Ombuds

THIS SUNDAY

December 10
8:00 & 10:45
Bruce preaching: “TWO FOR THE ROAD”

9:15

“COME TO THE MANGER”

A Multi-Generational Christmas Musical Celebration
(For more on this, please see Netta’s notes below)
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December 17
Bruce Davis preaching: “CHRISTMAS EVE ( 12/24)
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December 24
Worship services at 10:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00
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If you get a call sometime from St. Andrew’s, and the caller identifies his or herself as an OMBUD, here’s what that’s about. When Nancy and I came here in September of ’05, St. Andrew’s was going through a period of introspection. It was suggested that we form a group that would serve as a congregational listening team. Thus were born the Ombuds (short for Ombudsmen). They are: Sheila C., Bob F., Noel H., Mel M., Diane M., Ted Q. and Greg T.. Some of you have heard me talk about the membership inventory Diana F. has been coordinating. Now that we have a solid membership list, we’re going to ask the OMBUDS to help keep track of our flock. St. Andrew’s is a large, growing church, but we want to be careful that people don’t fall through the cracks. The Ombuds will not be calling to ask about money or anything of that sort. Theirs is a shepherding responsibility and we thank them for taking on this important task. Be nice to them.
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SHARING, GROWING, CHANGING LIVES

ROGER F.

Donating stock to meet your commitment under the Sharing, Growing, Changing Lives campaign is a great idea that is too often overlooked. Take advantage of the significant increases in the stock market recently by transferring your stock as a donation to St. Andrew’s account. Not only will you qualify for a tax deduction equal to the current market value of the stock, you will avoid paying taxes on the appreciated value. There’s still time to get this done before year end but you need to move quickly. Call Cami P., St. Andrew’s finance director, for all the details.
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NETTA P. writes:

“COME TO THE MANGER” A Musical Christmas Celebration for Preschool (4 years old) thru 6th grade Sunday School classes, Youth Choir and Adult Choirs. Performance on Sunday, Dec. 10 at the 9:15 service. Practice on Sat. Dec. 9. See schedules below:

Rehearsal Schedule for Saturday, Dec. 9

9:30, Band, Narrators, Sound Tech, Living Nativity arrive and meet in the sanctuary

9:40, Youth and Adult Choirs arrive and meet in the choir loft

9:45, Preschool B and Pre-Kindergarten arrive and go to Sanctuary and have a seat in the front with parent.

Kindergarten – 6th grade meet in the

10:00, Rehearsal begins

11:00, Rehearsal ends.

**Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten can leave after “Away in the Manger”

Please be on time to make this hour productive!

Performance for Sunday, Dec. 10

8:45, Youth and Adult choirs meet in the music rehearsal room to warm up

9:00, Preschool and Pre-Kind. Arrive and sit with parents in roped off area in the sanctuary. After we get the older kids lined up we will pull them up. They are the first song on the program. After their song, they will return to sit with parents for remainder of program

9:00, Kindergarten-6th grades arrive and go directly to stage in your position where you practiced on Saturday. These children stay on stage for the entire program. It’s length is 35 minutes plus offertory.

Pancake breakfast is also being serviced this Sunday so save your appetite. Proceeds go to the youth program!
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LaCasa del Pueblo Outreach

Join Children’s Ministries annual outreach to Grace United Methodist Church who mission is LaCasa del Pueblo, a Hispanic Community in Omaha. Sign up today in the rotunda to make a pot of chili to share with them when we go there on Sunday, Dec. 17. Deliver your chili to St. Andrew’s on Sat., Dec. 16 and put in the fridges in the kitchen. Put it in a non-returnable container please. Then, join us as we go to their Hispanic Worship Service on the 17th, share a Christmas Book read by Pastor Alberto and Pastor Nancy (Spanish and English) and then stay for a Chili Feed. We will be purchasing gifts for this community of Hispanics. You can help by picking up a Chili Pepper gift tag at the LaCasa table in the rotunda. Their community has nearly doubled since last year so we need more people to pitch in and purchase something for these families. Gifts, with tags attached, need to be turned in to St. Andrew’s Rotunda by Wed. Dec. 13.



CHARLOTTE MALLOTT asks: Prayers for Bill G., who has experienced a very serious heart attack (friend of Gale & Dee Harold). Prayers of joy for Trudy M. and Terry M., united in marriage on December 1st.
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Ephesians 4:17-24: “Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer lives as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
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BRD