Group Prayer Challenge!

At our session retreat last Thursday we had some conversation around prayer and how we might encourage one another to pray for our church, our community, and each other. Yet we are spread out and a very busy people so adding another "event" to come to the church and pray does not seem very practical.  

So what if we were to a set side a time one evening a week, like Thursday after dinner or right before bed, to pray if only for a few minutes, knowing that other people we know are doing the same thing? 

I think that could be pretty powerful. 

Some resources to use: 

  - The Bible, read a psalm (anyone who reads #151 gets a prize)

  - Prayer books

  - Devotionals like the Upper Room (available at church) or These Days (not available at church) 

  - The bulletin usually has a prayer for the week and a list of people related to our community who are in need of prayer. 

If you're in doubt about who or what to pray for here are some ideas.  

  - Turn on the news, open a newspaper, or internet news source...  

  - Pray for our church... (the session, deacons, congregants, people who we don't normally see, and the pastor) 

  - Pray for the lonely... (widows, widowers, those living far from home, the homebound, and those in nursing homes) 

  - Pray for the sick... 

  - Pray for yourself... 

  - List your highs and lows for the day or the week... 

  - Pray for your hopes and goals for the future...

  - Make a list of the things you are thankful about. 

  - Are there things you are worried about? Take it to the Lord in prayer. 

There are tons of things to pray about; close your eyes and think them, picture them, write them down on a sheet of paper, in a journal, or in a notebook. 

Prayer is important to our life together as a community of faith and in our relationship with God, so don't worry if you'll do it wrong; just do it!

Events for this WEEK at EBPC

Thursday: Individual Group Prayer after dinner or before bed. 

               6:30pm Choir Rehearsal 

Sunday: Worship 10:30am (remember to reset your clocks!) 

Hanging of the Greens

The Hanging of the Greens will take place on Sunday, November 25th following the worship service.  There will also be a coffee hour and a time of fellowship.  Please be sure to plan to stay and help out as many hands make light work.  This is a great kick-off to the holiday season and a fun time to spend with your church family decorating our church for the Advent season.

Choir Schedule

The choir will be performing during worship on November 4 & 18 and December 9.  The Christmas Cantata will be performed during worship on Sunday, December 23rd.  The choir will also perform during the Candlelight Christmas Eve service on December 24th at 7 PM.

Choir practice schedule:

Tuesday, October 23rd at 6:30 PM
Monday, October 29th at 6:30 PM
Tuesday, November 13th at 6:30 PM
Sunday, November 18th following worship
Monday November 26th at 6:30 PM
Saturday, December 22nd at 9:00 AM

Contact Mark Barie for more information.

Book Club News

The next book chosen by the book club is Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.

From Amazon.com:

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles--and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

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Lauded for his sensitive memoir (My Own Country) about his time as a doctor in eastern Tennessee at the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the 80s, Verghese turns his formidable talents to fiction, mining his own life and experiences in a magnificent, sweeping novel that moves from India to Ethiopia to an inner-city hospital in New York City over decades and generations. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a devout young nun, leaves the south Indian state of Kerala in 1947 for a missionary post in Yemen. During the arduous sea voyage, she saves the life of an English doctor bound for Ethiopia, Thomas Stone, who becomes a key player in her destiny when they meet up again at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa. Seven years later, Sister Praise dies birthing twin boys: Shiva and Marion, the latter narrating his own and his brothers long, dramatic, biblical story set against the backdrop of political turmoil in Ethiopia, the life of the hospital compound in which they grow up and the love story of their adopted parents, both doctors at Missing. The boys become doctors as well and Vergheses weaving of the practice of medicine into the narrative is fascinating even as the story bobs and weaves with the power and coincidences of the best 19th-century novel.

The next meeting of the book club will be Saturday, November 17th at 9:30 AM at Coffee Culture in Batavia.  We would really like for some new people to join us!  If you have any suggestions for books to read please bring them along.  Hope to see you there!

We Need Your Help: Contact Information

We are always trying to improve communication among church members.  We would like to be sure that we have everyone’s contact information up to date and that we know what the best way is to reach you (email, text, phone call, etc.).  If you could contact the church office and let us know your preferred method of being contacted it would be appreciated.  You can leave a voicemail at 344-2931 or send an email to ebpresbyterian@gmail.com.  Thanks for your help!

 

Holiday Happenings: Saturday, November 10th

 

 

On Saturday, November 10th the Christian Education Committee will once again be holding our annual Holiday Happenings Craft & Vendor Show.  This is always a fun event and a great way to start your holiday shopping!  As always there will be many great vendors, a bake sale, a Chinese auction and lunch available for purchase.   

If anyone is interested in having a table at Holiday Happenings, or knows of someone who is interested, please contact the church office.  Pricing is $30 for the first table and $20 for each additional table.   

We are looking for donations from church members for items for our bake sale and for the kitchen.  A sign-up sheet will be available on the table in the Fellowship Hall soon.  Also, if anyone would like to donate an item for our Chinese auction it would be greatly appreciated.     

We hope that everyone will decide to come out and support this fun event! 

 

Christian Education: Upcoming Events

The Christian Education Committee is excited to tell you about several upcoming events:

On Sunday October 14th following the worship service there will be a presentation about Mission in the World given by Reverend Mike after he returns from a PC(USA) Mission Conference in Dallas.  Before the presentation we will enjoy a potluck lunch and fellowship with our church family.  Just bring a dish to pass—paper products and drinks will be provided by the Christian Education Committee.

All Saints’ Day will be commemorated on Sunday November 4th following the worship service.  From Companion to the Book of Common Worship:  All Saints’ Day is a time to rejoice in all who through the ages have faithfully served the Lord. The day reminds us that we are part of one continuing, living communion of saints. It is a time to claim our kinship with the “glorious company of apostles … the noble fellowship of prophets … the white-robed army of martyrs”.  It is a time to express our gratitude for all who in ages of darkness kept the faith, for those who have taken the gospel to the ends of the earth, for prophetic voices who have called the church to be faithful in life and service, for all who have witnessed to God’s justice and peace in every nation.  Following worship we will be participating in a cemetery clean-up while learning about past members of EBPC and their contributions to our church.  This is a great way to learn more about the history of our church.  Be sure to dress for the weather!

On Sunday December 2nd we will be making Advent wreaths.  Each family is invited to stay after worship and create a wreath to take home.  An advent wreath is a great way to keep Christ at the center of Christmas and teach children the true meaning of Christmas.

The children will be participating in the Shepherds Game during the month of December (date to be announced).  This should be a fun and educational event for the children of the congregation during the Christmas season.