Bulletin Board

WORSHIP HOURS - The contemporary service is at 8:30 a.m. (This additional service includes a variety of music styles and interactive format. We will celebrate the Lord's Supper every Sunday.) Tell your friends to come join us for this joyful celebration every Lord's Day.

Sunday School for all ages at 9:30 a.m.

Traditional Worship at 10:30.

Birth - 2nd Grade program during second service

STITCH 'N STUFF NEWS - Acts 20:35 Paul said, "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive.

December 2nd was another great day at Hope Hospice! We had our Christmas Pot Luck dinner with about 50 people. Canned goods were brought instead of a gift exchange.

December 13th we took a total of 844 items to Page Healthcare Center, and on December 16th we took a total of 425 items to Hope Hospice. We hope to have our big Project Linus meeting the last Saturday in January. This is to be an educational meeting with speakers from Health Park Hospital, the Sheriff's Department, ACTS and many others to share the needs of Lee County.

We are in need of polyester stuffing, quilt batting, material and bias tape of any color, and we are in need of people to sew at home. Our group meets in Clayton Hall every Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with a brown bag lunch. Everyone is invited to come and help, to join in the fun and fellowship, to learn a new craft, and to offer new ideas. Most materials are furnished - just bring yourself.

Please call Betty C. or the church office for more information.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION NEWS - Sunday School and Wednesday Connection have resumed after the Christmas holiday.

We have two adult classes and two children's classes. Our ladies' class, which is led by Eileen, will continue with their study of the Bad Girls of the Bible series. The adult mixed group, led by Bill and Gary, has started a study of the gospels using the book, "The Harmony of the Gospels."Monica leads the teen Sunday School class with topics for life application that helps our Christian teens in today's world. Barb leads the children's class with a variety of Bible based stories that help to build a strong Christian foundation for our children.

Our Wednesday Connection has concluded its study of the various religions around the world. We will begin a new study of Presbyterian history and faith. We begin each mid-week study with a fellowship meal prepared by the loving hands and hearts of volunteers, which is served from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for those who are interested in a Fellowship meal.

At 6:30 p.m. we continue with a song and prayer and then our study. The Youth Group shares the time of fellowship and song and then split to their group activity.

ANNUAL REPORT - If you would like a copy of the Annual Report they will be on the table in the back of the sanctuary.

MISSION OUTREACH - Mission Outreach meets at 9:30 a.m. every Wednesday for fellowship, prayer, singing, and coffee. Everyone is welcome. They will be having another Soup & Salad event on Sunday, February 12th. Please mark your calendar and watch the bulletin for more information.

One of Mission Outreach's special mission projects at this time is to help support a small country called Madagascar near South Africa. It has been in crisis for many years now with revolutions, etc., but the PCUSA has remained active with missionaries there when possible. The people have very little food and hardly any water with no way to earn any money. PCUSA and others have stepped in and through ECHO and other organizations. The people are being taught how to grow trees - mainly fruit to be able to sustain a livelihood. In one area Dan T. visited 70 families have planted 20 tangerine trees each. Less than a year later the trees have started producing. In full production the trees should make a profit of $600.00 a year per family helping the people escape poverty.

Dan T. who is a missionary from PCUSA along with his wife Elizabeth partners with ECHO and spoke at one of our Wednesday Connections Dinners, telling us about this beautiful, but tragic country. Dan T. recently came back from Madagascar and he participated in an inauguration celebrating 10 new wells. The wells are a part of FJKM community health program to address the problem of diarrhea. Since getting these new wells, health volunteers report the incidence of diarrhea in this community has plummeted, but many more are needed and this is what we hope to accomplish, helping to get a New well for these people.

ECHO has contributed greatly to this country by introducing 175 varieties of trees successfully in Madagascar, one of them being an unusual type of palm tree which only grows there.

Mission Outreach with your help will be sponsoring a Soup and Salad Luncheon after church on February 12th with all proceeds going toward this worthy cause. The suggested donation for the luncheon will be $5.00 or more. If you would like to help with the luncheon, see Katherine N. or Beth D.

SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY - This is an annual Mission Outreach conducted by Youth Groups nationwide to raise awareness for hunger and needy children. BPC Youth Group will be collecting canned and non-perishable food for this from January 29th to February 12th. All food items can be put in the grocery cart in the Narthex. All money donations will be collected after the 8:30 a.m. service and before the 10:30 a.m. service on February 5th and 12th. Please consider giving to the worthy cause.

OFFERING ENVELOPES - Your offering envelopes are ready to be picked up in back of the Sanctuary. Remember the blue envelope is for your Per Capital which is $19.00 this year. If you have not had envelopes in the past, but would like them, please call the church office (694-2444) and let us know. Thank you.

There is a request from the "money counters." When you are making out your offering envelopes and writing a check, please put your check number on the envelope. With the new accounting system, I can enter your check number in the system. It will make it easier for you to keep tabs on your offering.

FLOWER CALENDAR - The 2012 Flower Calendar is in the Narthex now. If you would like to reserve a date for a special reason, in memory, or in honor of someone, please put in on the calendar.

3-CENTS-A-MEAL - The Youth Group has the 3-Cents-A-Meal Banks ready if you would like to have one. It's a good way to collect your 3-Cents-A-Meal. They will be in the back of the Sanctuary. Don't forget to bring your pennies that you have been collecting. The next 3-Cents-a-Meal Sunday is January 29th.

FISH FRY - Fish Fries will be from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. There is a sign up sheet in the Narthex for you to put your name by the job you would like to help with. As we have done before, we will do the first Friday of the month until April, 2012. In 2012 the dates are February 3rd, March 2nd, and April 6th. We are always looking for help with setting up, cooking, serving, cleaning up and making desserts. If you can do any of these things, please contact Georgette to offer your expertise in any way you can. These Fish Fries do two things for BPC; we have made new friends through them and also we make money for our church. Both are blessings for our community. We look forward to seeing you on December 2nd.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped with the last Fish Fry . We made a profit of $1,680.95 after expenses. We also collected $38.10 for Relay for Life.

YOUTH GROUP - In case anyone knows kids from 6th grade to 12th grade and they would like to invite them to church, Youth Group meets on Wednesday night in conjunction with Wednesday Night Connection, and on Sunday we have class for the same age group from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. We would like to thank all of you who have stepped up, participated in, and contributed to our programs. If you haven't contacted me, please do so soon. We are completing tasks NOW through March.

The Youth Group was very busy in December.

The Youth were practicing for the Christmas program on Sunday during Sunday School and Wednesday during Youth Group which was performed on Sunday, December 18th. In case you missed it it was a marvelous show enjoyed by all. Thank you to Candace, Grace, Amanda and Barb for your hard work in this endeavor.

The biggest accomplishment for the Youth was hosting their first pancake breakfast. The breakfast was held on Saturday, December 17th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This was a great success. There were 40 to 50 people served and $261.00 in profit was made due to the fact that all supplies were generously donated. A HUGE thank you to Dick, Susie, Katherine, Diane and anyone else who donated or helped in any way. The Youth Group is going to continue the pancake breakfast the third Saturday of every month with the last one being in April. The next breakfast will be February 18th from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

In spite of all this "WORK" we did manage some fun. The Youth Group went ice skating at Germaine Arena. It was an extremely good time and nobody broke anything. The Youth Group also had a lock-in at the church on Wednesday, December 28th & 29th. The kids arrived around 5:00 p.m. A marvelous time as had by all.

Please remember on February 5th the Youth Group will be collecting for their annual Souper Bowl of Caring, which all donations will be going to a local charity. There will b e an insert in the bulletin and an announcement made in church to remind you.

The Youth will continue to have fundraisers and we hope that all of you will continue to support us.

Thank you for your continued support.

Monica

FELLOWSHIP NEWS - The Fellowship Committee would like to thank the BPC children and Candace, Susie, Monica, Barb and Rachel for helping with the program of Christmas songs at the Christmas dinner. We also would like to thank Santa and Mrs. Claus for making a special stop at our church.

We are in need of volunteers to help with preparing and serving the coffee and cookies for Fellowship and setting up the Fellowship table before the second service. If you can volunteer a few minuets before & after worship, there will be a sign-up sheet on the table in back of the sanctuary. It doesn't take long. If you would like to volunteer, please come to the meeting for more information.

KID'S KORNER - We would like to thank everyone who has volunteered for Kid's Korner. We have started a new rotation schedule , so if there is anyone who would like to continue volunteering or would like to be added to the list, please see our sign up sheet in the back. If you have any questions about volunteering, please feel free to call Amanda or the church office.

CONGREGATIONAL CARE - The Ruling Elders on the Session will be calling the church members monthly to offer care and receive information. As we begin this new program, we are only contacting members with plans to add regular visitors later.

CHOIR - Are you a singer? Are you interested in singing? Come join our choir in song Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. in the choir room. All voices are welcome and experience is not necessary. Any questions, feel free to contact Julian Sundby at (239) 368-2488 or simply show up. We look forward to seeing new faces as we lift up our voices to God.

"Come make a Joyful Noise."

P.S. There will be coffee and cookies.

SPECIAL OFFERING - If you would like to give to the Tornado Fund or the Japan/Tsunami Relief, we are doing a special collection. Just mark on your envelope which relief you would like your donation to go. If for the tornado fund, mark on envelope (Designate gifts for DR000015, U.S.). The money will be sent to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistant.

PRAYER PARTNERS - It's time to sign up for your Prayer Partners. If you would like to participate in the Prayer Partners, please fill out the form in the bulletin and put it in the offering plate or return them to the office.

AGAPE CIRCLE - The Agape Circle has pens with a picture of our church for $1.00. Proceeds will be used by Peace River Presbyterian Women. Please see Beth, Beverly, Linda or Katherine. We still have cookbooks for sale also. The price is $12.00.

R & R- Our R & R group is having a Presbyterian Women Horizon magazine study on "The Beatitudes." It is a thought provoking process. If anyone would like to join us in this study, just show up at 9:30 on Wednesdays.

NAME TAGS - We are starting another list for name tags. If you would like to have a magnetic name tag, please put your name on the list the way you would like to have it read. The price is $7.00 per tag.

THE GRACEVINE HAS GONE ELECTRONIC! - As of May 2011, we no longer print and mail the GraceVine as we have in the past. The cost of printing and mailing continue to increase prompting the Finance Committee to seek a less expensive and environmentally friendly method to publish the monthly newsletter. In order to use the less expensive bulk mail postage method, we have to print and mail over 50 newsletters that we send outside the congregation driving up printing, paper, and environmental cost. The Session approved the Finance Committee recommendation to distribute the newsletter electronically; we distribute it by e-mail and publish it on the church website: www.bpcfm.org If you haven't already, please fill out and print the form on how you would like to receive the GraceVine and return it to the office. Thank you from the editor of the GraceVine.

If you do not have e-mail or Internet access, you can pick up a printed copy at the church. Upon request, we will mail a printed copy to people unable to receive it electronically.( Each copy mailed will cost the church approximately $1.00.) Please make sure the office has your e-mail address so you can receive future issues of The GraceVine in a timely manner.

NOTE: If you requested to pick up your GraceVine at the church, you will find them on the table in back of the Sanctuary. The November GraceVine is now ready to be picked up. Your name will be at the top of the page. There are extra ones if you would like to have one.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION - Christian Education is off to another great Sunday School season. Sunday School is between the early Worship Service and the second Worship Service, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. each Sunday. There are classes for everyone.

Children - led by Barb M,

Women's Contemporary Studies - led by Eileen F.

Traditional Bible Study (for men and women) - led by Bill R.

Youth - led by Monica D.

Nursery: Childcare for newborns to second grade is offered during the second Worship Service. Care is provided by adult volunteers.

UPDATING INFORMATION- We have moved to a more efficient software for our database. If you would like to update your information, click here for an information form. Please fill it out and send it back to the office or put it in the offering plate.

Thank you for taking the time to do this.

OUR VOLUNTEERS ROCK! - VOLUNTEERS SPOTLIGHT - We will be spotlighting a group of volunteers each month for their outstanding work they do to kept the church in "Tip Top" shape.

BPC would like to give a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all our volunteers. We know it has been a little hard this year with so few to come and help, but you have been in our prayers of thanks.

GREETERS AND USHERS NEEDED - If you would like to help by being a Greeter or Usher, please see Katherine Nolen or contact the church office if you would like to help with these services.

VOLUNTEERS FOR NURSERY - We are in need of volunteers to help in the nursery. It would be for just one Sunday out of the month. There will be a sign-up sheet in the Narthex.

CAN YOU HELP? - We are in need of more volunteers to help with cleaning the church. Due to illness, etc., we are now down to just two people carrying the whole load. If you could volunteer even one Thursday a month, that would help a great deal.

Also, w e need volunteers or a family to take one Saturday a month to cut the church yard. We have a lawn mover you can use. If you can volunteer for this, please call the church office.

LARGE PRINT BIBLES - We have a couple of large print Bibles on the table in the back of the Sanctuary that have been donated to us for use during worship.

T-SHIRTS FOR SALE - We have T-shirts left over from last year's VBS. If you would like to have one, they are on sale for $5.00 each. We still have all sizes. Just see Susie in the office and she will help you out.

UPPER ROOM - Because not enough was collected last year to cover the cost of the Upper Room, Session has decided not to order them through the church.

If you wish to receive the Upper Room at a group discount ($7.00 per year for regular print and $10.00 for large print), please see Betty or call the church office. Betty has agreed to take care of the group order.

PRAISE SONGS - We have copies of the praise songs on the table in back of the Sanctuary.

SOUND BOOTH - The sound booth is looking for a few extra hands to help on Sunday mornings at the 10:30 a.m. service. We will train you if you would like to volunteer your time.

BROCHURES - We have information brochures available if you would like to take some to hand out to your friends and neighbors. We can print more as we need them.

WEDNESDAY CONNECTION - On Wednesday, February 1st the menu will be Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Green Beans, Salad, Dessert & Drinks.

Wednesday Connection, is a midweek program from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with an optional "supper" from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. It is a time for fellowship and Bible study. At 6:30 p.m. we begin with song and prayer and then split into Bible study groups that end at 8:00 p.m. Our Youth Group, kids 6th to 12th grade meet at 6:30p.m. Adults have a Bible study with studies of interest that last from four to six week sessions.

From 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. we offer a "supper" for a small fee of $5.00 per person or a maximum of $15.00 per family. Those who are interested need to pre-register so that we have an idea of how many to expect. We have a rotation of kitchen helpers, including the Youth Group, and a rotation of meals. This supper is offered for the convenience of our WC participants and teachers so that they don't have to cook at home.

Then at 6:30ish, we join in song and prayer, then split into either a Bible study group or Youth Group. Pastor Randy started off this season with a study about, "The Different Religions of the World." We will begin a new study about every 6 weeks and each topic lasts from 4--6 weeks. The Youth Group, led by Monica Drew, also meets during this time. Youth Group is for kids 6th - 12th grade.

We request reservations for the meal by noon on Tuesday or fill out the slip in your bulletin and put it in the offering plate to ensure we have enough food prepared, but don't prepare too much. If you have any questions, please call the church office.

The menu for each week will be published in the bulletin and future issues of the GraceVine.

Join us and invite your friends to "Wednesday Connection."

BPC PRAYER CHAIN - The BPC Prayer Chain consists of a leader and several groups of 5 or 6 names. The Prayer Chain leader is called when special, urgent prayers are needed. The leader calls the first person in each group, who in turn calls the next person. Our Prayer Chain needs your help. If you would like to be a part of one of these groups, please call Susie at the church office. (694-2444)

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A NEW MEMBER? - If you are interested in becoming a new member at Buckingham Presbyterian Church or learning more about the church operation, please contact Pastor Randy by calling the church office at 239-694-2444 or by e-mail: bpcpastor@comcast.net Why Join?

A CALL FOR HELP - We have a member who is not able to drive anymore and would still like to attend church. If you would like to help by picking her up on Sunday morning, would you please call Susie at the church to have your name added to the list.

CARDS - If you know of anyone that needs a Get Well or Sympathy card sent out from the church family, please leave the information (address & phone number) in Julie's mailbox in the outer office.