Worship with us at Christmas
People flock to churches for big holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, and we know they are more likely to come if invited by someone they know. Please invite your neighbors, co-workers, or any recent transplants you know to join you for worship this Christmas. Our service times are:
December 23, 3:00 & 5:00 pm
December 24, 1:00, 3:00, & 5:00 pm
*Programming is available at all services for children ages birth through kindergarten. The Retreat is available, for our differently-abled children, on December 24 at the 3:00 service.
Prepare-Advent service this Sunday and next: invite your neighbors!
Don't be trampled by Advent this year. Our Prepare-Advent services offer a meaningful, interactive, visitor- and family-friendly way for each of us to ready our hearts for the birth of our Savior. Join us December 10 & 17 at 4:30 pm for worship, followed by Advent traditions and activities, fellowship and some great takeaways -- including free cider and a hot cocoa bar! This is an easy ask for inviting neighbors and friends. All ages are welcome as we anticipate the coming of the true light, the light to everyone!
As part of our Prepare-Advent services, we will be hosting a Shoe Away Hunger drive. Please bring along some gently used footwear, including sneakers, sports shoes, casual shoes, boots, flip flops, ice skates, etc.This footwear is turned around by "Good in the Hood" to obtain food that is provided to the needy. Look in your closets for any new or gently used footwear to bring along when you come to our December Advent services on Sunday afternoons. Please put them in a plastic bag and hook them together with a rubber band. Click here (http://www.goodinthehood.org/Our-Programs/Shoe-Away-Hunger) for more info on this Impact project.
Brighter Christmas at Woodbury Elementary — last week to grab a gift tag!
Advent brings with it a contagious spirit of giving. However, many families right here in our community are unable to buy Christmas gifts for their kids. Five Oaks teams with Kids Hope USA to help bridge that gap for families in need at Woodbury Elementary. Please take a gift tag off the Giving Tree (in the Commons this weekend next to the Ministry Cart). Woodbury Elementary also needs school supplies for many of their students who have run out this time of year, so we have opportunities to buy gift cards for those. All unwrapped gifts, gift cards and tags need to be returned by December 17. KHUSA is always looking for mentors who are willing to give one hour a week to a child at Woodbury Elementary. Your time is priceless to that child! More info on mentoring at the Ministry Cart.
FREE Rooted Women Christmas event this Thursday
“For Unto Us,” our Women’s Christmas event, will be an evening of fellowship, Christmas foods and desserts, and carols. This is a great opportunity to invite a neighbor, coworker, or girlfriend who doesn’t have a church home for Advent fellowship. Women, join us December 14 at 6 pm for the FREE event. Please RSVP or send questions to Kristin, kristin@thesellersfamily.com.
Students: Party in your PJ’s
Students: Don your pajamas and join us for our Five Oaks Students Christmas party on Wednesday, December 20, 6-8 pm. This PJ’s-clad event will feature games, food, and Christmas-themed worship. Invite your friends! Questions? Email Justin, jtalk@fiveoakschurch.org.
Christmas serving opportunities: simple effort; huge impact
Your heart is in the right place. You want to give back and serve at Five Oaks in some way, but you are in a crazy season of life. You maybe feel like the only time you could serve would be 10 pm on Tuesdays, right? What you need is a serve opportunity to fit that crazy season of life, an opportunity to try something once to see how it goes. Consider the ideas in the Christmas SERVE handout from last weekend, also found at the Ministry Cart in the Commons. These are easy, one-time ways to serve at Five Oaks this Christmas. Best of all, your one-time efforts will make a big impact. You may fill out the info in the SERVE handout, and our Connections Director, Jennifer Clemens, will reach out to you personally to help you find a good fit.
One impactful way to help in Five Oaks Kids
We are still looking for help in the Retreat, our ministry for differently-abled children in our church family. This ministry blesses many children in our church with different physical and learning challenges, and it blesses their parents by allowing them to worship each week with great peace of mind. If you are able to volunteer even once each month at our 9 am service, please contact Laura at retreat@fiveoakschurch.org.
Looking ahead: Five Oaks Kids team training
Hey volunteers! If you serve with Five Oaks Kids in any capacity, please mark your calendar now for our all-team training on January 14, 2018, 12:30-2 pm. More details to come, but we look forward to this time together to sharpen our craft and make our volunteer efforts as impactful as possible for the kids and families we serve. Questions? Please email Cindy, cyarrington@fiveoakschurch.org.
Five Oaks book club
When: Second Tuesday of every month
Time: 6:45 pm - discussion at 7 pm
Where: Five Oaks Church, Fireside Commons
New members are welcome throughout the year.
Join anytime. Call or email Dawn Goenner, go.dmge@gmail.com, or (651) 238-1605, to find out what our upcoming titles will be.
Welcome new members
John & Jill Eiselt
Nathan & Kathryn Schroeder