Tomorrow morning we will be celebrating Epiphany, the earliest portion of the church’s Christmas celebration. It focuses on the journey, the arrival, and the gifts of the wise ones. Liturgical history moved backward over time to include all three elements: Epiphany, then Christmas on 12/25 and finally Advent as a season of preparation.

Mission Updates

The final total for our Music for JAMS special Advent/Christmas collection is $1,509.95. How exciting is that!!! Our gift will cover the $700 for music stands and provide substantial monies for the instrument fund and/or the cost of instructional materials.

During January and February we collect the $800 for Anita’s tuition scholarship for the next school year at JAMS which begins this winter. Again, please mark your checks and envelopes JAMS. Any additional funds will be directed to the medical fund at the school.

Annual Meeting

Our Annual Meeting is scheduled for next Sunday, January 14, following worship. Please plan to attend. Thank you to everyone who has prepared an annual report and especially to Laura who has brought all the reports together in their final form. There is information available in the Gathering Area pertaining to the proposed edits to the 2012 constitution. Hope to see you on the 14th for worship and the meeting.

Church Council

Please note the next Council meeting is this Wednesday, January 10 at 6:00 pm. Current council members and those who will be nominated at the Annual Meeting to join the council in 2018 are encouraged to attend.

Plastic Caps and Lids for Benches

Keep those plastic caps and lids coming! Sometime this winter we will have an update on how many pounds have been collected so far. Many, many people and groups are helping us gather the 800 pounds of plastic we will need for two Waystation benches. There are several pharmacies, the NIU community, the hospice team at Northwestern Medicine Hospice DeKalb, a bunco group, scouts, and at least five area UCC Churches: Union Congregational in Somonauk, Federated in Sycamore, Garden Prairie UCC in Garden Prairie, St. Paul’s in Hinckley and Woodside in Rockford. Over the holidays, Peggy met with someone from St. Paul’s in Hinckley to talk about their plans for a pollinator garden.

A Word from our Trustees:  Winter Weather Reminder

If you have any questions about whether worship is being cancelled on any Sunday this winter due to weather, by 7:00 am that Sunday morning you can check for an email blast or you can look on the front page of our website, www.mayfieldchurchucc.org.

There is a sign-up sheet in the Gathering Area for sponsorship of bulletins in 2018 ($7 per week), and Becky will have the sheet for liturgists and hospitality hosts for February 2018 at church in the morning. We also still need a liturgist for January 28.

If you have not yet returned your pledge sheet to the church via mail or the offering plate, please do so soon.  Thanks.