Many thanks to Harold Messer, John Dills, Arlin Middleton, Guy Hall and Jameson Stout who spent their day today cleaning the carpet in the Mission and Fellowship Center! We are so appreciative of their willingness to serve by conserving our investments.
Congregations for Children
Toy Donations
If you or your child have toys or games that are no longer played with, and you would like to donate them, consider donating them to our Wee Explorers Preschool Ministry! These kids always need new toys to play with, and they could benefit from the toys that are gathering dust in your child's playroom. If you have any donations, please bring them to the church office or the Loving Kindness room near the sanctuary.
FUMC Hosting Red Cross Blood Drive
First UMC Sylva is hosting a Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, Dec. 28th from 10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. There is a critical need for blood at this time. Many appointments are available and walk-ins are welcome. To register, go to RedCrossBlood.org
Help Needed - Moving Pews
We need some extra hands to help move pews from the Chapel to storage!! If you are available to help, please meet at the church on Saturday, the 17th at 8:30 AM. Your help is appreciated!
Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Tracking
"At Linda's I shared that I had put tracking labels that I got online on several of our Shoeboxes.
After church today I went online, put in the code, it came back that those boxes shipped December 5th from Charlotte heading to Togo in West Central Africa.
Tonight I just came across the photo below on Facebook....taken by a volunteer this week at the OCC Charlotte Distribution Center...the tally board... if you enlarge you can see boxes shipped to Togo on Dec. 5th.
Thought you'd like to share with the group.
Have a blessed week!"
- Teresa Deitz Manring
United Christian Ministries Contest
Thank you to everyone who brought pasta and sauce for the United Christian Ministry spaghetti contest! Collectively, we were able to exceed our goal of providing over 200 spaghetti meals. And last but not least, congratulations to the piano side of the sanctuary for bring the most food items!
Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes
A big shout out and thank you to Sylva First Baptist Church! You donated a total of 180 shoe boxes to this year's Operation Christmas Child ministry. Pastors around the world host shoe box distributions in places where people may not know Christ and invite them to follow Him. Other churches use the boxes as resources for outreach in orphanages and other at-risk areas. Please continue to pray for the shoe box recipients.
Thanks to the Decorating Team!
A huge thank you to everyone who stayed and decorated the church. It went wonderfully and I am very thankful for all the volunteers who gave up their afternoons to make sure that the church was ready for the Advent season!
Christmas Offering
If you're looking for a Christmas gift for a loved one, choose to give a gift in their honor/memory through our Christmas Offering! Income we receive from this offering will be divided equally between our local mission partners, namely: Jackson County Neighbors in Need, The Community Table, The Good Samaritan Clinic of Jackson County, and Circles of Hope. When you make a contribution to this Christmas Offering, the church will send an informative–and handsome!–Christmas card to the person you are choosing to honor. Christmas Offering envelopes are available in the pew racks in both our sanctuary and church office.