The Presbyterian Church in Burlington, Massachusetts --- 01803

On Saturday, January 22, 9:00 - 12:00, all active elders and deacons, and the officers-elect chosen by the congregation at its annual meeting, will meet at the church for a morning of orientation. We'll pay special attention to the Presbyterian understanding of ordination and a look at the current work of these two boards. Please let Rod MacDonald know if you are unable to attend.

The next day, Sunday, January 23, new elders, deacons and trustees will be ordained and installed to their offices during worship. This is an occasion for great solemnity and rejoicing for Presbyterians! Be sure to be there to pray for and support those whom God and the church have called.

(Snow dates for the above: January 29 & 30)

including the Deacons for our sanctuary décor; our Advent Visitors/Candlelighters (and Millie Wiegand for scripts); our choirs and special musicians, under Nancy's direction; our Carolers; the stable-setters and Nativity Tableaux (Christmas Eve) participants; all who served at the Wish Tree (especially Laurel Collins, who coordinated volunteers for People Helping People). You all helped to make a meaningful time more so. Communion and Family Service
January 2 10:30 A.M.

This service will offer the opportunity for parents and children to share Communion together, to begin the new year. Something new: Parents of children in K - Grade 2 will have the option of having children leave for class activity after Word for Children or remain in sanctuary. Older children and youth should plan to remain. As always, there will be class activity for Preschool, and Nursery Care.

January 15 (snow date January 22)
1:30 pm - Ice Cream Sundaes
2:00 pm Call to Order
Fellowship Hall

(If weather appears to be a factor, there'll be a message on the answering machine by 11 am).

The Annual Meeting of the Congregation and Corporation of our church is one of the most important times we gather outside of our regular Sunday worship. All members of our church family are most Presbyterian-ly urged to come, for business and fellowship!

According to church bylaws, the meeting is held on the third Saturday of January. It will again be in the afternoon. This is to make for easier winter traveling and avoid a late evening for families with young children. Childcare will be available. Kidz Comings will have a video party in the youth room.

Moderator Rod MacDonald will call the meeting to order. Following brief devotions there will be reviews of the life of our church in the year just past, election of officers (candidates for elders, deacons, trustees, and member-at-large to next year's Nominating Committee will be presented by the Nominating Committee); review of the budget for 2005 and approval of pastoral terms of call. Chairperson of the Trustees, Steve Ross, will conduct the meeting of the Corporation.

Annual Reports will be available to the congregation on Sunday, January 9 thanks to the coordination of Session Clerk Mary Anne McDonald. Nominees for office to be presented by the Nominating Committee will be included. COME ONE, COME ALL! Exercise your Presbyterian right and responsibility!

Kidz Krazyness - Music & Magic & Messiness were all part of the fun for the Kidz Comings Youth Group this fall. We started out in September by learning a bit about other faiths and attending the community-wide Celebration of Cultures and Faiths, where we heard lots of musical groups and saw some beautiful dancing. Then at our October meeting we had a fun and crazy time learning tricks. We even learned a bit of science, thanks to the help of Jane & James McIninch, who demonstrated several chemistry tricks. Thanks, Jane & James.

The messiest meeting of the year (so far) was the third-annual gingerbread-house-decorating festival in December. The older Cool Comings youth group (led by the McIninches and the Flynns) once again kindly invited us to join them for this mania, at which sixteen youth built houses to be auctioned to benefit Habitat for Humanity. Special thanks to Millie Wiegand, Jennifer Ross, and Becky Rone, who did the hazardous duty of joining in as chaperones for this event. Thanks also to Laurel Collins, who has been a special help at two of the meetings this fall and plans to continue her involvement into the spring.

Next up for the Kidz is a video party in the youth room during the annual meeting on January 15. To vote for your favorite video, or if you have a child in grades 2-6 and would like more information about the group, contact Judy Silver at judysilver @ comcast.net.

And, last but not least, WELCOME BACK COLIN!!

Such a busy season that has just passed us! Happy New Year from The Deacons! We just wish to let you know a few things and thank you for a few things. Many thanks to Peggy Derrick (Pastor at the United Church of Christ, Congregational in Burlington) for all her hard work on the Thanksgiving intake and for extending the invitation from her church to sort the food items for the baskets. The People Helping People organization provided 100 baskets of food to families in the community who needed them. There was an overabundance of every item on the list requested. This made for a happy Thanksgiving for all of those families. There were a lot of non-Thanksgiving food items collected as well which replenished the pantry in general food items. Thank you to all from our church who helped in the processing and transporting of food for this Thanksgiving offering.

Special Thanks to all of you who took cards for pajamas and underclothes for children whose families were in need of help this Christmas. As usual, it was so successful that even more cards were requested as we ran out! And thank you also for your cash donations which helped the Wish Tree tremendously to purchase additional items needed, such as wrapping paper and gifts on cards that were not taken.

This Christmas People Helping People's Wish Tree provided gifts for 139 children in 75 families. PHP's goal was to provide 3 wishes for each child. Wishes not obtained as gifts were purchased by PHP volunteers. Other volunteers from churches and organizations in Burlington staffed the Wish Tree table at the Burlington Mall during early December. The Deacons wish to thank all BPC volunteers. Our church was well represented at the Wish Tree, filling all of our time slots as usual!

January 12 at 7:00 P.M.
These services of evening prayer are offered on a once-a-month basis. The emphasis will be on quiet reflection and prayer, with opportunity for individual prayers for healing and peace. Plenty of music will be included, in the same spirit. If you would like to be part of leading, or providing music for, these services, please contact Brenda Flynn, Joan Ross, or Rod MacDonald. Do consider bringing a friend who might be searching for the peace that God can give. Pledges of money, time and talents were dedicated during our Harvest of Offerings service on November 21. If you have not taken the opportunity to pledge to our shared ministry, please don't forget. Our mission depends on all of us! If you need pledge materials, contact the church office. Pledge cards, and time & talent pledges, may be placed in the Sunday offering or sent to our treasurer, Jim Brunner.