We are providing traditional Christmas dinner boxes, Christmas stockings, and toys to eligible clients in our area. Already, over 70 children are registered for Christmas toys, and we still have a week to sign up. Your generosity will give these children a joyful Christmas. Please donate new toys and items for Christmas stockings before December 12. Last year we donated over 200 stockings, and this year the need has greatly increased.

Food Pantry Needs: Breakfast items (cereals, grits, oatmeal, breakfast bars, etc.), canned meats, dessert items (cake mix, pudding, Jell-O, etc.). Marked containers will be placed in the Parish Hall for collection of these items, and they will be transported to the Crisis Center. Please donate your time, talents and energy to sharing Christ’s love with our neighbors by volunteering at North Raleigh Ministries. Call 785-9911 and ask for Katie or contact Pat Baker at 787-5976 to volunteer.

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 a poinsettia or poinsettias for this purpose, please complete the form enclosed in the bulletin and place it in the alms basin at the Offertory or return it to the Parish Office by Sunday, December 15th. Poinsettias are $8.75 each. Please include your phone number on the form. Forms are also available in the narthex.

It is time to “Deck the Halls”!! The ECW will be selling pre-orders for North Carolina grown white pine and fraser fir wreaths of various sizes and roping/garland for your home or business. Pick up and additional purchasing will be available Sunday, November 30th and Sunday, December 6th during Coffee Hour. ECW cookbooks will also be available for purchase throughout the Advent season. There are great recipes from the wonderful cooks of the Church, and this would make an excellent holiday gift. Thank you for your support of the ECW.

This year we will celebrate Thanksgiving with a service at Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church on Six Forks Road on Tuesday, November 25th at 7 PM, and The Reverend Michael Frye from Grace Lutheran Church will be preaching. We will join Grace Lutheran Church, Trinity Baptist Church, St. Mark’s Methodist Church and Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church. Please come and join other members of these churches and their choirs as we thank God for all that He has given us.

We are looking for a person in the Parish who is willing to be trained in how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). It would be good if this person has training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We have access to two new defibrillators in the school building and in the gymnasium, and the Vestry is considering purchasing one for the Parish Hall and the Church. The person ought to have been trained in CPR, but if not, then that training can be provided as well. The school is setting up a training session in January, so if anyone is interested, please contact Father James (787-7590) or Lori Huber, the school nurse (787-1131 Ext. 1123).

The Vestry will hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, November 20th at 6:30 PM in the Parlor.

The Pastoral Care Committee will hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, November 20th at 3:30 PM in the Parlor.

A sign-up sheet for Christmas Pageant parts will be out on the table next to the Parish Hall entrance on November 16th and 23rd. Parts will be selected on November 23rd. Please do not sign up for a part if your family wil not be here on Christmas Eve. Children not in the Pageant will still participate in learning the Carols and making Christmas crafts in the Parish Hall during Church School.

Thank you to Betsy James and all of the people who helped cook, set up, clean up, ate and danced. As part of our Every Member Canvass, wer celebrated being here on Six Forks Road for fifty years and gave thanks for the mission and ministry of our parish, not only for the last fifty years, but also for the years ahead. Everyone who pledged for 2009 came to enjoy some of Mike Lewis’s barbecue and all of the other dishes created by Betsy James and her helpers. We then kicked up our heels with some square dancing.

The Altar Guild will meet on Saturday, November 22nd at 10 AM in the Parlor. The Altar Guild Manual needs editing, the holy days for December need planning and expectations need reviewing. Please make this meeting a priority on your calendar.