countryside-church.org

Countryside Community’s "Church Conference", is scheduled for tonight, Sunday, December 8th at 6:30 pm,
at Countryside.
All are invited to attend.

Angel Tree Project
(Mission Team News)
Please take an ornament tag from the angel tree located in the lobby for families who might not otherwise have a special Christmas.
Return it wrapped with the tag attached by
Sunday, December 22nd.

Cantata Refreshments
Refreshments at the Cantata will be offered from 3-4 pm (between the two performances). As in the past, we are looking for cookie donations !
PLEASE NOTE: Due to our insurance, no peanuts or peanut butter can be used in any cookies. Walnuts, pecans, etc. are fine. They can be dropped off Saturday, December 14th before 1:30 pm.
Punch will be provided.

Christmas Cantata
Countryside Community Church will hold its Annual Christmas Cantata on Saturday, December 14th at 14011 Orchard Drive, Clarks Summit. The Cantata is entitled "He Came Down" and will feature performances at 1:30 PM and 4:00 PM. Refreshments will be served from 3:00-4:00 PM. The cantata will be presented by a 40 voice choir comprised of members of more than 10 local Christian faith communities and directed by Robert Smith.

Christmas Carol Sing-Along
Country Alliance Church (14014 Orchard Drive) is hosting a “Christmas Carol Sing-Along” on Sunday, December 15th at 6 pm. Refreshments will follow.

Youth Group Party
The youth will be having a Christmas party on Sunday December 15th at 3 PM. All youth in grades 5 through 12 are invited to come and join us. We'll be having an "ugly sweater" contest and exchanging gifts... we're asking each youth to bring a
"pre-owned" gift to exchange.
Please feel free to contact Scott Miller
with any questions.

Christmas Eve Services at Countryside
6:00 pm - Family Friendly Service
7:30 pm - Traditional Candlelight Service

Everyone is invited to come and join us at 6 PM on Christmas Eve for a family friendly service. We'll sing carols, hear a story told by puppets (with the help of some of our youth) and end with "candlelight". The service is being designed with children in mind. Feel free to invite other families to come and join us as we celebrate Jesus' birth !

Missions News
Half of the December missions basket donations will go to the Newton-Ransom Volunteer Fire Company and half will go to the Salvation Army.

2013-2014 Winter Sidewalk Crew Signup
We are in need of volunteers to handle snow removal and care of our church's main sidewalks and entrances for the coming winter. If you would like to join our crew, please tell Ron Imdorf of your interest as soon as you are able. Call   570-586-9092 or email him @   rj.imdorf@gmail.com    We use small teams of volunteers on a rotating basis and have equipment and supplies available to use. Your volunteer time assures safe use of our church facility and helps support our ministries by freeing up funds in our budget that would be needed for that purpose. Your help is greatly appreciated!   Ron

Dalton Food Pantry Project
Thank you for your response to help feed the hungry at the Dalton Food Pantry. This is an ongoing need, so please remember the wicker basket designated for this purpose anytime you’d like to drop off donations.
It is in the lobby year-round.

Susan Duncan Book Club
Please join us for the next meeting of the Susan Duncan Book Club on Monday, Dec 9th at 7pm at Elis Wetzel's home (2137 Laurel Hill Rd). The book we are discussing is "A Lineage of Grace" by Francine Rivers. The book discusses five women in the Bible who, through faith and strength, beyond all odds, persevered and became important figures in the lineage of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   We have just discussed the first two women, Tamar and Rahab, and will continue with Ruth and Bathsheba. If you haven't read the first two, you can still join us in learning about the next three. It is great discussion and fellowship (with snacks for extra fun). If you have any questions, please call Anne Mecca at 570-586-0512 or by e-mail at annemecca@vidsure.net

Mission Trip
The location of the summer mission trip has changed to a Jersey Shore destination. The dates of the trip are still June 22-26, 2014. There will be a lot of down time on the daily schedule and the workday is only about 6 or 7 hours long with a lunch included. If anyone is interested in going on the trip, I need to have a definite commitment today so we can register our group. Once registered, we will have 30 days to pay a $60 per person deposit.
If the deposit is an issue or if you have questions, please talk to me. -Scott Miller

Family Ministries Website Launched

Scott O. Miller, our Director of Family Ministries, would like everyone to know that we now have a website devoted completely to the
Family Ministry Program at Countryside.
Click on the web address below to visit this new site!
countrysidefamilymin.weebly.com

Dalton Food Pantry
A basket for non-perishable donations to the Dalton Food Pantry is under the coat rack in the lobby. The donations are taken to the food pantry periodically.

Newsletter Addresses
If you would like to be added to our mailing list OR if you are on the list but have moved in the past 4 months, please contact the office at countrysidechurch@yahoo.com or 587-3206 to give us your information. Thank you!

Would you like to be included on the
emails Countryside Church sends out?
Click on our church office email address countrysidechurch@yahoo.com to be added!

Spiritual Nurture News
We are in need of able bodied volunteers to help copy and assemble Home Touch newsletters. In order to get the letters out to all recipients, 600 copies are made every quarter. All copying and preparation for mailings will be done at the church. Contact Helen Herne @ 587-1257 or Alfredo Chavez @ 388-3159.

You might want to consider
Auto-Debit Giving at Countryside !

Information is secure and handled only by
our approved financial officers.
No charge to sign up or use.
No need to write checks.
Debits are made on a schedule you choose and
in an amount you choose.
A contribution summary is available in January.
Call our office @ 587-3206 or email us at CountrysideChurch@yahoo.com
for more information and/or an application.

MaineSaver GiveBack Program

If you are a MaineSource shopper, please stop in the church office to join the GiveBack Program. Once you join, MaineSource will issue a Fundraising Card to you and they will give the church 5% of what you spend there when you use your Fundraising Card!

Time Capsule Suggestions

The Heritage Team would like your suggestions for what you would like to see included in the time capsule that was made for the church. If you have a suggestion, please email Sue Schaffer schaffer_sue74@yahoo.com or place the suggestion in the offering plate.

Countryside Community Church is a member of the newly formed Susquehanna Conference of The United Methodist Church and was established on July 1, 2008 from the merger of four local churches near Clarks Summit, PA.

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
~ Colossians 2:2-3