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MINISTRY OF THE SAINTS THIS WEEK - November 27, 2016

WELCOME VISITORS. If you have come as a stranger, may you depart as a friend. If you come with heavy burdens, may you leave knowing Jesus is supporting you. If you have come in joy, may you leave celebrating God’s love for you through Jesus Christ, the Risen Son. Please do us the favor of signing our guest book, so that we may respond to your being with us. Please join us after worship for fellowship.

NURSERY IS PROVIDED for both the 8:30 & 11:00 am Worship Services. Parents are encouraged to attend worship services with their children. This begins the good habit from an early age of worshiping with others. However, if you feel your child's behavior may be distracting to you or others who are worshiping, please feel free to speak with an usher for guidance to the staffed nursery.

ADULT FAITH FORMATION TRACK 1: We continue the study, Letters to the Romans. This comprehensive 13-session, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible from Cokesbury Press uses a three-dimensional approach. This class will be meeting in the Southwest Classroom today and until the end of the year.

GROWING IN FAITH TOGETHER (G.I.F.T.) will NOT meet this week as most of our families are traveling for the holiday. We will meet for rehearsal of the Christmas Pageant next Sunday December 4 in the sanctuary.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY - LEARNING ABOUT JONAH: The Tuesday morning Bible study resumes this Tuesday, November 29. We will continue our study at Chapter 4 verse 1. The study is led by Pastor Gary.

ANNUAL WREATH FUNDRAISER: Thank you for your Wreath orders in support of All Saints Youth. Extras will be available for purchase. The wreaths are expected to be ready for pick up by December 3. All proceeds will help defray costs of youth retreats in Spring 2017.

DECEMBER 10 BOOK GROUP HOLIDAY BREAKFAST AND DISCUSSION: The women, men, and youth of All Saints are warmly welcomed to participate in a Holiday Breakfast and Fellowship event at the home of Louise Waynant, 12616 Kinder Place, Bowie, MD, on Saturday, December 10, hosted by the ASLC Women’s Book Group. The gathering will include a conversation based on the newly published, enthusiastically reviewed graphic novel, The Marvels, by Brian Selznick. Breakfast will be offered at 9:00, with conversation about the novel around 9:30. All are invited to attend whether you have read the book, would like to learn more about it, or simply would like to share in holiday fellowship.

ALL SAINTS CHRISTMAS HERITAGE BREAKFAST, December 3, 2016 at 9:30 am: Mark your calendars and save the date for an All Saints Christmas Heritage Breakfast. Share your favorites: dish, decoration, and tradition. In the past we celebrated St. Lucia Day. It is Celebrated in Sweden and Norway, and marks the opening of the Christmas season in Scandinavian countries. It is also known as the Festival of Lights, bringing hope and light during the darkest month of the year. According to tradition, on December 13, early in the morning, the eldest daughter in each household comes to her sleeping parents, dressed in a long white gown tied with a red sash, and wearing a crown of lingonberry leaves in which are set five lighted candle representing the five virtues of hope, mercy, purity, faith and love. In her hands, she carries a tray of steaming hot coffee and “Lussekattor” (Lucia Buns). The procession includes her sisters and brothers, also dressed in white, holding lighted candles and singing of the light and joy of Christmas. What is your Christmas heritage? Come and share. All are welcome!

HOLIDAY MOVIE NIGHT: There is ONE more week to vote for the Sunday December 4th movie night. Voting is tabulated via Families of the All Saints Community Facebook page and by emailing Melissa Bitter (melissawrobel@hotmail.com) Choices include: Elf, Home Alone (1st one), Prancer, The Polar Express and the Grinch (Jim Carey). Arrive 4:30 with a snack or drink to share. You may wear you pajamas and bring in blankets and pillows.

CHRISTMAS PROGRAM: The G.I.F.T group will be presenting The Night Jesus Was Born between services on Sunday, December 11th. We'll hear from those who were part of the story - from their perspectives - on what happened as each prepared for the birth of Jesus. We'll have songs and reading of the Nativity story. Please join us for refreshments after and feel free to bring one of your family favorites to share.

OUR ADOPT A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS sign-ups continue this Sunday. We will be purchasing gifts for two families through the Bowie Interfaith Food Pantry and two families through Prince George's Child Resource Center. Please stop by the table in the narthex this morning to pick up one or more gift tags, each of which designates a gift item for one of our family members. Please return your wrapped and labeled gifts to church by Sunday, Dec. 11.

CALLING ALL COOKIE LOVERS! The Youth Group Cookie Sale is back by popular demand! This year's cookie sale will take place on Saturday, December 10th (9 am - 11:30 am) and Sunday, December 11th (after the 8:30 and 11:00 services). Cookies will be available to purchase by the container for the flat price of $10. The Youth Group is requesting cookie/bar donations to make this fundraiser a success! Anyone interested in donating their delicious treats, please contact Amy or Cheryl. All donations are requested to be delivered to the church by Friday, December 9th at 7 pm.

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ENHANCE WORSHIP WITH A CHRISTMAS POINSETTIA You may remember or honor a special person(s) in your life or give a plant in thanksgiving by donating $10 per poinsettia. Please fill out this form and return it to the church office by Sunday, December 20.

Donor’s Name __________________________Phone No. ______________ Number of plants given ______ X $10.00 = $______ * In honor of ___________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ In memory of _________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ In thanksgiving for _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

*Attach check made out to All Saints Lutheran Church or include the amount in your offering, noting on your envelope that $__ is for poinsettias. Thanks!

CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SERVICES The emphasis at the 4:00 pm service will be young children and families. The 6:00 pm service will be a Festival Celebration with instruments and special music. The 9:00 pm service will be a quieter time to complete our personal preparation for the coming of Jesus. Candles, Communion, and Carols will be a part of all three Christmas Eve worship services.

December 24, Christmas Eve 4:00 pm, 6:00 pm & 9:00 pm

CHRISTMAS DAY WORSHIP SERVICE Sunday, December 25

11:00 am Christmas DAY is a Sunday this year. Due to three worship services the previous evening there will be ONE worship service on Sunday, December 25, at 11:00 am. This service will include Christmas Readings from the Bible and the singing of Christmas Carols. We will share Holy Communion as we do every Sunday.

GUESS WHAT? OUR YOUTH NEED YOUR HELP!!!!. If you are an “oldth”(ages 20 to 99), please consider volunteering as an acolyte or crucifer ( you know the person who carries the cross up front). train-ing will be provided and a schedule assembled. This service is needed at both the early and later service. If you are interested, contact Kay Schwandt @301-736-9442 or kkkkatie@verizon.net . Don’t hesitate to leave a message. I will definitely call you back.

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Give Hope to Others through Gifts of Hope, 2016 Give More Hope:

Give more hope to children. Give more hope to the homeless.

Give more hope to those who seek work. Give more hope to those who need sustenance.

Give more hope to those who need medical or dental care. Give more hope to those who want to improve their daily lives.

We are grateful for the opportunity to express our thanks to God by once again participating in the Gifts of Hope program that is sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Synod. Participating in Gifts of Hope provides an excellent way for us to continue to express the Caring and Sharing commitment warmly demonstrated at All Saints in recent weeks that culminated in the generous pledges offered on Consecration Sunday. Gifts of Hope will be available during each Sunday in Advent and on Christmas Eve.

About Gifts of Hope Celebrating its 24th anniversary in 2016, Gifts of Hope is a ministry sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington DC Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Gifts of Hope is an alternative gift-giving program that serves as an intermediary between donors and organizations serving individuals and families in need locally and internationally. Gifts of Hope has raised and dispersed more than $3.1 million to two church camps, two Lutheran educational institutions, three international companion synods and ten area social service agencies affiliated with the Metro DC Synod.

Opportunities for Giving From a selection of 40 gifts ranging in price from $10.00 to $250.00, you can select the organization or endeavor of your choice, while honoring a family member, friend, or colleague. As in prior years, there are gifts that bring joy, gifts that provide for daily needs, and gifts that build for the future. For example, you can provide a nutritious meal for a low-income resident at Fellowship Square Foundation for $10.00. For $15, you can help the Lutheran Church in El Salvador provide for their neediest families by supplying beans, sugar and cooking oil, giving sustenance to a hungry family for one week. For $25, you can help to make medical care for a low-income or at-risk family more accessible and affordable. $50 will provide Southeast Ministry clients with items such as boots or tools that are necessary for their jobs, helping to move them on a path to self-sufficiency. A gift of $75 can help repair hostels for orphaned children in Namibia. You can enable a needy child to attend a week of camping at Mar-Lu-Ridge Lutheran Camp for $250.

In prior years, each congregation had the opportunity to offer a congregational choice gift, which, for All Saints, has been the Bowie Interfaith Food Pantry. That opportunity is no longer available through Gifts of Hope, but please know that the Serve Team is offering numerous alternative ways to support the Food Pantry during this holiday season as well as in the New Year.

How to Participate We encourage all members and friends of All Saints to participate in the Gifts of Hope program. The gift catalog included in this month’s edition of the Grapevine will help you make your gift selections. Stop by the Gifts of Hope table in the Narthex at All Saints each Sunday during Advent and on Christmas Eve to purchase your gifts.

All Saints’ 2015 Response to Gifts of Hope Contributions from the Saints to Gift of Hope totaled $7070. Through the generosity of members and friends of All Saints, 190 gifts totaling $6410 were given to support local social ministry organizations, Lutheran camps, and our synod’s companion synods abroad. Our Bowie Food Pantry received $660. The wide range of gifts purchased will help provide for daily needs, build for the future, or bring joy to others. Thanks be to God for the generosity of the Saints!

For More Information For more information about the Gifts of Hope program, please talk with Louise Waynant, or visit the Gifts of Hope website at www.GiftsofHopeMetroDC.org.

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If attending, contact Pastor Gary if you are interested in carpooling.

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Bethlehem Simulcast Service at the National Cathedral

Saturday, Dec. 17 | 10 am

Come together in solidarity with congregations of Washington National Cathedral and the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, Palestine, for the tenth annual live simulcast worship service (10 am in Washington, 5 pm in Bethlehem).

Prayers, readings, and hymns in both Arabic and English alternate between Washington, DC and Bethlehem via live

simulcast, bringing together those of different lands, languages, and ethnic backgrounds in celebration of the birth of Jesus. Open to the public and to people of all faiths.

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Attendance Sunday, November 20, 43 + 46 = 89

OUR THANKS FOR THOSE WHO SERVE TODAY: 8:30 am 11:00 am Ushers: Marty & Ellen Hug Chibueze Ariguzo, Deb Ariguzo Altar Service: Karen Lee Banks, Deb Ariguzo Angela Sichelman, Susan DeHart Acolyte: John Greenawalt Caitlin Richardson Reader: Raymond Wood Kurt Müller Assisting Minister: Sven Allenbach-Schmidt Nathan Rich Communion Assistant: Cheryl Hollar Diane Cvitko Accompanist: Dr. Hyojin Ahn Dr. Hyojin Ahn Nursery: Kim McDermott Kim McDermott Counters: Susan DeHart

Thank you to Angela Sichelman for baking the communion bread for today.

TODAY: First Sunday of Advent 8:30 & 11:00 am Worship 9:45 am Adult Education Class—Track 1

MONDAY: 7:00 pm Camera Club TUESDAY: 10:00 am Tuesday Bible Study 7:00 pm 2nd Star Rehearsal WEDNESDAY: 6:30 pm Girl Scouts THURSDAY: 7:00 pm SonShine Choir Rehearsal

7:00 pm 2nd Star Rehearsal 7:45 pm Combined Choir Rehearsal 8:00 pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal

SATURDAY: 9:00 am Heritage Christmas in Fellowship Hall 9:00 am AA In North Classroom 5:00 pm Private Dinner in Fellowship Hall

NEXT SUNDAY: Second Sunday of Advent 8:30 & 11:00 am Advent Lessons and Carols Worship

9:45 am Adult Education Class—Track 1 9:45 am G.I.F.T. –Cross Generation Faith Formation 4:30 pm Family Movie Night in Fellowship Hall

Request for Prayers Prayer is an important part of this congregation. We invite you to share your prayer needs and concerns with us. Give to ushers or mail to church.

Today’s Date:____________________________

I request prayers for Name(s): _____________________________________________________________________

Description of the Concern or Celebration: __________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Requested by: _______________________________ Your Telephone Number: ____________________________ Please check all that is applicable: _____ Public Prayer (shared with the congregation in worship) _____ Prayer Shawl requested _____ Praying Team (shared with Prayer Team and Staff) _____ Pastoral Visit requested _____ Pastor Only _____ Pastoral phone call requested