WHATS UP KNOX?

November and December 2012

Knox Presbyterian Church 142 Ontario Street, Stratford, Ontario 519-271-0373 knoxs@wightman.ca www.knoxstratford.com Check us out on Facebook.

Dear people of Knox Church, I would like to share my thanks for the welcome and support I have received. As we get ready for Christmas, I know that I already have received a great gift. I get to share in worship and events of our congregation with you. I look forward to the ways we will grow in our friendship and support of one another. Luke's Gospel tells the story of the night of Jesus' birth. An angel shares the news of our Saviour, and the sign: "you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:12) Following this, a host of angels sings praises: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors." (2:14) As we get ready for Christmas this year, let's be a congregation of Jesus Christ that sings our thanksgiving with all our hearts. Let us be inspired to share our talents and financial support to help people in our community and our world. God's peace be with you! Mark Come join in some FUN with the Knox Sunday School this year! Sign up for the two week time-slots that fit YOUR schedule. We need just 3 volunteers for each time slot. Please contact Janice Berg.

iknox

The newest group at Knox! Grade 6, 7 and 8s are checking out the latest

Christian apps for the ipad, ipod or playbook etc... Please contact Nancy Rothwell if you would like to lead this class and share your technology knowledge.

UPCOMING WORSHIP SERVICES:

Every Sunday is an opportunity for us to celebrate the love of our God that we share in Jesus Christ. We also look forward to some important events in November and December. November 11th was Remembrance Day Sunday. We began worship at 10:45 AM. Our worship led us towards a minute of silence at 11 AM. We remembered those who died in war, and prayed for peace. On November 18th, we will learn about what has been happening in Sunday School this fall. We look forward to a great puppet play during the Children's Time. After worship, there will be a pizza party for children and youth. It will be an opportunity for Rev. Mark to connect with our young people! On November 25th, we will have our Presbyterians Sharing Sunday. "Presbyterians Sharing" represents our church's contribution towards the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. It will be a time to learn more and celebrate the many ministries of which we are part. Praise Explosion and the Choir will lead us to lift up our voices in thanksgiving! December 2nd will be a Sunday for sharing in communion. We will welcome dear ones of all ages to come to the table!

On December 16th, the children and youth will be taking leadership in our worship with their Christmas Pageant. A Potluck Luncheon and Birthday Party for Jesus will follow to celebrate the season! December 24th - Christmas Eve Children's Service is at 6 PM Community Service is at 7:30 PM. We look forward to special Christmas music and carol singing!

Please take note of these services, and share them with those in your care. It is wonderful to worship with the congregation of Knox Presbyterian!

Other Dates to note in the Life of Knox.. Church Christmas Decorating November 20th at 6 pm Community Meal on November 23rd at 5:15 pm Annual Stratford Santa Claus Parade on November 25th at 5 pm Knox is serving Hot chocolate. County of Perth Choir "Sing for the Joy of It" Concert November 27th at 7:00 pm Kids' Christmas is December 8th from 10 am to 12 noon. One Care Christmas Party December 19th. The Weibes in Concert December 23rd at 7:30 pm.
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KNOX CLASSIFIEDS
Festival City Big Band
Big Band --- Big Dance
Saturday, November 24th, 2012. 8:00pm 11:00pm Stratford Golf and Country Club Tickets: $20.00 each Late night snack and cash bar Come out and hear our own Cathy Whelan performing with this group.

Wanted: People of all ages Qualifications: Must love to work with children Job Description: Able to help 1 or 2 Sundays a month in the nursery All interested persons please contact: Bev. Hider 271-4909 or at jimbevstratford@sympatico.ca

STUDENTS STUDYING AWAY FROM HOME

If we have omitted someone by mistake, please let the Church Office or Margaret Lupton know.

Andrew Barton University of Western Ontario, 2nd year Business Management and Org Studies. Andrew is the son of Paul and Deborah; grandson of Earl and Elizabeth Barton. Justine Shiell - University of Guelph, Veterinary Medicine. Justine is the daughter of Brad and Yvonne Shiell and granddaughter of Elizabeth Shiell. Emma deWever University of Western Ontario, 3rd year Health Sciences Degree Programme. Emma is the daughter of Rob and Marian de Wever and granddaughter of Noel de Wever. Alex Hislop - Sault College, Aviation Pilot Programme. Alex is the son of Tom and Heather Hislop and grandson of Keith and Pat Hislop. Andrea Bedford - University of Guelph, PHD Animal Nutrition and Biotechnology. She is the daughter of David and Connie Bedford. Sarah Rothwell - Trent University, 2nd year Nursing. She is the daughter of Allan and Nancy Rothwell and granddaughter of Ed and Grace Rothwell. Nick Bachner - University of Waterloo, 4th year Engineering. Nick is on a work term in Peterborough and is the son of Michael and Cathy Bachner and the grandson of Ed and Grace Rothwell. Darien Murray - Queens University, 2nd year Major History Minor Mathematics. Darian is the daughter of Brian and Lisa Murray and granddaughter of Ruby Murray. Chad Fink - University of Western Ontario - 4th year Kinesiology. Lauren Fink - McMaster University Nursing. Chad and Lauren are children of Randy and Barbara Fink and grandchildren of Keith and Pat Hislop. Kyle Brunskill - University of Waterloo, Mathematics and Wilfred Laurier, Business. Kyle is the son of Ralph and Susan Brunskill. Katie Lawry - University of Waterloo, Accounting and Financial Management. Katie is the daughter of Janet and Clive Lawry and granddaughter of John and Marg Sinclair.
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We are busy at The Alley with Christmas merchandise, unpacking, pricing and trying to find places for as much as possible in the store.

We are also focussing on winter clothes as the temperatures drop and we know snow comes next. We would ask that you check your closets to see if you have any of the following that you are no longer wearing and could donate. Remember we like things clean and in good repair and current styles. Winter coats for the whole family Adult and kids mitts and gloves Winter boots Pass this request onto family and friends as well. Did you know that The Alley is on Facebook? Become a friend.

SAVE THE DATE . . . . . .

11th ANNUAL Body and Soul Spa Night Friday, April 26th, 2013.

Planning will begin soon - new ideas and volunteers welcome. This is a wonderful and FUN fundraiser supporting the Cancer Care Mission Wigs and Accessories room at Knox.

THE OUTREACH TEAM

Knox will be serving the Community Meal on Friday,November 23rd at 5:15 pm. While the Outreach Team is doing the organizing we need the help and support of the whole congregation. We will be circulating signup sheets for donations of rolls and cupcakes. We are also asking for monetary donations to cover the cost of the food that we need to purchase. This can be put on the offering plate and marked Community Meal or dropped off at the office during office hours. We will be putting together two teams of workers, one for preparation and set up and one for serving and cleanup. If you are interested in helping let us know. We want to continue the tradition of serving hot chocolate in front of the church at the Stratford Santa Claus parade which takes place on Sunday, th November 25 at 5:00 pm. We will also be handing out cards with candy canes that provide information about our Christmas services. Volunteers are needed to help with this event. Mark the day on your calendar and come and join in the fun! The Kids Christmas Shopping event has become another tradition at Knox. This event will be held on December 8th from 10:00 to 12:00 in the banquet hall. We need lots and lots of help on that day. We will be circulating clipboards for you to sign up or you can let the office know that you would like to help. We need you to help out with providing items that we can sell. These do not have to be brand new. We all have items in our cupboards that we dont use. This is a golden opportunity to re-gift those items you got last year. In particular, we are always short on gifts for men. Here are some suggestions. Socks, gloves, hats, small tools, gadgets, toiletries. A wander around the Dollar Store will spark ideas. Your donations can be left in the bin in the Narthex. We also need a very large supply of small and medium gift bags. These can also be left in the bin or dropped at The Alley or office. There are items that we need to buy for this event so we also welcome monetary donations. Please mark these clearly Kids Christmas. 7

To all Change Her World Supporters! Here is the LATEST NEWS! We are pleased to inform you about the Christmas High Tea which will be taking place at the Royal Palisade in Stratford, Ontario on Saturday November 17 from 2 PM to 4 PM. Come and enjoy this High Tea with all the trimmings as we begin the Christmas Season. Live music, a Change Her World slide show and display along with a few words from Linda Willis Chair of the Board of Directors and Co-founder of Change Her World will complement the enjoyment of this festive afternoon. Tickets are $50.00 as this is a fundraising event for Change Her World. An income tax receipt will be provided upon request. Invite your family and friends to indulge in this elegant afternoon event will all proceeds going directly to the projects supported by Change Her World! Christmas Gift Cards are also available from Change Her World for those of you who would like to make a donation to Change Her World in lieu of gifts to family and friends. We are happy to send a card(s) on your behalf for any donations received or we can send you the cards for you to provide personally at Christmas. Give a gift that will make a difference in the life of a girl in the developing world! Please visit www.changeherworld.ca for additional information about upcoming events. Also please check out our Facebook facebook.com/ChangeHerWorld and Twitter - sites and connect with us to hear the latest news! Thank you for all you are doing to support this life changing work!
Good Afternoon! I am contacting all of the Perth County churches to see if any of your members would be interested in purchasing the Raising the Roof toques to help support a local non-profit organization. Stratford/Perth Shelterlink sells the National incentive toques as part of their fundraising to support programming for at-risk and homeless youth in Stratford and Perth County. We are always trying to find new ideas for the sale as it is a very profitable fundraiser with a large portion of all sales staying with our organization. I know many churches give to children at Christmas time and thought perhaps some people may like to include a $10 toque as part of their giving. Some congregations do a giving tree perhaps a tree covered with toques that could be given to children in need. They also make great Secret Santa or stocking stuffer items. If you would like any further information, please contact me. Ive set the order deadline as Nov. 30 in case anyone might like to use for family Christmass in December. Many thanks and blessings, Tracy Aylward Community Resource Developer Stratford Perth Shelterlink 519-272-2294 www.shelterlink.org 8

Celebrating
In December

Anniversaries

Any and Karen Gibb - December 10th Dale and Lynn Bast - December 17th Ken and Ethel Innes - December 20th Ken and Sharon Malvern - December 23rd

Celebrating Birthdays ........November

Peter Dougall Lynsie McTavish Kirk Speiran Betty Byatt Heather Hislop Ron MacPherson Virginia Sherlock Quinn Appell Marlene Archer Cathy Bachner Georgina Cameron Paul Tanner Niamh Appel Joan Douglas Keith Pehlke Ray Stock - November 2 - November 2 - November 3 - November 4 - November 5 - November 5 - November 5 - November 7 - November 7 - November 8 - November 8 - November 8 - November 9 - November 10 - November 11 - November 11

Myra Farquhar Jennifer Lawry Gloria Waring Lauren Gibb John Douglas Audrey Wickie Jim Dougall John Jr. Douglas Lisa Murray Ruth Brookes Robert Corrie William Nichol Jonathan Perry

- November 12 - November 14 - November 15 - November 17 - November 18 - November 19 - November 25 - November 27 - November 27 - November 29 - November 29 - November 29 - November 29

Celebrat ing Birthdays December

Joan Holmes Susan Forbes Doug Puddy Chad Fink Ezra Bender Kristin Frank Darien Murray James Drake Ron Gray - December 1 - December 2 - December 3 - December 4 - December 13 - December 13 - December 14 - December 17 - December 17 Steve Wells Noel de Wever Phil Anwender Alexander Lynn Adam Parker Shawn McCormick Emily Harris Adam Wilhelm - December 20 - December 25 - December 26 - December 27 - December 28 - December 29 - December 30 - December 31

Jesus and Satan were having an ongoing argument about who was better on his computer. They had been going at it for days and God was tired of hearing all of the bickering. Finally God said, Cool it! I am going to set up a test that will run two hours and I will judge who does the better job. So down Satan and Jesus sat at the keyboards and typed away. They moused. They did spreadsheets. They wrote reports. They sent faxes. They opened e-mails. They sent out e-mails......with attachments. They downloaded. They did some genealogy reports. They made cards. They did every known job. About ten minutes before their time was up, lightning flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, the rain poured and, of course, the electricity went off. Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld. Jesus just sighed. The electricity finally flickered back on and each of them rebooted their computers. Satan started searching frantically, screaming Its gone!!!! Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours. Satan observed this and became very irate. Wait! He must have cheated! How did he do that? God shrugged and said, Jesus saves!
Submitted by Kathy Baker 10

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The Gifford-Miller Chair

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Girls lend a helping hand locally and abroad

Jeff Heuchert, Stratford Gazette July 31, 2012. A fundraiser over the weekend brought two socially conscious teens a bit closer to their South American destination. Ashley Wheeler, 15, and Megan Speiran, 14, are hoping to travel to Ecuador next July to help build a school. The trip is being planned through the Me to We group at Stratford Central secondary school, where the Stratford girls will be entering Grade 10 in the fall. Hoping to knock a couple hundred dollars off the cost of their trip, the girls organized a car wash Saturday morning in the Stratford Motor Products parking lot. They were joined by family and friends and members of Kids R MAD (Making a Difference), the humanitarian group started by Wheeler last year to give other like-minded youth in the city a chance to raise money and awareness for issues affecting people in Third World countries. The group typically meets once a month to discuss what causes they would like to support and how. Some of the groups charitable activities to date have included holding a garage sale for CARE Canada, selling fudge and mint smoothies for World Vision, Free the Children and War Child Canada, and collecting milk bags to be converted into bed mats. We just really wanted to help people, says Wheeler, who had help getting the group started from her younger sister, Aliyah, 12. Kids R MAD currently has about 10 members, the majority of whom are between the ages of 10-12. Speiran says they would like to see more high school-aged youth participate, noting the group is a great opportunity to be active in the community and develop the leadership skills they are being taught in school. It gets teens and youth out in the community helping, putting out awareness about causes, she adds. I think its a great idea. Saturdays fundraiser like each of the Kids R MAD initiatives was organized solely by its members, in this case, Wheeler and Speiran. Speirans mom, Lori, says she couldnt be prouder of the two girls. Its pretty amazing to think (travelling to Ecuador) is something they really want to do, she says, noting her daughter has wanted to take a missionary trip since she was in Grade 6 and first became involved with Me to We. Whether we can afford it or not were going to make it happen, she adds. Its an opportunity of a lifetime for these kids.

Wishing everyone the very best of the Holiday Season in celebrating Christs birth.

Nancy Rothwell, Newsletter Administrator

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