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NOVEMBER 29, 2020 WATCHWORD TEXT FOR THE YEAR: YES, EVERYTHING IS FOR YOUR SAKE, SO THAT GRACE, AS IT EXTENDS TO MORE AND MORE PEOPLE, MAY INCREASE THANKSGIVING, TO THE GLORY OF GOD. II CORINTHIANS 4:15 WHAT'S INSIDE THIS ISSUE: *Board Election Results, *Angel Tree *Adopt a Highway, *"Our" Moravian Star, *Volunteer Opportunities, *Poinsettias for Advent *Prayers, Calendars and More! BOARD ELECTION RESULTS The Results of the Unity Church Board Elections are: Ashley Garcia Scott Culbertson Jessy Burcaw We thank Henry and Brian for their willingness to be candidates for service! Many thanks to Board Members who are rotating off this year: Bob Morrell, Brendan Garcia, and Chase O’Brien. And welcome Ashley, Scott, and Jessy to the Church Board. May God continue to bless our congregation and its leadership as we continue to follow Christ into the world to bring healing, wholeness and peace among our people. -Pastor Barry 2020 There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give the the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked to the chapel, sadly, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up. 'Pepita', he said "I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him will make Jesus happy." Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus. As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flores de Noche Buena', or 'Flowers of the Holy Night'. The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity. BARTRAM OF PHILADELPHIA. AT THE FIRST PHILATDhEeL pPoHinIsAe tFtLiaOs WinE tRhe S SHanOcWtu,a RryO tBhEisR yTe aBrU IST, A PLANTS-MANar eF RdeOdMic aPtEedN aNs SfoYlLloVwAsN: IA SAW THE FLOWER AND HE WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST PERSON TO HAVEGiven SO byL D THE POINSETTIAS UNGivenDER by THEIR Audrey Parsons Mary Conover BOTANICIn HonorAL, ofOR LATIN NAME, NAME In'E MemoryUPH ofORBIA PULCHJimE andRR BethIM BastaA' (IT MEANS, 'THE MOSLyleT B ConoverEAUTIFUL EUPHOGivenRB IbyA'). THEY WERE FIRST SOLGivenD A byS CUT FLOWEAudreyRS. I TParsons WAS ONLY IN THE EARLBeckyY 19 Norman00S THAT THEInY Memory WER ofE SOLD AS WHOLE PLANIn THonorS F ofOR her parents, Rufus and Thelma Smith Pastor Barry Foster LANDSCAPING AND POT PLANTS. THE ECKE FAMILY FROM SOUTGivenHE byRN CALIFORNIA WERE ONGivenE O byF, IF NOT, THEChuck FIR SandT CarolTO STatumELL THEM AS WHFrankOL Eand P NancyLAN WonsavageTS AND In Memory of In Memory of theirTH Eparents,Y'RE JimmySTIL andL T JuanitaHE M WalkerAIN & PRODtheirUC parents,ER O JakeF T andHE Edith PL ASmithNT &S INCharles THE and U SMaryA. IEulaT I TatumS THOUGHT THAJohnT TandH ChloeEY B WonsavageECAME KNOWN AS POINSETTIA IN THE MID 1830S WHEN Given by Given by PEOPJimLE and F OBethU NBastaD OUT WHO HAD FIRSTJudy B RDukeOUGHT TInH MemoryEM ofTO AMERICA FROM MEXInI CHonorO. of their son, Jeffrey Arthur Basta & Beth and Jim Basta their parents, Joseph and Ida Basta & THERMaxE I andS A RuthN O PagelLD MEXICAN LEGEND AGivenBO byU T HOW POINSETTIAS AND CHRISTMAS COME TJudyOG DukeETHER, IT Given by In Honor of Allen and Shirley YoderGOES LIKE THIS: Donna Shore In Memory of Shirley'sTHE parents,RE W Mr.AS and O NMrs.C EBanner A P OJolly;O R MEXICAN GGivenIRL by CALLED Ray Atkinson & Lynn Yoder Deejie Culbertson PEPITA WHO HAD NO PRESENT TO GIInV HonorE T Hof E THE BABY JESGivenUS AbyT THE CHRISTMAherS Eparents,VE S EHenryRVI &C JeanES .Pearce AS PEPITAAllen W AandLK ShirleyED TYoderO THE CHAPEL, SADLY, HER COUSIN In Honor of Given by CamPED LaneRO TRIED TO CHEER HDeejieER U CulbertsonP. 'PEPITA', HInE HonorSAI ofD "I'M SURE THAT EVEN InT MemoryHE S ofMALLEST GIFArthurT, GI andVE TeresaN BY Perry SOMEONE WHO LOVMelvinES H KnouseIM WILL Given by MAKE JESUS HAPPY." Given by Ellen Sosack Deejie Culbertson In Memory of In Memory of PherE Pparents,ITA DElmerID Nand'T Verna KN OOttoW & WHAT SHE COJessiUL CulbertsonD GIVE, SO SHEsons, PIC DavidKE Dand A Luther SMA MengelLL HANDFUL OF WEEDS FROM THE ROADSIDE AND MADE THEM INTO A A SMALL BOUQUET. SHE FELT EMBARRASSED BECAUSE SHE The poinsettias in the Sanctuary this year are dedicated as follows: Given by Dana Myers In Honor of Gabrielle and Kassidy Stevenson & Sam Winkler Given by Dana Myers In Honor of The Technology Team: Bob Morrell, Chuck Tatum & Scott Culbertson Given by Dana Myers In Honor of Lee Christensen Anonymous Gifts Given in Honor of Ray and Janice Wilson Ellen Sosack Dennis and Bari Fort Allen and Shirley Yoder Dana Myers Kitty Roberts Maynard and Becky Surratt Ken Carden The Unity Moravian Church Board Kay Vance Kay Brown Pat Stine A single rose is given in honor of Cooper Donadio's First Christmas. ANGEL TREE We have 4 children from Lewisville Elementary School this year. They are especially in need of clothes. Rules: 1. Select your angel. You can pick it up in the narthex or call the church or Linn Parsons so we will know when a child is chosen. Linn or Dana will then remove that child from the table and list. First come first serve. If your first choice is already taken, Linn will let you know so you can choose another. 2. Wrap your packages and place the child's info (especially the ID #) on the outside of the gift. 3. Return your gift to the Narthex by the DEADLINE SUNDAY DEC 13. If you are uncomfortable shopping in person but would still like to participate, choose an angel and leave it with your donation toward your gift in the jar in the Narthex. Linn will do your shopping for you. Thanks as always for your loving support of these kids. -Linn Parsons The Technology Team reports that more volunteers are needed to help with weekly live streaming of the service. Training will be provided and social distancing, masks and other Covid-precautions are always followed in the sanctuary. If you are willing and able to help with this vital part of our church's worship life, contact Bob Morrell at [email protected]. Penny Atkinson - November 30 Austin Culbertson - November 30 Faye Johnson - November 30 Henry Pearce - December 4 Gordon & Nancy Cranfill - December 3 Thank you to all Unity members who participated in the September Highway Clean Up effort! The next cleanup date will be December 5. Congratulations to Unity's Becky Surratt , the latest Board of Cooperative Ministries Moravian Star! Becky certainly deserves this special honor and everyone who knows her knows how hard she works to build the Kingdom of God here on earth. Congratulations, Becky! You shine bright! PRAYERS FOR OUR CHURCH FAMILY Remembering Our Church Family: Don Matney, Bill Parks (has had a couple of falls and is recovering at home), Terry Sink, Richard Williamson, Judy Johnson (receiving radiation therapy), Teresa Perry (pancreatic cancer), Jim Basta (cancer), Dan & Brenda Pugh (recovering) Remembering Members Who Find It Difficult to Join Us with Physical Presence: Jennifer Beard, Jere Dailey, Dot Faircloth, Lou Utt, Dee Young Remembering Those Who Mourn: the families, friends and neighbors of all those lost to Covid-19 and its complications; Kay Brown who’s sister, Julia Davis died on Tuesday, November 3; Randy Noftle who lost his brother John on Monday, November 9, Kay Vance who lost her sister-in-law Patricia on November 19. PRAYERS FOR OUR EXTENDED FAMILY Linda Bean (sister of Anita Hughes & Carol Tatum), Freida Belcher (friend of Judy Duke), Janice Blackburn (friend of Linn Parsons), Larry Cook (friend of Will Smith), Jackie Cregger (niece of Teresa Perry), Margo Ehlers (neighbor of Judy Duke), Polly Fishel (aunt of Lynn Williamson), Sam Freeman (neighbor of Judy Duke), Nadine Haydon (relative of Kim Felton), David Langill (friend of Henry and Jean Pearce), Louise Poindexter (mother of Janet Sowers), Brenda Proffitt (friend of Becky Surratt), Martha Riddle (friend of Jayne Parks), Katie Schreiber (granddaughter of Joy Cole), Clark Steed (brother-in-law of Teresa and Art Perry), Kimberly Stewart (friend of Ashley Garcia), Phyllis Wilcox (neighbor of Judy Duke), Nancy Yerigan (cousin of Kay Vance), Myrtle Phelps (mother-in-law of Christine Phelps), Michaela (Christine Phelps' step granddaughter), David McElveen (son of Bill and Carol McElveen), Robin Winfrey (sister of Shirley Yoder), Ralph Akens (friend of Yoders) Serving in Missions: Andrew Craver & Jenna Nodine (Bethel, Alaska) A HYMN FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT (CLICK LINK ABOVE TO LISTEN) OUR CHURCH CALENDAR & UPCOMING EVENTS Sunday, November 29 10:00 am, Holy Communion, Parking Lot 11:00 am, Worship (livestream) Tuesday, December 1 Bible Study, Online Contact Brendan Garcia for information to connect Wednesday, December 2 7pm, Unity “Happy Hour" (Zoom) watch your e-mail for the link to connect Thursday, December 3 7pm, Girl Scouts Troop Meeting WATCHWORD FOR THE WEEK: FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT "THEN THEY WILL SEE 'THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS' WITH GREAT POWER AND GLORY." MARK 13:26 Unity Moravian Staff: Pastor: Rev. Barry Foster, [email protected] Acolytes: Kim Felton, [email protected] Randy Noftle, [email protected] Organist: Donna Shore, [email protected] Choir and Band Director: Dennis Fort, [email protected] Believers Music Leaders: Ruth Burcaw and Randy Noftle Treasurer: Lee Christensen, [email protected] Pastoral Intern: Dana Myers, [email protected] General Emails: [email protected] Technology Team: [email protected].