Boulevard Presbyterian Church www.blvdchurch.org

December 2019

Christmas Worship Schedule

Tuesday, December 24

Family Christmas Eve Service

at 5:30 pm

Our family Christmas Eve service will be held at 5:30 pm in the sanctuary. This service will feature a worship experience where the whole family is invited to

participate. Please plan on bringing your family and join us for this service of story and carols!

Candlelight Lessons and Carols Service

with Communion at 8:00 pm

Join us for a joyful and intimate candlelit service as we celebrate the birth of Christ. This year's service will be filled with scripture, carols, choir and traditions that highlight our Christmas season. The Choral Prelude will begin at 7:40 pm. We look forward to seeing you this Christmas at Boulevard!

Sunday, December 29 One Morning Service at 10:00 am

Everyone is welcome at our morning service to continue the celebration of the birth of Jesus, our Savior!

Advent Devotionals

Devotionals are now available on the table in the Lounge and on our website at www.blvdchurch.org. Boulevard offers a special thank you to all who wrote a submission for our annual Advent Devotional. It is always such an inspiration to

see how familiar scripture passages affect people in new and surprising ways.

Advent Classes for All Ages

What Does the Nutcracker Ballet Have to Do with Jesus’ Birth?

Come and Find Out! For the four Sundays of Advent, December 1, 8, 15, and 22, the Equipping Committee invites you to explore together and see what this iconic Christmas ballet can teach us about God’s greatest gift to us. Adults will meet in room 111 at 10 am each week for a video and discussion based on the book The Gift of the Nutcracker by Matt Rawle. The book is optional, but recommended. You may order a copy on the signup sheet in the Lounge or see Martha Hills at 614-261-1919. Cost is $10. It is also available for download on your reading devices for a similar price. Children will meet in room 302 and youth (grade 6 and up) will meet in room 206 (off the Lounge) to learn what this beloved story has to offer.

Commit this Advent to learning a new, fresh way to prepare for Christ’s Birth!

Holding Our Breath

This year Advent begins on December 1, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and includes the four Sundays leading up to Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Christ. We may know the term “Advent” and notice when the green

paraments in worship turn to purple or blue… but Advent also comes at a time of the year when it’s meaning can easily drift into the background. It is the time of year when decorating and family gatherings and shopping and parties and quickly eat up any free time where we otherwise might have time to think about the implications of Advent on our lives and faith.

Frederick Buechner, a well-known novelist and Presbyterian minister, gives a wonderfully insightful and practical description of Advent in Whistling in the Dark.

The house lights go off and the footlights come on. Even the chattiest stop chattering as they wait in darkness for the curtain to rise. In the orchestra pit, the violin bows are poised. The conductor raised his baton.

In the silence of a midwinter dusk there is far off in the deeps of it somewhere a sound so faint that for all you can tell it may be only the sound of silence itself. You hold your breath to listen.

You walk up the steps to the front door. The empty windows at either side of it tell you nothing, or almost nothing. For a second you catch a whiff in the air of some fragrance that reminds you of a place you’ve never been and a time you have no words for. You are aware of the beating of your heart.

The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment.

The Salvation Army Santa Claus clangs his bell. The sidewalks are so crowded you can hardly move. Exhaust fumes are the chief fragrance in the air, and everybody is as bundled up against any sense of what all the fuss is really about as they are bundled up against the windchill factor.

But if you concentrate just for an instant, far off in the deeps of you somewhere you can feel the beating of your heart. For all its madness and lostness, not to mention your

own, you can hear the world itself holding its breath.

The images Buechner uses hit home with me in special ways because I do want to look forward to Christmas and want Christmas to come long before it arrives… yet so often feel like I cannot find signs of the coming of Christmas and begin to almost wonder if it will ever come at all. Christmas brings a warmth and sense of giving that we often seem to lose or miss out on the rest of the year… something that seems to disappear in our “me first” world… something that is discouraged in our society that focuses only on giving when we can get more back.

We look forward to Christmas and the sharing it brings. We look forward to the celebration and the hope it seems to bring to even the darkest places in our lives. We look forward to the excitement and love we see in faces we often overlook the rest of the year. We look forward to Christmas.

And yet it can seem so distant… so far off.... But Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Christ is coming and Advent is the time for us to prepare for it. We do not need to prepare for Christmas by sitting back and complaining about the shopping lines or whining about the attitudes of those around us or gripe that those coordinating the Christmas boxes are asking for more food than toys this year or thinking that Christmas will never get here. That’s not the attitude we are called to have or the preparation we are called to do as Christmas approaches.

We need to remember and act on the fact that Advent is a time of looking forward to Christmas. We need to pick up extra cans of beans or peanut butter for the Christmas boxes and sign up to be part of the delivery celebration on December 15. We are called to celebrate Advent by helping a family in need prepare to celebrate Christmas. We need to read Boulevard’s Advent Devotional each day and participate in the Nutcracker Advent Study at 10 AM on Sunday mornings in December. We need to pause and pray for the leaders in our church, community, state and around the world. We need to send that extra card to family members we may prefer to ignore or to one of the service people or college students or other young people that may be far away from home in this season. We need to find ways to bring Christmas closer… for while we cannot make December 25 come any sooner, we can make the anticipation a special time for us and for those around us.

PRESTON

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Today’s congregation continues strong traditions of:

Living faith through worship, mission, education, and fellowship with the vision of “Reaching Out to Make Disciples.”

Following the path laid out by God through his son, Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sharing the inclusive love of God to all of God’s children and God’s creation.

Exposing the light of Christ to the world through music, words, prayer, and actions.

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Women’s Gathering

Thursday, December 5

Come join the Women of Boulevard at a Gathering on Thursday, December 5, at 11:30 am at MCL Restaurant and Bakery, 3154 Kingsdale Center, Upper Arlington. All women are invited!!

Order Your Poinsettia

through Sunday, December 8

The poinsettias at Christmas time serve as memorials or in honor of loved ones whose names will be printed in the worship bulletins on Sunday, December 22, and Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24. If you would like to donate a poinsettia, we will accept orders through Sunday, December 8. The poinsettias will remain on display through the 8:00 pm Christmas Eve candlelight service, and may be taken home following that service. The cost of each plant will be $10.00. Envelopes for placing your order are available on tables in the Lounge.

Support Heifer with Honor Cards

Honor Cards in support of the Heifer Project can be purchased through December 22. The Honor Card provides you with a way to give the gift of an animal

to aid the receiving family with sustainable income. It can be personalized by Alaina Engdahl with her beautiful calligraphy. There is a sample on the table. Suggestions for Honor Cards: Birthday; Anniversary; Thank You; Just Because; for the person who has everything; co-worker; friend; even Christmas! I have a list. Do you?

All checks to Heifer should be made payable to Boulevard Presbyterian Church. Please note “Heifer” on the memo line.

The Alliance Chorus Concert at Boulevard Presbyterian Church

Sunday, December 15, 2019 3:00-4:30 PM

This year marks their 12th Annual “Harmonies for the Holidays” Concert! Join The Alliance, a few chapter quartets, and a special guest on

December 15 at 3:00 pm for an evening of holiday cheer. With music to fill the air, a bake sale to satisfy all of your sweet tooth cravings, and good people all around, you are sure to have a wonderful time with Ohio’s premiere men’s a capella ensemble! Tickets can be purchased online at www.alliancechorus.org/upcoming-events or at the door.

No Book Club in December

Book Club will resume January 21 at 7:00 pm with a discussion on The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. It is preferable to have read the book to be able to take part in the discussion, but don’t let completing the book stop you from sharing your ideas about it. Book Club will also be discussing what books to choose for the new year.

Please Help with Luminaries

December 24—Christmas Eve at 4:00 p.m.

Many hands make light work. Please come and help fill luminaries with sand and candles and then light them to represent to our neighbors the light of Christ that will come into the world every Christmas.

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Community Christmas Packages

The Deacons are delighted to once again be coordinating the annual Community Christmas Package Project! This local outreach activity provides an opportunity for us to come together to share the love of Christ with our neighbors in need. We will be delivering the Christmas Packages this year on Sunday, December 15.

You are invited to participate in this mission project by baking cookies, donating food, and/or purchasing toys for the families in our community who are in need. The following food schedule identifies the dates in which certain food items will be highlighted for collection:

November 10 Canned Vegetables — any variety

November 17 Peanut Butter — 28 oz. jar or larger

November 24 Box of Cereal

December 1 Box of Saltine Crackers

December 8 Pork & Beans or Baked Beans and any food items from previous weeks

December 9 Toy and Gift Card donations

December 13 Cookies due to the church

Please deliver your food items to Fellowship Hall. Early donation helps with the inventory process. Feel free to bring in as much as you can carry! Additionally, as you are able, please remember to take a star from the bulletin board to buy toys for the kids. Thanks so very much! If you have any questions or wish to find out how you may help out even more, please contact Becky Elliott at 614-481-9173 or beckyelliott74@yahoo.com

The Preschoolers are starting to prepare for the annual Christmas program on Thursday, December

12. All are invited to come and watch the children sing! This time of year is very exciting for our children as we count down to Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Mark Your Calendars!

You are invited to participate in these rewarding Community Christmas Package activities! All activities will take place in Fellowship Hall.

Friday, December 13 at 6:30 pm: Box and Cookie Night — tape up the boxes; package up the cookies; and stage Fellowship Hall for Food Assembly

Saturday, December 14 at 9:30 am: Food Box Assembly Day

Sunday, December 15 at 12:30 pm:

Deliver Christmas Packages — Sign up sheets coming soon!

Children’s Collection for the Community Christmas Boxes

On the bulletin board in the hallway off the Lounge, there are still some stars available. Gift stars will have a gender and age designation or a food designation. You may take as many stars as you wish and donate a gift in accordance with the star. Gifts should cost about $10. Simply attach the star to the unwrapped gift and drop it off at any time in the storage tub located below the bulletin board. Cereal stars will have some suggestions on the back for healthy but tasty children’s cereals. Food items should go in the blue tub located in the narthex.

If you wish to donate money rather than purchasing gifts/cereal/peanut butter, you may place an envelope in the collection plate on Sunday morning or leave it in the church office. If you are writing a check, please note “Gift Stars” in the memo section. All gifts and donations should be delivered by Monday, December 9.

Thank you in advance for your generosity. If you have any questions, please contact Allyson Engdahl at 614-488-7252.

Boulevard

Can You Measure Up?!

“To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing, to God and to the Lamb, I will sing;

To God and to the Lamb who is the great I AM, while millions join the theme,

I will sing, I will sing; While millions join the theme, I will sing!”

It is with wistfulness and fondness that we remember Annabelle Marshall, a long-time member of Boulevard’s Chancel Choir, who passed away in September. With

generous donations given in her name to the music fund at Boulevard, the Worship and Music Committee and the Chancel Choir have agreed to use the money to purchase new choir robes in her memory.

We will be measuring current choir members for robe fitting, but we will also be ordering extra robes in various sizes. If you have been thinking about joining the Chancel Choir, this would be a perfect time to take that step! Come have your measurements taken either between services or after the 11:15 service through December. We anticipate being able to place an order before the end of the year.

It’s always exciting and inspiring to have something new and special. We are thankful to those folks who gave generously in Annabelle’s name. She loved music and she loved the Chancel Choir. We extend the invitation to you to join us in music ministry! Sing on!

“And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;

and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on; And when from death I’m free,

I’ll sing and joyful be, and through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;

And through eternity I’ll sing on.”

Youth & Friends - grades 6-12

Please join us for talk on what the Nutcracker has to do with the birth of Jesus on December 1, 8, 15, and 22 in Room 206 (off the Lounge). Come to all or even just one or two gatherings ... a time to hang out and share about our week before moving into a message and prayer together. We will have snacks!

Youth and Parents

Please mark your calendars and come to church on Sunday, December 8 at one or both services (you only need to attend one). The youth will share with the congregation the Heifer animals they chose to purchase with their funds – including how they raised those funds. Members of the Equipping and Mission committees will participate along with the Youth.

There is still time to purchase an animal from Heifer as a unique gift that provides sustainability to families. Check out the Heifer card options in the lounge. Alaina Engdahl will personalize your gift with her beautiful calligraphy.

We are looking for individuals to assist with the Advent Youth Classes. Please contact Charmaine Hamilton if you are able to assist on December 1, 8, 15 or 22. We have the Leader Guide to The Gift of the Nutcracker and welcome all your opinions.

Confirmation Class 2020

There will be a meeting on Sunday, January 5 at 10:00 am for parents and youth interested in confirmation class for 2020.

May 2020 Rummage Sale Update

As you finish decorating for the past and upcoming holiday seasons and may be considering minimizing when packing those decorations away, please consider donating your excess décor to the rummage sale. Items can be left in Room 304 (Youth Room) on the third floor. Please contact Charmaine Hamilton (614-488-4710) or the church office (614-486-0267) if you have additional questions. Thank you for your support.

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What keeps the wild hope of Christmas alive year after year in a world notorious for dashing all hopes

is the haunting dream that the child who was born that day may yet be born again even in us. —Frederick Buechner

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Food Mission Sunday

Sunday, December 22

Food Mission Sunday is the fourth Sunday of each month. Our nutritional focus is food with a higher protein content.

Chunky Soup

Canned Chicken

Peanut Butter

Canned Pasta

Cans of Pork and Beans

Plus - Please consider donating toothpaste and/or toothbrushes (adult or child sizes) along with your food donations.

NNEMAP also accepts the HOTEL shampoo, soap, lotion and coffee packets provided to guests. These sample products can be offered to NNEMAP clients when resources for these items are low. And, of course, those brown paper grocery bags are always welcomed.

Please place your donations in the large wooden cabinet in the narthex, the one with the ‘Food Mission’ sign on it.

A Big Thanks from NNEMAP!

Cents-Ability Update

As of November 24 $342.86 has been donated to Cents-Ability in 2019.

Please remember to save your pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Bring it to church and add your loose change to the Cents-Ability jar!

Being Good Stewards

#5 plastics are still being collected. Make sure they are CLEAN and DRY. They can be taken to Whole Foods or Charmaine Hamilton will take them for you. The

collection container at Whole Foods is located by the carts in the left corner. Bags containing #5 plastics for Charmaine can be left in the kitchenette. Please make sure her name is noted on the bag.

The Presbyterian Women United hosted Dr. Linda Mercadante, a retired professor from the Methodist Theological School of Ohio and an ordained Presbyterian Church (USA) minister on November 13 at Worthington Presbyterian Church. In summary, Dr. Mercadante spoke about God's creation and every person's responsibility to take care of the earth. Are you making a difference?

Pull for the House!

Even though the Presbyterian Women’s Group is not running at full speed, we are still collecting aluminum pull tabs for the Ronald

McDonald House at Children’s Hospital.

To date we have contributed approximately 75 pounds. The profits they receive from recycling them are used to offset various expenditures of the house.

We currently have a large collection house in the Lounge. Soon we will be adding a large house in the Fellowship Hall. Hopefully this will capture participation from the groups that utilize this area during the week.

Sally Neff has placed small houses on each floor of Thurber Tower also. We can provide you a small house for individual home use.

It may seem small but it all adds up and is greatly appreciated.

Partners in Education (PIE)

Sponsored by the Presbytery Commission for Nurture and

Outreach

January 11, 2020

New Location: Worthington Presbyterian Church 773 High St, Worthington

Plan now to participate in the Presbytery's popular annual PIE leadership event. The cost is $10 per person (includes lunch). This event will focus on “Becoming Vital Congregations”

and will feature guest leader Kathryn Threadgill, PC(USA) Coordinator for the denominational Vital Congregations' program. Also featured will be David Gambrell, PC(USA) Associate for Music and Worship and specialist on the Glory to God hymnal. In the midst of worship and keynotes, there will be a wide variety of workshops, such as elder and deacon training, Christian Education, older adult programming, global mission, legal issues in the church, worship, music and others.

More information can be found on the Presbytery of Scioto Valley’s website (including the registration form) at www.psvonline.org and will be printed in the January Good News.

Boulevard’s Picture Page

Thank you for taking time in your busy schedules to make a difference. God gave us a beautiful day for working outdoors. A total of eight yards were raked by two shifts. The Youth involved in raking agreed to give all donations to the Heifer Project. There will be a presentation at the worship services about what animals were chosen. The leaf raking crews voiced their support of purchasing a cow, bees, and chickens.

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Mary Ann - Vacation

2019 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 1st Sunday in Advent Cents-Ability Sunday

9:00 am Worship: Chapel 10:00 am Advent Class for all ages: 111, 206, 302 11:15 am Worship: Sanctuary

2 6:30 pm

Boy Scouts: FH

3 7:30 pm AA Group: FH

4 9:30 am Quilters: 111 5:45 pm Cub Pack Committee 7:00 pm Cub Scout Pack: FH 7:30 pm NA Group: 111

5 10:00 am Staff Meeting 11:30 am PW Gathering at MCL, Kingsdale 6:00 pm Music Team 6:30 pm Bell Choir 7:00 pm FA Group: FH 7:30 pm Chancel Choir

GA Group: 111

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8 2nd Sunday in Advent

Homebound Communion

9:00 am Worship: Chapel 10:00 am Advent Class for all ages: 111, 206, 302 11:15 am Worship: Sanctuary

9 6:00 pm Finance Committee: Lounge 6:30 pm Boy Scouts: FH 7:00 pm Session: Chapel

10 7:30 pm AA Group: FH

11 9:30 am Quilters: 111 6:30 pm Bell Choir 7:30 pm Chancel Choir

NA Group: FH

12 6:00 pm Preschool Christmas Program: Sanctuary 7:00 pm FA Group: FH 7:30 pm GA Group: 111

13 Part Day

Preschool closed through

January 3

6:00 pm Assemble and Label Christmas Boxes: FH

14 9:30 am Pack Christmas Boxes: FH

15 3rd Sunday in Advent

Hanukkah begins

9:00 am Worship: Chapel Session will receive new Members following the service 10:00 am Advent Class for all ages: 111, 206, 302 Property: 300 11:15 am Worship: Sanctuary 12:30 pm Deliver Christmas Boxes 3:00 pm Alliance Chorus Concert: Sanctuary

16 6:30 pm Boy Scouts: FH

17 7:00 pm Scout Troop Committee: 111 7:30 pm AA Group: FH

18 9:30 am Quilters: 111 6:30 pm Bell Choir 7:30 pm NA Group: FH

19 6:00 pm Music Team 6:30 pm FA Group: FH 7:30 pm Chancel Choir

GA Group: 111

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22 4th Sunday in Advent Food Mission Sunday

9:00 am Worship: Chapel 10:00 am Advent Class for all ages: 111, 206, 302 11:15 am Worship: Sanctuary 12:30 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry

23 Full Day

Preschool closed through

January 3

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Christmas Eve

5:30 pm Family Christmas Eve Service: Sanctuary 7:30 pm AA Group: FH 8:00 pm Candlelight Service: Sanctuary

25 Christmas Day

7:30 pm NA Group: FH

26 6:30 pm FA Group: FH 7:30 pm GA Group: 111

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10:00 am Worship: Sanctuary

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New Year’s Eve

7:30 pm AA Group: FH

Office closed.

Office closed.

Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” —C.S. Lewis

Deadline for Month Good News Friday, December 13

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Boulevard Prayer Chain

If you would like to make a prayer request, please contact the Church Office at 614-486-0267.

Prayers for Healing and Strength

Dale Johnson – recovery from hip replacement surgery (husband of Linda Johnson—former Boulevard secretary) Amy Smith – recovery from aneurism surgery (Amy and Greg are former members of Boulevard) Ellen Rennick – recovery from surgery Jill Hooley – recovery from foot surgery Julie Wall – recovery from surgery (Kyme Rennick’s mother) Levi Hooley – recovery from ear surgery Katy Frase – recovery from surgery Sandy Ferguson – cancer Mark Nicholson – T-cell transplant (Pat Nicholson’s son) Pat Rieve – needs kidney transplant Terry McFadden and all involved Dan Hooley – heart issues Michael Frase – Crohn’s disease Matthew Hills – recovering from car accident Judy McMahon – to regain strength Cathy – major health problems, needing peace and calm (Carol McFadden’s friend) Amelia Hamilton (Charmaine and Mike Hamilton’s granddaughter) Tim McLane (Mikie Bowles’ brother) Jerry Braun – cancer (Mike McKinney’s brother-in-law) Mark Nelson – for healing, comfort, and peace (Mikie’s Bowles son-in-law) Brita Knapp – at home Norman Knapp – for healing and strength

Prayers for Our Special Care List Barbara Frautschi – Westminster Thurber Gay Hadley – Westminster Thurber Pathway House Evelyn Hannaway – Friendship Village of Dublin Norma Kibbey – Westminster Thurber Assisted Living Llora LeFevre – The Forum at Knightsbridge Leni Leypoldt – at home Becky Metzler – hospice care at Crown Pointe Peggy Pasko – Woodview Care and Rehab Pat Ronsheim – Westminster Thurber Assisted Living Chuck and Dorothy Rout – Westminster-Thurber Assisted Living John and Virginia Schlitt – Whetstone Assisted Living Betty Sikking – at home

2019 Total Budget: $320,702.00

Contributions and Expenses

October 2019

Actual Budget

Contributions 21,656.68 26,725.00

Expenses 26,379.71 26,724.00

Surplus or (Deficit) (4,723.03) 1.00

Year-to-Date

Contributions 258,360.59 267,250.00

Expenses 256,253.30 267,240.00

Surplus or (Deficit) 1,837.29 10.00

Boulevard Staff

Pastor Preston Shealy

Ext. 26

Music Coordinator Mary Ann Stephens

Ext. 16

Office Manager Carol Fry

Ext. 10

Deacons

Class of 2019 Beryl Bunn

Alaina Engdahl Kevin Hicks

Class of 2020 David Connor

Class of 2021 Carol Agler

Bill Bell Beth Snider

Session

Class of 2019 Charmaine Hamilton

Cindy McKay Sarah Murdick

Ian Rennick

Class of 2020 Stefanie Osborne

Krissy Schafer Rob Williams

Travis Williamson

Class of 2021 Fred Agler

Sandy Ferguson Jill Hooley

Melissa Schmidt

23 Barbara Rine 24 Liv Williamson 25 Emersyn Hicks 25 Dustin Shealy 26 Barb Miller 27 Carol Kizer 27 Kyme Rennick 28 Beryl Bunn 29 Eric Engdahl 31 Joe Mattiaccy

1 Bruce Smith 3 Bill Frase 3 Carol Fry 4 Linda Mahoney 12 Elijah Williams 14 Vince Nobel 17 Garrett Hunt 17 Sebastian Hunt 17 Linda Wilton 18 Reno Cameruca 23 Garrett Culbertson

Volume 22, Issue 12 December 2019

Boulevard Presbyterian Church 1235 Northwest Boulevard Grandview Heights, OH 43212 614-486-0267 www.blvdchurch.org