Sunday Announcements
The Fourth Sunday of Advent December 24, 2006Note: Personal phone numbers are removed from the Web version of the Sunday announcements. Please consult your Parish Directory, use e-mail if an address is given, or call the parish office at 919-929-2193 to find out more about the news.
Services This Week
Monday, December 25
Christmas Day 10:00 am Holy Eucharist Rite I
Mr. Elkins-Williams
Tues, Wed, and Friday
5:15 pm Evening Prayer
Wednesday, December 27
10:00 am Holy Eucharist 1928
Ms. Jamieson-Drake
Thursday, December 28
5:15 pm Holy Eucharist Rite II
Ms. Lee
Sunday, December 31
The First Sunday after Christmas
7:30 am Holy Eucharist Rite I
Dr. Joyner
10:00 am Holy Eucharist Rite I
Dr. Joyner
5:15 pm Holy Eucharist Rite II
Dr. Pfaff
Readings: Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 147 or 147:13-21; Galatians 3:23-25;4:4-7; John 1:1-18
Saturday, January 6, 2007
The Epiphany of Our Lord
10:00 am Holy Eucharist Rite II
Ms. Lee
Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6,9; Psalm 72 or 72:1-2,10-17; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
Today
Global Missions Trips 2007
Support our Global Missions projects in Honduras by buying 2007 calendars and post cards made from Chip Matteson's beautiful pictures of our 2006 mission trip to Honduras. On sale in the dining room after the 10:00 am service. Plan now to participate--as missioner, contributor, or prayer partner--in our May 2007 trip to San Patricio parish in El Progreso, Honduras. Mission brochures with an application are located in back of the sanctuary, the chapel, in the dining room tract, online, or by contacting annhenley@msn.com.
Men's Care Bags
The Alternative gifts Table also has small plastic bags which we hope parishioners can fill using the list of personal care items attached to the bags. Please return the care bags to the dining room and they will go to IFC for men at the shelter.
Holiday Meals For Families
A $20 donation to the IFC can purchase a meal and brighten the holidays for a family in need. You can send in a check or call with your credit card. Stop by the Alternative Gift Table for all the information you need.
This Week
Office Hours
The parish office will be closed on Mon., Dec. 25 and Tues., Dec. 26.
Next Sunday
December 31 Sing Along
On Sunday, Dec. 31, following the 10:00 am service, join parish instrumentalists in the dining room for a carol sing-along. Bring an hors d'oeuvres made from holiday leftovers or create fresh ones for a buffet spread. If you would like to play an instrument and have not been called, please contact Gretchen Jordan at 929-2193. We are excited that we have flute, guitar, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and voice among the instrumentalists.
Announcements
Showering Our Refugee Baby
We are awaiting the birth of Say Ther and Tha Gay's baby girl in the next few weeks. Thank you to all who so generously contributed clothing and bedding items for their layette. We will be bringing the bundles to them this week. We are looking for a nearly new or new infant car seat which they will need as soon as the baby is born. If you have one to donate, please contact Peggy Pratt as soon as possible at pegpratt@nc.rr.com or call office for number. We also hope to find a portable crib such as a "pack and play" for them, as their space is limited. Disposable diapers and small infant toys or stuffed animals would be most welcome. Those items can be left in the bin in the dining room.
Parish Web Site
The committee that is beginning to update the parish web site needs some consultation with a graphic designer with web site experience. If you can assist the web site committee, please contact Communications Coordinator, Vivian Harris Varner, at vvarner@thechapelofthecross.org or 929-2193.
Nursery Help Needed
We are losing two of our nursery employees in December and have not yet found replacements for them. If you know of anyone who is interested in working with young children on Sunday mornings for 3-4 hours or who would job share with another person or two rotating responsibilities, please share those names with Joy Gattis, Boykin Bell or Gretchen Jordan. Older high school or college students are welcome!
2006 Year End Giving
In order to be included in 2006 contribution records for both operating and tax records, gifts must be received by December 31, 2006. Checks must be dated in 2006 and must be in the parish office or, if mailed, postmarked by December 31. Stock gifts which are electronically transferred to the Chapel of the Cross must be received in the Chapel of the Cross brokerage account by December 31.
Stock Gift Procedures
From time to time, it may be advantageous to make gifts to the Chapel of the Cross in the form of appreciated securities. The normal procedure for making these gifts is to ask your broker to transfer them electronically to the Chapel of the Cross brokerage account at Edward Jones (call office for account number and DTC number), and to notify the parish accountant, Debby Kulik, that such a transfer has been made, with instructions as to the use (2006 pledge, 2007 pledge, etc.) of the gift.
Mark Your Calendar
A Tar Heel's Carbon Footprint
More and more people are understanding what scientists have been telling us for a while: our planet is getting warmer. This warming is a consequence, largely, of carbon dioxide. The source of this carbon dioxide is us. The typical American household generates 55,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Collectively, US households produce about 8% of the planet's carbon dioxide emissions. The Environmental Stewardship Committee is organizing a project to help individual parishioners measure their "carbon footprint" and identify the actions they can take to reduce the amount of CO2 they produce. Our first Tar Heel carbon footprint reduction meeting will be on Dec. 28 at the home of Linda Rimer. For more information, email Linda at lbrimer@bellsouth.net or call (call office for number).
Epiphany Celebration
Epiphany, one of the major feast days of the church, will be celebrated with a service of Holy Eucharist at 10:00 am followed by a catered brunch on Sat., Jan. 6, 2007. The Junior choir will sing at this service. Sign up for the brunch will be in the parish office.
Warm Things For DC Pilgrimage
Donations of warm hats, gloves, scarves, socks and yes, even a blanket or two, are requested to lay at the base of the Jesse Tree. Beginning on Jan. 6, the Jesse Tree ornaments will be removed and replaced by your warm things. Our Youth Inquirers' Class will be taking a pilgrimage to DC on Jan. 13 through 15 and will give these items to the homeless. Used items are welcome as long as they are clean and not in need of repair. Last year we did not ask for blankets, but one person left one under the tree. We were happy to have it, using it to cover a man huddled under the overhang of an office building during the snow storm.
Approaching The Eucharist
On Jan. 7 in the library, the Rev. Stephen Elkins-Williams will discuss the Holy Eucharist and the beliefs and traditions Episcopalians hold when approaching the Communion table. This discussion will be especially helpful for parents who are trying to explain the Eucharist to young children, or for parishioners who wonder what the reason is for some of our traditions.
Meet The New Presiding Bishop
On January 7, through the wonders of technology, you too, can experience the Investiture of the 26th Presiding Bishop, The Most Reverend Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was invested at the Washington National Cathedral on Nov. 4. Selected portions of the DVD of the service will be shown in the parlor following all four services.
Living The Questions
Sessions 4 - 8 will begin on Thurs., Jan. 11, 2007 with morning and evening discussion groups facilitated by our clergy. You can attend any number of sessions. Sessions are not dependent on each other. The morning group will meet from 10:00 to 11:30 and the evening group from 7:30 to 9:00. Both groups will meet in the Library. The topics are Evil, Suffering, and Love of God on Jan. 11; Intimacy with God on Jan. 18; Social Justice on Jan. 25 and on February 1, A Kingdom without Walls. Help us in planning these sessions by signing up in the parish office.
Martin Luther King Scholarship Banquet
Tickets to the annual Martin Luther King scholarship Banquet to be held at the Friday Center on Highway 54 on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2007, are available. The cost is $25.00 per ticket and can be obtained from Barbara Pipkin (call office for number). This popular community event is always a sell-out, so please order tickets now.
Stewardship
In Mission With South Africa
The Chapel of the Cross will be receiving visitors from South Africa from Feb. 2 to Feb. 5, 2007. Global Missions needs volunteers to invite them to stay in their homes during their visit. Call Martha Dill (call office for number) or email m.dill@earthlink.net or call Barbara Day (call office for number) or email bday@email.unc.edu.
Senior High Trip
The Chapel of the Cross is taking a Sr. High trip to New Orleans, LA, this summer. This trip is open to rising 9th-graders through just-graduated seniors. We have 20 places for youth on this trip. The dates of our trip are July 28 through August 5, 2007. To secure a place on this trip, the relevant forms and a $50 deposit are due by Feb. 1, 2007 (forms located outside David's office door and in the parish office). A $300 payment will be due March 26, 2007. The remaining balance of $300 will be due June 13, 2007. The cost of our trips to families is $650. This amount helps cover transportation, food, accommodations, work supplies, materials and activities for the week. There are no hidden costs, and we encourage youth to bring only a small amount of spending money for sodas, souvenirs and airport food. Whatever financial aid you need is available. Contact David Frazelle at 929-2193 to request scholarships.
Christmas House
Donations to the Christmas House will be welcomed during today's 3:00 and 5:00 Christmas Eve Pageants. Children will be invited to bring unwrapped toys to the front of the church. The Christmas House is a project sponsored by the Chapel Hill Service League. The League has helped create a brighter holiday for Orange County's most financially disadvantaged children for over 50 years. Christmas House is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and donations can be made to Christmas House, Inc., PO Box 3543, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-3543. For more information, please contact Dina Urquhart (call office for number) dinau@bellsouth.net.
Community Notes
Nordic Choir To Perform
The Luther College Nordic Choir conducted by Craig Arnold, will present a concert of sacred music at Chapel Hill Bible Church on Wed., Jan. 17, 2007, at 7:30 pm. This performance will feature works by Tallis, Finzi, Clausen, F.M. Christiansen, Bach, Durufle and Brahms. This concert will also feature the Triangle Youth Chorus and CANTIQUE. For tickets and additional information, visit the website at http://music.luther.edu or call TicketWorks.com at 1-866-420-1234. There will be no ticket sales at the door.
The Sunday Announcenments
The deadline for announcements is 10:00 am on Wednesday. Announcements should be brief. Parish related submissions are given priority. Include daytime phone and email address for contact. All submissions are subject to editing; publication of the submission is not guaranteed. E-mail information to submissions@thechapelofthecross.org or leave paper copies in the Publications Assistant's mailbox in the parish office. Email is preferred.
Adult Education Returns Next Week
Sing Along: Parish Instrumentalists (Dining Room)
Around Our Diocese
Resource Fair
This regional event for the Greensboro and Winston-Salem convocations (all are welcome), on Jan. 20, 2007, focuses on resources for Christian education and formation. Location to be announced. Contact the School of Ministry 336-273-5770 or visit www.episdionc.org/schoolofministry.
191st Annual Convention
Plans are being finalized for the Annual Diocesan Convention, Jan. 26-27, at Koury Convention Center, Greensboro. The Convention theme is A Missionary Diocese in a Global Society. Special guests are the Rev. Mike Kinman, Executive Director of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation; and the Rt. Rev. Hector Monterroso, Bishop of Costa Rica, our companion diocese.
Wardens' Retreat
Our second retreat, scheduled for March 2-3, 2007, is designed for both senior and junior wardens. The location will be Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh. Contact the School of Ministry at 336-273-5770 or visit their website at www.episdionc.org/schoolofministry.
Singing The African American Tradition With Dr. Horace D. Boyer
March 10, 2007 9:00 am to 2:00 pm St. John's Church, Wake Forest. A workshop not only for choir members, but for all to experience the singing of Negro spirituals and develop an understanding of how and why the hymns were originally sung. For information, contact Jessica Graber (call office for number) or email jgraber@nc.rr.com.
From the Book of Common Prayer, p 15
Principal Feasts
The Principal Feasts observed in this Church are the following:
Easter Day, always the first Sunday after the full moon that falls on or after March 21. It cannot occur before March 22 or after April 25.
Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter Day
The Day of Pentecost, 50 days after Easter
Trinity Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost
All Saints' Day, November 1
Christmas Day, December 25
The Epiphany, January 6
These feasts take precedence of any other day or observance. All Saints' Day may always be observed on the Sunday following November I, in addition to its observance on the fixed date.
The Environmental Stewardship Committee Green Tip :
As you pull Christmas ornaments and other decorations out of storage and make decisions about using or replacing them, don't forget about recycling them. Worn or broken decorations can be the inspiration and basis for new ones. Has your old artificial Christmas tree finally bit the dust? Don't throw it out before recycling useable limbs and other pieces. If the wire is bendable with pliers, make wreaths or sprays from them, or twist them around poles or make other decorations with them. Broken tinsel and garlands can be made into swag decorations for a doorway, inside or out. Fasten with a tack and a string. Did you wind up with a lot of leftover, partly used Christmas candles? Trim them and group them together on a small serving tray or platter. If the only platter you have is pink and blue or you only have an aluminum pie tin, camouflage it by heaping bits of broken garland or tinsel. Mix in nuts, pinecones, cinnamon sticks, dry Christmas potpourri, tiny toys or greenery. Be creative as the great Creator created you to be. Have a green Christmas!
Last updated: December 22, 2006
