one is posted on the big bulletin board in the undercroft.

COMMUNICATIONS

The 3D Group (Diet, Discipline and Discipleship) starts up again Saturday, January 10th beginning at 10am in the conference room. See Pat Tarleton for more information, or come join us!

ANNUAL MEETING
The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Sunday January, 25th beginning at 11:45 am. All members of CHS are encouraged to participate.

MEMBERS OF THE VESTRY
Reports were due on Wednesday, Jan 7. If you haven’t gotten your report in yet, please do so now so it can be included in the booklet. Thank you! Judy

THE BISHOP IS COMING!! THE BISHOP IS COMING!!Please join us this evening (Sunday, Jan 11th)at 5 pm to celebrate Fr. Tom’s installation as our new rector. A short reception will follow. Childcare will be provided.

MUSIC AT CHS
On Wednesday, January 21, beginning with dinner at 6:30, there will be a meeting to discuss the future of music here at CHS. We will eat with the folks from Journeys, who will provide the main course. All who come are asked to bring a side dish or a dessert to share.

VESTRY NOMINATIONS
Each year the vestry seeks out members of our parish who feel called to take an active role in the leadership of our community and who are willing to fill vestry positions being vacated as other’s terms of service come to an end. If you think God is calling you to serve in this capacity, or you see this gift in a member of our parish, please contact Dean Olander or Fr. Tom.

WEB SITE CHANGES
In February we will be changing over to a different web site provider. In the process we are planning to update the information our site contains. If you chair a ministry at CHS, please forward a brief description of your ministry, how often it meets, and a photo (if possible) of your ministry team in action to Kim Culp by January 15th at vkculp@cox.net. There will be a site organization meeting on Monday evening January 19th beginning at 7:00. If you have computer skills and would like to be part of this team, please contact Kim Culp or Fr. Tom.

TIME AND TALENTS FOR 2009
Please submit your Time and Talents sheet for 2009, letting us know what ministries you are or would like to participate in. There are surveys on the clip board table and a box for them. In addition, there is a copy on the web site at:
http://www.chsepiscopal.org/programs/index.html.

YEAR END STATEMENTS
Year end financial statements are available and those not picked up will be mailed out this week. Giving envelopes are available for pick up in the undercroft. Please be sure to submit the Initial offering to cover the cost of the envelopes. If anyone would like a set of envelopes who did not receive, please see Ruth Richter or call the office at 291-7732.

LENTEN PROGRAM
Time to start thinking ahead to our Lenten Program. I am thinking of a program centered around music used in worship. The idea is to learn about a few hymns each week (maybe a little about their history, the composer, the time of year or season the hymn is typically sung) and then to practice it so to become familiar with it. I am looking for some help with this program. If you would like to learn how you could help please grab me during coffee hour or call the office at 291-7732.

I understand that CHS tradition has normally had the Lenten program on Wednesday evenings and that it begins with a soup supper. I would like to hear your opinion about the possibility of having our program on Sunday evenings. We could start at 5:00pm with the traditional soup supper and begin our program session at 5:30ish. This would allow the folks involved with Journeys to attend and would alleviate a conflict we have for the first week with the Journey’s group. It would also end early enough that youth who attend are not kept out late on a school night.

Our prayers of thanksgiving are offered with those who are celebrating birthdays this week, especially: Bill Cornell (Jan 11), Sue McKinney (12), A.J. Culp (13).

Lt. Col. Timothy M. Sipowicz, Commander, 97th Intelligence Squadron cordially invites you to attend a military ceremony honoring
Master Sergeant Phillip G. Scarbrough
on the occasion of his retirement from the USAF on Friday, 23 Jan 2009
at 3:00pm in the afternoon - Nebraska Room in Patriot Club - Offutt AFB

Military ~ Uniform of the day - Civilian ~ Business Casual
Reception to follow