Christmas Festival – December 6th

Join us for the Christmas Festival on Sunday, December 6, 2015. From 5:00 until 5:30, there will be hot cider around a fire that will be sure to set the mood for the evening’s pageant. At 5:45 we will begin the program of music, scripture, and reflection on the birth of Jesus presented by our own Oakton children, brass quartet and talented musicians. The evening will conclude with our traditional Christmas meal in the Fellowship Hall. Gluten Free food will be available. Consider joining in this evening of preparation for the Christmas season and the love of Christ.

BNP Cooking Day Success

Just in case you’ve forgotten, or maybe never knew, BNP is the acronym for Brethren Nutrition Program. This program of church outreach functions from the soup kitchen located in the Washington City Church of the Brethren.

On Saturday, October 17th, we had an afternoon of group cooking in the Oakton kitchen preparing food for BNP. In the church kitchen we cooked 7 kinds of soup, aproximately 40 gallons. We were much more efficient this year at the soup cooling process! “Practice produces efficiency”. We chopped around 45 pounds of vegetables, donated again by Garners Produce. The crew for the day included:

Cathy Carson
Nancy and Hanna Cline
Lincoln Cory
Lisa and Layne Freese
Mary Ellen Judd
Kay Lee
Celeste, Jean and Mark Phillips
John Shafer
Al Zebrowski

In the church kitchen we cooked 7 kinds of soup, aproximately 40 gallons. We were much more efficient this year at the soup cooling process! “Practice produces efficiency”. We chopped around 45 pounds of vegetables, donated again by Garners Produce.

This year’s All Church Cooking Day for BNP also included the cook at home component. People who cooked at home provided several more gallons of 3 different kinds of soup and a variety of baked goods. All items were picked up by BNP on Tues. 10/20 and they passed along their great appreciation for our work and contributions.

All in all, it was a great day! Fun and good conversation were all part of our cooking day. Carolyn and Annika, from BNP, send along their thanks and great appreciation for our hard work and contributions.

~Submitted by Cathy Carson

CHO – November Update

November is Canned Meat month for our CHO donations! Please buy canned chicken, salmon, tuna, SPAM, Vienna sausages… when shopping with your parents this month and bring it in to the basket in the Narthex.

Welcoming Our New Pastor

On Sunday November 8th, following worship, please join us in Fellowship Hall for a luncheon to welcome Pastor Ken and his family. Please mark your calendar and save the date. A free-will offering will be collected to help offset the costs of lunch.

November Volunteer List

November 2015 Volunteers
Duty 11/8/2015 11/15/2015 11/22/2015 11/29/2015
Preacher: Ken Miller Rieman Ken Miller Rieman Ken Miller Rieman Ken Miller Rieman
Worship Leader: Brian Bachman Leslie Connolly Scott Seidel Harry Biddle
Children’s Story John Eddy CE Mark Wilkerson Ken Miller Rieman
Acolyte: Cyrus Kianersi Charlotte Kosek Sary Burket Darius Kianersi
Greeters: Comers Zience/Roth Wingert Meadows/Wilkerson
Organists
Hymn Leader:
Shafer/Carson/Wuhrman Shafer/Carson
MacKinnon
Carson/Shafer/Strong Shafer/TBD
Counters: Wilkerson/Beach Biddle/Connolly Levesques Ferrari/Judd
Nursery: Missy Burket Stefani Biddle Landon Kines Missy Burket
Nursery: Casey Comer Emma Bachman Casey Comer Hannah Seidel
Nursery: Hannah Seidel Cortland Comer Emma Bachman Ellie Kosek
Nursery (SS): Kim Ferrari Kim Ferrari Michelle Gill Debbie Seidel
Children’s Church
Leader:
Michelle Gill Karen Richardson Debbie Seidel Jerry Anne Kines
Children’s Church
Helper:
Ellie Kosek Katelyn Judd Hannah Seidel Drew Seidel
Coffee Time: Gretchen Zience Kim Ferrari No Coffee Time Kines/Schultz
Nursery Toy Cleaners: Karen Richardson Karen Richardson Karen Richardson Karen Richardson

The Beauty in Hymns

Hymns have stories. Often we sing hymns and they are familiar to us, but we don’t know anything about who created the lyrics or wrote the tune. Some tunes have been around a long time; others are new. An example of a traditional tune is “Kremser,” the tune name for the song “We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing”. In 1902 the Music Director of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City, J. A. Gibson, desired some new words for the “Kremser” tune with a more “modern” style. He didn’t have to turn far to find someone with the talent to write the new lyrics. Julia Cady Cory, the daughter of the amateur hymnologist J. Cleveland Cady, had been writing hymns from an early age. Mrs. Cory worked hard for two weeks and completed 3 new verses. The new hymn was titled “We Praise thee, O God, our Redeemer, Creator.” Later she added a verse with a Christmas theme. Each verse has roots in the Biblical books of John, Luke, and Romans. The first use of these new lyrics was at Thanksgiving, 1902.
The new hymn was later published in various hymnals including the Presbyterian Hymnal. The title was updated in some printings as “We Praise YOU, O God, our Redeemer, Creator.” This is the version we have used at the Oakton Church and will use again this year. We are particularly happy to use this hymn because Lincoln Cory, a member of our congregation, is a grandson of Julia Cady Cory.

Lincoln Cory
John Shafer

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