The Vestry will hold its regular monthly meeting this Thursday, November 29th at 6:30 PM in the parlor. Some of the topics on the agenda will be The Every Member Canvass, the Lease Agreement between the Church and the School, the Organ Committee report, the location and time for the Vestry Retreat, the Annual Meeting, and building improvements and inspection.

The Episcopal Church Women invite you to join them for their last meeting of 2007 for food and fellowship at the Cheesecake Factory on Tuesday, December 11th at 7 PM. They are collecting toys for Toys for Tots and ask that you bring a new unwrapped toy to the meeting. If you plan to attend or have any questions regarding the ECW, please contact Elizabeth Bunting at 773-8571 or ebuntingecw@hotmail.com.

The Youth Group will be sponsoring its monthly breakfast on Sunday, December 2nd before the Anual Meeting.

The Youth Group will be sponsoring the Episcopal Housing Ministry’s Angel Tree project again this year. If you would like to sponsor a child, please choose a name on Sunday, November 25th during the coffee hour. In addition, the Youth Group is sponsoring the North Raleigh Ministries’ toy drive and food drive this year. You may purchase a toy and leave unwrapped gifts for children under the tree. You may leave non-perishable foods in the designated bins in the narthex.

These flowers are given either in thanksgiving for blessings received, in memory of departed loved ones, or in honor of someone special or a special event. The names will appear in the Christmas Eve bulletin. If you would like to purchase one or more poinsettias , please complete the form enclosed in the bulletin or in the narthex and place it in the alms basin at the Offertory or return it to the Parish Office by Sunday, December 16th. Poinsettias are $8.75 each. Please include your phone number on the form.

It is time for one last craft buddies event for 2007. Elizabeth McKeathern and Susan Patton will be hosting another “crop” on Saturday, December 1st from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Bring a project of your choice to work on. It can be a scrapbook, rubber-stamping, sewing, knitting or whatever creative project you enjoy. Stay all day or come and go as you please. You can take advantage of having plenty of space to spread out, plenty of time to work and a chance to socialize with other creative people. So bring a snack and come join us. See the poster in the Parish Hall to sign up and for more details.

Our Every Member Canvass began last Sunday. We hope to receive a commitment in the form of a pledge from every member of the parish. The Canvass will be active until the end of December, so between now and then we hope that everyone will complete a pledge card for 2008. There will be pledge cards in the bulletins for the next few Sundays, in the pews and in the narthex. There is a special pledge card for children to complete. The Vestry will be contacting every member, friend or supporter of the parish over the next month so that the entire parish membership is canvassed. If you have already completed a pledge card, thank you; please continue to pray, support and give so that our work can continue and grow. If you have yet to complete a pledge care, please complete one and mail or deliver it to the Parish Office. You may also place it in the alms basin as the collection is taken each Sunday. Thus far we have received 121 pledge cards which is about half of the number we would need to meet our goal. As we continue to canvass the other half of the parish, please try to “Take the Next Step” as we indicated on the poster in the narthex and in the letter you received last week. This Every Member Canvass is a way of returning thanks to God for all that He has done, and when we do that, the life and witness of St. Timothy’s Church will continue and flourish.

During Advent, the children of the Church School will be creating Christmons and decorating a Jesse Tree. This is a tree, or a large banner, with a symbolic tree that is decorated each week by the children with ornaments or objects that represent Old Testament events from Creation to the Birth of Jesus. The ornaments are traditionally handmade and are added one each day of Advent, or a group on each Sunday, with explanations of the symbols and a brief verse of Scripture from the story represented. We will make a different Christmon and study its meaning every Sunday of Advent. This will be done as we practice for the Christmas pageant.

November 18th: Pageant parts will be listed. Please sign up in the Parish Hall if your child will be in the Christmas Pageant (held during the 5:30 PM Service on Monday, December 24th).

November 25th is Craft Sunday. We will discuss the Jesse Tree and create our fist Christmons that Sunday. We will also begin rehearsing for the Christmas Pageant. This is an optional rehearsal.

Call Grace Hurst at 787-7590 or send e-mail to christianed@sttimothys.org if you have questions or comments.

St. Anne’s Chapter of the Episcopal Church Women will meet on Wednesday, November 14th following the 10:30 AM Communion Service in the Parlor. We will finalize our plans for the Bake Sale on Sunday, November 18th following the 9 AM and 11 AM Church services. Any member of the Church who would like to contribute to our bake sale is certainly welcome to do so. Also, we will continue our discussion of the women of the Bible and their contribution to our religious heritage. All women of the Episcopal Church are invited to our meetings. Bring a sandwich to share. A salad, drinks and dessert will be provided.

Please join us at 6:45 PM tomorrow evening at the Buckelews’ place for a bowl of soup, or come at 7:15 PM for just the study. Please call 787-6919 or e-mail John or Judy at jbuckelew1@earthlink.net for directions. Just bring your Bible and a friend and join the group for an evening of food and fellowship. We have completed the study of The Gospel According to Saint John and are thankful for all of the helpful comments and insights John Buckelew brought to our study. Tomorrow evening we will return to The Book of Genesis that we began last summer.Clarence Bunting will lead us through our study. After tomorrow evening we will take a break through the holidays and resume the study in January.