E-newsletter - December 2007

Welcome to the December 2007 issue of the St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, e-newsletter. Please take the time to review the details of our upcoming events and information items.

If you need more information on any of these events, please contact the church office at 613-235-2551. Also, if you would prefer to be removed from the e-newsletter list, reply to the church office.

COMING EVENTS

GRACEFIELD IN THE CITY - Saturday, December 1st, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 470 Roosevelt Ave, Ottawa
Fundraising Gala - Silent Auction, Christmas Buffet Dinner and Worship, Tickets are $30. There are great items in the Silent Auction. It's not too late to get a ticket. Call Jean at 613-233-0538 or 613-864-1749.

HOLY COMMUNION
will be celebrated on Sunday December 2nd and on Sunday, December 9th.

PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN
will meet on Wed. 5 Dec. at 7:30pm

LECTIONARY BIBLE STUDY Led by Ruth on Thursday mornings at 11am in the lounge at 174 First Ave. All are welcome. Info. 613-235-0910. Not sure you know what “Lectionary” means? Come and find out!

BIG SOUL PROJECT Sat. Dec 8th at 7:30pm. Come, see and hear the Spirit move at this Christmas Concert to be held at Dominion Chalmers United. Tickets available from Jane Pope $10 in advance or $15 at the door. 613-842-9271

CARLETON UNIVERSITY PAUSE TABLE Exam time is coming up and once again the chaplain, Rev. Tom Sherwood, is running a Pause Table with free food and friendly Christian faces to help exam-stressed, financially pressed students. St. Giles is in charge on Tuesday Dec. 11th. We need lots of muffins, cookies, fruit bread slices etc. to hand out. Also some money to buy bagels, jam, cream cheese, juice etc. for the table. We will be serving several hundred students. Please bring your contributions to the lobby or the kitchen on Sunday, December 9th. Label them for “Carleton” - to make sure we don't eat them at coffee time! Stan Currie, Dorothy Martyn, Edna Fraser, Ruth Smyth and Kristine Berg are our volunteers.

CAMERON HIGHLANDERS PIPES AND DRUMS CHRISTMAS CONCERT at St. Giles Wednesday December 12 at 7:30pm. Admission is free but you asked to bring non-perishable food (or a few dollars) for the Emergency Food Centre.

POT-LUCK MEAL & CAROL SINGING Saturday, December 15th at 5:30 pm. We will share a pot-luck dinner then enjoy some carol singing together. This will also be in support of the Emergency Food Centre. You will be asked to pay with a can of food in order to request your favourite carol!

POINSETTIAS At Christmas we decorate the church with poinsettias which are then taken to shut-in members to brighten nursing home rooms. If you would like to make a donation towards this in memory of a loved one please put any amount of money ($10 - $20 suggested) in an envelope and list the names you wish remembered. The names are needed by Dec. 16th and these donations are added to your income tax receipt.

WHITE GIFTS and CANTATA Sunday Dec 16 will be a special service with the choir presenting their Cantata. We will also be receiving Christmas gifts for the Emergency Food Centre and the Ottawa Mission. Suggestions are non-perishable foods, personal hygiene items, new socks and underwear, juice boxes etc.

CHRISTMAS SUNDAY December 23 The quintet, Polished Brass, will provide special music throughout the service.

CHRISTMAS EVE Service at 11pm on Mon. 24 Dec. Bring all your friends and family!

OUT OF THE COLD DINNER St. Giles will be preparing and serving the meal at Knox church on Saturday 29th Dec. We generally feed about 100 needy people so we require lots of volunteers and also about $250 to buy the food. Call Jean at 613-235-2551 to find out more or sign up. If you can't be there send a cheque to "St. Giles" designated for "Out of the Cold" and you will get a tax receipt.

CONGREGATIONAL NEWS

2008 ENVELOPES For once the strange prophet is right. You will soon need the 2008 envelopes. They can be collected from the lobby today. If you make out monthly post-dated cheques this might be a good time to make them out for next year. It is also a good time to review the amount of your weekly or monthly donations!

FREE TRADE OLIVE OIL from Palestine will be on sale in the church at coffee time on Sundays. Those who attended the Presbytery organized panel discussion "Hearing Voices for Peace in Israel and Palestine" at St. Giles last March will remember the wonderful smell of the oil. Your purchase of 1 litre of extra virgin olive oil for $15 will support farmers in Palestine and peace in the Holy Land.

FLOODS IN PAKISTAN AND INDIA Presbyterian World Service & Development is helping provide emergency supplies. Donations to PWS&D Floods can be added to your regular envelope any week or be made on line at www.presbyterian.ca/pwsd

ST. GILES WEBSITE Our website is not exactly flashy but it does now have our basic information and a changing list of upcoming events. Thanks are due to Stan Currie for the weekly changes including posting of the most recent e news and poster for upcoming events. Go to www.stgilesottawa.org and take a look.

ROOF AND FURNACE FUND The roof is completed and paid for so this winter's task is to raise money to pay for a new furnace in the Logan-Vencta Hall come Spring. The roof was around $58,000 and the furnace will be maybe $18,000.

We already have some funds collected thanks to:
1) The stained glass Photo Exhibit by Terence Morris which has raised $880 profit with more to come as we sell more cards and prints. The note cards are available today at $5 each near the coffee table. They are suitable cards for any occasion, Thank-you, Sympathy, Christmas, Birthday etc.
2) The Twisted Haloes Concert last Saturday which raised $1,448. Many thanks to all the performers and volunteers but especially the Twisted Haloes for all the work they put into making this such an enjoyable night out for everyone.