MacNeill Baptist Church
News and Notes
Church Moderator: Jonathan Purdy
Minister of Worship and Pastoral Care: Rev. Susan St John
Director of Music: Monica Admiral
Custodian: Sandy Palin
Associate Ministers in Spiritual Care: Garry Blinch, Robert Bond, Claire Gosselin, David Jones, Felida Toledo
Pastoral Care: When you would like someone to pray with, to request a pastoral visit, or to publish a prayer request please contact
Susan St John at 905-512-9897 or sstjohn.macneill@gmail.com
Pastoral Care Team: Heather Hobbs, Olga Jenkins, David Jones, Bruce Papky, Feli Toledo and Beverly Woods.
Your continued financial support of our congregation is appreciated. Donations can be mailed to the church, or made through e-transfer at donations@macneillbaptist.ca, or from the Donate Now link our website. Thank you for your continued generosity.
MacNeill’s Community Carol Sing– Sunday Dec 8 at 2 pm
Join us for a fun afternoon of Carol singing, hot cider and treats….. and bring a friend along too!
Admission: Please bring donations of canned goods or mittens/socks for Wesley Urban ministries.
Christmas is coming!
Your Outreach and Service Board invites you to donate warm winter clothing and apparel, (scarves, hats, mittens, gloves), and toiletry items for women and children residing at Phoenix Place, a safe residence for women escaping domestic violence. Toys for the children at Christmas would also be enjoyed. Christmas baskets will be available for donations in the narthex and under the tree. Deadline is Dec 15. Thank you for your generosity.
Women of MacNeill
Saturday, Dec. 14, 2:30 PM, the Women of MacNeill will hold their annual Advent Program, Carol Sing and Tea in the parlour. All women are warmly welcomed to attend. If possible, donations of cards and “small” treats are requested for baskets which are delivered to our shut ins.
MacNeill Directory
There is a new printing of the MacNeill Directory in the narthex. Please pick one up if you wish. Look for a pdf copy in your weekly email.
A Note from the Nominating Committee
We are currently contacting some of you to ask you to serve on the Church Council, either as a member of a Board, or on the executive of Council. Be aware that we are approaching you because we believe you have the qualities needed, as outlined below:
- Sensitivity to the needs and concerns of all who make up our congregation.
- Readiness to share the work of the Board. Each board has requirements which relate to its particular focus.
- Willingness to work collaboratively with other MacNeill Boards in the committee process.
- Time to attend meetings, including:
- Congregational meetings: the Annual Meeting (February) and the Mid-Year Meeting (June);
- Council meetings each year, in January, February, May and October;
- Board meetings, as required; each Board plans its own meetings.
If you are interested in helping in any of the areas covered by the various Boards, please contact Brian Power, Nominating Committee Chair.
Chocolate opportunity!!
Luke is selling Laura Secord chocolate bars by World’s Finest as a fundraiser for his grade 8 class trip to Ottawa. If you are interested, please see Luke after the service on Sunday. They cost $5 each and come in the following flavours: Milk Chocolate, 70% Dark Chocolate, Fresh Mint, Toffee Crunch, Puffed Rice.
Blue Christmas Service
Wednesday Dec 18 at 7 pm, MacNeill will hold a Blue Christmas service for those struggling with the festive season.
Donation Envelopes
We used to have numbered envelopes, historically, to keep the tellers blind to who was donating when donations were all cash. We have not had tellers since Covid hit and we have not had numbered envelopes for a year or two. So…. it would be sensible to retire the idea of using numbers as identifiers when donating to the church and use your name instead, especially when donating cash. Rest assured that the only people who know who donates what are the treasurers and the envelope steward, so all donations are kept as confidential as they always have been.
Opportunities for Ministry
We are always seeking ways for people to participate in this ministry. Please consider offering your voice for Scripture reading and Worship leading (contact Rev. Susan), offering your skill to nurture our youngest their growth in scripture as a Bible Quest teacher (contact Lynn Bond), and coming soon there will be spaces available on our Boards (contact Brian Power). Please consider these opportunities to serve.
Welcome Signs
Outreach has 2 more large Welcome Signs that need to be installed on our King St lawn. If anyone has the ability, ingenuity, and availability to do that, we would be most grateful. Please speak to Al or Bev L about it.
Brantford Symphony Concert with Strata Vocal Ensemble
Christmas time means many things to us. Candy canes, Christmas trees, presents exchanged, warm and cheerful parties, maybe some snow…… For us at the Brantford Symphony, above all it means Christmas and happy seasonal music. And we bring it to you all packaged in one special night, when we search out and present a program filled with your favourite tunes, carefully considered, wonderfully arranged, and expertly performed! Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, Adeste Fideles, Carol of the Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and much, much more will keep you smiling and your toes tapping! Strata will happily lead you through the annual Sing-Along, as well as performing on their own and with orchestra. Saturday Dec 15 at 7:30 pm at the Sanderson Centre in Brantford.
Tickets : https://brantfordsymphony.ca
