The Christian Messenger

Fifth Avenue Church of Christ

115 W. Fifth Ave. Lancaster, OH 43130 740-654-0626

December 5, 2011
Brad Seevers
Senior Minister (740-550-9882)

Christmas Eve Service

Saturday, December 24th at 7:00 p.m.

David Tingler
Associate Minister Youth Minister (740-438-5257)

Christmas Worship
Sunday, December 25th at 10:00 a.m. (one combined family worship service)
Nursery, Hosanna, and Sunday School will be suspended so the entire family can worship together. LEADERSHIP FOR 2012
Elders: Larry Bussey, Mike Cooper, Dave Tingler Deacons: Scott Brown, Tim Huffman, Larry King, George Lambert, Dale Rose, Frank Stuck, Don Taylor, Lowell Trimmer, Patrick Wersell Trustees: John Baird, Dan Brown, Bill Kelly, Larry King, George Lambert, Larry King, Don Taylor Financial Treasurer: Deb Cooper Financial Secretary: Marg Shumaker Sunday School Superintendent: Kathryn Albertson Missions Secretary/Treasurer: Debbi Hoagland APPROVED AT THE CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

Glen Shady

Sunday Services

1st Worship
8:00 a.m.

nd

Worship

10:30 a.m.

Bible School
9:15am

Evening Worship
6:00pm

The budget for 2012 was approved

SPIRITUAL STATISTICS December 4, 2011

BITS FROM BRO. DAVE

A NEW ADVENTURE: As a result of the voting, on Sunday, I will be serving as one of your Elders next year. I appreciate your confidence and will seek to perform at my very best. However, understand that this is a new experience for me and you. It is a unique circumstance but, with Gods help and direction, we will persevere. I plan to work prayerfully at balancing my two hats. Do pray for me. WEDNESDAYS: Our two study groups meet at 10:00 am and 6:30 pm each week. This week, we are examining chapter 10 of II Corinthians. SUNDAY EVENINGS IN THE SANCTUARY: The Hard Sayings of Jesus series continues this week (12/11) with an examination of Jesus statement in Matthew 10:25. There, He speaks of the impossibility of the rich entering the Kingdom. On Sunday evening, December 18, the theme will be Unequal Pay as we look at Jesus words in Matthew 20:1-16. KEENAGERS EVENTS: As December is a very busy time for most of us, we are going to be taking a break and scheduling no special events during the month. GIANT PRINT BIBLES: This week, I will have, on hand, a new supply of the GIANT PRINT Bibles. They are soft cover in the New International Version and will sell for $12.50. Sunday, December 11th
Carriage Court Service, 2pm Oversight Meeting, 7pm

Sunday School 1st Morning Worship 2nd Morning Worship Total Morning Worship Evening Worship Family Reunion (11/30) Weekly Budget Budget Received Thanksgiving New Crib Youth Keenagers Reach Out on Campus Maywood Mission Van Building Fund
At the Table 1st

76 89 82 171 36 52 $ 4,471.00 $ 7,917.75 $ 152.74 $ 35.00 $ 117.00 $ 32.00 $ 100.00 $ 25.00 $ 76.00 $ 10.00

SERVING SCHEDULE December 11, 2011

Dave Riggenbach & Ralph Conrad George Lambert, Jack Hardwick, Serving 1st Tim Huffman, Bill Kelly nd Dave Riggenbach and Nick Hinson At the Table 2 George Lambert, Dale Thornton, Serving 2nd Ned Tomlinson, Rod Troutman Dave Riggenbach Pastor of the week George Lambert PM Deacon COMMUNION PREPARATION 1ST Worship Dan and Janet Brown 2nd Worship Fred Griffith GREETERS 1ST Worship 2nd Worship NURSERY Sunday School 2nd Worship

Larry and Jane King George and Alberta Ellis

Laura Wersell and Thea Kallenberg Tracy Eldridge and Marie Huffman Norma Holtom Sue Tingler Marie Huffman

Sunday School Helper Visitor Center 1st Worship Visitor Center 2nd Worship SECURITY 1ST Worship Bible School 2nd Worship Evening Worship

Dan Brown Paul Hoagland Jim Puckett Jim Puckett

There will be a Deacons Meeting for organization purposes on Monday, December 12th at 7:00 pm in the Philothean classroom.

Dorcas Christmas Luncheon at Golden Corral Tuesday, December 20th 11:30 a.m. Everyone is welcome to join the Dorcas Ladies for a great time of fellowship. A sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board.

Greeter and Visitor Center schedules for 2012 will be prepared soon. If you would like to be added to or removed from one of these schedules, please make a note on the back of your Silent Roll Call Card or contact the church office by Sunday, December 18th. Moving Help Needed Men and trucks are needed on December 17th! Anyone who can help move lots of boxes, totes, and some furniture December 15th, 16th, or 17th 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. Please contact Juanita Harmon. All help is much appreciated!

Thank you .
To my dear friends ~ To say I was mildly surprised to see all the ladies with cleaning buckets, all kinds of cleaners, drops, step ladders and all walk in and go to work and go to work they did! My thanks to your wonderful church that supports efforts such as the Lodge. Barbara Mambourg (Mambourg Lodge)
(you can read her entire thank you note on the bulletin board)

Book Nook News

The Book Nook will be having a Christmas fellowship gathering on Monday, December 19th at 6:30pm in the parlor. This gathering is open to everyone in the church family. Bring a plate of cookies to share. Coffee and punch will be provided. The next meeting of the Book Nook will be Monday, January 23rd at 6:30 p.m. The book to be discussed is Her Daughters Dream by Francine Rivers. A copy of this book has been purchased for the church library. If you have been thinking about coming to a Book Nook meeting, check out the book to read and then join us for a great time of Christian fellowship! There are quite a few books in the library from past Book Nook meetings that are available to be purchased for $3 each. All money received will be used to purchase more books for the library.

Would all ladies who came to Dorothy Hermans birthday party please check their coat? There was an extra coat left at the party, and a black coat is missing. Please call Sandy Mooney at 654-1068 or 614-423-4024 if you have the wrong coat.

Lancaster Community Band and the Celebration Singers Holiday Concert Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. Faith Memorial Church

Thank you to everyone who helped with the Ladies Christmas Tea. We appreciate all who planned the Tea, decorated, set-up, prepared food, participated in the program, and helped in the kitchen with clean-up. A wonderful time was had by over 50 ladies.
Library Spotlight
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado (for children) Lucado is a "master illustrator." He artistically paints pictures with words and "The Crippled Lamb" is no disappointment! Little Joshua, a lamb, feels so different from others. He bears spots while others don't. He doesn't have a mom or dad. He can't run, jump and play like the others, for he has a bad leg. Often feeling down on himself, he finds encouragement in a friend named Abigail, an aging cow. Then one unexpected night, Joshua finds that there is a specialness about his differences. There is a unique role only he can fill. The Tinkers Daughter by Wendy Lawton (for Pre-Teens and Teens) (Daughters of the Faith Series) John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrims Progress, mentions only one of his six children in his memoirs: Mary. Born blind in 17th-century England, she held a special place in her fathers heart. When Mr. Bunyan is arrested for unlawful preaching, young Mary travels the streets of Bedford each day, bringing soup to the prison. She resolves to prove she is independent and not hindered by her blindness. Only when she realizes she needs help does she turn to the Lord, the source of all strength.

SERVING SCHEDULE December 18, 2011

At the Table 1st Serving 1st At the Table 2nd Serving 2nd Pastor of the week PM Deacon Tom Puckett and Larry Bussey Dale Rose, Carmel Marsh, Dick Shumaker, Ray Ayers Tom Puckett and Larry Bussey Dale Rose, Nick Hinson, Patrick Hinson, Neal Rudolph Tom Puckett Dale Rose

COMMUNION PREPARATION 1ST Worship Dan and Janet Brown 2nd Worship Fred Griffith GREETERS 1ST Worship 2nd Worship NURSERY Sunday School 2nd Worship Sunday School Helper Visitor Center 1st Worship Visitor Center 2nd Worship SECURITY 1ST Worship Bible School 2nd Worship Evening Worship

Dan and Janet Brown Debbi Hoagland

Shirley Marsh and Reta Conrad Kim Seevers and Cindy Cox Ruth Andrews Judy Gardner Deb Cooper

David Will Bill Kelly Jim Puckett Dick Shumaker

Visit the library and check out a good book!

Prayer Requests

Donnie James Liz Reed Ron Young Anne Watson Jan Foss Pam Brewer

Dorothy Herman Sharon Britch Pam Dykes Rita Balser Hewitt Debbie Wright Elisha Brown

Reta Conrad Ed and Norma George David Grimm Ron Ogden Carol Clum Bruno Dipietrio

Larry Tipple Wanda Dickson Jeane Goldfarb Stacy Byers Our Troops Mark Conrad

A Note from Brad

John Maxwell once wrote: Winning teams Have great leaders; Pick good people; Play to win; Make other team members more successful; Keep improving. You see, everything rises and falls on leadership. There are ways you can get others to do what you want. You can compel them to do it or you can persuade them. Persuading requires an understanding of what makes people tick and what motivates them; that is a knowledge of human nature. Great leaders possess that knowledge. I want to congratulate all our men who were voted into positions of leadership yesterday. Every man was approved. I look forward to working with you during 2012. May our staff and elders remember that our main purpose, no matter what, is to watch over the souls of the believers. May our deacons and trustees serve the people well and find a ministry to lead. Each is important to the Lord and this church. As leaders, may we remember this old adage from Bear Bryant. He said: If anything goes bad, I did it! If anything goes semi-good, then we did it! If anything goes real good, then you did it! Thats all it takes to get people to win football games for you. How much more then we need to remember this in the church? We are all in this work together. I am also happy that are budget was approved. Let us seek to be great stewards of the Lords resources in the year to come. Yesterday our fellowship hall class began a new series entitled: A Savior is Born. All who are looking for a Sunday School class can join us this week as we look at the theme of Peace. We will study Ruth 1:16-21. Last week, we indicated that we will have one service on Christmas morning. It will be held at 10:00 and we are keeping everything simple. We are billing this as an Old-fashioned Christmas. We do hope you will join us as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. In His Service, Brad Seevers, Eph. 3:20-21

Children of God...
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." -Proverbs 22:6

Congregational Meeting Follow-Up

by Glen Shady
Whether you were at the congregational meeting or not this past Sunday, I wanted to write an article once again explaining the situation of my family and our leaving Fifth Avenue. Yesterday I announced that sometime between now and June we will be leaving Fifth Avenue in order to go serve elsewhere in the Kingdom. In the past 6-7 months this is something that has become incredibly clear to us: that God is planning a transition for our family. As of now, we are not sure about the details of this transition, but we do know that we will not be staying at Fifth Avenue past June. We are actively looking to see if God has intentions for us on the mission field, in a campus ministry, in a pulpit, continuing my education on the graduate level, or perhaps something else. As you can see from this list, there are great and varied possibilities and we are starting the process of knocking on these doors as much as we can. We feel very strongly that in the coming months it will be made clear where we are supposed to be going, and we envy your prayers during this time. In the mean time, we very much want to leave Fifth Avenue in as strong a situation as we can. This is why we are making this announcement now, even when there is still much up in the air. The Elders have graciously understood our confidence that we are acting within Gods will, and they desire to support us and be as prepared for this transition as possible. By letting you know this information now, rather than later when there are more answers than questions, it is possible for you to be a part of this process through prayer. It is also possible for the Eldership to openly and actively seek a replacement staff member, as this is a generally time-consuming process. If you have any questions about any of this that is taking place, I would gladly meet with you to discuss them. I want to reiterate what I said yesterday; as much as we are excited to move into the next chapter of our lives, we are sad to leave our family and friends here at Fifth Avenue. It has been a wonderful place to serve and we will always remember the city of Lancaster and this church as our first home. Thank you and God bless all of you for being so good to our family.

Giving Tree 2011 There are still tags available on the Giving Tree in the parlor. This is a wonderful opportunity to spread joy and love on Christmas morning by buying a present for a child in a needy family. These are all local families that we are sponsoring through Job and Family Services. All gifts need to be returned to the church by Sunday, December 18th.